ã€ŠPaintings of Terrorã€‹


 Chapter 1: Entering the Painting

    <h4>Chapter 1: Entering the Painting</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    In hindsight, Ke Xun realized that everything had been weird since the moment he had left his house.

    First of all, the middle unit on the thirteenth floor of the building behind him had had its windows wide open. Two greyish white curtains had hung on the outside of the window. Looking up at it from below, they had looked like hanging scrolls you¡¯d find at a funeral.

    When Ke Xun had looked up, it had felt vaguely like someone had been up there watching him. But because of the angle, he had not been able to see for sure whether there had been someone there.

    That person¡¯s body had beenpletely enshrouded in darkness. All he had been able to faintly make out had been an ash-coloured face behind the window. That face had beenpletely still. Paired with the ck window frame and the two grayish white curtains, that face had looked like it was one of those ck-and-white portraits of the deceasedmonly found at funerals.

    After that, there had been that the horny poodle that Uncle Li from the neighbourhood owned. When he hade face-to-face with it, for once, it actually didn¡¯t hug his leg and hump it in a frenzy. Today, it had brushed past Ke Xun without paying him any attention, like a scum guy who ¡®throws away his bed partners after using them.¡¯ Instead, that horny poodle had sprinted over to a beefy-looking bull terrier in the distance.

    Things had only gotten weirder after that.

    For example, he had rented a bike from a bike share station. As soon as he had thrown a leg over, the seat had fallen off. Just a centimetre more and he would have be the first man in history to have been fucked in the ass by a bike share bike.

    Another example: when he had met up with Wei Dong at the ce they had agreed, that guy actually hadn¡¯t beente like usual.

    Or, another example: Before the two of them could head out and have fun, what had just been a blue sky with scattered clouds had instantly be covered in grey clouds. The rainstorm was imminent.

    ¡°I just knew that nothing good would happening out with an ass like you.¡± Ke Xun said, shielding his head from the rain as he ran around, searching for some shelter to duck into.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t right, ah. I used the knuckle counting ancient Chinese divination method yesterday. It¡¯s supposed to be a very auspicious day today, ah. It¡¯s supposed to be a good day to go out, pick up girls and get a hotel room with them!¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t even be bothered to cover his head. He hastily wrapped his phone around his jacket.

    ¡°You must have been calcting it with your feet instead!¡± Ke Xun snapped back.

    ¡°What can I do? The Wei Family¡¯s prone to getting athlete¡¯s foot. As the eldest grandson of the Wei Family, I have to carry forward and develop this unique, secret foot scratching technique.¡± Wei Dong joked with Ke Xun as usual. He then pointed across the street. ¡°There. An art gallery.¡±

    The Starry Sky Art Gallery.

    This art gallery was really old. There was a thickyer of Boston Ivy climbing up its walls, nearlypletely covering up the gallery¡¯s windows. The entrance, however, looked rather new, as if it had been renovated not long ago. There was a sign ced out front that said it was some painter¡¯s nation-wide touring art exhibit.

    How manymon folk actually knew how to appreciate art? Even though it was the weekend, there were very few visitors at the gallery.

    Most of the people inside were like Ke Xun and Wei Dong¡ªthey hade in to avoid the rain.

    A group of people had gathered at the entrance. They were either watching the rain or ying on their phones. Only a few people were looking at the paintings.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re here, we might as well take a look.¡± Wei Dong had a need to keep busy.

    Originally, they hadn¡¯t thought of what to do today anyway. They had only met up because Wei Dong had sent a message on VChat: Want to hangout tomorrow?

    Ke Xun: Sure.

    And thus they came out.

    As single dogs who had to rely on other single dogs to keep warm, their usual routine on the weekends was to first meet up at their usual ce, and then just walk around. If they bumped into girls, they¡¯d flirt with the girls. If they bumped into gay guys, they¡¯d flirt with those guys. They just wanted to find someone who would stay with them even when they were broke.

    Ke Xun had never appreciated art much. Forget admiring paintings, even his selfies were all distorted and blurry. He somehow managed to make it look like he had six fingers when striking a V. He was also capable of making his rather handsome face look like a botched stic surgery job.

    Wei Dong was a billion times better than him in that respect. In any case, Wei Dong graduated from a fine arts academy. Although he ended up going into one of the ¡°top ten jobs that make you want to hold up an Er Kang hand towards your receding hairline¡± ¡ªgraphic design, where he had to weird and ugly designs ording to his clients¡¯ wishes, he had never forgotten his original motivation. He still liked to admire famous artists.

    There was nothing to do while it rained outside so they were really free. The two of them shook off the rainwater and entered through the art galley¡¯s inner door.

    ¡ª¡ªIn retrospect, Ke Xun would have preferred to have remained idle. Even if he developed hemorrhoids from sitting so long, he still wouldn¡¯t have chosen to take a step into that gallery.

    The Starry Sky Art Gallery¡¯s first floor contained the art exhibit of the painter advertised outside.

    On the second floor were the paintings the gallery owned. There were both original paintings and copies.

    The two of them walked around the second floor. The lingered in front of a few Western portraits.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice looking at busty girls. It¡¯d probably feel good to touch those.¡± Wei Dong smacked his lips.

    ¡°First, you have to get yourself a girl.¡± Ke Xun shoved his hands into his pockets, standing off to the side. He was in a pretty good mood.

    Wei Dong reluctantly parted with the painting. He looked around and then pointed to the front. ¡°There¡¯s another exhibit over there. Do you think they have traditional erotic paintings on disy?¡±

    ¡°Bro, think back on your life. When has your wish evere true?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Fuck, that¡¯s too real. Why¡¯d you have to say that? I¡¯m going to cry and make a scene.¡± Wei Dong said.

    The two of them leisurely made their way to the exhibit.

    The exhibition hall wasn¡¯t big. Furthermore, there weren¡¯t any windows. There was only several small, dim yellow lights over head lighting up the room. The paintings were all hung on the wall. Under the dim lighting, the colours of the paintings seemed even darker and richer. They were also kind of fuzzy and indistinct.

    ¡°You were right. These are erotic paintings.¡± Ke Xun sighed. ¡°They¡¯re just paintings of when those people blew out the candles to do naughty stuff.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, the lights in the hall went outpletely. Everything around them turned ck.

    ¡°¡­The lights didn¡¯t have to be so cooperative. What, I said that the lights went out so they turned off?¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice echoed in the darkness.

    ¡°Then should we also act correspondingly and do something naughty too?¡± Wei Dong was in the mood to joke. ¡°Be gentle, oh.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t do straight men, thanks.¡± Ke Xun pulled his phone out as he said this. Strangely, the screen wouldn¡¯te on no matter how he tapped on it.

    ¡°Damned gay.¡± Wei Dong¡¯s clothes rustled. It seemed like he was also reaching for his phone. ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s let me down at such a crucial moment. I swear it was full when I left home. It hasn¡¯t been long and it¡¯s already dead.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Wait a second, don¡¯t you think something¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Now that you mention it¡­no.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t reply. There was a strange stillness over the dark exhibition hall.

    It was really, really quiet, like a deathly still kind of quiet.

    ¡°That¡­¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice sounded a bit unnatural now. ¡°Do you think the walls are soundproof in this hall?¡±

    This little, old, broken art gallery didn¡¯t even have the money to clear off the ivy running up its exterior walls. Where would they get the money to fully-equip an exhibition hall with soundproofing?

    Furthermore, why would a gallery need soundproof walls? What, did the erotic paintings emit <i>papapa</i> noises every night?

    Wei Dong shivered. He then heard Ke Xun say, ¡°No way. I could still hear someone sneezing outside before the lights went out. Even if there was no one outside, all noises would be amplified in such arge, empty exhibition hall. There would be all sorts of soundsing in. But right now, I can¡¯t hear a thing.¡±

    There was absolutely nothing.

    How could this be possible?

    Even if it was the still of the night and you were out in the country side near the mountains, far from the city, there still would be quite sounds of nature.

    But right now, there was really nothing. It was like they had suddenly entered an enclosed, vacuum-like tight space. There was no sound and no light.

    It was a bit weird.

    Silence and darkness were the source of all fear.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head outside.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice was still calm. He didn¡¯t mention the problem with their phones either.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wei Dong tried his best to keep his voice rxed. He pretended not to know anything regarding as well.

    It was like, as long as they didn¡¯t talk about it, as long as they didn¡¯t examine it in detail, they could hide from whatever was in the dark.

    The two of them walked through the darkness for a while but they hadpletely lost all sense of direction.

    ¡°This is weird. The hall¡¯s only so big. We should¡¯ve hit a wall by now.¡± Ke Xun stopped walking.

    ¡°Um¡­let¡¯s not talk about that¡­.¡± Wei Dong acted like he was afraid the other would uncover something. He reached out, wanting to tug on Ke Xun.

    What he felt was an icy-cold arm.

    ¡°¡ª¡ªFuck!¡± Wei Dong screamed, shaking off that arm.

    Before he could do anything else, a white light suddenly emerged in the darkness with a click.

    ¡°¡­Is the light voice-activated?¡± Ke Xun was puzzled.

    ¡°Ke <i>er</i>...¡± Wei Dong said beside him, voice shaking, ¡°Where¡¯s that lighting from?¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t answer.

    Because he also didn¡¯t know where that light wasing from.

    There was no light source. The light was just there, in the middle of the darkness. It wasn¡¯t an intense light. It was actually really faint.

    This light shone down on the wall. It illuminated a single painting.

    Only then did Wei Dong notice that the cold ¡®arm¡¯ he had touched was actually one of the metal poles of the barrier beneath the painting. The barrier was used to keep visitors at a distance from the painting, so as to prevent people from reaching out to touch the art.

    There was a note between the poles. It was used to mark and introduce the painting.

    The two of them subconsciously looked up at the painting.

    The painting was the same as the ones they had seen before the lights had gone off. Its colours were dark and the contents were hard to make out. They could only faintly make out the some outlines.

    But what was strange was that this painting seemed to be getting clearer and clearer as the two of them stared at it.

    It was like someone was using Photoshop in real-time to adjust the resolution and sharpness.

    It kept getting clearer and bigger.

    What? Bigger?

    Ke Xun suddenly blinked. This painting seemed to move with his blink. As he blinked, it suddenly grew infinitelyrger. It was like the contents of that painting was going to hit them in the face. An invisible aura blew past their body, causing the hairs all over his body to stand up, as if an electric current had paused through.

    In the blink of an eye, this aura disappeared behind them in all directions. It was like a hand that had unrolled a scroll and had let it unfurl a long distance.

    Ke Xun then look up at the scenery around them. It took a long time before he coulde back to himself.

    This¡ªwhere was this?!

    ¡ª¡ªWhat the heck happened?!

    ¡ª¡ªThe scene depicted in the painting¡ªit was in front of him and looked so real!

    ¡°No¡­it can¡¯t be¡­¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice trembled as he spoke, ¡°Is this for real¡­I must be dreaming¡­. It must still be yesterday night. I fell asleep, tired from scratching my feet. I haven¡¯t woken up yet¡­I definitely haven¡¯t woken up yet¡­.Fuck, Ke er! This is absurd!¡±

    After failing to deceive himself, Wei Dong shouted in panic.

    Although Ke Xun had been a terrible student back in the day, he hadn¡¯t been so bad that he would be unable to tell reality from his dreams. He was very aware that the ce he and Wei Dong were currently in wasn¡¯t a dream or illusion.

    It was real. It was reality.

    He looked up and took in his surroundings. Hanging in the ck sky were dark clouds. It waspletely empty all around them. Withered grass half their height was scattered all along the uncultivatednd around them. The putrid stink of soil and dust filled the air. Not far from them seemed to be a very deste-looking tiny vige.

    This was a part of what they had seen in the painting just now.

    As for the other parts of the painting, Ke Xun hadn¡¯t had the time to see them. Or rather, he had either subconsciously, deliberately not wanted to look at it, or didn¡¯t dare to look at it.

    He only remembered that out of the corner of his eyes just now, he had taken a nce at something¡­terrifying. Something that shouldn¡¯t belong in the world.

    ¡°¡­What should we do?¡± Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun, scared out of his wits.

    Ke Xun had also turned his face to look at him.

    Their gazes met and they couldn¡¯t help but shout in unison, ¡°Fuck!¡±

    Their clothes had unexpectedly changed at some unknown time. Right now, both of them were dressed in white coarse, baggy clothes of indiscernible style. Their outfit wasprised of a pair of white linen pants and a matching, Chinese-styled, unlined long-sleeve top.

    ¡°¡ª¡ªWhat the hell is this?! Where did my Adidas go?!¡± Wei Dong¡¯s anger temporarily overcame his fear. He looked all around, wanting to extract an exnation from somebody.

    ¡°Shh.¡± Ke Xun hinted at Wei Dong to stay calm. He then looked down at himself. He tried to take off the clothes that had appeared out of nowhere, but he found out that there was nothing but his own bare skin underneath. If he took it off, he¡¯d be naked.

    The sense of weirdness and uncertainty bubbled up in his chest. Ke Xun¡¯s throat felt tight. He abandoned the idea of taking off the clothes and pulled Wei Dong along as he walked. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and leave this ce first.¡±

    Wei Dong nodded, shaking all over. He looked all around them, eyes filled with panic.

    Ke Xun nced behind them. There was only uncultivatednd and withered grass there too. This scene extended into a dark, fuzzy area. It was like the colours over there had been mixed together, or like the resolution wasn¡¯t high enough, if it were a digital painting.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t know where they¡¯d end up if they were to head in that direction. However, his intuition had always been right. Therefore, he thought that heading back there wouldn¡¯t be a good choice. Furthermore, staying here with Wei Dong, crying with their heads buried in their arms, would aplish nothing. Therefore, he pointed to the front. ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look at that vige.¡±

    The author has something to say:

    This is a horror, unlimited flow story about running for one¡¯s life while flirting with a really handsome guy!

    Eve: New story!!! I love the interactions between MC and ML a lot~ Just to reiterate, Ke Xun is our shou and Mu Yiran is our gong. I really love the mysteries the author sets up and there¡¯s really good character development with the main cast and supporting cast as well. I love the interaction between MC and his best friend too. Warning, things can get kind of gross or scary sometimes~ Everyone¡¯s threshold is different so proceed at your own risk please~ I¡¯ll post the next chapter on Friday. <strong>Releases will be every Monday and Friday!</strong>

 Chapter 2: Thirteen People

    <h4>Chapter 2: Thirteen People</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Eve: Just updated the trigger warnings. While this novel isn¡¯t that scary imo, it does get pretty gross sometimes. I¡¯ll try to put spoiler warnings if I think something is particrly gross. But fair warning, proceed at your own risk.

    The two of them cautiously headed in the direction of the vige.

    Ke Xun¡¯s eyesight had always been very good. However, the distant vige seemed fuzzy. He could only make out a rough outline, as if what he saw before him was a low resolution picture or ancient painting.

    ¡°What do you think happened to us¡­?¡± Wei Dong walked beside him, quivering. Talking helped lessen the fear in his chest. He kept scanning side to side. ¡°Is this really not a dream? Do you think we transmigrated? Or what if we identally entered a parallel dimension? Do you think we¡¯ll be able to make it back home?¡±

    ¡°Shh. Shut up for a bit.¡± Ke Xun lowered his voice. ¡°The less we know about the situation we¡¯re in, the calmer we have to be. Did you watch all those horror films in vain?¡±

    ¡°Fuck, why does it have to be horror films? Don¡¯t scare me!¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t dare speak too loudly again. He also lowered his voice.

    Ke Xun¡¯s mind was also a mess.

    The situation before them had emerged too abruptly and was too bizarre. Anyone would be dumbfounded, faced with this.

    Wei Dong had already been scared out of his wits. They couldn¡¯t both panic¡ªone of them had to stay calm¡­or at least appear calm on the inside.

    The two of them tried to make their steps as light as possible. In the stillness of the night, every movement sounded particrly loud. Furthermore, the darkness made it difficult to make out their surroundings. It felt like there was something or some sound just waiting to appear.

    As they got closer to the vige, the scenery around them began to clear up. Shrouded in the dark night fog, decrepit houses made of mud and grass gradually appeared before their eyes.

    On the outskirts of the vige stood seven or eight people.

    ¡°There¡¯s people over there!¡± Wei Dong eximed quietly. There was surprise, fear and glee in his voice.

    The fear was because they couldn¡¯t confirm if those people were really ¡°people.¡±

    Ke Xun narrowed his eyes and took a look. The joy in his voice grew. ¡°They¡¯re human.¡±

    He had seen someone fiddling with their phone.

    The ¡°cell phone club¡± was indeed the biggest group in the world. When people drove, they¡¯d look at their phones. When people watched over their kids, they¡¯d look at their phones. When people crossed the road, they¡¯d look at their phones. After being hit by a car and falling onto the ground, the first thing people would do is look at their phone.

    Even aftering to such a weird ce, people were looking at their phones.

    However, you couldn¡¯t help but admit that wherever there were people using their phones, everything would seem to¡­matter less?

    The two of them quickened their pace and ran over to the group of people.

    ¡°Hey, buddy! Do you know what¡¯s going on? Does anyone know what¡¯s going on?¡± Wei Dong hurried to question the young man who had been looking at them the whole time.

    This was a twenty-something year-old man. He was also dressed in the same baggy white linen clothes. His hair had stayed in its original form, as had Ke Xun¡¯s and Wei Dong¡¯s. The sides of his head were shaved and he had a rather greasy pig tail tied to the back of his head.

    ¡°Nine, ten.¡± Pigtail counted. He then turned around to nce at the others. ¡°We¡¯re still missing three more so we¡¯re going to have to keep waiting.¡±

    ¡°Dude, can you give me an exnation?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    Ke Xun sized the people in the group up.

    There were both males and females. Some were old and some looked young. There was a hefty middle-aged man with a beer belly, as well as a young, nervous-looking sixteen or seventeen years old school girl.

    Without exception, everyone was dressed in these ancient-styled linen clothes.

    Just who were they?

    Pigtail nced at Wei Dong and then nced at Ke Xun. There was no expression on his face. ¡°Wait. Three more people still have to show up. I¡¯ll talk when we¡¯re all here.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun. Ke Xun gave him a look that said: let¡¯s wait and see.

    While waiting for some baffling reason, Ke Xun secretly observed his surroundings.

    First, he looked at the person who had been fiddling with his phone.

    It was a thirty-something year old man. He had on ck-framed sses and his head was perpetually lowered. The screen illuminated his face, casting a strange light on his numbed face.

    Ke Xun felt up his own clothes and found his cellphone in the pocket of his pants.

    This was even weirder. Their clothes had changed but everything he had on him was still there. Aside from his phone, he also had the key to his house and half a pack of gum.

    It was like only the style and material of his clothes had changed.

    ¡ª¡ªJust what the hell was this?

    Ke Xun unlocked his phone with his fingerprint and saw that his phone was working again. However, he had no signal.

    ¡­Fuck.

    This was the usual pattern in those dramatic movies: when you had to call for the police or someone else, your phone would have no signal. When you needed to drive away, your car would never start. When you had to open a door to escape, you¡¯d never be able to find the key quickly.

    Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Ke Xun¡¯s eyes scanned the area around him again. His eyes couldn¡¯t help but be drawn to the tallest man standing in the middle of the gaggle of people.

    This person was like a crane in the middle of a flock of chicken, not only in height, but in appearance.

    He had fair skin, handsome eyes, a cold and stern expression, and a calm aura around him. No matter how many people were in the crowd with him, anyone would notice him first.

    Even though he was wearing crude linen clothes, while other people looked like they were wearing mourning clothes, he looked like a schr of the Wei or Jin dynasty, free and dissolute.

    When this person sensed Ke Xun¡¯s gaze, he turned to cast an indifferent look in his direction before looking away, unaffected. He then gazed out into the fuzzy distance.

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t hold himself back. He looked around and then walked over to the sixteen/seventeen year old girl¡¯s side and asked her in a hushed voice, ¡°Hey, do you know what¡¯s happening here?¡±

    The female student¡¯s face paled. ¡°I don¡¯t know either¡­I just arrived¡­none of them would tell me what¡¯s going on¡­what should I do¡­I¡¯m scared¡­I¡¯m scared¡­¡± And then she began to sob.

    When Wei Dong saw that he had made her cry, he promptly patted the girl on her shoulder. ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t cry. There¡¯s so many people here, it¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s fine. Everyone will look for a way back together. Don¡¯t be afraid.¡±

    ¡°I just came to look at paintings. Why did this happen¡­?¡± The girl wiped away her tears and sobbed. ¡°My mom told me toe back soon. If it weren¡¯t for the rain, I wouldn¡¯t have gone into the art gallery. Why did this happen to me¡­? It¡¯s so¡­.¡±

    It was like she didn¡¯t dare say the word ¡®scary.¡¯ Again, she started crying.

    ¡°You were looking at paintings? You also looked at the paintings at the gallery?¡± Wei Dong asked at once.

    The girl nodded. ¡°I came in to escape the rain. If I knew that, I wouldn¡¯t havee in even if I would have gotten soaked!¡±

    ¡°Was it the Starry Sky Art Gallery?¡± Wei Dong continued asking.

    The girl nodded again.

    ¡°Did you go into the erotic paintings exhibition hall?¡± Wei Dong added.

    ¡°What?¡± The girl looked up at him, face streaked with tears.

    ¡°Um, I meant that dark exhibition hall that didn¡¯t have any windows. And all of the paintings were hard to make out, like someone had smeared shit over it or something.¡± Wei Dong made a gesture.

    The girl nodded again. ¡°It was that dark exhibition hall. As soon as I entered, the power went off. A light then suddenly lit up. After that I¡­found myself here somehow¡­.¡± She started crying again.

    Wei Dong turned to look at Ke Xun. ¡°So everyone came in the same way.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the people in front of him. There was something really weird about them.

    If everyone hade to this bizarre world in the same way, they should all be as flustered and dumbfounded as he and Wei Dong were. Even if they could suppress their panic, they would be asking questions like Wei Dong had been. They¡¯d be trying to find a usible exnation for all of this¡­. They wouldn¡¯t act like they were now. Most of the people here were very calm and quiet. It was like¡­.

    It was like they were already used to this or that they already knew what had caused this.

    Ke Xun made a signal with his eyes towards Wei Dong.

    The two of them had grown up together and their rtionship had always been very good. They had a deep tacit understanding between them. With just one look, they would be able to tell what the other was thinking.

    Wei Dong closed his mouth and quietly stood next to Ke Xun. Intentionally or otherwise, they maintained a bit of a distance between themselves and the others.

    About forty or so minutester, three people came one after another through the withered grass of the deste area outside of the vige. One of them looked rather familiar. After pondering over it, Ke Xun realized that it was the jianbing vendor who was stationed outside the art gallery.

    ¡°I had fucking gone into the gallery to take a piss, how did I end up in here?!¡± The jianbing vendor looked at the crowd of people, bewildered.

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s here.¡± Greasy pigtail ignored the three neers¡¯ questions and turned to face the rest of the crowd. ¡°We can go in now.¡±

    ¡°Where are we going? Where is this?!¡± The jianbing vendor grabbed Pigtail¡¯s arm.

    Pigtail nced at him. There was still no expression on his face. There was something eerie about his voice. ¡°We¡¯re in a painting.¡±

    ¡°¡ª¡ªA painting? What painting?¡± The jianbing vendor was baffled.

    ¡°Did you go into an art gallery? Did you enter an exhibition hall? Was there a glowing painting in the hall? Did you enter this ce soon after?¡± Pigtail asked, losing his patience.

    ¡°Yes¡­yes. So what? That painting was rather odd¡­.¡± The jianbing vendor seemed to have faintly realized something.

    ¡°You¡¯re currently inside that painting!¡± Pigtail threw the vendor off and began to follow the others withrge strides in the direction of the vige.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong who had been listening in exchanged nces.

    ¡°Is this for real¡­?¡± Wei Dong was dazed. ¡°How could we have entered a painting¡­? I don¡¯t believe it¡­.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it!¡± The three people who werest toe shouted together. ¡°How is this possible? Where is this ce? Who are you people? What do you guys want?!¡±

    No one paid them any attention. The people in the front only care about heading towards the vige.

    Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun. ¡°What should we do? Should we follow them or¡­.¡±

    Those people were weird. Who knew if it would be a good or bad thing to follow them?

    Ke Xun looked around and then grit his teeth. ¡°Let¡¯s follow them.¡±

    Two out of the three people who werest to arrive weren¡¯t willing to go. They stayed there, kicking up a big fuss. Meanwhile, the jianbing vendor rushed over to follow the crowd. He grabbed onto one of the fellows in the group at the front. ring, he shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t go! You folks better clear up the situation right now! What the heck is happening?!¡±

    The person he grabbed onto was that young man who stood out from the crowd.

    That person paused his steps and turned his head to cast the vendor an indifferent nce. ¡°We¡¯re in a painting. As to why we¡¯re in this painting, I don¡¯t know. But if you want to go back to the original world, you¡¯d best follow us.¡±

    His voice reflected him as a person. It was very cold.

    The jianbing vendor wanted to keep questioning him but the other man reached over to seize his wrist. Pained, the jianbing vendor was forced to let go.

    These people didn¡¯t seem to care whether those behind followed after or not. It was like the only reason they had waited for those forty minutes was to get enough people in the painting.

    Ke Xun counted. There were thirteen people in total.

    From what he understood from that man¡¯s words, it seemed like that man had some kind of understanding about this strange, bizarre world. Furthermore, he seemed to also know how to get back to their original world. Ke Xun thought that if he and Wei Dong wanted to leave this ce, he¡¯d have to think of a way to get acquainted with him.

    With this in mind, he chased after that person just now and started walking next to him. He turned his face to look at the man with a guileless expression on his face. With a soft voice, he said, ¡°Hey dude, look, it¡¯s the first time we¡¯ve encountered something like this. It can¡¯t be helped that we have some questions. Can you exin to us more in detail what happened? And about how we can leave this ce?¡±

    That man nced at him coolly before his gaze shifted back to the front. His tone was still as cold as before. ¡°If you want to leave here, there¡¯s only one method: live and find the signature.

    Signature?

 Chapter 3: The Broken Record Old Man

    <h4>Chapter 3: The Broken Record Old Man</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun thought that the only thing you could do when you found yourself in apletely foreign situation was to pester and follow someone. After that, just y it by ear.

    From his observations of the people in this group, Ke Xun had decided that this cold, handsome man seemed the most reliable. Therefore, he chose him.

    As they spoke, thest of theters had also started to follow along while cursing in fright. Actually, they didn¡¯t have any other choice. Aside from the little vige in front of them, the area was deste all around them. If they didn¡¯t follow everyone else into the vige, where else could they go?

    Moreover, people were herd animals. In a strange situation like this that couldn¡¯t be exined, most people would choose to find confidence in a group.

    Everyone entered the odd, grotesque vige with different thoughts.

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t tell what time it was in this ¡®painting.¡¯ When they had left the real world, it had still been morning. But the sky was dark and eerie here. The vige was covered in a sheet of ck. All the windows in the houses of the vige were constructed of wood. Some of the windows were covered in shabby paper, others had wooden boards nailed over them.

    But regardless of whether one gazed through a window or crack in the door, all that could be seen was darkness.

    He didn¡¯t know if he was seeing things, but Ke Xun felt like there was something inside, staring at him through those pitch-ck windows and seams in the door.

    As the crowd wound their way through the vige, a pale yellow light suddenly appeared in front of them. Unexpectedly, the light came from one of the houses.

    ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± Someone said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go in,¡± Someone else interjected.

    Everyone walked over. The big-bellied middle-aged uncle at the front knocked on the door.

    The wooden door creaked as it was pushed open from inside. Out came a grey-haired, wrinkly old face.

    ¡°Has everyone arrived? Come in then.¡± The old man opened the door as he spoke.

    Everyone filed in. The walls and floor were made of rammed earth. There was a single worn-out table, several long benches in the middle of the room and an oilmp on the table.

    It was extremely fitting to describe this home as ¡®a home with nothing but four bare walls¡¯ or ¡®disappointing and destitute.¡¯

    The old man stood in the room, his muddy eyes slowly sweeping over the people inside. The moment Wei Dong met eyes with the old man, a shiver ran through his spine.

    There was no warmth or focus in the old man¡¯s eyes. They were ck like that of a¡­ dead man.

    Wei Dong lowered his gaze at once. He was afraid that something bad would happen if they maintained eye contact. He only listened to the old man speak. ¡°Everyone¡¯s here. We¡¯ll divide the work now.¡±

    After saying this, the old man pulled several cloth strips out. He then extended his hand out to the crowd. ¡°We¡¯ll use this. Each person takes one.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong were confused. However, they then witnessed the people, who had entered the painting the earliest, calmly reach out to take a strip each, one after another. The two of them could only follow suit.

    The cloth strip was about an arm long and two fingers wide. It was made out of coarse hemp fibres. In the middle, there was a dark red character written in cinnabar or some other kind of pigment.

    Ke Xun¡¯s strip had the character yang written on it. Wei Dong¡¯s strip had the character gu.

    Before they had time to think about what these words meant, the old man continued speaking. ¡°Those that received the min character strips will be in charge of keeping vigil in the Li home. Those that received the qie character strips will head five li north of the vige to dig a grave. The grave must be six chi long, four chi wide and two chi deep. Those that received the gu character strips will chop firewood in the Li Family firewood room. Those that received the yang character strips will keep a watch over the Li Family¡¯s granary. Those that received the dai character strips will¡­those that received the qu character strips will¡­.¡±

    As the old man spoke, Ke Xun began to mull over these words.

    Min, qie, gu, yang, dai, qu¡­what purpose did these characters serve? It was obvious that choosing strips was meant to divide the thirteen of them into teams. However, it was difficult to rte these words to their current situation.

    After the old man finished splitting the teams, he concluded with, ¡°The Li home is situated in the northern part of the vige, just beneath the three old Chinese Schr trees. Everyone, you may begin work but remember, those that work at the Li home cannot go out at night. All right, everyone should reconvene here at eight o¡¯clock in the morning tomorrow.¡±

    After everyone heard this, they all turned to head outside. Wei Dong couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. He walked over to the old man and asked, ¡°Old man, can you tell me what¡¯s going on?¡±

    The old man¡¯s expression was grave. ¡°The Li home is situated in the northern part of the vige, just beneath the three old Chinese Schr trees. Everyone, you may begin work but remember, those that work at the Li home cannot go out at night. All right, everyone should reconvene here at eight o¡¯clock in the morning tomorrow.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­No, can you tell us where we are?¡±

    The old man: ¡°The Li home is situated in the northern part of the vige, just beneath the three old Chinese Schr trees. Everyone, you may begin work, but remember¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­Did I identally turn on your repeat function? Can¡¯t you say anything else?¡±

    The Old Man: ¡°The Li home is situated in the northern part of the vige, just beneath the three old Chinese Schr trees. Everyone, you may begin work, but remember¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong turned to look at Ke Xun. ¡°Is there aw against beating up ill-mannered old men in this painting?¡±

    Before Ke Xun could respond, Pigtail suddenly barked out augh. He walked over and nced at Wei Dong. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your energy. He¡¯s not human.¡±

    ¡°Fuck, if he¡¯s not human, what is he?!¡± Wei Dong was shocked. ¡°The spirit of a broken record?!¡±

    ¡°You can consider him like an NPC in a game. He¡¯s only responsible for exining the ¡®plot¡¯ or the rules of the ¡®game.¡¯ He can respond to certain questions. As for any other questions outside of the preset ones, he probably won¡¯t answer them.¡± Pigtail¡¯s lips curled into a mocking smile.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong exchanged nces. Ke Xun asked Pigtail, ¡°Is this ce a game or a painting?¡±

    ¡°A painting.¡± Pigtail smiled coldly. ¡°But the rules that preside over the painting are strict and precise. There¡¯s only one oue that awaits those that break the rules: death.¡±

    ¡°Death?¡± Wei Dong stared at him. ¡°Are you talking about a fake death or real death? What happens after we die? Can we go back to the real world?¡±

    ¡°You wish.¡± Pigtail mocked. ¡°If you die in the painting, you die for real. Don¡¯t ever think about going back to the real world again, if you die. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°¡ª¡ªAre you serious?!¡± Wei Dong was shocked.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you whether you believe me or not. In any case, I¡¯ve already made things clear. Don¡¯t me others when you die.¡± Pigtail looked at the strip of cloth in Wei Dong¡¯s hand, gaze impatient. ¡°It¡¯s really bad luck to be put into a group with a neer like you! Are you going or not?¡±

    ¡°Going? Going where?¡± Wei Dong was dumbfounded. He looked at Pigtail and then looked at Ke Xun.

    Pigtail rolled his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, as if trying really hard to hold back his temper. ¡°I also got the gu strip of cloth. This means that we¡¯ve been put into a team together. Therefore, you and I have to do as that old man said. We have to go to the ¡®Li home.¡¯ Do you understand?¡±

    Wei Dong asked him, ¡°If we don¡¯t do as the vige chief says, what will happen?¡±

    ¡°Did you not listen to me?¡± Pigtail was furious. ¡°If you break the rules, you¡¯ll die. Die!¡±

    ¡°Then, can we make our own teams? For example, what if I don¡¯t go chop wood or whatever with you at the Li home and instead go guard the granary with him?¡± Wei Dong pointed at Ke Xun.

    ¡°Death!¡± Pigtail roared, a fierce expression on his face.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun. ¡°What should we do?¡±

    Ke Xun rubbed his chin. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve really encountered something that can¡¯t be exined bymon sense. We probably won¡¯t be able to figure things out in a short amount of time. We might as well listen to him first. This guy seems to know something. It¡¯s better to believe him than to not. Our safety is most important.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wei Dong then asked, ¡°What about you? Who are you with?¡±

    The three of them exited the old man¡¯s house. Ke Xun thus saw someone standing at the bottom of the steps. That person was tall, and had a cold, stern expression on his ridiculously handsome face.

    The hemp strip loosely tied around that man¡¯s waist had the character yang written on it.

    Wei Dong looked at this person and then turned to look back at Pigtail, who was standing next to him. ¡°Right, what happens if we trade our strips of cloth?¡±

    ¡°Death!¡± Pigtail gnashed his teeth.

    ¡°You should be more careful. Stay alert. Safetyes first.¡± Ke Xun warned Wei Dong.

    The fellow had been an idiot since he had been young. Ke Xun was worried that he would really end up dying in this strange ce after making a bad call.

    ¡°I got it. You should also be careful.¡± Wei Dong patted him on the shoulder, worried.

    ording to the old man¡¯s arrangements, the majority of people were assigned to the ¡®Li home.¡¯ The others had already gone ahead, therefore, the four of them traveled together.

    Shortly after beginning their trek, Ke Xun turned his head around and discovered that the light in the old man¡¯s house had been extinguished at some unknown point in time. It was now identical to the surrounding houses¡ªtrapped in deathly silence and darkness.

    It was really difficult traversing the vige without any light. The dirt roads of the vige weren¡¯t even. One step would end up on hard ground and the next would sink into something soft. The grass sandals they wore were also very thin, causing them to very acutely feel every step.

    Ke Xun took a step. Suddenly, it felt like he had stepped onto someone¡¯s hand, one with very distinct joints. The sharp, slender, stiff outline of the hands¡¯ fingers clearly pressed against the bottom of his foot.

    Ke Xun jumped up quickly and ended up knocking against a tall body. When his feet touched the ground again, he could feel his own heart thudding against his chest. He involuntarily pressed a hand over his heart. It felt like if he were to remove his hand, his heart would be bloodily yanked out of his chest by that hand he had stepped on.

    ¡°¡ª¡ªWhat¡¯s wrong? You nearly scared me to death!¡± Wei Dong asked, startled.

    Ke Xun¡¯s heart was beating too fast. He couldn¡¯t speak for a moment.

    Just as he felt his palm and lips grow cold from shock, he heard the tall guy¡¯s insipid voice ring in his ears. ¡°Don¡¯t pay it any attention. Just keep walking.¡±

    It seemed like he had guessed as to why Ke Xun had suddenly jumped.

    Ke Xun made a sound of acknowledgement. He did his best not to look at the ground and simply looked straight ahead. However, a dense grey fog had enveloped this vige at some point in time. Although it was already difficult to navigate the vige, the fog made it even harder.

    ¡°Cough, right. Since we¡¯ll be teammates from now on, let¡¯s get acquainted.¡± Wei Dong seemed to have sensed something. Therefore, he made conversation as a way to bolster his courage. He stretched his hand out to Pigtail. ¡°I¡¯m Wei Dong. This is my buddy, Ke Xun.¡±

    Pigtail didn¡¯t want to shake hands with him. He just snorted, ¡°Liu Yufei.¡±

    Wei Dong turned to give his hand to the tall guy. ¡°What about you, dude?¡±

    The tall guy gave him a cold look. He didn¡¯t shake his hand either. ¡°Mu Yiran.¡±

    Wei Dong could only shake hands with Ke Xun. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±

    Ke Xun felt the cold sweat on Wei Dong¡¯s palm. He squeezed the other¡¯s hand and then let go. He then turned to ask the handsome guy named Mu Yiran a question. ¡°Can you tell us everything about the situation we¡¯re in so I won¡¯t end up a useless teammate?¡±

    The author has something to say:

    ¡¾¡ï¡ï¡ï Important Announcement ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡¿

    ¡ö The artists and paintings mentioned in this novel are fictional. Any simrities are coincidental! ¡ö

    Eve: Dkm.

    Wei Dong: ¡°What if¡ª¡±

    Liu Yufei: ¡°DEAAAAAATH¡±

 Chapter 4: Mourning Hall

    <h4>Chapter 4: Mourning Hall</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was cold and maic. It was a smooth, deep, refreshing and versatile voice. Even though he was also a guy, when Ke Xun heard him speak, he felt like the other¡¯s voice could get him pregnant.

    ¡°No one here knows what this is all about. Everyone¡¯s been sucked into this painting. The world you¡¯re currently in is the world within the painting. There¡¯s only one way to leave this world and that¡¯s to find the ¡®signature.¡¯ Furthermore, you have to make sure you survive until then.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s tone was t, as if he wasn¡¯t flustered about being in this situation.

    ¡°What¡¯s the ¡®signature?¡¯ How do we find it?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s the artist¡¯s signature,¡± Mu Yiran replied, ¡°Some painters will put their name or their initials on their painting. If it¡¯s a Chinese painting, then we might have to look for the painter¡¯s seal instead. As long as we find the painter¡¯s seal or signature, we can leave the painting world.¡±

    ¡°This is still too abstract. What¡¯s the difference between finding a signature in a full-blown world and looking for a needle in a haystack?¡± Wei Dong cut in, ¡°What if the signature is on a roof, or underneath a tile? It can¡¯t be that we¡¯d have to search every roof and tile in this world?¡±

    ¡°The location of the signature is closely rted to the contents of the painting. After you decipher the painting and obtain clues, you¡¯ll be able to find where the signature lies,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°¡­Wouldn¡¯t we have to search for a year or something?¡± Wei Dong¡¯s eyes were dull.

    Mu Yiran cast him a cool nce. ¡°Those that cannot find it after seven days will die.¡±

    .

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Both Ke Xun and Wei Dong eximed in shock, ¡°Are you serious?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe it, why don¡¯t you give it a try?¡± Pigtail¡ªLiu Yufei¡ªsneered from the side. ¡°You guys can goof off for the next seven days and see whether you die after the seven days are up.¡±

    ¡°No¡ªhow would we die? Would we suddenly fall to the ground and stop breathing or something?¡±

    There was a neurotic grin on Liu Yufei¡¯s lips. ¡°There are many ways you can die. There are many ways you can die. You might not be able to fathom all possible methods of death, but you can certainly die from any one of them.¡±

    ¡°H-how can that be¡­?¡± Wei Dong was still in a state of disbelief.

    ¡°Why have we been put in this situation?¡± Ke Xun also found it inconceivable. ¡°Who made these rules? Who decides our life or death? Who has the bizarre ability to drag living human beings into paintings?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him and said in a t voice, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°I want to go back¡­I refuse to ept this¡­I¡¯m just an ordinary person. I just want to live an ordinary life. Why did this happen to me?!¡± Wei Dong pressed his hands against his head and sunk into a state of helplessness and panic.

    The closer you get to epting your situation, the more intense your fear bes, until you finally lose your head out of fear.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Liu Yufei¡¯s mental state wasn¡¯t stable. Wei Dong¡¯s panic had aroused his own fear that he had been forcibly concealing. ¡°Calm down! If you want to die, go die, but don¡¯t drag me down with you!¡±

    His tone while saying this was filled with apprehension. He also looked left and right nervously, as if he was afraid of startling something in the dark.

    Wei Dong shut his mouth at once. When he saw how Liu Yufei¡¯s face had paled in fright, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver. He also began to peek around but the colour of the night seemed to have gotten even darker. The thick grey fog had already fully enveloped the entire vige, causing everything to be hazy. It was like there was something crouching in the vige, slowly opening its pitch-dark mouth.

    Immediately, Wei Dong lost all courage to speak. He tried to hold his breath as much as possible, doing everything he could to give Ke Xun a look.

    However, Ke Xun didn¡¯t pay him any attention. His head was currently turned as he continued his conversation with Mu Yiran, trying his best to extract as much information from the other as possible.

    ¡°How do you know about all of that? For example, how did you know that we can only leave if we find the signature or seal, or how we¡¯ll die if we can¡¯t do it in seven days. Did someone tell you that?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t look at him. He gazed at the dense fog in front of them. ¡°No one told me any of that. This is my third time going into a painting. Everything I know I learned from the previous two paintings.¡±

    ¡°Third painting?!¡± Wei Dong was astonished once again. ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°It means that even if you survive and make it out of this painting, you¡¯ll have to enter another one.¡± Liu Yufei responded, in a mocking tone. If you listened carefully, you could hear a sliver of distress in his voice.

    ¡°Why?!¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking in rm. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we could go back to the real world? Why would we have to enter another painting?!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Liu Yufei shrugged. He pointed to the sky. ¡°It¡¯s controlled by the Big Boss. We have to go in. If we don¡¯t go in, we¡¯re dead.¡±

    ¡°How would we die? Can it also manipte the real world?¡± Despair emerged in Wei Dong¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe.¡± There was a numb expression on Liu Yufei¡¯s face. ¡°In any case, it doesn¡¯t matter whether we¡¯re in the real world or the world inside a painting¡ªwe¡¯re nothing but insects before it. We are forever toyed with, whether it¡¯s by a higher power, a higher higher power, or a higher higher higher power. Despite this, as the proverb goes, even the lowly cricket and ant will cling to life. Most people would still try to think of a way to keep living, wouldn¡¯t they?¡±

    ¡°But why does it have to be me?!¡± Wei Dong tore at his own hair, ¡°I¡¯m just an ordinary person. I had been doing fine living my ordinary life. Why did it choose me to go through something like this?!¡±

    ¡°How do I put it.¡± Liu Yufei¡¯s lips curved into a mocking smile. ¡°You just have bad luck.¡±

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t speak again. When he had just entered the painting, he had still wanted to fool himself into thinking that everything was a dream, or that it was just a coincidental temporary BUG in the universe. But now, he had already epted the ¡®reality¡¯ before him.

    He couldn¡¯t utter another word. He could only hold his head between his hands helplessly and grasp tightly onto his hair as if his life depended on it. His eyes and face were full of dread, unwillingness and despair.

    ¡°Dong zi,¡± Ke Xun wrapped his arms around his friend, pressing the other tightly against his chest. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. Didn¡¯t they say we can go back to the real world? Don¡¯t be anxious. Raise your spirit. We¡¯ll definitely get back. Everything happens for a reason and every action has its consequence. I don¡¯t believe that we can¡¯t find out the source of all this. Did we y all those Nintendo games in vain as kids? Clearing levels and beating up the boss, isn¡¯t that what we¡¯re best at?¡±

    ¡°Bullshit. We get thirty lives in Contra and can gain lives by getting green mushrooms in Super Mario, but what about here? Do we get extra lives here? We¡¯re just ordinary people who have only one life. We don¡¯t even have any weapons for self-defense. Who knows when we might slip up and get a game over.¡± Wei Dong lowered his head, dejected. Butpared to before, his voice sounded a lot more spirited.

    ¡°All right, don¡¯t let your imagination run wild anymore.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s tone was calm and sounded natural. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t have weapons, we have to have courage. Even if we¡¯re like insects, if we die, we should die on the corpse of the elephant.¡±

    Mu Yiran, who had been walking next to him, turned to nce at Ke Xun and just so happened to meet eyes with the other.

    Their eyes locked onto each other. Ke Xun smiled at him. There was a hint of fearlessness and apathy reflected in the arc of his lips.

    There were all kinds of people who entered paintings. But no one knew just how long they would be able to survive.

    Mu Yiran looked away, apathetic, eyes forward once more.

    In the dense grey fog before them were three old crooked Chinese Schr trees. nted in a shabby old courtyard, the trees were absolutely still.

    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the Li home.¡± Liu Yufei sucked in a breath, his voice sounding stiff and nervous.

    Ke Xun perceptively turned to look at him. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±

    Liu Yufei didn¡¯t expect him to ask him this. He didn¡¯t dare meet Ke Xun¡¯s gaze. The corner of his lips rose. ¡°No. Let¡¯s go in.¡±

    Seeing that the other didn¡¯t want to speak, Ke Xun didn¡¯t pursue the topic.

    The door to the courtyard was slightly opened. When Liu Yufei pushed the door, it opened with a creak. However, this ear-piercing creek somehow didn¡¯t transmit very far in the deathly still night. It was like the thick fog had swallowed it up.

    As soon as they entered the courtyard, Ke Xun and Wei Dong nearly shouted in shock from what they saw. Liu Yufei also couldn¡¯t help but swear under his breath.

    The Li home was not small by any means. It was constructed as a siheyuan. There were buildings on all four sides. Right now, white curtains and long banners hung all over the three-roomed central building in the north. On either side of the central building¡¯s door wererge strings of ritual paper money and gold ingots made from folded pale yellow paper. Disyed at the entrance of the door were two pictures, one of a boy and one of a girl. The children were dressed in brightly-coloured clothes and were smiling with bright eyes.

    It looked like a mourning hall.

    ¡°What the fuck? Fuck¡ªFuck!¡± Wei Dong was trembling all over. Liu Yufei¡¯s expression also warped. Ke Xun looked around and saw that the only person who was still calm in their group of four was Mu Yiran. However, he could see a hint of gravity and vignce in the other¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°No wonder we¡¯re wearing these kinds of clothes.¡± Liu Yufei looked down at his body.

    These were obviously mourning clothes. Ke Xun felt miserable. He wanted to take these clothes off and throw them onto the ground. However, he remembered that he was naked underneath these clothes so he could only give up on that idea.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Mu Yiran gave Ke Xun a cool nce.

    Those that received strips of cloth with the character yang on it were to guard the Li Family¡¯s granary.

    Ke Xun scanned their surroundings. He noticed that there was a room in the courtyard¡¯s west wing that had a white piece of paper with the word ¡®grain¡¯ written on it in ck.

    Meanwhile, on a door on the south side, there was a simr white sheet of paper with a ck ¡®firewood¡¯ written on it. Wei Dong and Liu Yufei, who had chosen the gu character were to chop firewood in the firewood room.

    Wei Dong stuttered out curses quietly. The firewood room directly faced the door to the mourning hall in the north wing. The paper boy and girl were smiling at the door to the firewood room.

    ¡°Dong zi, be careful.¡± Ke Xun grabbed Wei Dong¡¯s shoulders and whispered into his ears. ¡°There should be axes in the firewood room. Hold one in your hand and stay alert. Don¡¯t fall asleep. If anything happens, call for me. If nothing else, run out into the courtyard.¡±

    ¡°G-got it¡­you should also be careful¡­.¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice shook. He then headed to the firewood room alongside Liu Yufei with extreme reluctance.

    Ke Xun also followed Mu Yiran to the granary room in the west wing. They pushed open the door and entered. A mixed scent of dust and rotten cereals attacked his nose.? Ke Xun choked on the scent, pinching his nose as he retreated to the entrance.

    Mu Yiran acted like he couldn¡¯t smell it. He walked right in and pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. He then unlocked his phone and used the light of his screen to illuminate the room. There were more than ten sacks of different sizes piled up in one corner of the room. The window was made of solid wood. Tightly shut, it probably wouldn¡¯t let even a sliver of light in. Of course, it was even darker inside the room right now since it was currently nighttime.

    ¡°Come in and close the door.¡± Mu Yiran turned to look at Ke Xun.

    ¡°Let¡¯s air it out first. Not even a mouse can survive such a stench,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Come in and shut the door.¡± Mu Yiran repeated coldly, unmoved.

    ¡°¡­Are you also a reincarnated broken record?¡± Ke Xun sighed. He then walked in and shut the door.

    ¡°Put the wooden bar through it too.¡± Mu Yiran continued in his icy voice.

    ¡°Have you ever heard of the saying ¡®enmeshed in a trap of one¡¯s own devising?¡¯ If I put that bar in, it¡¯ll be hard for us to escape if anything were to happen.¡± Ke Xun tilted his head and looked at the other.

    ¡°Did you think it¡¯d be safer outside?¡± Mu Yiran sneered coldly.

    Ke Xun was taken aback. He then silently set the bar in ce across the door.

    Mu Yiran turned off his phone and the darkness befell the room. There was nothing but the putrid stench of dust and rot that made it hard to breath. The scent felt nearly tangible.

    ¡°What next?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°We wait.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice sounded extra deep and chilly in the darkness.

    ¡°Just¡­wait?¡± Ke Xun took two steps forward and discovered that it was really way too dark. It made him feel like he was in space. It felt like he was on the verge of falling into a ck hole with every step he took. He didn¡¯t feel steady at all.

    He pulled out his phone and unlocked it. With the light of his screen, he found where Mu Yiran was positioned. The other was actually sitting on top of the sacks in the corner of the room. He was leaning against the wall, seemingly resting his eyes.

    ¡°So we¡¯re just going to wait like this? We don¡¯t have to do anything?¡± Ke Xun walked over and asked.

    ¡°You can also sleep.¡± Mu Yiran didn¡¯t open his eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t we have to look for a signature or seal in here?¡± Ke Xun squatted down next to Mu Yiran and used the screen¡¯s light to illuminate the other¡¯s face.

    Looking at it from such a close distance, he discovered that the other¡¯s skin was seriously ridiculously good. The other¡¯s features looked even profounder under the light of his screen. He was like a sculpture that had undergone meticulous polishing.

    ¡°If it was that easy to find, people wouldn¡¯t die in paintings.¡± Because of the light against his face, Mu Yiran furrowed his brows slightly. ¡°I advise you to save your phone battery. Use it only when you must. There¡¯s nowhere to charge it inside paintings. And you¡¯re going to have to stay here for seven days. Of course, if you want to die tonight, you can use it as much as you like.¡±

    Ke Xun turned his phone off at once. He then went to sit next to Mu Yiran on the sacks. ¡°Look at you, how much must you hate me? What, will you get to live longer if you curse me into dying an early death?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t pay him any more attention.

    Ke Xun was silent for a long time. In such utter darkness, all he could hear was Mu Yiran¡¯s quiet breathing. Meanwhile, he couldn¡¯t hear anything outside the granary.

    He actually really wanted to know more about those three people who had gotten the strips of cloth with min written on it. ording to the old man¡¯s arrangements, they were on night-watch.

    If it was a night-watch, it definitely meant that they had to stand vigil in the mourning hall.

    Inside the central building covered in curtains and funeral banners¡­was there a corpse?

    Eve: Ke Xun¡¯s and Wei Dong¡¯s friendship is so pure.

 Chapter 5: ã€ŠThe Funeralã€‹

    <h4>Chapter 5: ¡¶The Funeral¡·</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Eve: Locust trees has been changed to Chinese Schr trees. I realized that it wasn¡¯t actually in the locust tree family (they¡¯re in a different genus). They¡¯re actually Chinese Schr trees/Japanese Pagoda trees.

    Darkness and silence could always leave one unsettled.

    Ke Xun was worried about Wei Dong. He mulled over it before asking Mu Yiran beside him, ¡°Will anything happen to me if I were to go check up on the firewood room right now?¡±

    A moment passed before Mu Yiran spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t know if anything will happen to you. What I do know is that thest person who ran all over the ce at night died, leaving only their skull behind.¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± Ke Xun leaned back against the sacks. However, he didn¡¯t want for the previous silence to persist as it had felt like they were doing nothing but waiting for death. Rather than die in silence, he¡¯d rather chat about death amidst the quiet. ¡°I remember that you told me that this is the third painting you¡¯ve entered. Can you tell me about how you found the signatures or seals in thest two paintings?¡±

    ¡°Not interested.¡± Mu Yiran didn¡¯t give him any face.

    ¡°¡­You have no team spirit,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°Another helping hand will make the situation more hopeful. You wouldn¡¯t want me dragging you down, right?¡±

    A momentter, Mu Yiran replied, ¡°There¡¯s no pattern to it. It¡¯s pointless even if I did tell you.¡±

    As soon as the words left his mouth, Mu Yiran felt one of his ears heat up slightly. The youngster next to him had none of the self-awareness people had for strangers. He hade in very close to whisper into Mu Yiran¡¯s ear. The other asked in a grave tone, ¡°Then where do you think this painting¡¯s seal is? Do you have any ideas?¡±

    Mu Yiran frowned. He had never met anyone who would act so overly friendly on a first meeting.

    He sat up straight and replied in an icy voice, ¡°If you can stay quiet, then maybe I¡¯ll get an idea soon.¡±

    ¡°Then let me ask onest question.¡± This fellow obviously had some thick skin. ¡°If we stay inside this room for the entire night, will we really be safe?¡±

    Mu Yiran fell silent for a moment. When he saw that the youngster was waiting patiently for his answer, he said, ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee.. It depends on the painting¡¯s contents and where we currently are. Typically speaking, the most dangerous ce in a painting? is the focal point of the world. A painting will have a focus, as well as secondary objects thatprise the background for the purpose of supporting the focus. If you and I just so happen to be at the most important ce in this painting, then it¡¯s highly likely that we¡¯ll die tonight.¡±

    Ke Xun was quiet for a while before responding. ¡°From what I see right now, I don¡¯t think the granary we¡¯re in is the focal point. Anyone with eyes can see that it¡¯s¡­the mourning hall.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s tone was t. ¡°If we go by how humans tend to think, then most people would think that the mourning hall is the focus of the courtyard. However, if we were to look at the whole painting, the mourning hall may not be the most important and prominent feature. If you can deduce the concept or intention the painter had for the painting with one nce, then it can only be considered a ¡®good painting¡¯ at most. It would not necessarily be hailed as a peerless work of art.¡±

    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that, even if the mourning hall seems like the focus of the painting, the intention or concept of the art may not necessarily be found in the mourning hall, but rather it could also be located at the old locusts trees in the courtyard or that old man¡¯s home¡­or perhaps even the granary we¡¯re in.¡± Ke Xun mulled over this. ¡°We have to figure out the real focus point based on the painting¡¯s intention, right?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Mn.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right, what¡¯s this painting about anyway?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see it when you entered the painting?¡± Mu Yiran asked back.

    ¡°I was startled. There was no way I¡¯d think about looking at it. Even if I did see it, I would have ended up scared into forgetting it,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°All I remember was that it was dark and fuzzy. There was also some greyish white thing in the middle.¡±

    Mu Yiran fell silent. Ke Xun thought that the other was probably looking down on him inwardly. A little whileter, he heard the other man say, ¡°This painting is called ¡®The Funeral.¡¯ It was created by a painter named Li Haojing. He has a preference for creating paintings depicting different human cultures. When he was young, he travelled all over and used his brush to create records of different customs from all sorts of ces. This painting is one of those. This painting depicts a funeral held in a remote mountain vige. The overall tone of the painting is dark and extremely tense. It shows¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s words came to a halting stop. Ke Xun was about to question him when he felt a hand fly up to his mouth, covering his lips. The palm of that hand was dry and slightly cold. There was also the faint scent of soap.

    Ke Xun had reflexively wanted to dodge. However, when he came back to himself, the gears in his heads turned and he immediately decided to abandon that action. Motionless, he let the other man cover his mouth.

    The room once again sank into a pin-drop silence. Perhaps it was because the darkness heightened all his other senses, but Ke Xun could faintly hear some abnormal sounds of movement. They seemed toe from the courtyard outside the room they currently upied.

    He held his breath and strained his ears to listen to the sounds more carefully. The noises became more clear. Crackle, rustle, it sounded like¡­the crinkling of paper.

    Ke Xun thought of the paper money and ingots that had been hanging outside the mourning hall in the central building.

    The noise was so loud¡­did a strong wind kick up outside?

    No, that wasn¡¯t right. This was the sound of something moving.

    It was neither fast nor slow. There was no attempt at concealing the noise. Something was gradually heading towards the granary, apanied by the crackling sound of paper.

    It sounded like someone was sloppily dragging arge sheet of cardboard along the floor.

    But it also sounded like someone was wearing clothes made of paper and their paper-covered limbs were rubbing against its torso as they walked slowly.

    ¡ª¡ªPaper clothes?! Paper¡ªpaper doll?!

    Ke Xun was rmed. He thought back to the colourful boy and girl that had been drawn on the paper outside the mourning hall.

    Was someone moving them?

    Wei Dong was in the firewood room which was directly in front of the mourning hall!

    Ke Xun pulled Mu Yiran¡¯s hand off of himself. He wanted to get up but Mu Yiran suddenly reached over to grab his arm. Ke Xun wanted to throw him off but the other twisted him around and he ended up pressed faced down, unable to move an inch.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking to die.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was quiet against his ear, a biting chillced through.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Ke Xun was about to speak when a hard knee pressed down against his neck, causing him to nearly choke. He only managed to spit out one word.

    Fuck, this guy was trained in martial arts.

    A wise man submits to his circumstances. Ke Xun stopped trying to move and let Mu Yiran hold him in ce.

    The noises outside got louder. The rustling sound had already reached the window of the room they were in. Suddenly, the noise stopped. For a moment, there were no sounds of movement.

    Ke Xun subconsciously looked towards the window. The window was made of wood so no light came through. Regardless of whether it was inside or outside the room, it was pitch-ck. Therefore, he shouldn¡¯t have been able to see anything when he looked over.

    And yet, an eye suddenly appeared on the window, splitting the darkness and forming a crack in the wood.? Through this crack, the eye could peer into the room.

    It wasn¡¯t the eye of a living human, or rather, it didn¡¯t look like the eye of a real person.

    The eye was drawn atop of paper¡ªck ink of white paper. The drawing was very simple. It was just one eye. It was an almond-shaped eye with a jet-ck pupil. There was a single, thin, curved line drawn atop of the eye. It was probably supposed to represent the eyebrow.

    Ke Xun rejoiced at the fact that Mu Yiran¡¯s knee was still pressed down against his neck. Otherwise, he might have let out a shout from the sudden fright.

    He didn¡¯t know how it was possible for him to so clearly see the eye in this pitch-ck room. There was no light source inside or outside the room. And yet, he could clearly make out the eye through the crack in the window. Right now, it was motionlessly staring at him .

    A drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead. He held his breath.

    That eye was currently looking at him. The paper doll outside was currently looking at him.

    Mu Yiran behind him was also still. The two of them and the paper doll outside the room were all fixed in ce, sinking into a strange deadlock.

    Who knows how long this deadlocksted? Perhaps itsted for a long time, or perhaps it onlysted a few seconds. Just as Ke Xun felt like his brain would go numb, the paper doll¡¯s eye disappeared. The painting¡¯s world in front of them once again fell into infinite darkness.

    Ke Xun was about to sigh in relief when he saw a finger abruptly jab through the slit the eye used to be at. The finger was deathly white but the nails were ink-ck. It scraped against the wood window. Upon closer inspection, Ke Xun realized that the finger had a really odd shape. It was rectangr and t¡ªit was a finger drawn on paper!

    Fuck!¡ªstartled, Ke Xun cursed inwardly. Since when was paper so aggressive?!

    Before his thought passed, the finger began to exert more strength, scrapping vigorously against the window. The ear-piercing scratching noise echoed throughout the room. It sounded like the wood would soon splinter from the paper doll¡¯s scratching.

    ¡ª¡ªIt¡¯s going toe in! Ke Xun started struggling when he realized this. He couldn¡¯t let ite in, he had to do something to stop it!

    Contrary to his expectations, Mu Yiran¡¯s hold on his hands tightened. Although Ke Xun was rather strong, he was unexpectedly unable to do anything under Mu Yiran¡¯s restraint.

    He was about to use all his strength to struggle free when he felt Mu Yiran lean over. The other hissed in his ears very quietly, ¡°Don¡¯t move! You won¡¯t be able to stop it.¡±

    ¡­Well, he couldn¡¯t just wait for death either. ?Ke Xun wriggled his neck, wanting to sh Mu Yiran a look of disapproval. But before he could turn his head around, Mu Yiran spoke again, ¡°Listen, if ites in, do not move. If ites near, hold your breath. That is, unless you want to die.¡±

    Ke Xun gave up resisting. Compared to himself, Mu Yiran had already experienced two paintings before. Of course, another important factor that contributed to this decision was that the other was stronger than him. Currently, he was still in the other¡¯s hold. His butt was up in the air and he was lying on the floor.

    Ke Xun shifted his head and decided that he might as well pillow his head on the knee Mu Yiran had on the floor next to him.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­.¡±

    In the darkness, the wood-scratching sound persisted. The sound of sharp paper against blunt wood caused his teeth to ache and raised both goosebumps and the hairs on his body.

    He forced himself to endure it. Seconds felt like years. Suddenly, there was a rustle behind him followed by a heavy thump. Because they had sat on the sacks in the corner of the room earlier, they had managed to loosen them. One of them had actually fallen onto the ground.

    Following the heavy thump, a silence befell both the room and outside. Ke Xun looked up and saw that the finger had disappeared from the crack in the window. But a secondter, the window was suddenly heavily pounded upon. The sound was horrifying. It sounded like a heavy-set man was mming his huge fist against the window.

    ¡ª¡ª¡°The BOSS has gone out of control!¡± was Ke Xun¡¯s first thought. He raised his head as if to ask Mu Yiran what they should do. He then felt the other release him and say in a very quiet voice, ¡°Remember what I just said. Don¡¯t move.¡±

    Don¡¯t move? Wouldn¡¯t he be helplessly awaiting death then? Ke Xun hesitated for a moment. In the end, he lowered his head¡­right back onto Mu Yiran¡¯s knee.

    He¡¯ll trust this man just this once. He¡¯d put his life in his hands.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s body stiffened imperceptibly. His hand was extended, ready to push Ke Xun off, but he ended up slowly retracting it a momentter.

    The shabby wood window could not withstand the force of the attack in the end. With a bang, it splintered into innumerable tiny pieces.

    Ke Xun remembered what Mu Yiran had said. He didn¡¯t dare move. He could only try his best to look up.

    Outside the window, the paper doll in the shape of a boy silently stood in ce. Its distinct features carried a lifeless smile as it stared at the two people in the room with its dead eyes.

    Eve: ¡­KX putting his head on MYR¡¯s knee I¡ª

 Chapter 6: Paper Doll

    <h4>Chapter 6: Paper Doll</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    The paper doll boy dressed in brightly-coloured clothes grabbed hold of the window sill and slowly climbed into the room, apanied by the sound of crinkling paper.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t dare to move at all. His gaze was on the darkness in front of him.

    The sound of paper rustling gradually came closer, bringing with it a bone-chilling breeze from the window.

    As the sound approached, the prating cold intensified. Suddenly, the taste and scent of ash filled his nose and mouth.

    It wasn¡¯t like the ash of incense or cigarettes. Mixed inside was the suffocating smell of tar, rot and¡­the ashes of a cremated body.

    Ke Xun felt his throat tighten. He bit down hard on his tongue and forced down his urge to cough. Inevitably, a slight shudder racked throughout his body. A secondter, colourful paper pants appeared in his line of view.

    Ke Xun could hear the crackling of paper above his head. Rustle, rustle. The closer it got, the louder it sounded. It felt like both the chill and scent of ash were tangible and were pressing down on him, smothering him. There was a painful sensation, like something was being pumped into his body, filling it up until he would burst.

    The room was so silent it was terrifying. There was nothing but the extremely bizarre sounds of the paper doll¡¯s movement.

    Mu Yiran beside Ke Xun was like a rock,pletely still. For a moment, it felt like the two of them had been abandoned by the world. Right now, no one could save them. No one could help them. They were powerless and alone, with no choice but to despair and helplessly wait as a horrible death descended upon them.

    From the sounds of the paper doll¡¯s movement, it sounded like it was currently above Ke Xun¡¯s head. Ke Xun didn¡¯t know what this thing wanted to do, but what he did know was that he had no power to fight it.

    From the corner of his eyes, he saw the paper doll¡¯s red lips slowly appear. What followed after was its nose that had been sketched with ck ink. Just as the two almond-shaped eyes were about to meet his own, Ke Xun suddenly remembered Mu Yiran¡¯s words. At once, he held his breath.

    The paper doll¡¯s entire face was now in view. It had blush on its cheek and a red dot between its thin, curved eyebrows. Its two ink-drawn eyes were directly in front of Ke Xun¡¯s own, the pupils akin to a haphazard scribble made by a ck pen. Being stared at by this pair of painted eyes made Ke Xun feel like all his bones had turned so cold they would soon crack and break through his skin.

    The paper doll simply stared into Ke Xun¡¯s eyes at an extremely close distance. A deathly stillness once again befell the room. It was as if there were no living humans in the quiet dark, like all there was left were three motionless paper dolls.

    ¡ª¡ªPaper dolls?

    So it was like this!

    Ke Xun suddenly understood what Mu Yiran had been getting at.

    If they were still and didn¡¯t breathe, wouldn¡¯t they be just like a paper doll? Like this, the paper doll in front of him wouldn¡¯t be able to differentiate between whether he was a human or a paper doll. Therefore, it would hesitate to do unthinkable things to them.

    However, Ke Xun was just about to hit his limit of holding his breath. Even if his lung capacity was greater than the average human, he still couldn¡¯t hold his breath for too long. He could only hope that the paper doll would leave soon. Otherwise¡­.

    Although Ke Xun was at his limit, the paper doll still stood in ce in front of him, showing no signs of movement. Its two dead, ck eyes stared at Ke Xun¡¯s face.

    I can¡¯t hold it in anymore.¡­ Ke Xun was in terrible pain. He felt dizzy from theck of oxygen. It felt like the veins in his head would soon copse.

    It was said that no human could die from suffocation by holding their breath.

    Ke Xun thought that they were right.

    No matter how strong one¡¯s willpower was, it could never ovee one¡¯s physiological functions.

    Just as Ke Xun¡¯s willpower was about to lose to his body¡¯s reflexes, he suddenly heard a devastated, blood-curdling scream from the north wing¡¯s central building. Soon after, another two or three people cried out. That shrilling scream could not have been made by a person. When he heard it, Ke Xun could feel the goosebumps forming on his arms.

    The moment the scream had sounded, the paper doll in front of Ke Xun had stood up. The ink face disappeared from Ke Xun¡¯s sight. Soon after, there was the sound of paper crinkling and the brightly-coloured pants began to move. Step by step, it disappeared into the darkness.

    Based on where the direction the sound was going, it seemed like the paper doll had climbed out through the window. After that, all its movements were covered up by the incessant wretched callsing from the central building¡¯s direction.

    Ke Xun¡¯s body was drenched in cold sweat as he gasped for air.

    Although it was difficult to believe, just now, he had been face-to-face with some bizarre supernatural entity and had nearly been killed by it.

    Now, he truly believed that this was all real.

    When he felt Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze on him, Ke Xun raised a hand while still gasping and made an ¡°OK¡± gesture.

    Mu Yiran looked at him weirdly.

    The other had nearly died just now but still had the frame of mind to tell other people ¡°I¡¯m still OK, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Who knew if it was because hecked a fear of death or if it was because he was adept at staying calm.

    Mu Yiran stood up, ignoring him.

    Ke Xun also crawled up to his feet and cautiously peered outside through the window.

    The courtyard outside was still pitch-ck but they could faintly make out the outline of the central building. Standing in front of the central building¡¯s door was the paper boy and paper girl. The paper dolls had their backs to Ke Xun and Mu Yiran as they faced the central building, as if they were listening for signs of movement inside.

    The blood-curdling, trepidation-inducing screams had already quieted down. Ke Xun remembered who the three people who had received the min strips of cloth were. One of them was a middle-aged, beer-bellied uncle. He was a hefty man and looked like a wealthy, sessful man. Another one was a twenty-something year old man who had been wearing a numbed expression, as if he had already epted his fate. Thest person had been one of the three people who had entered the painting after Wei Dong and himself. That person had beenpletely ovee with fear and panic.

    Based on how miserable their screams had been, it was very unlikely that things boded well for these three people.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t know how to feel. A few hours ago, these three people had still been alive. Now, their right to exist had been stolen by some extremely difficult to exin, terrifying power inside that horrifying building just steps away from him.

    It wasn¡¯t like Ke Xun had never seen death before, but he had never seen death like this, unexined and manipted by an unnatural force. It just made him feel really unwell.

    He didn¡¯t know if he felt unresigned, indignant, afraid, or just lost.

    Mu Yiran appraised this neer with cold eyes.

    In thest painting he had entered, one of the neers had been scared out of his wits after experiencing another person¡¯s death. That person had pissed his pants and wailed. He had nearly caused Mu Yiran to die with him.

    There had also been another neer who had chosen tomit suicide.

    Aside from these examples, there had been many other reactions, such as being scared silly, or being scared into insanity. There had also been people who believed that they could prevail over everything and had thus rushed out impetuously to their deaths.

    Right now, the emotions the person before him showed were no different from that of the neers he had met in the past.

    Weakness and cowardice in the world within the painting meant death without any doubt.

    Mu Yiran was about to avert his indifferent gaze when he saw the other suddenly rub a hand along his face. The other man also quickly calmed down. He licked the corner of his lips that carried an innate free-spirited curve. Through his unruly gaze, Mu Yiran could see an unyielding spirit.

    For some people, it wasn¡¯t that they were not afraid of death. It was just that even if they were to die, they would want to go down fighting.

    Mu Yiran shifted his gaze away but Ke Xun had alreadye back to his side. The other whispered, ¡°Do you think that those two paper dolls wille back once the mourning hall falls quiet?¡±

    He would probably not be as lucky if he were to have to hold his breath again.

    Mu Yiran was silent for a while, seemingly thinking. He then quietly replied, ¡°From what we just saw, my idea was right. As long as we don¡¯t move or breathe, the paper doll¡¯s won¡¯t attack us. Furthermore, I think that they might not even try to sound us out if they can¡¯t see us.¡±

    Ke Xun thought that this made sense. In the beginning, the paper doll had only walked around outside calmly. It was only when it had looked in through the window and heard the sound of the sack falling, that it had gone berserk, smashing the window and climbing in.

    Therefore, if they couldn¡¯t see any ¡®humans¡¯ inside the room, would they note in?

    ¡°Let¡¯s move the sacks in the corner of the room and hide behind them.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice sounded next to his ear. ¡°Remember, keep your movements light. Don¡¯t make any sounds.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    The two of them felt their way through the darkness, slowly advancing towards the corner of the room. Fortunately, they were not far from it. They then bent over to pick up the sacks and carefully moved them over.

    There weren¡¯t all that many sacks. It was definitely not enough to make a small fort the two of them could sit behind. They tried several different configurations and finally settled with lying next to each other on their sides. They also ced sacks over their bodies to cover themselves up.

    Although they could hide themselves fully from view this way, this also meant that they could not see the situation outside either. There was no way to monitor the paper doll¡¯s movements. If the paper dolls were to attack them, the two of them would be unable to defend or escape.

    On the other hand, if they were to leave a crack, that might be the cause of the paper doll¡¯s attack.

    In the end, they decided on forgoing escape. If this method could not stop the paper dolls, then their other methods would be just as useless. They¡¯d die no matter what they did and would just have to ept their fates.

    The two of them thus lied on their sides underneath the sack fort.

    The space was very tight. Even though they were on their sides, it was still very cramped. Mu Yiran was unwilling toy face-to-face with Ke Xun so he turned to face the room. Ke Xun didn¡¯t care as much and stuck closely to Mu Yiran¡¯s back.

    The sack fort seemed to divide the world into two. Although the world the two of them shared was cramped, it was because it was cramped that they felt a bit of a sense of security.

    But when the outside world was once again entrenched in silence, the two worlds once again fused into one. The sliver of security they had felt had also disappeared without a trace.

    The two of them lied on their sides, as still as possible, trying to keep their breaths as light as possible. A momentter, the sounds hidden by the darkness gradually broke through the silence, slowly growing more clear. There was the sound of the thick fog moving through the night, the howling of the wind and even the rusting of paper against the breeze.

    Ke Xun had no idea how he managed to make it through the night.

    He also felt like the reason he¡¯d fallen asleep midway through the night hadn¡¯t been because he had been sleepy, but because he had lost consciousness from having been strung too tensely.

    When they walked out of the granary and into the dawn light, the sky was still one of grey and gloom. The entrance to the central building was the same as it had been yesterday. The paper boy and girl still stood in their original positions, facing the courtyard with smiling faces.

    The door and windows of the central building were tightly shut, making it difficult to imagine what it was like inside. But Ke Xun didn¡¯t care about the central building. He sprinted to the firewood room and pounded against the door. ¡°Dong zi! Dong zi! Are you okay? Dong zi!¡±

    The longer he pounded against the door, the more fearful he became. Even after waiting for a long period of time, he could not hear any signs of movement inside the firewood room.

    Eve: Dun dun dun~

 Chapter 7: The Death of Those Who Watched over the Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 7: The Death of Those Who Watched over the Coffin</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun¡¯s heart filled with fear and trepidation. He threw off Mu Yiran¡¯s hold and kicked against the door to the firewood room heavily.

    A loud bang, and the door opened, mming against the interior wall as dust scattered into the air. Ke Xun barged in with long strides and found Wei Dong and Pigtail¡ªLiu Yufei¡ª inside, each holding a hatchet in their arms. They were both curled up against the corner of the room, heads burrowed together, motionless.

    ¡°Dong zi¡ª¡± Ke Xun cried out. He didn¡¯t notice that his voice had been trembling.

    Wei Dong smacked his lips twice and then shifted his body into another position.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    He was asleep.

    This fellow seemed really fricking unperturbed.

    Ke Xun walked over and kicked Wei Dong¡¯s leg. Wei Dong opened his eyes and felt for the hatchet in his arms in a flurry. When he realized that it was just Ke Xun, he sighed in heavy relief and shouted, ¡°What? Why¡¯d youe over? Did something happen?¡±

    ¡°What are you yelling for?¡± Ke Xun kicked the other again, the fear still in his system. ¡°Why were you in such a deep sleep? You didn¡¯t even wake up even though I was pounding so hard against the door.¡±

    Wei Dong pulled out rolled up pieces of cloth from his ears. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°¡­Why did you stick those into your ears?¡± Ke Xun was speechless.

    ¡°Fuck, I was scared, ah!¡± Wei Dong stood up, a furious expression on his face. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear itst night? I nearly pissed my pants listening to those screamsst night. Neither or us dared to go outside. We were scared shitless just from listening to their cries. If we¡¯re going to have to die anyway, then we might as well die in peace.¡±

    As he spoke, Liu Yufei beside him also woke up. Hisplexion looked terrible. He then nced at Mu Yiran, who was standing at the door. ¡°How many died?¡±

    Mu Yiran shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go see.¡± Liu Yufei dumped his axe and headed outside.

    ¡°Hey¡ªare you crazy? Isn¡¯t there some kind of hell-spawn in there? You want to go take a look?¡±? Wei Dong pulled him back.

    ¡°What did I tell youst night?¡± Liu Yufei flung off Wei Dong¡¯s hold, losing his patience. ¡°Even though this is a world inside a painting, supernatural urrences still have to be in ordance to the painting¡¯s logic. This is a painting of some kind of Chinese funeral. Under this kind of setting, the ¡®hell-spawn¡¯ typically won¡¯t appear during the day.¡±

    ¡°¡­Makes sense.¡± Wei Dong looked pensive. He then gazed at Ke Xun, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I also want to go take a look,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Human fear mostly stemmed from the unknown. The more one learned about something, the less one would fear it.

    When they exited the firewood room, they saw several peoplee out from the eastern rooms. None of their expressions were good as they silently stood in the courtyard, gazes fixed on the mourning hall before them.

    Ke Xun saw that the old jianbing vendor was amongst them. The other¡¯s face was as pale as a sheet of nk paper and his legs were trembling uncontrobly. When Ke Xun got close, he realized that there was the scent of urine around the old man.

    However, no oneughed at him.

    A man who appeared to be in his thirties scanned through the crowd and then pointed at the central building¡¯s door. His voice was rich and mellow as he asked, ¡°Shall we go in and take a look?¡±

    Only two of three people nodded. It was obvious that it was not the first time these people had entered paintings.

    A raspy wail escaped from the throat of the jianbing vendor. ¡°Don¡¯t¡ªdon¡¯t open that door! Have you gone insane?! There¡¯s a ghost in there! A ghost! You¡¯ll let the ghost out! Do you want to die?! I don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to die! Ahh¡ª¡±

    The old man seemed to fall apart. He turned around and rushed out of the courtyard, disappearing into the grey, early morning fog.

    ¡°¡­Will he be okay?¡± Wei Dong asked Liu Yufei.

    He had eaten jianbing from that old vendor many times before. The jianbing was tasty and the serving size was sizable. He didn¡¯t want anything to happen to the vendor.

    ¡°What did I tell you yesterday?!¡± Liu Yufei red at Wei Dong. He didn¡¯t want to pay him any attention. He simply walked into the central building with the mellow-voiced man and the others who had nodded earlier.

    ¡°What did he say to you yesterday?¡± Ke Xun asked Wei Dong.

    ¡°How would I remember? I forgot a long time ago.¡± Wei Dong made a pained expression. There was ayer of cold sweat on his forehead.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside first.¡± Ke Xun pointed to the central building¡¯s room.

    When he passed the paper doll boy and girl, Ke Xun¡¯s steps halted.

    Right now, they seemed inconsequential, but that wasn¡¯t how they werest night.

    Ke Xun quickly swept his gaze over the paper doll boy. The crudely drawn face was the same exact? face that had been millimetres away from his own the previous night. It was the same curved crescent eyebrows, little red lips curled in a smile and almond-shaped lifeless? eyes.

    After passing the paper dolls, Ke Xun was about to take a step through the door when he saw Mu Yiran, who was standing at the entrance, turn to look at him. ¡°It¡¯s not a pretty sight inside. Think it over beforeing in.¡±

    Ke Xun raised a brow and then turned to Wei Dong beside him. ¡°Do you want to see it?¡±

    Wei Dong shook his head vehemently. ¡°No! I¡¯m scared I¡¯ll have nightmares.¡±

    The corner of Ke Xun¡¯s lips rose. ¡°We¡¯re basically stuck in a nightmare right now. If you¡¯re not going to go look at it, go stand over there.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to go look?¡± Wei Dong was surprised.

    Ke Xun nodded. ¡°I have to see it. I have to know why they and how they died. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to put it down.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­do¡­you want me to go in with you?¡± Wei Dong looked miserable but willing to apany him.

    ¡°No,¡± Ke Xun shoved him, ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people inside anyway. Get a bit further away. Did you pee yet?¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­No.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Go pee then.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Okay.¡±

    When he saw Wei Dong was a few metres away, Ke Xun turned his head back around and ended up meeting Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze.

    Seeing that the other didn¡¯t look away, Ke Xun walked forward and smiled. ¡°The reason you stopped me from entering the firewood room that Dong zi and Liu Yufei were in was because you were afraid that I¡¯d be upset from seeing something I couldn¡¯t ept, right? Is this what they called being ¡®cold on the outside and warm on the inside?¡¯¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t answer him and walked into the room. Ke Xun went over and reached out to pat the other on the shoulder. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    His voice abruptly cut off when he saw the situation in the room.

    The central building indeed held the mourning hall in which the wake was taking ce. All over the room, one could see hanging curtains, banners, and paper ingots and money. In the middle was a white character written on a ck background¡ªinrge font, the character ¡®dian¡¯.

    A coffin that had been painted ck was ced in the centre of the room. There were no incense or offerings ced in front of the coffin. In front of the altar, there were two praying mats ced on the floor. There was also a copper basin used for burning paper offerings.

    The three people who had cloth strips with the character min tied around their waists were all in different positions.

    Their clothes were untouched,pletely undamaged. There didn¡¯t seem to be any wounds on their body, until you looked at their faces. Where there were supposed to be eyes, there were only two bloody holes. Dark blood slid down their deathly white faces that had all been twisted into grotesque expressions. Their mouths were also opened wide¡ªalthough it was unknown if they were opened out of fear or because they had been screaming¡ªrevealing the dark hole that was their throat and white, blood-soaked teeth.

    A few people were so startled by these terrifying faces that they couldn¡¯t help but let out hushed cries. One person even turned around and left the building.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to look at the corpses anymore after one nce. In contrast, he saw that the thirty-something year old man had walked over the corpses. He squatted down to carefully examine them.

    Ke Xun¡¯s attention was on the coffin.

    Although the city in which he resided in the real world now used cremation, he had seen coffins on TV. He suddenly paused while examining the coffin and went to tug on Mu Yiran¡¯s arm. He whispered into the other¡¯s ear, ¡°Look at the coffin. It¡¯s not nailed shut.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze shifted and he walked over to the coffin, revealing neither his emotions or intentions on his face. He walked in a half-circle around the coffin and touched it from an angle that made it so no one else in the room could see his action.

    Ke Xun looked at him and waited for the other toe back. He then asked quietly, ¡°How is it? Did you discover anything?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t answer him.

    Ke Xun sighed, ¡°If you¡¯re not gonna tell me, I¡¯m going to go open up that coffin.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Mu Yiran looked at him coldly.

    ¡°Correction, I¡¯m trying to live.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s lips curled up into a smile void of any amusement. ¡°Being passive means death. I¡¯m not the type to do that. I look for answers. If there¡¯s no answers, I look for problems. If I find problems, I¡¯ll solve them. I don¡¯t want to die like these three. Did you see? Their clothes were fully intact and there were no signs of anything being moved in this room. What do you think that means?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t respond. He only looked at Ke Xun indifferently.

    ¡°It means that they died without retaliating. They didn¡¯t try to fight back at all.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice turned cold. ¡°Aside from screaming, they didn¡¯t do a thing. I don¡¯t want to die such a cowardly death. Even if what¡¯s doing the killing is a force no human can resist, I still want to know what that force is before I die. I want to do everything I can do to fight it. Even if I can¡¯t escape death in the end, I want to at least be able to say that I tried my best.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked Ke Xun in the eye. A momentter, he looked away, gaze falling on the man who was currently squatting down and examining the corpse. In his deep voice, he said, ¡°He¡¯s a doctor. Let¡¯s wait for him to finish the autopsy.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anything. He waited quietly off to the side.

    Although he called it an autopsy, the doctor could only perform a simple examination as he didn¡¯t have any tools with him. A long timeter, he stood up and nced at the surrounding people. He then looked to the floor, his rich and mellow voice quietly ringing through the room. ¡°These three died of fright. Their eyes were dug out before they died with some sharp tool. The sharp weapon in question may be some sharp, narrow dagger, or¡­long, hard nails.¡±

    As soon as they heard what he said, everyone couldn¡¯t help but look at the coffin.

    ¡°Let¡¯s examine this room thoroughly again,¡± the doctor said calmly.

    No one spoke. They broke up in silence and carefully inspected every nook and cranny.

    After all, they still had to find the painter¡¯s seal or signature. Even though the scene before them made them tremble in fear, they had no choice but to brace themselves and search carefully.

    Ke Xun pulled down a curtain to cover the faces of the three deceased.

    Mu Yiran stood at the door, arms crossed over his chest, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

    Ke Xun circled the room but didn¡¯t find any seals of signatures. He was about to exit the room when he caught sight of the paper boy and girl situated at the entrance. He took a step back and asked Mu Yiran, ¡°If I burned these two things, what do you think would happen?

 Chapter 8: The Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 8: The Coffin</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what will happen.¡± Mu Yiran gave him an indifferent nce, ¡°But thest person to do something simr ended up facing an exceptionally painful bacsh.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t burn them.¡± Ke Xun spread out his hands, ¡°Then what if I drew tortoises or goats on their faces?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him like he was stupid. ¡°Regardless of whether it¡¯s a ghost or a god, they should not be disrespected ording to Chinese traditions.¡±

    ¡°But gods and ghosts can humiliate people?¡± Ke Xun felt helpless.

    After everyone finished their investigation, no one found anything that would help raise morale. Looking at the sky, although it was overcast and grey, they knew that morning had alreadye. Therefore, they shut the door to the central building and headed to the courtyard.

    Ke Xun recalled what the old man had said to themst night. He had said that they were to reconvene at his ce at eight o¡¯clock the next morning. Therefore, he hollered at Wei Dong. who had been waiting outside.

    As soon as they exited through the courtyard¡¯s gate, they saw the jianbing vendor sitting on the ground outside. He looked decrepit and like he¡¯d already broken down. His face was wet, although they couldn¡¯t tell if it was from tears or sweat.

    Wei Dong finally remembered what Liu Yufei had told himst night. He went to pull the jianbing vendor up. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. It¡¯s pointless. You can¡¯t run from here. No matter where you run to, you¡¯ll always end up back in the same spot. You might as well follow the rest of us. Maybe we¡¯ll find a way back today.¡±

    The jianbing vendor stood up in a daze. He followed after everyone like a wooden doll.

    Ke Xun asked Wei Dong, ¡°What did you mean when you said ¡®no matter where you run to, you¡¯ll always end up back in the same spot?¡¯¡±

    Wei Dong pointed into the foggy distance. ¡°Liu Yufei said that, no matter what direction you run in, you¡¯ll always end up back in the spot you had started. It¡¯s like if there was a painting set in front of you. When the person in the painting runs past the left edge of the frame, they¡¯ll reappear from the right side of the frame. Therefore, they¡¯ll end up in the same spot they had started at if they keep running. Do you get it? In any case, no matter how hard you run, you won¡¯t be able to run out of the frame.¡±

    ¡°¡­That¡¯s really despairing.¡± Ke Xun sighed.

    ¡°What did you see in that room?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    Ke Xun gave it to him simply. He then looked up at Mu Yiran, who was walking ahead of him. He quickened his pace to catch up with the other and asked him, ¡°Xiao Mu ge, say, what did you find out in the mourning hall?¡±

    Mu Yiran shut his eyes. Ke Xun could see a hint of helplessness in his face that was cold and stern like an iceberg. His eyes softened subconsciously and he didn¡¯t push the other. He only tilted his head as he stared at Mu Yiran, waiting quietly.

    Mu Yiran opened his eyes and saw Ke Xun¡¯s face before him. The other¡¯s disheveled short hair made him look rathernguid and a bit unruly. However, his eyes beneath those brash and beautiful brows were especially pure and earnest. His pupils were especially stark against the white of his eyes. When he looked into them, it looked like there was a pure light flickering inside of them.

    You really couldn¡¯t tell that this person was actually a shameless idiot just by looking at his face.

    Pressing his lips into a straight line, Mu Yiran looked away and quietly said, ¡°There¡¯s an issue with the material the coffin is made out of. Usually, coffins are made out of Chinese cedar wood, paulownia wood, or from a mix of fir and cypress. But the coffin inside that mourning hall was created purely out of cypress. It wasn¡¯t mixed with any other wood.¡±

    ¡°So?¡± Ke Xun looked at him.

    ¡°In some parts of China, ording to their funeral traditions, it is prohibited to make coffins out of pure willow or cypress.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was quiet, ¡°ording to passed down traditions, the reason why they cannot use willow is because willows do not produce seeds. Therefore, if you were to use willow wood to make a coffin, it would lead to the extinction of the family. On the other hand, if you use pure cypress, the coffin will be struck by the sky.¡±

    ¡°Struck by the sky?¡± Ke Xun raised a brow, ¡°Struck by lightning and split into two?¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded slightly. ¡°You can say it like that. Therefore, it is a taboo to use purely willow or cypress in making coffins. In ces that have these customs, they would typically never make such a mistake.¡±

    Ke Xun turned to look at the Li residence that was already far off in the distance. ¡°But the people of this family did make that mistake. That means¡­.¡±

    ¡°It means that it was done on purpose.¡± Mu Yiran also turned to look at the residence, a thoughtful look in his eyes. ¡°Whoever did this knew what consequences it would bring. There is likely only one possibility: to utilize the taboo as a curse.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­A curse? Damn. But why?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked down, appearing to be mulling over this. ¡°Even if this is a painting, everything must still adhere to logic, especially if this a realistic painting. As soon as we enter the paintings, we take on roles within the painting. In this case, the roles are those tasked keeping vigil, those tasked with chopping firewood, those tasked with guarding the granary, those tasked with guarding the storeroom, those tasked with digging the grave¡­.¡±

    ¡°It feels like we¡¯re missing something.¡± Ke Xun looked at the people walking in front of them.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°We¡¯re missing the other protagonists of the funeral.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Ke Xun looked at him.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze shifted to his face. ¡°The family of the deceased.¡±

    Ke Xun had a sudden realization. ¡°You¡¯re right. Except for us, there was no one else in the residencest night. Wait a second, could it be that the three people who died were the deceased¡¯s family members?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Mu Yiran gestured to the people in front with his chin. ¡°We¡¯re all dressed the same. If they were the family of the deceased, they would be in mourning dress. Even if they weren¡¯t, they shouldn¡¯t dress the same as us. Based on how we were ¡®given arrangements¡¯ in that old man¡¯s housest night, we are probably ¡®vigers.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Why are the vigers the ones holding the vigil?¡±

    ¡°In a vige with a small poption, the entire vige will need to help out when a family holds a funeral,¡± Mu Yiran replied.

    Ke Xun thus asked, ¡°Are you from a small vige, Xiao Mu ge?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him coldly. ¡°I read a lot.¡±

    ¡°I majored in physical education.¡± There was no shame in terrible student Ke Xun¡¯s face. ¡°Can books teach you about coffin materials?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t look like he wanted to respond to that question very much, but it was probably because he didn¡¯t want Ke Xun to keep pestering him that he reluctantly said, ¡°I have a friend obsessed with woodworking.¡±

    ¡°Obsessed¡± was a good word that exined a lot. Usually, those that had an obsession would rmend or try to share their obsession with others like crazy. Ke Xun could imagine that the other had frequently been told many things about wood.

    ¡°Then why hasn¡¯t the family of the deceased appeared?¡± Ke Xun rubbed his chin in thought. ¡°Does the family not care that someone is using a pure cypress coffin to cure the deceased? And just who was it that made the coffin?¡±

    Mu Yiran said in a low voice, ¡°When you find out the answers to those questions, you¡¯ll probably be able to leave.¡±

    As they spoke, they arrived at the old man¡¯s house from yesterday. When they walked through the door, they found buns, congee, bowls and chopsticks. The old man¡¯s dead gaze swept over everyone. ¡°Everyone worked hardst night. Eat first. There¡¯s no work to be done during the day so everyone can rest. Come back here when night falls. I will assign everyone their work for the night then.¡±

    When he finished speaking, the old man went into a back room.

    Ke Xun had been wondering whether the food was poisoned when he saw several people walk over and begin to eat. Ke Xun nced at Mu Yiran and saw that, albeit that the other¡¯s expression was a bit heavy, he also walked over to the table and scooped himself a bowl of congee.

    ¡°Is this really fine?¡± Ke Xun sat beside him. He watched as the other spooned congee gracefully? into his mouth.

    Liu Yufei sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry and just eat it. If the food was poisoned, there would be no need to torture us with so many mysteries. They could just throw us into a building and starve us for a month. No one could survive that.¡±

    Ke Xun was still looking at Mu Yiran. ¡°Then what¡¯s with your expression? Are you a picky eater?¡±

    Mu Yiran red at him icily, ¡°If you want to die in the next second, I¡¯ll help you do it.¡±

    Ke Xun immediately recalled how powerless he had been when this big shot had pressed him down against the floorst night. He grabbed two buns and handed one over to Boss Mu, kissing up to the other. The boss didn¡¯t pay him any attention and so the bun was taken by Wei Dong.

    Liu Yufei scooped up the thin and tasteless congee with disgust on his face while continuing to speak to Ke Xun. ¡°The reason his expression is ugly is probably because the people who went to dig the grave died.¡±

    Ke Xun paused. He counted the people in the room and discovered that they were indeed missing the two who went to dig yesterday. ¡°How do you know they¡¯re dead?¡±

    ¡°Because that old man didn¡¯t wait for those two people toe before letting us start breakfast.¡± Liu Yufei pointed to the back room. ¡°If they were alive, the old man would have waited until everyone arrived to say his lines.¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Wei Dong cursed under his breath. ¡°Five people died in one night. At this rate, how many of us will be left tomorrow?¡±

    No one replied. Everyone ate quietly. Some people looked numbed, some people looked pensive and some looked dazed.

    There were no words to describe the taste of the food. The congee was cold, the buns were hard and there were white hairs on the stems of the salted vegetables. No one knew what the filling inside the buns were either but it tasted like grass. It also smelt like horse dung.

    But even if it didn¡¯t taste good, they had to eat it. Otherwise, who knew how long their strength wouldst?

    After the disgusting meal was over, Mu Yiran stood up and headed outside.

    Ke Xun pulled Wei Dong with him and followed along. ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°To look for clues outside.¡± Mu Yiran said in his deep voice.

    ¡°Can we walk around as we please? Aren¡¯t you scared of encountering something?¡±

    ¡°ording to what we know about the painting, nothing should happen during the day,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°Moreover, the old man didn¡¯t tell us that we couldn¡¯t go outside just now. So it should be fine.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll go with you.¡± Ke Xun decided to grab onto this big shot¡¯s big thigh and never let go.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t bother with him. He walked out of the house withrge strides and headed directly towards the area north of the vige.

    The north of the vige was nothing but wastnd. The area even further away was nothing but an endless, chaotic fuzziness.

    Up in the sky, crows cawed. The birds spiralled around several times in the sky beforending beside a mound.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong followed Mu Yiran over. Next to the mound, they found two corpses.

    Wei Dong screamed and fell onto his butt. He scrambled backwards seven/eight metres before he stopped and pointed at the corpse with a trembling finger.

    ¡°Close your eyes and duck to the side.¡± Ke Xun stood in front of him, blocking his view. He didn¡¯t really want to see the state of these corpses but he saw Mu Yiran walk towards them. The other lowered his head and carefully examined the corpses. Therefore, Ke Xun bore with the difort and headed over as well to look at the bodies.

    As soon as he saw the full state of the bodies, he vomited on the spot.

    Eve: Anyone want to put out their own guesses on what the state of these corpses are?

    EB: ..Peaceful deaths?

 Chapter 9: Segments of Flesh and Crows

    <h4>Chapter 9: Segments of Flesh and Crows</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Although the two corpses still seemed perfectly intact, on closer inspection, one could make out that they had both been sliced up into meat segments by a sharp object as if they were pieces of chicken breast. The segments of flesh were neatly arranged in their original ces on the ground.

    The corpses¡¯ clothes werepletely drenched in blood, wrinkled and twisted into the flesh. The soil beneath their bodies had also been soaked a dark red, emitting a thick smell of iron. Dozens of crows surrounded the corpses. Even when Mu Yiran approached, they did not fly away. They simply watched with their still, ink-ck eyes.

    Ke Xun turned around to throw up. His action startled Wei Dong into scampering back another seven to eight metres. ¡°Fuck, stop! What did you see?!¡±

    Ke Xun waved a hand. He forced himself to endure, forcing the vomit back down. He sucked in two breaths of that nastily-scented air before gritting his teeth and turning back around.

    Mu Yiran was still examining the corpse, seemingly lost in thought.

    Ke Xun braced himself and looked at the corpses again. The two of them were lying side-to-side. If you were to ignore the fact that they had been sliced up, based off of the position their bodies had been left in, you¡¯d think that they had died peacefully. Their arms were ced on either side of their bodies and their legs were straightened and ced together. Their faces were also facing the sky.

    Faces¡­Ke Xun took a few more nces at the body on the left. The sixteen/seventeen year old school girl¡¯s naive eyes were shut and the blood on her face covered up the youthful feeling it used to give off. Her fine, soft, long hair had be tangled with the mud and blood beneath her body. A youth whose life had just started to bud was reduced to nothing but a pile of flesh so easily.

    Ke Xun could not imagine what horrors the girl must have faced prior to death. He couldn¡¯t imagine just how afraid she would have been, how much it would have hurt, or how much she wanted to go home when that frightening power that could not be resisted had ughtered her like livestock.

    The hand hanging by Ke Xun¡¯s side shook unconsciously. Shortly after, he clenched his hand into a tight fist.

    ¡°Have you finished examining them?¡± He asked Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran looked up to nce at him and nodded his head slightly.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anything more. He walked over to grab a nearby shovel and started to dig.

    Mu Yiran looked at him but also remained silent.

    Wei Dong stood a bit further away and didn¡¯t daree closer. He could only raise his voice. ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t mess around!¡±

    Ke Xun focussed on digging. He didn¡¯t answer Wei Dong.

    More and more crows circled the air above them. Incessantly, theynded on the ground around. Seeing that Mu Yiran simply stood next to the corpses, motionless, several crows stopped watching him and began to head over to the corpses. With their sharp beaks, they began to tear at the bs of flesh.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyebrows furrowed slightly and he took a few steps back.

    Ke Xun looked up when he heard the noises. He turned to nce at the corpses and sudden anger welled up in his chest at what he saw. He raised the shovel in his hand and waved it at the crows. ¡°Fuck you! Piss off!¡±

    But there were too many crows. After shooing away a few, several more wouldnd onto the ground. More and more came and very soon, the corpses werepletely covered in these crows. He couldn¡¯t even see the corpses anymore. They were fully covered by a denseyer of crows.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to identally hit the corpses. Hands tied, he kept up his useless action of waving his shovel for a long time. In the end, he decided to cover the corpses up with soil. The crows all dodged to the side. Several tens¡ªnearly a hundred¡ªcrows all lined up to watch him silently with cold, dark eyes.

    ¡°Ke Xun.¡± Mu Yiran suddenly called out his name with a heavy voice. ¡°Stop. Don¡¯t bury them.¡±

    Ke Xun raised his head, hands clutching onto the shovel tightly. ¡°So I should just let them get eaten by these birds?¡±

    ¡°Look at what they¡¯re doing.¡± Mu Yiran looked at him with a frosty gaze.

    Ke Xun shifted his eyes to the murder of crows and met with their still, jet-ck beady eyes.

    ¡°If you bury these two, the next to die might be you.¡± There was a hint of vignce in Mu Yiran¡¯s tone. He took several more steps back. ¡°Put the shovel down ande over here.¡±

    Ke Xun pursed his lips together tightly. A momentter, he threw the shovel down and walked over to Mu Yiran withrge strides. ¡°Are you done examining them? I want to go back.¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him. There was a difficult to perceive trace of a concession in his otherwise calm voice. ¡°There¡¯s nothing else I want to check.¡±

    ¡°Dong zi, get up. Let¡¯s go.¡± Ke Xun turned around at once and left the wastnds, following the path from which they hade.

    When they were a short distance away from the vige, Ke Xun saw the others leave the vige. They seemed to be running towards the wastnds they had juste from. Liu Yufei was at the front of the pack. Although he saw Wei Dong, he didn¡¯t holler at him.

    Everyone was busy looking for clues.

    Ke Xun had calmed down. He turned to look at Mu Yiran, ¡°Did you find any clues just now?¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him, tone level. ¡°Why do you think that I¡¯ll share my clues with you?¡±

    Ke Xun choked. Wei Dong was also at a loss for words. His gaze was on Mu Yiran, who hadn¡¯t stopped moving forwards. ¡°Although you¡¯re right, it still stings a bit¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun lowered his eyes and mulled over this for a moment. He then ran over and turned to look at Mu Yiran. ¡°You¡¯re right. You have no obligation to share your clues with someone you¡¯re not familiar with. We¡¯repletely unrted to one another. If you tell me, that¡¯s out of the kindness of your heart. If you don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re simply staying within your bounds. I can¡¯t hate or me you over this. Everything must be paid for in the era we currently live in.¡±

    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then let¡¯s discuss this as a matter of cooperation and profit. I think that I¡¯m pretty useful. I won¡¯t be asking for you to share your clues for free. If you share them, I will reciprocate. How about it?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him, expression unchanging. He said in a frigid voice, ¡°How will you reciprocate?¡±

    Ke Xun tugged at his messy hair and replied earnestly. ¡°A bad student like me can¡¯t help with any of the thinking, but my physical strength is pretty good. If you need to run errands or do anything tiring, give it to me. all you have to do is say the word. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Does it look like my arms and legs don¡¯t work?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°No. But you look like the kind of big shot that can easily get things done,¡± Ke Xun said sincerely, ¡°Boss, please take me in as an underling. If you take me in, you¡¯ll get aplimentary gift too. I promise you won¡¯t suffer any losses.¡±

    ¡°You bastard, you¡¯re theplimentary gift. Your whole family¡¯s aplimentary gift.¡± Wei Dong said angrily.

    ¡°Is your thigh big or is his thigh big?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Hello Boss, I¡¯m theplimentary gift.¡± Wei Dong said to Mu Yiran.

    It was probably because he had been shocked by how these two didn¡¯t even bother with hiding their intentions to cling onto him, or because he foresaw that these two idiots would pester him endlessly if he were to refuse them, but Mu Yiran spoke up after walking a few more paces, facepletely expressionless. ¡°This is the first painting the two of you have entered. There are many things you don¡¯t understand. The people who enter the paintings are not as they seem. Things will not remain peaceful forever between us. Therefore, if you two really want to form a team with you, you will first have to agree to my condition.¡±

    ¡°Tell us.¡± Ke Xun looked at him.

    The earnestness in his eyes caused the coldness in Mu Yiran¡¯s face to thaw slightly. If the other were to agree right away, then that would only have made it more difficult for Mu Yiran to trust him.

    Therefore, he said with a heavy tone, ¡°I require you two to always remember that, unless you have my given permission, you are not allowed to share the clues I obtain with people other than us three. Do you have any issues with that?¡±

    Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun. He understood this childhood friend of his well. This kind of request did not conform with his childhood friend¡¯s values.

    Ke Xun seemed unruly andid-back to outsiders, and even a bit indifferent or distant. But as his very close best friend who had grown up with him, Wei Dong knew that Ke Xun was actually quite pure and pretty¡­kind. Although he had done bad things before, it wasn¡¯t like he had never done good deeds in his life.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t like to bicker over gains and losses. He had never been a selfish or petty person.

    He had used the inheritance his parents had left behind to open up a gym. After he was able to make enough for a living, he didn¡¯t forget his friends.

    Ke Xun brought his brethren and ssmates who had troubled homes or had no ability to make any money and would soon starve to death into his gym. Those that could train others became personal trainers or instructors. Those that couldn¡¯t worked in customer service, logistics, or finance. If they really had no skills, then they could help out by maintaining the machines, cleaning or going out and handing out flyers. He would make sure to pay them enough to ensure that all of them would be able to stay warm and full.

    Therefore, although he wasn¡¯t the type to rush over and help someone on a busy street, if something happened in front of him, he would do his best to lend a hand.

    But in this painting, the people here weren¡¯t faced with poverty or starvation. They were facing death. Lending a hand might mean saving a life, or even several lives. In contrast, not helping was the same as sending someone to their death.

    Wei Dong wasn¡¯t sure whether Ke Xun would agree to Mu Yiran¡¯s request. Ke Xun was no saint but he wasn¡¯t a devil either.

    ¡°Can I ask why?¡± Ke Xun gazed at Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran also looked at him.

    This fellow who had entered a painting for the first time was a bit hot-headed, ignorant, and seemed to be just asking for a beating at times. But the purity in his limpid eyes¡­made his heart involuntarily soften.

    Mu Yiran looked down, his voice as cold as always. ¡°It¡¯s because those ¡®things¡¯ aren¡¯t the only ones that kill you inside these paintings. Living humans can too.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that it¡¯s possible for the people who had entered this painting with us to kill us?¡± Ke Xun narrowed his eyes slightly. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a rule inside these paintings.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s cold gaze was on the spiritless vige in front of them. ¡°I told you before, we only have seven days time. If we cannot find the painter¡¯s signature or seal in seven days, everyone will die. Furthermore, every day, it is possible for someone to die from the weird powers that exist in the painting¡¯s world. But it¡¯s not like it¡¯spletely unavoidable.

    ¡°Actually, the deaths caused by the painting¡¯s forces have a random aspect to them in that they change ording to the situation. For example,st night. You were on the verge of dying but you narrowly escaped because of the situation that had suddenly urred in the central building. This wasn¡¯t something the painting¡¯s powers had set-up in advance. Whether you¡¯re unlucky and die, or you¡¯re lucky and unexpectedly survive, it all depends on the situation.

    ¡°However, there is one rule that cannot be changed or resisted. If on any day, no one dies because of this, then between eight and nine o¡¯clock the next morning, all the survivors must get together and vote¡­for someone to die.¡±

    Eve: That¡¯s such a cruel rule.

 Chapter 10: Died as a Mosaic

    <h4>Chapter 10: Died as a Mosaic</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong stopped in their steps out of shock. They both looked at Mu Yiran in disbelief.

    Mu Yiran also stopped walking. He turned his head back, gaze bearing into the other two. ¡°Let me put it more straightforwardly. The world inside the painting will not permit a day to pass without any deaths. However, because the things in this world act randomly¡ªin the sense that they are reactive, rather than follow strict rules set by the world¡ªit is possible for zero deaths to ur. Therefore, under those circumstances, the painting world will forcibly demand for someone to die, so as to make up for the zero deaths. And the one who dies is chosen via a vote cast by the survivors.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s mind went nk from the shock of this matter. His voice sounded a bit airy. ¡°What happens after someone is picked to die?¡±

    ¡°That person will die in a manner that conforms with the painting¡¯s style within one minute.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s tone was so calm it was nearing on ruthless.

    Ke Xun knew that the other¡¯s ruthlessness was for the sake of reminding him that this world was far more cruel than he had imagined.

    How horrifying must it be to be voted to die?

    ¡°So, for what reason did you think that old man wanted us to gather at his home by eight o¡¯clock in the morning?¡± Mu Yiran nced at him, his tone imperceptibly softening a few degrees. ¡°If no one diedst night, the first thing we did at that man¡¯s house wouldn¡¯t have been eating breakfast. We would have had to vote first before we would be allowed to eat.¡±

    ¡°¡­They¡­they even give us fucking food to eat, how humane¡­¡± Wei Dong spat out sarcastically, a scowl on his face.

    Ke Xun exhaled and then looked up at Mu Yiran. ¡°It¡¯s quite cruel. So what you mean is, if we were to team up with everyone, there¡¯s a very high possibility that even if we¡¯re teammates for one day, we might have to kill each other like this the next day? Indeed, there¡¯s nothing lousier than this.¡±

    Mu Yiran suddenly smiled but there was no amusement in his expression. ¡°You¡¯re still too naive. If we left it up to the vote, who could guarantee that they won¡¯t be chosen?¡±

    ¡°¡­So?¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eye twitched.

    ¡°You should know, human nature is the most difficult thing to understand in the world.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze sharpened as he met Ke Xun¡¯s eyes. ¡°Some people may choose to kill in advance out of fear of being chosen.¡±

    Ke Xun sucked in a deep breath before slowly speaking. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that it doesn¡¯t matter if someone dies because of the vote or if someone is killed by someone else? As long as someone dies, it counts as making up for the previous day¡¯s zero deaths. If someone is killed before the vote takes ce, then there will be no need to vote, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mu Yiran replied.

    ¡°Therefore, if someone is afraid of being chosen, they may kill someone in advance so they can escape death.¡± Ke Xun finally understood what Mu Yiran was getting at.

    No wonder the atmosphere between those that seemed like veterans seemed so strange. Aside from the coldness and apathy, there was also a feeling of estrangement and mutual vignce.

    This also meant that you couldn¡¯t get too close to others inside paintings. No one could know for sure whether the person in front of them or beside them would be an angel or a devil.

    Mu Yiran stared at the person in front of him coolly, not batting a single eyelid.

    After telling the other about the painting¡¯s rules, he had been watching the other¡¯s changes in expression and attitude.

    This person wasn¡¯t the first to ask to cooperate. But everyone who had wanted to work together with him had chosen to distance themselves and go on guard against him without exception.

    If the person in front of him were to make the same choice, Mu Yiran would not get angry over it.

    After all, it was just human nature.

    ¡°I agree to your condition.¡± This was what Mu Yiran heard him say. ¡°Although I¡¯m not very smart, I¡¯m not so stupid as to expect others to treat me well just because I treat them well in a ce like this.¡±

    Mu Yiran continued to regard him calmly. He waited for the person to continue speaking.

    ¡°But I also have something I should mention in advance.¡± Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran with a pure gaze. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether you believe me or not, but I promise that I will not betray you. If it reallyes down to a vote, I will not vote for you. But, if we are in a life or death situation and I have to choose between you and Dong zi, I will choose to save Dong zi. I want to make this clear now. I hope you will understand. Of course, in a life or death situation, if you choose to sacrifice us to save yourself, I will not me you. What do you think? If you can¡¯t ept that, then you can take it as me not having said anything and we can go our own separate ways.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze changed slightly. He nodded. ¡°I ept.¡±

    ¡°Deal.¡± Ke Xun reached out a hand.

    However, Mu Yiran didn¡¯t shake his hand. He simply left with a noble, aloof air.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Ke er, you treat me so well. I really want to hug your thigh and cry. As expected of my childhood friend. From now on, my father is your father, my mother is your mother, my future son will be your son, and my future wife will be your younger brother¡¯s wife.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Fuck off. You¡¯re dreaming if you want me to help you take care of your parents and son. Why don¡¯t you let me help you take care of your wife?¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°You¡¯re a guy that likes guys. Would you even want my wife if I gave her to you?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°First of all, you would have to get a wife first. You haven¡¯t even been able to rid yourself of your single dog status. Don¡¯t think so much.¡±

    Wei Dong sighed. ¡°Yeah, I really can¡¯t think too much. Who knows if we can even make it out of this annoying ce alive? I should quit while I¡¯m ahead and not hope for too much.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so pessimistic.¡± Ke Xun wrapped an arm around the other¡¯s shoulder tightly. ¡°If you abandon hope, hope will abandon you. Do you trust my intuition? My intuition tells me that we¡¯ll definitely make it out.¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s face scrunched up into a smile that also made it look like he was crying. Although the two of them had tacitly tried to banter to cheer each other up and be more optimistic, it still couldn¡¯t ward off the pressure of death and the bud of despair inside him. ¡°How could a gay guy like you have any intuition...? But sometimes you¡¯re too straightforward.? You shouldn¡¯t have said that just now. Even if you think my life is more important to you than his, you shouldn¡¯t have told him that. Who would be happy to hear such a thing?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He won¡¯t mind it.¡± Ke Xun smiled.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t believe him.

    ¡°If someone wanted to cling onto you to survive and was willing to abandon his best friend to do it, do you think that person would be worthy of your trust?¡± Ke Xun said as he chased after Mu Yiran withrge strides.

    When he reached the other¡¯s side, Ke Xun turned to face him. ¡°So we¡¯re officially a team now, right? Shouldn¡¯t you tell us about the clues you got?¡±

    Mu Yiran said in an indifferent tone, ¡°It¡¯s not really a clue. It¡¯s just a theory. I need to test it. However, the only way to test it is to wait for more deaths. The price is too steep.¡±

    ¡°No pressure. How about just telling us first? Maybe we can help you,¡± Ke Xunforted him in a gentle voice.

    Mu Yiran nced at him and then looked away. ¡°The first thing I was puzzled over was why the cause of death was different between the five people.¡±

    Ke Xun thought it over. ¡°Could it be because they were killed by different ¡®things?¡¯¡±

    Mu Yiran sneered slightly. ¡°Regardless of what these ¡®things¡¯ are, aren¡¯t they all still supernatural entities? Why were the three people who were holding vigil in the mourning hall scared to death only to have their eyes gouged out after, while the two tasked with grave digging were¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong covered his ears. ¡°Don¡¯t say it, don¡¯t say it!¡±

    Ke Xun pondered over this again. ¡°Because they encountered different types of ¡®things?¡¯¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°It¡¯s true that this could be an exnation for this, but I¡¯m more concerned about their states after death. Regardless of whether it¡¯s gouging out the eyes or¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong covered his ears again: ¡°Manual mosaic, manual mosaic, manual mosaic¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran ¡°¡­In both cases, the corpses still maintained their original forms with regards to the general outline of their body. Their states after death were very methodological. Or rather, it seems like there¡¯s some ritualistic or symbolic meaning to it.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Although you say that, I still can¡¯t understand what it could mean.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him dully. ¡°You said that you were a physical education student. Looks like you weren¡¯t lying.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Although you¡¯re making fun of me, I¡¯m not angry.¡±

    Mu Yiran shut his eyes, his voice cold as he continued to speak. ¡°Let¡¯s pretend we¡¯re inside a stadium. There are hurdles set up on the race track, shot puts ced on the grass, a mat ced down for the high jump event, and a sand pit for the long jump. At this moment, a group of students walk in.¡±

    Very cleverly, Ke Xun quickly understood what he was saying and continued the thought. ¡°Then, the teacher would divide the students into various events. Some would go do hurdles, some would do shot put, some would participate in the high jump, and some would participate in the long jump.¡±

    Mu Yiran added, ¡°And in this stadium, every student who is participating in one of the events will demonstrate a different mode of activity.¡±

    Something dawned on Ke Xun. ¡°It¡¯s like our current situation. Some people were tasked with holding vigil, some people were assigned to the firewood room, some people were assigned to the granary, and some people were assigned to dig graves.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze was heavy and cold. ¡°Those that were tasked with holding vigil had their eyes gouged out. Those that were tasked with digging graves¡­¡± He nced at Wei Dong, ¡°Died as a mosaic. It¡¯s just like how those that do hurdles would be expected to run, those who did high jump would be expected to jump, and those who do shot put would be expected to throw their shot puts.¡±

    Ke Xun & Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°The focus is on the hurdle athletes, the race track, the action of jumping over hurdles, the hurdles, the shot put athletes, the grass, the action of throwing the shot puts and the shot puts. These are the four important elements to the hurdles and shot put events respectively. Namely, they can be reduced to: people, location, mode of activity, and the symbol of the athletes¡¯ activity that signifies that they are participating in their respective events.

    ¡°If we were to substitute our current situation into this analogy, the four key constituents would be:

    ¡°People¡ªthe five people who diedst night;

    ¡°Location¡ªthe mourning hall, the wastnds;

    ¡°The method of death and state of the corpse (activity)¡ªdeath by fright with post-mortem gouging of eyes and¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun & Wei Dong: ¡°Dying as a mosaic.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­Then the question is, what is the symbol that signifies their method of death and state of their corpse (or the symbol of the athletes¡¯ activity that signifies that they are participating in their respective events in the sports analogy)?¡±

    Ke Xun swiftly turned to face Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran also looked at him, his voice steady and calm as he spoke. ¡°If we can find the ¡®shot put¡¯ and ¡®hurdles¡¯ that were present during the deathsst night, perhaps it will not be long before we can leave this painting.¡±

    Eve: Ke Xun is actually quite a smartie. He will grow~ This is just his first painting. He will shine soon enough~

 Chapter 11: The Three Chinese Scholar Trees

    <h4>Chapter 11: The Three Chinese Schr Trees</h4>

    What decided how the five people would diest night ?

    ¡°I have a conjecture,¡± Mu Yiran said in an insipid voice, ¡°But I need to test it once more. Before that, I won¡¯t mention it so as to avoid influencing your thinking¡­that is, if you¡¯re capable of thinking.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Although you¡¯re mocking me again, I¡¯m still not angry. The ¡®testing¡¯ you mentioned, do you mean that you have to see another death?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Although it¡¯s very cruel, there is no way around it.¡± There was no expression on Mu Yiran¡¯s face.

    ¡°The next one might be me.¡± Wei Dongmented.

    ¡°Don¡¯t utter such nonsense. You¡¯re being ridiculous.¡± Ke Xun kicked him and then turned to Mu Yiran. ¡°But I don¡¯t think we should just be waiting like this. I feel like we should be doing something.¡±

    ¡°We should look for the seal!¡± Wei Dong stirred up his spirits.

    ¡°But we can¡¯t just aimlessly go searching for it.¡± Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran, ¡°Xiao Mu ge, can you point us to the right direction?¡±

    ¡°Call me Mu Yiran.¡± Mu Yiran gave him a cold look. ¡°When looking for the seal, you have to take into consideration the contents of the painting.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Yesterday, you said that the painting was about a vige funeral. We¡¯ve already examined the mourning hall this morning but we didn¡¯t find anything like a signature or seal.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°This means that the mourning hall isn¡¯t the most prominent part of the painting.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Aside from the mourning hall, the second most suspicious ce is the grave-digging area just now.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°I searched it earlier. There wasn¡¯t anything suspicious.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Could it be inside that old man¡¯s house?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°The chances of that are low. After all, if no one died night after night, then everyone would frequently gather inside that house. That would mean that the probability of the seal being found would be extremely high. It¡¯s the equivalent of giving you an answer key with your exam paper.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Something that good would never happen to me. PASS. If it¡¯s not the mourning hall, the grave area, or the old man¡¯s house, where could it be? It¡¯s just wilderness all around us. There¡¯s nothing that sticks out.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°What appears to be the most eye-catching part of the painting to the viewer may not necessarily be the part that reflects the painting¡¯s meaning.¡±

    Ke Xun pointed in front of them. ¡°Could it be the three Chinese Schr trees?¡±

    Outside the Li Residence courtyard, due north, were three Chinese Schr trees.

    The light in Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°ording to some customs, the Chinese Schr tree is considered a yin tree. They call it ¡®Ghost in a tree.¡¯ It was inappropriate to nt them near the residences of living people. But in ancient times, the people loved Chinese Schr trees. The term ¡®huai ding¡¯ refers to the ''Three Dukes¡¯. Furthermore, ¡®huai chen¡¯ In some ces, the Chinese Schr tree was seen as an auspicious symbol.¡±

    Ke Xun scratched his head: ¡°So did they nt these three Chinese Schr trees for good luck? That would exin things.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Let me interrupt you guys for a second. I think that you two are mistaken. Although the world inside this painting is indeed a ¡®world,¡¯ it is first and foremost a ¡®painting¡¯ and a ¡®world¡¯ second. A work of art necessitates artistic techniques to be used. Unless this was a super realistic painting, the painter would have added artistic embellishments for the sake of achieving the artistic effect he wanted.¡±

    When he noticed that Mu Yiran was looking at Wei Dong weirdly, Ke Xun exined, ¡°Dong zi is a graphic designer. He knows some stuff about art.¡±

    ¡°Then, in your opinion, what do you think has been added for the sake of artistic effect?¡± Mu Yiran asked Wei Dong.

    ¡°The trees, ah.¡± Wei Dong pointed at the three old Chinese Schr trees. ¡°Like you just said, in some ces, they believe that the Chinese Schr tree is unlucky. However, there are other ces that believe it to be a sign of luck. But that¡¯s the case in real life. I don¡¯t think that the painter would have needed to research whether these trees were regarded as auspicious or not in this ce. All he would have to do was to make sure that it matched the paintings contents.¡±

    ¡°Look at these three Chinese Schr trees. Why are they nted specifically by the Li Residence¡¯s mourning hall? If the Chinese Schr trees were meant to represent sess, then wouldn¡¯t it be weird for it to be here?

    ¡°Look at these trees. If he intended to make these trees symbols of luck in this painting, he would not make the trees stick out. If he did, it would sh with the subject of the painting, which is ¡®funeral.¡¯ Even if he had been forced to paint the tree for the sake of maintaining realism, it would have been enough to simply paint a single tree. Why did he draw three?

    .

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously because he wanted them to stick out. It was for the sake of embellishing the painting, or perhaps it¡¯s even a metaphor for something.

    ¡°Look at the shape of the trees. The branches look like ws. Do normal trees have such grotesque shapes? It¡¯s obvious that normal trees that grow in the wild could never naturally grow out as ugly as this. That brings us to the question¡ªwhy did the painter draw these trees in this abnormal fashion rather than draw them normally?

    ¡°Again, it¡¯s obviously for the sake of embellishing the painting or because it¡¯s a metaphor. Since it¡¯s for the sake of dressing it up, there¡¯s no way it could have an auspicious meaning. Therefore, there is only one meaning it can have.¡±

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s a yin tree, the ¡®ghost in a tree.¡¯¡± Ke Xun said.

    Mu Yiran looked pensive as he gazed up at the three old Chinese Schr trees.

    ¡°Regardless of what it means, we should search them in any case.¡± Ke Xun was an action-oriented person. As he said this, he walked over to the three trees.

    When he got close, he discovered that the trees were even taller and dreadful than they had seemed from afar. The tree bark, which should have been brown, was currently an ashy ck, although he didn¡¯t know if it was because it had collected dust over the years or if it was from the smoke of the Li Residence¡¯s kitchen. The dark trees loomed over their heads.

    ¡°These trees are ridiculously tall. They look like they¡¯re over twenty metres tall.¡± Wei Dong craned his neck up. ¡°How are we going to search around them?¡±

    Mu Yiran also looked up, gaze sweeping over them. He was thinking of a n when he saw Ke Xun roll up his sleeves without speaking. The other walked over to one of the trees and jumped up, wrapping his arms around the trunk. He then shimmied up the tree like a monkey. In the blink of an eye, he was already halfway up the tree.

    ¡°He was great at climbing trees even in his program.¡± Wei Dong said, showing off his childhood friend to Mu Yiran. He thought that he should let this big shot believe that he didn¡¯t ept these followers in vain.

    Mu Yiran gave him an insipid nce and then walked over to the same tree. He suddenly reached out and also climbed up in a graceful and nimble manner. In a sh, he had also managed to reach halfway up.

    ¡°¡­.¡± Wei Dong was dumbstruck. He looked up at Ke Xun, who was already near the top: Brother, I can only help you this much.

    Ke Xun wasn¡¯t surprised that Mu Yiran could also climb. Based on what he knew from being pressed down by the otherst night, he knew that the other man must have been trained in martial arts.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re not the type to livefortably.¡± Ke Xun squatted on a tree branch, waiting for Mu Yiran toe up. ¡°Why are you doing this yourself when you have followers to order around?¡±

    Mu Yiran stood up with the help of the tree trunk. He gazed down at Ke Xun and asked, ¡°Who would put their lives in the hands of a follower?¡±

    ¡°¡­Okay, okay, you¡¯re handsome, you¡¯re right.¡± Ke Xun also stood up. ¡°Then I¡¯ll work hard to work my way up from a follower to a trusted aid.¡±

    Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay him any attention. He began to climb through the branches and search for clues.

    Ke Xun lowered his head to shout: ¡°Dong zi, look for clues on the ground. Don¡¯t forget to search the cracks in the bark or the roots.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice echoed from below. ¡°Us graphic designers are the best at looking for details. We wouldn¡¯t even miss a single pixel.¡±

    Even if they were to low ball it, a Chinese Schr tree tree had at least a hundred thousand branches. Ke Xun and Mu Yiran examined the branches for several hours. Eventually, the light outside dimmed.

    ¡°This is insane.¡± Ke Xun leaned against the trunk, breathing slightly heavy. ¡°What if the signature or seal is the size of the head of a pin? How many lifetimes would it take to find it?¡±

    ¡°That kind of situation would never ur.¡± Mu Yiran also stopped to rest. ¡°I told you before, the painting¡¯s world will not give us an impossible-toplete mission. Otherwise, there would be no point. It could just kill us directly.¡±

    ¡°Then how should we go about looking for it now? There has to be a key point.¡± Ke Xun looked around them. ¡°This tree is really ugly. The knot in the tree¡¯s bark looks like¡­.¡±

    ¡°A face of a ghost?¡± Mu Yiran offered.

    Ke Xun rubbed his arms. His hairs had all stood up.

    Mu Yiran continued, ¡°In olden times, it was said that the Chinese Schr tree had heavy yin energy. As time passed, faces of ghosts would appear as knots that would grow out of the tree¡¯s body. Furthermore, as the tree aged, more and more faces would appear. Conversely, the more faces there were, the greater the yin energy the tree would have.¡±

    When Ke Xun heard this, he looked all around them again. Suddenly, goosebumps broke out on his skin. The trunk of these three trees were indeed packed with ¡°ghost faces!¡±

    When he examined the faces closely, he realized that they really looked like actual human faces. They all had eyes, noses and lips. Their expressions were very realistic as well. There were adults, children, elderly people; some had confused expressions, some were howling, some looked afraid, some had faces warped in pain and some had on evil smiles¡­.

    The lines in the tree¡¯s bark made the ¡°ghost faces¡± look all the more sinister and odd. Suddenly, a frigid wind blew through the branches. It made it sound like there were sounds that were somewhere betweenughter and criesing out from the varying-sized holes in the tree that made the mouths of the countless ghost faces. The pitch seemed to oscite up and down. Some seemed to being from far away while others seemed to be close by.

    When Ke Xun heard these sounds, he felt his scalp go numb. He hesitantly asked Mu Yiran, ¡°Say¡­do you think that seal or signature¡­would be in the mouths of these faces?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible.¡± Mu Yiran said expressionlessly.

    ¡°What if¡­I stuck my hand in and something bit it off?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°I know a doctor at a reputable hospital. I can introduce him to you.¡± Mu Yiran replied indifferently.

    ¡°¡­.¡± Ke Xun exhaled. ¡°Even if there was nothing wrong with these ghost faces, there are at least several hundreds of faces on these three trees. If we were to examine them one-by-one, how long would it take us?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked down. ¡°Let¡¯s call everyone else and search together.¡±

    ¡°Can we?¡± Ke Xun asked, ¡°What if someone finds it and leaves secretly without telling us?¡±

    ¡°If someone were to find the seal somewhere else on their own, then it¡¯s possible for them to leave by themself,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°But if they were to suddenly disappear here under everyone¡¯s eyes, then everyone else will naturally figure out where the seal is.¡±

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s go call the others then.¡± Ke Xun shook out his arms that were tired from climbing around. He looked up heedlessly. ¡°Have you noticed that the sky seems to have darkened? It¡¯s only noon but the sky makes it look like it¡¯s already evening.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going to rain.¡± Mu Yiran also looked at the sky that was already densely packed with dark clouds. Suddenly, his voice grew tense. ¡°The coffin made of pure cedar!¡±

    Ke Xun was taken aback but reacted quickly. ¡°Pure cedar wood will cause lightning to strike down!¡±

    When he saw Mu Yiran¡¯s expression sink, Ke Xun probed, ¡°What will happen if lightning hits the coffin?¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him with a dark expression in his eyes. ¡°The corpse will rise.¡±

 Chapter 12: Curse

    <h4>Chapter 12: Curse</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    ording to science, in real life, if a corpse were to move after death, it had to do with the electrical signals in the body. (TN: Couldn¡¯t find anything to back this up btw. Found some articles suggesting that it could be rted to the dposition process though.)

    Ke Xun mulled over this. No matter how incredible a human body¡¯s electrical impulses got, it could never beat lightning. A bolt of lightning was probably upwards of a hundred million volts, right? A normal person would be scorched in real life. However, they weren¡¯t in the real world right now. If that bolt of lightning were to cause a ghost toe out, who¡¯d be able to fight it off?

    ¡°Should we hide the coffin?¡± Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran.

    ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to hide it.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze was heavy. ¡°The only ces we can hide it is inside the house or beneath the dirt. It¡¯d be the same as if we were to just leave it in the mourning hall. The lightning can strike the coffin through the roof of the house. The ending would be the same no matter where we hid it.¡±

    ¡°¡­So we¡¯re being forced to wait for death with our hands tied.¡± Ke Xun punched the tree¡¯s trunk.

    ¡°If we can find the seal before night falls, then we won¡¯t have to worry about whether lightning falls or not.¡± Mu Yiran started to climb down the tree after leaving Ke Xun with that.

    Ke Xun had just reached the ground when he saw that the others hade back from searching the graveyard. They all looked like they had all suffered a fright.

    Upon receiving Mu Yiran¡¯s permission, he told the others about their suspicions over the ghost faces on the Chinese Schr trees. He asked them if they would be willing to search alongside the three of them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat first.¡± The doctor had a calm and steady disposition that was unique to doctors. ¡°We should get as much energy as we can. We¡¯ll search after eating.¡±

    Lunch was once again at the old man¡¯s home. There was only Chinese cornbread, picked vegetables and stir-fried beansprouts. Although it was hard to eat, everyone still filled up their stomachs as much as they could.

    ¡°I sincerely miss eating Tianjin-style jianbing right now.¡± Wei Dong whispered to Ke Xun while ncing at the old jianbing vendor sitting in front of them.

    Who knew if the jianbing vendor had epted his fate or had been scared silly. He simply sat there silently, dazed.

    After lunch, everyone gathered beneath the three Chinese Schr trees. They worked together to investigate the faces on the trees.

    Wei Dong circled around the tree and then carefully stuck a branch into one of the wretched ghost face¡¯s mouth. He then sensed someone beside him. That person quietly asked him, ¡°Did you guys find any clues?¡±

    When he turned his head, he saw that it was Liu Yufei.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a clue?¡± Wei Dong pointed to the ghost face.

    ¡°Just this?¡± A look of disbelief shed through Liu Yufei¡¯s face. ¡°There¡¯s no way that Mu guy would have only found this much out. He probably didn¡¯t tell you two the rest of his clues.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that he¡¯s really amazing?¡± Wei Dong asked while poking the face in the tree.

    Liu Yufei snorted. ¡°Extremely amazing. He was the first to find the seal in both of the previous two paintings. Furthermore¡­.¡±

    ¡°Stopping halfway through your sentence¡­careful not to end up constipated tonight,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Liu Yufei red at him. ¡°You can¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t warn you. That Mu guy isn¡¯t as nice as he appears. His face is too deceiving.¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t think he¡¯s nice.¡± Wei Dong poked another ghost face. ¡°But I do agree that his face is pretty deceiving.¡± Looking at just his face, Mu Yiran looked like a reserved and quiet person. However, he had a very alpha aura.

    Liu Yufei¡¯s face turned cold and he lowered his voice. ¡°Did you know that none of the people who teamed up with that Mu guy in thest two paintings managed to walk out?¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s hand froze mid-action. He looked at Liu Yufei in surprise. ¡°Did they crawl out?¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± Liu Yufei was so angry his face changed colours. However, it looked like he was doing his best to control himself. He grit his teeth and asked Wei Dong, ¡°Were there really no other clues?¡±

    ¡°How would I know? Even if he found out anything, it¡¯s not a given that he¡¯d tell me.¡± Wei Dong lowered his head and continued to poke at the faces.

    ¡°It¡¯d be best if you were to be more on guard and suspicious while inside this painting.¡± Liu Yufei looked at him, ¡°The more you ask around for clues, the closer you are to leaving this painting.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I got it,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, we received the same character. It¡¯s very likely that our fates are entwined,¡± Liu Yufei reminded him in a heavy voice, ¡°Therefore, I hope that you will share your clues with me so that we can think of a way to escape together.¡±

    ¡°All right, I got it,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Liu Yufei red at him for a long time. In the end, he grabbed a branch off the ground and started to stab at the faces with him.

    Everyone searched for a whole afternoon. In the end, they didn¡¯t find anything useful.

    Right now, the sky was now dark as night. The thick clouds gathered overhead, billowing and changing incessantly and they crowded together.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back. It¡¯s already dark.¡± The doctor¡¯s deep voice made everyone¡¯s mood even gloomier.

    The old man had said that they had to go back to his house when night fell. He would be giving them tonight¡¯s tasks.

    This meant that the curtain over the second round of terror was about to be drawn.

    ¡°Those that received the gu character cloths will be in charge of standing vigil tonight. Those that received the dai character cloths will be in charge of digging graves north of the vige. Those that received the yang character cloths will chop wood in the Li Family¡¯s firewood room. Those that received the qu character cloths will guard the Li Family¡¯s granary.¡±

    When the old man finished speaking, he went to the room next door, leaving the eight people who all had different expressions to sink into a difficult to describe silence.

    ¡°¡­I¡­I don¡¯t want to die¡­.¡± A long timeter, the silence was broken by a trembling moan. ¡°Ke er, I don¡¯t want to die¡­I don¡¯t want to go to the mourning hall. I don¡¯t want to die¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong was panicking. His face was deathly pale as he grabbed onto Ke Xun¡¯s arm in an attempt to obtain assurance and protection from his best friend.

    Ke Xun grabbed onto Wei Dong, who seemed unable to stand straight. All he felt was despair.

    ¡°The guy surnamed Mu! Where¡¯s the seal?!¡± The eyes of Liu Yufei, who also had the gu character cloth, seemed to be popping out of their sockets. He rushed over, wanting to grab Mu Yiran¡¯s cor but the other evaded him.

    ¡°Are you going to watch on unfeelingly as others die?!¡± Liu Yufei howled. There was a crazed glint in his eyes and you could see that he was falling apart. ¡°Tell us everything you know! I don¡¯t want to die! No one wants to die?! Why do you get to survive all on your own?!¡±

    After screaming all that out, he waved his hands at the surrounding people. ¡°This Mu guy definitely has clues that point to where the seal is! Everyone,e on! Let¡¯s force him to tell us! He knows! He definitely knows!¡±

    Everyone was silent. They looked at Liu Yufei, who was breaking down, like he was a dead man.

    Although it was not a guarantee that the others would survive tonight, those that were tasked with holding vigil in the mourning hall¡­their deaths were practically guaranteed. There would be no return for them.

    ¡°I think,¡± the doctor said calmly, ¡°We should take advantage of the fact that we still have some time left. Everyone should speak of any clues they¡¯ve thought up. Perhaps after gathering everything up, we will be able to find the seal.¡±

    When everyone continued their silence, the doctor added, ¡°Based on the arrangements from yesterday and today, it can be deduced that the tasks of holding vigil and digging graves will sooner-orter fall on others.¡±

    What he was implying here was that no one could escape it. If they didn¡¯t provide any clues and work hard with everyone else, they would eventually die here.

    Noticing that everyone seemed to have been moved, the doctor continued, ¡°I¡¯ll get the ball rolling. In the morning, I walked through the vige. I discovered a stone tablet at the edge of the vige. There was a simple record of the vige engraved on the stone tablet.

    ¡°Everyone in this vige is surnamed Li. I think that the vigers are probably all part of the same n. Their ancestor can be traced back to the Warring States period. He had been an official of the state of Qin. His title was ¡®Minister of Rites¡¯.

    ¡°As far as I know, the ¡®Minister of Rites¡¯ was in charge of praying to the ancestors and supernatural beings. Therefore, this position was akin to a shaman.

    ¡°I think that this clue might be rted to the contents of this painting. That¡¯s everything I¡¯ve found up to now that seems useful. Everyone, if you think of anything, please do share it with the rest of the group. Everyone can work together to analyze this.¡±

    When the doctor finished speaking, his gaze fell on Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Supernatural beings? Duh?!¡± Liu Yufei roared irascibly. ¡°Even if their ancestor wasn¡¯t a Minister of Rites, this painting is filled with supernatural beings! Your clue ispletely useless!¡±

    No one paid him any attention. All their gazes were on Mu Yiran, as if he were a god who would save them.

    ¡°I believe that there is a rule with regards to the deaths of the five people fromst night.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was calm. ¡°As for the inscription on the stone tablet you mentioned, I don¡¯t think it¡¯spletely useless.¡±

    ¡°You basically said nothing!¡± Liu Yufei rushed over to Mu Yiran again, wanting to grab him. However, Ke Xun, who was standing next to Mu Yiran, grabbed hold of his wrist.

    ¡°Either you shut up and think of a solution or you¡¯re going to lose an arm.¡± Ke Xun said, facepletely devoid of emotion. He added a bit of pressure and Liu Yufei screamed. Ayer of cold sweat appeared on the other¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Speaking of the five people¡¯s deaths,¡± the doctor picked up from where Mu Yiran had left off, ¡°The two who died at the graveyard were a bit odd. When we arrived, the crows had already divided the corpses among themselves. However, we could still tell that the corpses had been split into equal pieces¡ªnotice I said ¡®equal pieces.¡¯ they were extremely even portions. I thought that this was unnatural. Unless the force behind it suffered from some form of OCD, I don¡¯t think there would be a reason for it to be so meticulous.¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyes in thought. When the doctor saw this, he didn¡¯t disturb him. Instead, he shifted his gaze to everyone else. ¡°Does anyone else have something to share? Even if it seems insignificant or normal, feel free to tell us.¡±

    .

    ¡°I have something to say.¡± The one who spoke up was Ke Xun. When he saw that Mu Yiran seemed to know what he was going to say but didn¡¯t seem intent on stopping him, he continued, ¡°It¡¯s not rted to the seal but it is rted to how to avoid being killed by those paper dolls.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes immediately gathered on his face.

    ¡°Regardless of where you¡¯re situated, do your best to hide yourself, whether that means covering yourself with bup bags or hiding behind firewood. It¡¯s fine as long as the paper dolls cannot see you. If the dolls approach you, you must hold your breath.¡±

    ¡°Why about those tasked with digging graves?¡± Someone with the dai character cloth asked at once.

    Ke Xun shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°If nothing else, you can try to cover yourself in soil,¡± the doctor suggested.

    ¡°What about those in the mourning hall?¡± Wei Dong asked in a trembling voice, face deathly pale, ¡°Will that thing inside the coffine out? What if it had been the thing in the coffin that had gouged out their eyes?¡±

    No one replied. The room was deathly silent.

    ¡°Xiao Mu, have you thought of something?¡± The doctor interrupted the oppressing, unbearable silence.

    ¡°I think that the fact that the vige¡¯s ancestor was a Minister of Rites is very important.¡± Mu Yiran looked up. Everyone¡¯s gazes immediately turned to him.

    ¡°It wasmon for there to be ult practices and shaman-like people in the Spring and Autumn, and Warring States periods,¡± (TN: Spring and Autumn period: 770-476 BC, Warring States period: 475-221 BC) Mu Yiran said, ¡°Curses were extremely prevalent in these eras. For example, before two states would go to war with one another, they would each conduct a ritual to curse the enemy country¡¯s ruler. The most famous of these curses is the ¡®Chu Curse Inscription.¡¯ (TN: I was going to TN this but the author copy/pasted the Baike entry below.) Near the end of the Warring States period, when the battle for power between the states of Qin and Chu was the most intense, the King of Qin pleaded for God to protect and bless the state of Qin and lead them to victory. He also cursed the State of Chu with death. That is what is inscribed in the ¡®Chu Curse Inscription¡¯ stone tablet.

    ¡°If we connect this to our present circumstances, we can deduce that perhaps the three Chinese Schr trees¡ªthese so-called yin trees¡ªmay be a type of curse. Some ces call Chinese Schr trees ¡®Ghost Beckoning trees.¡¯ Furthermore, it is said that they have the ability to collect yin energy and attract ghosts. Based on this, I have reason to suspect that the person who nted the trees in the Li Residence did not harbour good intentions towards the people of this family.

    ¡°Moreover, even if this is a world inside a painting, the scenario it creates must abide by logic. The story should be meticulously crafted and errorless. However, we didn¡¯t see any members of the Li Family or any rted kin. Typically speaking, this would be considered a bug.

    ¡°We have likely taken on the roles of vigers who havee to the Li Residence to help out. If we were Li Family members, our clothes would be different. Therefore, it¡¯s clear to see that the Li Family no longer has any living members. To put it harshly, the family line has died out.

    ¡°To people from ancient times, or even people or the not-so-distant past, a family line dying out is an extremely tragic fate. It can be considered retribution or a curse.

    ¡°Furthermore, the coffin in the mourning hall is constructed out of pure cedar. It is said that a pure cedar coffin will be struck by lightning. ¡®Struck by lightning¡¯ does not have a positive connotation. Typically, people use it as a form of swearing. But if these words were to be enacted with the help of a pure cedar coffin, they would no longer be harmless swear words. They would be a genuine, intentional curse.

    ¡°If webine all these points together, wee up with a clue that may or may not be important. That is, the family holding this funeral has been cursed. Starting from the moment those three Chinese Schr trees had been nted, everyone in that family had died without offspring. The corpse currently lying in the mourning hall is thest of their family. As of now, their family line haspletely died out.¡±

 Chapter 13: Good Friends Live Together and Die Together

    <h4>Chapter 13: Good Friends Live Together and Die Together</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Everyone was rendered speechless.

    Just what kind of person¡ªwhat kind of grudge could they have¡ªwould curse a family to be barren of children and go extinct?

    They didn¡¯t even spare thest member of that family. Even after that person had be a corpse in a coffin, they had cursed the deceased to be split by lightning.

    ¡°Perhaps the signature or seal is hidden within the truth of this matter,¡± The doctor said, ¡°Maybe we need to find out who cursed this family in order to find the seal.¡±

    ¡°How would we find them? It¡¯s already dark. There¡¯s no way we can find them now!¡± Liu Yufei pulled at his hair violently in a fit of anxiety. The greasy pigtail at the back of his head was tugged into a mess.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go ask that old man.¡± As he said this, Ke Xun walked over to the door and knocked heavily a few times. However, they could hear no soundsing from inside the room.

    ¡°Break it! Break the door down!¡± Liu Yufei¡¯s eyes were reddened in his panic. He picked up a chair and charged over. He swung the chair heavily against the door.

    Ke Xun was narrowly implicated in the other¡¯s attack. He took two steps to the side and let Liu Yufei m his chair against the door in a frenzied manner. Unfortunately, the wooden door seemed as sturdy as steel. Although the chair in Liu Yufei¡¯s hands had already splintered into pieces, there were no visible marks left on the wooden door.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡± The doctor shook his head. ¡°It seems like this door cannot be broken. Look at the time.¡±

    Ke Xun pulled out his phone from his pocket. He still had no signal. He looked at the time and saw that it was already past nine.

    ¡°ording to early Chinese time-keeping methods which divide each day into twelve units, nine o¡¯clock in the evening is considered the beginning of the ¡®dead of the night,¡¯¡± The doctor said, ¡°This refers to the time in which the sky has fully darkened. In the past, people would usually have already stopped working by this time and would be, instead, preparing to go to bed. No matter how hard we pound against the door, that old man, who has already entered his ¡®dead of the night¡¯ state and will not carry out any actions. We¡¯ve already missed our chance of asking him anything. We have no choice but to wait until tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°How can we wait until tomorrow?! I¡¯ll be dead by tomorrow!¡± Liu Yufei howled as he continued to kick at the wooden door with all his might.

    The doctor shook his head and turned to look at the others. ¡°Even if we were to ask the other vigers, the oue will be the same. No ¡®person¡¯ will appear.¡±

    ¡°What should I do¡­what should I do¡­?¡± Wei Dong¡¯s lips trembled. He looked at Ke Xun in despair.

    ¡°When will we be prohibited from leaving our designated areas?¡± Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure.¡± Mu Yiran looked at him. ¡°After all, both of the previous two paintings I entered had been different. But in general, it seems like we cannot move freely after eleven o¡¯clock. Once we hit eleven, we enter the subdivision that includes midnight.¡± (TN: zi shi is a subdivision in early Chinese time-keeping that epasses 11am to 1pm. And we all know that the horror genre loves making bad things happen after midnight.)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to look around the Chinese Schr trees again.¡± Ke Xun walked out the door withrge strides.

    He believed in fate, but he was never one to sumb to fate. He had always believed that one could change their own fate.

    Mu Yiran stared at his back, not moving for a long time.

    Wei Dong rubbed his eyes and then staggered out of the room too, running after Ke Xun. Mu Yiran then nced at the remaining people before also stepping out.

    The remaining people then followed after one after another. The only person who remained in the end was Liu Yufei, who continued to pound against the wooden door.

    When night came, the vige became so dark one wouldn¡¯t even be able to see their fingers if they were to stretch out their arms. The thick fog and stench of rain filled the air.

    Ke Xun used his cell phone to illuminate the Chinese Schr trees as he searched. Under the feeble light, the countless faces on the Chinese Schr trees looked even paler and sinister.

    Ke Xun climbed one of the trees. He dangerously manoeuvred his way through the tree¡¯s branches, trying his best to find some kind of suspicious mark. The crowd that had followed after him also didn¡¯t dare to tarry. They split up and started to conduct their own urgent searches.

    Under that stifling, anxious, apprehensive and fearful atmosphere, time passed by feeling both too quick and too slow. When the cold sound of a phone¡¯s rm rang, the doctor silenced it before sighing quietly. ¡°There¡¯s about twenty minutes until eleven o¡¯clock. We¡¯ll have to stop here. It may be even more dangerous for us if we cannot get back in time.¡±

    These words sounded very cruel in everyone¡¯s ears.

    Even if they were unwilling, there was no way to put this off. If they were to go to their posts, there would be a chance of survival. If they didn¡¯t go, then what awaited them would be certain death.

    Everyone fell silent for a while. In the end, they all headed to their posts with heavy steps.

    Wei Dong was left in a daze. He stood there in ce, not moving for a long time.

    Ke Xun clenched his fist and ruthlessly punched the tree. His chest heaved heavily and he grit his teeth. He then walked over to wrap an arm around Wei Dong¡¯s shoulder and took him towards the Li Residence. Even after they entered the courtyard, he didn¡¯t let go of the other. He headed straight towards the mourning hall.

    Mu Yiran realized that something was wrong. He grabbed Ke Xun¡¯s arm and asked him in a heavy voice, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to stay in the mourning hall with Dong zi tonight.¡± Ke Xun articted very clearly.

    ¡°You¡¯re seeking death.¡± Mu Yiran looked him coldly in the eyes.

    ¡°Even if I don¡¯t look for death, death wille looking for me. There¡¯s no difference.¡± Ke Xun gazed back, expressionless.

    ¡°You can¡¯t solve anything if you let your emotions get in your way.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s tone was frigid.

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Even if it was Mu Yiran who had inspected countless people before, it was rare for him to see genuine fearlessness in someone¡¯s eyes. But right now, he could see it in Ke Xun¡¯s. ¡°But I can¡¯t look on unfeelingly as my friend dies. I would rather die with him. Before I die, I want to know just what bullshit thing is trying to kill me. Even if I¡¯m powerless against it, I still want to spit blood in its fucking face before I die.¡±

    ¡°Listen to me.¡± Mu Yiran let go of his arm. He suddenly reached out and grabbed hold of Ke Xun¡¯spel and pulled him in close. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you want to die. But if it will implicate me, I won¡¯t approve of your ns. The painting mandates that two people must be in the firewood room. Therefore, there must be two people in the firewood room. Unless someone has already died, the sole person in the room will suffer two times the punishment. Of course, you have no obligation or responsibility over what I may encounter. Therefore, when a disagreement like this urs, there is only one possible resolution.¡±

    Before Ke Xun could ask what this resolution was, he saw Mu Yiran use his other hand to karate chop the back of his neck at the speed of light. Ke Xun hadn¡¯t even had time to dodge. Without being given any time to make a sound, he fell right onto Mu Yiran¡¯s body.

    Mu Yiran hoisted him up and then turned to look at the trembling Wei Dong.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Mu Yiran looked at him. ¡°I think you and him should quicklye to terms with the fact that now that you¡¯ve entered the world inside this painting, your lives now hang on a thread. Even if you manage to survive tonight, you may die tomorrow night. What evokes even more despair is that, even if you manage to make it out of this painting, you will have to enter the next painting, just like me. I don¡¯t know when it will end. What if it never ends?¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s trembling intensified. He almost couldn¡¯t stand steady anymore.

    ¡°If that¡¯s really the case, then there would be no meaning to fight like this to survive.¡± Mu Yiran was as indifferent and calm as ever. ¡°But I still want to try. Maybe there won¡¯t be another painting after this. That¡¯s why, in my opinion, there is still hope if you manage to survive. But then again, dying might also be a sort of liberation. I hope that by telling you this, I can make things a bit easier on you.¡±

    ¡°¡­I¡­¡± Wei Dong parted his lips but he could only make an indistinct, trembling syble.

    ¡°Go inside. There¡¯s not much time left.¡± Mu Yiran was so calm he seemed cruel.

    Wei Dong seemed to have lost all ability to act on his own. As soon as he heard Mu Yiran say this, he turned around and stumbled into the mourning hall as instructed.

    Mu Yiran watched him take a few steps. He then looked down to see the unconscious Ke Xun in his arms who was currently frowning. The light in his eyes flickered slightly. He then chased behind Wei Dong with his arms looped around Ke Xun. He whispered in Wei Dong¡¯s ears, ¡°After you go in, find a corner to lie down in. Pull the cor of your shirt over your head. Don¡¯t let your head show, not even your hair. Then, stay still. No matter what you hear or what you touch, do not move. If you hear something approach you, do your best to hold your breath.¡±

    Wei Dong turned to gaze at him hesitantly.

    ¡°This is just a conjecture on my part. I¡¯ve never tested it before so I don¡¯t know how effective it will be.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s tone was t. ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes too high. It¡¯s just an experimental method for a desperate situation.¡±

    Wei Dong turned around after that and continued to stumble into the mourning hall.

    Ke Xun was woken up by the sound of muffled thunder.

    The moment he opened his eyes, everything was pitch dark around him. He was about to move when a hand pushed down on him. A very soft voice then filtered into his ears. ¡°Don¡¯t move. It¡¯s here.¡±

    Ke Xun instantly remembered what had happened before he had fainted. Fury boiled in his chest and he struggled to sit up. Mu Yiran wrapped a hand around his throat and pressed him tightly against the ground.

    ¡°Wei Dong won¡¯t die. Don¡¯t be reckless or I¡¯ll knock you unconscious again.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was so quiet that Ke Xun almost couldn¡¯t hear him. However, he could still sense the chill in the other¡¯s voice.

    Ke Xun forced himself to calm down. Heid on the icy floor, motionless.

    A momentter, the sound of movement around them echoed in his ears.

    There was a weird rustling sound.

    It wasn¡¯t the sound paper makes, nor the sound of wind against branches or a door. It sounded like something was slowly shuffling against the floor.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s hand silently let go of Ke Xun¡¯s throat. The moment his fingers lifted off of Ke Xun¡¯s skin, Ke Xun finally noticed the slight cold of the other¡¯s fingertips.

    So this person was also capable of getting nervous, was what Ke Xun thought. It seemed like whatever was making that shuffling sound outside was stronger than those paper dolls.

    For some inexplicable reason, Ke Xun reached out and took hold of Mu Yiran¡¯s hand.

    The moment their hands touched, Ke Xun was startled. He also sensed that Mu Yiran, who was on top of him, also went rigid.

    It was an instinctive action caused by fear on his part. Not even Ke Xun had expected that he would do such a thing. Luckily, these were extraordinary times. Otherwise, Mu Yiran would probably have choked him to death.

    Regardless, neither Ke Xun nor Mu Yiran moved. This was because the shuffling sound was graduallying closer.

    Both of them lightened their breaths. Ke Xun could sense that the slowly moving sound seemed to be patrolling the pile of firewood Mu Yiran had hidden the two of them behind. Suddenly, the sound stopped in front of the pile, right where their heads were. The room fell deathly still in an instant.

    Ke Xun felt his scalp go numb and he held his breath at once.

    Everything was silent. He could even hear his heart thumping inside his chest.

    Ke Xun began to worry. His heart was indeed beating too intensely. He was afraid that the ¡®thing¡¯ outside would hear it.

    In the silence, every second seemed tost an eternity. An invisible, enormous bad premonition increasingly pressed down against Ke Xun.

    One second, two seconds, three seconds¡­.

    Just as Ke Xun¡¯s breath was about to run out and he would be forced to breathe, a ¡®tter¡¯ resounded through the room.

    A log in front of them had fallen on its own.

    The author has something to say:

    Everything feels unreal and confusing to Ke Xun, who has just entered a painting for the first time. He still feels like it¡¯s possible to win as long as he tries his best. This is why he and Mu Yiran, who is a veteran when ites to going into paintings, will inevitably have shes of opinions and? ideas in the beginning. I think that it¡¯s more normal for a neer to be both afraid and fearless, as well impulsive and hot-blooded. I think that it wouldn¡¯t make much sense for him to be OP in the beginning. Furthermore, we would lose the opportunity to see him grow~

    Therefore, our protagonist Ke Xun will mature. He will get stronger and stronger and gain a steadier mind. He will gradually thaw that iceberg of a man and their love will shine~

    Fairies, please wait and see. My son is also your son. Let¡¯s raise this baby together and send him off with a grand wedding~~

    Muah muah~~~

    Eve: His growth is indeed impressive and I love my sons. #waiting for the wedding

 Chapter 14: A Malformed â€˜Personâ€™

    <h4>Chapter 14: A Malformed ¡®Person¡¯ ?</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun subconsciously opened his eyes. He peered through the cracks of the woodpile and saw a person.

    ¡®Person¡¯, however, wasn¡¯t exactly the correct term.

    This ¡®person¡¯ was on the ground,pletely naked, and was slowly squirming around on the floor, their body twisted in a weird position.

    A secondter, Ke Xun realized that it wasn¡¯t that the person¡¯s body was in an odd position¡ªit was ¡®his¡¯ body that was weird.

    It was as if Nuwa had identally made a mistake while creating this person.

    ¡®His¡¯ naked torso was twisted weirdly and ¡®his¡¯ grotesque, long spine was protruding out of his back, making it look like it would burst out from ¡®his¡¯ skin. Furthermore, ¡®his¡¯ limbs and head chaotically sprouted out of ¡®his¡¯ bony,? warped torso.

    ¡®He¡¯ looked like an action figure that had been assembled by a kid. Like the kid had recklessly used glue to stick ¡®his¡¯ head and limbs onto ¡®his¡¯ back, chest, and abdomen. None of ¡®his¡¯ organs seemed to be put in their rightful ce.

    That was why this person couldn¡¯t walk. ¡®He¡¯ could only wiggle on the floor to move.

    It seemed to take a lot of effort for ¡®him¡¯ to squirm along the floor. The deathly pale, emaciated leg on ¡®his¡¯ back kicked the air in a helpless, resentful manner. The toes were all curled up and the jet-ck toenails were broken, lifting off of the skin. Beneath them you could see rotten red flesh.

    ¡®His¡¯ head wasn¡¯t connected to a neck. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t see where the head was connected to. What was closest to Ke Xun was the ¡°person¡¯s¡± hand¡ªor to be more precise, five fingers. Ke Xun didn¡¯t see a palm. All he saw were five slender fingers growing out of ¡®his¡¯ ribs like they were warts. They kept wriggling and twitching.

    Fortunately, Ke Xun had been able to bite down on his tongue in time to avoid making any noises upon seeing this ¡®person¡¯ for the first time. He didn¡¯t dare let go afterwards either. He was afraid that if he were to loosen his bite, the contents of his stomach woulde rushing out.

    Was this the ¡®thing¡¯ that had been inside the coffin? Why did thest member of the Li Family look like that?

    There was no time to mull over this in his present situation. After the ¡®person¡¯ had heard the sound of the firewood falling, its seemingly randomly-pieced body started to wriggle over in search of the source.

    What should they do?

    Ke Xun believed that this thing was nowhere near as slow and helpless as it currently appeared. What would happen if it were to find himself and Mu Yiran uponing over would be unimaginable.

    A deathly white arm swayed between the cracks of the wood pile as the ¡®person¡¯ wiggled along the ground. At such a close distance, Ke Xun could feel the chill that emanated from this dead man¡¯s skin.

    The chill felt like it came from the lips of dozens of corpses. Cold and wet, it stuck to Ke Xun¡¯s skin and quickly prated through his flesh, drilling into his bones.

    Ke Xun¡¯s body began to tremble involuntarily. As seconds passed by, the trembling got worse.

    It was all because of that weird thing! Ke Xun wanted to suppress his body¡¯s shivering but it didn¡¯t listen to him.

    He bit down on his tongue hard and blood trickled down the corner of his lips. Even so, he could not stop the cold from permeating his body or his body from shivering even more intensely. When his teeth began to tter, a slightly cool finger pressed softly against his lips.

    Soon after, Mu Yiran¡¯s elbow silently pressed against Ke Xun¡¯s ribs. He felt the other apply a bit of pressure and suddenly, the piercing cold vanished without a trace. If it weren¡¯t because the other had a finger against his lips, Ke Xun would have called out in pain. Ayer of cold sweat formed on his forehead and palms.

    Ke Xun had no time to pay any attention to the pain in his ribs. Through the cracks in the wood pile, he saw that the weirdly-shaped person had already changed directions. Behind one of ¡®his¡¯ limbs¡ªKe Xun couldn¡¯t tell if it was an arm or a leg¡ªdishevelled, curly hair kept sprouting out.

    Ke Xun¡¯s gaze followed the hair back to its origin and he ended up seeing a pair of chapped, pitch-ck lips.

    The hair hade out from this being¡¯s mouth. Because there was so much of it, the mouth was forced wide. Dried, rotten, teeth-less gums were in full view.

    Ke Xun¡¯s gaze slowly drifted downwards and saw a t nose formed in the crease of that limb. Beneath that, two eyes appeared in his line of sight.

    The moment Ke Xun met with this ¡°person¡¯s¡± eyes, everything went dark in front of him.

    Mu Yiran ced a hatchet that had beenying by his side in front of Ke Xun, blocking him from the cracks in the wood pile. His movement had been nimble and precise, so he hadn¡¯t made any noises.

    Ke Xun held his breath and listened to the sound of movement from the ¡®person¡¯ on the other side of the wood pile.

    The ¡®person¡¯ didn¡¯t leave the wood pile. Ke Xun didn¡¯t know if ¡®he¡¯ was still watching or simply waiting. Rusting sounds echoed through the room as the haphazardly-grown limbs on ¡®his¡¯ body rubbed together. It sounded like ¡®his¡¯ skin was very dry, as if ¡®he¡¯ had a skin condition that caused his skin to fall to the ground like fish scales when rubbed.

    Ke Xun felt his whole body go limp when he heard this. He also felt itchy himself.

    A few minutester, he realized that it wasn¡¯t just in his head. He really did feel itchy all over.

    This wasn¡¯t just a typical itchy sensation. It was a coarse kind of itchiness, as if there were burrs packed beneath his skin.

    This kind of prickly, itchy feeling was hard to bear. Ke Xun wanted to tear off his own skin and then ruthlessly scratch his own flesh to pulp with long, sharp nails.

    Ke Xun did his best to endure it. He squeezed his fists tightly and dug his nails into the skin of his palms. He bit down hard on his lips, feeling like he wanted to bite his own itchy lips off and swallow it into his belly.

    Unfortunately, it was all useless. The itchiness only seemed to double in lieu of his resistance. Ke Xun¡¯s eyes felt like they would pop out of his skull from how much force he was using to resist. He wasn¡¯t even in the mind to think about how he was currently facing imminent death.

    Ruthless. Truly ruthless.

    This deformed ghoul was even more ruthless than a murderer who killed with their own hands.

    Ke Xun could feel that he was already at his limit. A voice in his head said, ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore, I can¡¯t hold on anymore. I want to die. I¡¯m going to die!¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s consciousness told him that he wanted to die in the next second. He couldn¡¯t do this anymore, he would rather die.

    Thest nerve that had still been trying to fight with its back against the wall snapped. He finally lost all reasoning. Just as he was about to jump up and m his head against the wall until he died, he felt Mu Yiran press down hard on the artery in his neck. A secondter, Ke Xun lost consciousness.

    .

    The next time he opened his eyes, he saw Mu Yiran standing beside him, peering down at him coldly.

    He could still feel the after effects of having been kicked in the butt.

    It was already faintly light outside. Several rays of fuzzy light filtered through the seams of the wooden windows and illuminated Mu Yiran¡¯s sculpted features.

    ¡°Is it morning?¡± Ke Xun was startled. He jumped up. ¡°Where¡¯s that deformity?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t pay him any attention and left.

    Ke Xun thought of Wei Dong and also rushed out. In an instant, he had already left Mu Yiran in his dust as he sprinted towards the mourning hall.

    The paper doll boy and girl were still pasted by the mourning hall door. They continued to look at the arriving people with smiles on their faces.

    Ke Xun kicked the door open. What he saw nearly caused his soul to leave his body¡ªit was two headless corpses. Based on the corpses¡¯ shapes, he could tell that one of them belonged to Wei Dong!

    ¡°Dong zi¡ª¡±

    Ke Xun cried out in a pained, nasally voice. Hepletely broke down. He couldn¡¯t even remember how he had fallen onto Wei Dong. He didn¡¯t believe it. He didn¡¯t believe that the corpse left in such a tragic state belonged to the childhood friend he had grown up with¡ªhis friend with whom he had been close as brothers to. He didn¡¯t know how to handle this. It felt like a huge hammer was pounding his chest open¡ª-

    ¡°¡­Fuck¡­uou¡¯re squishing me to death¡­get up¡­¡± A groan suddenly came out of Wei Dong¡¯s corpse.

    Ke Xun¡¯s mind nked. He then saw Wei Dong¡¯s head slowly popped out of the ¡°corpse¡¯s¡± cor. The other¡¯s face was pained. ¡°¡­Get up! Go grieve over there!¡±

    ¡°¡­Dong zi, are¡­you a human or a ghost?¡± Ke Xun stared at him, still in a bit of a daze.

    ¡°Piss off. You¡¯re the ghost! Don¡¯t curse me!¡± Wei Dong rubbed his chest that now ached because of Ke Xun¡¯s actions. He fiercely exhaled in the other¡¯s face. ¡°See? Aren¡¯t I still breathing? I¡¯m alive!¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± Ke Xun stared at him for a long time before rubbing his face. He concealed the tremor in his voice and said, ¡°Let me tell you, your breath stinks so badly you could bring a ghost back to life¡­.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m gonna kiss you, so what?¡± Wei Dong eased up. When he looked up and saw Mu Yiran standing at the door, he jumped up and ran over. ¡°Boss! You¡¯re my saviour, Boss! I hid my head like you told me and I was fine! Really fine! I lived! I¡¯m alive! Hahaha! My saviour!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    Wei Dong told him what Mu Yiran had said to him yesterday. He pointed to the other headless ¡®corpse.¡¯ ¡°I also told Liu Yufei the method. When he heard that Boss had been the one to teach me this, he stopped howling like a madman. We did what he said and it turns out that it really works!¡±

    Liu Yufei slowly crawled up to his feet. His gaze was on Mu Yiran. ¡°Does this mean you already figured this out?¡±

    ¡°That depends. We¡¯ll have to wait until we go to the old man¡¯s house to know.¡± Mu Yiran said this calmly and then left the mourning hall.

    Ke Xun caught up withrge strides and turned to face him. ¡°Thanks. Thank you for saving Dong zi and for saving me.¡±

    Mu Yiran said in a t voice, ¡°No need. It was just a hypothesis.¡±

    Ke Xunughed and didn¡¯t mention anything else after that. He headed to the old man¡¯s house with him.

    Mu Yiran, Ke Xun, Wei Dong and Liu Yufei arrived the earliest. Shortly after they walked through the doors, the doctor and jianbing vendor walked in.

    The jianbing vendor¡¯splexion looked even worse than it had yesterday. He lookedpletely spiritless and his skin had taken on an ashplexion. After entering the house, he slumped down onto a chair and stared off into space.

    ¡°What happenedst night?¡± The doctor looked at Wei Dong and Liu Yufei. He was shocked that the two of them were still alive.

    Before Wei Dong could answer, the door opened again and in came the two people who had been in charge of grave-diggingst night.

    Everyone¡¯s gazes suddenly changed.

    Eight people.

    Last night, there were eight survivors. Another night had passed and unexpectedly, this number had not decreased.

    ording to the painting¡¯s rule for fixing bugs, the eight people would have to hold a vote.

    They had to choose one person to die.

    Eve:  Brutal. Also, it wasn¡¯t as bad when reading but having to trante the description of that deformed ¡®person¡¯ made me lose my appetite.

 Chapter 15: Who Should Die?

    <h4>Chapter 15: Who Should Die? ?</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    ¡°¡ªChoose him! I choose him!¡± Liu Yufei stretched out his arm and pointed directly at Mu Yiran, agitated.

    .

    Everyone turned to look at him, a different expression on each person¡¯s face.

    ¡°Choose him! Everyone, choose him! Choose that Mu guy!¡± Liu Yufei¡¯s face was twisted from his frenzied state. ¡°Everyone who has experienced thest two paintings all know that no matter who this guy teams up with, he always ends up leaving the painting alone! What about his teammates?! Have you guys ever wondered where his teammates have gone? Why did only hee out? Listen to me¡ªdon¡¯t be tricked by his appearance. If our numbers keep dwindling and the remaining members are left with him, what do you think will happen? He will definitely leave all on his own and everyone else will die in this painting! So choose him! Everyone, choose him! Let him die first! Choose him!¡±

    No one spoke. Only Liu Yufei¡¯s roars reverberated through the air with the dust in this shabby house.

    ¡°What are you guys hesitating for?¡± Liu Yufei was on the brink of madness. He gesticted with his hands widely. ¡°Have you all forgotten? You guys don¡¯t know, do you? If we don¡¯t choose someone before nine o¡¯clock, everyone will die! We¡¯re out of time! Who can guarantee that they won¡¯t be the next one picked to die by this painting?! Choose! Quickly, choose! Do you guys want to drag this out until nine?¡±

    Seeing that everyone¡¯s eyes were lowered and no one was willing to speak, Liu Yufei grabbed the jianbing vendor¡¯s cor and red at him, eyes protruding out of his skull. ¡°Tell me! Who do you choose?! Choose quickly! Otherwise I¡¯ll choose you. You¡¯re going to die! Die! Choose quickly!¡±

    The jianbing vendor shivered. He hadpletely lost all his willpower and ability to think. He only pointed at Mu Yiran subconsciously ording to Liu Yufei¡¯s words.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze was serene. He looked at the crowd and then calmly opened his mouth. ¡°You all know that we cannot go against the painting¡¯s rules. We cannot resist them. Therefore, Liu Yufei was at least right about one thing. There¡¯s no meaning to dragging this on to nine o¡¯clock. Regardless, one person will ultimately die here, unless of course, no one wants to leave here alive.¡±

    The doctor looked up at him. ¡°That¡¯s right. It doesn¡¯t matter if we¡¯re willing to do this or not. We have no choice but to follow the rules and choose someone. Although¡­it¡¯s not morally right, the other option is for everyone here to die. We can only choose the better of the two options.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! There¡¯s no ce for fake righteousness or morals here!¡± Liu Yufei interrupted, irascible. ¡°You can¡¯t be humane here! All I know is that I don¡¯t want to die. No one¡¯s life is more important than my own! Don¡¯t tell me you guys don¡¯t feel the same? Who doesn¡¯t know just how selfish humans are?! I¡¯m not like you hypocrites who still want to pretend they have no other choice when you clearly look forward to seeing someone else die. Who cares about weighing your decisions?! Don¡¯t try to justify your own selfish agendas! Time¡¯s ticking¡ªquickly say who you choose!¡±

    Who knew if it was because the doctor¡¯s thoughts had been interrupted or because he just didn¡¯t want to pay any attention to the mad man, but the doctor looked back down silently.

    Liu Yufei became even more violent. He grabbed Wei Dong and interrogated him. ¡°Tell me! Who do you choose?¡±

    Wei Dong was stunned. His eyes drifted to Ke Xun who was beside him.

    Ke Xun was calm. He said in an insipid tone, ¡°I abstain.¡±

    Wei Dong promptly followed. ¡°I also abstain. I don¡¯t want to choose anyone. Choose whoever you want!¡±

    Liu Yufei sneered and let go of him. ¡°Heh, pretending to be a saint? Do you think that you guys are noble for not choosing anyone? You¡¯re even more despicable and shameless for choosing to push the responsibility of choosing who to kill onto other people!¡±

    Ke Xun raised his chin slightly and peered down at the other. ¡°You¡¯re right. I am despicable and shameless. Why don¡¯t you choose me?¡±

    Liu Yufei red at him fiercely. He then questioned the doctor, ¡°Who do you choose? Don¡¯t try to pull some righteous bull. Choose immediately!¡±

    The doctor regarded him peacefully. ¡°Let me think it over. After all, this is no different from having to kill someone personally.¡±

    Liu Yufei didn¡¯t pester him anymore. He went to question the other two people. ¡°If you don¡¯t choose someone, someone will choose you. And if this drags on past nine, everyone will die. It¡¯s better for one person to die than for everyone to die. What is there to be hesitant about? We¡¯re voting for the good of the group. This is already the best case scenario. Someone has to be chosen. Don¡¯t hesitate. Choose someone quickly. Time waits for no one. I chose that Mu guy. He¡¯s the most cunning person around. When the timees, he¡¯ll definitely hurt others to ensure his own safety! Choose him! It¡¯ll be advantageous for us to choose him!¡±

    ¡°Hey.¡± Ke Xun narrowed his eyes and walked over to Liu Yufei. ¡°Don¡¯t take things too far. You have to respect other people¡¯s choices. I won¡¯t ept the results of the vote if you keep meddling like this.¡±

    Liu Yufei was shorter than Ke Xun by half a head. He had to look up to meet his gaze. He sneered. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether or not you ept it. As soon as the results are out, the painting will acknowledge it. What do you think you are?!¡±

    Ke Xunughed but it didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already ce your vote? How about I knock you unconscious right now? That wouldn¡¯t be against the rules, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡ªwhat are you doing?!¡± Liu Yufei roared as he backed up.

    ¡°I already made it clear.¡± Ke Xun raised his hand. ¡°Who I am¡­you can think about it after tasting my fist.¡±

    ¡°You two¡ª¡± Liu Yufei turned his head to the other two people, panicked. He howled, ¡°Pick the Mu guy! Pick the Mu guy!¡±

    ¡°I have something to say.¡± Mu Yiran suddenly spoke up, gaze cast in Ke Xun¡¯s direction.

    Ke Xun walked back over. ¡°I like to listen to you talk. Say what you have to say.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze swept over the rest of the crowd. ¡°Since we have to choose someone, then there¡¯s no need for any superfluous words. Everyone here is a possible candidate. However, we are people, notmbs waiting to be ughtered. The difference between people andmbs is that, at the very least, we should be given the right to exin why we are worth keeping alive. Everyone can then vote based on that. What do you all think?¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°I also agree.¡± Wei Dong followed.

    ¡°I also think that this is a good suggestion.¡± The doctor was calm and rational. ¡°At least it gives everyone onest chance to fight.¡±

    The other two people also agreed. As for the jianbing vendor, he was still in a silent trance.

    In contrast, Liu Yufei¡¯s emotions were vtile. ¡°I don¡¯t agree! The Mu guy is trying to swindle his way out of this ! He¡¯s trying to deceive you all!¡±

    ¡°Five people agree, one abstains and one is against it. That means that the proposal goes through.¡± As he spoke, Ke Xun took two steps forwards. He then swung his fist against Liu Yufei¡¯s face.

    He had held back. The impact had only caused Liu Yufei to take three or four steps back. Two lines of blood trickled out from Liu Yufei¡¯s nose but the punch seeded in silencing his roars.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡±

    No one paid attention to Liu Yufei, who had been stunned from the punch. They only exchanged nces with each other. The doctor asked, ¡°Who wants to go first?¡±

    One of the people who had been tasked with grave-diggingst night deliberated his words and then said, ¡°I know that everyone wants to survive. No one wants to be voted out. There¡¯s no need to mention humanity in a situation like this.

    ¡°I just want to say that I¡¯m just a regr person. I¡¯ve never done anything bad in my life. Every day, I live my life honestly. My wife divorced me two years ago. She left me and my son before disappearing without a trace.

    ¡°My child is only three years old this year. My parents are old and their bodies aren¡¯t well. They spend half the year at the hospital. If I were to die here, I don¡¯t know what will happen to my child¡­.

    ¡°Perhaps he¡¯ll no longer have a next meal. Perhaps he¡¯ll open up his puzzled eyes every morning, with no clue as to why he has no parents. Maybe he¡¯ll fall sick and have no one to care for him. His skinny, tiny body will curl up in the corner, all pitiful and alone¡­.

    ¡°Sorry¡­I didn¡¯t mean to use my child to gain your pity. But I¡­I really don¡¯t want to die here and leave my pitiful kid alone. I just hope that when we cast our votes, you will at least consider my situation. I-I thank everyone in advance¡­.¡±

    By the time this person finished speaking, there were tear streaks all over his face.

    Everyone was silent. A momentter, the doctor spoke up. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll speak a few words on my own behalf now. I¡¯m a doctor. Although there are no tools or medication inside the painting, I can at least perform first aid under some circumstances. I don¡¯t know if there will be a next painting, or a next next painting after we leave this one. If there is, I think that my expertise and skills will be of great assistance. I hope that when we vote, everyone will consider my usefulness. Thank you.¡±

    The second person who had been tasked with grave-diggingst night promptly followed. ¡°I¡¯m also useful. I am. I am the boss of my ownpany. I have money. As long as you spare me, I willpensate every single person with a hundred thousand yuan. I promise! If you don¡¯t believe me, I can write an IOU for a hundred thousand yuan right here! No¡ªtwo hundred thousand yuan! I¡¯ll give everyone here two hundred thousand yuan!¡±

    Liu Yufei finally seemed to snap out of it. He didn¡¯t bother with settling it with Ke Xun and shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t choose me. I can¡¯t die! I¡¯m a PHD candidate at a famous university situated in the capital! I¡¯m an important talent cultivated by our country! I am useful to our country!

    ¡°Do you know how scarce talent is in our country right now? Do you know how difficult it is for our country to cultivate a talented person? This country needs me. If society wants to advance, it needs me. Whether or not your lives will improve all depends on talents like me!

    ¡°You should all understand the principle of ¡®survival of the fittest,¡¯ right? Whether it¡¯srge-scale, like a society, or small-scale, like our group right now, the best thing to do is to retain outstanding talents and eliminate the useless, mediocre people who will only drag us down! It¡¯s all for the sake of increasing the chances of the group¡¯s survival!

    ¡°Therefore, you can¡¯t choose me. We should choose useless people! For example, him. For example, them! Use your brains and consider it carefully!¡±

    Liu Yufei pointed at the jianbing vendor, Ke Xun and Wei Dong.

    Wei Dong was speechless. ¡°Even someone like this can be a PHD candidate at a famous university? He¡¯s kidding, right?¡±

    Ke Xun had no expression on his face. ¡°There is no corrtion between one¡¯s education and one¡¯s character.¡±

    ¡°Tell me, what skill or strong point do you guys have to justify sparing you?!¡± Liu Yufei red at the two of them, gaze sinister.

    ¡°Oh. I wasn¡¯t going to say anything but after seeing your performance, I suddenly thought of a good point for myself,¡± Ke Xun said,¡± At the very least, I will never maul someone to death like a rabid dog to ensure my own survival.¡±

    As soon as he spoke, everyone¡¯s gazes twinkled in contemtion.

    Mu Yiran turned to look at Ke Xun, the look in his eyes growing profound.

    This fellow really exceeded his expectations sometimes.

    The guy always seemed to act unfettered and free-spirited in front of others. He also gave off the impression of being a bad guy, like ¡°I¡¯m going to do things my way, what are you going to do about it?¡±

    But his words just now¡­Mu Yiran didn¡¯t know if it was intentional, but his words had carried a sliver of craftiness that was, while not sharp, enough to cause a fatal blow.

    That¡¯s right. A fatal blow.

    He didn¡¯t have to describe why he should be spared at all. All he had to do was grab hold of what people cared about the most, what people feared about the most, what people had the most misgivings about. He just needed aparison to put him into an invincible position.

    ¡ª¡ªWith a selfish, frenzied Liu Yufei who would recklessly bite others here, the others would never choose him. This was because Liu Yufei was still there beneath him.

    Now that he thought about it, had Ke Xun abstained in the beginning in preparation for this?

    ¡­Was he actually that smart?

    People had many sides to them.

    This Ke Xun¡­perhaps he shouldn¡¯t underestimate him.

    Eve: That¡¯s right! Don¡¯t underestimate my Ke Xun! He¡¯s actually very smart! He just needs to grow into his brain cells, hmph!

 Chapter 16: Unexpected Character Meaning

    <h4>Chapter 16: Unexpected Character Meaning</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    ¡°What are you trying to say?!¡± Liu Yufei pounced over, wanting to throw a punch.

    Ke Xun was tall and his arms were long. Before Liu Yufei¡¯s fist could reach his face, his palm had already mmed against the other¡¯s face. His fingers clenched around Liu Yufei¡¯s visage and then he tossed the other man casually to the side, causing him to stumble onto the floor.

    ¡°Dong zi, it¡¯s your turn,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°I¡¯m the same as Ke er,¡± Wei Dong said, ¡°I¡¯m just a normal person. I don¡¯t have any personal strengths or merits. All I can promise is that I would never screw someone else over.¡±

    ¡°Our Dong zi is a graphic designer.¡± Ke Xun added on his behalf. ¡°He¡¯s an expert in the arts. He can give us a professional opinion and unique perspective with regards to art. He¡¯s fit for the task of researching this world.¡±

    Wei Dong thought, how on earth does that make me qualified for that?

    The doctor then turned to look at the jianbing vendor. ¡°What about you? Is there anything you want to say?¡±

    The jianbing vendor widened his bloodshot eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die. I really don¡¯t want to die. Please, I beg you, don¡¯t choose me. I don¡¯t want to die¡­I don¡¯t want to die¡­.¡±

    When the doctor saw that the jianbing vendor was only going to keep repeating this one phrase, he didn¡¯t ask him anything more. In the end, he turned to Mu Yiran. ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡±

    Mu Yiran said one sentence: ¡°I have clues.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Three words. Simple, rough and to the point.

    If one were topare Ke Xun¡¯s words to a fatal blow, then Mu Yiran¡¯s words were like a full team KO.

    He had clues.

    No matter who had to die, he couldn¡¯t die.

    It was that simple.

    The doctor cast his gaze down. ¡°All right, we¡¯ve all said our pieces. Now¡­it¡¯s time to vote. There isn¡¯t a lot of time left.¡±

    The expression on everyone¡¯s face turned heavy andplicated.

    It didn¡¯t feel good to be an executioner.

    However, having to face death felt even worse.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go get pencils and paper.¡± The doctor got up to look for the old man. He then came back with a sheet of yellow paper and several charcoal pencils.

    After tearing the paper into eight pieces and handing them out, he said, ¡°Everyone, state your names. If you don¡¯t want to say your real name, just give us something to call you by.¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun.¡± Ke Xun was the first to speak up. ¡°The ¡®Ke¡¯ from ¡®corgi¡¯ and the ¡®Xun¡¯ from ¡®to seek.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Wei Dong.¡± Wei Dong was next. ¡°The Wei from Wei Qing, the Qing from ¡®cyan.''¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong suddenly realized he had made a mistake. ¡°Uh...the Dong is from ¡®thing.¡¯¡±

    Ke Xun nced at him. He knew that his friend was really nervous.

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°Mu Yiran. The Mu from Muye, the Yi from ¡®delighted¡¯ and the Ran from ¡®leisurely.¡¯¡±

    Next came the single father and thepany boss. One was named Ma Zhenhua while the other was named Zhang Maolin.

    The jianbing vendor wasn¡¯t willing to say his name. He kept on begging, ¡°Don¡¯t choose me. Please, I beg you, don¡¯t choose me¡­.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just call him ¡®A¡¯ then.¡± The doctor sighed and then cast his gaze over to Liu Yufei.

    ¡°What are you looking at me for?! In any case, I can¡¯t die! Write someone else¡¯s name. Other people here arepletely useless. Whether they live or die, it doesn¡¯t affect our country at all. No one would miss them if they die!¡± Liu Yufei howled.

    ¡°Let¡¯s call him SB.¡± Ke Xun sighed quietly.

    Wei Dong. ¡°Suits him.¡±

    The doctor was thest to announce his name. ¡°Myst name is Qin. Qin Ci. The Qin from Qin Shihuang and the Ci from ¡®bestow.¡¯¡±

    Silence once again befell the room.

    Eight names, eight lives. It was already inevitable. The choice was now in front of their eyes with no option to postpone it any further.

    Thepany boss, Zhang Maolin, pulled his phone out and nced at it. He then looked up at everyone, panicked. ¡°There¡¯s only five minutes until nine¡­w-we have to vote now¡­.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expressions warped.

    The arrow was already loaded into the bow. There was no time left for hesitation.

    The doctor was calm. He cast his gaze downwards. ¡°Let¡¯s vote. What has to happen will happen.¡±

    The five minutes felt like both an eternity and a blink of an eye. Except for Ke Xun and Wei Dong, who had already chosen to abstain, everyone picked up their pencils.

    While casting their votes, some people were expressionless, some people looked conflicted, some people had on vicious expressions and some people bawled.

    A minute before nine, everyone ced their papers onto the table and slowly pushed them into the centre.

    Even without revealing what was written on the papers, the world within the painting would know who had the most votes.

    Everyone simply sat there with nk expressions on their faces. They all stared at the papers, waiting for the sentence to arrive.

    Second after second passed. The single father, Ma Zhenhua, and thepany boss, Zhang Maolin, couldn¡¯t help but start to cry alongside the jianbing vendor.

    Meanwhile, the doctor and Mu Yiran were calm and expressionless throughout the entire process.

    Wei Dong stared at a corner of the table in a daze. Ke Xun¡¯s gaze was downcast as he leaned back against his chair, motionless.

    Liu Yufei was shaking all over. His fists were tightly clenched and there wererge droplets of sweat seeping out of his forehead.

    It was unknown what time it was, but Liu Yufei finally seemed to snap. He abruptly jumped up and let out a bloodcurdling scream. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die¡ªI have to go back¡ªfake¡ªthis is all fake¡ªI¡¯m dreaming¡ªthis is a nightmare¡ªI need to wake up¡ªI don¡¯t want to be asleep any longer¡ªlet me wake up¡ª¡±

    Like a madman, Liu Yufei pushed the door open and sprinted outside, as if by doing this, he could break free of this strange world¡¯s shackles. Everyone promptly followed after him. However, when they reached the door, they ended up seeing Liu Yufei tumble onto the courtyard¡¯s fence.

    The jagged, pointy tips of the bamboo fence pierced Liu Yufei¡¯s body and blood started to squirt out of his wounds.

    Liu Yufei let out miserable shrieks and iled his limbs, trying to get off of the fence.

    He looked like a grasshopper whose stomach had been punctured by a toothpick.

    Thick lines of blood gushed down the bamboo and Liu Yufei¡¯s screams and iling gradually weakened.

    Eventually, he stopped moving. His lifeless body simply hung over the fence, making him look like a piece of dried meat.

    Ma Zhenhua and Zhang Maolin copsed onto the floor, knees having gone weak. They both cried silently, although it was unknown whether it was because they had been frightened by Liu Yufei¡¯s death or because they were rejoicing the fact that they had escaped death today.

    Meanwhile, the jianbing vendor had lost control of his dder from the fright.

    The doctor looked at Liu Yufei¡¯s corpse, and shook his head, aplicated expression on his face. He was about to say something to try and alleviate this stifling, difficult-to-describe atmosphere, when he saw Mu Yiran suddenly make his way to Liu Yufei¡¯s corpse. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°You can¡¯t save him. He¡¯s already dead.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t answer him. He headed directly towards Liu Yufei¡¯s corpse and bent down to examine it closely. He then heard a voice behind him. ¡°You want to investigate the cause of his death?¡±

    Mu Yiran turned to nce at the person who spoke. He saw that Ke Xun had followed after him at some point in time. The other was calmly watching him.

    The others hadn¡¯te over. Mu Yiran turned his head back to Liu Yufei¡¯s corpse. The sharpened bamboo sticks that made up the fence werepletely soaked in blood. They had thoroughly pierced through Liu Yufei¡¯s waist and had nearly split his body in half.

    ¡°Chopped in half at the waist.¡± Mu Yiran coldly spat out these cruel-sounding words.

    Ke Xun, however, felt that, aside from indifference, he could make out that the other sounded like he had made a discovery.

    By the time they returned to the house, the old man had already set the table with breakfast. As if nothing had happened, he repeated his words from yesterday in his lifeless voice. ¡°Everyone worked hardst night. Have breakfast. There isn¡¯t much work to do during the day so everyone can rest. Come find me when night falls. At that time, I will assign everyone with their tasks for the night.¡±

    After saying this, he turned and headed for the inner room.

    Ma Zhenhua and Zhang Maolin were still paralyzed on the floor, sobbing. The jianbing vendor had copsed onto a chair. His urine had slid down his leg and onto the floor. The doctor was leaning against the door frame, seemingly lost in thought. Wei Dong was hidden in a corner of the room from which he wouldn¡¯t be able to see the corpse.

    Mu Yiran went to sit at the table. He had just raised his hand when he saw Ke Xun dutifully hand him a piece of steamed corn bread. The other then grabbed one for himself as he called Wei Dong over. ¡°Come eat.¡±

    ¡°Fuck, you still have an appetite?¡± Wei Dong was shocked.

    ¡°We should eat more at a time like this.¡± Ke Xun pointed to one of the chairs. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what that old man said? We¡¯re still going to be assigned tasks at night. We were lucky to survivest night. Who knows whether we¡¯ll make it through tonight? Even if we¡¯re lucky enough to all survive tonight, won¡¯t we have to vote again tomorrow? Hurry up ande eat! You¡¯ll only have the energy to find the signature if your stomach¡¯s full!¡±

    Wei Dong thought that he was right so he reluctantly went to sit at the table. He forced himself to eat the steamed corn bread and congee.

    The doctor had alsoe over upon hearing Ke Xun¡¯s words. He silently ate his fill before cing his chopsticks down. He looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°Xiao Mu, can you tell us about the clues you¡¯ve obtained now? How about sharing it with everyone?¡±

    Ma Zhenhua and Zhang Maolin forced themselves to stand up at once when they heard the doctor say this. They also came to sit at the table, anxious gazes directed towards Mu Yiran.

    Ke Xun felt like if Mu Yiran didn¡¯t spill anything, these two people would swallow him alive.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t seem to have any intentions of keeping things secret anymore. He suddenly lowered his head and untied the piece of cloth with the character ¡®yang¡¯ written on it from his waist. He then ced it onto the table.

    ¡°These strips of cloth determine how we die.¡±

    The doctor was a bit surprised. ¡°Although I know that there¡¯s something odd about these clothes and that they determine our teams, how do they determine our causes of death?¡±

    Mu Yiran pointed at the character on the strip of cloth. ¡°On the first night, the three people who died in the mourning hall had the character ¡®min¡¯ and they had all lost their eyes. The two people who died at the grave site had the character ¡®qie¡¯ and their bodies had been sliced into pieces before being eaten by crows. Liu Yufei, who had just died, had the character ¡®gu.¡¯ He died by waist chopping.¡±

    The doctor nodded slightly, still confused. ¡°I don¡¯t see what rtionship their causes of death have with these characters.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°Remember, you said that the forefather of this vige was akin to a shaman. I also said that curses were very prevalent during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Furthermore, the most famous of these curses was the Chu Curse Inscription.¡±

    ¡°The Chu Curse Inscription was engraved in stone during the Warring States period. The form of writing used was the small seal script. The predecessor of this was the bronze script. And before the bronze script, we had the oracle bone script.

    ¡°In the ancient past, there was always a heavy supernatural aspect to everything, regardless of whether it was rted to weapons or writing. The ancients respected and revered written word far more than modern people do. As such, they would use written words to evoke curses or the powers of their gods.

    ¡°For the character ¡®min¡¯ from the word ¡®renmin,¡¯ most people only know of its current meaning¡ª¡¯people¡¯, or ¡®themon people.¡¯ However, the meaning ¡®min¡¯ had upon creation was truly terrifying.

    ¡°The form the character ¡®min¡¯ had in oracle bone script is made up of what looks like an eye, pupil included. Beneath that eye is a sharp cross. The original meaning of this character is ¡®to piece the eyes of the people with a sharp weapon so as to enve them by blinding.¡¯

    ¡°This meaning of the word is even more evident when we look at the bronze inscription version of the word. The ¡®min¡¯ character in bronze inscription lost the pupil. The cross also became longer and pointier. It even pierces straight through the eye.

    ¡°And then there¡¯s the ¡®qie¡¯ character. In oracle bone script, it is made up of the character ¡®xi¡¯ and the equal sign. ¡®Xi¡¯ represents pieces of meat while the equal sign represents equality. If we put these meanings together, ¡®qie¡¯ means ¡®an equal division of meat.¡¯

    ¡°In primitivemunist times, food was the most importantmunalmodity. Meat was considered the highest grade food at the time. Evenly dividing meat was an important ceremony when it came to offering sacrifices to one¡¯s ancestors or when praying to the gods. Therefore, the original meaning of ¡®qie¡¯ was to ¡®evenly split and eat meat.¡¯

    ¡°Thest character is ¡®gu¡¯. Gu is made up of the characters for ¡®gu¡¯ (old) and ¡®xin¡¯ (suffering). The ¡®gu¡¯(old) character represents a big axe whereas the ¡®xin¡¯ character represents a person who is about to be executed. Therefore, the original meaning of ¡®gu¡¯ is ¡®to use a big axe to execute someone via beheading or bisecting them at the waist.¡¯

    ¡°After seeing the deaths of those five people on the first night, I had started to grow suspicious of these characters. However, I hadn¡¯t said anything yet because there hadn¡¯t been enough examples yet. But after seeing Liu Yufei¡¯s death, I felt like I had enough evidence to support my conjecture.

    ¡°The characters on these strips of cloth have been infused with their cruel original meanings. In addition, the ancestor of this vige was a shaman capable of performing curses. If we put these two together, we can deduce that these pieces of cloth are cursed items that are able to determine our causes of death.¡±

    Eve: When I first read this part, the linguist in me got all excited and spent quite some time researching it. Was kind of a bummer that it wasn¡¯tpletely factual. But it is still interesting nheless.

 Chapter 17: Ke Xunâ€™s Analysis

    <h4>Chapter 17: Ke Xun¡¯s Analysis</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Everyone was shocked by Mu Yiran¡¯s words. It took a long time before they managed toe back to their senses.

    Since they were young, they¡¯ve heard everyone praise these so-called ¡®beautiful characters.¡¯ As a result, they had never expected that they would actually have such terrifying origins.

    ¡°No wonder you told me to hide my head in my shirtst night¡­¡± Wei Dong murmured.

    ¡°It¡¯s like how crows can¡¯t differentiate between scarecrows and real humans. I had thought that perhaps that ¡®thing¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be able to differentiate between whether you had no head or you were simply hiding your head,¡± Mu Yiran said in a t voice.

    ¡°So when that ¡®thing¡¯ saw a headless ¡®corpse¡¯ lying on the ground, it had thought that Ialready died. As such, it didn¡¯t try to behead me, so I managed to survive.¡± Wei Dong now understood what had happened. A question then popped into his mind. ¡°How did you know that the ¡®thing¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be able to differentiate between a real headless corpse and someone pretending to be one?¡±

    Mu Yiran continued in his t tone, ¡°I didn¡¯t. I just told you so you could give it a try. If it didn¡¯t work, then you¡¯d have no choice but to die.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the ¡®gu¡¯ character¡¯s original meaning meant waist chopping or beheading?? You only had Dong zi conceal his head. What if the thing had wanted to chop him at the waist?¡±

    Mu Yiran replied in a t voice for a third time: ¡°Then that just means that he was unlucky. And he would have died.¡±

    Ke Xun & Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡± So this big shot hadn¡¯t actually been sure of anythingst night.

    The doctor said, ¡°I think, when that thing sees a headless corpse, it will think that the person¡¯s already dead. Therefore, it wouldn¡¯t decide to chop the person at the waist. Even if it had originally intended to do that, if the person¡¯s already dead, there would be no point.¡±

    Wei Dong spoke up. ¡°Why does it feel like this ¡®thing¡¯ is¡­a bit dumb?¡±

    The doctor smiled. ¡°This sounds a bit superstitious but, the supernatural world and the human world are different. They each operate by their own rules and thus have different restrictions.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a doctor but you believe in the supernatural?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m in this kind of situation, aren¡¯t I? I have no choice but to believe in it.¡± The doctor¡¯s lips curled into a self-deprecating smile. ¡°But if you want a scientific exnation, there is one. It¡¯s likeparing different nes. Beings in the three dimensional world cannot see the beings in the two dimensional world. Meanwhile, beings in the two dimensional world can only sense the projection of the three dimensional world.¡±

    ¡°Are we really going to discuss science while inside this supernatural painting world?¡± Wei Dong scratched his head.

    An idea popped up in Ke Xun¡¯s mind. He asked Mu Yiran, ¡°What was the original meaning of our ¡®yang¡¯ character?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Execution by hanging.¡±

    Ke Xun rubbed his neck. He then pointed to Ma Zhenhua and Zhang Maolin. ¡°What about their ¡®dai¡¯ character?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice turned eerie. ¡°Death by a thousand cuts.¡±

    Ma Zhenhua and Zhang Maolin started to tremble in fear. Their legs nearly gave up again.

    ¡°How did you two survivest night?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    The two of them only shook their heads. They didn¡¯t reply.

    ¡°Death is random,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°Not everyone will be in danger at the same time. Otherwise, there would be no reason to give us a time limit of seven days. We¡¯d all be eliminated on the first night.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t ask anything else. He suddenly heard Wei Dong rejoice, ¡°Since we¡¯ve figured out the rules governing death, we don¡¯t have to fear that thing anymore!¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him coldly. ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to vote for someone to die every morning.¡±

    Wei Dong was rendered speechless at once.

    ¡°We have to do our best to find the signature if we want to avoid having to vote again.¡± Ke Xun wrapped an arm around Mu Yiran¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Boss, do you have any clues where the signature might be?¡±

    Mu Yiran pped his arm off his shoulder. ¡°I still think that we need to begin with the painting¡¯s contents.¡±

    The doctor said, ¡°We haven¡¯t finished investigating those three Chinese Schr trees. We should hurry and finish with that.¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at Ke Xun. ¡°We don¡¯t know for sure whether they¡¯re on those trees. We shouldn¡¯t all focus on that. I propose that we split into three teams. One team will continue to examine the ghost faces while the other two teams will search for clues elsewhere in the vige.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°I agree. I will examine the Chinese Schr trees with the boss. Everyone else can search the vige.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Ke Xun and Wei Dong will investigate the trees. Everyone else will scour the vige.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Whatever you say.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    No one dared to waste any time. They all immediately went to work.

    Wei Dong and Ke Xun walked over to the three Chinese Schr trees. They craned their heads up to look at the ghost faces on the trees¡¯ bark. Under the gloomy, grey sky, the countless ghost faces looked even more sinister and intimidating. Protruding out of the trees¡¯ cracked bark, they looked like they were trying to escape from the trees¡¯ trunks.

    Wei Dong shivered. ¡°Why do I feel like they¡¯re protruding further out from the treepared to yesterday?¡±

    Ke Xun frowned. ¡°No, you¡¯re right. Their expressions look more realistic too. I think that these faces will be more and more prominent and realistic with each passing day until¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Fuck, shut up! Hurry up and start searching! I¡¯ll keep watch for you.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Watch out for what? Let¡¯s search together and make the most out of the time we have.¡±

    Wei Dong had no choice. He could only start to carefully pick up a twig and shove it into the mouths of these faces like yesterday.

    ¡°Right, I want to ask you something.¡± Wei Dong tried to find something to talk about to help boost his courage. ¡°Why did you choose to abstain from voting? I had thought that Liu Yufei¡¯s words had doomed us. Abstaining is the same as pushing the responsibility of having to kill someone onto others. I kind of agree. This time, we had Liu Yufei take the fall for us. But if no one dies tonight, everyone else might vent their anger onto us if they recall this matter during tomorrow¡¯s voting.¡±

    Ke Xun was climbing up the tree. He nced down. ¡°Because everyone knows that we¡¯re a team and that we¡¯ve also sided with Mu Yiran. Mu Yiran is capable, no matter how you look at him. Nine out of ten people would follow hismand. Other people would thus think that all three of us would vote for the same person. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Wei Dong looked up. ¡°So?¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s eyes were bright. ¡°Therefore, our little team of three is a huge threat to them. Whoever we choose will end up with three votes in an instant. It¡¯s not obvious right now with eight survivors. But as the group gets smaller and smaller, the weight of three votes will get correspondingly heavier.¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s expression became one of caution. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that¡­.¡±

    ¡°As our numbers shrink, eventually, our three votes will be the majority. Whoever we vote will die. Everyone knows how capable Mu Yiran is. The worst case scenario for them is that our little team of three survives under Mu Yiran¡¯s leadership. Meanwhile, the people outside our team continue to die off. In the end, when ites time to vote, only the people outside our team will die. Wouldn¡¯t you be afraid of a team like this?¡±

    Wei Dong shuddered. ¡°Yes. Extremely afraid.¡±

    ¡°In this kind of situation, it is very likely that the ¡®others¡¯ will start to see us as the enemy.¡± Ke Xun twirled the twig in his hand. ¡°Thinking in the long term, they would decide that they absolutely cannot allow all three of us to survive until the end. Otherwise, they will be nothing butmbs to the ughter. With this line of thought, they would likely rather take advantage of this time, when their numbers are stillrge and the proportion of our votes is still small, to kill one of us. With just two people left, the level of threat the team would then possess is much smaller.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Fuck!¡±

    Ke Xun tapped the tree trunk with the twig. ¡°Back then, Liu Yufei and the jianbing vendor had already voted for Mu Yiran. It was the optimal time to break up our team.

    ¡°If even one of the remaining three people had voted for Mu Yiran, even if the three of us chose someone else, that would just make them tie with Mu Yiran. It would still be possible for Mu Yiran to be the one to die.

    ¡°And if two out of the three remaining people had chosen Mu Yiran, he would have died for sure. Looking at it like this, Mu Yiran¡¯s probability of dying had been rtively high. In contrast, the chances of someone else dying had been much lower.

    ¡°This was because of the existence of our team. It puts great pressure on everyone else. If left unattended, it would have forced everyone else to team up against us.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I had chosen to abstain from voting. I had also known that you would follow suit. With two out of three members of the team out of the way, the pressure on everyone else would decrease tremendously. This way, they won¡¯t consider us a problem that must be dealt with right away.

    ¡°Furthermore, with Mu Yiran¡¯s capabilities, they would hope that he would be able to lead them out of this painting. Before the safety of their lives is guaranteed, they will not recklessly vote him out.

    ¡°Therefore, I chose to retreat as a means of defense by abstaining to ensure that no member of our team dies. A good choice, right?¡±

    Wei Dong was stupefied. He spent a long time digesting this information. In the end, he looked up and said, ¡°¡­You spouted so much bull, but in the end, you had just done that to save Mu Yiran¡¯s life!¡±

    Ke Xun raised a brow. ¡°Saving his life is the same as saving our lives, no?¡±

    Wei Dong scratched his head. ¡°¡­Fine. I¡¯ll pretend that you¡¯re right. But speaking of which, Mu Yiran¡¯s told everyone all the clues he has. If we can¡¯t find the signature today, will he be voted out tomorrow? After all, he¡¯s not useful anymore¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun shook his head. ¡°Do you think he¡¯s stupid? Why do you think he left us here while he took everyone else into the vige?¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Obviously it¡¯s because he wants to show everyone why he¡¯s worth keeping alive.¡± Ke Xun gazed at the vige enshrouded in the grey fog.

    Ke Xun spent the entire morning up in the trees but came up with nothing. He jumped down to rest for a while, sitting under the trees with Wei Dong to brainstorm.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think the signature is on these faces.¡± Ke Xun mulled over this while speaking, ¡°These faces are too obvious. Typically speaking, everyone would suspect that the signature would be hidden in a weird ce like this. If it really were here, then the faces would practically be like a shing sign telling you where to go.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Wei Dong felt dispirited. ¡°Wei Dong, ¡°Where do you think the signature is then?¡±

    Ke Xun nced at him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a graphic designer? This is your area of expertise. Can¡¯t you be useful for once?¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Let me tell you, I studied design, not traditional Chinese painting or oil painting!¡± He then sighed. ¡°Everything I learned is useless. When I think about how much I suffered in school and how I had finally made it through it all after so much difficulty only to now have to die a baffling death in a damned painting, I can¡¯t help but feel that all the effort I put in had been all for naught. I feel like my whole life was one big tragic joke.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t respond.

    Wei Dong wasn¡¯t like him. Ke Xun was alone in this world. Even though he was afraid of death, even if he died, he didn¡¯t have anything to worry about.

    In contrast, Wei Dong still had his parents and rtives. Even if his parents didn¡¯t need him, their only son, to take care of them when they were old, they would still suffer the grief of having lost their son for the rest of their lives.

    Having no one attend your funeral and having your parents attend your funeral both sounded pretty sad.

    ¡°The doctor said that everyone in this vige had thest name ¡®Li¡¯ right?¡± Ke Xun suddenly asked.

    ¡°Yeah. They probably all share the same ancestor. Everyone here had probably, at the very least, shared a great-great grandfather.¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°Then¡­wouldn¡¯t they have all married their close rtives?¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong: ¡°Why¡¯s a gay guy like you worrying over this?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at him. ¡°Children that are products of consanguineous marriages are at higher risk of being born with deformities.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Thanks for the reminder. I don¡¯t have female cousins.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°The thing that crawled out of the coffinst night was a deformed person.¡±

    Wei Dong was shocked. ¡°Are you saying¡­that it was a result of a consanguineous marriage in that family?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Although that kind of deformity is a bit exaggerated with regards to real life, we¡¯re in the world inside a painting. Therefore, it¡¯s not too far out there. Moreover, art is exaggerated, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Wei Dong nodded. ¡°Yeah. Artists tend to exaggerate features to embellish the painting or make the subject more prominent.¡±

    Ke Xun rubbed his chin as he thought this over. ¡°The protagonist of this funeral is a deformed person. What does this painting want to express through this? The painter¡¯s thinking is really strange.¡±

    Wei Dong asked, ¡°Who¡¯s the painter?¡±

    Ke Xun thought about it. ¡°Mu Yiran said that his name was¡­fuck!¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Ke Xun turned to look at him. ¡°The painter¡¯sst name is also Li.¡±

 Chapter 18: The Village Cursed with Death

    <h4>Chapter 18: The Vige Cursed with Death</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Li Haojing.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just a coincidence? After all, there are a lot of people with thest name Li,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Ke Xun stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go ask that old man. Maybe he can tell us something.¡±

    The two of them ran over to the old man¡¯s courtyard.

    They entered the house and went to knock on the door leading into the inner room. The old man raised his muddy, lifeless eyes and looked at them. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Can I ask you about who the deceased is?¡± Ke Xun got straight to the point.

    ¡°How do you not know that?¡± The old man¡¯s tone suddenly grew vignt. His pebble-like eyes suddenly started to move. Gradually, a strange, wicked expression seemed to emerge on his face.

    Ke Xun startled. He promptly pointed to the cloth tied around his waist that had a cursed character on it: ¡°Look, I came to help. I didn¡¯t read a lot as a kid because I¡¯m dumb. My memory is really bad. After helping out thesest two days, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten who had died. I thought that this was too disrespectful to the deceased. That¡¯s why I rushed over to ask you.¡±

    The old man¡¯s lifeless eyes were trained on Ke Xun for a long time. It wasn¡¯t until Ke Xun started to feel rmed that he finally said, ¡°The deceased is Li Mazi¡¯s Guaiguai. It¡¯s a pity that everyone in that family has already died. It can¡¯t be helped that we fellow vigers all have toe out and help out.¡±

    The deformed person was named Guaiguai. Those in rural viges tended to name their children tackier names to ensure they survived.

    Ke Xun asked, ¡°How did Guaiguai die?¡±

    The old man gave him a dark look. ¡°It was already a miracle for him to have survived this long, given the state he had been born.¡±

    Wei Dong recalled the conversation he had just had with Ke Xun. He asked, ¡°What was his parents¡¯ rtionship?¡±

    The old man: ¡°Husband and wife.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun had a thought. ¡°Did anyone in this vige have a grudge against Li Mazi and his family?¡±

    The three Chinese Schr trees and the coffin curse that Mu Yiran had talked about hade to mind.

    The old man continued to stare at him, gaze dark. ¡°We¡¯re all fellow countrymen here. What kind of grudge could there be?¡±

    ¡°Who ordered Guaiguai¡¯s coffin then?¡± Being stared at like that by the old man, Ke Xun began to feel goosebumps emerge on his skin.

    The old man¡¯s expression morphed strangely. ¡°His parents had been afraid that no one would take care of Guaiguai after their deaths so they had ced the order for him while they had still been alive.¡±

    That was odd. Ke Xun didn¡¯t get it. Unless, could it be that Guaiguai¡¯s parents hadn¡¯t known about the superstition regarding lightning striking a pure cedar coffin? Was that why they had identally ordered this kind of coffin for him?

    ¡°When were the three Chinese Schr trees by his house nted? Do you know?¡± Ke Xun continued with his questions.

    The old man¡¯s expression turned even more bizarre. Hisplexion seemed to rapidly turn grey right in front of them. Suddenly, his eyes filled with a malevolent, cruel light. His eyeballs were now popping out of their sockets. His chapped lips also pulled apart, revealing toothless, dark red gums. A terrible stench came out from his oral cavity as he said stiffly, ¡°What Chinese Schr trees? There aren¡¯t any Chinese Schr trees. Who are you? You actually dared to barge into the Li Family vige. The Li Family vige has forbidden outsiders from entering for thousands of years. You¡ªdie, die, die¡ª¡±

    As he said this, his mouth unexpectedly opened wider and wider. It looked like a bottomless ck hole. All of a sudden, he pounced towards Ke Xun and Wei Dong!

    ¡°Run!¡± Ke Xun roared while pulling the dumbstruck Wei Dong along, in making a mad dash for the door.

    The two of them charged out of the courtyard without looking back. Wei Dong had never run so fast in his life. Dragged along by Ke Xun, he felt like his legs weren¡¯t legs anymore. He felt like six out of his ten toes didn¡¯t even touch the ground anymore, like he was being pulled through the air.

    The second he nced at his feet, his legs gave out, unable to keep up anymore. He ended up falling t on his face.

    When he looked up, a mouthful of dirt in his mouth, he saw several pairs of legs appear in his line of view. Soon after, he saw Ke Xun sprint over to the foremost pair of legs. Based on the distance between their toes, Wei Dong guessed that Ke Xun had probably ended up braking at an extremely close distance to Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Reporting to Boss, someone wants to eat us.¡± Ke Xun looked like he was begging for somefort.

    ¡®Boss¡¯ granted him an indifferent nce. It was clear that he intended on letting the other reap the consequences of his own actions.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The doctor asked.

    Ke Xun turned to nce behind him. When he saw that the old man hadn¡¯t given chase, he gave them a simple exnation. He then asked the others, ¡°Did you guys find anything?¡±

    ¡°We¡­¡± The doctor¡¯s expression wasplicated. ¡°We made a really shocking discovery.¡±

    After Mu Yiran and them had separated from Ke Xun and Wei Dong, they had first headed to the vige chief¡¯s home.

    The vige chief was the leader of the vige. Typically speaking, his residence should be the most grandiose. With that criteria in mind, the group had been able to very quickly find their target.

    However, there had been no one home. The entire house had been covered in dust, as if no one had resided within it for a very long time.

    Mu Yiran had found the genealogical and vige records in the small ancestral hall within the vige chief¡¯s home.

    As expected, every person in this vige shared the samemon ancestor. The forefather of their n was once a royal Minister of Rites during the Warring States period.

    It was said that this Minister of Rites couldmunicate with supernatural beings and that his witchcraft and supernatural ability could only be passed down to his direct descendants, never to outsiders.

    Therefore, the forefather of the Li Family created a set of rules. Firstly, all descendants would have to forever live in thisnd. Secondly, they were not allowed to leave. They were also not allowed to start branch families of their own by marrying outsiders. Lastly, they were not allowed tomunicate with the outside world.

    Just by skimming through the genealogical records, you would see that everyone had thest name Li.

    No one in the entire vige possessed a differentst name.

    ¡°¡­Was their forefather crazy?!¡± Wei Dong wiped his lip in shock, ¡°He basically encouraged consanguineous marriages, didn¡¯t he?!¡±

    ¡°Witchcraft is a warped, sinister, abnormal existence to begin with.¡± Mu Yiran remained calm. ¡°There¡¯s no need to discuss whether their familial rules are right or wrong. All we need to know is that this vige is like a lostnd. It¡¯s been shut off to the rest of the world all this time, with itsmunication to the outside worldpletely broken.¡±

    Ke Xun continued, ¡°Which brings up an issue.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at everyone. ¡°If we connect this to what Ke Xun and Wei Dong experienced just now, we can confirm that this vige haspletely cut off all ties with the outside world and even prohibits outsiders from entering. Now, this brings up the question: just who painted this painting? How did this painting get spread around?¡±

    Everyone suddenly came to a realization. Their expressions all changed.

    Ke Xun raised a hand. ¡°Boss, was there a Li Haojing in the genealogical records?¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him. ¡°No.¡±

    Ke Xun scratched his head. ¡°Then is it a coincidence?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze changed slightly. ¡°Not necessarily. Many painters changed their names or decided to go by aliases after bing sessful.¡±

    Wei Dong interrupted, ¡°Then that makes things difficult. How would we know who decided to go by another name?¡±

    ¡°Since we know that the painter¡¯s name is Li Haojing,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°Then we more or less solved the first question. The second question is, how did this painting spread around? Or rather, how did this Li Haojing enter this vige, paint this painting and then take this painting outside?¡±

    ¡°If Li Haojing was a viger, then it¡¯s not strange that he was able to paint this painting.¡± The doctor chimed in. ¡°However, the vige prohibits its vigers from having dealings with the outside world. They are not allowed to leave the vige too. As such, there¡¯s no way to exin how the painting was spread around.¡±

    ¡°We have onest discovery.¡± Mu Yiran said to Ke Xun and Wei Dong, ¡°We scoured all the homes in this vige but we didn¡¯t see a single living person.¡±

    ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± Wei Dong shivered.

    ¡°Every house was covered in varying levels of dust.¡± The doctor said, ¡°It¡¯s evident that no one has lived in this vige for a long time. Nheless, we didn¡¯t discover any corpses or coffins within any of the homes.¡±

    Furthermore, the object we saw the most frequently within these homes,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze turned profound, ¡°Were memorial tablets.¡±

    Ke Xun raised a brow. ¡°So that means that the vigers of this vige have already all died?¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded slightly. ¡°I assume so. We¡¯vepared the tablets to the genealogical records. The names on the tablets were also in the record.¡±

    Ke Xun rubbed his chin in thought. ¡°Could a gue or something have hit this vige? Or maybe a natural disaster? Otherwise, how could so many people have died?¡±

    Mu Yiran said in a t voice, ¡°The amount of dust in each home is different. This means that they didn¡¯t all die at the same time.¡±

    The doctor nodded. ¡°It probably took out a few years¡ªpossibly even over a decade¡ªfor them to gradually die off.¡±

    The corner of Wei Dong¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Could it be because their life spans were shortened from all those consanguineous marriages?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°Or maybe, they died from a curse?¡±

    Everyone was rmed upon hearing this.

    Ke Xun was the first to react. ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that the three Chinese Schr trees by Guaiguai¡¯s house wasn¡¯t meant to just curse Guaiguai¡¯s family but¡­the whole Li Family vige?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I think.¡± Mu Yiran nodded.

    Wei Dong was speechless. ¡°Who would hold such a big grudge? To actually curse an entire vige.¡±

    Ke Xun suddenly asked, ¡°Then, why did the old man say that there weren¡¯t any Chinese Schr trees? Although he suddenly went crazy and tried to bite us after hearing something he didn¡¯t like, I don¡¯t think he was trying to y dumb.¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyes in thought. Suddenly, he started walking. Everyone exchanged nces before following after him.

    Once again, they arrived in front of the three old Chinese Schr trees in Guaiguai¡¯s courtyard. Mu Yiran gazed up at the ghost faces on the trees¡¯ barks.

    Ke Xun also came over. The faces seemed to protrude even further outpared to the morning. Entire faces and even parts of the head now stuck out. They looked like they had already escaped the trees¡¯ bark. It was just that the back of their heads were still slightly connected to the bark. They looked like massive tumours in the trees, all gathered in clusters as they hung off the bark. They looked disgusting.

    ¡°Have you noticed,¡± Ke Xun jabbed Mu Yiran with his elbow, ¡°That it looks like these faces have genders? Look at that one, doesn¡¯t it look like it belongs to an auntie? And that one¡ªit even has a beard. The one above it looks like a seven or eight your old child. And then there¡¯s that one over there¡ªthere¡¯s an infant¡¯s face beneath the granny¡¯s face. There are faces of guys, girls, old and young.¡±

    ¡°Mn.¡± Mu Yiran wasn¡¯t surprised. It was obvious that he had already realized that.

    ¡°I suddenly have an idea.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s gaze swept over the ghost faces as he spoke. ¡°Do you think that these faces are¡­.¡±

    ¡°The faces of the deceased vigers.¡± Mu Yiran finished his thought calmly.

    Ke Xun pointed at a face near the roots of the tree he was looking at: ¡°¡­Liu Yufei.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze followed the direction he was pointing. This face looked like it was new. It looked greyish. Unlike the other faces, it was already a dark grey.

    The ghost face had a striking resemnce to Liu Yufei. There was even something that resembled a pigtail at the back of the face¡¯s head.

    The features of the face were warped terribly, preserving the pained expression Liu Yufei had made during his miserable death. However, there was also deep resentment within the pain. It looked like there was a pair of invisible eyes within those dark eye-sockets that were filled with endless resentment and malice. It felt like they were currently trained on Mu Yiran and Ke Xun.

    Mu Yiran stared at those eye-sockets for a moment,pletely unaffected. He then walked around the tree and ended up finding the faces of the five people who had died before Liu Yufei.

    ¡°It looks like these three trees hadn¡¯t been nted.¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°They are a symbol in this painting that represents something else and aren¡¯t actually real trees.¡±

    ¡°No wonder the old man said that there weren¡¯t any trees,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Speaking of the old man, why wasn¡¯t he cursed with death? It can¡¯t be that he¡¯s the only survivor of this vige?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡±

    Mu Yiran said this while walking. However, Ke Xun grabbed his elbow, stopping him. ¡°That old man¡¯s already gone crazy. You¡¯re going to die if you go over there now.¡±

    Zhang Maolin, who was nearby, agreed. ¡°That¡¯s right! Let¡¯s hurry and find the signature before it gets dark!¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze turned towards the old man¡¯s house. He said in a t voice, ¡°I have an idea as to who that old man really is.¡±

 Chapter 19: Brothers, as well as Father and Son

    <h4>Chapter 19: Brothers, as well as Father and Son</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    ¡°But that old man looks like he¡¯s gonna eat us¡ªliterally eat us!¡± Wei Dong looked traumatized. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to ask him anything. You might even end up as his lunch. Speaking of lunch, I think we¡¯re out of luck for lunch too. The old man has already transformed. I bet he¡¯s already forgotten how to make human food¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t pay attention to his ramblings. ¡°Even if he¡¯s transformed and is unable to answer our questions, we still need to enter his inner room and look for clues.¡±

    Wei Dong shivered. ¡°You¡¯re entering the tiger¡¯s den, ah. It¡¯s too dangerous. Ke er, talk him out of it.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°You really want to go?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t respond. He only met Ke Xun¡¯s eyes with an expressionless face.

    Ke Xun: ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Ma Zhenhua trembled. ¡°C-can I not go? I¡¯ll look for the signature elsewhere¡­.¡±

    Zhang Maolin promptly joined in. ¡°I¡¯ll also go look for the signature. This way we won¡¯t waste any time.¡±

    Without waiting to hear the others¡¯ opinions, Mu Yiran said, ¡°You can go back to carefully examine the Li residence¡¯s mourning hall if you¡¯re not scared. We¡¯ve already looked through all the other ces in this vige. The most probable locations left are the mourning hall and the old man¡¯s house. We will reconvene here in an hour.¡±

    Ke Xun pulled Wei Dong over and quietly said to him, ¡°Be careful. If you don¡¯t see me by night time, assume that I died. You have the key to my house. If you manage to leave the painting, go to my house. My property deeds, all of the gym¡¯s documents and certificates, my ID and my bank card are all inside the pot of the fake cactus on the balcony. All of my passwords are thest six digits of my social ID card. Help me donate all of my savings and rent my apartment out. Use the rent to buy new machines for the gym. Give my share of the gym¡¯s earnings to my business partners. My one terabyte of movies on myputer are for you.¡±

    ¡°Fuck off! All of your movies are gay pornos! I have no need for them!¡± Wei Dong cursed him loudly. He then tugged Ke Xun¡¯s elbow worriedly. ¡°Are you really going to go? For his sake? You don¡¯t have to go so far. There are plenty of other fish in the sea. Why waste your life on him? You¡¯ve only known him for a few days. Besides, what are the chances he just so happens to be gay too? It¡¯s not worth it to do this over a straight man.¡±

    ¡°What nonsense are you thinking about? It¡¯s not just for him, but for us. We physical education majors have a motto: ¡®you will be rewarded for what you put in.¡¯ You can¡¯t always let the other person be the giver while we wait.¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°Besides, did you forget? My intuition has always been spot on.¡±

    ¡°And?¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t understand what that had to do with anything.

    Ke Xun smiled and then turned around to leave with Mu Yiran.

    Their group split off into two.

    Mu Yiran and Ke Xun arrived at the old man¡¯s courtyard. Mu Yiran stopped and turned to look at Ke Xun. ¡°Do you really want to go in with me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t just want to go in with you, I want to leave with you too,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be a given,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°But if you don¡¯t n on backing out, then you better listen to my n.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°All right. Let¡¯s hear it.¡±

    Mu Yiran examined his expression and then said, ¡°You¡¯ll enter first. Carefully head towards the door. If the old man starts to chase you, do your best to lead him away. I¡¯ll take advantage of this time to enter the house and search the inner room. I hope that you¡¯ll be able to keep him busy while I do this. The longer, the better. Can you do that?¡±

    ¡°I have a question,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°This old man isn¡¯t normal. What if he¡¯s faster than me? What should I do then?¡±

    ¡°You and Wei Dong were able to escape this house a while ago. This means that you¡¯ll definitely be able to escape this time as well,¡± Mu Yiran replied, ¡°Actually, you were too fast and managed to break free of his range, thereby throwing him offpletely. Therefore, this time, you have to maintain a good gauge of your speed. Don¡¯t let him catch up to you but don¡¯t throw him off either. You have to maintain a safe distance between the two of you the whole time. Lead him out of this courtyard and do your best to drag it out for as long as you can. When I¡¯m done, I¡¯lle find you. At that time, you can throw him off. Do you have any other questions?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°What¡¯s your phone number?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°If you don¡¯t have any more questions, head inside.¡±

    Ke Xun warmed up his legs and stretched. He pointed and said, ¡°Hide over there by the door. I¡¯ll draw the old man over to that side.¡±

    Mu Yiran stood where Ke Xun indicated. He then saw Ke Xun¡¯s stride into the courtyard.

    Mu Yiran stared at the other¡¯s back. Ke Xun hadn¡¯t hesitated at all as he walked over to the house¡¯s door. His usual undisciplined,zy posture hadpletely disappeared. Currently, his spine was straight and his strides were full of power. At this moment, he really did seem like a genuine formidable, sharp phys ed major.

    Formidable, sharp man Ke Xun walked to the door.

    The door was closed and he couldn¡¯t see the interior of the house.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to give his imagination any time to work. He reached out and pushed the door open at once.

    Creak. The dusky light slowly filtered into the dark central room. The old man looked like a zombie as he stood there sluggishly in the room.

    The moment he saw Ke Xun, the mouth of his ashen, corpse-like face suddenly pried open, revealing ck gums and a ck hole-like oral cavity. It opened up far past what would be possible for a normal human. The old man then pounced towards Ke Xun with this giant mouth.

    Ke Xun turned around and ran. The sound of wind and the old man¡¯s steps echoed in his ears, helping him judge the distance between them.

    This was Ke Xun¡¯s area of expertise. When he had been in school, he had participated in all sorts ofpetitions. He had used sound to determine his opponent¡¯s positions. This ability of his had influenced how he adjusted his tactics during thesepetitions.

    Ke Xun kept a good distance of about five steps between himself and the old man. Together, they ran out of the courtyard.

    Mu Yiran quickly entered the courtyard after Ke Xun and the old man disappeared from view. He headed straight for the inner room.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t dare take the old man in the direction of the Chinese Schr tree. He was afraid that they would encounter the others. Therefore, he took the old man through the vige.

    Now that he thought about it, only he would be able to do this. If it were anyone else, they would either be too slow orck endurance.

    His current speed wasn¡¯t his fastest pace. However, it was still considered fast by normal people standards. If it hadn¡¯t been because Wei Dong had been dragged along by Ke Xun, he would have probably been caught by that old man very early on back then. He definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to maintain this kind of speed, especially not for a long time. Right now, Ke Xun would probably have to run for ten, twenty, thirty or even more minutes to buy enough time for Mu Yiran.

    But there was something Ke Xun didn¡¯t understand. If the old man wasn¡¯t human, and was some kind of ¡®thing¡¯, its ability shouldn¡¯t be below that of a human¡¯s.

    Mu Yiran had said that if they didn¡¯t follow the painting¡¯s rules, they¡¯d face undefiable retaliation. And this had been proven true during thest two nights. The ¡®things¡¯ that had appeared in the past¡­although there were ways to avoid being harmed by them, it had always been out of luck or coincidence. If they were to face them head-on, they would have no chance of survival.

    In other words, even if there were rules, they had no way of fighting the painting¡¯s powers head on.

    But this wasn¡¯t the case with the old man.

    The old man couldn¡¯t outrun him.

    Wasn¡¯t this weird?

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but turn around when he thought of this.

    He nearly lost his footing from the fright he received with this one nce.

    He had no idea what the heck was chasing him any more. That giant ck hole-like mouth obstructed his view of the old man¡¯s head. Two withered hands were outstretched, the fingers abnormally long. Looking at them with those skinny, shriveled arms, they looked like those twisted Chinese Schr trees.

    What was the most frightening, however, was the old man¡¯s abdomen.

    Because the old man was running quickly, his clothes were pressed tightly against his body by the wind. The outline of the protruding thing on his abdomen had thus be very prominent.

    It was a face.

    The face had eyes, a nose and lips, and it¡¯s expression was very vivid.

    That face was currently crying.

    Its mouth was open. It looked aggrieved, like it was in pain. It kept wriggling around, as if struggling to move, as the old man ran.

    Ke Xun felt his body begin to itch. He couldn¡¯t help but scratch at his own stomach.

    Suddenly, a thought shed through his mind: Itchy¡­my whole body is itchy¡­just likest night¡­.

    Who knew how long he had run until he finally saw Mu Yiran appear in front of him. Ke Xun shouted: ¡°Boss, that fellow¡ªhe¡¯s also deformed!¡±

    Mu Yiran made a sign and then disappeared around the bend. Ke Xun increased his speed and managed to throw off the old man after a few more minutes.

    Mu Yiran had been waiting for Ke Xun on the path that led to the Chinese Schr trees. He watched Ke Xun jog over. Despite running at such a fast pace for so long, this person was unexpectedly only slightly out-of-breath. He looked like he had just been warming up.

    Even Mu Yiran had to admit that the other¡¯s endurance was greater than his.

    ¡°That old man is also deformed.¡± Ke Xun walked over. ¡°He has a face on his abdomen. I think that it might even be another brain in there. Even if it isn¡¯t capable of thought, it can control the expression of the face on his stomach. Did you find any clues in his house?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Yes. Cedar wood.¡±

    ¡°He was the one to construct Li Guaiguai¡¯s coffin?¡± Ke Xun was shocked. ¡°They¡¯re both people with deformities, shouldn¡¯t he have some sympathy instead?¡±

    ¡°His name is Li Mazi.¡± Mu Yiran nced at Ke Xun. ¡°He¡¯s Li Guaiguai¡¯s father and¡­brother.¡±

    Ke Xun was taken aback. ¡°I feel like I just found out something disastrous.¡±

    Mu Yiran had no expression on his face. ¡°After this vige became a closed and backwards society, ignorance and inhumane customs started to get passed down. Many people here married their rtives. The level of medicine here is low as well. The survival rate of children became low. Furthermore, there are many more men than women. For the sake of reproduction, the vige gradually? adopted a shared wife system.¡±

    ¡°¡­A closed and backwards society is terrifying.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡°Actually, the chances of an infant being born with a defect is only 4% even in consanguineous marriages.¡± Mu Yiran continued, ¡°Furthermore, many children with defects tend to die before they reach adult age. Some even die in infancy. It was probably rare for people with such extreme body deformities like Li Mazi and Li Guaiguai to live so long, even amongst this vige.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell if they were lucky or unlucky,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°They were definitely not lucky.¡± Mu Yiran looked at him. ¡°Can you imagine what kind of life a person like him, whose deformities make him look like a monster, must have led in this vige?¡±

    Eve: I¡¯mughing so hard at Ke Xun nonchntly slipping in some flirting. Can I have your number ( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã) And then I was grossed out by the incest. And also sad because I can only imagine the discrimination Li Mazi and Li Guaiguai must have faced.

    EB: What is Ke Xun¡¯s intuition never wrong about? (????)

 Chapter 20: Painter: Li Haojing

    <h4>Chapter 20: Painter: Li Haojing</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun paused. ¡°Because I used to be taller than my ssmates as a kid, they used to make fun of me, calling me a dumb giant. Except for Dong zi, no one else had been willing to y with me. So I understand what Li Mazi must have felt when he was younger. Of course, he had it way worse than I did.¡±

    ¡°With that, we can imagine just why Li Mazi is both Li Guaiguai¡¯s brother and father,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    The expression on Ke Xun¡¯s face wasplicated. ¡°It¡¯s because someone like Li Mazi wouldn¡¯t be able to find a wife. Therefore, he could only¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was calm. ¡°As a result, Li Mazi¡¯s son was also unfortunately born with deformities. His deformities are even more extreme than Li Mazi¡¯s. Therefore, we can imagine that Li Mazi¡¯s life only took a turn for the worse after the birth of his son.¡±

    Ke Xun cast his gaze over to Mu Yiran. ¡°And yet, Li Mazi became thest remaining survivor of this vige. How?¡±

    ¡°The reason for that¡­¡± Mu Yiran unfolded his fist, revealing a paint brush in his hand. ¡°¡­is that Li Mazi is Li Haojing.¡±

    Ke Xun wordlessly looked at the old paint brush that was stained with a colour that was either red or ck.

    Li Mazi, who had been born with deformities, had suffered while growing up. The vigers had looked at him like he was a monster and talked badly of him behind his back. This kind of horrifying psychological blow and mental pressure must have peaked after his son/brother was born with deformities as well. Everything hade together to finally snap hisst strand of patience he had tried so hard to preserve.

    Li Mazi could not endure it. After Li Guaiguai was born, he escaped from this terrifying vige.

    ¡°Consanguineous marriages¡ªthe probability of a child being born with a deformity, intellectual disability, or dying of premature death is 4%. However, there¡¯s also a chance that this child will be gifted.¡± Mu Yiran picked the brush up and examined it. ¡°For example, the notorious Adolf Hitler, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein¡­and the closest example to us, Li Mazi.¡±

    Ke Xun realized what the other was getting at. ¡°Li Mazi has a talent for painting.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded. ¡°After escaping the Li vige, Li Mazi came into contact with the outside world. He worked hard to support himself while learning painting skills. As for who taught him, he was probably self-taught. There¡¯s no need to doubt that. After working hard for many years, he became a famous painter.¡±

    Ke Xun turned to look at the still, sparse vige behind them. ¡°Since Li Mazi managed to paint this painting, that means he must havee back to the Li vige after attaining sess at some point. But why did he construct a pure cedar coffin for his son? Did he do it intentionally or unintentionally?¡±

    ¡°I think that it was done intentionally.¡± Mu Yiran threw the paint brush onto the ground.¡± Judging by this painting, it was obvious that Li Mazi had strong resentment with regards to his time living in this vige. His hatred had not weakened despite his sess or the passage of time. Instead, his grievances only piled up. He was not been able to rx or feel happy.

    ¡°The three Chinese Schr trees in this painting¡ªthese never existed in the vige. But Li Mazi chose to put them in the painting as a symbol. It symbolizes his hatred and rancour. It is a symbol of the curse he put on this vige.¡±

    ¡°I think that the people Li Mazi hates the most are probably his parents. If it weren¡¯t because his parents married their close rtives, a deformed person like himself would not have been born. He had been ridiculed, mocked and treated coldly in his childhood. All of this created an inextinguishable psychological shadow in his heart. That¡¯s why he ced these three Chinese Schr trees¡ªwhich represents a curse¡ªin the courtyard of his own home.

    ¡°Furthermore, he also hates his own son/brother. This is because Li Guaiguai¡¯s existence is evidence that Li Mazi had made the same mistake as his forefathers had. He hadmitted the same ignorant and terrifying folly. This was probably an unbearable memory to Li Mazi, who has been exposed to the science and progressive thinking of the outside world.

    ¡°He had no way of severing his current self from his ignorant past self. This became a stain in his past and a demon that haunted him for the rest of his life. Li Guaiguai¡¯s existence also made him unable to forget about his miserable, pitiful past. He made those humiliating and painful memories continue to continue. These memories were like a whip coated in salt water, whipping against his body. They caused him to be perpetually drowned in pain, humiliation and hatred.

    ¡°I think that this is the reason for why he hates Li Guaiguai. It is likely out of a need to vent his resentment, for the sake of burying those memories. He created a pure cedar coffin for Li Guaiguai out of hatred and anger. He wanted Li Guaiguai to be split by lightning, to be annihted. He wanted the other to disappear without a trace, as if by doing this, his unbearable past will also cease to exist.

    ¡°As for this dead vige, it¡¯s obviously also a target of Li Mazi¡¯s resentment. He hates the entire backward and ignorant vige. He hates the ignorant offspring of his ancestor. He probably wished for this vige to die out, to vanish from the world.

    ¡°Regardless of whether it was out of his personal hatred for the vige or out of his criticism of this kind of feudalistic, tumour-like system, Li Mazi¡¯s painting is filled with rancour and destion. Furthermore, the reason he put himself into this painting, starring as thest survivor, is because he had desired to witness the destruction of this family.

    ¡°All of this is mere spection. However, I think that it¡¯s likely true.¡±

    Ke Xun quietly listened to Mu Yiran¡¯s analysis. He then sighed. ¡°No wonder that old man¡ªLi Mazi couldn¡¯t catch up to me. The reason he wasn¡¯t like those other things was because he¡¯s the painter¡­.Wait, that¡¯s not quite right. He¡¯s not the painter, he¡¯s the projection of the painter within this painting. He¡¯s not human, but he¡¯s not one of those things either.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded. ¡°The Li Mazi in this painting is nothing but a reflection of the painter¡¯s hatred. His curse and rancour has already been dispersed throughout the other things and this environment.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°If that old man is Li Mazi¡¯s projection, do you think that the signature is on him?¡±

    Mu Yiran shook his head. ¡°The signature is a life-saving device to us. It cannot also possess the ability to harm us. That old man will chase you around and try to kill you.¡±

    Ke Xun asked, ¡°Did you find the signature in his house?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°No.¡±

    Ke Xun scratched his head. ¡°The sky¡¯s already getting dark. Do you think that the old man will assign us tasks tonight?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡°It would be extremely dangerous if he doesn¡¯t.¡±

    Ke Xun recalledst night. Even though Mu Yiran and he had hidden themselves well, it hadn¡¯t been enough to protect them from the weird sound Li Guaiguai emitted. They had nearly lost their livesst night. He couldn¡¯t help but scratch his arms in memory of what had happened. ¡°We still have some time. Let¡¯s call the others and continue searching.¡±

    The two of them returned to the Chinese Schr trees. They found Wei Dong and the others already waiting there. When the doctor saw that they were both unharmed, he asked about their discoveries at the old man¡¯s house.

    Mu Yiran gave them a simple summary. Everyone was rendered dumbfounded by it.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Wei Dong took a long time to process this. He didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°When I go back, I¡¯m going to ask my parents if there were any consanguineous marriages in thest dozen or more generations in our family.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Are you hoping that there is one or that there aren¡¯t any?¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°I have a suspicion that there must have been one. Otherwise, where did my foot stenche from? It must be the result of an abnormality in our genes.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­How about we bet on whether your dad will make a pure cedar coffin for you after you ask that?¡±

    The doctor, who was standing off to the side, asked Mu Yiran, ¡°We now know everything behind this painting. But I still can¡¯t think of where the signature might be. Xiao Mu, do you have any suggestions?¡±

    Mu Yiran shook his head slightly: ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything right now.¡±

    ¡°Then what should we do¡­?¡± Ma Zhenhua was so anxious his eyes had turned bloodshot. ¡°It¡¯s getting dark. Look, it¡¯s almost night time¡­.¡±

    Zhang Maolin was also worried. He pulled the cloth strip free from his waist and turned to nce at Wei Dong and the jianbing vendor. All of a sudden, he charged over to the jianbing vendor and said, ¡°Buddy, let¡¯s talk. How about we trade cloth strips? I¡¯ll pay you, however much you want. How about five hundred thousand? A million? I¡¯ll give you anything, okay?¡±

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t keep watching. He said to Zhang Maolin, ¡°It¡¯s useless. If we could trade, I would have traded a long time ago. If you trade it, you might be punished by the painting. If you don¡¯t believe me, ask Boss Mu and Dr. Qin.¡±

    Zhang Maolin sobbed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die a death by a thousand cuts! I don¡¯t want to die¡­I don¡¯t want to die¡­.¡±

    ¡°What, do you think we want to die?¡± Wei Dong replied in a bad mood. ¡°ept your fate. It¡¯s your bad luck that let you get that character.¡±

    ¡°Why¡ªwhy¡­.¡± Zhang Maolin had a mental breakdown. ¡°Why does it have to be this character? Why did a good character like this be so demonic¡­.¡±

    No one replied to him.

    There were no clues or leads to follow. Everybody felt anxious and gloomy. Even Mu Yiran frowned.

    Time kept ticking. The sky continued to darken.

    Everyone fell silent. Some people racked their brains while others fell into despair.

    Ke Xun absentmindedly stared at the deformed ¡®dai¡¯ character that was being wrung in Zhang Maolin¡¯s hands. He then nced at Wei Dong¡¯s ¡®gu¡¯ character. In the end, he looked down at his own ¡®yang¡¯ character tied around his waist.

    Suddenly, an idea popped up in his head.

    He walked over to grab hold of Mu Yiran¡¯s arm. He pulled him closer and gazed into his eyes. He asked, ¡°The cloth strips were all given to us by the old man, right? The old man is Li Mazi, right? Li Mazi is Li Haojing, right? Li Haojing knew the original meaning of these characters, right?¡±

    Mu Yiran met with the bright ck eyes of the person in front of him. Under the dark, dense clouds of the night sky, the other¡¯s eyes were bright as stars.

    For the first time, he didn¡¯t throw off the other¡¯s hold. Mu Yiran pursed his lips, bearing into Ke Xun¡¯s eyes. ¡°The original meaning of ¡®hao¡¯ refers to the rapid flow of arge river, the sound of water rushing. The original meaning of ¡®jing¡¯ refers to a tower.¡±

    ¡°¡ªTower!¡±

    ¡°¡ªLarge river!¡±

    Ma Zhenhua and Zhang Maolin simultaneously shouted out loud.

    ¡°There¡¯s a dried up river bank in the vige¡¯s south side. There¡¯s also a fire lookout tower there.¡± The doctor said, ¡°We passed by it while searching for clues in the vige.¡±

    ¡°What are we waiting for then?! Quickly, the sky¡¯s getting dark!¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t wait. He started to sprint towards the vige¡¯s south side.

    Everyone hastily followed suit. At this moment, they realized that the sky had alreadypletely darkened. The night wind blew against their face before spiralling behind them anding at them again from behind. They could hear howling of men, women, the elderly and the young, all mixed into the roar of the wind. There was also a very familiar voice, shouting at them shrilly: ¡°Die¡ªyou should all die¡ª¡±

    It was Liu Yufei¡¯s voice!

    When they heard this voice, no one could resist turning around to look behind them. What they saw caused the jianbing vendor and Ma Zhenhua¡¯s legs to go soft and their inevitable copse onto the ground.

 Chapter 21: Out of the Painting!

    <h4>Chapter 21: Out of the Painting!</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    What they saw, was that the ghost faces hadpletely peeled themselves off of the three Chinese Schr trees. Thousands of ghost heads flocked together with malevolent and warped expressions on each of their faces. They allpeted to be in the lead as they chased after the survivors, their messy hair all tangled together, forming one giant blob. Within this hairy cloud, the slower ghost heads could also be faintly made out from in between the outeryer of hair. Their eyes were bulging, their mouths were wide and their faces were ashen and withered. They looked like they were itching to catch up to the people in front and eat them alive.

    The jianbing vendor¡¯s and Ma Zhenhua¡¯s legs softened. They tried to climb to their feet but couldn¡¯t do it. They were scared out of their minds and lost control of their dders.

    Ke Xun turned around. He ran back to the jianbing vendor, grabbed him by the cor and then continued to sprint ahead.

    He wasn¡¯t capable of helping two people. Although he frequently trained by running with weights, the weight of one grown person was already the extent to what he could handle.

    When Ke Xun saw Wei Dong turn around with the intention of saving Ma Zhenhua, he yelled, ¡°Can you even drag him?! Don¡¯t do more than you can. Just run!¡±

    Wei Dong promptly turned back around and continued sprinting for his life. Meanwhile, Mu Yiran took one nce at Ke Xun before heading back to grab the paralyzed Ma Zhenhua.

    ¡°Will you be okay?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve already forgotten who pressed you down onto the ground the first night,¡± Mu Yiran replied ndly.

    Ke Xunughed. He winked. ¡°Don¡¯t feel proud just yet. You just caught me off guard. If we really faced off, who knows who¡¯d be the one on top?¡±

    He then saw Mu Yiran¡¯s expression turn cold. The other increased his pace and overtook Ke Xun.

    Teasing him is pretty fun, Ke Xun thought.

    Meanwhile, the ghost heads that were gaining on them was definitely not something very fun.

    Amidst the gale and shrieks, the horde of ghost heads had nearly caught up to Zhang Maolin, who was trailing at the end. Zhang Maolin howled as he ran for his life. Who would have expected that he would suddenly trip and end up bitten in the foot by one of the heads.

    Zhang Maolin subconsciously turned to look at his foot. The head that had bitten into his shoe was Liu Yufei. Immediately, Liu Yufei let out a sinister smile, revealing his exquisite white teeth. With a howl, he pounced onto Zhang Maolin again.

    ¡°Help me¡ªhelp me¡ª¡± Zhang Maolin stumbled forwards. When he reached the steps of the fire tower, he grabbed hold of Ma Zhenhua¡¯s pants.

    Ma Zhenhua had been dragged forward by Mu Yiran this whole time. It was only when they entered the fire tower that he hade out of his stupor. With all his limbs, he struggled to climb up the steps. However, he had unexpectedly been grabbed by Zhang Maolin. Ma Zhenhua tried to pull his leg away but Zhang Maolin wouldn¡¯t relinquish his hold.

    ¡°Let go! Let go!¡± Ma Zhenhua¡¯s eyes bulged out of his head as he red at Zhang Maolin with hatred. He kicked his foot, trying to break free.

    ¡°Save me¡ªI beg you¡ªsave me¡ª¡± Zhang Maolin¡¯s eyeballs also seemed to protrude out of his sockets out of fear. This made his face look twisted and horrifying. He directed all of his energy into his hands, as if he wanted to drag Ma Zhenhua down and throw him into the horde of ghost heads behind him. It seemed like he wanted to sacrifice the other to buy himself time to escape.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you money¡ªI¡¯ll give you money¡ªI¡¯ll give everything I have¡ªI have 800 million¡ª-I¡¯ll give it all to you¡ªsave me¡ªsave me¡ª¡± Zhang Maolin sobbed, his voice so shrill it felt like it would pierce your eardrums.

    ¡°Let go¡ªgo die! Go die!¡± Ma Zhenhua panicked. He ruthlessly trampled on Zhang Maolin¡¯s face and throat.

    Once, twice, ten times.

    Each kick was filled with more force than thest. Each one was more and more ruthless. In the end, he gave onest kick that contained all of his strength, directing it to Zhang Maolin¡¯s throat. The suffocation and intense pain caused thetter to unconsciously let go. He then rolled down the steps and fell straight into the vortex that was the horde of ghost heads that were connected like a bunch of grapes by the hair.

    Countless ghost heads immediately surged upwards and then swallowed Zhang Maolin into their collective mass. Zhang Maolin stretched out a twisted arm, as if pleading for someone to save him.

    The ghost heads bit down firmly onto Zhang Maolin¡¯s body. The sound of tearing flesh and swallowing resounded in the air, repeating over and over again.

    Zhang Maolin¡¯s screams were like barbed, blunt des piercing them from the soles of their feet.

    Ma Zhenhua peed his pants again as he struggled to climb up the steps.

    It wasn¡¯t a particrly tall fire tower. And yet, it felt like it was taking them a century to reach the top.

    At the top of the tower, there was a wooden pir inside the tform, part of the wood already peeling off. On top of it was a dreary and cold-looking y-red seal: Li Haojing¡¯s seal.

    Dr. Qin sighed in relief. They had searched this area before but the seal hadn¡¯t been here. It had probably appeared after Mu Yiran had solved the mystery surrounding the painter¡¯s painful, tragic life and finally allowed him to let out all of his grievances and resentment through this painting.

    ¡°What now?!¡± The first to reach the top was Wei Dong. He screamed his question as he stared at the seal.

    ¡°Press down on it with your palm!¡± Dr. Qin said, following closely behind.

    Wei Dong was about to reach out when he suddenly turned around and saw Ke Xun heading back down. Panicked, he shouted, ¡°Ke er, hurry up! They¡¯re going to catch up to us soon! Hurry up!¡±

    ¡°You go first! I¡¯ll be fine!¡± Ke Xun shouted back. He then ran back down to tug on Mu Yiran who had fallen behind.

    Mu Yiran had been dragged down by Ma Zhenhua. When Ma Zhenhua and Zhang Maolin had been fighting, Mu Yiran had let go of the other, intending to wash his hands clean of him. He hadn¡¯t expected for Ma Zhenhua to catch up to him and grab onto his leg like Zhang Maolin had to Ma Zhenhua earlier. The other wouldn¡¯t let go of him no matter what he did.

    The horde of ghost heads surged towards them. They would soon reach Ma Zhenhua. At this moment, Ma Zhenhua felt the extreme fear Zhang Maolin had suffered a moment prior. He held tightly onto Mu Yiran¡¯s leg. He was afraid that the other would kick him down like he had to Zhang Maolin. He thought, even if he died, he would drag Mu Yiran down with him.

    Why? Why do I have to die while you guys get to live? Ma Zhenhua couldn¡¯t ept this. He hated this. He resented the people who would get to survive.

    A person¡¯s strength can reach new extremes during a life-or-death situation. Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t break free.

    Ke Xun went to try and pull him out. However, he discovered that he couldn¡¯t get the other to budge. They had no more time. They couldn¡¯t continue to stay entangled like this.

    Ke Xun pushed the jianbing vendor forward. He then yelled at Dr. Qin: ¡°Take him away!¡± He then turned around and tugged at Mu Yiran¡¯s pants.

    ¡°Do you want to die?!¡± Mu Yiran red, teeth clenched tightly.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?! What do you think I¡¯d do to you at a time like this?!¡± Ke Xun shouted as he continued to work. A momentter, he managed to pull Mu Yiran¡¯s linen pants all the way down.

    Ma Zhenhua slipped down along with Mu Yiran¡¯s pants. A shrill, mournful scream escaped from his lips.

    ¡°Heh.¡± Ke Xun really wanted to kick this person into the horde of ghost heads. However, he still reached out to heave the other up by the cor.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran simultaneously climbed thest few steps. Two hands reached out at the same time to press against the seal. White light shed before Ke Xun¡¯s eyes. Amidst the white light, something that looked like a painting¡¯s frame appeared.

    His body subconsciously started sprinting towards the frame. Everything onlysted for a second. By the time his gaze refocused, he realized the light above his head had softened and he was once again inside a room. On the walls around him hung paintings of all colours and sizes.

    ¡ª¡ªHe was back. He was back in that odd art gallery that had brought him onto such a strange, nightmarish adventure.

    Wei Dong pounced over and wrapped his hands around Ke Xun¡¯s neck. He shook the other fiercely. ¡°Ke er! Am I dreaming?! Did wee back?! Did we really make it back?! Quickly, let me pinch you. Does it hurt? We¡¯re not dreaming, right?¡±

    Ke Xun shoved him away. He rubbed his neck and coughed. He was about to say something when a sudden force struck him behind, forcing him to stumble forward. He turned around and saw Ma Zhenhua. The other¡¯s features were twisted into a warped expression, tears and snot running down his face as he flopped onto the ground.

    ¡°He¡¯s a lucky one.¡± Ke Xun said expressionlessly. He didn¡¯t bother to look at Ma Zhenhua again. He only looked up to examine the painting hanging in behind him.

    The painting was named ¡°The Funeral¡± and the painter was Li Haojing.

    Ke Xun finally got to see the painting¡¯s appearance.

    The Li vige was surrounded by mountains. As expected, it was definitely a remote, closed-off vige.

    The lonely vige was filled with dpidated houses. The painting was created with murky colours, showcasing the tragic and oppressive atmosphere that surrounded this vige.

    In the outskirts of the vige, there were people digging graves. On the north end of the vige, there was a mourning hall set up in one of the residences. There were people walking around that residence in linen clothes.

    Outside of this courtyard quietly stood three ghostly and grotesque Chinese Schr trees.

    If you were to carefully examine these trees, you¡¯d notice that there were craggy lines on the tree¡¯s trunks, as if they were covered with human faces. On even closer inspection, you¡¯d also make out a face that looked very much alike to Liu Yufei near the roots of one of the trees.

    Ke Xun took a step back. He then looked over at the fire tower and river bank to the vige¡¯s south. The shape of these two areas looked like the characters for Haojing.

    Ke Xun pointed to the face in the tree that looked like Liu Yufei. He turned to Mu Yiran. ¡°Was this on the original painting?¡±

    Mu Yiran stared at him coldly and didn¡¯t answer him.

    Ke Xun raised a brow. He was about to ask him something else when he heard Dr. Qin reply to his question. ¡°No, this wasn¡¯t on the original painting. This appeared because¡­he died inside the painting. It was the same in the previous two paintings we were in. If someone dies in the painting, their likeness will be forever preserved within the painting and they will be a part of it.¡±

    Ke Xun turned to look at him. ¡°What about in the real world? Will they disappear into thin air? Won¡¯t people get suspicious?¡±

    Dr. Qin cast his gaze downwards. ¡°In the real world, these people get to leave for a few more days. However, they will have lost their memories of the painting world. They will then die in a seemingly natural manner. It won¡¯t arouse any suspicions.¡±

    Ke Xun was speechless. He didn¡¯t bother with the painting any more. He continued to ask Dr. Qin questions instead. ¡°What now? Will we have to enter another painting right away?¡±

    Dr. Qin calmly said, ¡°Put your hand in your pocket.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong immediately reached into their pockets. At this moment, Ke Xun discovered that he was once again wearing his original clothes. The only difference was that there was now a card made of stiff paper he had never seen before inside his pocket.

    On the front of the card, ¡°Long River Art Gallery¡¯s Exhibition¡± was printed. There was also a date, time, address and ¡®third exhibition hall¡¯ printed on the back.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Ke Xun had a bad feeling about this.

    Dr. Qin¡¯s voice was low. ¡°The time and ce in which we will have to enter the next painting. This is our ticket to the art gallery. It¡¯s also¡­a forced invitation to enter the painting, one that we cannot refuse or give away.¡±

    Eve: Our babies survived! Yay~

 Chapter 22: Once a Sunshine-Like Youth

    <h4>Chapter 22: Once a Sunshine-Like Youth</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Wei Dong threw the ticket onto the ground and stomped on it a few times. ¡°Can I tear it apart?! Can I?!¡±

    Dr. Qin shook his head. ¡°If you destroy it, you¡¯ll die in real life. And your death will be tragic, abnormal, and/or extremely painful.¡±

    Wei Dong bent down to pick the ticket back up, chuckling nervously. A sense of despair and helplessness trickled through his voice.

    Ke Xun slipped his ticket back into his pockets and turned to look at Mu Yiran.

    He then realized that this big boss was wearing an elegant, trim suit jacket. However, he was only wearing a pair of briefs on the bottom.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡± He did pull the other¡¯s pants off before leaving the painting.

    No wonder the other was ring at him like he wanted to swallow him alive.

    ¡°Cough.¡± Ke Xun walked over. ¡°Boss, I was wrong. How about you use your jacket to cover yourself up. I¡¯ll go call a cab for you at the back door. Dong zi and I¡¯ll escort you into the car after. Do you live in this city?¡±

    Boss Mu continued to re at him.

    ¡°You¡¯re not from this city? How about youe to my ce first, then? My house is really close to this ce. You can change into my clothes, okay?¡± Ke Xun gave Wei Dong a look as he said this.

    Wei Dong promptly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Boss, you can¡¯t head to a hotel like this. There¡¯s people everywhere. It¡¯s not convenient to go to my ce because my parents are home. Ke er lives on his own so there¡¯s no one else at home. Therefore, there¡¯s no risk of being seen there. It¡¯ll be very convenient to wash up and get a change of clothes at his ce. We¡¯ve been in that painting for so long, crawling around everywhere. Our bodies must be filthy. Boss, you look like someone who¡¯s particr about cleanliness. You probably wouldn¡¯t be able to bear with waiting until you get home to wash up, right?¡±

    These words had probably struck a chord in Mu Yiran. As expected, his brows furrowed up. He didn¡¯t refute Wei Dong.

    Ke Xun heaved a sigh of relief. He then turned to Dr. Qin. ¡°What do you n on going? Do you also want toe to my ce?¡±

    Dr. Qin smiled while shaking his head. ¡°No, I want to go home. I don¡¯t live in this city either. However, I can still make it home before night falls if I buy a ticket now. So I won¡¯t stay over today. In any case, we¡¯ll see each other again in the future. Stay safe.¡±

    After he said this, he was the first to exit the exhibition hall with tired steps.

    The jianbing vendor and Ma Zhenhua were paralyzed on the floor. The stench of urine emanated from both of them.

    ¡°Jianbing Boss, things have alreadye to this. You might as well ept it.¡± Wei Dong dragged the jianbing vendor to his feet. ¡°Go home, wash up and rest up. Don¡¯t do anything stupid. We were lucky this time but we might not be able to make it out safely next time. It all depends on our own efforts. Go home.¡±

    The jianbing vendor was like a marite. He would do whatever someone told him. Just like that, he left the exhibition hall in a daze.

    No one paid any attention to Ma Zhenhua. Ke Xun pulled Mu Yiran by the arm, but Mu Yiran threw his hold off. The other took off his suit jacket with a cold expression and used it to cover his lower half.

    Ke Xun had Wei Dong go outside to call for a cab. The three of them then exited through the art gallery¡¯s back door secretly.

    As soon as they left the building, they discovered that it was raining. Wei Dong found it odd. ¡°It had been raining when we entered the painting. Why is it still raining now? Mister, has it been raining for thest few days non-stop?¡±

    The taxi driver looked at him strangely. ¡°Buddy, are you from out-of-town? Today¡¯s the only day we¡¯ve gotten rain in a few days.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Wei Dong was about to dispute this but Ke Xun reached out to press against him. Wei Dong immediately shut up.

    Ke Xun pulled his phone out. He discovered that he once again had a signal. The date and time at the top was the same as it had been when they had entered the painting.

    Ke Xun whispered to Mu Yiran: ¡°Does time flow differently in the painting?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t pay him any attention.

    Ke Xun nodded in understanding. ¡°Or, rather, time stopped in reality the moment we entered the painting.¡±

    As he said this, he pulled the ticket out again and looked at the time printed on it once more.

    The next time they had to enter a painting was thirteen days from now.

    Ke Xun¡¯s home was a new building built in a residential area downtown two years ago. He had purchased it after having sold the house his parents had left behind.

    Ke Xun lived on the top floor. His apartment wasn¡¯t big and he didn¡¯t have a lot of furniture. Thergest thing in his house was the double bed in his bedroom. There were three pillows on top of the metallic blue bed and hisforter wasn¡¯t folded¡ªit was carelessly shoved to the end of his bed.

    Ke Xun pulled out a change of clothes from his closet and handed it over to Mu Yiran. ¡°Make do with this for now. All of my clothes are athletic wear or casual. I don¡¯t have any formal clothing.¡±

    Luckily, Mu Yiran didn¡¯t seem to disdain his clothes. He epted the clothes, no expression on his face. He then coldly said, ¡°Go outside.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to shower first?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Mu Yiran paused. As expected, he wordlessly headed towards the bathroom.

    After hearing the m of the bathroom door, Ke Xun scratched his head. He then stretched his arms towards the ceiling.

    Ke Xun surveyed his simple, empty apartment. Everything felt surreal at the moment.

    Actually, since he had gone from an ordinary child with a beautiful family to a lonely orphan, he had felt like his life was an unreal dream.

    Everything in this dream was the same as the apartment he lived in ¡ª empty, vacuous, monotonous and cold.

    Ke Xun chuckled and then headed to the kitchen.

    Aftering out of the bathroom, Mu Yiran discovered that the clothes he had hung outside had disappeared. Even his underwear had gone missing. His eyebrows furrowed and the vein in his forehead started bulging.

    He suppressed his anger and reluctantly put on the clothes Ke Xun had given him. The top was a white t-shirt. He was also given a pair of light grey joggers. They were a cosy but rxed fit and the length was just right. However, the reflection he got back in the mirror was unfamiliar to him.

    Mu Yiran had never worn this kind of clothing before. The person in the reflection felt like someone else. Wearing these clothes, it felt like a lot of his sharpness and self-control had disappeared. He looked a lot more rxed.

    Mu Yiranbed his wet hair back with his fingers as he continued to look at himself through the mirror.

    It felt like something was off.

    Was it because the white t-shirt made him look like an innocent university student?

    Mu Yiran made his gaze more intense.

    No, that wasn¡¯t it.

    He continued to look at himself, brows knitting.

    A long timeter, he realized what it was.

    The bold, ck text was very eye-catching. In English, it spelled out ¡®hctiB A mA I¡¯ through the reflection.

    He felt like he could hear the veins in his forehead rupture.

    Mu Yiran walked out of the bathroom with an expression covered in thick frost. He swept a gaze over the empty living room. The only thing he saw in this room were several beanbags that resembled their owner very muchying on the white wooden floor.

    Sound came from the kitchen. Mu Yiran thus headed over there. Through the ck-framed ss door, he could see Ke Xun stirring something in a pot, his other hand in his pocket.

    This person could cook?

    As if he could sense Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze, Ke Xun turned around. At first, he seemed taken aback. Shortly after, he smiled. Thebination of this iceberg-like expression and these youthful clothes was really too cute.

    Seeing that Mu Yiran¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look good, Ke Xun very tactfully put on a proper expression. He ran over to open the door and shed an innocent smile. ¡°Are you hungry? I made coconut curry fried rice. It¡¯ll be done soon. You can rest first. The water in the water dispenser was changed yesterday so you can drink it.¡±

    Noticing that Mu Yiran was still looking at him like he was a dead man, Ke Xun mulled over it for a moment before adding, ¡°If you don¡¯t like to drink in water, there¡¯s also instant coffee and bagged milk tea beneath the water dispenser. There¡¯s also coke and green tea in the fridge. If you don¡¯t like any of those, I can go buy you Nutri-Express at the convenience store downstairs?¡±

    The vein in Mu Yiran¡¯s forehead began to throb again.

    Ke Xun tried to read the other¡¯s bodynguage. He promptly shut the ss door. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of smoke in the kitchen. How about you head to the living room for now?¡±

    ¡°Clothes.¡± Mu Yiran coldly squeezed these words from between his teeth.

    ¡°Oh, I put your clothes in clothes bags. I was going to bring them to the dry-cleaners. You wore them in the painting for several days. It would be good to wash away any bad luck.¡± Door shut, Ke Xun headed back to the stove to continue frying the rice.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t want to continue talking nonsense with him. He headed to the bedroom.

    He opened up the white in-wall closet. Articles of clothing of all colours hung inside. He flipped through all of them and realized that they were indeed all athletic or casual wear. Most of the closest was taken up by t-shirts, joggers, and hoodies.

    Mu Yiran picked a white t-shirt that only had a brand logo on the front and changed into it. He then stuck the one he had been wearing before into the closet. He was about to shut the closet door when he noticed several crooked photos stuck against the closet¡¯s inner wall.

    He nced over them. Most of the photos were of Ke Xun.

    There were photos of an ostentatious, unruly Ke Xun in his adolescence, photos of a young, pretty baby Ke Xun, and photos of an ignorant and adorable Ke Xun in his childhood.

    The other people in the pictures were his parents or friends. Sometimes, there were also his cats and dogs. Every photo was filled with life and a happy, worry-less atmosphere.

    It waspletely different to the apartment he currently lived in.

    Mu Yiran stared at the photos that contained Ke Xun¡¯s parents.

    Ke Xun¡¯s appearance was a mix of his parents¡¯ good points. His eyes were bright and his contours were well-defined. When he had been a child, he had been adorable. As a teenager, he had been pretty. As a young adult, he was handsome.

    Mu Yiran also found a photo of Ke Xun wearing a silly smile with a medal hanging around his neck. It was like these photos were meant to support his previous thoughts.

    In pen, a caption was written on the photo. ?I am me, a guy whose good looks are gold medal-worthy.¡ª The Ke Xun Question

    ¡°¡­.¡± Mu Yiran shut his eyes that had been forced to see that atrocious sight.

    He had just been about to shut the closet door when he had the misfortune of seeing the caption on a photo of Ke Xun doing the horse stance: The world is really miraculous to actually have been able to create a handsome creature like me¡ª The Ke Xun Question.

    The moment Handsome Creature Ke brought out two bowls of coconut curry fried rice from the kitchen, he saw Mu Yiran staring out the french windows.

    The cloudy sky was beautiful. Thin rays of golden light broke through the grey clouds. Rain fell down from beneath the clouds and rainbows had already started to form all over the city. The rain gave the silver buildings of the city a hipster-ish feeling.

    ¡°The view¡¯s not bad.¡± Ke Xun stretched out a leg and pulled the low table out from behind the beanbags and set the tes down. ¡°I chose to live on the highest level because it offered the best view. Come eat.¡± He then pulled out the bottles of green tea he had been holding under his arms out and put them down too.

    Mu Yiran turned to face him.

    Ke Xun was afraid that the other would keep putting on ears. He pointed to the fried rice and said, ¡°Every grain was painstakingly picked. If you don¡¯t eat it, I¡¯ll throw all of it out.¡±

    Mu Yiran walked over expressionlessly. As soon as his butt hit the surface of the bean bag, he sunk all the way in. In a second, he went from sitting up straight to lying down.It was a very proper ¡®Beijing slouch¡¯.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­.¡±

    When he saw the boss¡¯ expression turn cold, Ke Xun immediately smiled and tried to cate him. ¡°It¡¯s because I don¡¯t get guests often. My friends always flop onto the ground andy there paralyze as soon as they walk in. I¡¯m sozy that I hate the fact that I can¡¯t pee while lying down so I¡¯ve never bought a proper sofa. Just make do for now. Usually, if it¡¯s just me, I won¡¯t even bother with the beanbags, I¡¯d just sit on the ground.¡±

    Mu Yiran forced himself to bear with it. With much difficulty, he managed to sit up straight on the beanbags. With a dark expression on his face, he picked up the spoon in his bowl.

    Shrimp, cod, dried scallop, green pepper, red pepper were all mixed in with the golden coconut curry. The bowl was half-filled with the curry and the other half was rice. It looked and smelled appetizing.

    ¡°How is it? Is it yummy?¡± Ke Xun, who sat in front of him, beamed.

    A long timeter, Mu Yiran said, ¡°Mn.¡±

    The author has something to say:

    hctib A mA I is the reflected image.

    Eve: LOL ¡°I am a bitch¡± is what¡¯s written on the shirt. Dkm. It was originally written in English.

 Chapter 23: Idiotic Young Man VS Overbearing President

    <h4>Chapter 23: Idiotic Young Man VS Overbearing President</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    When Ke Xun walked out from his shower, he found Mu Yiran speaking on the phone. The other¡¯s voice was very quiet and he seemed to be speaking in English.

    Ke Xun slunk into his bedroom and made the bed. He then grabbed his own phone and returned to the living room. Seeing that Mu Yiran was still on the phone, he used gestures to indicate that he was going to step out for a moment.

    With the clothes bags containing Mu Yiran¡¯s suit and shirt, Ke Xun headed to the dry cleaners. He also visited a grocery store nearby. At the same time, he received Wei Dong¡¯s call.

    Wei Dong: ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Buying c¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Fuck! You managed to bag him already?!¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Buying clothes.? Can you let me finish my sentences before reacting? Your reaction is way too dangerous, ah.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­Fuck, as if I could be more dangerous than you? Who knows what you n on doing to the guy, whisking him home so abruptly.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Hurry up and say what you wanted to say. Ge here still has stuff to buy.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°What are you buying clothes for?!¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°For him to wear. He probably won¡¯t be able to leave tonight. It¡¯s toote to buy train and ne tickets now.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Yo, you¡¯ve even found out where he lives. You¡¯re a skilled yer.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Beat it. I only know where he¡¯s from because I saw it on the business card in his pocket.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Oh? Tell me, what does Boss Mu do? Is he really apany boss or is he an idol?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°In any case, he¡¯s definitely a ¡®boss¡¯. As for how big of a ¡®boss¡¯ he is, I need to get to know him to find out.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°You don¡¯t mean what I think you mean when you say ¡®get to know him¡¯, right?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­All right, you win. You could die at any moment now and you still have the mind to think so dirty.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Well what else should I do? It¡¯s not like I can hug my mom¡¯s thigh and cry for the next thirteen days. My dad said that life¡¯s short so we should do what we want to do. The eighteen generations of my Wei Family before me all held smiles on their faces right until the end. Although I don¡¯t think I can smile at the end, I can at least act vulgar.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Your dad¡¯s words are quite bold. Whatever, continue with your dirty thoughts. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be hanging up.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°So what kind of ¡®boss¡¯ is Boss Mu?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­He¡¯s an art dealer and he¡¯s opened sixteen galleries that are situated in eight different cities around the world. He¡¯s also an appraiser and buys and sells paintings personally.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­Wait, all of this was written on his business card?!¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Don¡¯t me me for looking at you like you¡¯re an idiot the next time I see you. Hispany name was on his business card and I searched thepany online. Obviously, all this information popped up.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­Fuck¡­wait, how old is he?! He¡¯s already opened up sixteen galleries?!¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°It was said that when he had been fifteen, he had bought a painting by some unknown painter for fifty thousand USD. Later on, he sold it for seventy-three million dors USD, proving that he has a good eye for art.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°...I feel my chrysanthemum tightening.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°He¡¯s pretty famous in the art world. He¡¯s praised for his eye for art and capability. That¡¯s how he had been able to open up sixteen galleries worldwide despite his young age. Do you have any other questions?¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Give me a second to calm down¡­. Okay,st question: you found out all of this on the inte?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Mn. Not only is there a bio, there¡¯s also his birthday, his three sizes, his height, his weight, his strong points, his interests, his interests, etc. It¡¯s actually really detailed. There¡¯s also videos of him walking on the streets abroad abroad on Youtube, uploaded by his fans.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°W-wait a second¡ªhe has fans?!¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°What¡¯s weird about that? At the beginning of this year, even a delivery boy got famous and obtained fans. What, just ¡®cause he¡¯s a cool, charismatic iceberg president he can¡¯t have thousands of fans? Even I have a hundred or so zombie fans on Weibo.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­I feel like Boss Mu is too badass, to the point where it¡¯s like he doesn¡¯t even exist on the same as us. He can easily earn hundreds of millions of dors¡ªin USD to boot. He also has fans backing him up. Although you were chosen as the most handsome boy in university for three years in a row, and you¡¯re currently the owner of a small gym, on the global scale, it¡¯s obvious that¡­the two of you are on entirely different levels. It¡¯s like you¡¯re a simple drawing wanting to get together with a character in an oil painting. The two of you don¡¯t go together, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Ke Xun huffed in amused anger: ¡°Who are you calling a simple drawing?! Spend more time raising your intelligence and spend less time imagining random stuff like this! Whatever, if you have nothing to say, beat it. It¡¯s almost my turn at the register!¡±

    After saying this, he hung up.

    A toothbrush, a towel, a pair of pyjamas and a pair of sneakers.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s dress pants were gone. He probably wouldn¡¯t leave with the suit on. That meant that he probably wouldn¡¯t wear his dress shoes either.

    Ke Xun picked up his bags and headed outside. The moment he was about to open the door, he paused. He recalled what Wei Dong had said and the things he had found out about Mu Yiran on the web.

    Mu Yiran and him, one of them was a proud son of Heaven while the other could be considered part of the dregs of Heaven.

    Indeed, they didn¡¯t belong to the same world.

    Ke Xunughed. He ruffled his hair and then headed into his apartment.

    Mu Yiran was sitting on the sofa, his cell phone on the short table.

    ¡°Are you done with work?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Mu Yiran asked expressionlessly, ¡°What brand is your phone?¡±

    Ke Xun smiled. ¡°Is your phone out of power? Luckily, our phones are of the same brand. The charger¡¯s in the bedroom, in the outlet by the headboard of the bed.¡±

    Mu Yiran picked up his phone and headed into the bedroom.

    Ke Xun thought, He¡¯s such a bigshot but uses such an ordinary brand. Pretty down-to-earth.

    Ke Xun was toozy to hang clothes up to dry so the washing machine he bought also had a drying function. He dried the newly bought set of pyjamas after washing them and then took it to the bedroom.

    Mu Yiran was sitting at the head of the bed, talking on the phone while his phone charged.

    Ke Xun walked over and sat down next to him. After the call ended, Mu Yiran looked like he was about to make another call. However, Ke Xun reached out to stop him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of your phone blowing up in your face if you charge it and use it at the same time?¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him and pushed his hand away. Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t continue to make his call. He only said in a t voice, ¡°Could you help me find a ce to stay the night?¡±

    Although time hadn¡¯t moved in reality while they had been in the world inside the painting, their bodies had continued to function in ordance to the painting world¡¯s time. They hadn¡¯t slept well for a few days in a row.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, you can sleep here.¡± Ke Xun ced the clothes on the bed and then started to head outside.

    The moment he reached the door, he heard Mu Yiran ask, ¡°Where are you going to sleep?¡±

    Ke Xun turned his head back and smiled. ¡°My ce, although it¡¯s small, it¡¯splete. There¡¯s a guest room on the other side. There¡¯s also a study. Although there isn¡¯t a lot of furniture, it¡¯ll be fine for me to sleep there.¡±

    Mu Yiran got up. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep in the guest room.¡±

    Ke Xun waved his hand. ¡°My hooligan buddies made a mess out of it. You sleep here.¡±

    After saying this, he walked out and shut the door behind him.

    Mu Yiran stood for a while before sitting back down.

    The screen on his phone gradually dimmed and then faded to ck. His pensive expression was reflected on the screen.

    A momentter, Mu Yiran unlocked his phone and was about to dial a number when he paused. He then put his phone on do-not-disturb and then ced it near the pillows to keep charging. He then got up to pull the curtains closed. When he came back to this side, he looked at the new pair of pyjamas.

    They were a solid icy blue, devoid of any patterns. There was only a white border.

    The style and colour suited his tastes. It was obvious that Ke Xun had carefully chosen this for him.

    Regardless, Mu Yiran still picked the clothes up for a careful examination, just in case there was a B word or F word printed somewhere on it.

    After he changed his clothes, he lifted the covers up and lied on the bed.

    It¡¯s difficult to sleep in an unfamiliar ce. He stared at the white ceiling and walls, eyes open. As a force of habit, he analyzed the colour scheme in front of him.

    Ke Xun was a veryplicated person.

    He seemedid-back and had a bit of a weird, unprincipled and unbridled nature. However, his home was so cold.

    White falls, white floor, white furniture, ck-framed doors, ck-lined geometric lights, silver curtains and sheets.

    Even the bowls and cutlery he used were simple, pure white designs.

    One¡¯s aesthetic was often rted to their real personality.

    From the photographs, Mu Yiran could tell that he had been filled with sunshine-like warmth when he had been a teenager.

    This person was sloppy but earnest, unbridled but dedicated, filled with warmth but also a cold loneliness.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t sleep for long. When he opened his eyes, it was dark outside. Looking at the time, he found out that it was eight in the evening.

    He changed his clothes and opened the bedroom door. He saw that the door to the guest room on the other side was open.

    Mu Yiran paused for a moment before walking over to peek inside. However, what he saw took him aback.

    He hadn¡¯t expected that the ¡®messy¡¯ room would actually bepletely empty. Not only was there no bed, there was no furniture whatsoever.

    He then walked over to the living room. There, he found Ke Xun huddled on a beanbag. Most of his body had sunk into the bean bag and he looked like a silly but cute husky sleeping there with no worries.

    Mu Yiran silently stared at him for a moment before heading to the bathroom.

    Ke Xun was woken up by his rm at a bit past nine in the evening. The apartment waspletely dark and he could only make out the distant city lights through his windows. The lights cast a colourful, mottled glow on his walls and floor.

    Ke Xun sat up and slowly came out of his daze. Suddenly, he realized that something was wrong. He noticed that the bedroom door was open and that Mu Yiran was gone.

    He searched throughout the apartment¡ªeven the bathroom. In the end, Ke Xun had no choice but to ept that Boss Mu had left without saying goodbye. He had even taken the pyjamas, new towel, new toothbrush and new shoes with him.

    Ke Xun scratched his head. He simply sat there and stared out at the city through his windows.

    Did Boss Mu leave because he felt bad seeing him sleep on the bean bag? Maybe he was already at a hotel.

    Should he call him? Ke Xun fiddled with his phone as he entertained this thought. He remembered the other¡¯s phone number from when he had looked at his business card.

    After hesitating for a few seconds, Ke Xun gave him a call.

    ¡°Male God, Male God, guess who I am?¡±

    A purposely deepened voice came through the phone receiver. Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t help but want to pinch his be.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± There was no hint of emotion in Mu Yiran¡¯s voice.

    On the other side of the phone, the person cleared his throat. Ke Xun switched back to his normal voice and spoke in a serious tone. ¡°You left something at my ce.¡±

    Mu Yiran raised a brow, pondering over what he might have forgotten. However, nothing came to mind. He asked, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Me, ah.¡± The other person continued to speak in a serious voice but there was a hint of a smile in his words.

    ¡°¡­.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s face sunk even though the other party couldn¡¯t see him. ¡°Is there anything else?¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to say that you¡¯re too polite.¡± Ke Xun smiled, scratching his ear. ¡°I sleep on the beanbags quite often. They feel more secure than the bed. Are you staying at a hotel right now?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­Mn.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Are you going back to S City tomorrow?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Mn.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Should I take you to the airport?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°No need. I¡¯ll be borrowing your clothes for now. I¡¯ll send them back to you when I get home.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Then add me on Vchat. I¡¯ll send my address to you.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­.¡± You really know to take advantage of a situation.

    Ke Xun: ¡°Send me your address too. I¡¯ll send your dry-cleaned clothes to you.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Will the next time we meet be in the next painting?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Mn.¡±

    Ke Xun suddenly didn¡¯t know what to say.

    The next time they would meet would be in a terrible life or death situation.

    Next time, he might not be able to survive. If he¡¯s lucky, he¡¯ll straightforwardly die. If he¡¯s unlucky, he¡¯ll have to face-off against Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran, who was on the other side, was also silent. Who knew if he was also thinking about this?

    Ke Xun thought, if he were to really be so unlucky to fall into such a situation, he would give way to Mu Yiran.

    Even if the other was cold, he was really handsome.

    As someone who waspletely weak against attractive people, he was evenpletely unreasonable when it came to himself.

    The author has something to say:

    The second painting ¡°Faith¡± will officially start. Wee everyone, as we watch our protagonist and co. enter the next painting~~

    As for the ¡®sixteen galleries all over the world¡¯ and the part about the painting he bought for fifty thousand, that was all based on a true story! There¡¯s a real bigshot like this. The paintings he deals with exceed one billion USD every year. He could even sell a rotting fish as a piece of art for twelve million USD. Reality is truly stranger than fiction~~~

    Eve: My Ke Xun is a poor baby my heart hurts for him. Also, if anyone wants to know about their rtionship, I¡¯ll hide some spoilers under the dropdown box below. About who falls first, when, and when they get together. <details><summary>Spoiler:</summary>

    Ke Xun falls first and it happens in the next world (so fast I know lol). Yiran takesparably longer but they get together by mid story. Somewhere around arc 5-7, can¡¯t rmb precisely which chapter. Therefore, it might hurt a bit to see Ke Xun love Yiran so much and be willing to give up so much in the beginning. But the two of them are very sweet together after getting together. </details>

 Chapter 24: Corgi and Mooney~

    <h4>Chapter 24: Corgi and Mooney~</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun pulled his cell phone away from his ear and thenughed into the mic: ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you in the next painting.¡±

    This way, he wouldn¡¯t have to hear the other person tell him goodbye.

    After hanging up, Mu Yiran received a text. It was Ke Xun¡¯s Vchat ID. However, he didn¡¯t send his address over.

    It was obvious that he was waiting for Mu Yiran to add him on Vchat.

    Mu Yiran stared at the string of numbers for a long time with a dark expression. But in the end, he still reluctantly added the other.

    This person¡¯s profile picture was a single eye¡ªKe Xun¡¯s own eye. The contrast of the ck and white parts of his eye was very distinct. The eye also seemed to be curved into a smile, with the outer corner raised in an obvious arc. After carefully examining the other¡¯s eye, he realized that it looked like there was something inside the other¡¯s pupil. Therefore, Mu Yiran clicked on the photo and zoomed in. As a result, he was met with a sentence: What¡¯re you looking at me for?

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­.¡±

    This person¡¯s name was also ¡®Corgi¡¯.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­.¡±

    ¡°Corgi¡¯s¡± message came really quickly: My male god Mooney! Muah muah!

    Mooney: Address.

    Corgi£º)))8¡±

    Mooney£º)))1¡±

    Corgi£º)))10¡±

    Mooney£º)))4¡±

    Corgi: Okay, I¡¯ll send you our local specialtiester.

    Mooney: No thanks.

    Corgi: Have a safe journey, Sir. Come visit me often.

    A second before Mu Yiran exited the chat, he saw that Corgi¡¯s disy picture had changed. It was now a simple drawing of a person.

    The next morning, Wei Dong visited Ke Xun.

    ¡°Yi? I thought I¡¯d catch the two of you in bed together. Why are you alone?¡± Wei Dong pulled the sheets off of Ke Xun, revealing a half naked single dog.

    Ke Xun pulled the nket back and wrapped himself up. He shut his eyes and said, ¡°Piss off.¡±

    ¡°What are you sulking for? Get up.¡± Wei Dong kicked him.

    Ke Xun sat up and ruffled his hair. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Wei Dong seemed a bit fretful. ¡°What do you think? Hurry up and get up so we cane up with a n. There¡¯s only twelve days left. We don¡¯t seriously have to go into another painting, do you?¡±

    Ke Xun yawned. ¡°You say it as if you have a way to avoid doing it.¡±

    Wei Dong paused and then sighed. ¡°With effort, one can achieve anything. What if there was a way?¡±

    Ke Xun looked up towards him. ¡°Not even Boss Mu or Dr. Qin could figure out a way to avoid entering paintings. Do you really think shitty students like us would be able to do something they couldn¡¯t do?¡±

    Wei Dong tugged at his hair. ¡°I don¡¯t want to give up! When I went home and saw my momst night, I jumped onto her. I can¡¯t bear to leave my mom, even if she pped me so hard it felt like my teeth had fallen out¡­. I didn¡¯t dare talk to them about the painting. I was afraid they¡¯d think that their son had gone crazy. It took me so long to fall asleep. I started crying while writing a letter to them. I don¡¯t want to die, Ke er! I still haven¡¯t enjoyed life to the fullest! I¡¯ve never even had a girlfriend before!¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s head was lowered as he changed clothes. After washing up in the bathroom, he headed to the kitchen.

    Wei Dong also followed along. He watched Ke Xun heat up milk, fry eggs and slice ham in a daze. He murmured, ¡°Looking at you right now, I realize how wonderful an ordinary life is¡­. The more I think about it, the less willing I am to ept this. Why did I have to be chosen¡­?¡±

    ¡°I think that everything happens for a reason.¡± Ke Xun tied his hair back before slicing bread. ¡°But the reason might be inside a painting. We¡¯ve only entered one painting thus far and therefore don¡¯t know anything about the other paintings. There¡¯s no way we cane up with any connections or pick up on any clues right now. So, rather thanin, why not be more proactive? Think of how we can safely escape the next painting. Maybe we¡¯lle to a breakthrough next time.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Wei Dong forced himself to raise his spirits. ¡°But how should we go about dealing with the next painting? We don¡¯t even know what it¡¯ll be about.¡±

    Ke Xun finished making two simple sandwiches. He ted them and handed one to Wei Dong. He then went to sit at the dining table. ¡°We¡¯ll go look for the jianbing vendor after this. We might as well brainstorm ideas together since we¡¯ll all be seeing each other in the painting anyway.¡±

    However, they didn¡¯t find the jianbing vendor at his usual spot.

    ¡°That dude¡¯s psychologically fragile. He probably took a few days off to recuperate,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Ke Xun went to talk to the breakfast vendor and the snack vendor to ask about the jianbing vendor¡¯s phone number. He then dialed the number.

    No one picked up.

    ¡°Would any of you happen to know where he lives?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    The egg-stuffed pancake vendor pointed in one direction: ¡°He rents a ce in the Happiness District.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ke Xun called Wei Dong over and they hurried over to the Happiness District.

    They asked the security guard which building the jianbing vendor lived at. Shortly after, they were able to find it.

    They knocked on the door for a long time but no one answered. The two of them exchanged nces. Suddenly, a neighbour popped his head out and said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother. There¡¯s no one at home.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Do you know where he went?¡±

    The neighbour: ¡°People from the psychiatric hospital came to take him away.¡±

    Wei Dong was shocked: ¡°The psychiatric hospital?¡±

    The neighbour: ¡°That¡¯s right. He was doing fine but suddenly went crazy. He started smashing things and mming his head against the wall. He cried so hard it looked like blood would start dripping out of his eyes. He almost pushed his wife off the balcony too.¡±

    Wei Dong and Ke Xun exchanged nces. Ke Xun asked, ¡°Where¡¯s his wife now?¡±

    The neighbour: ¡°She followed him to the psychiatric hospital to fill out the paperwork. Her husband will probably have to stay in the hospital for a long time. I heard that his doctor said that it was pretty serious. He might never be able to be discharged.¡±

    Downstairs, Wei Dong¡¯s eyes filled with rm. ¡°Do you think that this was caused by the painting¡¯s residual effects? Do you think we¡¯ll suddenly go crazy too?¡±

    Ke Xun pulled out his phone and dialed a number. His call was picked up after three rings: ¡°Boss, the jianbing vendor went crazy. Do you know why?¡±

    Wei Dong stared at Ke Xun with wide eyes.

    Mu Yiran seemed to think for a moment. ¡°This was probably due to the ¡°painting¡¯s¡± restriction. If we speak of our experiences in the paintings or leak information about the world inside paintings to outsiders, they¡¯d probably think that we¡¯re crazy. Therefore, the ¡®painting¡¯ simply forces us to go insane for real. The consequences of breaking its rules is to be driven to death by insanity.¡±

    Ke Xun paused. ¡°¡­Fuck. The painting is really making good use of this censoring rule.¡±

    Mu Yiran said in a mild voice: ¡°Therefore, regardless of wearing you¡¯re writing a farewell letter or establishing your will, don¡¯t mention the paintings to any outsiders. It¡¯s useless.¡±

    When Wei Dong heard this, he sighed. ¡°It¡¯s forcing us to suffer in silence.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    Ke Xun looked around and then lowered his voice. ¡°Boss, since you frequently go overseas, do you think you could get your hands on some guns?¡±

    Mu Yiran chuckled through the phone. When he spoke, it sounded like there was both ridicule and helplessness in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s no use. They¡¯ll lose their functions. I tried it in my second painting. After going in, it becamepletely useless.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just guns. All weapons are the same. Qin Ci brought a sharp scalpel once. Not only did its tip be round, the de became five or six cm thick. It became as useless as a piece of scrap metal.

    ¡°Besides, there¡¯s the issue of passing through the art gallery¡¯s security. Regardless of whether it¡¯s on you or in your bag, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll be able to bring in a prohibited item.

    ¡°Even everyday items see a reduced usability upon entering the painting. For example, our cell phones. Typically, we can only use them to check the time or shine a light. It depends on the time period the painting is based on. Sometimes, the camera function or audio yer might work.

    ¡°As for what other things will be after entering the painting, you can test it out for yourself.¡±

    After hanging up, Ke Xun spread his hands out. ¡°That¡¯s that, I guess. Maybe we should just go learn the magical incantations from a Mt. Mao daoist priest.¡±

    Wei Dong mulled over this issue. ¡°We can¡¯t take prohibited items into the gallery but what about other useful things? For example, cell phones, a tent, food, ropes, etc. What do you think?¡±

    Ke Xunughed. ¡°Did you see Mu Yiran and Dr. Qin with any of those things in thest painting?¡±

    Wei Dong was stunned: ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°I think that, first of all, the ¡®painting¡¯ won¡¯t let us starve to death. Otherwise, there would be no need to create such terrifying things to kill us. It could just trap us in a windowless, door-less room for a while without any food. We¡¯d all die eventually. Why waste its energy with all that other stuff? As for a tent, wouldn¡¯t a tent be cumbersome in a life-or-death situation? Experts know how to be flexible. That¡¯s why they didn¡¯t bring anything with them.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Well I¡¯m not an expert. I just want to be able to eat good food before I die. I definitely have to bring chocte and jerky with me for the next painting.¡±

    Twelve dayster, Ke Xun and Wei Dong, who had a backpack full of food, arrived at the Long River Art Gallery¡¯s third exhibition hall. After entering the painting, they discovered that bringing one¡¯s own food was a futile endeavour.

    The process of entering the second painting was the same as the first. First, the lights went off. Quickly after, a light that seemed to have no source would appear and illuminate a painting hanging within the exhibition hall¡¯s walls.

    Before Ke Xun was sucked into the painting, he tried to keep his eyes open so that he could see the painting¡¯s contents. However, all he saw was a scene of fuzzy nts and flowers. Within this scene was a pair of distinct, narrow eyes. The eyelids over the eyes drooped down and they contained a benevolent, happy smile within them.

    Ke Xun took a long time to re-open his eyes because he had been abruptly teleported from the pitch-ck art gallery exhibition hall into an extremely bright ce.

    All around him was a blue sky filled with clouds and a grassy mountain covered in snow. There was also that blinding sunlight.

    It looked like a holy site that would attract many tourists.

    Ke Xun¡¯s mind was nk for a moment. He had been prepared to see some kind of sinister, horrifying scene. He hadn¡¯t expected such a change in style. It had caught him off guard.

    He turned to look at Wei Dong beside him. Both of them were frozen in ce.

    ¡°¡­What the heck¡­¡± Wei Dong said while staring at Ke Xun, speechless.

    Both of them were dressed in shabby clothes with holes in them.

    ¡°So are we beggars this time?¡± Wei Dong looked down and tugged at his clothes that kind of looked like a dress but wasn¡¯t. ¡°Kind of looks like Gandalf the Grey Wizard¡¯s robe, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Ke Xun was pondering over what era these clothes were from, he heard a distant voice call out, ¡°Over here.¡±

    When he looked in the direction of this voice, he saw Dr. Qin. The older man was also wearing simr clothes. He was currently sitting on arge rock. Several people stood around him too. Aside from Ma Zhenhua, who had survived thest painting with them, there were also a few unfamiliar faces. All of them looked terrified and rmed.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong headed over. First, they sized up the new people. There were two youngdies who looked to be about eighteen or neen years old. One was thin and tall while the other was slightly chubby and short.

    The taller one had long hair and was beautiful. Right now, her small face was deathly pale and there were tears in her eyes.

    The slightly chubby girl looked unremarkable. She had on a pair of ck-rimmed sses. There was no life in her eyes, presumably because of the fright she felt.

    Aside from them, there was a twenty something year old adult frantically hitting his phone. Lastly, there was a family of three. The forty-something year old couple had a child who looked like a middle school student with them.

    Ke Xun frowned, fury lighting up within him.

    A child.

    .

    There was also a child!

    ¡°Fuck this!¡± Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help himself from kicking a rock. He scared the new people, causing them to shudder and turn to look at him nervously.

    Eve: Mu Yiran¡¯s handle is basically ¡®Money¡¯ if anyone hasn¡¯t guessed it LOL.

    Also, sort of spoiler but it¡¯s also one thing I feel like I should mention, in case this is a turn off for anyone, female representation isn¡¯t the greatest for the first 2/3 ish of the novel. Like, it¡¯s not like the author viinizes all the female characters or that they¡¯re allpletely useful. It¡¯s just that there is some bias present. There are female characters in this story I like. Though the screen time is definitely less than their male counterparts even near the end.

 Chapter 25: A Rather Complicated Newcomer

    <h4>Chapter 25: A Rather Complicated Neer</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Qin Ci got up and walked over. He patted Ke Xun on his shoulder. There was an inevitable chill in his rich and mellow voice. ¡°Let¡¯s do our best to look after them.¡±

    Wei Dong took the satchel off his shoulders¡ªhis two-strapped backpack had turned into a crude cloth satchel after entering the painting.

    He had brought jerky, chocte, sausages and even five packs of instant ramen with him. When he saw the fear on the poor kid¡¯s face, he had wanted to take out some chocte tofort him. However, he was stunned upon opening up his bag. His ramen had turned into clumps of flour, his chocte had turned into some yellow thing, and his jerky and sausages had reverted to their raw forms. They were all jumbled together.

    ¡°What the heck did this turn into?!¡± Wei Dong yelled angrily. He pulled out the yellow thing he thought used to be chocte and ced it in his hand as he stared at it.

    ¡°Looks a bit like cheese,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Cheese?¡± Wei Dong was dumbfounded. ¡°I get ramen turning into clumps of flour and cooked meat turning into raw meat, but why did chocte turn into cheese? What kind of weird logic is that?¡±

    Ke Xun felt his sides and found his phone. He swiped his screen and saw his phone light up. As expected, they could still use it to check the time and as a source of light.

    ¡°It probably regressed?¡± After answering Wei Dong¡¯s question, Ke Xun asked Qin Ci, ¡°Has Mu Yirane yet?¡±

    Qin Ci shook his head.

    Just as he said that, a sudden light burst before their eyes, blinding them. By the time the light retreated, they could see that two more people were standing in front of them. They were screaming out of fear and rm.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong looked at the two people withplicated gazes.

    It was like looking at their past selves who had just entered a painting for the first time. At that time, they hadn¡¯t expected what kind of unimaginable experience would await them.

    Who knew how many of these people would survive in the end?

    Eventually, those two people noticed everyone. They staggered over towards them. It was a young man and woman. They looked like a couple. The man sprinted over to Ke Xun and shouted, ¡°Hey, dude! What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The two people ran over. Ke Xun said, ¡°This is a painting. The world inside a painting. It must sound incredulous, right? But it¡¯s real. We¡¯re inside the painting you had just been looking at.¡±

    The man was stunned. He then cursed, ¡°What kind of fucking bullshit are you saying?! Are you sick in the head?¡±

    Ke Xun raised a brow: ¡°Do you have medicine?¡±

    The man was both frightened and angry: ¡°Are you crazy?!¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Can you heal me?¡±

    The man was enraged. ¡°Fuck¡ª¡± As he swore, he raised his fist, intending to punch Ke Xun in the face. Ke Xun easily dodged him. The one then turned around, wanting to continue the fight. However, Wei Dong tugged on him.

    ¡°Hey, buddy, take it easy,¡± Wei Dong said, ¡°Don¡¯t provoke him. If he really decides to fight, he¡¯ll beat you up until you¡¯re crying and calling him daddy.¡±

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± The man threw Wei Dong off and rushed over towards Ke Xun. However, his girlfriend grabbed onto him.

    ¡°Zhou Bin! Enough! Hurry and ask what¡¯s going on!¡± The girl¡¯s panicked voice held a sobbing quality to it.

    Zhou Bin red at Ke Xun but dropped his fist. He nced at the other people. He saw that the majority of the people seemed to be in simr states as his girlfriend and himself¡ªpanicked and helpless. There was only one person who remained calm: a tall, steady and tidy-looking man. He went over and asked, ¡°Hey there, can I ask you where this is? What¡¯s happening?¡±

    As a doctor, Qin Ci had a lot of patience. He gave Zhou Bin and his girlfriend a simple exnation. Upon hearing this exnation, Zhou Bin and his girlfriend were both shocked into a daze.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to bother with them. He turned around and gazed into the distance.

    In the distance, there were mountains as far as the eye could see. The tops of the mountains were covered in mottled snow. The reflection they gave off was blinding.

    The sky above them was exceptionally blue, almost abnormally so. It was a clear sky but it also felt like the sky hid countless, enormous, horrifying things behind it.

    Ke Xun sucked in a breath of air. There was a chill briskness in the air from the snow in the distance.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit hard to breathe,¡± Wei Dong said, squatting down beside Ke Xun.

    ¡°Yeah. Although it¡¯s spacious here, for some reason, I feel constricted. Like I¡¯m being asphyxiated.¡± Ke Xun replied.

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to be suffocated to death, are we?¡± Wei Dong shivered. ¡°That¡¯s a terrifying way to go. I would rather smack my head against something and die like that instead.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, they heard Zhou Bin¡¯s girlfriend shriek, ¡°How can this be,ah¡ªI don¡¯t want to die¡ªZhou Bin! Zhou Bin! What should we do? I don¡¯t want to die¡ª¡±

    Wei Dong and Ke Xun exchanged nces. It looked like Qin Ci had already told them everything about the painting.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to keep listening. He continued to stare at the reflective snow on the mountain tops.

    Wei Dong also looked around them. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Boss Mue yet? He couldn¡¯t have decided to just die outside rather thane into the painting, could he?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not the kind of person to resign himself to his fate or retreat.¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong clicked his tongue. ¡°You¡¯re already praising him? You¡¯re not really interested in him, are you?

    Ke Xun shoved his hands into his pockets. ¡°There¡¯s many ways you can be ¡®interested¡¯ in someone. You could appreciate them, admire them, worship them or love them. You could also be a fan of someone¡¯s looks or personality.¡±

    ¡°¡­Alright, I know what kind of ¡®interest¡¯ you have towards him.¡± Wei Dong said, ¡°Do whatever you want. I support you. In any case, who knows when we¡¯ll die in this painting. Since we might die at any time, you might as well do whatever you want.¡±

    The two of them were chatting to help remain calm. Suddenly, a sh of bright light once again pierced their eyes. When the light rescinded, they looked around and saw Mu Yiran, who still stood out from the crowd, walking towards them.

    Ke Xun subconsciously smiled. He kicked Wei Dong, who was squatting next to him. ¡°Get up.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Wei Dong got up reluctantly. ¡°He¡¯s your male god, not mine. Do I have to stand up and wee him with you?!¡±

    Ke Xun examined Mu Yiran as he walked over. He sighed. ¡°A big shot is truly a big shot. Even beggar¡¯s clothes look fashionable on him.¡±

    Wei Dong shaded his eyes and nced over too. He then sighed as well. ¡°These clothes make us look like beggars. And yet they make him look like an otherworldly immortal¡­.¡±

    Before he finished speaking, he saw the damned gay next to him eagerly run towards Mu Yiran in wee. All he could do was mutter ¡®face con¡¯ under his breath before following after him.

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s here,¡± Qin Ci said to Mu Yiran.

    Thirteen people.

    Mu Yiran swept a nce over the crowd. He didn¡¯t pay any of them any attention. He kept his eyes on Qin Ci: ¡°Where are we supposed to go?¡±

    Qin Ci jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. ¡°Down the hill.¡±

    After detouring around a fewrge rocks that were about 3 or 4 people tall, they found a path that headed down the hill. There were no traces of human civilization. There also weren¡¯t many nts around either. The entire slope was filled with giant stones and broken rocks. Thendscape all around them was painted ash grey.

    At the bottom of this path was a giant, t space. There were around ten tents sparsely sent up within this area. Some were big and some were small¡­well there was only one big one. The big one could probably fit ten people at once. Meanwhile, the small ones were really small. They also looked flimsy.

    Qin Ci lead the group. He carefully made his way down. Ma Zhenhua followed right after him. Mu Yiran nced at Ke Xun but didn¡¯t say anything to him before leaving. Ke Xun had just been about to follow along when he noticed that the neers were all cowering in ce. No one dared to move.

    Ke Xun looked at the family and then said to the father, ¡°Come on. It¡¯s no use staying here. It¡¯ll be even more dangerous at night time. You¡¯ll die here. Meanwhile, if you go down there and look for a way to leave with us, you have a chance of surviving.¡±

    The father¡¯s lips trembled slightly. In the end, he held his wife and son¡¯s hand and followed along silently.

    The other people had also heard Ke Xun¡¯s words. Perhaps it was due to herd mentality, or because they had noticed that Qin Ci and Mu Yiran seemed to be experienced with this kind of thing, but everyone seemed to snap out of it. They helped each other down the hill, trembling.

    Ke Xun actually didn¡¯t get what was happening very much. It was such a pure, clear environment. How could something terrifying appear here? Just what was the painter thinking while creating this?

    Although the road was hard to transverse, there weren¡¯t any particrly dangerous parts. However, they had four girls and a kid with them. Therefore, there was still quite a bit of stumbling and screams.

    Wei Dong had ran over to the pretty eighteen/neen year old girl a long time ago. He supported the girl¡¯s elbow as she descended the hill like a eunuch would the Empress.

    They finally made it down to the tents as the sun set in the west. Just as they arrived, a middle-aged man dressed in simr attire as them walked out from thergest tent. His skin was darkly tanned and he had chapped lips. He was short and had dark eye circles. His pupils were also quite small. He looked at everyone and said in a stiff tone, ¡°Sleep early tonight. Don¡¯t run around outside. Gather in this tent tomorrow morning. I will be waiting here for you. Right now, I¡¯ll give you your sleeping arrangements.:

    No one replied. Everyone listened to him silently.

    This person didn¡¯t seem to mind. His inhumane ck eyes swept over everyone. ¡°You will sleep in the tents tonight. The tents are small. Only two people can share a tent. Remember, only two people can be in each tent.¡±

    Thirteen people, two per tent. That meant that one person would have to be on their own.

    After the middle aged man finished speaking, he headed to the most distant small tent, leaving behind the crowd of people.

    It seemed like it would be up to them how they divided themselves up.

    Ma Zhenhua was the first to react. He hurriedly walked over to Mu Yiran, his eyes full of hope. ¡°Mu xiaoge, I¡­can I be in the same tent as you? Please!¡±

    Before Mu Yiran could speak, they heard the young girl with sses shout: ¡°Wait a second! Can I say something first?¡±

    Everyone turned to look at her.

    After getting over her initial fear and shock, she had be the calmest person amongst the neers, even if her face was pale and her voice trembled. ¡°What I want to say is, although I don¡¯t know what terrifying thing might happenter, I think that at this kind of time, we should stick together. Regardless of whether it¡¯s in novels or movies, you should all know that people who fight alone never get a good ending.

    The sses girl seemed to be encouraged by everyone¡¯s silent listening. She pointed to Qin Ci, Mu Yiran and Ke Xun and continued, ¡°It seems like you guys have some experience and know each other. Meanwhile, we are unfamiliar with this¡­¡®world¡¯. We are powerless and don¡¯t know what to do. People like us will die easily.

    ¡°Therefore, I sincerely hope that and implore you all to think about the group and help us. After all, the more people there are, the stronger the group is. If we can survive, we will definitely be able to assist you. The less people there are, the greater the danger, right?

    ¡°I beg you to help us, to help everyone make it out here alive. It would be better for everyone to work hard and figure out a way to leave here together. The strength of all of us is greater than the strength of just you five, right?

    ¡°I think that there¡¯s something wrong with that person just now. He purposely stressed that there can only be two people per tent. I think that there¡¯s definitely something fishy here. I think that something¡¯s going to happen tonight.

    ¡°Under this kind of circumstance, I implore you to be generous and give us neers a bit of kindness. Please don¡¯t make us face this alone, okay?

    ¡°Therefore, what I¡¯m trying to say is¡­could the people with experience each take one of us neers into each tent? Help us increase our chances of survival, please! Please! I trust that you guys are good people, kind people. Please!¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but examine the sses girl a bit more keenly.

    You really couldn¡¯t judge books by their covers.

    This sses girl was able to think clearly. She spoke in a tidy and clear manner. What was even more rare was that she was able to remain calm-headed in a situation like this. She was more formidable than several of the men here.

    The neers that entered these paintings were not necessarily all pure weaklings.

    Eve: That¡¯s smart and sneaky.

 Chapter 26: A Gay Manâ€™s Intuition

    <h4>Chapter 26: A Gay Man¡¯s Intuition</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Mu Yiran, Ke Xun, Wei Dong and Qin Ci¡ªnone of them objected to what the sses girl said.

    Qin Ci nodded his head slightly at the sses girl. His voice was warm, gentle and calm. ¡°We can do that. However, there is something I have to say. Even though we¡¯ve entered a painting before, there is no guarantee we will all be able to survive tonight. The painting¡¯s powers are not something that one can fight off with just courage. Most of the time, our survival willpletely hinge on our luck. All we can do is tell you what we¡¯ve learned from our experiences. Unfortunately, we cannot protect you.¡±

    The sses girl promptly spoke up with a trembling voice: ¡°Even so, this is enough. Thank you!¡±

    Qin Ci looked at the neers. ¡°Who do you guys want to go with?¡±

    Ma Zhenhua immediately interrupted: ¡°I¡ªeven if I¡¯m not new, can¡¯t do it! I don¡¯t understand anything. I can¡¯t do anything. I still have a child at home. I don¡¯t want to die. I want to go with him¡ª¡±

    He pointed at Mu Yiran.

    ¡°How can you be so selfish!¡± A young man from within the neers¡¯ group couldn¡¯t ept this. He walked over with a shout to grab hold of Ma Zhenhua¡¯spel. ¡°My parents are waiting for me at home too! Who would ever want to die?! A selfish person like you is fated to have a bad ending, you know?!¡±

    Wei Dong also frowned upon Ma Zhenhua. Ke Xun had told him about what he had done to the entrepreneur, Zhang Maolin, after they had left the painting. That¡¯s why he decided to speak up: ¡°We¡¯ve already decided that each veteran will take on a neer. Old Ma, majority rules.¡±

    After saying this, Wei Dong turned to look at the long-haired beauty. ¡°Hey, who do you want to go with? I¡¯ve been in a painting before and managed to escape death a few times.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    The long-haired beauty¡¯s panicked and helpless gaze swept over everyone¡¯s faces a few times. She then pointed to Mu Yiran: ¡°I¡ªI choose him.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Qin Ci then asked the sses girl beside her, ¡°What about you?¡±

    The sses girl also looked around for a bit. She then pointed to Ke Xun: ¡°I want to choose him.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡± Are they choosing who can give them a sense of security or are they choosing boyfriends here?!

    Ke Xun turned to the sses girl. ¡°Let me introduce myself. I¡¯m Ke Xun. That¡¯s my buddy over there. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    The sses girl replied, ¡°My name is Sha Liu. We¡¯re ssmates.¡± She pointed to the long-haired beauty.

    Ke Xun nced at the long-haired beauty. ¡°Oh, then is her name Saxaul?¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­.¡±

    The long-haired beauty¡¯s pale face twisted in fury: ¡°My name is Zi Ling!¡±

    Ke Xun crossed his arms and then looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°Zi Ling? Too bad. His name isn¡¯t Fei Yunfan.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Qin Ci looked at the rest of the people. ¡°Who do you want to go with?¡±

    Zhou Bin frowned. ¡°You¡¯re all guys. I can¡¯t let my girlfriend stay in the same tent as you.¡±

    The young man just now followed with, ¡°Then you two can be in a tent on your own. In any case, there¡¯s not enough experienced people.¡±

    ¡°Why? That¡¯s not fair.¡± Zhou Bin didn¡¯t ept it. ¡°Then we¡¯ll be in danger!¡±

    ¡°When in dire situations, one must be able to adapt,¡± Qin Ci said, ¡°If you¡¯re unwilling to let her stay with one of us, then the only choice you have is for the two of you to be in one tent.¡±

    Zhou Bin thought about it. He then pointed to Qin Ci and spoke to his girlfriend, ¡°Stay in the same tent as him.¡± He then pointed to Wei Dong: ¡°I¡¯ll stay with you.¡±

    The young man screamed: ¡°Why do you get to choose who you want? I don¡¯t want to share a tent with him!¡± He pointed to Ma Zhenhua.

    The family of three stood in silent worry.

    Just like that, chaos ensued.

    Wei Dong tugged on Ke Xun gently. ¡°You were acting like a jealous boyfriend just now.¡±

    ¡°Spend less time uttering nonsense and more time on improving yourself,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°That Saxaul girl won¡¯t even give you a single nce. Don¡¯t tell people that I was the one to raise you from now on.¡±

    ¡°As if Boss Mu ever looks at you,¡± Wei Dong said.

    The two of them chattered for a while in order to alleviate their nervousness from entering the painting as usual. As they did this, the rest of the group appeared to havee up with a resolution.

    In the end, they had decided to scrap the idea of pairing the neers with the experienced veterans and draw straws instead for three reasons: firstly, Ma Zhenhua insisted that he was no better than the neers despite his experience. Secondly, no one wanted to be the person forced to sleep in a tent alone. Lastly, the young man named Tan Zheng expressed that it would be unfair to the new people as this method of splitting off would guarantee that the person left alone would be a neer.

    The sses girl had brought paper and pencils with her. On the slips of paper, she wrote the numbers 1-6 twice and the number 0 once. The people who drew the same number would share a tent and the person who drew a 0 would stay in a tent on their own.

    Ke Xun was in no hurry to pick a slip of paper. After he saw Mu Yiran pick one, he went over to look at the other¡¯s number. Upon seeing the number 3, he went to look at the remaining slips of paper for a while. He then used his intuition to pick one. After opening it, he looked towards Mu Yiran with an expression that seemed to express ¡®what a pity¡¯.

    Mu Yiran nced at him but didn¡¯t speak. After everyone picked their slips of paper and revealed their numbers, he saw that Ke Xun also had the number 3.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun smiled at him, his eyes curved in a very noticeable arc. Mu Yiran recalled the eye in the other¡¯s Vchat disy picture.

    That zoomed in picture hade from a photo that had been taken when Ke Xun had been in middle school. Mu Yiran had seen that photo inside Ke Xun¡¯s closet. Because of his work, he had a habit of thoroughly examining any work of art or photos he saw. His memory with regards to these was also very good.

    He remembered that the teenager in the photo had been wearing a sky-blue and white striped school uniform. His sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows and one of his pants legs had been rolled up to his knee, revealing his calf. The teenager had been wearing white sneakers and looked like he was filled with the inexhaustible energy characteristic of youth. Under the autumn light that had filtered through the leaves of the gingko trees, he had jumped high up into the air. His hair had lifted up and his smile had been brilliant. Two rows of snow-white teeth could be seen.

    The eyes on that smiling face was exactly like the pair before him right now.

    Thin eyelids, a sharp and clear eye line, a pure and clean shape, a distinctive contrast between the white and ck of his eyes, a limpid and pure gaze.

    This person¡¯s eyes had not changed since he had been a young teenager.

    Mu Yiran averted his gaze. He heard someone howl in grief. Following that, he also heard someone curse in anger.

    It was Tan Zheng. He had drawn the slip with zero.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die¡ªplease¡ªMu xiaoge, I want to be in the same tent as you¡ª¡± Ma Zhenhua was also dissatisfied with his tent-mate. He ran over and knelt at Mu Yiran¡¯s feet, putting a deathly tight grip onto Mu Yiran¡¯s clothes. ¡°Please, form a team with me. I don¡¯t want to die. I have a child at home¡­.¡±

    Everyone stared at him but no one spoke.

    Mu Yiran looked down at Ma Zhenhua, whose face was covered in snot and tears. In a t voice, he said, ¡°Ma Zhenhua, no one wants to die. However, I owe you an apology. Out of consideration for my own safety, I¡¯ve done a background check on you.

    ¡°Indeed, you¡¯ve been married and even have a child. However, the court had granted custody of your child to your ex-wife when you two divorced. Since the divorce, you¡¯ve never helped raise your child, nor have you paid child support. You¡¯ve never even been willing to see your child.

    ¡°Your parents died five years ago. You¡¯ve been living on your own this whole time. You¡¯re also having an illicit affair with a married coworker.¡±

    Ma Zhenhua was stunned.

    Mu Yiran pulled his clothes out of the other¡¯s hold. He then added on coolly, ¡°Luck is the strongest determining factor in whether one survives in the painting. I wish you good luck.¡±

    After saying this, he turned around and headed into a nearby tent.

    Everyone went off to their assigned tent. No one bothered with Ma Zhenhua who was paralyzed on the floor.

    Wei Dong had gotten Zhou Bin¡¯s girlfriend, Zhao Dan. This made him feel a bit awkward. He whispered to Ke Xun: ¡°I feel like even if I make it through tonight, Zhou Bin¡¯s gonna kill me tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to switch with him?¡± Ke Xun said.

    Zhou Bin had gotten the sses girl, Sha Liu.

    ¡°Forget it. He didn¡¯t even bring it up. I¡¯m not gonna bother.¡± Wei Dong said, ¡°If I switch, everyone¡¯s going to want to switch. Who doesn¡¯t want to sleep with Boss Mu?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Watch your wording.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at Mu Yiran who was walking in front of them. He then nced at Ke Xun. ¡°Hey, did you do something? How did you manage to get so lucky?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? My intuition has always been urate. I just trusted my intuition.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Fuck, why haven¡¯t you bought a lottery tickey yet then?!¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°It¡¯s not like I need money. Besides, I feel like intuition is like luck¡ªit¡¯ll eventually run out. I thought it¡¯d be best to use it sparingly, to prevent it from running out at a crucial point in time.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°All right. I stopped listening after your first sentence. Bye.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Be careful at night. If nothing else, cover your head up. Hide somewhere the thing can¡¯t see you.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Got it. But I don¡¯t think that the method of death is going to be the same asst time¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Dong zi.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Yeah?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll try my best to see you tomorrow.¡±

    After watching Wei Dong enter his tent, Ke Xun followed Mu Yiran into another one. The tents weren¡¯t close together. The furthest tent from them was over a hundred metres away.

    After walking into the tent, Ke Xun noticed that the tent was indeed quite small. It was just big enough to amodate two people lying side-by-side. There were shabby fur rugsid on the floor. Aside from those, there was nothing else inside.

    Mu Yiran sat down on the rugs cross-legged. His gaze was lowered. He seemed to be thinking.

    Ke Xun sat down in front of him. He didn¡¯t disturb the other¡¯s thoughts. He simply propped his elbow onto his knee and rested his chin onto his hand as he watched Mu Yiran silently.

    Shortly after, Mu Yiran looked up and red at him coldly.

    Ke Xun asked him in a calm andposed voice, ¡°There aren¡¯t any slips of cloth with characters written on them this time. How do you think we¡¯ll die this time?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze lowered slightly. His voice was frigid. ¡°Having no rules is more frightening than having rules.¡±

    Ke Xun nodded. ¡°Yeah. It looks like everyone¡¯s wearing simr clothing. Based on appearances, it seems like there isn¡¯t much difference between us. Does this mean that the person who¡¯s going to die, and the method of death are all going to be random?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too early to say.¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°This time is different fromst time. We have no clues.¡±

    Ke Xun asked, ¡°What¡¯s this a painting of? I tried to look at it while entering the painting but I couldn¡¯t make anything out. I didn¡¯t even have time to read the painting¡¯s name or the painter¡¯s name.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze shifted to the top of the tent. He looked at theplicated, multi-coloured pattern. It was just that the tent appeared old. The colour had already faded and changed, so it was difficult to see what was drawn on it clearly. ¡°This painting¡¯s called ¡®Faith¡¯. The painter is named Qiu Jian. He creates religious art.¡±

    ¡°Of which religion?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s researched all kinds of religions. He¡¯s extremely passionate and deeply interested in religious art.¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°Thest few years before he died, he had be infatuated with a certain religion¡¯s culture and had even be a devout follower. All of his works after that leading up to his death pertained to this religion. The painting we are currently in is one of those paintings. It is also thest painting he created before he died.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the robe he was wearing. He had a guess in mind but still asked, ¡°Which religion?¡±

    Eve: Gonna put the disimer now, it¡¯s not a real religion (as far as I know).

 Chapter 27: From the Sky Fell a â€¦?

    <h4>Chapter 27: From the Sky Fell a ¡­?</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    ¡°Sahism.¡± There was a profound, biting chill added to Mu Yiran¡¯s cold voice, likely because they were on a snow-covered mountain.

    Ke Xun had confirmed his guess. He then asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t Sahism¡¯s teachings preach kindness, helping others, absolving one of one¡¯s emotions and mortal desires, and freeing oneself of worldly worries? Why would ¡®that kind of thing¡¯ exist here? Could it be that there aren¡¯t any terrifying creatures in this world?¡±

    ¡°Sahism is an amalgamation of many different religions.¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°At the start of the eleventh century, it also split into many different denominations. Furthermore, the gods worshipped in Sahism are not limited to benevolent gods. They have also assimted pagan figures and even demons into their pantheon. ording to their doctrine, as long as the deity is willing to surrender to the ways of Sahism, they can be integrated into their pantheon. Moreover, these demons can be ordered about by high-ranked members of their clergy.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­I can feel the malice of the gods.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him and smiled faintly. ¡°If you knew what era this painting was created in, that feeling would grow even more profound.¡±

    ¡°¡­Please put it in the most euphemistic way you can,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t even bother. ¡°Back then, there was only the church, ve owners and ves.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun smiled softly. ¡°It¡¯s not what I think, is it?¡±

    ¡°Looking at the material and style of our clothes, we¡¯re obviously not ve owners.¡± Mu Yiran looked away. ¡°Even if we were believers of the Church, ording to the era we¡¯re in, we still wouldn¡¯t have control over our own life and death.¡±

    Ke Xun raised a hand and slowly covered the top of his head. ¡°¡­I once heard that there was a method of torturing ves where they would make a cut in someone¡¯s scalp. They would then pour? mercury down the opening. The liquid would seep between the skin and flesh and separate them by virtue of its weight. Even after that, the person would still be alive for a while¡­. I¡¯m going to go see Qin Ci.¡±

    After saying that, he got up.

    ¡°For what?¡± Mu Yiran looked at him.

    ¡°I want to ask Dr. Qin if there¡¯s a painless method of suicide that onlysts a second,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to have my skin peeled off before I die.¡±

    Mu Yiran said in a t voice, ¡°It¡¯s impossible to die a painless death within one second. But if you want to die, the rocks on the ground could probably help you aplish your goal.¡±

    Ke Xun thought that Mu Yiran was right. If nothing else, he could sever the artery in his neck with a sharp rock. Although it would hurt, it was still better than being skinned alive.

    Ke Xun pushed the tent¡¯s p open and picked through the rocks with the help of the light reflecting off of the snow. He picked two thin rocks that had rtively sharp edges. He held one over to Mu Yiran. ¡°Do you want one? I can give you my spare.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t take it. He simply said, ¡°You do you.¡±

    Ke Xun smiled. He then pulled his phone out and checked the time. They still had some time left before movement would be prohibited. So, he walked out of the tent and headed over to the one Wei Dong resided in. He handed one of the rocks over. ¡°I¡¯vee to share something good with my buddy.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°A weapon you can use to kill yourself with.¡± After saying this, Ke Xun ran away.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Wei Dong cursed under his breath. He held the rock in his arms. ¡°What a frickin¡¯ good friend you are. You really think of me all the time.¡±

    Ke Xun returned to his tent and closed the p. He then asked Mu Yiran: ¡°Do you have any idea how we¡¯ll solve this painting?¡±

    Mu Yiran muttered, ¡°Since this painting is called ¡®Faith¡¯, this instance must be rted to religion. Sahism has many branches. Its pantheon is also huge. It¡¯s still a bit too early to figure out how to solve it.¡±

    Ke Xun lied on the rug face up. ¡°Looks like the probability that someone will die tonight is really high.¡±

    Mu Yiran could hear that the other¡¯s voice sounded very calm. He nced at Ke Xun¡¯s face. There was no fear, nervousness or reluctance on his face. The other¡¯s head was pillowed on his hands and he had crossed his legs. He looked like he was lying on thattex mattress bed of his.

    When Mu Yiran recalled that bed, he couldn¡¯t help but think about the photos inside Ke Xun¡¯s closet and about the photos that had pictured Ke Xun growing up.

    At the time the pictures had been taken, that young boy with curved eyes and a brilliant smile had probably never expected that his life would turn out like this.

    He had lost the parents who loved him and his warm home. In the end, he had even lost the chance to lead a normal life.

    Time quietly passed. The light reflected off the snowy mountains lit up the sky outside the tent a bit. The shadows of the other tents cast onto their own tent that shook slightly along with the grass as the night wind blew.

    If they weren¡¯t in a painting, it would be a peaceful, beautiful night.

    Ke Xun¡¯s eyes were open. He stared at the shadows cast on the tent¡¯s walls.

    He recalled the sky he had seen outside during the day. It had been disturbingly blue and unfathomably deep. It had been like there had been countless, giant weird things crammed in the deepest part of the blue.

    Ke Xun felt like something was off.

    During the day, although the sunlight was blinding¡­he couldn¡¯t recall where the sun had been. The light hade from the sky but it had been everywhere. There hadn¡¯t been a singr source where the light hade from.

    If the source of light wasn¡¯t sunlight then¡­ The meadow, blue sky and snowy mountain suddenly seemed like they were covered in ayer of deathly stillness.

    Ke Xun recalled his way back from Wei Dong¡¯s tent earlier today. There hadn¡¯t been any stars in the sky¡ªit had simply been an expanse of ckness.

    As he thought of this, it suddenly became a bit hard to breathe.

    This should be the ce where the air was most clear. And yet, he felt stifled and cramped right now. It made him feel ustrophobic.

    Ke Xun started to gasp for air uncontrobly. The harder he tried, the less he could breathe. Air filled his nose and mouth but it felt like nothing entered his trachea. His lungs struggled to inte, trying to obtain oxygen. His chest felt tight and there was a sharp pain. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets.

    ¡°Ke Xun!¡± Mu Yiran had sensed Ke Xun¡¯s abnormality. He leaned over to look at him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t speak. He parted his lips, looking like a dying fish gasping for air. However, no matter how he tried, he couldn¡¯t suck in anything.

    Mu Yiran frowned. He stared at Ke Xun¡¯s body that was iling and twisting in pain from the suffocation. He then flipped Ke Xun over and pressed down on him, forcing the other to stop iling around. He then reached out to cover the other¡¯s mouth and nose.

    Ke Xun stared at him. His eyes then curved into a slight arc as he closed them.

    Ke Xun thought that he would die.

    Nheless, he thought that it wasn¡¯t that bad dying at Mu Yiran¡¯s hand. It was still better than dying underneath those ugly monsters¡¯ hands. It was also better than choosing tomit suicide out of cowardice ording to thews of reincarnation and karma or what not. Right, he also owes him for saving his life. Guess he¡¯ll just have to look for the other in his next life. He won¡¯t ask him to pay with his life then. He can pay with his body.

    Unexpectedly, as Ke Xun thought about these random things, he was gradually able to breathe again. It felt like his trachea that had been blocked earlier was now? cleared. Ke Xun took several breaths through the cracks of Mu Yiran¡¯s fingers and the air went directly into his lungs.

    Now that he had ess to air, the pain in his lungs gradually improved. His breathing returned to normal and he opened his eyes. Ke Xun¡¯s eyes met Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze.

    However, before he could make out the other¡¯s expression, Mu Yiran moved his hand away and sat back up.

    Ke Xun carefully took a few small breaths. When he realized that his breathing had returned to normal, he sighed in relief and turned to look at Mu Yiran. ¡°I thought that you were going to help quicken my death so I suffer less.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t look at him. He sat cross-legged, his gaze cast towards the ground. ¡°If you want to die a quick death, I can end you in one second.¡±

    Ke Xun sat up, smiling. He touched the ce Mu Yiran had sped his hand over just now. ¡°What was that just now? I suddenly felt suffocated. Was that the painting¡¯s powers?¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him, no expression on his face. ¡°You were just suffering from hyperventtion-induced respiratory alkalosis.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Can you exin it inyman terms?¡±

    ¡°You were breathing too quickly and that caused the CO2 levels in your body to drop. As a result, your blood became more alkaline. That made you feel unwell,¡± Mu Yiran said coldly.

    Ke Xun understood what was going on. ¡°That¡¯s why you covered my mouth and nose¡ªto increase the CO2 in my body so that my blood would return to normal acidic levels. Incredible. As expected from my male god.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t pay him any more attention. He rested his eyes, legs still crossed. A whileter, he suddenly spoke. ¡°What happened to you just now?¡±

    Ke Xun was currently covering his own mouth and nose to let his CO2 levels rise a bit more, causing his voice to be muffled. ¡°I just suddenly felt like I couldn¡¯t breathe and panicked. It felt like I was shut into some cramped, narrow box. Like the sky and mountain here were actually just artificial painted objects inside the box. Nothing feels real. Even in the previous painting, the Chinese Schr trees and the graves had still felt real. But here, everything feels so fake.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked like he had thought of something upon hearing this. He stared at the rug beneath him, seemingly lost in thought.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t bother him. He lied back down and stared up at the shadows on the side of the tent cast by the snow¡¯s reflective light.

    Ke Xun then noticed something. At some unknown point in time, the shadows that had been swaying slightly with the wind had suddenly gone still.

    Ke Xun gently reached out to touch Mu Yiran¡¯s knee, gesturing to the other to look at what he saw. He had been nning on sitting up but Mu Yiran suddenly pressed down on him. Ke Xun could only stay lying down and stare at the shadows on the tent with him.

    The shadows didn¡¯t move an inch. The reflected light of the snow grew increasingly pale. All the sounds around them suddenly disappeared. It was so silent that it felt like they were in a vacuum.

    Time passed in this vacuum-like ce. Just as Ke Xun¡¯s eyes started to sting from staring at the shadows without blinking, the shadows suddenly changed.

    Arge, round, pitch-ck shadow gradually came down from the sky. It was like a giant, thick drop of paint, slowly falling down from the sky. Midway through its fall, branches slowly extended from therge central mass.

    No, those weren¡¯t branches. It was eight arms and two legs. Each limb was thick and fat. They waved in the air, as if doing some convoluted dance. It kind of looked like the movements a crying newborn would do shortly out of their mother¡¯s womb.

    This giant shadow continued to twist, its angles and posture odd. Slowly, it continued its descent to the ground. It was like an enormous god with its head up in the sky and its feet on the earth. Its thick, bby legs took very uncoordinated steps. Suddenly, Ke Xun could hear heavy pants akin to what one would hear from a morbidly obese person overly-exerting themselves.

    The giant shadow slowly moved its bent legs around the tents. The top of their tents only reached to the shadow¡¯s knees. The shadow walked at a medium pace and suddenly stopped by each of the tents. It seemed like it was carefully examining and choosing between them.

    Ke Xun watched as the immense shadow paused by Wei Dong¡¯s tent for ten minutes. In the end, it walked away and turned towards his direction.

    It was currently getting closer and closer to him and Mu Yiran.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t know how they would be able to avoid this thing. There wasn¡¯t anything in this tent to hide themselves with. This time was evidently different from thest painting he had been in. This thing seemed to be choosing its victims at random.

    Eve: Herees the first death. What¡¯s our guesses to how it chooses its victims? Also interesting tidbit I just learned, if you¡¯re like me, you might have heard of the ¡®paper bag¡¯ method for treating hyperventtion. Apparently, what Mu Yiran did here is actually better than that because it offers more control. The paper bag method might end up causing hypoventtion.

    EB: It must be choosing by handsomeness since it¡¯s going towards the male god. (????)

 Chapter 28: The First Death Condition

    <h4>Chapter 28: The First Death Condition</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Hearing the word ¡®unpredictable¡¯ here would make one¡¯s skin crawl. If there were no rules or patterns to follow, there was no way to avoid death. Everything would rely on luck.

    Ke Xun nced at Mu Yiran beside him. The other was still, like a stone statue. He couldn¡¯t even hear the other¡¯s breath.

    Ke Xun looked away. He could hear the pants of the giant shadow that was slowing advancing towards them. He subconsciously matched his own breathing with the thing outside. As a result, he could not hear the sound of his own breathing anymore because that thing¡¯s breathing covered up his own.

    The giant shadow finally reached their tent. Ke Xun watched as its eight arms iled about in the air. Between these arms, a dark, round object emerged at the top of the tent. Ke Xun surmised that it was the giant shadow¡¯s head. It looked like it was squatting right now, its head brought close to the tip of the tent.

    The sound of its breathing suddenly shifted to above Ke Xun¡¯s head. Through the thin material of the tent, Ke Xun could faintly make out two eyes on that giant head slowly move.

    It was looking into the tent.

    Ke Xun subconsciously shut his eyes.

    There was no way of describing how it felt to be stared at by an indescribable creature like this because there was no way to know whether it would stick out itsrge hand and snatch them out of this tent in the next second. If that were to happen, they would end up getting tossed into its ferocious mouth.

    Ke Xun hoped that it would go away quickly. However, the breathing continued to sound from above his head. The shadow also stared at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran without blinking.

    The longer this went on, the more tense Ke Xun became. He felt like he would soon break down. It felt like there was a de suspended over his neck and he didn¡¯t know when it would fall. Compared to this, he would rather the knife have fallen sooner so that he wouldn¡¯t have to suffer through this anxiety.

    Ke Xun broke out into a cold sweat. His heart was beating so quickly it felt like it would soon explode. If it weren¡¯t because of how loud and deep that giant shadow¡¯s breathing was, it might have been able to hear the beating of Ke Xun¡¯s heart.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t know how long this situationsted. However, after an extremely long time, he could hear that the breathing had started to grow distant. The giant shadow shifted its legs and slowly walked over to another tent.

    Every muscle in Ke Xun¡¯s body that had tensed up during that encounter now? rxed. He opened his eyes and turned to look at Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran lied on his side. Ke Xun could only make out half of his elegantly-arched jaw and one eye under the faint light.

    Neither of them moved. They simply listened to the sounds of movement outside the tent silently.

    Shortly after, a shrill scream erupted from within their tent district.

    Because the scream was so shrill¡ªto the point of changing the voice¡¯s quality¡ªKe Xun couldn¡¯t immediately tell who it was. He turned to look in the direction the sound came from and ended up seeing the giant shadow pick a person up with its hand from within a tent. The person was struggling like crazy, trying to get free, but it could not escape from the giant shadow¡¯s hold.

    The giant shadow looked like it was picking up a baby mouse. It stood up straight, looking lofty and tall. The person was lifted up into the air and the giant shadow¡¯s arms continued to move in what seemed like a grotesque dance. Suddenly, they all darted forward. With its fingers, it pinched the person¡¯s head, limbs and trunk.

    Then, it tugged lightly.

    Ke Xun shut his eyes.

    But in the end, that bloody scene had still been engraved into his retina.

    The miserable shrieks still echoed in his ears. Ke Xun was finally able to identify the voice. It belonged to the young man, Tan Zheng.

    The middle-aged man had said that each tent was to hold two people. Therefore, the person who died tonight was Tan Zheng, who had been allotted to the single tent by their lottery.

    When the sky started to brighten, everything around them that had gone still slowly reanimated along with the return of the wind. The tent was a bit cold. Ke Xun could feel a drafting in from every direction. He then shifted his numb body a bit and sat up. Upon doing this, he saw Mu Yiran lift the p of the tent and head out.

    Ke Xun followed after him. He looked in the direction from which Tan Zheng had been taken. He saw blood sprayed all over the small gray rocks that were scattered along the ground. Tan Zheng¡¯s remains were scattered in every direction.

    The neers were scared out of their minds. The pretty girl named Li Ziling fainted from fright. She was still unconscious at the moment. Zhou Bin¡¯s girlfriend, Zhao Dan, had thrown up in her tent. Wei Dong was covered in filth and he was now looking for something to use to scrape it off his clothes.

    Ma Zhenhua soiled his pants. He swatted outside his tent with an ashenplexion. He would asionally turn to nce in the direction from which Tan Zheng had died whenever he managed to bolster up his courage. Qin Ci and Mu Yiran had collected the severed limbs, piled them up and covered them up with a shabby nket.

    Qin Ci looked at Mu Yiran: ¡°We¡¯re missing the head.¡±

    ¡°Mn.¡± Mu Yiran looked up at the sky. ¡°That thing took it away.¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°Looks like the rules are very simple this time. The only person who will die is the person who stays in a tent by themselves.¡±

    ¡°Now, there¡¯s only twelve of us left so no one will be left alone tonight. Does that mean that no one will die again?¡± Ke Xun walked over.

    Qin Ci lowered his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s not a good thing. If no one dies, we¡¯ll have to vote.¡±

    At least one person has to die every night.

    Compared to the veterans, the neers found it much more difficult to adapt. Until they congregated at the middle-aged man¡¯s tent, some of theirplexions were terribly ugly. A few of them almost couldn¡¯t walk because of the fright.

    The middle-aged man was already waiting inside the tent. His gloomy, dark gaze fell on the crowd of people in front of him. ¡°The sacrificial offering will take ce on the seventh day. You must prepare the sacrificial goods. This includes the five Dews of Wisdom, the five tribute meats, duomu, wine for libation, a sacrificial bowl, antern, g, dangka¡­.¡±

    Everyone exchanged nces as the man spat out these odd-sounding terms. In contrast, Mu Yiran¡¯s expression slowly sunk.

    ¡°We will congregate back here when the sky darkens. It is now time to have breakfast.¡± The middle aged man left the tent after saying this. There was already foodid out on the low table behind him.

    Breakfast consisted of pieces of dough made of some kind of coarse grain, milk tea that had separated into water and milkyers, and a few pieces of sour cheese. Everyone ate without tasting the food. Several of the neers didn¡¯t eat at all.

    ¡°Eat something. Otherwise, you won¡¯t have the energy to hold on.¡± Wei Dong persuaded Li Ziling who sat beside him.

    ¡°What if the food¡¯s poisoned?¡± Li Ziling¡¯s eyes were swollen and red from her crying. It looked like she had no more tears to shed. Her voice was hoarse as she asked her question.

    ¡°It¡¯s not. Don¡¯t worry and just eat. It tastes kind of gross but it¡¯s better than nothing,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Ke Xun spoke with Mu Yiran, who sat beside him, in a low voice: ¡°Do you think the stuff that guy listed off has something to do with Sahism?¡±

    Mu Yiran ced down his cup of tea, his voice slightly chilly. ¡°We have to figure out which branch of Sahism is involved.¡±

    After just barely padding their stomachs, Zhou Bin, one of the neers, was the first toe back to himself. He looked over to Mu Yiran and Qin Ci, ¡°Where does the signature or seal usually appear? What does it usually look like?¡±

    Qin Ci answered him. ¡°It¡¯s different for every painting so I can¡¯t say anything for certain. But based on what we know about the previous paintings, what we do know is that there are two methods of uncovering the signature. The first way is to decipher the painter, or the painting¡¯s motive or secret. That¡¯s what we mean by ¡®solving¡¯ the painting. The other way we can find the signature is bypleting the mission assigned to us by the world. There is an intricate rtionship between the location of the signature, the clues provided by the painting and the painting¡¯s meaning we ultimately deduce.¡±

    ¡°So how do we solve this painting? I have no idea what¡¯s going on!¡± Zhou Bin said fretfully.

    Qin Ci said, ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t have any ideas either. We can¡¯t just wait for clues toe to us. We have to search during the day.¡±

    ¡°How are we supposed to search for them when we have nothing to go off of?¡± Zhou Bin asked.

    Sha Liu, the sses girl, suddenly spoke up. ¡°I think that the clues are rted to the sacrificial items that man just listed.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded slightly. ¡°This is most likely the mission we¡¯ve been assigned. Therefore, we might figure something out bypleting it.¡±

    Zhou Bin said at once: ¡°Then what are we waiting for?! Let¡¯s get to it!¡±

    His girlfriend, Zhao Dan, grabbed onto his arm. ¡°But what are those things? I have no clue what some of those things are. Meat, wine,ntern¡ªI got those, but the other ones sound like words from some othernguage.¡±

    Sha Liu pushed her sses up. ¡°I think that this ce seems like the region in which Sahism is prevalent¡ª the Ganxiong Hignds. Can you guys see the colourful banners flying in the distance? That¡¯s a really obvious marker. I think that the things that person listed must be local objects.¡±

    Zhou Bin said, ¡°So we just have to find the things he listed? Let¡¯s hurry up then. The earlier we get these things together, the earlier we can leave this damn ce!¡±

    Qin Ci swept a nce over the crowd. ¡°We definitely have to go look for these things but there has to be some order to it. There¡¯s twelve of us. I propose that we split into four teams and head in four different directions. We¡¯ll then reconvene here at noon to share what we¡¯ve found and discuss what our next steps will be.¡±

    No one had any objections. Zhou Bin asked, ¡°How should we split the teams?¡±

    Ma Zhenhua stumbled over to Mu Yiran. ¡°Can I be in the same team as you? Please, I¡¯m begging you!¡±

    When Li Ziling saw this, she also got up and ran over to Mu Yiran. She wrapped her arms around his arms and looked at him with a pitiful expression on her face. ¡°Xiao gege, I also want to be in the same team as you. Please. I¡¯m scared¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Sha Liu looked at Ke Xun. ¡°Can I be on the same team as you?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Qin Ci looked at Mu Yiran and Ke Xun. ¡°Should we divide the teams like this?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°I don¡¯t agree to this.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°+1.¡±

    Qin Ci: ¡°Should we draw for it?¡±

    Zhou Bin furrowed his brows. ¡°Why do you always want to draw for it? There¡¯s isn¡¯t much time left. What are you wasting time for?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be good if he and his girlfriend were to be split up. It¡¯s daytime right now, not night time. We can work together with people we know to finish this mission. Zhou Bin and his girlfriend would definitely want to be in the same team. The family of three over there can¡¯t be split apart either. The two girls over there are ssmates. It wouldn¡¯t be convenient to split them up and there¡¯s no one else they know anyway, so they shouldn¡¯t be split up. Don¡¯t you guys agree?¡±

    Zhou Bin and the family of three nodded.

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun expressionlessly. He thought that this guy was purposely making trouble.

    He listened as Ke Xun continued speaking. ¡°With this, splitting the teams bes really easy. Twelve people into four teams ¡ªevery team will consist of three members. The people who came as a pair of trio can¡¯t be split. So we just need the solo people to each join one of these groups.

    ¡°If we split the groups based on the existing pairs and trios, the teams are: Zhou Bin and his girlfriend, Geng dage and his family, the twodies, and me and Wei Dong. Geng dage and his family are aplete team already. The remaining three people need to join one of the remaining three groups.

    ¡°The twodies make up the physically weakest group. They need a mature and reliable person with first aid skills to support them. Dr. Qin is a suitable choice for this role. If the girls were to sprain their ankle, get a headache or a fever, Dr. Qin will be able to treat them in time.

    ¡°Ma Zhenhua will join Zhou Bin¡¯s group. Although there¡¯s a bit of an age difference between you, he¡¯ll probably get along with you guys better than someone of our age¡ªthat is, me, Wei Dong or Xiao Mu gege.

    ¡°Any objections to splitting the groups like this?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­I just knew it would be like this.¡±

 Chapter 29: An Offering that is Hard to Explain in a Few Words

    <h4>Chapter 29: An Offering that is Hard to Exin in a Few Words</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun, surprised. ¡°When did you be such an eloquent speaker?¡±

    Ma Zhenhua shouted: ¡°I don¡¯t agree! I want to be in the same team as Mu xiaoge. Mu xiaoge, please¡ª¡±

    Li Ziling¡¯s eyes were full of tears. ¡°I also want to be in the same team as Xiao Gege¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re people who can¡¯t be reasoned with. How about we go by majority vote? Those that don¡¯t agree with my way of splitting the teams, please raise your hand.¡±

    Mu Yiran once again cast an emotionless nce in Ke Xun¡¯s direction.

    This fellow knew that he wouldn¡¯t raise his hand regardless of his opinion. That¡¯s why he had chosen to ask those that didn¡¯t agree to raise their hand.

    As a result, only Ma Zhenhua and Li Ziling raised their hands.

    Ke Xun looked at everyone. ¡°Nine versus two. We¡¯ll split the teams ording to what I said. Let¡¯s not waste anymore time. My team¡¯s going to search the east side.¡± As he said this, he looked towards Mu Yiran.

    Li Ziling was a bit angry. She red at him. ¡°What are we looking for? If we don¡¯t know what we¡¯re looking for, how are we supposed to find it?!¡±

    The father of the family of three was named Geng Zhigang, He hesitantly asked, ¡°The five tribute meats that person mentioned, could they be some kind of food? Since it¡¯s going to be presented during the sacrificial ceremony, it should be some kind of offering. Offerings are usually fruits, pastries or meat.¡±

    His wife nodded. ¡°There are a lot of dwellings nearby. Maybe we can find everything by borrowing them from the nearby homes.¡±

    Zhao Dan asked, ¡°What are the five Dews of Wisdom then? A drink? Or just water?¡±

    Zhou Bin thought it over. ¡°Where would we find five different drinks in a ce like this?¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°In any case, each team should gather some household supplies. We¡¯ll do our best to make do.¡±

    As he said this, he pointed to a corner of the tent. There were bottles and pots over there.

    Everyone walked over to take a few before filing out of the tent. Everyone headed indifferent directions.

    Ke Xun¡¯s team headed east. Mu Yiran took the lead. In the back, Wei Dong elbowed Ke Xun: ¡°Look at you, Ke er. Staking your life to defend what¡¯s yours. You¡¯re full of fighting power. I didn¡¯t expect this of you.¡±

    Ke Xun ignored him. All he said was: ¡°Although my personal feelings constitute part of the reason, there are logical reasons for why we should do everything we can to be in the same team as the Boss. I think that he¡¯s already deduced a few things about this painting. It won¡¯t be a bad thing to follow him.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°You¡¯re right. Ai, why are those two girls following us?¡±

    The two of them stopped and turned around. They saw Li Ziling and Sha Liuing over. However, Qin Ci, who was supposed to be with them, was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Wei Dong looked at Li Ziling.

    ¡°Nothing. We also want to search over here.¡± Li Ziling gave Ke Xun an unfriendly look.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Qin Ci?¡± Ke Xun asked Sha Liu.

    Sha Liu nced at Li Ziling a bit awkwardly before replying. ¡°Dr. Qin said that he would search the south side on his own.¡±

    Ke Xun understood what had happened. Li Ziling had probably insisted on following Mu Yiran. When Qin Ci failed to persuade her, he let the two of them do as they wished and went off on his own.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go together. The more people we have, the more manpower we have,¡± Wei Dong said as he gave Ke Xun a signal with his eyes.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anything. With quick strides, he caught up to Mu Yiran who was already far ahead of them.

    Somehow, Li Ziling was faster than he was. In a blink of an eye, she appeared next to Mu Yiran. She looked like she wanted to paste her body onto his. She tilted her head and looked at him with a wronged expression. ¡°Xiao Gege, I¡¯m scared. Can I walk with you?¡±

    Mu Yiran ignored her and continued to advance. Li Ziling decided to treat it as silent agreement and stuck to him closely.

    ¡°Cough.¡± Wei Dong patted Ke Xun on the shoulder before quickening his pace. Wei Dong, Li Ziling and Mu Yiran walked shoulder-to-shoulder, leaving Ke Xun and Sha Liu trailing behind.

    Sha Liu seemed unaffected. She pushed her sses up and asked Ke Xun: ¡°Have you guys found any clues?¡±

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°I have an idea, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s right.¡± Sha Liu replied.

    ¡°Try me,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°My mom has an old ssmate that was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few years back,¡± Sha Liu said, ¡°This ssmate was tormented by the cancer until he was more dead than alive. Originally, he had thought that he was a goner. But a Sahism practitioner he knew would asionally visit him. That practitioner gave him a few ¡®Dews of Wisdom pills¡¯. The ssmate would vomit incessantly after ingesting those pills. But miraculously, it cured his cancer. From then on, he became a devout follower. He then used almost all of his savings to establish a Sahism Church.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that you think there¡¯s a corrtion between the Dews of Wisdom pill and the five Dews of Wisdom?¡±

    Sha Liu nodded. ¡°I had looked up the Dews of Wisdom pill after hearing about it. I found a rumour that the Dews of Wisdom pill was created from the five Dews of Wisdom. I hadn¡¯t made the connection in the beginning ¡ªI had only thought that it sounded familiar. Now, I¡¯ve remembered what I had read.¡±

    Mu Yiran, who was at the front of the group, seemed to have heard her words. He suddenly stopped and turned around. ¡°What do you remember?¡±

    Sha Liu was a bit nervous facing the grave Mu Yiran. She pushed the bridge of her sses up again and said, ¡°The five Dews of Wisdom are kind of gross. Online, it¡¯s said that four of the five Dews of Wisdom refer to the greater aromatic, the lesser aromatic, red essence and white essence. The greater aromatic and lesser aromatic actually refer to¡­the practitioners feces and urine.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Li Ziling furrowed her brows: ¡°That¡¯s so freaking disgusting!¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°The greater ¡®aromatic¡¯ and lesser ¡®aromatic¡¯¡­how did theye up with these names?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°No wonder he threw up after eating the Dews of Wisdom pill¡­.¡±

    There was still no expression on Mu Yiran¡¯s face. He simply asked Sha Liu, ¡°What are the other three?¡±

    Sha Liu seemed to be embarrassed. ¡°Red essence and white essence¡­refer to¡­the essence of men and the blood of women.¡±

    Ke Xun reacted quickly. ¡°¡­Sperm and menstrual blood?¡±

    Sha Liu nodded, embarrassed.

    Wei Dong¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°This won¡¯t be that easy to get.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s thest dew of wisdom?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°We already have the essence of men and the blood of women. I bet the fifth one is even more shameful,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Sha Liu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Different doctrines cite different things regarding the fifth dew of wisdom. Some say it¡¯s meat, some say it¡¯s phlegm and mucus. Some split it into three grades: the lowest grade is fat, the middle level is bone marrow and the highest grade is the meninges.¡±

    Wei Dong rubbed his cloth satchel. ¡°I have some meat in my bag, so we don¡¯t have to worry about that. Mucus and phlegm is definitely not as good as meat. I don¡¯t think we need to get that.¡±

    Sha Liu bit down on her lips. ¡°¡­By meat, they¡¯re referring to human flesh.¡±

    Wei Dong shivered. ¡°Then the bone marrow and meninges¡­you don¡¯t mean to tell me that they refer to humans too?¡±

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t respond. The answer was obvious.

    Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran. ¡°Are we going to have to kill someone to prepare the offerings?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the painting assigned us with a mission like that,¡± Mu Yiran said in a t voice, ¡°If we were to say that ¡®those things¡¯ were meant to rob us of our lives, then the vote and this kind of mission is meant to rob us of our humanity. These ¡®paintings¡¯ aim to turn us into devils.¡±

    There was no expression on Ke Xun¡¯s face. ¡°A devil is probably behind this kind of world. Only a devil would want to turn humans into devils too.¡±

    ¡°Regardless of whether or not it¡¯s a devil, can we talk about the more pressing issue at hand? Do we really have to go kill someone?¡±

    Li Ziling¡¯s face paled. ¡°We don¡¯t necessarily have to use human flesh, right? Can¡¯t we use mucus and phlegm? That¡¯s better than having to get human flesh.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Ziling¡¯s right! We can just use mucus and phlegm. Who cares if it¡¯s the lowest grade? What¡¯s there to be picky about?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at him expressionlessly. ¡°Where should we get the five things from?¡±

    ¡°Cough,¡± Wei Dong looked at Sha Liu. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Sha Liu pointed at the scattered tents and the Sahism temples located on the ins beneath the slope. ¡°The greater aromatic and lesser aromatic can probably be collected from the temple as there has to be Sahism practitioners there. As for red and white essence¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong coughed. ¡°We¡¯ll get the white one. You guys get the red one.¡±

    Ke Xun nced at him. ¡°Feces, urine, mucus and phlegm, which one do you want?¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s face twisted as he deliberated over this. In the end, he grit his teeth and said, ¡°Urine. I¡¯ll get the urine.¡±

    Ke Xun kicked him. He didn¡¯t say anything else except for: ¡°I¡¯ll get the rest then.¡±

    When Wei Dong heard this, he nced at Mu Yiran discreetly and then threw a thumbs-up in Ke Xun¡¯s direction.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t say a thing. All he did was follow the rest of them down the slope, towards the temples and tents.

    Everyone split up and got to work once they reached their destination. The two girls went to ask the residents for ¡®the blood of women¡¯ while Ke Xun and Wei Dong went to get the remaining four things at the temples. Mu Yiran searched the area on his own.

    A little over half an hourter, Ke Xun, and a disgusted-looking Wei Dong exited the temple. In his hand was a jar held far away from his face. He looked like he wanted to chuck it far away as soon as possible.

    Wei Dong¡¯s eyebrows were furrowed as he muttered, ¡°I think that practitioner must have been suffering from excessive internal heat.¡±

    Ke Xun ignored him, face expressionless.

    They then saw Mu Yiran bend over, seemingly picking something off the ground a distance away. Ke Xun ced down the jar in his hands and then ran over. ¡°What did you find?¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him and then opened up his hand. Through the cracks of his finger, Ke Xun saw petite, bright purple flowers.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡± Male god, you¡¯re really romantic. While I go get feces and urine, you¡¯re picking flowers.

    ¡°Marvels of Peru.¡± The male god didn¡¯t forget to imbue him with knowledge either.

    ¡°It smells great,¡± Ke Xun said.

    .

    ¡°Did you get everything?¡± Mu Yiran asked casually.

    ¡°Yeah. Just don¡¯t ask me how we got them.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to recall it. ¡°Especially the male essence.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him coldly. Ke Xun immediately rified: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not mine.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression grew dark and he walked away.

    Sha Liu and Li Ziling took a long time before they came out from the tents. Sha Liu had a pot in her hand and Li Ziling looked like she wanted to vomit.

    Wei Dong: ¡°Did you get the goods?¡±

    Sha Liu nodded: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    It was like some illegal dealing.

    ¡°Is Ziling okay?¡± Wei Dong expressed his concern.

    Li Ziling didn¡¯t want to speak. She shook her head, a hand over her mouth.

    By the time they got back to therge tent, it was already approaching noon. Lunch was the same as breakfast.

    The three teams all made their way back. None of them came back empty-handed. They brought meat and locally-brewed wine with them. Mu Yiran had also gotten antern from one of the temples.

    ¡°Xiao Mu¡¯s team collected the five Dews of Wisdom?¡± Qin Ci was rather surprised upon hearing Sha Liu talk about the five Dews of Wisdom.

    No one had much of an appetite to begin with, but after they listened to her story, everyone felt their stomachs roll. Zhao Dan and Zhou Bin cast sympathetic gazes towards Ke Xun and Wei Dong.

    Eve: LOL Mu Yiran picking flowers while Ke Xun gets the dirty stuff. There¡¯s a reason though.

 Chapter 30: Someoneâ€™s Broken Down

    <h4>Chapter 30: Someone¡¯s Broken Down</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Qin Ci said, ¡°We¡¯ve collected the five Dews of Wisdom, five tribute meats, libation wine, and thentern. We still need to get a sacrificial cup and the items that go by terms from the localnguage. Unfortunately, when I went to ask around in the morning, I discovered that the vige-folk only speak the localnguage. There¡¯s no way tomunicate with them.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Sha Liu nodded in agreement. ¡°We wasted a lot of time while collecting the five Dews of Wisdom. We had topletely rely on gestures.¡±

    Everyone put the objects into the tent. The five tribute meats were pieces of all sorts of not-so-fresh meat¡ªthere was beef, mutton, horse meat, bird meat, fish meat, donkey meat, dog meat, and even wolf meat.

    ¡°Although we don¡¯t know which five meats constitute the five tribute meats, we have a lot of different kinds. We must have gotten all five,¡± Qin Ci said.

    Sha Liu seemed to want to say something. Qin Ci noticed this and asked her what she wanted to say. Sha Liu hesitated for a moment but still said, ¡°I¡¯m a bit worried that the five tribute meats might¡­include¡­human flesh.¡±

    Everyone was startled by her words. Qin Ci looked at her. ¡°Why do you think that?¡±

    Sha Liu said, ¡°The meat within the rumour regarding the five Dews of Wisdom refers to human flesh. So there¡¯s reason to suggest that one of the meats within the five tribute meats is also human flesh.¡±

    Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

    Zhou Bin¡¯s expression was ugly. ¡°I think that it¡¯s very likely that human flesh is one of them. Look at what the five Dews of Wisdom are. They¡¯re all rted to humans. And from what I know, people used to perform human sacrifices here back when very was still implemented.¡±

    ¡°But where are we going to get human flesh?!¡± Ma Zhenhua took a few steps back, panicked.

    Everyone fell silent.

    A long timeter, Zhou Bin suddenly asked Qin Ci: ¡°You told us that only we are people from the real world, right?¡±

    No one knew what he wanted to say. They all watched him cautiously. Qin Ci slowly nodded.

    A decisive, ruthless glint shed through Zhou Bin¡¯s eyes. He grit his teeth and pointed towards the vige. ¡°In other words, those aren¡¯t real people. So if we need human flesh, we can use them. In any case, they¡¯re considered ¡®humans¡¯ in this painting so their flesh would count as human flesh too. Even if we kill them, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re actually killing ¡®real¡¯ people. This is like a holographic game. All we¡¯d be doing is killing fictional characters that seem realistic. They¡¯re not actually real people. Therefore, there¡¯s no reason to feel bad about it. What do you guys think?¡±

    Everyone exchanged nces. The mother of the family of three covered her child¡¯s ears. She couldn¡¯t help but jump in: ¡°But¡­we¡¯re currently within this painting. They¡¯re real living people of this world¡­.¡±

    ¡°This is a painting, not reality,¡± Zhou Bin said. He was a bit angry at the group for theirck of ambition. ¡°Should we all die just because you want to act like a saint?!¡±

    The father, Papa Geng, frowned. ¡°Watch your words!¡±

    Zhou Bin red at him. ¡°What? Am I wrong? I don¡¯t care if you and the rest of your family¡¯s scared. Just don¡¯t drag the rest of us down. If you think that your ¡®saintly¡¯ conscience can¡¯t handle this, don¡¯t use the human flesh we¡¯re going to go get. We¡¯ll go our separate ways!¡±

    Papa Geng was about to say something but Mama Geng tugged on his arm. Therefore, he pursed his lips and remained silent.

    Zhou Bin looked at the rest of the group. With a low voice, he asked, ¡°What do you guys think? Do you want to go get human flesh? State your stance!¡±

    When he saw that no one was speaking up, Zhou Bin started to ask each person in sequence. He started with Ma Zhenhua. ¡°What do you think? Should we go get human flesh? If so, we¡¯ll team up. If not, you won¡¯t be able to finish the mission and leave the painting. Don¡¯t make a decision you will regret. I won¡¯t share the human flesh I get with anyone.¡±

    Ma Zhenhua¡¯s lips trembled for a long time before he finally squeezed out: ¡°Yes¡­.¡±

    Zhou Bin asked again, ¡°You want to team up with me to get it?¡±

    Ma Zhenhua was conflicted but eventually nodded.

    Zhou Bin didn¡¯t want to interrogate the girls so he asked Wei Dong next. ¡°What about you?¡±

    Wei Dong replied very quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever he does.¡±

    Zhou Bin looked at Ke Xun.

    He had a bad impression of this fellow. The other looked unruly and licentious. Except for the Wei guy and Mu guy, he was cold and estranged from everyone else. asionally, he¡¯d get a bit annoying. He wanted to beat him up.

    Zhou Bin asked him coldly, ¡°What about you?¡±

    Ke Xun still had his kind of unruly, kind of indifferent, kind of irritating appearance on. ¡°You do you.¡±

    Zhou Bin replied coldly. ¡°Then you better remember that I won¡¯t share the flesh I get with anyone else.¡±

    Ke Xun shrugged nonchntly. He called for Wei Dong: ¡°Dong zi, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s not waste time.¡±

    After saying this, he left.

    Wei Dong followed after. He then turned to look into the tent. ¡°You¡¯re not going to wait for your male god? What if he chooses to go with Zhou Bin¡­?¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± Ke Xun paused and sat down on arge rock. He gazed towards the tent, his gaze certain. ¡°Even if we do need human flesh, I believe that he wouldn¡¯t kill someone for it.¡±

    Wei Dong watched as Mu Yiran walked out of the tent at an unhurried pace. He then kicked Ke Xun in the calves. ¡°Do you think he¡¯d be so touched he¡¯d go gay for you if he knew about your blind trust in him?¡±

    Ke Xun smiled and then stood up to wave at Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran looked in their direction expressionlessly. He then turned around and left in the other direction.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at his pitiful gay buddy. This fellow waspletely unaffected. He even ran over to the other man excitedly while hollering for Wei Dong. ¡°Dong zi,e on.¡±

    How sad, Wei Dong thought. Being a gay fan was harder than being a straight fan.

    The three of them headed to the vige at the bottom of the slope. Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran, ¡°Did the rest of them agree to go kill for human flesh with Zhou Bin?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s very likely that human flesh is included in the five tribute meats,¡± Mu Yiran said in a t voice, ¡°What people will do for the sake of survival exceeds your imagination.¡±

    ¡°Did Ziling agree?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t believe it.

    Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t be bothered to answer that. He picked a temple to walk into.

    Mu Yiran stayed outside during the morning. When he walked in this time, he headed to someone who looked like a practitioner. He greeted the practitioner and then said, ¡°Duomu, g, dangka?¡±

    These were the offerings the middle-aged man had told them they had to prepare.

    They sounded like transliterations when Mu Yiran said them, as his pronunciation wasn¡¯t very good. Mu Yiran repeated himself a few times and the practitioner finally seemed to understand what he was saying. The practitioner shook his head and said something in the localnguage. He then pointed north.

    Mu Yiran made a ¡®thanks¡¯ gesture and exited the temple. The three of them then headed north.

    The northern side was characterized by a steep, rugged mountain cliff. They couldn¡¯t see the bottom of the mountain from where they stood. Staring off into the distance from these heights, Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze became grave. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough time today. We have to leave in the morning to make it back in time. We should head back before it gets dark.¡±

    It was already afternoon. If they were to head north now, they wouldn¡¯t be able to make it back before the sky darkened. If they couldn¡¯t make it back, they would die.

    Wei Dong shivered. ¡°In other words, there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll be able to collect all of the offerings by tonight. That means that¡­tonight¡­one of us¡­will be killed by that monster?¡±

    They didn¡¯t head straight back. On their way, they continued to look for clues and ask around. They also surveyed the nearby vige for hints.

    Although they called it a vige, it was just a group of temples, short mud dwellings and tents.

    There were more Sahism temples than there were residences. Every three steps, you could find a small temple. Every five steps, you¡¯d find arge temple. As far as the eye could see, aside from the practitioners, thin, malnourished and sickly-looking vigers wearing tattered clothes would also enter the temples. It didn¡¯t matter if one was male, female, old, young, rich or poor. Here, everyone was a devout believer of Sahism.

    ¡°Faith is probably the strongest source of mental strength in this world.¡± Mu Yiran suddenly said.

    ¡°Oh? Well, what do you believe in?¡± Ke Xun turned to look at him.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t respond.

    Ke Xun used his index fingers and thumbs to mime a painting¡¯s frame: ¡°Art?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him. With no expression on his face, he threw out one word: ¡°Money.¡±

    ¡°What a coincidence.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s index fingers and thumbs fell together and he rubbed them together to make the money gesture. ¡°I also believe in money.¡±

    ¡®What a coincidence¡¯ my ass. Wei Dong¡¯s mouth twitched as he overheard their conversation. You visit the gym you open up once every ten days or fifteen days. You don¡¯t care how much money you make. You don¡¯t even look at the ounts. Whenever someone needs money, theye to you. You¡¯ll easily give out two thousand, and asionally thirty or forty thousand. You¡¯ve almost used up everything your old man¡¯s left you.

    The three of them made it back to therge tent before night fell. Everyone had already arrived but theirplexions were white as sheets. There was fear and uncertainty in their eyes.

    Ke Xun swept a nce over them. He saw drops of fresh blood on the shabby carpet. His eyes followed the trail of blood andnded on an earthen jar.

    The earthen jar was streaked with thick lines of blood on the outside. It was tightly shut but he could still guess what was inside.

    ¡°Congrattions on getting it.¡± Ke Xun said to Zhou Bin expressionlessly.

    Zhou Bin didn¡¯t speak. He was squatting on the ground, his head hidden in his arms. He was tugging at his hair forcefully. Zhao Dan, next to him, had swollen red eyes. Her body was shaking uncontrobly.

    No one spoke. The tent was filled with a deathly silence.

    Only Ke Xun, Wei Dong, Mu Yiran and Qin Ci ate dinner. No one else took so much as a single bite. Li Ziling had even ran outside to throw up twice.

    After dinner, the middle-aged man walked into the tent and said: ¡°Three people to each tent tonight. Don¡¯t run around outside. Remember, there must be three people to each tent.¡±

    After saying that, he turned to leave but Ke Xun stopped him. ¡°Can I ask you a question? What¡¯s ¡®g?¡¯¡±

    ¡°G is g. Why are you asking this?¡± The middle-aged man stared at Ke Xun with his eyes that held tiny pupils. ¡°Who are you? How do you not know what g is? Who are you?! Are you an evil spirit sent to spy on us?!¡±

    Ke Xun finally realized that in every painting, the characters in the painting would think that they were also beings that belonged to this world. But if you were to ask something you shouldn¡¯t, it would immediately incur their suspicions.

    It was like there was some terrifying thing infiltrating their group with the help of a smoke screen. If you were to see through it or expose it, it would immediately explode and do something terrifying to you.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get the wrong idea.¡± Ke Xun dodged the bullet without batting an eye. ¡°I was just trying to strike a conversation with you.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± The middle-aged man red at him fiercely. ¡°You better get your act together! Otherwise, I¡¯ll report you to the practitioners!¡±

    He then stormed out of the tent, furious.

 Chapter 31: Revealing Oneâ€™s True Colours in the Face of Life or Death

    <h4>Chapter 31: Revealing One¡¯s True Colours in the Face of Life or Death</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Qin Ci took note of the colour of the sky outside the tent. He then looked at the silent crowd within the tent and said: ¡°It¡¯s normal to be unable to get anything from the characters inside the painting. But we should all be careful. If you ¡®wake¡¯ them up, a terrible consequence might await you. It looks like we¡¯ll have to rely on ourselves to find the remaining offerings. But first, we have to make it through tonight. Luckily, there¡¯s twelve of us. We divide evenly into groups of three. No one will be alone.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at him. ¡°I feel like this is even more dangerous. If we divide perfectly into groups of three, doesn¡¯t that mean an entire team might be picked by that giant shadow?¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s gaze fell to the ground. He didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°I think,¡± Sha Liu interrupted, ¡°the key to protecting ourselves might be the offerings we¡¯ve found today. Maybe we¡¯ll be able to evade getting picked so long as we have these things?¡±

    When they heard her say this, everyone¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°That must be it!¡± Zhou Bin jumped up. ¡°Let¡¯s put our offerings inside our tents. It¡¯ll definitely protect us!¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s split up,¡± Qin Ci said.

    Zhou Bin¡¯s gaze turned sharp. ¡°Everyone worked together to get the five tribute meats so I don¡¯t mind if we split that up. But I was the one who got the human flesh. I asked for your help but no one was willing to provide it. You all watched from afar. Therefore, the human flesh is mine. Zhao Dan will be in the same team as me. There¡¯s room for one more. One of you can join.¡±

    ¡°I¡ªme too! Can I form a team with you? Please!¡± Ma Zhenhua fell to his knees in front of Zhou Bin.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Zhou Bin had no expression on his face.

    Li Ziling, who had been watching on the side with a whiteplexion, suddenly grabbed Sha Liu: ¡°We found the five Dews of Wisdom so it belongs to us.¡±

    She then looked at Mu Yiran:¡± Xiao gege, let¡¯s form a team together. We just so happen to be three people.¡±

    Wei Dong stared at her, dumbfounded.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got some thick skin,¡± Ke Xun chuckled. ¡°The five Dews of Wisdom were collected by you? Why don¡¯t you tell me which jar contains the greater aromatic, lesser aromatic, male essence and mucus and snot respectively? If you can urately tell me which one holds which substance, I¡¯ll let you take it all away.¡±

    Li Ziling bit down on her lips. She tugged on Sha Liu beside her secretly.

    Sha Liu awkwardly said, ¡°Let¡¯s split it up. There are quite a few earthen jars in any case.¡±

    Li Ziling anxiously shouted, ¡°There isn¡¯t enough to split! We got so little blood!¡±

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t reply. Li Ziling furrowed her brows, red at Ke Xun and then said in a nasally voice: ¡°Can you differentiate between the jars?¡±

    Ke Xun folded his arms, the corner of his lips slightly raised. ¡°What? If I¡¯m sessful, will you let me take them all away?¡±

    ¡°Why should I let you take all of them away?¡± When Li Ziling saw Ke Xun¡¯s expression, she no longer had the courage to test whether or not he could really do as he said. ¡°Sha Liu and I were the ones to get the female blood. You can¡¯t take the rest away. There¡¯s quite a bit of the other four substances. Why can¡¯t you give us some?¡±

    ¡°Prettydy, what makes you think you¡¯re in the right here?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but interrupt, ¡°Does everyone in this world have to give way to you?¡±

    ¡°Men should give in the girls a bit,¡± Li Ziling pouted, looking wronged. Her voice was soft and hoarse. She looked at Mu Yiran and the other guys with a pitiful look in her eyes. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m forcing anyone. But there¡¯s a lot of the other four Dews. Why can¡¯t you give us a bit?¡±

    Wei Dongughed in anger. ¡°Nice try, prettydy. Ke Xun and I found the other four and we should give you some because there¡¯s a lot of it. You two only found one but you won¡¯t give us any because there¡¯s so little of it. Hey, just who was your ethics teacher in elementary school?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t want to split it. There really is too little.¡± Li Ziling teared up. ¡°We searched through the entire vige but only one woman had recently had her period. She couldn¡¯t produce blood on the spot either. We had to ask her for the cloth she used as pads that she had yet to wash. There had only been one small drop. It¡¯s also dried. How are we supposed to divide that?¡±

    Wei Dong felt a bit awkward discussing this. He couldn¡¯t speak for a moment. He then looked at Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun looked away from Mu Yiran¡¯s face and spoke in a calm voice. ¡°Since you can¡¯t divide it, don¡¯t. You guys can take half of the remaining four.¡±

    Wei Dong snorted. ¡°They have all five but we¡¯re missing one. Who knows if it¡¯ll be of any help?¡±

    ¡°If missing one made it useless, then the other¡¯s are also in the same boat.¡± Ke Xun said mildly, ¡°After all, we haven¡¯t collected all of the offerings yet. Everyone¡¯s still at risk of dying.¡±

    After saying this, Ke Xun turned to look at the others. ¡°Anyone want to join our group?¡±

    No one spoke up. It seemed like everyone thought that the fact that they only had four out of five Dews of wisdom increased their possibility of death.

    Ke Xun smiled. ¡°In any case, each tent can only hold three people. If no one joins us, another tent will have an extra person. We¡¯re in no hurry. We¡¯ll be heading to our tent first. You guys discuss. When you¡¯re done, we¡¯ll wee whoever joins us. Dong zi, let¡¯s go.¡±

    He left the tent after saying his spiel.

    Wei Dong followed him into one of the small tents. He sat down on the shabby rug with a gloomy expression on his face. ¡°You may know a person¡¯s face but you might not know their heart. That pretty girl¡¯s vicious.¡±

    Ke Xun lied down on the rug, his head pillowed on his hands. He shut his eyes: ¡°People reveal their true colours when they¡¯re faced with life and death. It doesn¡¯t matter what gender they are.¡±

    Wei Dong nced at him. ¡°Ke er, are you really okay with seeing your male god sharing a tent with those two girls?¡±

    Ke Xun seemed nonchnt. ¡°They have all five Dews of Wisdom. It¡¯s safer to be with them than with us.¡±

    Wei Dong shook his head and sighed. He was about to say something else when he saw the p of the tent lift. Soon after, someone walked in.

    Wei Dong was tongue-tied. He shoved at Ke Xun while at a loss for words.

    Ke Xun opened his eyes and met with Mu Yiran¡¯s indifferent ones. The corner of his lips rose.

    ¡°Boss, why¡¯d youe over?¡± Wei Dong scooted over to make room for the boss like ackey would.

    The tent they were staying in was the same as the ones they stayed inst night. It was just big enough for two people to lie side-by-side. It was much more cramped now that there were three people to a tent.

    Ke Xun sat up and turned to look at Mu Yiran with a smile. ¡°Wee to my humble home. Here are some flowers. I¡¯m pleased to have you.¡±

    After saying this, he suddenly pulled a bouquet of purple flowers from behind him and presented it to Mu Yiran.

    Wei Dong sat on the side, stunned. He couldn¡¯t help but praise his best friend. Where did he get these flowers from? And he¡¯s so patient too. He waited until now to curry favour with the boss. He¡¯d be damned if Boss Mu didn¡¯t go gay for him now.

    Mu Yiran seemed to be slightly taken aback. His gaze fell on the gorgeous flowers.

    They were marvels of Peru.

    When did this person pick all of these? It must have been when he had been gazing at the mountain while deep in thought that afternoon.

    Was it because he thought he liked the marvels of Peru?

    He even hid them behind his back on purpose. He had probably expected to share a tent tonight. That¡¯s why he prepared this pleasant surprise for him.

    Ke Xun had thought that Mu Yiran would only nce at the flowers for a few seconds before giving him a cold expression like he had in the past. He had expected to be ignored.

    He didn¡¯t expect for Mu Yiran to suddenly reach out and ept the flowers. Ke Xun felt his heart suddenly thud against his chest. His eyes shifted to Mu Yiran¡¯s face.

    Mu Yiran held the flowers up and pondered for a few seconds with his eyes downcast. He then looked up to meet Ke Xun¡¯s gaze. ¡°Marvels of Peru shouldn¡¯t bloom at this time of year. It¡¯s weird to see these flowers here.¡±

    So that¡¯s why he was interested in these flowers. Ke Xun took a few flowers from Mu Yiran and carefully examined them. Aside from their scent, they were the same as any other flowers he¡¯d seen before. He tucked one over his ear and said, ¡°Maybe the painter didn¡¯t know. Or maybe the painter was taking artistic liberties. Dong zi, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°It¡¯s not possible for the painter to have been mistaken. But it is possible that the painter had been taking artistic liberties. Or maybe, these flowers have another function.¡±

    Wei Dong took a few flowers for closer inspection. ¡°Sometimes, graphic designers might add a few details for the sake of making the design appear more bnced or novel. But painters and graphic designers aren¡¯t the same. I don¡¯t really know what the purpose of these flowers could be.¡±

    After saying this, he was about to throw them away. But upon seeing Mu Yiran and Ke Xun still lost in thought, he shoved the flowers into the band around his waist.

    Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran: ¡°Anything regarding this painting¡¯s solution?¡±

    Mu Yiran sat down cross-legged. His tone was a bit heavy. ¡°All I have right now are groundless conjectures. There¡¯s no evidence. We need to find proof if we are to advance forward. I can only test my conjectures by sacrificing others.¡±

    Only by sacrificing someone tonight could they find out more about how to evade death.

    When he recalled how Tan Zheng had diedst night, Wei Dong shivered. He pulled the stone Ke Xun had given him out of his pocket and checked to see if its edges were sharp. ¡°I might have to use this thing tonight¡­. I hope that my hands will be free. I don¡¯t want to end up like Tan Zheng. Having one¡¯s arms and legs bound is enough to make one break down¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun recalled that strange eight-armed shadow fromst night. He asked Mu Yiran: ¡°What do you think that thing is? A spider spirit? A tentacle monster?¡±

    Mu Yiran said: ¡°A supernatural creature. It¡¯s also a deity within Sahism¡¯s pantheon. I have a faint conjecture.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Mka,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze grew heavy. ¡°Originally, Mka was considered a demon in a certain pagan religion. Later on, Sahism imed that one of its gods tamed Mka and it agreed to abide by themands of their powerful practitioners. Although depictions of Mka¡¯s appearance changed over the years, it was once depicted as an eight-armed creature. Furthermore, the way Tan Zheng diedst night also hints at that giant shadow being Mka.¡±

    ¡°Dismemberment?¡±

    ¡°That might not be all,¡± Mu Yiran muttered, ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait and see tonight.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°If that M-whatever is a demon, we¡¯re no match for it. How about I kill myself before it strikes. I¡¯m scared that once ites, I won¡¯t have a chance to off myself.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense.¡± Ke Xun looked at him, ¡°Don¡¯t give up until the end. I don¡¯t want to die.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­.¡± Wei Dong stared off into space. He gripped his clothes tightly and his body faintly trembled.

    Eve: I looked up mka to see if it was real. Turns out it¡¯s a Greek word for wanger/someone who masturbates a lot. Well, with eight arms I guess you could really go at it.

 Chapter 32: The Second Death Condition

    <h4>Chapter 32: The Second Death Condition</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Last night was the first time Wei Dong had seen a person be killed by some horrifying, undefyable power since he had started to go into paintings.

    The immense fear and helplessness chilled him down to the bone.

    Wei Dong knew that he was like an ostrich. He was great at deceiving himself and sticking his head into the sand. He would always try to avoid thinking about anything he didn¡¯t want to think carefully about.

    During the day, he could joke around to escape this oppressive fear. But at night, there was no way to fight off the fear. There was no way to press it down.

    Wei Dong felt like the fear had already snapped hisst strand of reason. Suddenly, he felt a wave of mania and anger break through the walls. He looked up to look at the calm andposed Mu Yiran a distance away and at Ke Xun, who had always helped him and protected them since they had been young. Their strength and fearlessness made him seem even weaker, causing him to feel even worse about himself. He wasn¡¯t willing to be tormented by fear anymore. He couldn¡¯t take being made to see how pitiful and powerless he really was anymore.

    ¡°Is it wrong to be a normal person who¡¯s afraid of death?!¡± Wei Dong wiped his face with a hand. His cheeks were slightly flushed and his emotions were unstable. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m stupid and weak. That means I should die, right?!¡±

    ¡°Dong zi, calm down.¡± Ke Xun sensed that Wei Dong¡¯s emotions had suddenly changed. He reached over to ce a hand on the other¡¯s shoulder but Wei Dong pushed him away.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want your pity.¡± Wei Dong took a few ragged breaths. He knew that he was falling apart but he couldn¡¯t help himself. ¡°You don¡¯t want to die, but I want to die even less! My mom and dad are waiting for me at home. There¡¯s also my work. I¡¯m not alone like you. Ever since your parents¡­. To put it nicely, you¡¯ve be disillusioned with the world. You¡¯re carefree and nonchnt about everything. To put it harshly, you have nothing left to live for. You¡¯re just barely getting by. But what about me? I¡¯m afraid of dying. I value my life. I want to live. I want an ordinary life like before. I fucking¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s voice had a nasal quality to it. He covered his head and buried his face in-between his knees.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anything. He sat there motionlessly, his eyes on the raggedy rug beneath them.

    Mu Yiran was also silent. There was only the sounds of Wei Dong¡¯s muffled, rough breathing inside the tent.

    This continued for a long time. But slowly, it slowed down. The sound also became a lot more empty. It circled around them and started to sound like it was above them as well.

    Ke Xun pressed down on the nape of Wei Dong¡¯s neck. He whispered into his ear: ¡°Dong zi, don¡¯t make a sound.¡±

    Wei Dong immediately froze. He didn¡¯t dare move.

    The snow outside the tent was deathly white. Arge, thick, ck mass gradually fell to the ground from the night sky that seemed many times closer to the groundpared to the day time sky. Slowly, eight thick and solid arms, a trunk and a head could be made out. The thingnded on two bent legs and slowly began to walk.

    Mu Yiran lied down and signaled to Ke Xun with gestures. He grabbed a few marvels of Peru and held them by his chest.

    The tent was cramped. The three of them had to lie on their sides. But even so, there still wasn¡¯t much room.

    Ke Xun pushed Wei Dong down and then lied down with his back against him. He was now facing Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran was half-up. When he saw what was happening, he paused and then flipped over so that Ke Xun was now staring at the back of his head.

    As soon as Mu Yiran settled down, he felt the guy behind him scoot over and hug him. Mu Yiran¡¯s body went rigid. He reached over to squeeze the hand Ke Xun had around his waist with a lot of force. Ke Xun broke out into a cold sweat from the pain.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t enough space. Bear with it.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s quiet voice drifted into his ear. ¡°Dong zi¡¯s about to be pushed out.¡±

    A long timeter, Mu Yiran forced himself to let go of the other¡¯s wrist.¡±

    Suddenly, he noticed the marvels of Peru in his arms. The vein in his forehead throbbed.

    This person was the most adept at seizing the moment he had ever met. Give him an inch and he¡¯d take a mile!

    The giant shadow slowly moved towards Sha Liu and Li Ziling¡¯s tent. In the end, Qin Ci had be their third member. The giant shadow bent down to examine their tent. Its arms waved through the air uncontrobly.

    After staring at the tent for a while, it walked away, heading for the tent the family of three resided in.

    After a long period of observation, the giant shadow once again moved to the tent Ke Xun and co. resided in.

    The giant shadow loomed over the tent, its long, coarse breaths drifting into their ears. Ke Xun could faintly make out the sound of something rubbing together. He then saw the thing¡¯s fingernail scratching at the fabric of their tent.

    ¡ªHad it chosen them?

    Ke Xun felt Wei Dong trembling behind him. But he couldn¡¯t do anything to help him. He couldn¡¯t even help himself.

    Maybe it was because this was his second painting¡ªwhich meant that he had more experience with facing death¡ªbut he was more used to death now and had a greater tolerance against it. Or maybe it was because Wei Dong had lost control of his emotions and had poked Ke Xun¡¯s sore spot that he had been actively avoiding for a long time. In any case, now that he was once again on death¡¯s door, he suddenly realized how he truly felt.

    What surprised Ke Xun was that he wasn¡¯t particrly afraid of dying.

    However, it wasn¡¯t like what Wei Dong had said. The reason he muddled his way through life wasn¡¯t because he had lost all desire to live, but because he no longer had anything to worry about or hold onto. Because of that, he lived life very casually and just did whatever he wanted to.

    He wasn¡¯t afraid of death, but he was still willing to work hard to live.

    His belief wasn¡¯t money. Actually, he probably didn¡¯t believe in anything. Or rather, following his heart was probably what he really believed in.

    The scratching sound suddenly disappeared.

    The giant shadow moved away from their tent and slowly headed toward the tent of Zhao Dan, Zhou Bin and Ma Zhenhua.

    Suddenly, shrill screams erupted in the night. The giant shadow stood up tall¡ªits head in the clouds and its feet on the ground¡ªas its arms twisted around. It held onto someone who was struggling with all their might to escape.

    ¡°No¡ªplease¡ªlet me go¡ªI don¡¯t want to die¡ª¡± Ma Zhenhua¡¯s gut-wrenching voice sounded like it ripped out from his chest. But a secondter, the giant shadow pinched his scalp and tugged lightly.

    Ke Xun shut his eyes. Ma Zhenhua¡¯s ghastly screams pierced his eardrums.

    The screamssted for a while before they slowly grew fainter. Eventually, they disappeared.

    No one else died that night.

    Maybe it was because he didn¡¯t sleepst night or because Ma Zhenhua¡¯s death had strained his nerves to the point of exhaustion, but Ke Xun had ended up falling asleep after that. By the time he woke up, it was already light out. Mu Yiran had already disappeared but Wei Dong was sleeping like a pig beside him.

    Ke Xun left the tent. He saw Mu Yiran standing outside bathed in the light of dawn, motionless. He was looking at Zhou Bin¡¯s tent.

    Ke Xun walked over to him and followed his gaze. He saw a badly mutted, bloody body near the tent.

    That was Ma Zhenhua who had been skinned alive.

    ¡°What the hell¡¯s going on? Don¡¯t we have the offerings¡¯ protection? Why did someone die?!¡± Zhou Bin fell to the ground, his head between his hands. He was falling apart.

    Qin Ci blocked the girls¡¯ views and told them not to go over there. The Geng Family didn¡¯t evene out of their tent.

    ¡°It¡¯s a new method of death.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s gaze shifted to Mu Yiran. ¡°Looks like the offerings are useless. It also looks like the number of people in a tent isn¡¯t rted to who gets picked.¡±

    ¡°The number of people in the tents is only the first death condition.¡± Mu Yiran said while mulling over the issue at hand. ¡°If this condition isn¡¯t fulfilled, the creature will move on to the second condition in making its choice.¡±

    ¡°What do you think the second condition is then? Do you think it has to do with the offerings?¡± Ke Xun also pondered over this.

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m just imagining things,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°But I feel like the shadow was bigger than it had been yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Are you certain about that?¡± Mu Yiran looked at him.

    Ke Xun carefully went over his memories. He nodded. ¡°Yes. I can also confirm that it¡¯s definitely not due to lights or whatever. It was definitely bigger and taller than it had been on the first night.¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyes, deep in thought. Ke Xun didn¡¯t disturb him. He returned to their tent and woke Wei Dong up. By the time he exited the tent again, Ma Zhenhua¡¯s bloody corpse had already been covered by Qin Ci with a ragged nket.

    ¡°All of his skin was peeled off.¡± Qin Ci whispered to Mu Yiran in the main tent. ¡°There was nothing left. Everything was gone. I think that this is simr to thest painting. Something¡¯s deciding our method of death.¡±

    ¡°Does it have to do with the fact that we all had different offerings?¡± Sha Liu chimed in.

    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t exin why Ma Zhenhua was chosen,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because Ma Zhenhua didn¡¯t participate in the preparation of offerings.¡± Zhou Bin had already gotten over his breakdown. He had beenforting his frightened girlfriend all this time. ¡°He had been suffering from extreme fear the whole time. He was a cowardly guy. He didn¡¯t help when we were collecting the meats at all. He only stood on the side and trembled.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Qin Ci nodded. ¡°Except for him, the rest of us had been searching for the offerings.¡±

    ¡°That means that none of us will die so long as we all participate in the gathering of offerings?¡± Sha Liu asked.

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t respond. He simply lowered his gaze and pondered over the matter.

    Mu Yiran spoke while thinking about it: ¡°It is clear that the rules that govern death in this painting are different from that of the previous painting. In thest painting, the rules decided how we would die. I think that in this painting, who dies is determined by the fulfillment of conditions.

    ¡°The painting has set up several conditions that aid in deciding who shall die next. If someone fulfills a condition, they will be chosen. However, if no one fulfills the condition, then the painting will make its choice via a second condition.

    ¡°And so, the more conditions are added, the more stringent they be. As a result, the probability that we will be able to escape death bes increasingly smaller. That means that it is impossible for no one to die.¡±

    The veterans all exchanged knowing looks.

    Qin Ci was pensive. ¡°That¡¯s to say, on the first night, the condition that led to being chosen was being alone. On the second night, it was the person who didn¡¯t participate in the gathering of offerings.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Mu Yiran looked at him. ¡°I think that the two conditions werepounded. The first night¡¯s condition was being alone in a tent. If someone had been alonest night, this condition would still be in effect. However, because no one was alone, a second condition appeared. However, the first condition is still present. That means that as long as you fulfill one of the two conditions¡ªbeing alone or not participating in the gathering of offerings¡ªyou will be chosen.¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s gaze grew heavy. ¡°That means that every night, a new condition will be added. So what you¡¯re saying is that a new condition will appear on the third night and that who will die will depend on all three of these conditions?¡±

    When everyone heard this, they were astonished.

    What did this mean? This meant that the tent quota had not been eliminated and that it will always be in effect.

 Chapter 33: A Devil or a God?

    <h4>Chapter 33: A Devil or a God?</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    After Ma Zhenhua died, there were only eleven people left. Regardless of whether the tent requirement was going to be two, three or four¡ªsomeone would be left out. That meant that at least one person would die tonight!

    Furthermore, an additional selection criterion would be added tonight. Who knew what it would be? No one would be able to tell whether or not they had fulfilled the criterion. No one knew what they should or should not do.

    The uncertainty was like a heavy mass of fear that pressed down on their heads.

    The mission today was the same as before: find the offerings that the middle-aged man had listed.

    After breakfast, Mu Yiran, Ke Xun and Wei Dong headed north.

    There was a mountain range in the north. The mountain peaks were all covered in snow. The light reflecting off of the snow was blinding. However, after a thorough examination, Ke Xun realized that this light was the same as the light on the first day¡ªit wasn¡¯t actual sunlight. There was no source of light. It just appeared to be everywhere.

    The blue sky above their heads was as expansive as ever. When they looked up, it felt like there was something huge hidden within its depths. It felt more cramped than it did on the first day, like something was on the verge of falling. It felt like the sky was pressing down on them.

    Ke Xun found it hard to breathe.

    It was awful. Despite being in the wide, spacious Ganxiong Hignds, he felt ustrophobic.

    Ke Xun covered his mouth and nose with his hand. Suddenly, he felt his head throb in pain.

    ¡°Ke er?¡± Wei Dong had noticed Ke Xun¡¯s abnormality. He promptly went over to support him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Morning sickness?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Fuck you. I¡¯ll vomit amniotic fluid onto your face.¡±

    ¡°Look at how pale your little face is.¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but worry upon seeing Ke Xun¡¯splexion. He hollered to Mu Yiran who was walking in front. ¡°Boss, Ke er seems to be suffering from altitude sickness.¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at them and then walked over. He examined Ke Xun¡¯s face and then said in a t voice, ¡°Either we rest for a bit or you head back on your own.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re nning on going alone?¡± Ke Xun looked at him.

    ¡°Time waits for no one,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine in a bit. Give me two minutes.¡± Ke Xun bent over and breathed in softly.

    ¡°I heard that those with altitude sickness need to be given oxygen,¡± Wei Dong said, ¡°But there aren¡¯t any oxygen tanks here. How about mouth-to-mouth?¡±

    He nced at Mu Yiran while offering that suggestion.

    Mu Yiran gave him a cold look. ¡°It¡¯s not altitude sickness. It¡¯s a mental condition manifesting physiologically. He¡¯ll be fine after he adjusts himself.¡±

    He then turned around and continued to walk forward.

    ¡°Truly heartless,¡± Wei Dong whispered to Ke Xun.

    ¡°Better than you who¡¯s trying to make trouble without reason.¡± Ke Xun straightened up. ¡°Don¡¯t fool around.¡±

    ¡°You spoiled me. If you want to me someone for my trouble-making, me yourself.¡±

    Ke Xun knew that the other was referring to how he had lost control of his emotionsst night.

    When friends were as close as they were, there were a lot of things that could be left unsaid. Nothing woulde out of a slip of a tongue like that. The two of them shared a tacit understanding. They understood each other.

    Just like that, the matter was wrapped up with a single sentence. Wei Dong then said, ¡°Say, what mental issue are you dealing with? Why were you suddenly physiologically aroused?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Aroused my ass. It¡¯s a physiological reaction to stress, okay.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Fine. What triggered your physiological reaction?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Fucking hell.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel like,¡± Ke Xun said as he pointed overhead, ¡°The sky and earth are ridiculously close together? And it¡¯s like we can¡¯t see through the sky,? It¡¯s as if it¡¯s an iron te that¡¯s been painted blue. It¡¯s pressing down on us.¡±

    Wei Dong looked up at the sky and then shook his head, hesitant. ¡°I don¡¯t have that feeling. The sky looks pretty far up to me. If I analyze it with an artistic lens, I¡¯d say that it¡¯s pretty nd. There aren¡¯t anyyers. It¡¯s like someone used blue paint to draw a singleyer across the canvas. There¡¯s no depth to it. I feel like there¡¯s an issue with the quality of the painting¡¯s canvas.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I feel like we¡¯re trapped in some tiny space.¡± Ke Xun stared at the sky. Suddenly, a weird feeling overcame him. It felt like something was watching him on the other side of the sky.

    The two of them caught up to Mu Yiran while chatting. Mu Yiran had walked very quickly. Although they were on a rugged, mountainous road, it didn¡¯t hinder his speed at all.

    After passing a few peaks, they arrived at another open area covered in shattered rock fragments. There was a small brook that snaked down from the top of one of the snowy mountains. Vegetation grew all along its riverbank.

    ¡°It¡¯s like a secret paradise here. It doesn¡¯t seem scary at all,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°No?¡± Ke Xun took in the bright scenery around them. ¡°I feel terrified.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°The brightness is terrifying,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that everything¡¯s a little too bright?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s surprising about that? Untainted areas always look brighter,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°Besides, we¡¯re in a painting. The scenery might look brighter because the author painted it that way.¡±

    ¡°Butpared to the previous painting, there are a lot more indications that betray the fact that we are indeed within a painting,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°Even to my untrained eye, I can tell that the painter¡¯s gone overboard. The painter¡¯s made things look way too fake. The sky, the mountains, the brook¡ªeven the vegetation looks extremely fake. That¡¯s what I find so terrifying.¡±

    Wei Dong scratched his head. ¡°Your definition of terrifying is pretty unique. I don¡¯t feel that at all.¡±

    While the two of them chatted, Mu Yiran slowed down his pace. He then stopped to examine the vegetation by the brook.

    ¡°Your male god seems to like nts,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Ke Xun rubbed his chin. He had just been about to speak up when he noticed a few silhouettes in the distance.

    After staring for a few seconds, he realized that it was Qin Ci, Sha Liu and Li Ziling. Behind them were Zhao Dan, Zhou Bin and then the family of three. They were all heading in their direction.

    ¡°Looks like they¡¯re nning on following us,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°No, not us. They¡¯re nning on following Mu Yiran.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Outstanding people are chased after everywhere they go.¡±

    By the time Mu Yiran finished examining the nts, Qin Ci and the rest of the group had already made their way over. After greeting them, Qin Ci asked, ¡°Xiao Mu, you¡¯ve been heading in this direction the whole time. Did you find any clues?¡±

    The others stared at Mu Yiran.

    Everyone regarded any and all clues as their live-saving straws to clutch onto. They would risk their lives to grab hold of them.

    Zhou Bin walked over to re at Mu Yiran when thetter didn¡¯t respond right away. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you better not keep things to yourself. Only if everyone works hard together will we be able to leave this ce. I believe that you don¡¯t like people like Ma Zhenhua. We don¡¯t like people like him either. You know why. Ma Zhenhua¡¯s too selfish. Selfish people are destined to be abandoned by the group sooner orter. I trust that you don¡¯t want to be abandoned. We¡¯ll be dividing ourselves amongst the tents again tonight. Your decision will influence whether or not you¡¯ll receive our protection. I hope that you¡¯ll think things over clearly.¡±

    Ke Xunughed when he heard this. ¡°You make it sound like you¡¯re the most selfless one amongst us. Tell me, how did it feel to be the sole possessor of human fleshst night? How did it feel to watch the ¡®selfish¡¯ Ma Zhenhua get skinned alive? What, did you see your future in him or do you feel sorry for him because of how simr you two are?¡±

    Zhou Bin seethed when he heard Ke Xun¡¯s words. He threw a punch in Ke Xun¡¯s direction but thetter dodged him easily. Ke Xun then grabbed Zhou Bin¡¯s arm. ¡°Your girlfriend¡¯s here so I¡¯ll leave you some dignity. But there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to say. In the future, be more respectful when talking to others. No one owes you shit. Your threat is useless. The group will only protect capable people, not people who only know how to talk big.¡±

    Zhou Bin¡¯s fury intensified. However, Ke Xun¡¯s grip on his arm prevented him from moving. He knew that he was no match for the other.

    Ke Xun let go and Zhou Bin didn¡¯t continue to pester Mu Yiran. He simply red at Ke Xun with a dark expression before ring at Mu Yiran as well. Gnashing his teeth, he said, ¡°Fine. I put it too harshly just now. But you get the point. It¡¯s best to share any thoughts or clues out loud. It¡¯s useless to tuck these things away. You can choose to refrain from sharing. However, choosing to refrain from an action can sometimes lead to terrible consequences. If you choose not to save someone in need, that¡¯s the same as being an aplice to murder, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Li Ziling nodded subconsciously. The rest of the group kept their silence.

    Mu Yiran finally spoke up. His voice was chilly. ¡°I didn¡¯t n on saying this because what I¡¯ve deduced will not save any lives. Actually, it will likely hurt people. However, since you think that it will benefit you, I¡¯m willing to fulfill your requests. But before I tell you what I¡¯vee up with, I want to make a disimer that everything I am about to say are merely conjectures. I cannot guarantee their truthfulness. I will not take responsibility for your lives. It¡¯s up to you what you decide to do with it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Zhou Bin sneered. ¡°I ept your disimer.¡±

    ¡°You can choose not to listen as well.¡±

    ¡°Let us hear it,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°We¡¯ll treat it as food for thought. Everyone can make their own interpretations.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s keep walking. I¡¯ll talk as we walk.¡± Mu Yiran continued to head north.

    Everyone followed after him. Mu Yiran said, ¡°My first conjecture is that the thing that¡¯s choosing victims and killing them every night is a devil worshipped by a certain Sahism denomination.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought as well. That person had us prepare offerings. Furthermore, everyone who participated in the preparation of offerings survivedst night. That means that these offerings are useful and that we¡¯re heading in the right direction. Furthermore, if we look at the type of offerings we¡¯ve been tasked to collect¡ªsuch as human flesh, male essence, the blood of women¡ªthey¡¯re all nefarious by nature. This means that the thing we¡¯re collecting offerings for isn¡¯t a god or the Buddha. It¡¯s a ghost or a devil.¡±

    Mu Yiran added, ¡°Sahism consists of severalrge branches and several smaller branches. Every denomination has its own doctrine and pantheon. I don¡¯t know which denomination¡¯s pantheon this thing belongs to for sure. However, there are records of certain nefarious and bloody offerings that are typically offered to wrathful deities and demonic gods in the scriptures of certain denominations. Perhaps duomu, g and dangka are one of the things mentioned in the scriptures.¡±

    A sh of understanding befell everyone. Zhou Bin couldn¡¯t help but interrupt. ¡°Even if we know that they are referring to things used in ¡®evil¡¯ practices, we have no way of figuring out what exactly they are referring to.¡±

    The patriarch of the Geng Family suddenly chimed in. ¡°I might have something useful with regards to that. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s correct though. Regarding that eight-armed creaturest year, we went on a family vacation abroad. I¡¯ve seen this creature in a Sahism temple before. I hadn¡¯t been able to recall what its name was until now. But when you mentioned wrathful deities, I suddenly remembered. I think it¡¯s called¡­ Heishitian.¡±

 Chapter 34: Toxic Friends

    <h4>Chapter 34: Toxic Friends</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Sha Liu was breathing a bit hard. When she heard these words, she swallowed. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of Heishitian before. My mom¡¯s friend¡ªthe one that was cured of cancer after taking the dews of wisdom pill¡ªbecame a believer of Sahism after that. The friend had bought a lot of books rted to Sahism and I¡¯ve seen a description of an eight-armed creature named Heishitian in one of the works before.

    ¡°The book I read had said that it wore human skin, a ne of human heads and held a cup made out of a human¡¯s skull in its hand. The skull also held a human brain inside. The book also had a description ofmon offerings to Heishitian¡­.

    ¡°The offerings included hearts; intestines; legs; arms; skinned heads;nterns made up of human hair and human fat; flowers made of human eyes, nose and lips; liquid mixtures made of blood, bile and brain; or ¡®dough¡¯ made of blood, viscera and brain¡­.¡±

    Li Ziling vomited again upon hearing this. Zhao Dan had also started to dry heave while held in Zhou Bin¡¯s embrace.

    Zhou Bin¡¯s eyes had lit up, however. ¡°Maybe this is what duomu and g are referring to? And the skull cup¡ªthat might be the sacrificial cup we need to look for. The libation wine might not be ordinary wine. It might be a mixture of human brains, blood and bile. And thentern¡ªthe one we found yesterday wasn¡¯t right. We have to light it up with human fat!¡±

    Sha Liu thought it over carefully and nodded. ¡°I think you¡¯re right. I recall there being a long list of transliterated words in that book. But because I didn¡¯t read it in detail, I can¡¯t remember what they were precisely¡­. Wait, I know what duomu is! It refers to sacrificial cakes. Maybe it¡¯s¡­the ¡®dough¡¯ balls mentioned earlier¡­.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Zhou Bin clenched his fist in the air. ¡°We just have to find those things!¡±

    Qin Ci was much more cautious. He asked Mu Yiran, who hadn¡¯t spoken in a while, ¡°Xiao Mu, what do you think?¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at the excited Zhou Bin. ¡°I¡¯m skeptical. I¡¯m not sure the offerings that person mentioned refer to what Sha Liu¡¯s talking about. I also don¡¯t think that the things she mentioned will do us any good.¡±

    Qin Ci looked at him. ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun said that the giant shadow lookedrgerst night than it had on the first night,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°What would cause such a change? I think that it must have something to do with the offerings we brought back. All deities rely on faith to survive. The stronger the faith, the stronger the deity¡¯s powers. Offering sacrifices is the most straightforward way to manifest one¡¯s faith. The offerings can also be transformed into energy that will power the deity.¡±

    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that, Heishitian absorbed the power of faith contained in the offerings we collected? That¡¯s why it looked stronger andrger than it had on the first night?¡± Qin Ci realized what the other was getting at.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I said that gathering offerings might not necessarily be beneficial to us.¡±

    Zhou Bin frowned. ¡°But we¡¯ll be killed by that thing if we don¡¯t prepare the offerings. Besides, if the offerings are equivalent to one¡¯s faith, why would a deity kill its own believers? It might be killing us only because we haven¡¯t collected all of the offerings yet. Once we collect them all and conduct the sacrificial ceremony, it might protect us.¡±

    ¡°Besides,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°It was said that prior to Heishitian¡¯s induction into Sahism, it was a violent, fierce demon from another pagan religion. Even after it obtained its godhead, it had be an evil god. It took lives instinctively. If practitioners of Sahism wish tomand it, they must pay a price. For example, they would have to sacrifice offerings or divine instruments that would please Heishitian. The more vicious or fierce the evil creature is, the more useful it is to practitioners.¡±

    Zhou Bin punched his fist into the palm of his other hand, as if the truth had just dawned upon him. ¡°It requires offerings and divine instruments. You mentioned that it wears human skin, a ne made of human heads and a cup made out of a human skull. Think about how Tan Zheng and Ma Zhenhua died! Tan Zheng¡¯s body was dismembered and his head was ripped off. Ma Zhenhua was skinned alive. Doesn¡¯t this mean that that thing is trying to use us toplete its wardrobe? It¡¯s because we haven¡¯t gathered everything it wants that it¡¯s taking things into its own hands. This also means that, so long as we gather everything, it won¡¯t kill us anymore. We might even be able to use it. Maybe we can order it to find the seal for us so we can leave the painting.¡±

    The others seemed to agree. They nodded along.

    ¡°Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s hurry up and go collect those things!¡± Zhou Bin looked at everyone expectantly.

    Qin Ci still chose to remain prudent and asked Mu Yiran another question. ¡°Xiao Mu, are you heading north in search of an offering?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s partially why. The main reason I¡¯m heading north is because I wanted to take a look,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°What¡¯s over there?¡± Sha Liu asked.

    ¡°Arge group of bald eagles,¡± Mu Yiran said coldly.

    Zhou Bin didn¡¯t get what the significance of this was. He was about to ask what did it matter that there were bald eagles around, but he stopped upon seeing Sha Liu¡¯s face pale. Sha Liu said, ¡°A sky burial tform.¡±

    Sky burials didn¡¯t belong to a single religion. Many religions in Southeast Asia¡ªand even the Maasai people of Kenya in distant Africa¡ª have evidence of sky burials in their records.

    Sky burials are also a part of Sahism. Everyone has more-or-less heard of this before, therefore, no one doubted it. After walking for so long, it would be a waste to head back now. Thus, they all decided to go take a look at the sky burial tform.

    After winding around a tall summit, tens of bald eagles spiralling through the air suddenly appeared before them.

    In front of them, a group of people were solemnly holding a sky burial on the tform.

    There was a group of three to five people surrounding the tform. Someone had gone to start a bonfire and light up incense. Someone was also sitting cross-legged on a rug made of sheepskin, chanting some kind of scripture. Another person was selecting from a variety of toolsid out on the ground. There were knives, hammers and spades.

    In the middle of the tform was a corpse lying face-up. Several eagles were perched on the rocks surrounding the corpses, eagerly waiting.

    The group didn¡¯t dare get too close. They hid behind arge stone and cautiously peered in the tform¡¯s direction.

    A whileter, the person who had been chanting got up. The person said a few words. The tools person then picked up a knife and walked over to the corpse. That person flipped the person over and stabbed the de into the corpse¡¯s butt. He then slid the knife down through the ankle, causing the flesh to open up.

    Li Ziling shrieked. The people at the tform turned to look in their direction upon hearing it. Malevolent expressions immediately appeared on their faces. They came running in the group¡¯s direction, knives, hammers and spades swinging through the air!

    ¡°Run!¡± Qin Ci yelled as he broke out into a sprint. Everyone else promptly followed after, panicked and scared. The uneven mountainous road underneath their feet was covered in rocks. Very soon, Li Ziling and Zhao Dan both ended up spraining their ankles and fell to the ground.

    Zhou Bin carried Zhao Dan on his back and continued stumbling forward. No one paid Li Ziling any attention. She wailed and begged. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me behind¡ªplease¡ªsave me¡ªI don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to die¡ªSha Liu! Sha Liu! Don¡¯t leave, save me¡ª¡±

    Sha Liu had not gotten far. She was only a bit further ahead. Right at that moment, she also tripped on a stone and fell down. She tried to climb to her feet but couldn¡¯t do it. Li Ziling had grabbed hold of her pants with her long arms. Sha Liu couldn¡¯t break free.

    ¡°Ziling, let go of me¡ª¡± Sha Liu¡¯s face paled.

    ¡°No¡ªtake me with you¡ªwe¡¯re good friends. You can¡¯t abandon me. We either both survive or we both die¡ª¡± Li Ziling¡¯s howls became even more mournful and fierce.

    The two of them were entangled on the floor. Suddenly, a pair of legs appeared in their line of sight. Before they could look up and see who it was, they were lifted up by the cors of their shirts.¡±

    ¡°What toxic friends, huh?¡± Ke Xun raised a brow. He then started to run again.

    Sha Liu and Li Ziling didn¡¯t stray far behind. It was clear that Ke Xun would not turn around again.

    When thrust into moments of life or death, the human body could do previously unimaginable things. Li Ziling endured the pain in her sprained ankle and ran. Fortunately, the people from the sky burial tform were still a ways behind them. They wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up for some time.

    Everyone ran in a panicked flurry for about ten minutes. Zhou Bin was exhausted after running with Zhao Dan on his back this whole time. He turned to look behind them and noticed that it looked like they had lost their pursuers. Thus, he stopped running and let Zhao Dan down.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and leave,¡± Zhao Dan cried. ¡°It¡¯s terrifying. It¡¯s just a sky burial. What could we gain from that? Let¡¯s just go, okay?¡±

    Zhou Bin ced a hand on her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s fine. They won¡¯t reach up. Rest a bit. Does your ankle hurt? Let¡¯s ask Dr. Qin to take a look.¡±

    A momentter, the rest of the group caught up. Li Ziling and Sha Liu trailed in at the end. However, Ke Xun, Wei Dong and Mu Yiran were missing.

    ¡°Where did they go?¡± Zhou Bin asked Sha Liu.

    Sha Liu was gasping for air. She pointed behind her: ¡°They looped around the summit. They weren¡¯t very far from the tform. I don¡¯t know if they were trying to avoid those people or lead them away.¡±

    Zhou Bin gazed at the sky burial tform and then asked Qin Ci, ¡°Dr. Qin, do you think we¡¯ll find clues at the sky burial tform?¡±

    Qin Ci shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything at the moment.¡±

    Zhou Bin gave him a meaningful look. ¡°I think that there might be something there. Mu Yiran isn¡¯t a simple fellow. He would never shoot aimlessly. He must have a reason for wanting toe here. Perhaps his reason is the sky burial tform. Look, even while escaping, he wasn¡¯t willing to leave that ce. He probably went back to take another look. After leading those people away, he can take advantage of their absence to examine the tform.¡±

    Qin Ci looked at him: ¡°So what are you saying?¡±

    Zhou Bin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Weren¡¯t we just talking about divine instruments, human fat, brains, blood, bile, hearts, head, arms, hair, legs and skulls? Where do you think we can get those things?¡±

    Sha Liu was startled. ¡°You don¡¯t mean to say¡­we can get those things from the corpse at the sky burial tform?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Otherwise, why would Mu Yiran want to head back there?¡± Zhou Bin said in a certain tone. ¡°That Wei Dong had also said that the vige people had pointed them north when they asked about the offerings. That¡¯s obviously a hint. It means that what we need is here. What do we need? Obviously it¡¯s the offerings! What¡¯s here? All we have here is a corpse, so the corpse can give us everything we need. We have to think of a way to get the offerings!¡±

    ¡°But those people are so violent. How can we get those things?¡± Zhao Dan was extremely worried. ¡°They have knives and other tools. We¡¯re barehanded. We¡¯re no match for them.¡±

    ¡°But we outnumber them.¡± Zhou Bin grit his teeth. ¡°I have an idea.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong followed Mu Yiran around the summit and carefully toed their way along a cliff.

    After threading through a forest of strange stones, they reached a valley.

    ¡°Boss, let¡¯s rest a bit. I¡¯m exhausted¡­¡± Wei Dong huffed, as he bent down with a hand on his waist.

    ¡°Did your body burn out at the age of eight or something?¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°You think I canpare to you? You and the other phys-ed kids would run practically everyday on the track while preparing for your triathlons. Dude, my freaking neck gets tired just from holding my head up,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t pay any attention to these two idiots who have always relied on bantering to reduce their fear/nervousness/pressure/awkwardness/fatigue. He simply said: ¡°Wait here.¡±

    He then headed onward on his own.

 Chapter 35: Ke Xunâ€™s Faith

    <h4>Chapter 35: Ke Xun¡¯s Faith</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB <hr>

    Ke Xun immediately instructed Wei Dong to find a safe ce to seek refuge in. He then followed behind Mu Yiran. They headed straight for a while before stopping at arge stone. From here, they could see everything beneath them in the valley.

    They saw vibrant and beautiful wildflowers all along the slopes.

    If this wasn¡¯t inside of a painting, this ce would be considered a paradise on Earth. Unfortunately, the beautiful scenery before them looked especially fake to Ke Xun. The deathly stillness brought forth a particr sense of dread and fear.

    ¡°Like the Marvels of Peru, these flowers carry no scent.¡± Ke Xun sniffed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go down and take a look,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    After descending into the valley, Ke Xun realized that there was a huge variety of nts here. There were wildflowers, creepers, Chinese wisteria, trees¡ªit was a garish disy but somehow, the scenery still seemed lifeless.

    Mu Yiran traversed through the meadow of nts, asionally pausing on his trek. He would pick a few nts and flowers and would even dig out the roots of a few nts.

    ¡°What are you thinking about right now?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°These nts are strange.¡± Mu Yiran pondered for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s like the Marvels of Peru from before. It¡¯s not the right season for them to bloom. It¡¯s the same for many of these nts here, it¡¯s not flowering season for them yet. Moreover, some of these aren¡¯t native to the Ganxiong Hignds either. And yet, here they are.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s really weird.¡± Ke Xun nodded. ¡°There¡¯s always a reason behind abnormalities. How about we take a few of each type back and ask the vigers about them? Even if we can¡¯t get anything out of them, maybe we can exchange these nts for something useful.¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him. He had to admit, this fellow was frequently able to think outside-the-box.

    For example, he was able toe up with the idea of using these nts to exchange for other things.

    Mu Yiran hadn¡¯t thought of that. Therefore, he didn¡¯t refute it.

    When they returned to where they had left Wei Dong, they discovered that he had disappeared. He was nowhere to be found.

    Worry flooded Ke Xun¡¯s brain. He let out a curse before sprinting in the direction of the sky burial tform.

    Halfway to the tform, he saw Wei Dong running towards him with a pale face. Ke Xun smacked Wei Dong in the head. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to find a ce to wait? Why are you running around? You scared me so much I thought I¡¯d be triggered into going senile early!¡±

    ¡°Fuck, don¡¯t remind me.¡± Wei Dong waved his hand. ¡°I was scared to death just now!¡±

    He then told Ke Xun and Mu Yiran what had just urred.

    Originally, he had gone to find a secluded ce to take a dump. He had circled around the area and just so happened to notice Zhou Bin and them secretly heading in the direction of the sky burial tform.

    Wei Dong had thought that they were going to do something wrong. Therefore, he had chosen to find a ce to hide, so as to avoid getting implicated in whatever they were going to do.

    A second after he had hidden himself, he had heard amotion in the direction of the tform. Less than a minute or twoter, he saw Zhou Bin sprinting away while the people at the tform chased after him.

    Wei Dong had been worried that he would be discovered so he didn¡¯t stay long. He promptly started to head back to where he had parted with Ke Xun. However, on his way, he noticed Sha Liu, Geng <i>dage</i> and them pick up severed pieces of the corpse. Things that didn¡¯t fit into their hands were held against their chest.

    ¡°I thought that they had gone insane,¡± Wei Dong said, ¡°I was so scared I couldn¡¯t find it in me to talk to them. So I just ran back here.¡±

    ¡°They used a diversionary tactic. Their goal was that corpse.¡± Ke Xun also found this inconceivable. He looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°What were they thinking?¡±

    Mu Yiran smiled but it didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°They¡¯re collecting offerings and divine instruments.¡±

    Ke Xun asked another question. ¡°What about us? Should we gather some too?¡±

    ¡°If you want.¡± Mu Yiran nced at him and then left.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already gotten to this point, why bother drawing the line between you and me?¡± Ke Xun followed after. ¡°If you¡¯re going to collect it, I will too. If not, I¡¯ll refrain from doing so as well. Don¡¯t treat me like an outsider.¡±

    Wei Dong who trailed behind them: ...<i>I can¡¯t watch this.</i>

    By the time they returned to the tent, the sky had already started to darken. Zhou Bin and co. returned about ten minutes after Ke Xun¡¯s group. They wore ugly expressions and were obviously exhausted. However, they seemed excited.

    After dinner, the middle-aged man once again gave them the tent arrangements for the night. ¡°Tonight, there are to be three people per tent. Two males, one female. Remember, each tent must have three people¡ªtwo males, one female.¡±

    Everyone was stunned.

    There were eleven people left. Seven of them were male: Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, Wei Dong, Qin Ci, Zhou Bin, Father Geng and the Geng Family¡¯s child.

    There were four women: Mother Geng, Zhao Dan, Sha Liu and Zi Ling.

    If there were to be two males and one female in each tent, that meant that one male and one female would be excluded. They would not be able to fulfill that criterion.

    The Geng Family of three huddled together tightly. They were already a group.

    Zhao Dan held Zhao Dan¡¯s hand tightly. He pointed to Qin Ci: ¡°Dr. Qin, join us.¡±

    Qin Ci obviously wouldn¡¯t refuse their invitation. That left Ke Xun¡¯s group of three, Sha Liu and Li Ziling.

    Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran with a pale face.

    He had never expected that the guillotine¡¯s de would hang over the heads of him and his best friend tonight.

    He knew that Ke Xun felt goodwill towards Mu Yiran. He also knew that Ke Xun was not the type to value a romantic interest over friendship. But only two out of the three of them had a chance to survive. Any choice they made would be cruel and bitter.

    Before Ke Xun could speak, Li Ziling shrieked and pounced over to Mu Yiran. She knelt in front of him and kowtowed at his feet, tears streaking down her unwashed face. ¡°<i>Xiao gege</i>, please, please form a group with me. I don¡¯t want to die. I¡¯ll do anything you want. Please. Choose me, choose me....¡±

    She then turned to Ke Xun: ¡°<i>Xiao gege</i>, please, I¡¯ll do anything you want. Really, anything at all. As long as I can be in a group with you two. Please....¡±

    Sha Liu stood in ce, her face white as a sheet. After Li Ziling¡¯s voice turned hoarse, Sha Liu looked up, her gaze unfocused as she stared at Ke Xun. ¡°One of you three will die. Have you decided...who it¡¯s going to be?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gaze collected onto Ke Xun¡¯s face.

    At this moment, no one realized that, although Mu Yiran was the person everyone thought was the most influential, whenever they had to make a critical decision, they would turn to Ke Xun for the answer.

    Unexpectedly, Ke Xun turned to Qin Ci. ¡°Dr. Qin, I have a question. Can I ask you privately?¡±

    The two of them headed outside. A momentter, they returned. Li Ziling was still howling. Wei Dong and Sha Liu were despondent and the rest of the group kept their silence.

    ¡°Have you decided? There¡¯s no more time. We have to head to the tents now.¡± Zhou Bin said to Ke Xun.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Everyone looked at him once more. They saw him turn to Mu Yiran: ¡°Help me do something.¡± He pointed to Wei Dong. ¡°Knock him out.¡±

    Wei Dong was taken aback. Before he could react, he saw Mu Yiran nod slightly and then head over. ¡°Wai¡ª¡±

    Before he could finish, Mu Yiran had already grabbed hold of his neck. Less than two secondster, Wei Dong had fainted.

    Everyone was stunned. But what had stunned them hadn¡¯t been the fact that Mu Yiran had rendered Wei Dong unconscious What shocked them was that, while Mu Yiran had been walking over to Wei Dong, Ke Xun had also followed behind him. The moment Wei Dong had fallen unconscious, Ke Xun had raised his hand and karate-chopped the back of Mu Yiran¡¯s neck.

    Mu Yiran had struggled to turn his head around. His brows were tightly furrowed and anger red in his eyes. He looked at Ke Xun with a difficult-to-describe emotion and confusion. A secondter, he copsed.

    Ke Xun reached out to grab hold of him. He then bent down to put Mu Yiran on his shoulder. With his other hand, he picked the unconscious Wei Dong up by his clothes. He then smiled at Sha Liu: ¡°The two of you can decide who will share a tent with me. There isn¡¯t much time left.¡±

    Just like that, he left the main tent while dragging a person and carrying another person on his shoulder.

    Qin Ci watched Ke Xun leave with aplicated look in his eyes.

    Striking a person at the nape of their neck was an extremely dangerous move. If the attacker does not have a good gauge of strength, they could identally kill their victim. The probability of actually knocking someone out with this method was also extremely low. Besides, he had rushed through his exnation over how it¡¯s done, where to strike, and how much strength to use.

    This person was extremely daring. He hadn¡¯t hesitated at all. He did it just as he said he would.

    But honestly, this proves that he¡¯s...talented in some ways. He has an extremely precise¡ªshockingly precise¡ª control over his strength.

    Qin Ci followed Zhao Dan and Zhou Bin out of the tent. The Geng Family also headed to their own. Only Li Ziling and Sha Liu, this pair of ssmates and friends, remained.

    Ke Xunid Mu Yiran and Wei Dong into one tent. He then looked at Mu Yiran, who was still scowling. He looked for a while before smoothing out the other¡¯s frown. He chuckled. ¡°How about it, you¡¯ve probably never seen anyone as foolish as me before, have you? I¡¯m surprised, actually. After my dad died during a rescue, I had cursed him for being so stupid. I never expected for idiocy to be actually hereditary.¡±

    As he said this, his voice gradually lowered and slowed down. He stared into space. A momentter, he quietly said, ¡°I don¡¯t want my dad to be ashamed of me.¡±

    Ke Xun then went over to his own tent. He pulled the sharp stone he had picked up a while back and held it in his hand. He thenid down, his head pillowed by his hands.

    His thoughts were a mess. They were clear for a moment and then chaotic the moment after. He oscited between feeling nervous and calm. He would feel regret and then immediately feel like throwing caution to the wind.

    Who knew how much time had passed while he struggled through this rollercoaster of emotions? A whileter, he heard someone stumble over from the main tent to Wei Dong and Mu Yiran¡¯s tent.

    He didn¡¯t know who was left between Sha Liu and Li Ziling.

    A long time passed but no one came to his tent. Maybe it was because that person knew that even if she were to join him, they wouldn¡¯t be able to fulfill the quota. Perhaps they decided to stay in the main tent since they knew they were going to die anyway.

    Of course, there was another possibility. The other person might already be dead.

    The night gradually darkened. The light reflecting off the snow was deathly white. The giant shadow slowly descended from the sky, its eight arms spread out in a hideous-looking manner. They twisted around like giant pythons.

    Ke Xun gripped the stone in his hand tightly. He brought it to his throat and stared at the top of the tent.

    It was a tiny tent but it felt extremelyrge right now with just him inside. He was alone, minute, helpless.

    The giant shadow passed the Geng Family¡¯s tent and the tent Mu Yiran and Wei Dong were in. It stopped in front of Ke Xun¡¯s.

    The giant shadow pressed down on his tent, its face stuck tightly against the tent¡¯s tip.

    Ke Xun felt like the material at the top of the tent was gradually bing thinner. It eventually became transparent, allowing him to see the giant shadow¡¯s face. Its eyes, nose and lips were parted in a furious expression. It blinked with its colossus eyes, examining the inside of the tent.

    Ke Xun stared back. He pressed the stone more tightly against the flesh of his neck.

    As the tent became thinner, the giant shadow¡¯s features became more clear. Its face was pitch-ck, like some weird rock. Its giant, blood-red eyes protruded out of its sockets. Slowly, the giant shadow pressed downwards. It looked like its eyes were about to pierce through the top of the tent. Its long, blood-red tongue twisted in the air as if it was just itching to shove the human inside the tent into its mouth.

    It was time.

    Ke Xun pressed the stone down tightly. He felt a blunt pain as the stone cut into his weak flesh. At this moment, the fear, unwillingness, and grievances he had felt beforepletely vanished.

    He even wanted tough a bit.

    The thing above him was supposed to be a deity worshipped by some religion? People believed in this thing?

    What did they believe this thing could give them? Eternal life? Wealth? To never part with loved ones?

    If it could do all those things, he would be willing to believe in it too.

    But it couldn¡¯t. In that case, he might as well put his faith in himself. He might as well believe in freedom, in living life recklessly, in living life as he wishes, in his own emotions.

    Ke Xun pointed his middle finger up at the giant shadow and pressed the stone sharply down against his carotid artery. <hr>

    The author has something to say:

    Ke Xun: Dad, I¡¯ming to be with you. Muah muah~

    Father Ke: Scram! Finally, your mother and I get to spend several months alone together. You bastard, dieter!

    Ke Xun: ...Am I your real son?

    Father Ke: No. Not at all. Don¡¯t call me Dad.

    Ke Xun: ....

    Ke Xun: [Officially an orphan.jpg] <hr>

    Eve: Of course, he¡¯s got that protagonist halo. But gotta admit, he¡¯s charming like this. (Although these tendencies will eventually need to stop. They¡¯re concerning. :() Also, announcement, POT will be be updated <strong>Mon/Wed/Fri</strong> from now on~

 Chapter 36: Some People Value Justice More While Others Value Emotions

    <h4>Chapter 36: Some People Value Justice More While Others Value Emotions</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Suddenly, a scream erupted from the main tent¡¯s direction. The weird-looking face at the top of the tent suddenly straightened up. It then headed towards the source of the scream with its wildly dancing arms.

    The startled scream turned mournful. Because it was so warped, Ke Xun couldn¡¯t tell who it was

    The arms of the giant shadow gathered at its front. Its immense body blocked Ke Xun¡¯s view but he could still hear the blood-curdling scream. A secondter, everything went quiet. Just as Ke Xun had prepared himself to face the giant shadow upon its inevitable return, he saw it head over to Zhou Bin and Qin Ci¡¯s tent. The giant shadow bent down and reached out an arm. A momentter, it pulled someone out of the tent.

    That person shouted something out loud. Shortly after, another ear-piercing screech echoed through the air. It made one¡¯s blood run cold.

    Ke Xun was stunned. Before he could break out of his trance, a person suddenly darted outside and entered his tent.

    Rather, it was actually two people. It was Qin Ci with an unconscious Zhao Dan on his back.

    ¡°What¡ª¡± Ke Xun had just started to speak when Qin Ci mmed his hand against his mouth. He quicklyid Zhao Dan down before lying down himself.

    Ke Xun waspletely befuddled but lied down anyway. Zhou Bin¡¯s terrible screams quickly ceased and the giant shadow once again headed in their direction. Step by step, it approached the tip of Ke Xun¡¯s tent.

    Ke Xun looked up and saw the giant shadow above them. Six arms swayed in the air while two held something that seemed to be dripping with blood.

    The giant shadow bent down and ced the thing it was holding onto the roof of the tent. The objects slid down the tent, appearing white as a sheet amidst the light reflected off the snow. The outline of the objects could be clearly seen.

    They were two perfect skulls, freshly obtained.

    The skulls were stained in fresh blood and some kind of flesh or viscera. They slowly slid down from the top of the tent.

    Ke Xun stared at the giant shadow, the sharp stone still held tightly in his hand. He thought that even if he was going to die, he would at least stab that thing in the eye before he breathed hisst.

    Before dawn came, the giant shadow took the offerings and rose off the ground.

    Ke Xun sat up and turned to look at Qin Ci.

    Qin Ci looked sallow. He squeezed his be and said in a heavy, low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened either. Zhou Bin yed the biggest part in preparing the offerings but that thing still chose our tent¡­. When Zhou Bin saw that it was going after him, he told me to take Zhao Dan to you¡­. He might have had a hope that Zhao Dan could still make it out alive. When he saw that his offerings were useless, he decided to let the three of us form a new team. He wanted to prevent our entire tent from being killed.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the unconscious Zhao Dan whoid on the floor. He then shifted his gaze over to bloody skulls. It felt like one of the skulls¡¯ empty sockets were staring at Zhao Dan from above.

    ¡°At least he treats his girlfriend well.¡± Ke Xun looked away and stood up. He was about to head out when he saw Mu Yirane in with a dark expression on his face. Ke Xun had just been about to greet him when he got socked in the face. He stumbled back a few steps before falling down onto the tattered rug. Although two streaks of blood slid down from his nose, he smiled at Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that again.¡± Mu Yiran red at him darkly before leaving.

    Ke Xun wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand. He thenid down on his back and took in a few breaths. Turning his head to the side, he smiled at Qin Ci and said, ¡°Why do you think he hit me?¡±

    Qin Ci rubbed his temples. ¡°Probably because you knocked him outst night.¡±

    Ke Xunughed. ¡°Is that so? And here I thought he was just showing his concern for me in a violent way.¡±

    After leaving the tent, Ke Xun saw that Mu Yiran was covering the corpses that had slid to the ground with pelts.

    They didn¡¯t quite look like they were huddled into a ball. It was like they were deted dolls that were now crumpled into a heap.

    Mu Yiran and Wei Dong¡¯s tent was half open. One could faintly make out Sha Liu sitting inside with both arms around her legs. The visible half of her face was deathly pale.

    The moment Wei Dong had woken up was also the exact moment Zhao Dan did. A heart-wrenching cry echoed throughout the tents. Zhao Dan, who wasn¡¯t particrly brave to begin with, fell over Zhou Bin¡¯s boneless corpse. She wouldn¡¯t leave the corpse no matter who came to pull her away.

    ¡°Why?!¡± Wei Dong¡¯s fists were clenched tight and his eyes were red as he directed this question to Ke Xun and Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t we collect all the offerings? Why did someone still die?¡± Father Geng asked, voice shaking.

    Qin Ci frowned deeply. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. I think we must have been wrong about something. Or maybe we¡¯re missing something.¡±

    ¡°The five Dews of Wisdom, the five tribute meats, duomu, libation wine, a sacrificial cup, antern, g, dangka,¡± Sha Liu pushed her sses up, her lipspletely drained of blood, ¡°We got them all. We got more than enough. So why¡­why¡­?¡±

    No one answered her. Everyone was puzzled. They felt an unprecedented sense of helplessness and fear.

    ¡°I remember now,¡± Sha Liu¡¯s bloodshot eyes widened. ¡°The book had said that we had to ce the offerings on the skin of a dead boy! Because the skin of a dead boy can subdue any obstacles that intend to disrupt the sacrificial ceremony. Is this why we failed?¡±

    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re talking about an evil cult now!¡± Mother Geng couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer. She shouted in fury while pulling her son into her arms protectively. Sha Liu¡¯s mention of a boy had caused her to be exceptionally guarded and nervous.

    ¡°What kind of proper religion would use such things as offerings?!¡± Father Geng also rebuked her angrily.

    Sha Liu looked at the Geng couple silently before quietly adding, ¡°It is an honour to sacrifice oneself to one¡¯s religion as a devout follower.

    ¡°I¡¯ve read that, in Ganxiong, followers of Sahism have gone so far as behead people they had considered friends without any hesitation. One moment, they could be drinking with you merrily. In the next moment, as long as an eldermanded it, they would kill you.

    ¡°Especially those who are not educated in the sciences. The less educated they are, the stronger the hold faith has on them. They do not fear death. Life and death are both parts of the reincarnation cycle. Death is simply a return to nature. That¡¯s why they would not think that a cruel, bloody sacrificial ceremony like this is inhumane or anything to fear.

    ¡°To put it another way, in their eyes, life and death are a gift from their gods. The gods decide it for them. To them, life and death are equal. Their bodies are simply sacks of flesh that hold them temporarily. There is no reason to hold any sort of attachment towards them. Many religions practice self-getion. The more pain one experiences, the deeper one¡¯s cultivation, the purer one¡¯s soul.

    ¡°Therefore¡­although outsiders would find self-sacrifice to be uneptable and difficult to understand, in ces where Sahism is practiced, it¡¯s nothing noteworthy. They are cultivating their souls, not their bodies.¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± Mother Geng pointed at Sha Liu and scolded, ¡°I don¡¯t care where we are. I don¡¯t care what they believe in. We don¡¯t believe in such things. Don¡¯t you dare get any ideas about my family! I don¡¯t care where you heard this from. I¡¯ll fight you if you dare utter another word!¡±

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t respond. She only lowered her head and pushed her sses up the bridge of her nose.

    ¡°The most important thing right now is to figure out why Zhou Bin was pickedst night,¡± Qin Ci said, ¡°Otherwise, it¡¯ll be extremely difficult for us to escape death tonight.¡±

    He spoke his thoughts out loud: ¡°The tent Zhou Bin and I shared had practically all the sacrificial offerings required. The same went for the Geng Family¡¯s tent. Zhou Bin had even gotten his hands on some of the dew of wisdom Li Ziling had. He also had some of the other four types from Sha Liu. He also had the five tribute meats he had collected on his own and the¡­things¡­that had been harvested from the sky burial tform yesterday. He and Sha Liu had also worked together to create the offerings required out of those things. Our tent had the mostprehensive collection of sacrificial goods. Therefore, I don¡¯t understand why our tent had been chosen.¡±

    Father Geng was also mulling over this issue. He added, ¡°Maybe he broke a rule? He did kill a person in the painting. Furthermore, he had stolen the corpse from the sky burial tform. That could be considered desecrating the dead. This kind of behaviour is unforgivable! Maybe that¡¯s why he was chosen.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility,¡± Qin Ci muttered. He then looked at Ke Xun. ¡°Something is bothering me though. That thing had walked over to Xiao Ke¡¯s tent at first, most likely because he had fulfilled the first death condition. But why didn¡¯t it kill him? I don¡¯t get it. Xiao Ke, did you notice anything from when it peered into your tent?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it either.¡± Ke Xun shrugged. When he felt Mu Yiran¡¯s cold gaze turn to him, he blinked his eyes innocently. He then looked away when he saw the other¡¯s face darken. Once again, Ke Xun turned his gaze towards Qin Ci. ¡°But I think it did want to take me. He stared at me for a really long time. It felt like it was observing me. I just don¡¯t know why it watched me for so long.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it was appraising the quality of your meat,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s even less reason to hesitate. What¡¯s there to nitpick about me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it would let off someone that fulfilled a death condition,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°Li Ziling is an example of that. She and Zhou Bin had opposite circumstances. Zhou Bin had satisfied the tent quota and had the mostplete set of offerings. Meanwhile, Li Ziling had failed to satisfy the quota and she had no offerings around her. The only thing that can exin why both people were picked is that we must have misunderstood the second death condition. But of course, we can¡¯t ignore the fact that Ke Xun had still managed to survive despite failing to satisfy the quota.¡±

    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying,¡± Qin Ci looked at Ke Xun in shock, ¡°Is that Xiao Ke might have satisfied a self-defense condition?¡±

    .

    Everyone¡¯s gazes gathered onto Ke Xun¡¯s face.

    Ke Xun looked down at himself. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. I didn¡¯t even take any of the five Dews of Wisdom. I was also alonest night. What, could I have had a male and female ghost in the same tent as me? Did theytch onto my body without my knowledge?¡±

    ¡°What did you do when it appeared at your tent?¡± Mu Yiran asked coldly.

    ¡°Thinking of you,¡± Ke Xun said.

    When he saw Mu Yiran raise his fist as his expression changed, Ke Xun promptly changed his tune: ¡°Sorry, I remembered wrongly. Let me think¡­oh. I think I was cursing it. I even gave it the middle finger. It can¡¯t be that my middle finger cast a magic spell on it so it couldn¡¯t do anything to me, right?¡±

    ¡°Fuck, if that¡¯s true, just how many monsters have I attacked with magic while growing up?¡± Wei Dong stuck his middle finger up at Ke Xun.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t think of anything else that would exin this,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°I have a conjecture.¡± Mu Yiran suddenly swept a gaze over the group. ¡°It¡¯s about the settings of the death conditions.¡±

    Eve: The ¡°thinking of you¡± got me. Ke Xun, you¡¯re just asking for a spanking.

 Chapter 37: The Only Thing that Can Prevail Over Faith, is a Stronger Faith

    <h4>Chapter 37: The Only Thing that Can Prevail Over Faith, is a Stronger Faith</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    ¡°We all know that the death conditions in this painting arepounded,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°The first condition is the failure to fulfil the tent quota. On the first night, there were thirteen of us and we were told that we had to have two people in a tent. With that premise, one person would inevitably be excluded. If we look at this from a religious point-of-view, what do you think this looks like?¡±

    An idea shed through Qin Ci¡¯s mind: ¡°The exclusion of a dissident.¡±

    Sha Liu¡¯s eyes widened in understanding. ¡°That¡¯s right! That¡¯s it! No religion tolerates disloyal followers. It is essential to maintain the purity of their faith. If they don¡¯t have any faith, why should they be allowed into the religion? Dissidents should obviously be excluded!¡±

    ¡°The tent quota is thus a symbolic representation of the exclusion of non-believers in a religion,¡± Mu Yiran continued. ¡°After the dissidents are removed, the second selection criteriones into effect¡ªthat is, what urred on the second night. On the second night, dissidents were once again eliminated as this wouldn¡¯t be a one-off event. This is reflective of the practices of actual religions. But at the same time, this ¡®religion¡¯ started to take steps in cleaning out their organization. This consisted of removing members whose faith had been found to becking. In our case, it refers to people who did not participate in the preparation of offerings.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded. ¡°That also happens in actual religions.¡±

    ¡°After getting rid of the unfaithful followers, the third selection criterion came into effect. Yesterday, everyone had helped to gather all of the offerings. Supposing that we acquired all of the correct offerings, I think that we must have shifted the ceremony forward,¡± Mu Yiran continued.

    ¡°I agree,¡± Qin Ci murmured. ¡°That person said that the ceremony would be held on the seventh day. If we had taken six days to gather all the offerings, then the ceremony would have been held on the seventh day. But we had finished our preparations yesterday. We¡¯re able to conduct the ceremony at any time now.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze was enigmatic. ¡°ording to what I know, there is a denomination of Sahism that necessitates a human sacrifice prior to each ceremony. The sacrifice is the most devout follower within the religion. After all, sacrificing oneself is the greatest embodiment of one¡¯s faith to these believers. It is seen as their greatest honour in both this life. It is also what they believe to be the most glorious of ways to attain enlightenment and transition to the Pure Land.¡±

    Sha Liu nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. They also believe that being chosen is a favour bestowed to them from their god. The gods don¡¯t see this as killing their believer. They see it as giving them enlightenment and transcendence.¡±

    ¡°S-so what you¡¯re saying is that the giant shadow has good intentions?¡± Wei Dong was stupefied. ¡°Is this painting portraying a desire to pray piously and voluntarily abandon one¡¯s ego?¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯re not believers.¡± Mother Geng said furiously. ¡°There¡¯s no point in killing us!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t converting non-believers into believers the goal of all religions?¡± Sha Liu said sullenly.

    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that our efforts in gathering the offerings was in fact an invitation to Heishitian to take us as a sacrifice?¡± Qin Ci¡¯s expression wasplicated and difficult-to-describe.

    ¡°Once the gatherings had been assembled,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°As a show of its favour, Heishitian had chosen the most devout follower to be the human sacrifice. At the same time, the dissident exclusion and internal cleaning criteria were still in effect. That¡¯s why Li Ziling had been chosen as well.¡±

    Everyone was frightened. Qin Ci¡¯s voice was quiet. ¡°It makes sense that Zhou Bin was chosen as the most devout follower¡­. Zhou Bin was indeed the one to take the most initiative. He¡­ did a lot of the work.¡±

    Sha Liu hesitantly cast a nce in Ke Xun¡¯s direction. She swallowed once before adding, ¡°Ke Xun didn¡¯t fulfil the quota either but here he is, safe and sound. How do we exin that?¡±

    Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Why is that? That fellow stared at me for a long time. It was obvious that it wanted to get me.¡± Ke Xun also looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°What, did it dislike me as much as you do?¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± There was no expression on Mu Yiran¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ve said it before, faith may very well be the strongest power in existence. Deities depend on faith to survive. Faith can also be seen as a kind of psychic power. I think that as long as your mental fortitude is high enough, it can be considered a type of psychic power. Perhaps it sensed a power that was strong enough to rival its own while hovering over your tent.¡±

    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that I used my own psychic powers to defeat it?¡± Ke Xun raised a brow.

    ¡°You caught it off guard,¡± Mu Yiran said with a cold expression. ¡°A faithless person with strong mental fortitude is like an imprable rock to a god that depends on faith for survival.¡±

    Ke Xun had on a doting look on his face. ¡°You¡¯re right, Handsome.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression worsened and he ignored thement.

    Sha Liu couldn¡¯t help but ask Ke Xun: ¡°You must believe in something. Are you religious?¡±

    Ke Xun looked up at the sky and then smiled. ¡°My faith might not be suitable for you. Besides, regardless of what religion or god you worship, you have to strengthen your mental fortitude first¡­in other words, you have to turn yourself into an imprable stone.¡±

    Sha Liu bit down on her lips before shifting her gaze onto Mu Yiran. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die. Is my intense desire to live also a form of psychic power?¡±

    Mu Yiran replied to her in a t voice, ¡°No one wants to die. Everyone desperately wants to survive. I doubt that Zhou Bin¡¯s desire to live was any less than yours. The Geng couple¡¯s desire to protect their child and survive is likely many times greater than yours as well.¡±

    Sha Liu paled. ¡°Then¡­how can I be like Ke Xun?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t want to respond to this. But when he saw everyone turn to him for the answer, he could only speak with an expressionless face. ¡°I think that faith¡ªotherwise known as psychic power or psychokinesis¡ªrefers to one¡¯s mental strength that is hidden beneath one¡¯s surface.

    ¡°It is not until a crucial point in time that we are able to measure how strong our own strength is.

    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re stronger than you think. People say that human potential is limitless. We simply do not know what our limits are.

    ¡°But on the other hand, you might be weaker than you would like to be. Maybe you¡¯ve been overestimating yourself.

    ¡°So I can¡¯t tell you whether or not you can resist that thing like Ke Xun had. If you want an answer, you¡¯ll have to try it yourself. There¡¯s a fifty percent chance of seeding.¡±

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t have the courage to try. She could only turn a pleading gaze towards Wei Dong as she felt like he was in a simr situation as her.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    ¡°I think Xiao Ke is a special case,¡± Qin Ci said after pondering over it. ¡°If just anyone could defy a demonic god¡¯s power, then there would be no point in its existence. I think that there is no one aside from Xiao Ke who would be able to do it. Therefore, what we should focus on instead is what we should do tonight. We should also try to find clues pertaining to the signature/seal as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right. I lost focus easily in school. There¡¯s no way my mental strength would be a match for a demonic god.¡± Wei Dong followed suit. ¡°We should hurry up ande up with a n. Who knows if another sacrifice will be chosen tonight? There¡¯s also the tent quota to worry about. There are nine people left. If it¡¯s three to a tent, three people might end up sacrificed tonight.¡±

    The Geng couple started to fret when they heard this. Mother Geng stamped her foot. ¡°What should we do? ording to what you guys said, we¡¯ll die if we participate in the preparation of offerings but we¡¯ll also die if we don¡¯t. There¡¯s no way out!¡±

    Wei Dongughed bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s to be expected. Don¡¯t forget, we¡¯re in a painting. The whole point of bringing us in here was to kill us. It¡¯s unreasonable to expect it to give us an easy way out. We only have a slim chance of survival. A wrong step forwards or back will lead to death. We have no choice but to find the sole, narrow path within this road to death that will lead to survival.¡±

    Sha Liu looked at Mu Yiran: ¡°Regarding the signature, do you have any ideas, Mu ge?¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°All I know is that the painter, Qiu Jian, was a fanatic believer of Sahism. His signature is likely hidden in a ce rted to this religion.¡±

    ¡°Would it be in one of the temples?¡± Father Geng asked.

    ¡°It could also be on a certain ceremonial instrument,¡± Qin Ci added.

    ¡°There¡¯s also¡­the sky burial tform?¡± Sha Liu said, ¡°After all, that is where the souls of the believers are said to ascend.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded slightly. ¡°We can¡¯t just stay here and p our lips. We have to put our ns into action and search every ce we can think of. Geng ge, you and your family can try to search the nearby vige. Zhao Dan will rest here for now. I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be able to ovee her grief over Zhou Bin in such a short amount of time. The remaining five will be split into two teams. One team will search the sky burial tform while the other team will search the temples. We will meet back here in the afternoon as soon as possible. If we don¡¯t find anything, we¡¯ll brainstorm as a group what we should do tonight.¡±

    No one had any objections. The sky burial tform was rather far and it would be the best if the guys with the best stamina and speed were to go. Qin Ci volunteered and then asked the rest of the guys on their ns.

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°I have things I want to ask at the temples.¡±

    Ke Xun nced at him and then nced at Wei Dong. He smiled. ¡°Dr. Qin, I¡¯ll go with you. The three of them can head to the vige.¡±

    After the teams were divided, everyone threw themselves into their work because their lives depended on it.

    Some time before the sun set, Ke Xun and Qin Ci returned to the tent area. Everyone else had already returned, save for Mu Yiran.

    Zhao Dan seemed to have fainted after crying for so long. She was settled down at a corner of the tent.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Mu Yiran?¡± Ke Xun asked Wei Dong.

    ¡°He ditched the two of us after we left here,¡± Wei Dong said sullenly, ¡°I don¡¯t know where he went off to. Sha Liu and I searched the nearby temples but we didn¡¯t find anything that might be rted to the signature.¡±

    ¡°Geng dage, what about you?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    Father Geng¡¯s eyes dimmed as he shook his head. ¡°We searched all of the tents and residences nearby. There was nothing.¡±

    Sha Liu asked Qin Ci, ¡°What about you? Did you search the sky burial tform?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Nothing turned up,¡± Qin Ci said in a heavy voice.

    ¡°What should we do¡­?¡± Mother Geng panicked, ¡°Where else could it be? Where could the signature be?¡±

    No one could give her an answer. The main tent fell silent.

    Just before darkness befell thend, Mu Yiran returned. Faced with everyone¡¯s expectant gazes, he said in a mild voice, ¡°We should throw away the offerings we prepared.¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What did you find out?¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°Nothing. Thenguage barrier is a huge issue. But I did take the nts Ke Xun and I picked yesterday to the temples. The elder at the temple wanted the nts I had. It seemed like he had a use for them. Unfortunately, there was no way for me to find out prior to nightfall so I have no choice but to wait until tomorrow morning.

    ¡°The reason I think we should get rid of the offerings is that, on my way back, I thought about it once more and decided that I still believe that these offerings do not benefit us in any way.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said it before: that thing relies on these offerings to strengthen itself. We have no way of knowing what will happen once it reaches its final state. We don¡¯t know if it might lead to total massacre.

    ¡°We already know that there is still a chance of being chosen regardless of whether we gather the offerings or not. Rather than keep the offerings and contribute to its building of power, we might as well throw it all away.¡±

    Sha Liu looked at him hesitantly. She gulped. ¡°But¡­I think that with the offerings, that thing might decide to only choose one of us. Or at least fewer than if we were to throw the offerings away. If we throw them away, it¡¯s really likely that we might all end up dying¡­.¡±

    .

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. He calmly said, ¡°It¡¯s up to you all whether we throw them away or not. I was just raising a suggestion.¡±

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t speak. She lowered her head and used the hem of her shirt to clean her sses.

 Chapter 38: A Skull Cup

    <h4>Chapter 38: A Skull Cup</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Qin Ci¡¯s gaze was downcast and he was muttering to himself while mulling over this dilemma. ¡°It looks like one person will have to die tonight no matter what we do. There really doesn¡¯t seem to be a way out of it¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°I don¡¯t know a lot about Sahism¡¯s literature. What I know is based off of the bits and pieces other people have told me. I think that if we want to find the signature or avoid harm, we have to figure out a way to find out more about things about? Sahism.

    ¡°The hard part is that there are many denominations of Sahism. Every denomination has its own doctrine and pantheon. Sometimes, these denominations may share simrities to each other while other times, they may preach contrasting information. For example, a being may be considered a demon in one denomination, or a god in another. There are numerous cases like this.

    ¡°Another example: we have hypothesized that the giant shadow is the eight-armed Heishitian, but Heishitian can be benevolent or malevolent depending on what denomination we consult. Its form also differs: it has been portrayed as a goddess, a protector deity, and a shape-shifting being that takes human-form during the day and beast-form during the night.

    ¡°If we can¡¯t figure out which branch it belongs to, we¡¯ll be left without any direction. I think that we will be able to obtain clues relevant to the signature by resolving this first.¡±

    Sha Liu parted her lips, as if she had something to say. She then hesitated. In the end, she said nothing at all.

    Everyone ate as if they were chewing on wax. Mother Geng didn¡¯t even take a single bite. Silent tears fell down her cheeks.

    Before the sky darkened, the middle-aged man returned and said: ¡°There shall be three people in a tent tonight. Remember, there must be three to a tent.¡±

    The main tent was filled with silence.

    There were nine people left. Although nine was evenly divided into three, this meant that it was very likely that three people would die tonight.

    ¡°Then,¡± Qin Ci said in a low voice, ¡°the Geng Family willprise one tent and the rest of us will split up.¡±

    ¡°No! No, no!¡± Mother Geng suddenly shouted. She pulled her child over to Ke Xun and pushed him to the young man. ¡°Young man, I beg of you, let my son stay with you tonight, please? I¡¯m begging you. I don¡¯t mind if I die. I just want my son to survive. Young man, you¡¯ve got psychic powers. Please protect my son. He¡¯s still young, he¡¯s so young. Please have mercy¡­.¡±

    Mother Geng even knelt down, wanting to kowtow, but Ke Xun stopped her.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take him.¡± Ke Xun looked down at the mother in front of him and recalled his deceased mother who had also loved him to death.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anything else. His gaze shifted away from the crying mother-son pair andnded on the dark night sky. The snow on the distant mountain peaks reflected off of his eyes. The wind blew softly, causing the snow¡¯s reflection to distort slightly.

    Mu Yiran stood in a corner in which the light could not reach, watching him. After Ke Xun retracted his teasing, sloppy air, his features became as profound as the sea and his profile as sharp as the face of a cliff.

    ¡°Ke ge¡­¡± Sha Liu wanted to speak up. ¡°Can I also¡­.¡±

    ¡°Dong zi will be on the same team as me.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t even look at her as he said this while turning around.

    Sha Liu bit down on her lips but didn¡¯t object.

    Ke Xun tugged on the boy¡¯s hand and called out for Wei Dong to follow. He paused while passing Mu Yiran, turning his head slightly to the side. ¡°Sorry. Take care.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t respond.

    Ke Xun had said it from the start: if they were to encounter a life-or-death situation and he had to choose between Mu Yiran and Wei Dong, he would choose Wei Dong.

    Of course, Ke Xun had also said that Mu Yiran could sacrifice Ke Xun in this kind of situation as well. He would not me the other man.

    There were six people remaining. Mu Yiran suggested?Father Geng and Mother Geng join separate teams.

    At first, Father Geng had been taken aback. But shortly after, he understood what Mu Yiran was getting at with his suggestion. This was obviously to ensure that the child would not lose both parents at once.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Father Geng told Mu Yiran quietly.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was still cool. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to see another person hide his family photographs in his closet.¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to see another child miss a piece of his heart forever.

    In the end, the rest of them split up ording to gender. Each team headed to their own tent.

    Before Mu Yiran entered his tent, he saw Ke Xun pull the child and Wei Dong out of their tent. They then pulled the tent over to him.

    Mu Yiran stared at Ke Xun until the other noticed him.

    ¡°Guess what I¡¯m thinking?¡± Ke Xun grinned at him, his face no longer cold and still like it had been before. The other¡¯s eyes were curled up into a smile. ¡°Why should our tents be far away from each other? Our hearts will be closer to each other if our tents are closer together. What do you think?¡±

    Before Mu Yiran could reply, Sha Liu, who was in a tent slightly further away stuck her head out. She was appalled. ¡°If we¡¯re this close together, won¡¯t we end up implicating each other. What if that thing chooses to take the people in both tents at once? It¡¯s safer to be further away.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Ke Xun paused and looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s voice came through the tent¡¯s ps. ¡°I think it¡¯s better to stick together. We might have to trouble you to save uster. Maybe you can face off against that thing if we fall into danger.¡±

    Qin Ci was just joking, trying to lighten up the mood. But Father Geng agreed with Ke Xun. He wanted to be a bit closer to his son. Just in case¡­just in case that thing chose Ke Xun¡¯s tent. In that case, even though he knew it would be useless, he was willing to fight that thing for the sake of his child.

    Neither side opposed this so Ke Xun and Wei Dong firmly dragged their tent over to Mu Yiran¡¯s. The entrance to their tents were so close together that you¡¯d be able to enter the opposing tent with a flip of the body.

    Mother Geng, who was inside Sha Liu¡¯s tent, also wanted to get closer. However, Sha Liu managed to convince her that it was better to stay further away somehow.

    Ke Xun had the boy lie in the middle of the tent, sandwiched between himself and Wei Dong. Ke Xun was the closest to the entrance. After sticking an arm out, he was able to see through both tents¡¯ ps. He noticed that Mu Yiran was also on the side closest to the entrance.

    It wasn¡¯t yet time for their activity to be suspended. ording to their past experience, there was little danger at present. Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to lie down so he sat up, peeling the ps of both tents wide open. He chatted with Mu Yiran who was also sitting cross-legged in front of him.

    ¡°Do you really believe that my faith is strong enough to fend off that monster?¡± Ke Xun had propped his chin up with one hand. Because he had lowered his voice, it sounded slightly hoarse. It sounded like he was simply indulging Mu Yiran¡¯s wild imagination.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think that you¡¯repletely out of the woods.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was cold. ¡°Psychic power is the same as one¡¯s potential. It¡¯s not something that can be used at will. It might be up to chance or depend on the situation. Maybe that was the only time you will ever be able to use it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so mean.¡± Ke Xun sighed, ¡°You just don¡¯t want to give me any loving encouragement. Maybe if you encourage me, I¡¯ll be able to make a big explosion. Maybe my endurance will increase and I¡¯ll be stronger.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Hehe.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Shut up.¡±

    Qin Ci: ¡°Xiao Ke, love and sorrow are the two strongest triggers for evoking one¡¯s potential. You can try one of them.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran: ¡°See? Love can evoke one¡¯s potential. The doctor said so.¡±

    Mu Yiran red at him. ¡°Pain can do the same. Want to give it a try?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Look at this tent, it¡¯s so round and big. Isn¡¯t it like an upside-down bowl?¡±

    Ke Xun was just trying to change the subject by randomly mentioning something. He didn¡¯t expect for Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze to suddenly turn sharp. He suddenly shot out of the tent.

    Ke Xun promptly followed after him. He saw the other standing a few feet away from the tent, examining it.

    ¡°Right? It¡¯s like an upturned bowl,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Perhaps it is a bowl.¡± Mu Yiran left him with this as he returned to the tent.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t return to his own tent. He followed Mu Yiran to the other¡¯s tent. The four of them crowded around inside. Mu Yiran gazed at the top of the tent, carefully scanning its ceiling.

    ¡°I¡¯ve examined the ceiling before,¡± Qin Ci said, ¡°There¡¯s some kind ofplicated design but the colours are too faded. You can¡¯t make it out clearly. Xiao Mu, is there something wrong with it?¡±

    ¡°Sahism mentioned skull cups. Indeed, certain denominations of Sahism regard such things as important instruments.¡± Mu Yiran replied to Qin Ci¡¯s question, gaze still firmly stuck on the ceiling, ¡°Beneath the skull is the brain. It is believed that the entirety of a person¡¯s life force and spiritual force is contained there. The majority of the deities of such denominations enjoy using skull cups to hold fresh brains as they partake in them. This way, they can take possession of said person¡¯s soul and life force.¡±

    When Qin Ci heard this, he became rmed. He took a closer look at the tent, touching the material softly. ¡°This tent¡­it¡¯s made of a thinyer of human skin and bone! It can¡¯t be that this is¡­.¡±

    ¡°A human skull?!¡± Father Gung looked disgusted.

    ¡°So we¡¯ve been that thing¡¯s food all along,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°The tent is a skull cup and we are the food inside the cup. Both our bodies and heads are inside. That means both our spirits and life forces are included. There¡¯s even some bonus liquid.¡±

    ¡°Then can we avoid bing its food by not staying in the tents?¡± Father Geng asked at once.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°Li Ziling died outside of these tents.¡±

    Father Geng¡¯s eyes dimmed. ¡°You¡¯re right. You can still pick up and eat food that has fallen out of your bowl.¡±

    Mu Yiran had not paid any attention to their conversation. He carefully took in the pattern at the roof of the tent. It was just a pity that the pattern was way too fuzzy.

    Time swiftly passed by. It was gettingte. Ke Xun had no choice but to return to his tent. Heid back down near the entrance of his tent.

    Heid down on his side, eyes on the ps of his tent. Mu Yiran¡¯s profile was elegant like sharp like a mountain range. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but reach out and trace his outline along the side of the tent. He started at the other¡¯s forehead which had a smooth and round arch. He then continued downwards, towards the other¡¯s slightly deep orbits and the raised arc of his tall, straight nose. His finger then flopped back down and he paused on the two soft, slight arches.

    Suddenly, Mu Yiran shifted. Ke Xun promptly withdrew his finger and coughed softly in an attempt to hide his guilt. He then tried to cover it up by speaking up, although this only made him seem even more suspicious: ¡°Did you leave any offerings in your tent?¡±

    Qin Ci was the one to respond. ¡°No. We didn¡¯t keep any of it. I think Sha Liu left all of them in hers though.¡±

    Father Geng seemed to have just heard about this. He exploded: ¡°She¡¯s looking for death! She¡¯s going to kill my wife!¡±

    Eve: Ke Xun is my baby and it still cracks me up how me manages to be so shameless and annoy MYR. MYR¡¯s fall is also so sweet. Gradual though~

 Chapter 39: I Like You

    <h4>Chapter 39: I Like You</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Father Geng was prepared to run outside as he said this but Qin Ci managed to press him down. ¡°You won¡¯t make it in time. You can¡¯t go outside. They¡¯re too far away. You won¡¯t make it back here!¡±

    Father Geng growled while trying to throw Qin Ci off him in a fit of rage. Ke Xun heard the young boy beside him let out an involuntary sob.

    Ke Xun sat up. ¡°I¡¯m a fast runner. I¡¯ll throw their offerings away.¡± As he spoke, he walked through his tent¡¯s ps.

    ¡°You won¡¯t make it.¡± Mu Yiran reached out to grab him.

    ¡°Let me try.¡± Ke Xun looked at him. ¡°Even if that thinges, I¡¯ll be able to save at least one person. Dr. Qin had carried Zhao Dan over to my tent when Zhou Bin had been killed. I don¡¯t think that thing will be in any mind to pay attention to anything else while in the middle of a kill. So, let me give it a try.¡±

    ¡°But if you do that, there will only be two people in your tent. What if that thing chooses your tent instead? What should we do then?¡± Father Geng was worried about both his wife and son.

    Ke Xun sensed Mu Yiran¡¯s grip lighten. He pulled his arm out at once and yelled out: ¡°Yiran, stay at the tents. y it by ear. Try switching back and forth between the two tents!¡±

    He then made a mad dash for the distant third tent.

    ¡®Yiran?¡¯¡­.Mu Yiran stared at Ke Xun¡¯s back coldly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll be fine.¡± Qin Ciforted him while still holding down the anxious Father Geng.

    Mu Yiran turned to face Qin Ci: ¡°Do I look worried?¡±

    Qin Ci: ¡°¡­.¡± What are you getting into a huff about?

    Ke Xun sprinted as fast as he could to Mother Geng¡¯s tent. He ripped the tent ps open and asked Sha Liu: ¡°Where are? the offerings? Throw them away!¡±

    Sha Liu was terrified. ¡°We can¡¯t throw them away. We¡¯ll die. Don¡¯t screw us over¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun sneered. ¡°Mu Yiran said that keeping these offerings will put you in danger!¡±

    Sha Liu panicked and shouted: ¡°He also said that it was up to us! You have no right to meddle!¡±

    ¡°Is this the choice of your group or your own choice?¡± Ke Xun forced his way into the crowded tent and looked for the offerings.

    Sha Liu pounced over to a corner of the tent and blocked a heap of items with her body. She shrieked in fear and anger: ¡°What right do you have to do this?! You¡¯re going to kill us. You¡¯re going to get us all killed. You¡¯re a murderer!¡±

    Ke Xun paused. He ignored Sha Liu and spoke to Mother Geng, who was at her wits end. ¡°Geng dage is worried about you. He doesn¡¯t think you should keep the offerings in your tent. What do you think?¡±

    Before Mother Geng could reply, Sha Liu ran over to grab her shoulders and said in an anxious tone: ¡°Ma¡¯am, think about it. Geng dage doesn¡¯t have any offerings. It doesn¡¯t matter whether these offerings save us or get us killed¡ªwhat¡¯s important is that at least one of you survives. But if we throw these offerings away and that thing decides to choose people who don¡¯t have offerings, both of you might end up chosen. It¡¯s better for one person to survive. Think about it, ma¡¯am! Think of your child, if not for you and your husband!¡±

    Mother Geng had been hesitant. When she heard Sha Liu¡¯s words, she finally made up her mind. She looked at Ke Xun with tears in her eyes. ¡°Young man, leave me be and hurry back to your own tent. Tell my husband that he must protect our son¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun frowned. Noticing this, Sha Liu promptly shoved him towards the exit. ¡°Hurry and leave! Don¡¯t force others to do something they don¡¯t want to do! You¡¯re going to get us killed by staying here because we¡¯ll have too many people. Leave quickly!¡±

    Mother Geng also ushered him away, eyes teary. ¡°Go on, young man. My son¡­if there¡¯s not enough people in your tent, he¡¯ll be in danger. Please, please, consider it an act of my own selfishness. Please hurry back for the sake of my son!¡±

    Ke Xun gnashed his teeth and left. There was something different about the scenery now, although nothing visible had changed. There was no longer any wind. It was like everything was? frozen in time. The light reflected off the snow on the mountains had be whiter and it felt like the sky was covered in a thickyer of ink. It felt heavy, like it would fall at any moment.

    Ke Xun sprinted madly as the dense ink that covered the sky continued to press down on them. It suddenly became hard to breathe¡ªhe couldn¡¯t breath. He covered his nose and mouth at once but Mu Yiran¡¯s method failed to work this time. He found it harder and harder to breathe. It felt like something was filling his chest, bringing about an intense pain.

    A giant ck blob gradually descended from the sky. Two thick legs sprouted from the blob uponnding. Then, it grew a torso, an arm, another arm, and another. Gradually, it transformed. The arms started to wave in the air in a dance-like fashion.

    This thing looked even more robust than the previous night. Its skin was pitch-ck and rough. There were lines all over its body, making it look like spells had been etched all over its skin. Looking at it made goosebumps erupt all over Ke Xun¡¯s skin.

    But Ke Xun had no time to think about goosebumps. While suffering from the pain of asphyxiation, he continued to use all his energy to run towards his own tent. His chest felt increasingly full and his heart raced increasingly fast. The longer he ran, the closer his legs got to giving up.

    A few metres from his tent, he saw Mu Yiran swiftly run out of his tent. The other dashed towards him, grabbed his cor, and dragged him into a tent.

    Ke Xun lied in his own tent, gasping heavily for air.

    Although the scent in the air was unpleasant, it was still air.

    Only then did Ke Xun realize that these tents seemed to act like barriers. It wasn¡¯t that Heishitian couldn¡¯t pay attention to people outside the tents while killing someone, it was that it didn¡¯t need to. Outside the tents, one would die of suffocation.

    Ke Xun filled his lungs with air and stared outside through the ps of the tent. That giant shadow was cast over the wall of his tent. That thing¡¯s legs were bent and it was gradually walking over to Ke Xun¡¯s tent.

    Did it choose the tents without offerings?

    Ke Xun wanted to evoke his psychic powers but it wasn¡¯t like he was a protagonist in a novel or tv show. He was also dizzy from theck of oxygen just now. He couldn¡¯t concentrate at all.

    He watched helplessly as the giant shadow advanced towards their tents. Its giant head slowly pressed down against the top of his tent. Its eight arms twisted in the air like they were Medusa¡¯s snakes.

    Ke Xun stared at the ceiling and saw the giant shadow reach a hand over to the tent next to his.

    Ke Xun clenched his fist tightly and then rxed it. He stuck the hand closest to the tent entrance into the other tent.

    Mu Yiran was also lying near the entrance. As soon as Ke Xun reached out, he met the other¡¯s arm.

    His fingers slid down Mu Yiran¡¯s arm and then sped tightly around the other¡¯s hand.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s body tensed and he shifted his hand. But Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to let go. He clenched his hand tightly. He thought, if that giant shadow picked Mu Yiran up, he could continue to hold onto his hand and get picked up with him.

    Ke Xun was startled by his own thought.

    Whatever happened¡­to only admiring the other? To just being his fan?

    The giant shadow bent over Mu Yiran¡¯s tent, its slow breaths circting through the air as it observed it for a long period of time. Suddenly, it shifted and began to peer down Ke Xun¡¯s tent.

    This time, one of its hands hovered over the top of the tent. Its fingers spread out, the fingernails scraping alongside the material of the tent. It sounded like it was scraping against bone. It made one¡¯s heart tremble.

    ¡ª¡ªHad it finally decided on their tent?

    The boy lying in-between Ke Xun and Wei Dong started to cry but he tried to hold it to the best of his abilities. His thin body shook uncontrobly.

    Ke Xun wrapped his other arm around the boy and pressed the other¡¯s head into his chest.

    Suddenly, he couldn¡¯t remember when thest time he was held like this in his father¡¯s arms was. It could have been when he was seven or eight, or even as young as three or four.

    He and his father had a rtionship typical? of many Chinese father-son pairs. They were never ones to show their affection overtly. And the older he got, the more embarrassing it became to express his affection.

    But now, Ke Xun regretted it.

    He regretted never telling the person he loved the most ¡®I love you¡¯ while the other had still been alive.

    Some regrets could be made-up while others would remain a regret for the rest of one¡¯s life.

    More than anyone else, Ke Xun detested having regrets.

    Even though he had one arm tightly around the boy, he still held onto Mu Yiran¡¯s hand.

    The back of Mu Yiran¡¯s hand had originally been cool, but it had now warmed up from being held by Ke Xun¡¯s hand.

    Ke Xun¡¯s hands were warm all year long. Even if he was nervous, afraid, heart-broken or facing death, they never cooled down.

    Ke Xun used his thumb to write on the back on Mu Yiran¡¯s hand.

    The scraping sound made by the giant shadow came closer and closer. It became increasingly sharp, like its fingernails would tear through the tent at any time. Like it would eviscerate this reckless human with its sharp nails in the next second.

    Death was imminent.

    ¡¾I like you.¡¿

    Ke Xun wrote.

    Mu Yiran, who was in the tent next door, didn¡¯t move. It seemed like he was ignoring him.

    The reckless human smiled and continued to write with his finger.

    ¡¾I know that you also like men.¡¿

    At this moment, Ke Xun felt Mu Yiran¡¯s body stiffen nearly imperceptibly.

    Ke Xun had always said that his intuition has been very urate.

    Besides, people were even more sensitive to others of their own kind.

    Ke Xun stopped writing. He stared up at the monstrous sight before him at the top of the tent. Suddenly, he felt calm and rxed for some baffling reason.

    Since his faith was in liberty and doing as he pleased, he should be magnanimous and happy while alive. When facing death, he should be fervently unbridled.

    It felt like time had slowed down to 0.1x speed. The giant shadow continued to pick at the tent as it pressed its enormous face against the material. It was sizing up the inhabitants.

    Ke Xun stared back. The light reflected off of the snow flickered against the darkness brought by the giant shadow. The scene above him was like an old, silent ck-and-white film.

    Why was there no source of light during the day? The light always seemed toe from all directions.

    .

    It was only at night that there seemed to be a source. The light was reflected off of the snowy mountains. The light shone against the tents at an angle, which was why they could see shadows. That was why Ke Xun could see the silhouette of Mu Yiran¡¯s perfect profile and the disgusting shadow of the eight-armed monstrosity.

    An idea abruptly popped up in Ke Xun¡¯s mind: light and darkness¡­. There are no shadows during the day because the light is too scattered and is emitted from all directions. They don¡¯t even have shadows beneath their feet. This was unscientific, which was expected considering they were in a painting. The only thing was¡­why were their shadows at night?

    Was this¡­a hint?

    Eve: Y¡¯all, I told you our boy Ke Xun falls he fast. But I mean, who wouldn¡¯t like MYR. He¡¯s a damn catch hehe.

 Chapter 40: Ke Xunâ€™s Impressive Operation

    <h4>Chapter 40: Ke Xun¡¯s Impressive Operation</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    The giant shadow hovered over Ke Xun¡¯s tent for a very long time. Many times, Ke Xun had thought that it would reach into the tent. But it never took the next step.

    Ke Xun had no idea what it was waiting for or looking for. It stood above them, its breaths long and drawn-out. It was like it wasbing through their past lives, current lives and future before making its decision.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t know how much time had passed when the giant shadow stood up. It then moved away from the pair of tents.

    Ke Xun heard Father Geng sob in grief. ¡°Hui Xin¡­.¡±

    Hui Xin was Mother Geng¡¯s name. The giant shadow was gradually making its way to the women¡¯s tent.

    ¡°Mommy¡­I want Mommy¡­¡± The boy could no longer hold it in anymore. He struggled, wanting to leave the tent.

    Ke Xun pressed the boy down and called out for Wei Dong quietly. ¡°Dong zi, watch over him. I have a n.¡±

    Wei Dong held onto the boy at once. He was about to ask Ke Xun what his n was but the other rolled into the neighbouring tent before he could spit out his question.

    Mu Yiran was caught off guard as Ke Xun rolled onto his body. His expression was chilly and he was about to kick the other back into his own tent when he saw the other hold his finger up in a ¡®shh¡¯ gesture. Ke Xun then looked at the giant shadow.

    The giant shadow seemed to have sensed something. It slowly turned around.

    Upon seeing this, Ke Xun flipped over again and nimbly returned to his own tent.

    He watched as the giant figure came to a sudden halt, before turning in the other direction once more.

    Ke Xun watched the giant shadow carefully. After it turned to face the women¡¯s tent, he once again rolled into Mu Yiran¡¯s tent. This time, Mu Yiran didn¡¯t let him roll onto him. He sat up quickly and made space for him.

    Wei Dong realized what he was doing by the time Ke Xun returned to their tent for a second time. He was bbergasted. They could actually use such an awesome move?

    Mu Yiran¡¯s emotions wereplicated as he sat in the tent next door.

    The first death condition was the failure to meet the tent quota.

    Although other conditions would be continuously superimposed on this, this was obviously the primary factor in deciding who would die.

    When there were two conditions met, it seemed like the giant shadow would act upon the first death condition first. After dealing with that, it would move onto the second and third respectively.

    It seems like eliminating dissidents would forever be the most important issue in a group.

    It was just that, Mu Yiran had never expected for Ke Xun to have such an unpredictable mind. He didn¡¯t expect that he would be able to use such a method to restrict the enemy. It could even be said that he was currently toying with the demonic god and gaining the advantage over it with absolute control.

    He even dared to toy with a demonic deity.

    Which begets the question: was there anything he wouldn¡¯t do? Mu Yiran subconsciously clenched his hand that was held by the other just now.

    Ke Xun continued to roll back-and-forth between the two tents. Although the giant thing was superior in terms of power and form, it had a weakness¡ªit was slow to turn. The motion of its rotations were big so they took a long time toplete.

    But that didn¡¯t mean that it was stupid. If Ke Xun was the same size as it, the demonic god would probably be considered fast. The issue was, they weren¡¯t the same size. A housefly would always be able to raise its hand faster than a human could.

    Ke Xun obtained a good grasp of the discrepancy in their speed and continued to y with the giant fellow, forcing it to spin ¡®round and ¡®round.

    Ke Xun had no idea how long he could keep this up for. Perhaps that giant fellow woulde up with a way to teach him a lesson. After all, it was a deity. Even if it was demonic in nature, it was unlikely for it to fall so low as to end up yed in the hands of a human.

    Nevertheless, he gave it his all in continuing his actions. He would keep this going for as long as he could. It would be best if he was able to keep it going until dawn.

    ¡°Xiao Ke, can you keep going?¡± He heard Qin Ci ask this in a hushed voice.

    ¡°As long as that fellow doesn¡¯t have any tricks up its sleeve,¡± Ke Xun said after rolling into their tent, ¡°I can keep doing this for two of three hours.¡±

    Two or three hours wouldn¡¯tst until dawn. Qin Ci was about to speak up out of concern, but Mu Yiran beat him to it. ¡°I¡¯ll take over after two or three hours.¡±

    ¡°That is, as long as that thing continues to fall for this.¡± Qin Ci shared Ke Xun¡¯s worries.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just sit there,¡± Ke Xun said the next time he rolled over, ¡°Yiran¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Call me by my full name.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°I can barely catch my breath from all the rolling around, give me a break. Anyway, you guys should research the pattern on the roof of the tent¡­.¡±

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t get why he was saying this. ¡°The pattern¡¯s too fuzzy. It¡¯s also nighttime. We can¡¯t make it out.¡±

    Ke Xun rolled over again and quickly shot a look in Mu Yiran¡¯s direction. ¡°It¡¯s light. I think it has to do with light. Try to use the light. Look at it from a different angle.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze sharpened. He immediately looked up. He then continued to stare at the ceiling unblinkingly. The pattern was still fuzzy from where he stood so he changed positions. He took into ount from where the light came from and kept on changing his stop, adjusting continuously. Finally, he stopped moving.

    ¡°See anything?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Yiran sounded like he was deep in thought. ¡°It¡¯s an exaggerated,plicated design. It kind of looks like animals and nts. I think I see horses, dogs, elephants, peacocks, humans, something that looks like puncture vines and¡­.¡±

    When Ke Xun rolled over for the nth time, he heard Mu Yiran calmly spit out: ¡°Marvels of Peru.¡±

    The giant shadow that had been made to dance like a rattle drum finally flew into a rage. It didn¡¯t turn away after turning towards Ke Xun¡¯s and Mu Yiran¡¯s tents. It started to walk over to their tent with its pir-like legs, its eight arms waving in fury.

    ¡°What should we do?!¡± Father Geng was rmed.

    ¡°Ke Xun, Marvels of Peru!¡± Mu Yiran shouted before pulling out the bouquet of flowers Ke Xun had given him. He quickly divided it into three bunches and handed them over to Qin Ci and Father Geng.

    Ke Xun instantly understood what Mu Yiran was getting at. He had a few Marvels of Peru that he had taken from Mu Yiran¡¯s bouquet the night he had presented them and worn them over his ear. He hadn¡¯t thrown them away. They had been tucked into his clothes all this time.

    He pulled two flowers out and held them over to Wei Dong. Wei Dong pointed to his waistband at once: ¡°I have some. I had gotten some the day you gifted the Boss that bouquet and had kept them attached to my waistband all this time!¡±

    Ke Xun thus shoved the two stalks into the cor of the boy¡¯s shirt. The three of them thenid down and watched as the giant shadow gradually came closer.

    No one knew if the Marvels of Peru would be effective, or what kind of effect they would have. But there was no time to think of anything else. They had no choice but to stake everything in one throw and wait for the demonic god¡¯s sentence.

    The giant shadow arrived before their tents, its humongous bodyprising its eight thick arms and giant head. It covered the sky and brought with it an oppressive air. Its eight arms did not hesitate in spreading out. A secondter, they darted towards their tents in a quick and violent motion. It blocked all of the light with its body, causing everything to go dark in front of them. It was like the world had been engulfed by darkness.

    Ke Xun gripped the flowers in his hand tightly amidst the darkness. Suddenly, the bright purple flowers mysteriously began to shine in the darkness.

    The giant shadow¡¯s eight arms scratched at the tent, creating the bone-scraping sound once more. The sound made one want to pierce their own eardrums and go deaf. It made one¡¯s gums go numb.

    Ke Xun felt like there was a prickly, numbing feeling in his bones as he listened to this sound. It felt like thousands of cracks here forming over his skin, like his skin and flesh were peeling off, revealingyers andyers of bloody flesh. It was like they were curling up, forming an intricate web of sanguine shredded pork.

    This nauseating pain became increasingly clear and real. Ke Xun felt like he was about to go crazy. He would rather die than be like that. He didn¡¯t want to live anymore¡ªhe wanted to die! He couldn¡¯t stop himself from wanting to die!

    Just as Ke Xun was clenching his teeth and taking onest stand against death, Wei Dong suddenly sat up. He tore at his hair and dug his nails into his face, leaving deep scratches on his skin.

    Ke Xun instantly snapped out of the hallucination and threw himself onto his friend. He pressed Wei Dong and the boy, who was twisting in pain between them, beneath him. He used both hands to subdue the two others and spoke into Wei Dong¡¯s ears with a low voice. ¡°Dong zi, calm down. It¡¯s a hallucination. Don¡¯t think about it. Dong zi, think about your parents. Think about your dumbass boss. Think about your dumbass clients who pretend they know shit while giving you impossible demands.¡±

    Wei Dong slowly calmed down. He bit down harshly on Ke Xun¡¯s sleeve that dangled before his mouth and forced out: ¡°Right¡­both my boss and my clients are dumbasses¡­. God save me¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡± Looks like his boss and clients¡¯ dumbassery won over the demonic god.

    No one knew how much time had passed while they suffered through this unbearable sound. Gradually, the sound grew fainter and the giant shadow stood up straight. Its head and arms shifted away from the two tents. It then left and headed towards the women¡¯s tent.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to save the mother of my child¡ª¡± Father Geng stood up. He wanted to rush out with his flowers but Qin Ci and Mu Yiran stopped him.

    ¡°You¡¯ll die of suffocation out there in no time at all.¡± Mu Yiran had already picked up on that when he had gone to drag Ke Xun back.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Qin Ci also tried to persuade him quietly. ¡°It would be fine if the tent was closer to ours. Ke Xun¡¯s tent was close to the one I was in yesterday, which was why I was able to carry Zhao Dan over. But it was still hard to breathe. The missus¡¯ tent is too far. You¡¯ll die fromck of oxygen far before you make it there.¡±

    ¡°Well¡ªlet¡¯s try the method again! Lead it back this way!¡± Father Geng turned to look at Mu Yiran.

    Father Gengid in the innermost section of the tent. All he could do was give Mu Yiran a pleading look.

    Mu Yiran pursed his lips. He parted the tent¡¯s ps and rolled over to the tent next door.

    Ke Xun had just rolled off of Dong zi and the boy. He wasying on his back when Mu Yiran came rolling into his embrace.

    Ke Xun was taken aback when he saw Mu Yiran¡¯s cold face as heid on top of him. ¡°A sudden strong ambush. That¡¯s the deadliest attack you can use.¡±

    Wei Dong was still panting, having just escaped from the ws of death. He peered to the side and asked, ¡°Touched?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°I don¡¯t dare to move.¡±

    Mu Yiran ignored him with a frigid expression. He turned to look outside, watching the giant shadow. Unfortunately, the giant shadow didn¡¯t turn around. It continued towards the distant tent.

    ¡°No¡ªI have to save my wife¡ª¡± Father Geng panicked and tried to leave the tent.

    When Ke Xun heard this, he sat up after Mu Yiran shifted away and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡±

    Mu Yiran red at him coldly. ¡°You used up too much energy. You won¡¯t make it in time.¡±

    The giant shadow had yet to make an appearance when Ke Xun had run over to the other tent. That¡¯s why he hadn¡¯t been bothered by theck of oxygen. But on his way back, the giant shadow had already been in the midst of descending. Despite Ke Xun¡¯s abundance of energy, he had nearly died outside. At present, he already wasted a lot of energy. The likelihood of him seeding now was even lower.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go. You wait here.¡± Mu Yiran nced at him before returning to the tent next door.

    He didn¡¯t immediately run over to the other tent. This was because the giant shadow had yet to reach its destination. If he were to go now, there was a high chance of being scooped up by it while he ran.

    .

    Based on the fact that Qin Ci had been able to escape with Zhao Dan during Zhou Bin¡¯s death, it could be deduced that the giant shadow wouldn¡¯t pay attention to other people while it was in the middle of killing. That¡¯s why Mu Yiran only left the tent when the giant shadow was just about to reach the women¡¯s tent. He managed to make it into the tent the moment the giant shadow picked up one of the three people.

    That¡¯s right. It was inevitable that one person would still have to die. But this was already the best case scenario with the least number of casualties.

    Eve: Ke Xun¡¯s mind¡­astounds me. Also the rolling around cracks me up because it reminds me of the ¡®rolling around in bed¡¯ scenes in anime.

 Chapter 41: Will Not Take the Life of Another Creature

    <h4>Chapter 41: Will Not Take the Life of Another Creature</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun¡¯s eyes had been glued onto Mu Yiran¡¯s running form. He had watched as the other darted towards the distant tent. He had also seen the giant shadow reach a hand into said tent, grabbing hold of one of the tent¡¯s inhabitants. The person howled as the giant shadow lifted her out. All eight of its hands had then closed in on that person. Her wails had seeped out from between the cracks of the giant shadow¡¯s fingers.

    Then, Ke Xun saw Mu Yiran charge into the tent. Blood spurted out from between the giant shadow¡¯s fingers and came raining down onto that tent. Following, a cracked open head came sliding down the top of the tent, entangled in long hair. With a thump, itnded on the ground. Dismembered arms, legs and bones followed suit. The giant shadow acted like it was taking apart a clock. Patiently, it detached each body part from her torso.

    Just before dawn, the giant shadow threw the rest of the mutted corpse down. A skeleton that still had shreds of broken skin clinging onto its surfaces fell onto the top of the tent. The giant shadow took the bloody organs it had harvested and returned to the darkness above.

    Ke Xun sprinted towards the distant tent as soon as he could. When he ripped open the bloody p, he saw Sha Liu vomiting heavily in the corner. Mother Geng was on the floor, unconscious, and Mu Yiran was staring at the pattern on the ceiling expressionlessly.

    ¡°Did you discover anything?¡± Ke Xun asked him.

    Mu Yiran turned to look at him. ¡°We need to gather all of the smaller tents together.¡±

    No one was in the frame of mind to eat breakfast. Qin Ci and Mu Yiran gathered Zhao Dan¡¯s dismembered limbs in a rug. Everyone then worked together to collect the smaller tents into one ce.

    But because the light was so scattered during the day time, the drawings were too fuzzy to make out.

    ¡°We have no choice but to wait until night time,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°After the sky darkens and before the giant shadow descends, we have to put the drawings on the top of the tents together.¡±

    ¡°Put them together?¡± Qin Ci was perceptive. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that the drawings on the ceilings of the smaller tents are parts of a whole?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡± Mu Yiran nodded slightly. ¡°I examined the tops of our tent and Mrs. Geng¡¯s tent. I noticed that neither of them werepleted.¡±

    ¡°Looks like the key point is in the drawing on the ceiling of the tents.¡± Qin Ci pondered over this. ¡°What I still don¡¯t understand is why the Marvels of Peru were able to fend off the giant shadow.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait until Ie back from the temples for that answer.¡± Mu Yiran prepared to head out.

    ¡°What should we do now?¡± Father Geng asked, ¡°We can¡¯t use the offerings we gathered before. How will weplete our mission?¡±

    Mu Yiran swept his gaze over everyone. ¡°What you need to do now is to collect a few things. Firstly, wine. From what I know, the people of the Ganxiong region make nutsedge wine, grape wine, rice wine, horse milk wine, etc. Collect as many types as you can.

    ¡°Secondly, we¡¯ll need flour and butter. Flour in the Ganxiong region is made of millet, rice, barley or peas. It doesn¡¯t matter what kind you get. Bring back any you find.

    ¡°Thirdly, scented oils. We can probably find camphor, sandalwood, pine and other scented oils here. Bring everything you find back here.

    ¡°Fourth, feathers from the bald eagles near the sky burial tform.

    ¡°Bring all of these back before dark.¡±

    No one asked any questions. Things had already reached such a point. No one had any spare energy or motivation to question him. No one had slept all that much over thest few days. All that was left inside them was the ability to blindly follow instructions.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go to the sky burial tform,¡± Ke Xun said.

    The most dangerous ce during the day was the sky burial tform.

    Mu Yiran nced at him. For once, he gave him a ¡®Be careful.¡¯ Of course, he still had on a distant expression.

    Ke Xun smiled at him and went on his way.

    It would take nearly the entire day to go to the sky burial tform ande back. Ke Xun was quick, but considering the fact that he also had to take time to gather feathers, it was quitete by the time he managed to return to the tents. Everyone else had already returned and Wei Dong had even taken a nap.

    Everyone ced the items Mu Yiran had requested in the open area in front of the smaller tents. Mother Geng and Sha Liu were kneading flour on the side, making them into little cakes.

    ¡°Duomu?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°I think so.¡± Sha Liu replied quietly.

    ¡°Xiao Mu, everyone¡¯s here. Can you tell us what you¡¯re thinking now?¡± Qin Ci looked at Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran had been inspecting the items the group had brought back and just so happened to finish as Qin Ci asked his question. He nodded and everyone stopped what they were doing, gazes gathering on his body.

    Mu Yiran looked at everyone, his gaze pregnant with meaning. ¡°We have always thought that the most difficult part of solving this riddle was that we had no way of figuring out what this painting is depicting. After all, we have no way of knowing which denomination of Sahism is involved. Since every denomination has different pantheons, we don¡¯t know which denomination the eight-armed creature that appears every night belongs to.

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s the same deity, its nature can change depending on which pantheon we¡¯re looking at. If we don¡¯t know what kind of deity it is, we can¡¯t figure out how to deal with it.

    ¡°We all know that since the founding of Sahism, it has assimted deities of several different religions. After thousands of years, many different branches have developed and expanded on their own. These branches have established their own doctrines and pantheons, and drifted away from the original form of Sahism. But at the same time, they are still closely rted to the original religion.

    ¡°Among these descendant branches, some flourished to the point of eclipsing the original religion¡¯s influence.

    ¡°Therefore, a lot of people have forgotten about Sahism¡¯s original teachings. One of them was to never take the life of a living creature.¡±

    Everyone was shocked.

    A prohibition against killing. Sahism¡­actually prohibits killing!

    Then¡­what have they done?!

    ¡°However, even in the original religion, there are ¡®meat¡¯ offerings,¡± Mu Yiran said as he pointed to the stuff on the ground.

    Amongst the items were the flowers he had left at the temple yesterday. They had undergone processing by the practitioner. ¡°But in the original religion, meat can be substituted by nts. For example, Marvels of Peru represent dog meat; angelica sinensis represent horse meat; asparagus flowers and stalks represent elephant meat; puncture vines represent peacock meat; and Solomon¡¯s seal nt represents human meat.¡±

    Sha Liu¡¯s face turned deathly white when she saw what Mu Yiran was pointing at.

    Qin Ci looked at Mu Yiran: ¡°Xiao Mu, how do you know which nt represents which meat?¡±

    ¡°I saw these on the ceiling of our tentst night.¡± Mu Yiran replied calmly, ¡°The drawings were split into two circles. One circle depicted nts while the other depicted animals. In the beginning, I had not realized the two circles were matched up. I just thought that they were decorations around whatever the main picture would be. But after examining it longer, I discovered that there were depictions of feces, urine, brains, etc. I realized that it was a depiction of what Sha Liu had mentioned before: the five Dews of Wisdom and the five tribute meats.¡±

    With that, Mu Yiran turned his gaze onto Sha Liu: ¡°You weren¡¯t wrong about the bloody offerings you saw in that book. But you forgot to tell us the title of the book. Can you share that with us now?¡±

    Sha Liu¡¯s lips trembled. She didn¡¯t dare to meet anyone¡¯s eyes. In a quiet voice, she said, ¡°The book was called¡­the Qing Sacrificial Offerings Manual.¡±

    ¡°Qing?¡± Father Geng was stunned.

    ¡°Qing is a denomination of Sahism.¡± There was no expression on Mu Yiran¡¯s face. ¡°After thousands of years, it has gradually be an independent religion of its own. The deities it worships are more along the lines of wrathful deities. Its ceremonies are more akin to witchcraft and they have nefarious cult-like tendencies. The ceremonies are often bloody and cruel.¡±

    By the time he finished speaking, Mother Geng had already reached Sha Liu. She pped the younger woman ruthlessly. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! You misguided us! You made us get those, those inhumane things! You harmed us. You¡¯re the one who got us caught into this mess¡ª¡±

    Wei Dong and Father Geng promptly went to pull the unstable Mother Geng away. Sha Liu¡¯s head was lowered and she pushed her sses that had been disced by Mother Geng back up. In a quiet voice, she said, ¡°But didn¡¯t the offerings I mention protect us in the end. Ma Zhenhua is an example. People who don¡¯t participate in the gathering of offerings will die.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll die if we do, anyways!¡± Mother Geng screamed. ¡°Didn¡¯t Zhou Bin do everything he could? Wasn¡¯t he still sacrificed?!¡±

    ¡°But doesn¡¯t that mean that this Heishitian is a wrathful deity from Qing¡¯s pantheon? That means we¡¯re in a ce that practices Qing.¡± Sha Liu bit down on her lips.

    ¡°Then how do you exin how we managed to survive without any offerings?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t reply.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t look at her again. He continued: ¡°That giant shadow is indeed the wrathful deity Heishitian from the Qing religion. As Sha Liu said, it epts bloody offerings and uses them to strengthen itself. What few people know, or have long forgotten, is that Heishitian is actually a deity with two faces in the original Sahism pantheon. It has eight arms and two faces in its original depiction. One face is wrathful while the other face is benevolent.¡±

    ¡°A benevolent face!¡± Ke Xun, who had been silent this whole time suddenly snapped his fingers. ¡°I faintly recall seeing a smiling pair of eyes when we first entered the painting. Could that be Heishitian¡¯s benevolent face?¡±

    ¡°Heishitian is a god from a different religion that received its godhead after converting to Sahism. Its wrathful face retains its cruel, killer nature. Its benevolent face arose when the most powerful in the Sahism pantheon tamed it and turned it into a guardian deity. From then on, Heishitian was to protect the believers of Sahism.¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°Based on the drawings on the tents¡¯ ceilings, although the names of the offerings for both the faces are the same, the actual objects are different. For example, for the ¡®five tribute meats¡¯, the wrathful side requires real meat. Meanwhile, nts are used instead when making offerings to the benevolent side. That is the difference between them.¡±

    ¡°So¡­¡± Qin Ci got where he was going with this. ¡°The reason we were able to avoid deathst night with the Marvels of Peru was because those flowers were offerings to the benevolent side. They neutralized the wrathful side¡¯s cruel spirit by some degree.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t die even though I was in a tent alonest night. It wasn¡¯t because I had evoked some psychic powers but because I had Marvels of Peru on me, right?¡± Ke Xun spread his hands open. ¡°Fine, looks like I¡¯m not actually that cool.¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him, swallowing down the words he was about to say out loud. He looked at the group. ¡°My guess is that, if these bloody offerings can strengthen Heishitian¡¯s wrathful side, then the corresponding nt offerings will strengthen Heishitian¡¯s benevolent side. In other words, we might be able to summon the benevolent side of Heishitian and return this painting to its original form.¡±

    ¡°The kind eyes in the original painting!¡± Ke Xun eximed.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Mu Yiran nodded. ¡°This is likely our only way out of this painting.¡±

    Eve: Anyone expect this? Haha.

 Chapter 42: What You See is a Reflection of Your Heart

    <h4>Chapter 42: What You See is a Reflection of Your Heart</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    The offerings the middle-aged man had told them to prepare with the five tribute meats, the five Dews of Wisdom, libation wine, duomu, a sacrificial cup, antern, g and dangka.

    Mu Yiran had gotten the five tribute meats and five Dews of Wisdom from a practitioner at a temple who had processed the nts he and Ke Xun had collected.

    The five tribute meats were the five types of vegetation Mu Yiran had listed before. Regarding the five Dews of Wisdom, nutmeg reced feces, costus root reced urine, cardamom reced brain tissue, tabasheer reced male essence and red sandalwood reced female blood.

    Qin Ci had brought back five types of wine: nutsedge wine, rice wine, white wine, millet wine and horse milk wine. These would be used to make the libation wine they had previously assumed was made out of brains, blood and bile.

    Duomu referred to sacrificial cakes. Mrs. Geng had found five types of flour: millet, rice, barley, wheat and peas. She had used them to make sacrificial cakes. This was the substitute for the ¡®dough¡¯ they had thought was supposed to be made from human brains, blood, viscera and guts.

    Thentern was the ordinary oilmp Mu Yiran had brought back in the beginning. The oil used to light themp was the butter Wei Dong had found. This was used in ce of the human hair and fat they had previously considered using.

    As for g and dangka, no one knew what these were. However, Mu Yiran raked through his knowledge of rituals from other religions and guessed that they likely referred to clothing and equipment for the god.

    The equipment likely referred to the god¡¯s characteristic weapon.

    Many benevolent gods would hold flowers, spices or jewels in their hand in ce of weaponry. Mu Yiran considered the environment and deduced that jewels were out of question. Therefore, he used the scented oils Sha Liu had collected (the camphor, sandalwood and pine) and the nts gathered to represent the props they had thought were made of human bones and human facial parts.

    As for the clothes, the wrathful side wore human skin. The benevolent side wore a garment made of eagle feathers or silk. Mu Yiran thought that the person who had pointed him north had been referring to the bald eagles and nts in the valley, not the corpse on the sky burial tform.

    The answer had been in front of them this whole time. It was just that there was a thin line between good and evil. As Buddha once said, what you see is a reflection of your own heart.

    It was the same with worship. Some people saw blood and flesh while others saw nts and fragrances.

    ¡°No wonder this painting is called ¡®Faith.¡¯¡± After all preparations were made, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran stood next to each other by the small tents while waiting for night to fall. Ke Xun felt enlightened. ¡°Looks like the painter was testing whether our beliefs are evil or good. If we had found the correct items from the start, we might have had fewer casualties. It feels like certain people have been seeking death this whole time.¡±

    ¡°Actually, for a moment, I had also thought that the painter was trying to force us to give into the dark side. I thought the painter wanted to gradually destroy our humanity and kindness. I had nearly thought that this painting depicted an evil cult that believed that worshipping a demonic god could grant eternal life.¡± Mu Yiran said in a heavy tone. ¡°There are two reasons why cults manage to rope in so many followers. The first way is by brainwashing people by taking advantage of their desires, the other way is by encouraging and indulging a person¡¯s own wicked thoughts. This painting is a trap pertaining to human nature. We had fallen into this trap and only managed to break free today.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so hard on yourself.¡± Ke Xun patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Even if you¡¯re evil inside, I still like you.¡±

    Mu Yiran clenched his hand against the other¡¯s wrist, expressionless, and threw his arm off.

    Night finally fell. The light reflected off of the snowy mountains, bringing with it a chilly breeze.

    Everyone stood outside the flipped tents and tried to use the light to find the right angle to view the pattern.

    The weird thing was, regardless of whether the tent was flipped or right-side up, they could not use the light to see the design like Mu Yiran had done yesterday.

    Everyone exchanged nces. mother Geng was worried. ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t work anymore? What should we do? Doesn¡¯t that mean¡­someone will die tonight?¡±

    Sha Liu¡¯s face paled. She quietly said, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because of the offerings¡­. Maybe that¡¯s why we can¡¯t see the design?¡±

    ¡°Tsk.¡± Ke Xun heard her and looked at her with a smile that didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re trying to shift the me onto someone. Miss Sha Liu, if you¡¯re still clinging onto those bloody offerings, you can go into a tent by yourself with them. We won¡¯t stop you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me¡­¡± Sha Liu said at once, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that. I was just offering an idea. Everyone should brainstorm together. After all, there isn¡¯t much time left. Heishitian will arrive soon¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun ignored her and walked over to Mu Yiran. He whispered, ¡°I think that the light might only shine at an appropriate angle after Heishitian¡¯s descent.¡±

    Mu Yiran gazed at the light shining down from the mountains and made a sound of agreement.

    Mother Geng shouted in despair. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that someone will have to die today? That thing will kill as soon as it arrives. Where will we find the time to look for a design? We also have to put the pieces together. This is nonsense!¡±

    Father Geng stared at Mu Yiran with bloodshot eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that these offerings are for the benevolent side? Won¡¯t the benevolent side appear tonight? It wouldn¡¯t kill people, right?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t ce your hopes on that.¡± Mu Yiran replied calmly. ¡°After all, everyone¡¯s personally prepared offerings for the wrathful side before. We can¡¯t erase this fact. The wrathful side has already been summoned. I don¡¯t think it will be willing to let its other face rece it. The struggle between good and evil is eternal, with the tides ever-shifting.¡±

    ¡°Then what should we do? Do we have to wait for death out here? As soon as Heishitian arrives, it will definitely grab someone not in a tent¡­.¡± Sha Liu stared at Mu Yiran anxiously.

    Mu Yiran looked down and mulled over this issue. He then looked up and addressed the group, whose gazes were all on him, waiting for him to make a decision. ¡°I have a foolish idea we could give a try. Tonight, the middle-aged man said that there must be two to a tent. There are eight of us, so we will divide into four teams of two. There are seven tents in total. One person has to look at all seven designs and put them in their proper ces as quickly as possible. We would then have to turn them all over toplete the picture.¡±

    ¡°Only you would be able to do it, Mu xiao ge,¡± Father Geng said.

    Mu Yiran nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. Then let¡¯s number the tents right now. Everyone, try your best to remember them. We will then assign tents. Mrs. Geng and the boy will be in tent one. I¡¯ve already seen the design so I won¡¯t have to look at it again tonight. You two don¡¯t have to do anything. Just wait for mymand. When all the tents are in ce, I will shout ¡®flip the tents.¡¯ At that moment, Mrs. Geng, please flip the tent over. It¡¯s not heavy so you should be able to do it on your own.¡±

    Mother Geng tried to flip it. As expected, it was light. She nodded to Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran continued: ¡°Sha Liu will be in the second tent. I¡¯ve also seen the design on this tent already. But it¡¯s not connected to tent one. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be next to each other. You¡¯ll be in this tent alone, but don¡¯t worry. If Heishitian heads towards you, someone will enter your tent so that you will meet the quota. Although this move lost halfway into the nightst night, I think that it will still work for as long as it did yesterday tonight. It will buy us some time.¡±

    Sha Liu bit down on her lips. She looked like she was hesitating. ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t work? Heishitian learned of this move yesterday. Why would it work today?¡±

    ¡°Even so,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°Heishitian¡¯s first choice is always a tent that fails to meet the quota. Furthermore, you won¡¯t be the only tent that fails to meet the quota.¡±

    Before Sha Liu spoke up again, Mu Yiran already turned to the remaining guys. ¡°Each of us will take one of the five remaining tents. Dr. Qin and Mr. Geng will be in tents opposite to each other. The same goes for Wei Dong and Ke Xun. I will be opposite of Sha Liu. If Heishitian approaches someone¡¯s tent, the other person will run into that tent.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened in understanding. The n was to save each other. As soon as Heishitian approached a tent, it would immediately fulfil the quota. Like this, Heishitian will be forced to change its target. This would postpone someone getting picked.

    ¡°During this,¡± Mu Yiran saw that everyone was following so he continued on, ¡°I will be constantly moving. I will enter each of the remaining five tents in sequence and examine the designs. Before I enter your tent, try to find the right angle and turn the tent so that I¡¯ll be able to see the design as soon as I enter. This will allow me to memorize all the designs more quickly.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Everyone agreed.

    ¡°Lastly,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°You must remember your tent number and listen to mymands. As soon as I¡¯ve figured out where each tent is supposed to go, I will immediately inform everyone of where their tent has to be. Tent number one will be the reference point. That will not move. Everyone else will move their tents in reference to tent one. Once all the tents are in the right ce, I willmand everyone to flip the tent at once. At that time, we flip yours at once. Does everyone understand the n?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone replied.

    ¡°There is something I need to warn everyone about.¡± Mu Yiran regarded everyone with a solemn gaze. ¡°We don¡¯t know how many people fulfill Heishitian¡¯s choosing criteria. But if one person gets caught, it¡¯s very likely that at least one more person will die.

    ¡°What I want to say is that we are all parts of a whole tonight. All eight of us must work together to seed. We cannot afford to lose a single person. If even one person screws up, everything will crumble.

    ¡°Therefore, I hope that everyone will gather their courage and endure the pressure of death. Do not run away. Do not panic. Do not fall apart or give up.

    ¡°Every single one of us holds the lives of the other seven in our hands. I hope that everyone will do everything they can and remain calm and hopeful until the veryst second.¡±

    Everyone nodded.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost time.¡± Mu Yiran looked up into the sky and saw that the dense darkness was about to descend. ¡°Everyone, head to your respective tents. Position the entrance towards the inside of the circle for easier movement.¡±

    There was inevitable nervousness on everyone¡¯s faces. Everyone entered their tents with fear.

    But Ke Xun felt as calm as Mu Yiran. Before entering his tent, he even grinned at the other and said, ¡°Do you know how sexy you were just nowmanding the troops?¡±

    Mu Yiran stared at him, expressionless. In the end, he simply went: ¡°Mn.¡±

    Eve: I was actually getting hyped up from Yiran¡¯s speech. It was indeed very sexy haha. Also very empowering. He¡¯s got good pep talk skills.

 Chapter 43: Even If I Die, I Have to Die in a Passionate and Arrogant Way

    <h4>Chapter 43: Even If I Die, I Have to Die in a Passionate and Arrogant Way</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited EB

    When the light outside the tent turned deathly white, Ke Xun knew that it meant that Heishitian would soon descend.

    Mu Yiran had said that they would only be able to make out the designs on the tents after Heishitian descended. He was right. The light had changed.

    Ke Xun btedly realized that he had sensed the change in the light at night since the first night. It was just that he had never imagined that the change would be so bizarre.

    But he had no time to dwell on this. As the light turned deathly white, he began to turn the tent until he found the correct angle from which to view the design.

    The first tent Mu Yiran entered was Ke Xun¡¯s. Ke Xun didn¡¯t say a thing, in fear of disrupting the other¡¯s memorization. He silently ducked to the side, giving him space.

    Mu Yiran stared at the top of the tent unblinkingly. His pitch-ck pupils flickered quickly as he tried his best to memorize the design.

    Ke Xun observed the situation outside the tent. Heishitian¡¯s huge body had just touched the ground and was now slowly walking towards their tents.

    In an attempt to avoid everyone getting caught in one fell swoop, the seven tents were not ced close together. There was some distance between each tent, but it was still possible to sprint from tent to tent.

    Before Heishitian managed to reach the brink of their encampment, Mu Yiran had already left Ke Xun¡¯s tent and headed into Wei Dong¡¯s.

    Ke Xun kept a tight watch over Heishitian. He noticed that it had started to approach Qin Ci¡¯s tent.

    Mr. Geng darted out of his tent and entered Qin Ci¡¯s before Heishitian could.

    Heishitian paused and then turned to head towards Sha Liu¡¯s tent.

    Mu Yiran, who was paired with Sha Liu, was currently in Wei Dong¡¯s tent. Not much time had passed. There was no way he would have already memorized Wei Dong¡¯s design.

    Ke Xun ran out from his own tent and dashed towards Sha Liu¡¯s. He didn¡¯t shout out to Mu Yiran as he didn¡¯t know if that would attract Heishitian¡¯s attention.

    Fortunately, he and Mu Yiran seemed to have a tacit understanding between them. The other stayed in Wei Dong¡¯s tent and continued to memorize the design.

    Ke Xun thought, since Mu Yiran had already memorized his tent¡¯s design, there was no need to rush back into his own tent. He could temporarily form a team with Sha Liu and act ording to the situation.

    Right now, all four tents had two people, which meant that they all fulfilled the quota. Heishitian paused once again before changing directions. This time, it headed towards Mother Geng¡¯s tent.

    Father Geng sprinted out from Qin Ci¡¯s tent and entered his own. Mu Yiran left Wei Dong¡¯s tent and entered Qin Ci¡¯s.

    Heishitian shifted its trajectory. It was now heading towards Father Geng¡¯s tent. Ke Xun took it on himself to be the pinch hitter. He ran from Sha Liu¡¯s tent to Father Geng¡¯s.

    It was a hair-raising race against death. Under this silent, nervous, fearsome dark night, not one¡ªnot two¡ªbut three shadows continuously traversed through the seven tents. No one spoke, no one spected. Everyone¡¯s eyes were fixed on their destinations. Everyone gave it their all in sprinting. They had staked their lives on this and were now fighting with everything they had.

    The apprehension in each person¡¯s heart was ratcheting up as the night progressed. No one knew when Heishitian, this ¡®god¡¯ level boss, would suddenly go berserk. Every second that passed brought them all that much closer to the breaking point.

    Everyone¡¯s hopes were on Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran had already visited all five tents but he was not even close to being done. He needed time to piece together the seven designs in his head.

    It sounded easy, but because he could only do this in his head, it was actually abysmally difficult. First of all, all seven designs were extremelyplicated and difficult to remember. It was practically impossible to just memorize them, let alone actually piece them together mentally. One would need much more than just one¡¯s memory to aplish this.

    While Mu Yiran tackled the arduous task of figuring out the arrangement of the designs, the nerves of everyone else had already been pulled taut. Their hearts were beating loudly like drums out of nervousness. Everyone had to make sure that there was at least one tent that failed to meet the quota the whole time to attract Heishitian¡¯s attention. Therefore, several people were constantly running without rest.

    Both their minds and bodies were being heavily taxed, causing exhaustion toe quickly. Aside from Mu Yiran and Ke Xun, the rest of the group¡¯s stamina had dropped dramatically. Their speed had be increasingly slow.

    Father Geng, who was the oldest, was the first to fall. His legs gave up and he fell to the ground while running between two tents. His knee was cut by a sharp stone on the ground. The pain made him unable to crawl up for a moment.

    Heishitian was only two steps away from him. Its eight arms spread out fiercely, looking like a giant that spanned across the sky.

    Ke Xun sprinted over. Just as Heishitian¡¯s giant arms were about to catch Father Geng, Ke Xun pushed the older man away. However, the giant hand didn¡¯t stop moving. Its fingers spread out and then clenched around Ke Xun.

    ¡°Ke Xun!¡±

    Ke Xun heard someone anxiously yell his name.

    It was a man¡¯s voice, but it wasn¡¯t Wei Dong. Wei Dong had always called him ¡°Ke <i>er</i>.¡± It wasn¡¯t Qin Ci or Father Geng either, as they called him ¡®Xiao Ke¡¯ and ¡®Ke xiao ge¡¯ respectively.

    Ke Xun was lifted off the ground by that giant hand. The world spun all around him at a rapid pace. Nevertheless, he still tried his best to turn his head, to look for the person who had shouted for him.

    ¡°See ya.¡± Ke Xun grinned at him before waving.

    Even if I die, I have to die in a passionate and arrogant way.

    Ke Xun turned back around and stared at the giant head above him.

    The eight-armed Heishitian had jet-ck skin. Its humongous, red eyes popped out of its sockets. Its irises were indigo in colour and deep, slow breaths puffed out from itsrge, t nose. Its vermilion lips reached its ears and four long, giant fangs protruded from its mouth. It opened its blood red mouth and the interior looked like a vast sea of blood.

    It was finally time to die, but Ke Xun didn¡¯t feel any fear at all. His body rxed and he waved at the creature. He greeted it with a smile. ¡°Excuse my frankness, but you¡¯re really friggin¡¯ ugly.¡±

    Maybe it was its first time seeing a human sacrifice that didn¡¯t struggle, scream or show fear. Unexpectedly, it didn¡¯t ¡®enjoy¡¯ Ke Xun right away. It stared at Ke Xun¡¯s face with its blood-red, protruding eyes.

    Ke Xun was forced to meet its gaze, considering the fact that the other was holding him to its face. He could faintly make out something about to emerge from within that ugly, jet-ck visage.

    What is that? Ke Xun widened his eyes and carefully examined it. From below him, he heard Mu Yiran shout hismands in a heavy voice: ¡°Tent 4, move to the left side of Tent 1. Tent 3, move to the east side of Tent 1. Tent 5, move to the west side of Tent 4¡­.¡±

    Heishitian¡¯s face started to morph. A pair of curved eyebrows that looked like two crescent moons appeared, alongside a pair of long, kindly eyes.

    It was the benevolent face of Heishitian!

    The benevolent Heishitian was about to emerge!

    But it seemed like the benevolent side was still too weak. The majority of the face in front of Ke Xun still belonged to the wrathful Heishitian. The benevolent Heishitian was like a fetus trying to force its way into the world. It did its best to wiggle in and take over.

    The wrathful Heishitian was finally enraged. Its eight arms spread out, twisting in the air. Its hands opened and clenched in the air, as if it was trying to crush any and all powers in this world that were trying to contend against it. Two of its fingers pinched Ke Xun. It opened its blood sea-like mouth and motioned to toss Ke Xun in!

    It was about to eat him alive!

    Ke Xun shouted ¡®fuck¡¯ loudly. He would rather be dismembered than tumble into this thing¡¯s stomach and end up as godly poop. He started to struggle and managed to grab onto one of Heishitian¡¯s fangs. No matter what, he was not willing to fall into the deity¡¯s mouth.

    Heishitian stuck out its sharp, red, slippery tongue. The tongue searched around and gently scooped Ke Xun off of its fang. Just as the tongue was about to toss Ke Xun into the depth of its oral cavity, Ke Xun heard Mu Yiran shout ¡®flip the tents¡¯ below.

    The ck and red before Ke Xun¡¯s eyes was swallowed up by an explosive golden light. This light blinded him, so he had no choice but to shut his eyes tightly. Unfortunately, not even his eyelids could block out the intense light. A rumble suddenly echoed in his ears. It sounded like the Heavens were murmuring to him. The sound was holy and solemn, sounding like a song from the Heavens. The scent of nts and fragrant oils wafted into his nose, making him feel good all over. It was like all his pores had been purified.

    Surrounded by the sound of the heavenly music, scent of flowers and golden light, Ke Xun tried to open his eyes.

    Before him was a pair of soft, beautiful, giant lips. Something gently pulled him out from between this pair of lips. Ke Xun¡¯s field of vision changed. The jet-ck, ugly wrathful Heishitian had disappeared. In its ce was the dignified, kindly, Buddha-like visage of the benevolent Heishitian. It had skin like white jade and gentle and limpid features. Although there was no vitality in its eyes, unlike before, Ke Xun felt a wave of calm wash over him when he stared into them.

    The benevolent Heishitian lifted him up. With a gentle turn of its wrist, Ke Xun found himself facing the ground. He saw that all seven tents had been flipped. They looked like seven shallow bowls. The designs on the bottom made for apleted picture.

    The picture was of a string of Ganxiong characters made out of the tracks of nt-based and animal-based offerings. Ke Xun guessed that the characters probably made up the painter, Qiu Jian¡¯s, signature.

    Mu Yiran had said that it was theorized that the skull contained a person¡¯s life force and spirit.

    Qiu Jian was an ardent follower of Sahism. His signature, which represented his life force and spirit, had been engraved into the sacrificial bowl he wanted to offer to his god. He piously offered himself in the name of his faith.

    As for whether he was a follower of Qing, which worshipped evil gods, or the original branch of Sahism, that was probably up for interpretation.

    Amidst the golden light that covered the skies, something that looked like a picture frame gradually emerged around the signature. Everyone left the painting in a single file. Thest one to leave was Mu Yiran. Mu Yiran stood by the picture frame and turned to look up at Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun felt the fingers holding onto him let go. As his body tumbled through the air, he thought, maybe my male god will catch me in his arms and carry me in a bridal hold. Contrary to his hopes, he saw Mu Yiran shift to the side expressionlessly, freeing up hisnding spot¡­.

    Everyone sat paralyzed on the ground after exiting the painting and returning to the third exhibition hall. For a long time, no one spoke.

    Ke Xun rubbed his aching body. His bones had nearly shattered from that fall. He then turned to look at the painting, ¡®Faith¡¯, that hung on the wall next to him.

    This was a ssic painting of a deity. The majority of the painting was made up of the benevolent Heishitian. The painter had painted the god¡¯s entire body. Flower petals, clouds and brightly-coloured jewels surrounded it. However, the god was holding a painting on a sheet of human skin.

    The human skin painting depicted the wrathful Heishitian. It wore a crown made of human bones, a ne of human heads, and had a cloak of human skin draped over it. In one hand, it held a skull cup containing fresh human brains. In it¡¯s other hand, it held a sceptre made of human bone. It also had a bracelet made of human bone around its wrist. All sorts of bloody offerings wereid out before it, separated into six human skulls that had been made into sacrificial cups.

    Ke Xun stared at the painting. He noticed that the head belonged to Tan Zheng. The human skin used to make the cloak seemed to belong to Ma Zhen Hua as well. As for the brains, flesh and bones, they probably belonged to Zhou Bin and Li Ziling.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Mu Yiran stood next to him as he gazed down as Ke Xun mildly.

    ¡°No wonder I felt so stifled in the painting.¡± Ke Xun pointed at the painting, ¡°It was a painting inside a painting. We entered the human skin painting that the benevolent Heishitian was holding.¡±

    ¡°Fuck¡­so we were living inside human skin?¡± Wei Dong was greatly rmed. He then turned around. ¡°Urgh¡ª¡±

    Before leaving the third exhibition hall, Qin Ci told Sha Liu and the Geng family what to pay attention to. For example, they could not talk about the world inside paintings with outsiders. Or that they had to enter the next painting at the exact time and ce indicated on the ticket in their pockets.

    Sha Liu had staggered away with a pale face. The Geng Family had stayed because Qin Ci had said that he would refer their son to a psychiatrist for some counselling.

    Ke Xun, Wei Dong and Mu Yiran decided to leave by taxi. Ke Xun had just been about to ask Mu Yiran if he was going to head to a hotel or immediately hop on a ne. But as soon as he turned his head, he discovered that the other was already fast asleep.

    ¡°Thanks for your hard work,¡± Ke Xun whispered, a smile painting his face.

    Eve: And that¡¯s the end of this painting! Onto the next~ d our babies made it out alive. We¡¯re going to meet one of my favourite side characters in the next painting~

 Chapter 44: People Who Are Going Into Painting Theory

    <h4>Chapter 44: People Who Are Going Into Painting Theory</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong escorted the sleeping Mu Yiran to a hotel. They didn¡¯t leave immediately after either. No one had been able to? sleep well during thesest few days in the painting so they decided that they might as well reserve a room too. Each in their own bed, they both fell into deep slumbers.

    When Ke Xun woke up and went to visit Mu Yiran in the room next door, he discovered that the boss was still sleeping.

    Ke Xun thought that it made sense. Mu Yiran was a highly cautious person. He had probably slept the least out of them all during their time in the painting. He had exhausted everyst bit of brain power in the end as well. Although he had looked calm and steady, Ke Xun thought that her must have also been extremely nervous. After all, he had held seven lives in the palms of his hand. Anyone else would have caved under the pressure. Meanwhile, Mu Yiran had silently taken on this burden and even led them to sess in the end.

    It would be weird if he didn¡¯t sleep like a log once his tense nerves had finally rxed.

    Ke Xun thus chose to return to his own room and take a shower. He didn¡¯t wake Wei Dong, who was still sleeping in their room, either. After his shower, he paid Mu Yiran another visit. He was afraid the boss would slip away silently when he woke up.

    For once, Mu Yiran had woken up naturally. It was already evening when he woke up. He had no clue as to how many days he had slept.

    Mu Yirany on his bed motionlessly, staring out the window.

    He was rather astonished at how off-guard he was.

    He had actually handed himself over to Ke Xun¡¯s care. He actually trusted the other so much, to the point of believing that the other would be capable ofpleting all necessary arrangements while he was out.

    Mu Yiran had never been one to indulge in resting. And yet, he had actually slept so¡­easily and rxed while under Ke Xun¡¯s watch.

    Clearly, this fellow was the person he should be most guarded against!

    As soon as Mu Yiran thought of Ke Xun, his expression turned rigid. He reached a hand downwards and discovered that he was still wearing his jacket. His shirt and pants were also untouched.

    When he realized that he was actually having those kinds of thoughts, his expression turned ugly. He pushed hisforter off and sat up. Right at that moment, the door to his room was pushed open and the face he didn¡¯t want to see most appeared right before his eyes.

    ¡°Have you slept enough?¡± Ke Xun greeted him, appearingpletely clueless. He pulled out a dining cart from behind him. ¡°Perfect timing. I just ordered this from the hotel. I thought that you¡¯d wake up around this time. How about washing up and eating something now?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s ¡®get out¡¯ instantly clogged in his throat.

    He stood up and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. When he came out, he saw that Ke Xun had already set the table and was now calling Wei Dong, who was next door, to wake him up.

    There were three trays of prawn dumplings, four tes of vegetables, and three bowls of shiitake and corn congee.

    ¡°They¡¯re all vegetables. Where¡¯s the meat?¡± Wei Dong came over from next door, still drowsy. He expressed his discontent as he took his spot at the table.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t there meat in prawn dumplings?¡± Ke Xun handed Mu Yiran a pair of chopsticks. ¡°Besides, we just left the painting. Can you really stomach having meat right now?¡±

    Wei Dong froze. ¡°No, no, I can¡¯t. Don¡¯t remind me.¡± He promptly picked up his bowl of congee and took a sip from it.

    Night had fallen by the time they had finished their meal. The city lights shone into the hotel room. However, to the three people who had just left the world inside a painting, everything seemed unreal.

    After kicking Wei Dong back to the room next door to take a shower, Ke Xun settled down in Mu Yiran¡¯s room.

    ¡°Are you leaving tomorrow?¡± Ke Xun asked him.

    ¡°Mn.¡±

    ¡°So, is the next time we meet going to be when we enter the next painting?¡±

    Mu Yiran ignored him.

    ¡°Hey.¡± Ke Xun walked over to him and sat next to him, his elbows nted on his knees. Head tilted, Ke Xun asked, ¡°Do you have a boyfriend?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze sharpened. He red at him coldly. ¡°Ke Xun, I won¡¯t continue to tolerate your harassment.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m being serious here.¡± Ke Xun held a hand up and pledged. ¡°You don¡¯t have to ept me. I¡¯m not scheming against you or anything. It¡¯s pure curiosity.

    ¡°I know that we¡¯re people from different worlds. You¡¯re a big shot. The people around you must all be elites and geniuses. You probably led a life I could never even fathom in my dreams.

    ¡°As for me¡­I¡¯m a super ordinary citizen of a small city. I¡¯m like a frog at the bottom of a well. Aside from holding vain delusions about a swan like you, who I can only ever see and never touch, I don¡¯t have any other abilities or assets. I would never be able to enter your world.

    ¡°I just¡­wanted to know what kind of person you would like. I want to know just how outstanding the person you like would be. After that, I¡¯ll probably just envy them secretly.

    ¡°Forget it. Pretend I never asked. I¡¯m heading back to the other room. I probably won¡¯t see you tomorrow so let me wish you a safe journey now. See you in the next painting.¡±

    After saying this, Ke Xun shed Mu Yiran a smile and gave him a wave before shutting the door behind him.

    The next morning, Mu Yiran had decided to leave first. He had also nned on paying for all of their rooms. However, upon reaching the front desk, the employee informed him that the ount had already been settled. Two young men had already paid the entire bill and left early this morning.

    Mu Yiran had stood there in the middle of the lobby for a while. He had then left the hotel with long strides.

    Upon returning to Z City, Wei Dong returned home to his parents and Ke Xun returned home to an empty apartment.

    As reality has proven it, the paintings were like a series of terrifying nightmares. Once you were drawn in, there was no escape. You had no choice but to continue entering paintings. You could beg for release but there was no way of knowing when it would end.

    Ke Xun had already epted this hopeless reality. Luckily, since he had be all alone in this world, he had be very open-minded. After escaping death in those two paintings, his attitude towards death had be much more mild.

    Everything seemed to have be even more meaningless.

    Ke Xun rested for two days. He went to watch a movie and had also gone out to eat a few skewers with Wei Dong at the night market. He also met up with a few buddies that worked at his gym for a few meals. As usual, he ate, drank, karaoked and flirted with guys. No one sensed anything different about him.

    One day, his phone suddenly sounded as he received a notification. Ke Xun unlocked his phone and saw that it was a VChat friend request from someone named ¡®With Courage and Wit¡¯. The message attached said: I am Qin Ci.

    Ke Xun epted his request.

    Corgi£º¡¾Hi, since it¡¯s our first meeting, I don¡¯t know what to say so how about we kiss first.jpg¡¿

    With Courage and Wit: ¡­.

    With Courage and Wit: Ke Xun, I¡¯ve made a group. Come join.

    Corgi£º¡¾OK.jpg¡¿

    The group was called ¡®People Who Are Going Into Paintings.¡± When Ke Xun looked at the members list, he saw that Sha Liu was also in the group. Soon after, Wei Dong joined. Mu Yiran was thest to enter.

    He had no idea when everyone had swapped phone numbers and VChat information.

    With Courage and Wit: We can¡¯t sit here and wait for death like this. Everyone, let¡¯s get together and try to think of a way to stop this. We can discuss clues or share information about paintings. In any case, anything is better than nothing. Maybe the next painting we enter will be one we¡¯ve discussed.

    A Gentle and Soft Green: This kind of feels like predicting what questions will appear on an exam. But if we were to talk about painting knowledge, I think Mu ge has the most authority on this.

    The Odes of Wei_A Fellow: Fuck! We have a group chat now?¡¾Badass, badass.jpg¡¿We should probably change the group name though. Let¡¯s add ¡®Theory¡¯ to the end to make it sound more cool. ¡®People Who Go Into Painting Theory¡¯, doesn¡¯t that sound really cool?

    Corgi£º¡¾Are you an idiot.jpg¡¿

    The Odes of Wei_A Fellow£º¡¾You damned gay.jpg¡¿

    Corgi£º¡¾Watch it, Laozi will He Mi Gua you to death.jpg¡¿

    The Odes of Wei_A Fellow£º¡¾What are you being so mean for, I¡¯ll just leave.jpg¡¿

    With Courage and Wit: ¡­.

    A Gentle and Soft Green: ¡­.

    Corgi: What about the Geng Family?

    With Courage and Wit: I¡¯ve sent them an invite. They haven¡¯t responded. We can talk in the meantime.

    A Gentle and Soft Green: Mu ge, are you busy right now?

    Mooney£º.

    Corgi£º¡¾Don¡¯t let me see you. Every time I see you I fall in love again.jpg¡¿

    With Courage and Wit:¡­.

    A Gentle and Soft Green:¡­.

    The Odes of Wei_A Fellow£º¡¾Inciting trouble on morality¡¯s bottom line.jpg¡¿

    Corgi£º¡¾Good kitty.jpg¡¿

    With Courage and Wit: I propose that we all look up information regarding the Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery. That¡¯s the next location. Regardless of whether it¡¯s information or clues, please share them with the group.

    A Gentle and Soft Green: Okay.

    The Odes of Wei_A Fellow£º¡¾I know nothing about his stuff.jpg¡¿

    Corgi£º¡¾At aplete loss but I¡¯ll give you a small okay sign anyway.jpg¡¿

    Mooney: All right.

    Ke Xun put his phone down and headed to his study. He turned on hisputer that hadn¡¯t been touched in a long time and searched for ¡®the Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery¡¯.

    The Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery had the art exhibition that would be held on the day of their visit printed on the ticket. Their visit was on the first day of the exhibition. The exhibition included the works of eighteen painters, domestic and international. But even after making thousands of searches in the search engine, Ke Xun was still unable to find any more detailed descriptions of any of the paintings. The most he could find was the fact that there would be three hundred or so works on disy. He was also able to find out the names of the five most famous paintings.

    Ke Xun sent all his clues to the ¡®People Who Go Into Painting Theory¡¯ group.

    The Odes of Wei_A Fellow: Three hundred or so paintings? We only have like ten days left. How are we going to research all of them?!

    A Gentle and Soft Green: The exhibition probably wouldn¡¯t have every painting by every painter. That means that we have no way of knowing which painting of which painter will be on disy. That means we would have to research way more than three hundred paintings. We¡¯d have to look into all the paintings by all eighteen painters.

    With Courage and Wit: This is a huge undertaking. But then again, anything is better than nothing. It¡¯s better to make preparations than to go inpletely unprepared.

    Corgi£º¡¾Everyone, stop. Listen to me: I¡¯m about to embarrass myself.jpg¡¿

    With Courage and Wit: ¡­.

    A Gentle and Soft Green: ,,,,

    The Odes of Wei_A Fellow£º¡¾My smile gradually stiffens.jpg¡¿

    Corgi: It doesn¡¯t matter that there are too many paintings. We should figure out a way to get electronic copies of them and save them in our phones. Can¡¯t we just search through them once we¡¯re in the painting? What do you guys think?

    Mooney: Putting aside the fact that many painters have copyright protection (which means their works are not floating around on the inte), ording to what I know, the exhibition this time contains many works that are being publicly unveiled for the first time. There¡¯s no way we¡¯ll be able to receive descriptions or photos in advance.

    Corgi£º¡ºYou¡¯re right || VChat?red pocket¡»

    Corgi£º¡ºYou¡¯re right || VChat red pocket¡»

    Corgi£º¡ºYou¡¯re right || VChat red pocket¡»

    Corgi£º¡ºYou¡¯re right || VChat red pocket¡»

    ¡­¡­

    With Courage and Wit: ¡­.

    A Gentle and Soft Green: ¡­..

    The Odes of Wei_A Fellow: Can I secretly take one? Just one.

    Corgi£º¡¾If I don¡¯t manage to beat the shit out of you, it¡¯s probably because your asshole is too tight.jpg¡¿

    The Odes of Wei_A Fellow£º¡¾Wronged.jpg¡¿¡¾You¡¯ve changed.jpg¡¿

    With Courage and Wit: I also have some bad news. I can¡¯t get into touch with Mrs. and Mr. Geng. No one is picking up my calls. They didn¡¯t reply to me on VChat either. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happened to them.

    Mooney: Did they take their son to get therapy?

    With Courage and Wit: No. My psychiatrist colleague said that they¡¯ve never gone to see him.

    Corgi: @With Courage and Wit, What¡¯s their address? Send it to me and I¡¯ll go take a look.

    With Courage and Wit: Mr. Geng didn¡¯t leave their address with me. I only have their phone number and VChat information.

    Mooney: Give me their phone number. I¡¯ll ask a friend to search up their address.

    Corgi£º¡¾As expected from the guy I fell for.jpg¡¿

    What his friend found out was not good news, however.

    The Geng Family had disappeared. Although their rtives have reported them missing, they were still not found.

    Qin Ci had already told them what the consequences of speaking about what had happened in the painting would be. Evidently, this was the Geng couple¡¯s ultimate decision.

    Time continued to move on. In a blink of an eye, it was time to enter the next painting.

    Eve: Aw, my heart aches for Ke Xun who feels like his feelings would never be reciprocated because they¡¯re not on the same level. Dw, the person Yiran will fall for is indeed very outstanding. And he will fall rtively fast. There isn¡¯t a lot of angst in this novel. The rtionship is mostly fluffy.

 Chapter 45: Back to 1997

    <h4>Chapter 45: Back to 1997</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    The Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery was a privately-run art gallery situated in B City¡¯s downtown core.

    Compared to its art, the Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery was better known for its restaurant. This restaurant was extremely popr online in B City. Since the decor was really artsy, people would oftene to take pictures and eat at the restaurant.

    ¡°We should at least eat a good meal at the famous Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery restaurant and take a picture before we die.¡± Wei Dong grumbled just before three long-legged beauties caught his gaze.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong were currently heading up the steps that led to the gallery¡¯s lobby. Three long-legged beauties were a few steps ahead of them, their bodies swaying as they climbed up the steps.

    ¡°Are you still not full?¡± Ke Xun rubbed his bloated stomach. ¡°I still don¡¯t get how you were able to fit three youtiao, two sweet pancakes, four tea eggs and three bowls of jellied tofu in your stomach.¡±

    ¡°My grandma once said that we should eat our fill before going on our way.¡± Wei Dong whistled quietly, only loud enough to be picked up by himself. He followed after the beauties and shed his best friend a smile. ¡°The dude who stole the egg yolk from one of my tea eggs¡ªhurry up!¡±

    Ke Xun trailed after him at azy pace. They had eaten a lot for breakfast because they didn¡¯t know what would await them in the next painting. Maybe they won¡¯t be given anything to eat,or maybe they would be given food that¡¯s not fit for human consumption.

    Wei Dong belched. For once, he seemed kind of excited. ¡°Look at those three girls. They have to be dancers or models. As expected from B City. The pretty girls of this city are next level.¡±

    Ke Xun stared at him expressionlessly. ¡°You¡¯re disgusting.¡±

    Wei Dong deliberately made a vulgar expression. However, there was sorrow hidden deep inside his smile.

    Time had passed very quickly. It was nearly time for them to enter their third painting.

    The two of them entered the gallery with their tickets. Wei Dong had already found the fifth exhibition hall on the floor above them from the lobby on the first floor. His steps became hesitant. Ke Xun didn¡¯t move quickly either.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to end up bing the boss¡¯ wee party at this¡­¡± Wei Dong had yet to finish his sentence when he noticed that Ke Xun¡¯s gaze had turned cold.

    Wei Dong followed his gaze. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Sha Liu? who are the two short girls next to her?¡±

    Sha Liu quickly noticed them too. Aplicated light shed through her eyes but her expression quickly morphed into a smile as she greeted them. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s expression was ugly. ¡°You brought people you know?¡±

    Sha Liu hesitated before shaking her head. ¡°No, we met up by ident. It¡¯s a coincidence!¡±

    The two short girls smiled at Sha Liu and said to her, ¡°Thanks for introducing this ce to us. We¡¯ll be heading up first if that¡¯s all right?¡±

    Sha Liu nodded and bid them farewell.

    Even Wei Dong realized what was happening. He thought that this woman was quite the schemer. She was already looking forrades to enter the painting with.

    ¡°The two of them aren¡¯t together?¡± Ke Xun asked suddenly.

    Sha Liu stared at him nkly for a moment before calmly pushing her sses up. ¡°How would I know? They asked me for directions and said that they hade here specifically to see the painter, Luo Bing¡¯s, works.¡±

    She showed Ke Xun and Wei Dong the gallery¡¯s pamphlet. ¡°Luo Bing¡¯s works take up two whole exhibition halls on the second floor.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that there will be a lot of people in the fifth exhibition hall?¡± Wei Dong looked up at therge crowd that was heading into the fifth exhibition hall. ¡°I can imagine what a headache this must be for the mastermind in-charge of choosing people to go into paintings. So many choices, how do you choose?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like trying to sift sand for gold.¡± Ke Xun knelt down to tie his shoces. Although he knew that he would be forced into a different outfit upon entering the painting, tying hisces tightly was a habit he had acquired after many years.

    Meanwhile, Sha Liu felt like it was ¡®disrespectful¡¯ to discuss the mastermind so openly. Therefore, she refrained from participating in the conversation. Instead, she started walking towards thedder and said, ¡°Let¡¯s head there quickly.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong waited until Sha Liu pulled some distance between them before they started to head up themselves. Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Coil, how did you know that the two girls weren¡¯t together?¡±

    ¡°What the hell is ¡®Coil?¡¯¡±

    ¡°An abbreviation of Conan Doyle¡¯s name. Ke er, from now on, you¡¯ll be Coil.¡±

    Ke Xun, who had now be ¡®Coil¡¯ exined his analysis to Wei Dong. ¡°Sha Liu chose girls that look feeble and short. They seem quite sheltered too. Compared to Sha Liu, they¡¯re obviously disadvantaged. It looks like Sha Liu¡¯s n isn¡¯t to find capable teammates, but to find weak people.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Before Ke Xun could answer, Wei Dong answered his own question. ¡°She wants scapegoats?¡±

    ¡°Basically, yeah. And it¡¯s best if the scapegoats are alone. Otherwise, it would be very easy for the two of them to turn against her.¡±

    ¡°Oh~¡± Wei Dong got it. ¡°Intelligent women are frightening.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s gaze shifted to Wei Dong¡¯s backpack. ¡°I forgot to ask you while we were on the train but what¡¯s in that giant bag of yours?¡±

    ¡°This time, I brought all-natural fruits and other things like crackers and bread. This time, even if the ck-bellied painting instigator tries to revert my food to their primitive forms, I can still eat them.¡± Wei Dong had nicknamed the mastermind behind the paintings ¡®painting instigator¡¯. ¡°The rest of it is tissue paper.¡±

    Ke Xun had also brought three giant rolls of toilet paper. Thest painting had been terrible. Everybody had used leaves and dirt to do their business. His chrysanthemum had nearly turned into a peony from all that rubbing¡­.

    The two of them reached the second floor and saw that the entrance to the fifth exhibition hall was being pushed open. A group of smiling students who hade to see the art walked out of the hall. Ke Xun and Wei Dong were stunned. They exchanged nces, both thinking, ¡®What the fuck? Was the curse finally over?¡¯

    The two of them reached therge wooden door leading into the fifth exhibition hall and looked around. No one else was trying to get into the exhibition hall at this moment.

    They grit their teeth and then pushed the door open. As soon as they entered, all the light in the hall disappeared. A familiar darkness weed them.

    The door behind them closed on its own. They could not open it any longer.

    There was no way of escaping their fate. The painting instigator was just waiting for the appropriate people to arrive.

    Ke Xun wanted to look at the painting that was hanging on the wall through the darkness, but a sudden blinding light exploded before him. All he could do was try his best to focus on the painting before him that was spinning around like it was stuck in a vortex. He examined it unblinkingly but all he could make out was a fuzzy depiction of daily life in some district. There was an old wooden window, an old-fashion fan, and a child who was smiling brilliantly while skipping rope¡­.

    The moment his feetnded on solid ground, the scene around him had already changed. He was now on a lively street. The road was a crude, old-fashioned asphalt road and there were antiquated cars driving around in every direction. Street vendors lined the streets and it looked like a nearby elementary school had just let out. A group of children wearing red scarves were surrounding the street vendors with interest as they bought snacks and toys¡­.

    ¡°This¡­have we gone into the painting yet?¡± Wei Dong looked all around them. No matter how he thought about it, it still felt like the style of this painting was entirely different from the style of thest two. ¡°Do you think this is actually an old street in B City?¡±

    Ke Xun observed their surroundings carefully for a moment. ¡°Do you think schools nowadays would let elementary students go home without a guardian?¡±

    Wei Dong looked at the thin eyebrows on two fashionable young women as they walked down the street. They were wearing tall tform shoes on their feet. The street didn¡¯t feel like it belonged to the modern era.

    Ke Xun felt like something was in the pocket of his sweats. He pulled it out. It was a pamphlet. The paper seemed very old. Printed on it was an advertisement that said ¡®cheap rentals at Spring Bamboo Apartments avable.¡¯

    Wei Dong discovered that he had the same flyer in the pocket of his jean jacket. It looked like their destination was the Spring Bamboo Apartments.

    ¡°Hey kids, do you know where the Spring Bamboo Apartments are?¡± Wei Dong smiled at two elementary school students nearby who were buying Saint Seiya trading cards.

    One of the students replied very politely. ¡°It¡¯s just around that corner, on Spring Bamboo Street.¡±

    The other student added: ¡°The Spring Bamboo Apartments have already been torn down. My dad says that they¡¯re going to build a big art gallery there!¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the date printed on the flyer. He asked, ¡°Uncle¡¯s going to test your memory. Who can tell me what today¡¯s date is?¡±

    Children in the past were not as guarded as they are in the present. In order to prove that his memory was good, one student shouted quickly: ¡°It¡¯s June 12th today!¡±

    The other student expanded on that. ¡°Today¡¯s date is June 12th, 1997!¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Wei Dong pulled out tworge pieces of bubblegum from his pocket. ¡°This is your prize!¡±

    The two children very politely declined. ¡°Thank you Uncle, but our teacher said that we shouldn¡¯t take things from strangers. Bye Uncles!¡±

    The two children left.

    Ke Xun shook out the pamphlet in his hand. He saw the date, June 12th, 1996, printedrgely on the paper.

    ¡°When did you start keeping bubblegum on you?¡±

    ¡°The things I brought all turned into popr foods from the 80s. I also have popping candy, pickled plums and Bok Bok Sing. Want some?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Slowly, the sun began to set. The two of them followed the children¡¯s directions and took the turn up ahead. There, they found Spring Bamboo Street, which was a very narrow street. The stores on both sides of the road looked old but there were no signs of anything being torn down.

    Wei Dong was puzzled. ¡°This ce looks like it¡¯s a mountainous city. There¡¯s a lot of slopes.¡±

    Ke Xun stared at the stores that lit up one by one vigntly. Quietly, he said, ¡°No¡­it¡¯s all downhill from here.¡±

    Wei Dong had yet to figure out what Ke Xun was talking about when he noticed the weirdly-shaped building in front of them. It was a cylindrical building. Maybe it was because of the limited construction ability of this period, but it wasn¡¯t very tall. There were only about six or seven floors.

    Because it was already getting dark, they couldn¡¯t make out everything. They could feel that there was something off about this cylindrical building though.

    There was an eye-catching sign on the entrance of the cylindrical building¡ªthe Spring Bamboo Apartments.

    They didn¡¯t want to enter the building so they simply stood outside as they waited for the others.

    In any case, they couldn¡¯t enter even if they wanted to. They would only be able to go in once all thirteen people gathered.

    One thing Ke Xun didn¡¯t understand was why they didn¡¯t appear directly inside the apartments. They even had to ask the people walking down the streets for directions here. Was the scope of the painting really big?

    ¡°It would have made more sense if we had appeared directly inside the Spring Bamboo Apartments.¡± Wei Dong had also thought of the same issue.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because we¡¯re early.¡± Ke Xun gazed down the street calmly. Although the store lights were all turned on, the streets were mostly empty.

    ¡°That Sha Liu really is overly cautious. I thought that she had already entered the fifth exhibition hall. I didn¡¯t expect that she had actually secretly snuck away to watch from the sidelines.¡± Wei Dong sneered.

    The wind was rather chilly. Ke Xun shoved his hands into his pockets. ¡°I find it strange. Even if we¡¯re early, the painting could have transported us straight to the entrance of the apartments and we could wait there. Why bring us to apletely different road? The date on the flyer is wrong too. It¡¯s already been a year since it came out.¡±

    A familiar, tall silhouette slowly emerged in the distance beneath the hazy light. Ke Xun¡¯s lips curled up, an unconscious smile gracing his lips.

 Chapter 46: There Are Ghosts

    <h4>Chapter 46: There Are Ghosts</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    For once, Mu Yiran was wearing casual clothes. Ke Xun smiled at the other. Everyone was wearing casual clothes today. The deep blue went well with the cial grey.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was as solemn as ever. He looked at the Spring Bamboo Apartments¡¯ sign and then looked at the flyer in his hand. He then looked like he was trying to find some clues from the surrounding shops.

    Ke Xun knew what he was thinking. ¡°You don¡¯t have to look. The current year is 1997. The flyer is a year old.¡±

    ¡°This slope is ridiculously steep.¡± Mu Yiran gazed at the distinct downward slope of Spring Bamboo Street. He felt like there had to be an issue with the feng shui here.

    ¡°Maybe the people who built the apartment thought it¡¯d help make money?¡± Ke Xun looked up at the fake-looking jet-ck sky. He felt an invisible pressure pushing down against him. Actually, this apartment¡¯s feng shui really sucked. It was situated at the end of Spring Street. Furthermore, there were T-junctions on either side of it. It made the apartment look like it was some kind of hub.

    Experts would say that a home like this would ¡®rip you to shreds.¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡±This has to be an example of deconstructivism!¡± From a distance, three guys and one woman walked over. One of them was Qin Ci.

    Qin Ci nodded at Ke Xun and co. He turned the flyer in his hand over and walked over to the three of them.

    ¡°This is deconstruction of art! no, it¡¯s the deconstruction of modern buildings!¡± A sses-wearing middle-aged man said passionately. He was skinny like a pole.

    Another middle-aged man, who had long hair but was balding at the top, looked pensive. ¡°No, I think that this is rted to philosophy.¡±

    ¡°Deconstructivism has its roots in philosophy!¡± The sses man¡¯s gaze pierced through the lens of his sses.

    Ke Xun looked at Qin Ci. He didn¡¯t really understand what these two people were from the outside world or were characters in this painting.

    This was the first time he¡¯d seen someone enter a painting so flustered.

    ¡°I met them in the exhibition hall. They said that they¡¯re poets. They were collecting information about the local culture.¡± Qin Ci exined briefly.

    The female poet seemed much more normal. There was some panic in her eyes and she looked like she was sounding them out. She had on a pale cheongsam and a muslin shawl. She walked over in her embroidered shoes. ¡°Dr. Qin, I don¡¯t quite understand what¡¯s happening. It¡¯s a bit preposterous to believe that we¡¯ve really entered a painting. Could we have¡­gone through the gallery¡¯s back door?¡±

    ¡°We wish.¡± Ke Xun looked over the odd poets and then kept his silence.

    Another group of people followed. One of them was Sha Liu, who had on, an unresigned expression. There was also the young man who had a bit of a stubble and dressed in the style of Japanese street wear, Zhu Haowen; the seventy-something year old , Li Taiyong; and the three long-legged devilish beauties¡ªTina, Xin Miao and Luo Han.

    Wei Dong stared at the three pretty girls. What a freaking coincidence~

    After everyone arrived, Qin Ci gave everyone a simple lecture on ¡®entering paintings.¡¯ They then prepared to knock on the door of the apartment.

    The neers¡ªaside from the old man, Li Taiyong¡ªfound it difficult to conceal their rm, especially the three beauties. Two of them seemed to have been scared silly. The other one was crying and saying that she couldn¡¯t believe that she had transmigrated.

    Old Man Li Taiyong wore a half-sleeve shirt and a pair of washed-out work pants. He also had on a pair of old man shoes. His outfit was very much in tune with the current era of the painting.

    The old man¡¯s hands trembled non-stop. It was unclear whether this was out of nervousness or due to some sickness. He was slightly out-of-breath from all the walking. Qin Ci, who was the closest to him, supported him as they walked.

    Ke Xun was particrlypassionate towards the elderly and children. Old man, just why did you have toe to this art gallery? It must have been because it was too hot today and you couldn¡¯t bear to turn on the AC¡­.

    The metal gate of the apartment opened with a ng. It was pitch ck inside, like a ck hole. The wind was freezing and there was an indescribable scent in the air. It kind of smelled like the stuffy air of an underground garage.

    After everyone pulled themselves together, they realized that there were lights inside. Due to the cylindrical shape of the building, the courtyard¡ªor rather, atrium¡ªinside was also circr in shape.

    They stood inside the atrium and looked around. The building was made up of round, densely-packed units.

    This was a tube-shaped apartment.

    Sha Liu looked up to the sky. ¡°I¡¯ve been to tube-shaped apartments before. But those all had roofs. Why isn¡¯t there a roof here?¡±

    ¡°A roof? If we had one of those, we wouldn¡¯t be able to see the daylight then.¡± A faint voice suddenly spoke up. Sha Liu jumped up into the air, startled.

    The person who spoke up was the person who had opened the gate for them. It was a fifty-something year old man wearing a faded red hurdle vest. There was arge ring of keys. It looked like he was the gatekeeper of this apartment.

    ¡°Are you all here to rent apartments? Come with me.¡± The gatekeeper uncle pushed open the door to the mailroom. ¡°There are six rooms left. You¡¯ll have to split yourself into six groups.¡±

    The gatekeeper uncle was unperturbed. He grabbed some fish food from his bag to feed the fish inside the aquarium.

    Ke Xun recalled the fragmented images of life he had seen just before entering the painting. He then connected it to this NPC who seemed extremely life-like. He felt like this painting was quite different from the previous ones.

    The beauties quickly huddled together. ¡°We¡¯ll form one team!¡±

    Wei Dong and Ke Xun acted like they had received Heaven¡¯s degree and promptly shimmied closer to Mu Yiran. ¡°The three of us will form a team!¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was one of indifference. He didn¡¯t seem to oppose it.

    The gatekeeper uncle looked at the six people who had formed their own groups. ¡°There can be three people in each group at most. No more. Otherwise, there won¡¯t be enough people left.¡±

    The NPC was quite good at speaking.

    ¡°Qiu Lu! The three of us!¡± The long-haired middle-aged man looked excited. It made people feel like he would be courting death soon.

    The female poet named Qiu Lu rolled her eyes. ¡°You two can form a team. There¡¯s another girl here.¡±

    Sha Liu had been silent this whole time. Upon hearing Qiu Lu speak up, she nodded with a smile.

    Qin Ci was currently supporting the old man, Li Taiyong. He thus decided to form a team with him.

    There was one person left: the Japanese streetwear young man, Zhu Haowen.

    Being alone was usually not a good thing, especially in a weird painting.

    ¡°Now that you¡¯re here, you¡¯re a resident of the Spring Bamboo Dormitory. We¡¯ll take care of you.¡± The gatekeeper uncle started to distribute the keys. ¡°There¡¯s only one key to each room. Don¡¯t lose it.¡±

    Ke Xun epted the key. He saw that it was a simple brass key typical of the 90s. What was even more sketchy was that there was some kind of white ster stuck on the keys. The room numbers were scribbled on with a ballpoint pen. The number 411 was written on Ke Xun¡¯s key.

    Sha Liu looked at Ke Xun¡¯s key. ¡°Ours is 410. Looks like we¡¯re neighbours. We¡¯ll be in your care.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Ke Xun treated people like Sha Liu perfunctorily.

    Shortly after, everyone received their keys.

    After the gatekeeper uncle finished distributing the keys, he suddenly said, ¡°No one is allowed to live alone on the sixth floor. The pressure up there is crushing.¡±

    As he spoke, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He turned to Wei Dong: ¡°You, stay with him in 616.¡±

    ¡°Ah? Me?¡± Wei Dong felt like he was always the unlucky one.

    The gatekeeper uncle¡¯s gaze suddenly turned fierce. ¡°You want to go against the Spring Bamboo Dormitory¡¯s decision?¡±

    Wei Dong nearly pissed himself in fear. He promptly headed over to Zhu Haowen¡¯s side.

    The gatekeeper uncle didn¡¯t look at them anymore. He took away the rest of the keys and said, ¡°Get acquainted with the surroundings before returning to your rooms. Don¡¯t visit other floors after lights out. Don¡¯t visit other rooms either after dark.¡±

    The six teams were a bit befuddled as they stood there with the keys in hand. As soon as they exited the smoky mailroom, the gatekeeper uncle suddenly stuck his head out. ¡°Gather at eight in the morning at Wu Mei¡¯s restaurant!¡±

    Everyone was startled.

    Wei Dong tugged on Ke Xun sullenly. ¡°Ke er¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t do anything. ¡°Remember what the gatekeeper uncle said. Don¡¯t visit other floors after lights out. If you can, avoid leaving your room altogether.¡±

    Sha Liu also spoke up. ¡°There¡¯s something I find strange about the floor¡¯s restriction. Does that mean we are allowed to leave our rooms at night? That we can walk around our floor?¡±

    Before she could finish her thought, someone suddenly shouted: ¡°Common bathrooms!¡±

    The person who had spoken up was Tina, one of the long-legged beauties. She was pointing to the bathroom near where they were standing. ¡°The individual apartments don¡¯t have bathrooms! We can only use themon ones.¡±

    The other two beauties were rmed.

    Everyone now understood why they had not been restricted from leaving their rooms. If they wanted to use the bathroom at night, they would have to go to themon ones.

    Everyone feltplicated. The veterans who had already lived through at least one painting earnestly began to familiarize themselves with their environment. they tried to memorize the position of each room in their heads. The gatekeeper uncle had probably told them to do this for a reason.

    Everyone made the attempt to get to know each other. The male poets introduced themselves. The thin, sses-wearing poet was named Shou Zhu. The balding, long-haired one was named Zhi Shao. They were probably their pen names.

    Young Sweet Potato even handed everyone his business card. The quaint business cards had the characters for Zhi and Shao printed on them.

    Everyone knew that the character for shao meant sweet potato. Then wasn¡¯t Zhi Shao a small sweet potato¡­?

    No one was in the mood to think about the sweet potato matter given the current circumstances. Everyone wandered around the simple atrium on the first floor. The atrium was full of life. It was no longer deathly still like it had been when they had first arrived.

    There were no residences on the first floor. They were all shops. Everyone quickly found ¡°Wu Mei¡¯s Restaurant.¡¯ There were quite a few people dining inside at present.

    Aside from the little restaurant, there were several other little shops.

    The beauties had been the most ill-adjusted upon arrival. Now, they were huddled at the little shops, buying things. One of them bought a bottle of orange soda and drank it with a straw at the entrance of the shop.

    Everyone felt relieved upon seeing that they could use the money in their wallets.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you find it strange? The shops should face the outside¡ªwhy are they all facing inwards?¡± Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran. He inadvertently caught a whiff of the other¡¯s cologne: cedarwood and oakmoss. It smelled pretty good.

    ¡°There was a demolition notice stuck on the wall outside the apartment that I saw before we entered the building. It was dated May 1996.¡± Mu Yiran thought that these stores were likely no longer allowed to open outside.

    ¡°Wow, you noticed a demolition notice? All I saw was therge words written in red paint: There are ghosts.¡± Ke Xun beamed at Mu Yiran.

    Everyone became uneasy upon hearing ¡®there are ghosts.¡¯ But actually, everyone had already seen that. Therge red words had been written in a sinister-looking script.

    All of a sudden, unbridled loudughter came from the store in front of them. A young woman dressed in red clothes walked out soon after.

    She had on a fiery red, short, A-line skirt and her hair was done in a style that was in vogue during this time period. It was cut in a ¦¸ shape.

    The young woman in red had used hair gel to style her hair into magnificent arcs. Her thin, high-arching brows were drawn into beautiful curves. Her red lipstick was glossy and she aroused people¡¯s tender feelings when she pouted her lips.

    The three beauties looked crude inparison with their drawn in brows andrge crimson lips.

    The shop the young woman walked out from was a hairdresser¡¯s parlour. She was probably the owner of that shop.

    ¡°Are you new here?¡± The young woman greeted them calmly. Her voice was soft and she had a sweet sounding Wu ent.

    Another lively and realistic NPC had shown up.

    Shou Zhu seemed to have gotten energized from the pretty woman¡¯s appearance. ¡°At day¡¯s end, when the rain is observed by none, a pair of mandarin ducks bathe before each other in red clothes.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Zhi Shao was all smiles. ¡°Miss, actually, wee from the art gallery¡­.¡±

    ¡°The art gallery? Were you sent by that Hong Kong developer?¡± The young woman in red suddenly cut him off coldly.

    Qiu Lu promptly said, ¡°We¡¯re just tourists!¡±

    The young woman in red examined everyone in detail. ¡°Then you best shut your doors tightly. There are ghosts at night.¡±

    Merry Christmas to those who celebrate Christmas and Happy Holidays (bted or early) to those who celebrate other holidays around this time!

 Chapter 47: Moving into the Tube-Shaped Apartment

    <h4>Chapter 47: Moving into the Tube-Shaped Apartment</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    The Spring Bamboo Apartment had six floors in total. Except for the first floor, which was amercial district, the other five floors were residential. Every level contained sixteen units.

    If this was a rectangr tube-shaped apartment, themunal washrooms and stairs would be located at each of? the four corners. Since this was a round building, the washrooms and stairs were simply ced at four equidistant points along the circle. There were exactly four units in-between each washroom.

    Brick-red railings lined themunal balconies that faced inwards. If one was to lean against the railings, one could see the circr atrium downstairs as well as the residential units above. Everything was arranged in a circr manner.

    The thirteen people who came from the world outside the painting were all assigned to units on the third and fourth level, except for Zhu Haowen and Wei Dong, They were assigned to thest room on the sixth floor, 616.

    Ke Xun unlocked the door to unit 411. Because the building was circr, the doors outside were ced very close together. Inside, the rooms opened up in a fan-like fashion.

    These were suite-style apartments. At most, they were fifty square metres in area. Closest to the entrance, there was a tiny living room. Inside the living room, there was an antiquated chiffonier, a ss coffee table and a small sofa with wooden armrests.

    The inner room only contained a bed on an old-fashioned bed frame, a desk and a bookcase. The bookcase was filled with books pertaining to art.

    Ke Xun pulled the curtains open. It was stiflingly dark outside. The night sky was deep and oppressive.

    In contrast, the warm orange light of the room brought peace of mind.

    Sometimes, the decorations and furnishing of a home is enough to give people insight into the lives of the previous owners.

    ¡°Do you feel anything strange after entering this painting?¡± Mu Yiran ced his light luggage down on the desk.

    Ke Xun hadn¡¯t thought about this all that much. ¡°Now that you mention it, I feel better than I did in thest two paintings. But it did start to be harder to breathe after entering this building.¡±? Ke Xun also set his backpack down onto the desk. ¡°Right. I brought toilet paper this time. If you need to use it, feel free to take some.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°I also brought some.¡±

    Seems like everyone had suffered from that.

    Mu Yiran meticulously inspected every corner of the room. He took a look at the foot of the bed and his brows furrowed slightly.

    There was a pair of stic red slippers¡ªappearing to be of female size¡ªby the foot of the bed. They were positioned so that one was more forwards than the other. It looked like whoever was wearing the shoes was about to take a step forward.

    Ke Xun also noticed the slippers. At first, he simply thought that leaving the slippers there was frightening, so he picked them up. But he didn¡¯t know where he should put them.

    ¡°The NPC didn¡¯t say that we couldn¡¯t touch the things here.¡± Ke Xunforted himself as he walked around the room with the slippers in hand. In the end, he simply set them down on the simple shoe rack near the entrance. Since these slippers didn¡¯t belong to him, it wouldn¡¯t be good to throw them away. The shoe rack was probably the most appropriate ce to put them.

    The shoe rack had originally been empty. With the red slippers on them, it looked like a woman currently lived here.

    Ke Xun looked at his hand. He felt like they were kind of dirty.

    ¡°You can wash your hands in the bathroom.¡± Mu Yiran pulled out a travel-sized bar of soap from his backpack.

    Ke Xun had never received such treatment from Mu Yiran before. He epted the cool, aloof-looking soap and happily went on his way to the bathroom.

    Themunal washrooms also doubled as themunal water rooms. The long cement sink was glossy and clean. Ke Xun was in a pretty good mood¡ªall of the displeasure from seeing the pair of red slippers was swept away. He washed his hands twice. Mu Yiran¡¯s soap smelt like coconut, making Ke Xun tempted to take a bite out of it.

    It was a white bar of soap but the bubbles that came out of it were a light pink. Who knew where the other man got such a maidenly bar of soap¡­.

    A secondter, Sha Liu also walked in with travel-sized toiletries to wash up. When she noticed Ke Xun, she asked, ¡°Is there anything strange in your apartment?¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t intend to hide things from her. ¡°There was a pair of red slippers near the bed. Does that count?¡±

    Sha Liu¡¯s expression was gloomy. ¡°Both our rooms are filled with books. There are two full giant bookcases. There are even books piled up along the bed. Under the bed, there are boxes of books too.¡±

    Ke Xun hadn¡¯t brought a towel so he simply flicked his coconut-smelling hands dry. ¡°Sounds like the previousndlord or tenant really loved to read. Maybe they were a schr.¡±

    ¡°No. They¡¯re all romance novels.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the kind that was super popr in the eighties and nies. There are novels by Chiung Yao, Cen Kailun, Xi Juan, Yu Qing¡­.¡± Sha Liu frowned. She was too embarrassed to talk about the rest. Aside from these, she had also found forbidden romance novels (erotic novels) by the bedside.

    Ke Xun was about to leave the bathroom with his soap. As he left, he said, ¡°Sounds like the previous tenant owned a book shop.¡±

    Sha Liu stood in the bathroom alone, staring at the slightly murky, slightly rusty water. In the end, she reluctantly used that water to wash up.

    The romance novels in her room¡ªRoom 410¡ªweren¡¯t scary in and of itself, butbined with the obvious signs of life all around the apartment, it felt weird.

    There were also two spittoons, onerge and one small. She didn¡¯t know what they were for.

    However, considering they were in a residence that only hadmunal washrooms, Sha Liu figured it was probably used by the resident when they got up at night. They were probably chamber pots.

    Furthermore, therge spittoon was really big. It was as big as a modern day toilet. There was even a lid on top with a hole cut into it. It definitely looked like a crude toilet.

    But what kind of person would want to defecate in their own room? There weremunal washrooms avable.

    The room also had a royal-style vanity table. For some reason, the mirror had been removed. Sha Liu had found facial oils, perfume, baby powder, a bottle of massage cream for dry skin, a tube of unknown ointment, and a wide toothb. There were several strands of extremely long white hair on theb. From the looks of it, the owner of this hair probably had hair that reached their waist.

    While the length itself wasn¡¯t all that strange, the fact that it was white and this long was strange.

    Sha Liu was lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, she realized that she was the only one left in the bathroom. She looked up at the pale, dim white light emitted by the incandescent tubr light bulb. Her body went cold and she hastily made her exit.

    As she passed Room 412¡ªthe room closest to the bathroom she was in¡ªshe saw an olddy sitting by the door, fanning herself. The olddy was wearing a floral shirt characteristic of grannies. The shirt had a white background and was filled with little red flowers.

    When Sha Liu passed by, the olddy suddenly stopped fanning herself and said, ¡°It¡¯s really hot today.¡±

    Sha Liu subconsciously slowed down. She figured that she might be able to find out more about the situation they were in from the olddy. As such, she smiled back at her. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s still so hot despite it already being night time. It should be lights out soon, right?¡±

    The gatekeeper uncle didn¡¯t talk a lot about lights out. Sha Liu wanted to know if turning the lights off was something that would just happen, or if they would have to do it themselves.

    As expected, the olddy told her, ¡°The electricity will be cut off at eleven.¡±

    The electricity will be cut off? Sha Liu really wanted to ask if that included themunal washrooms. Unexpectedly, the olddy spoke up before she could. ¡°Youngdy, did you just move here?¡±

    Sha Liu nodded. She then braced herself: ¡°Auntie, who lived in 410 before me?¡±

    ¡°Yafen,¡± The olddy gave her a name. ¡°Yafen lived here for more than a decade. Now, she livesfortably with her parents in a new apartment downtown! I heard that there¡¯s even an elevator!¡±

    ¡°Oh, that sounds nice.¡± Sha Liu grinned. She then headed back to her own unit. After all, who knew what would happen if she talked to a NPC for too long? It was safer to end things here.

    Back in her apartment, she saw Qiu Lu reading one of the romance novels on the sofa. Sha Liu frowned. She didn¡¯t want to touch anything in this room, personally.

    Qiu Lu was holding up a book called Cloud of Romance. She then dimmed themp. ¡°I heard your conversation just now.¡± She then nced at the pink clock on the wall. ¡°There¡¯s still half an hour until eleven o¡¯clock.¡±

    Sha Liu felt a gust of cold air blow in. Turns out, Qiu Liu had turned on the electric fan. ¡°Say, do you think that what they said is true? That we¡¯re inside a painting? What a romantic lie.¡±

    Sha Liu nced at the poet and felt a bit empathetic. All she could do was smile right now. ¡°Whether or not this is actually romantic, we¡¯ll find out tonight.¡±

    Qiu Lu twisted themp¡¯s knob again, turning it brighter. She continued to read her novel.

    This was the first time Sha Liu had seen such a carefree person. She herself was restless. She hadn¡¯t been able to sleepst night. As ¡®usual¡¯, she would only be able to sleep a little after the ¡®danger¡¯ had passed at night.

    Sha Liu tried to listen for movements from the inhabitants of 411 next door. She could faintly make out Ke Xun¡¯s voice. asionally, Mu Yiran would reply in his low voice. However, she couldn¡¯t make out any details.

    The Spring Bamboo Apartments weren¡¯t quiet. It was lively, aspounds that consisted of many families living together tended to be. Sha Liu lifted the curtain slightly and saw the people sitting outside, cooling off in the shade. There were also a few young children who didn¡¯t want to go to bed yet. They were running around happily outside on the balconies.

    Some units had their televisions turned on way too loud. From above them, she heard the theme song of some old television show y: The world is boundless, everywhere is my home! The world is boundless, what words should I leave behind!....

    The olddy Sha Liu had spoken to earlier had returned to her apartment at some unknown point in time.

    Right at this moment, a group of girls passed by her window. They chatted,pletely unconcerned. ¡°Chor Lau-heung? When was this released? Did ite out before Young Justice Bao?¡±

    ¡°My Fair Princess isn¡¯t out yet! Can you imagine? These people are like, prehistoric!¡± The girls who were talking were the three long-legged beauties from before. They each held a Popsicle in their hands. ¡°The stuff here is so cheap too!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to those people who were just trying to scare us. We probably transmigrated! What painting? Let¡¯s go buy lottery tickets tomorrow. We should also buy houses while they¡¯re cheap. I have quite a bit of money left in my card!¡± The three simple-headed girls became increasingly more excited as they talked. They were just itching to change the world.

    Sha Liu watched them hostilely from her dark corner. She thought back to how she had found two good rades¡¯ at the Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery. Unexpectedly, these three girls budded in front of her and rades¡¯, entering before they could.

    The numbers had been all messed up after that. Sha Liu had run the calctions in her head. Twelve people had already entered, which meant that there was only room for one more. That one person could only be herself¡­.

    Everything suddenly went dark. The three girls outside all shrieked. One of the neighbours then shouted, ¡°What are you screaming for? The lights are out, that¡¯s all. Hurry up and go back to your rooms!¡±

    The three girls quieted down. There was still some light emanating from themunal washrooms. The three girls thus groped their way through the dark and returned to their own apartment: Room 402.

    In contrast, Qiu Lu was very calm. She even chuckled. ¡°This reminds me of my days in university. While you¡¯re reading, the lights would suddenly shut off!¡±

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t know what to do with Qiu Lu. She thought that it would be better if the other was a little more timid. If that was the case, she would be able to analyze the situation with her. But the other just so happened to be an idiot. Hehe.

    Sha Liu watched the three girls enter 402. She then turned away from the window. Qiu Lu was currently using her cell phone for lighting. Her face appeared extremely terrifying under the dim light. Sha Liu was startled. It made her a bit angry.

    The two of themid down next to each other on the not-so-big bed. Sha Liu wasn¡¯t sleepy in the least but she didn¡¯t speak.

    Qiu Lu tried to start a conversation with her. ¡°You look young. Have you ever dated anyone?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°What a pity to not date while in university!¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡±

    ¡°Who do you think is better between Shou Zhu and Zhi Shao?¡±

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t want to talk. She stared at the two different-sized spittoons¡ªor to be more precise, chamber pots¡ªin the room for a while. The longer she stared, the more she felt like they were like those wooden figurines used in ancient burials. It felt like they were staring back at her. She quickly averted her gaze.

    Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she sensed that the entire apartmentplex had settled down. It was like no one lived here, like it was an empty building, standing still in the dark night.

    One hourter, frantic knocking echoed through the building.

 Chapter 48: Visiting is Prohibited

    <h4>Chapter 48: Visiting is Prohibited</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    In the dead silence of the night, the knocking was especially jarring.

    Ke Xun felt like the knocks were reverberating right against his ears. Actually, he thought that the knocking was against his door.

    The knocking grew increasingly louder. Female sobs apanied the knocks: ¡°Open the door, open the door!¡±

    The voice seemed familiar. It sounded like the voice of one of the three girls from earlier. Upon realizing that it was one of their teammates, Ke Xun could no longer stay down. He sat up, nning to peek out of the window.

    Mu Yiran, who was lying beside him, pulled at his arm. In a whisper, he said, ¡°She¡¯s knocking on Room 410.¡±

    The knocking continued and gradually transformed into mming. The girl outside shouted for help. ¡°Hey, there¡¯s an issue with this building! We can¡¯t stay here! Come out! Let¡¯s discuss how to get out of here!¡±

    The sound of her palm mming against the door grew louder and louder. The despair of imminent death tinged the air.

    Nevertheless, the only response she got was one of absolute stillness.

    Ke Xun still wanted to peek out the window, but Mu Yiran had a tight hold on his arm. The other¡¯s voice echoed in his ear: ¡°She broke the painting¡¯s rules.¡±

    Ke Xun froze. That¡¯s right. They vited the rule the gatekeeper uncle had told them, the prohibition against visiting other units after lights out. Knocking on someone¡¯s door was the precursor to paying a visit.

    The lights flickered outside. It seemed to be the light from someone¡¯s phone. The light nced over Ke Xun¡¯s room¡¯s window before everything went dark.

    The knocking gradually quieted down but the girl continued to wail. ¡°What should I do¡­. Is there no one inside this building¡­?¡±

    Another female voice chimed in: ¡°It¡¯s already past midnight. Let¡¯s go back to our room. We can move out tomorrow!¡±

    The two girls¡¯ shadows flickered against the curtains, their figures illuminated by the phone¡¯s shlight. Their shadows quivered strangely as they moved with the light.

    The two girls passed Ke Xun¡¯s window and the light gradually disappeared. Their voices were very distinct in the stillness of the night, however, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we bought candles. We can light them up tonight.¡±

    ¡­.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were quiet for a very long time. Ke Xun still sat at the edge of the bed while Mu Yiran was still lying down.

    It was so dark one couldn¡¯t even see one¡¯s own fingers if one were to stretch out a hand. In darkness like this, one became especially sensitive to light. The window on the other side of them lit up and emitted a warm, orange light. It was the room the girls were assigned: Room 402.

    ¡°There are three of them in their team. One person was left alone.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was still lowered.

    That¡¯s right. Only two girls had run out to seek help.

    ¡°I guess they might have broken more than one rule.¡± Ke Xunid back down. He felt like the participants in this painting were different from the ones in the past. However, they would soon sumb to the painting¡¯s rules all the same. In the face of death, people would inevitably realize that they were, in fact, not infallible.

    Their room was not as dark as it was earlier due to the illumination from the room across. Ke Xunid on his side and traced Mu Yiran¡¯s silhouette with his eyes. ¡°Mu Yiran, did you notice that everyone inside this apartmentplex calls this ce the Spring Bamboo Dormitory?¡±

    Ke Xun had said ¡®Mu¡¯ really quietly, so it sounded like he had simply called the other ¡®Yiran.¡¯

    Mu Yiran ignored the fact that the other had dropped hisst name. He focused on thetter part of the sentence: ¡°Dormitory is usually used in reference to workces or schools. It is where people who belong to the same group live.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an old term though. We used to call it student dormitories but now, universities refer to their residences as student apartments.¡± Ke Xun used his arm as a pillow. ¡°It seems like the Spring Bamboo Apartments used to be called the Spring Bamboo Dormitory. Does that mean that the people living in the Spring Bamboo Apartments used to belong to the same group?¡±

    Mu Yiran thought the same. ¡°The elderly people downstairs seem to know each other well. they don¡¯t seem like they are ordinary neighbours.¡±

    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that those elderly folks used to be coworkers? That they¡¯re not just neighbours, but former colleagues?¡±

    If that was the case, then the rtionship between these residents was not as simple as he had first thought.

    These people were a group. By default, they would exclude or reject them¡ªthe new tenants¡ªto some degree.

    It was like they were a little vige of their own. Inevitably, they would feel some hostility to outsiders.

    ¡°There are quite a few outsiders around. Most of the ents I heard downstairs in themercial area were from out-of-town.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice clearly transmitted over the pillow. Although there was quite a bit of distance between their pillows, it made Ke Xun feel warm andfortable.

    ¡°Mn. For example, Wu Mei from the restaurant. There¡¯s also the red-clotheddy from the Wenzhou hair salon.¡± The images of the people Ke Xun saw that evening shed through his mind. Despite the fact that it was the middle of summer, he shivered. ¡°Have you noticed that there¡¯s amon feature to all of their clothing?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t give him an immediate answer. A momentter, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this tomorrow.¡±

    Ever since Ke Xun noticed themon feature of the residents¡¯ clothing, he had felt an ill premonition. Upon hearing Mu Yiran speak like this, he realized that it probably wouldn¡¯t be good to speak of it at night. After all, night time was the most dangerous time inside the painting. The things hidden in the dark might end up overhearing their conversation should they speak of it now.

    But the more they talked about this ce, the weirder the apartmentplex became. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t stop himself from scooting closer to Mu Yiran. ¡°Did you inspect the building closely when we first arrived?¡±

    Mu Yiran was extremely quiet. ¡°It looks like a fortified tower from outside.¡±

    So it wasn¡¯t just him. But if it was a fortified tower, it shouldn¡¯t have a lot of outward facing windows. However, these rooms all had windows that faced the road!

    Why couldn¡¯t they see these windows from outside? Just where did these windows open to?

    Ke Xun thought about the darkness he had seen through the outward-facing window the first time he had entered the unit. An idea started to form in his mind.

    There were certain things that weren¡¯t appropriate to discuss during the night.

    Thus, Ke Xun let out a yawn and said, ¡°Let¡¯s sleep. We have to head to the restaurant early tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Mn.¡±

    Ke Xun flipped on his back. ¡°Goodnight?¡±

    ¡°Goodnight.¡±

    Although they had said goodnight, Ke Xun couldn¡¯t sleep right away. The people he saw today flickered through his mind: the hair salondy in the red skirt, Wu Mei from the restaurant who wore ck leggings and a white t-shirt emzoned withrge, red maple leaves and a line of text that read ¡°The Passion of Maple Leaves¡±....

    There was also the man who wore the hurdles tank top and the olddy in Room 409. The olddy also had on a shirt that was decorated with red flowers¡­.

    Everyone here had red on their clothing. This was absolutely not a coincidence.

    In Chinese culture, red was a festive colour. But now that these people were all wearing red clothes during the night in this strange building, the red suddenly felt like a bad omen.

    The night was extremely quiet. There seemed to be no signs of danger¡ªor rather, perhaps the danger was hidden too well and would not appear right at this moment.

    The light in Room 402, where the girls who had vited the painting¡¯s rules resided, was still on¡­.

    Ke Xun eventually fell asleep without realizing it. He slept very deeply and only woke up the next morning when Mu Yiran woke him up. ¡°Something¡¯s happened outside.¡±

    Something has happened. Inside a painting, that meant that someone had died.

    Ke Xun sat up. He felt like the room was still really dark. The door and the small window facing the inside of theplex were both obviously bright but the bed still felt like it was submerged in darkness.

    Ke Xun turned to look at therge window that faced the street. Unexpectedly, no light came through this window. Mu Yiran went over to draw the curtains. To their surprise, what they saw was dark grey cement. The cement was less than half an arm away from their window.

    No wonder the building looked like a fortified tower from outside. You couldn¡¯t see the windows from the outside at all! Someone had decided to surround the building with a cement wall! People inside the building were only exposed to the world within theplex. They could not see nor hear the world outside.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t know who had created this artificial barrier and isted the people of this building from the outside world. Regardless, it probably wasn¡¯t the residents of this building.

    Ke Xun had no time to dwell on this. He got up and left the unit with Mu Yiran. Standing in the corridor outside, he saw that the atrium was filled with people. There were also two corpses covered by white cloth.

    Sha Liu and Qiu Lu were standing by the railing, peering down on the scene. Sha Liu had probably known that there would be a death today as well. Her eyes were calm behind her sses. Nevertheless, her body couldn¡¯t help but tremble anyway.

    Qiu Lu was paralyzed. ¡°What¡­happened?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go downstairs and take a look.¡± Mu Yiran led the way, heading towards the staircase. The others followed after him with solemn expressions.

    By the time they made their way downstairs, the crowd had already dispersed. The majority of the people left at the scene were members of their party. Some people looked afraid, some people looked aggrieved, and some were simply numb. In any case, no one had a pleasant expression on.

    Qin Ci lifted one of the white cloths up and saw that the corpse was charred ck. The other corpse was in a simr condition.

    The surviving girl of the group of three, Xin Miao, was white as a sheet of paper. She shook profusely. ¡°I told them¡­that it was really dangerous to keep candles lit all night¡­but they didn¡¯t listen¡­.¡±

    Qin Ci frowned. ¡°There was a fire in your apartmentst night?¡±

    ¡°I¡­think so.¡± Xin Miao¡¯s lips trembled. She couldn¡¯t form a full sentence.

    Qiu Lu asked, ¡°You were in the same apartment as them. How could you not know whether or not there was a fire?¡±

    Xin Miao shook her head vigorously. ¡°I slept all through the night. I had felt a bit suffocated in the middle of the night and coughed a bit but I had thought that Tina was just smoking again. I didn¡¯t feel any fires¡­. It wasn¡¯t until morning that I discovered that they were¡­.¡±

    Xin Miao¡¯s eyes widened and she trembled hard. It seemed like she couldn¡¯t bear to recall her memories of this morning¡ªthe fact that she had slept next to two charred corpses.

    The gatekeeper uncle brought a few people to take the corpses away. Today, he was wearing a faded red hurdles tank top. He then waved therge ring of keys in his hand. ¡°Go have breakfast at Wu Mei¡¯s Restaurant at eight o¡¯clock.¡±

    The main entrance was opened and the corpses were carried out.

    Xin Miao suddenly broke out into a frenzy. She made a dash for the outside world, eyes wide. ¡°Let me out! Let me out! This is not a ce for humans! Don¡¯t you dare stop me! I¡¯m going to call the police! I¡¯m going to report you for uwful detainment!¡±

    In the end, she was stopped by the efforts of several people. Sha Liu¡¯s sharp gaze pierced through her lenses. ¡°You¡¯ll only die faster by going outside!¡±

    Xin Miao twitched in desperation several times. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Who can tell me just what the heck is going on?!¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at the watch on his wrist. ¡°It¡¯s seven right now. Let¡¯s go examine the death scene.¡± As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Xin Miao, ¡°I would rmend that you calm down and try to tell us everything you remember. Maybe we can prevent another tragedy from happening.¡±

    Xin Miao¡¯s eyes were empty. She murmured: ¡°They were still alive yesterday. But by this morning, they¡¯ve? turned into charred¡­.The room is filled with the ck ashes from their bodies¡­it¡¯s everywhere¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun turned to look at Sha Liu: ¡°You stay and try to talk to her. We¡¯ll head up first.¡±

    Ke Xun believed in Sha Liu¡¯s ability tofort and persuade other people.

    Sha Liu nodded and pulled Xin Miao over to the side. ¡°That was because they broke the rules. They knocked on someone else¡¯s door after lights out. That was an indication of wanting to visit someone.¡±

    Xin Miao opened her mouth, sucking in a deep breath. She looked like a fish out of water, on its dying breath. ¡°Right¡­they went to knock on the door of 410¡­.¡± Xin Miao¡¯s voice suddenly rose as she red at Sha Liu. ¡°Weren¡¯t you in Room 410? Why didn¡¯t you let them in?!¡±

    Sha Liu¡¯s expression was ice-cold. ¡°If I had opened the door, I would have been the one who was burned to death.¡±

    Sha Liu then asked, ¡°What about you? What were you doing when they were knocking on my door?¡±

    Eve: Spoiler alert (?) for anyone who hasn¡¯t seen the Sixth Sense, but all the red reminds me of that movie and now I suddenly want to re-watch it. A really good movie.

 Chapter 49: The Story of Room 402

    <h4>Chapter 49: The Story of Room 402</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    There were odd scorch marks inside Room 402.

    The ceiling and four walls were all tinged ck but the furniture was untouched.

    The room was very dark. There was a cement wall on the other side of therge window facing the road outside as well. Few people were surprised at this sight. It was only Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen who seemed confused and rmed by the weird cement wall.

    Two of the three sets of bedding on therge bed had been torched to ashes. Thest set was perfectly intact.

    Wei Dong¡¯s face paled. He stood next to Ke Xun and said, ¡°How¡­did they catch on fire? Did the bedding spontaneouslybust? That¡¯s too weird.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at the unaffected candle sitting on the desk. It waspletely unaffected. He also felt like something was fishy.

    Everyone noticed this oddity quickly. Zhi Shao picked up the half melted candle that was sitting in a small teacup. Half of the tea cup was filled with solidified wax. ¡°Was¡­this candle the source of the fire?¡±

    Qin Ci looked at the ck ceiling and the walls. ¡°Judging by the marks on the wall, it looks like the fire was hugest night. It even spread to the outer room.¡±

    ¡°No, the walls have always been ck.¡± It was Xin Miao who had spoken up. Sha Liu stood next to her at the entrance to the apartment.

    ¡°It¡¯s always been like this?¡± Qin Ci was confused.

    Xin Miao was certain. ¡°The three of us¡­it was ck when we first opened the door to this room. We had gone down to ask the gatekeeper uncle if we could change rooms but he said that we couldn¡¯t. He said it was up to us whether or not we lived in that room¡­. We asked him to open the main entrance for us but he refused.¡±

    ¡°Aside from the fact that the walls are charred ck, were there any other weird things you noticed about the unit?¡±

    Xin Miao had just barely managed to calm down. After listening to Sha Liu¡¯s persuasion, her desire to survive had prevailed over her fear. Now, all she wanted was to gain the group¡¯s protection by cooperating. ¡°At that time, we had examined the room before going downstairs to eat at the restaurant¡­.¡± Xin Miao gazed into the room, falling onto the mostly scorched bed. ¡°Those two were braver than I am. They were convinced that we had transmigrated. They were better at adapting then I was.¡±

    ¡°We went back to our room after the lights went out. We all yed games on our phone for a while. Then¡­the two of them said that they wanted to go to the washroom. When they came back, they didn¡¯t seem well¡­.¡± Xin Miao recalled what had happenedst night.

    Sha Liu asked, ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°When they came back, they said that they saw a ghost in themunal washroom¡¯s window¡­. Since Tina loves pranking people by scaring them and loves to tell ghost stories, I thought they were purposely trying to scare me, considering how timid I am,¡± Xin Miao said. She started to sob, ¡°They said that we couldn¡¯t live here, that they wanted to talk to you guys. They wanted to talk to the gatekeeper uncle as a group¡­.¡±

    ¡°I was skeptical, I was also really scared and it was also dark outside. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to go out! None of us really remembered where everyone was located. But we did faintly recall that the other two girls were likely in Room 410¡­.¡±

    That was why they had knocked on 410¡¯s doorst night. When no one answered, they might have left out of fear. They probably nned to leave the next morning, after spending one night in the apartments.

    Everyone had heard them knockingst night. As long as the angle was right, some of them would also have seen the candlelight emitting from their room.

    ¡°What happened after they came back?¡± Ke Xun pictured Tina in his head. Her head was dyed an ash blue and she had seemed fearless. He didn¡¯t think that she was the type to settle down after returning to their room.

    As expected, Xin Miao said, ¡°None of us could sleep. We were all restless. In the end, Tina started to pack her bags. She wanted to leave that night. Actually, we had all left the unit again¡­.¡±

    Xin Miao¡¯s expression turned ugly. She nced in the direction of one of the washrooms: ¡°That staircase¡­we hade up from that staircase before lights had gone out. They were clearly next to that washroom¡­. But who would have expected that the staircase would disappear when we tried to leave in the middle of the night.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Qiu Lu was the first to exim in shock. ¡°The stairs disappeared?!¡±

    Xin Miao¡¯s lips were pale. ¡°They¡¯re back now¡­but they really did disappearst night! Themunal washrooms were still around but the ground was t where the stairs were suppose to be! It was like the stairs had never been there to start with¡­.¡±

    ¡°Did you guys head back to your room because you were afraid afterwards?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Yeah, none of us dared to go out afterwards. Even after shutting the door tightly, we still didn¡¯t feel safe. We then all crowded together in the bed and fell asleep¡­. The next morning¡­.¡±

    Sha Liu patted Xin Miao on the back,forting her. She then looked at Mu Yiran and Ke Xun: ¡°I¡¯ll go check out the female washrooms with Qiu Lu. Maybe the ghost face is still there.¡±

    Qiu Lu was afraid. She hesitated and didn¡¯t walk over right away.

    Shou Zhu said, ¡°If there¡¯s no one in the female washroom right now, we can all head in together.¡±

    No one had any objections. Xin Miao also followed along. She felt that it was safest to stay in a popted area, even if it was currently day time.

    Mu Yiran was at the back of the group. He didn¡¯t go into the female washroom. Instead, he headed towards the staircase Xin Miao had mentioned. Ke Xun stood behind him: ¡°I believe her. The staircase probably did disappearst night.¡±

    Right now, the stairs were right in front of their eyes. The mottled handrails had Saint Seiya posters stuck on them.

    No one could predict what could or could not happen in a painting.

    Mu Yiran stood at the top of the staircase, seemingly lost in thought.

    Ke Xun looked at the four points along the circr walls. Every point was an exit. The staircases were the exits for solid things and the washroom/water room was the exit for liquids.

    ¡°Say, do you think all of the staircases disappeared after lights out? If that¡¯s the case, the gatekeeper uncle wouldn¡¯t have needed to warn us against taking the stairs.¡± Ke Xun shared his thoughts.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s slightly cold eyes paused on Ke Xun¡¯s face for a moment. ¡°Do you think the stairs will disappear every night or only on specific nights?¡±

    Ke Xun perked up at the attention. Feeling refreshed, his mind cleared quite a bit. ¡°What you¡¯re suggesting is that the staircases disappearing might have to do withst night¡¯s death. The mode of deathst night was by fire. If the two girls woke up while being burned, they would probably try to escape. Stairs are considered emergency exits so they would be the first choice for many people.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded slightly. ¡°Based on this reasoning, we can assume that the entire apartmentplex is involved with the designing of each death. It will change ording to each mode of death. This time, only the structure of the building was affected, Next time, the people might also get involved.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s tone was calm but the content of what he was saying was terrifying.

    The others came out from the female washroom. The results of their investigation was as follows: there was indeed a ghost face outside the window. It turned out to be graffiti on the cement wall outside. The face was approximately the size of the window. At first nce, it was really scary.

    ¡°Ke er, why is there a cement wall outside the windows?¡± Wei Dong walked over to Ke Xun¡¯s side, ¡°Is it the same for everyone on the fourth floor?¡±

    Ke Xun nodded. ¡°Is there no wall on the sixth floor?¡±

    Everyone headed to the first floor as they chatted. It was time to congregate at Wu Mei¡¯s Restaurant.

    ¡°The windows on the sixth floor are bright, but for some reason, I feel suffocated up there.¡± Wei Dong looked at Zhu Haowen who was at the front of the pack. ¡°My roommate¡¯s head hurt all night. My chest also felt heavy. It felt like something was pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. Luckily, I had the nasal inhaler you gave me. Otherwise, I would probably have had to go to the hospital and get oxygen therapy.¡±

    Wei Dong pulled the nasal inhaler out and took another inhtion. ¡°No wonder the gatekeeper uncle had said that the pressure was crushing. I get it now.¡±

    Mu Yiran suddenly asked, ¡°Aside from the physical difort, was there any other abnormalities in your room?¡±

    Wei Dong scratched his head. ¡°We slept like the deadst night. Our head and chest still hurt respectively in the morning so we rushed out of the room.¡±

    ¡°How is it now?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s weird. It was fine as soon as I left the sixth floor.¡± Wei Dong was also befuddled.

    Qin Ci went to help Li Taiyong out of Room 307 as they passed the third floor. After considering the elderly man¡¯s age, no one told him about the deaths at once.

    The gatekeeper uncle was already waiting for them at the entrance to Wu Mei¡¯s Restaurant. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about Room 402 before we eat.¡±

    Did the NPC want to talk to them about what had happenedst night of his own ord?

    The gatekeeper uncle twirled the circle of keys in his hand. ¡°Ever since Liao Xinchuan started to cut off electricity at night, we had no choice but to fumble around in the dark. A pretty boy used to live in Room 402. He was a high school student preparing for his university examination. Every night, he was left with no choice but to study under candlelight. One day, he fell asleep from exhaustion. He identally knocked the candle down and his books lit on fire. As a result, he died from the ze. of course, this all happenedst year.¡±

    While everyone tried to figure out what the NPC¡¯s motive for telling them this was, they heard the gatekeeper uncle say: ¡°That¡¯s why we all have to pay careful attention to fire safety and control! All right, we¡¯ll stop here. Go eat.¡±

    .

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking, ¡°What¡¯s our mission during the day?¡±

    ¡°You tenants can do whatever you want! I don¡¯t care!¡±

    ¡°Can we leave through the main entrance?¡± Qiu Lu asked in a fluster.

    The gatekeeper uncle¡¯s face chilled. ¡°The developer has blocked the main entrance. He even had a cement wall erected. Anyone who leaves the Spring Bamboo Dormitory will be considered a traitor!¡±

    Everyone promptly forced outughter as they entered the restaurant. Sha Liu reminded Qiu Lu from behind: ¡°Our goal is to find the signature. Only by finding the signature can we leave this world!¡±

    Qiu Lu already had no choice but to believe that what they had said was true. ¡°But so many people live here. Are we going to have to search every single unit?¡±

    ¡°The signature is unlikely to be in someone else¡¯s home. We have to find the rtionship between the deaths and either figure out the underlying story or trigger. The signature is likely hidden in a ce that is connected to those things.¡± Sha Liu¡¯s voice gradually got louder so that all the newbies could hear her.

    The owner of the restaurant, Wu Mei, brought everyone into the only private room inside. There was arge round table inside the room and a simple breakfast wasid out on top. There was millet congee, mantou and cold side dishes.

    After the ¡®slop¡¯ they were served in thest two paintings, Ke Xun and Wei Dong thought that the treatment here was great.

    Wu Mei said, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to pay extra, there are also eggs, fried dough cakes, steamed buns and preserved egg and shredded pork congee.¡±

    No one really had an appetite, let alone were in the frame of mind to order food.

    Ke Xun nced at Wu Mei: ¡°How much would it cost for everyone to have a boiled egg?¡±

    It was precisely at a time like this that they should eat their fill. Searching for the signature was exhausting.

    ¡°One egg costs fifty cents. There¡¯s eleven of you. I¡¯ll cut you a deal and give you eleven for five yuan!¡± Wu Mei was a straightforward person.

    Ke Xun handed Wu Mei the money and smiled. ¡°The elderly gentleman from earlier mentioned a Liao Xinchuan. What kind of person is he?¡±

    Wu Mei rang the cash register while answering him. ¡°He was the previous factory director here!¡±

    Everyone was shocked by this. They had originally thought that Liao Xinchuan was the Hong Kong developer mentioned before. They didn¡¯t expect him to be a factory director.

    This time, Old Man Li Taiyong, who had been silent this whole time, was the one to speak. ¡°Youngdy, is the factory still around?¡±

    ¡°It is, but it¡¯s different from how it was in the past. I don¡¯t get how stocks work. They just go ¡®round and ¡®round. Right now, the factory belongs to those stockholders. Even thend that the factory is on and our Spring Bamboo Dormitory belongs to them! Factory Director Liao has the biggest share!¡±

    Li Taiyong once again fell silent.

    Eve: Happy New Year, my dears.

 Chapter 50: Spring Bamboo

    <h4>Chapter 50: Spring Bamboo</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Since the NPC didn¡¯t have any missions for them, everyone decided to look for the signature after breakfast.

    Because it was inconvenient for Old Man Li Taiyong to move around, he waited at Wu Mei¡¯s Restaurant while having tea for the time being.

    At present, the remaining ten members of the party were congregated at the atrium.

    The neers were all silent after seeing actual deaths. At the same time, their instinct to survive filled them with energy.

    ¡°Xiao Mu, do you have any ideas?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    Everyone listened with respectful attention. They all had an inexplicable feeling that this tall man wasn¡¯t simple by any means.

    Mu Yiran looked up at the oddly-shaped tube-apartment. ¡°Only by finding clues rted to the deaths will we be able to seek out the signature¡¯s location. Looking at the current condition of 402, it seems like their death is rted tost year¡¯s fire. I don¡¯t know if this could be considered one of the rules governing the method of death, as I¡¯m not sure about the specifics around it.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just Mu Yiran who had thought of this. Sha Liu also nodded. ¡°The gatekeeper uncle specifically gathered all of us to tell us about what happenedst year. I think that this has to be one of the rules! After every death, the NPC will tell us about the mode of death.¡±

    Mode of death. A fitting description.

    Thinking of this closely, this NPC setting was actually really cruel. Whenever something happened, the gatekeeper uncle would stand up and say: this happened to the previous tenantst year, that person died like this, do you understand now¡­.

    ¡°Every person is cursed by the previous tenant of the apartment they reside in. That means that the most urgent issue we must tackle is to find out what kind of death urred in each of our rooms!¡± Sha Liu was a little worked up. Her gaze drifted over each person. ¡°Before searching for the signature, I think we should resolve this first!¡±

    ¡°But we can¡¯t visit other people after lights out. We can only face the danger with the other tenants of our rooms!¡± Xin Miao spoke up, her face deathly pale. She was the only living tenant of 402 at present.

    Wei Dong tried tofort Xin Miao. ¡°As long as we don¡¯t break the rules, it shouldn¡¯t be too bad¡­.Besides, something¡¯s already happened in your room. The likelihood of something happening again is probably lower now.¡±

    Qiu Lu jumped off of Wei Dong¡¯s words, ¡°That¡¯s right! The reason they diedst night was because they were knocking on people¡¯s doors! They broke the rules! As long as we earnestly remember the gatekeeper uncle¡¯s words and don¡¯t visit other units after lights out or go to other floors, we should be fine!¡± Qiu Lu rarely spoke so loudly. It was clear that she was trying to raise her own courage.

    Zhi Shao was the most realistic of the three poets. ¡°But one person has to die everyday. That¡¯s what Dr. Qin said yesterday. If no one dies, we¡¯ll have to vote¡­.¡±

    Everyone fell silent.

    In the end, it was Ke Xun who broke the silence. ¡°There is not enough information for us toe to a conclusion regarding the rules governing over death. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s likely that we¡¯ll ¡®have the chance¡¯ to vote any time soon.¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at Ke Xun: Is this supposed to beforting¡­?

    Sha Liu was anxious. ¡°We¡¯re already figured it out! The previous deaths will happen again in each apartment! As long as we search the rooms carefully and analyze what we find, we will find clues! For example, the scorched marks on the walls of Room 402!¡±

    ¡°Only one death has urred thus far. There is no way we can be certain that every death will ur in the apartments, or that the targets will be the tenants of each respective apartment.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t look at Sha Liu, whose gaze was scorching. His eyes shifted over to the four staircases and he fell into thought.

    Mu Yiran continued where he left off: ¡°The disappearance of the stairs was likely intimately rted to the design ofst night¡¯s death. That means that the scope of where the death could have urred is actually very wide¡ªit was by no means limited to their apartment. Secondly, aside from the strict rules given to us by the NPC, there has to be other hidden death conditions we have yet to uncover. If someone were to trigger a death condition while outside of their room, would they die ording to a mode of death assigned to another room while still inside of their own?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran, his expression changing subtly. Was Boss Mu exining on his behalf? His understanding of the situation was more-or-less the same as his own as well¡­.

    ¡°Outside the room? Why would someone leave their room in the middle of the night?¡± Qiu Lu thought that this question was terrifying.

    Ke Xun sent Sha Liu a meaningful look. ¡°The NPC said that we could not visit other people or other floors. That means that, aside from our own units, we can still travel through the hallways,munal washrooms and the stair area.

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t mind the fact that Ke Xun had seen through her n. In contrast, she felt better knowing that there were other intelligent people around. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, if something were to happen in a particr unit and the people in the unit managed to escape to the hallway, they can be helped. That wouldn¡¯t count as visiting other units or floors. We can help each other so long as we¡¯re in an unrestricted area!¡±

    Xin Miao also got worked up. ¡°Can I stay in the hallway the whole night then? I don¡¯t want to stay there alone! My friends died¡­.¡±

    ¡°If we could stay in the hallway, there would be no need to assign us rooms.¡± Qin Ci rebuked her. ¡°Sha Liu¡¯s emergency n will probably only be effective for a short period of time.¡±

    Qiu Lu was slower to react. Only now did she process what Sha Liu had said. She hastily ran over to hold Xin Miao¡¯s hand. ¡°That¡¯s right! We girls are weak! You guys have to help us out when the timees!¡±

    As she said this, she tugged on Xin Miao¡¯s hand. Xin Miao nodded along.

    Shou Zhuforted them. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Us men should protect women.¡±

    Zhu Haowen, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up. ¡°Death doesn¡¯t discriminate between the old or the young. Death in this apartmentplex also doesn¡¯t discriminate between men and women. There¡¯s no reason for anyone to be obligated to take care of anyone else.¡±

    Qiu Lu felt like her ego had taken a hit. She looked at the fellow wearing Japanese-styled clothes. Although he looked nice, his words were harsh. ¡°Don¡¯t you know the saying, ¡®one never knows from which cloud rain will fall?¡¯ Who knows who¡¯s the one who¡¯s going to need helpter on! Just like how we¡¯re taking care of Grandpa Li right now, we should help each other out. We can go further by working together rather than on our own!¡±

    ¡°If we had to run for our lives right now, would you trail at the end and help Grandpa Li out?¡± Zhu Haowen retorted. ¡°This is the Spring Bamboo Apartments, not the Titanic.¡±

    Wei Dong quickly went over to pat his roommate. ¡°All right, no need to waste your breath. Think about it, what they¡¯re talking about has nothing to do with us.¡± He then looked at Sha Liu, ¡°We live on the sixth floor. Due to the floor restriction, we¡¯re basically cut off from you guys at night.¡±

    Sha Liu¡¯s mind whirled. ¡°How about telling us about any weird phenomenon you experienced in Room 616 now? We can help you guys think of a solution!¡±

    Wei Dong thought about it. Aside from the fact that staying in Room 616 gave them headaches and chest pain, there really wasn¡¯t anything odd about it. ¡°Our apartment¡¯s pretty clean. It¡¯s just really stifling up there. Ke er, wanna go in and test it out?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Grandpa Li also handed me a bottle of Compound Danshen Dripping pills. I¡¯ll take one and then go up to take a look¡­.¡±

    Zhu Haowen cut him off: ¡°Our unit changes shape.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°The fuck?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expression changed upon hearing this. Change shape? Do you think this apartmentplex is a Transformer?

    Mu Yiran looked at Zhu Haowen: ¡°It changed shape?¡±

    Zhu Haowen nodded. ¡°As soon as I entered the suitest night, I started to look for the signature. That¡¯s why I remember both the approximate location of the things in the room and its angles. When I woke up this morning, I noticed that the outer wall of the room was slightly tilted inwards. Many of the objects ced on the wall also shifted. The angle between the wall and the floor is no longer exactly ny degrees. It seems like it¡¯s be an acute angle.¡±

    Many people had to take a moment to digest what Zhu Haowen had said.

    Wei Dong was the most surprised. He didn¡¯t expect for his roommate to be so sharp. Originally, he had nned on saying, ¡°Bro, I¡¯ll be counting on you,¡± but he was afraid that the other would spit back a ¡°There is no such thing as camaraderie at Spring Bamboo Apartments.¡± In the end, he stayed silent.

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°It would be best if we all returned to our rooms to inspect them again. Try to see if you notice anything that¡¯s different fromst night. Might as well take the opportunity to search for the signature while we¡¯re at it. We will then re-congregate and discuss any and all changes or abnormalities we¡¯ve found.¡±

    Everyone agreed to this n. Even Zhu Haowen nodded.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran returned to Room 411. The fourth floor housed the greatest proportion of their party members. Aside from 411, there was also Sha Liu and Qiu Lu in 410. Xin Miao was also in Room 402 on her own.

    If one was to solely consider the people on this floor, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were without a doubt the best in terms of physical strength and reflexes. The other three were girls. In Qiu Lu¡¯s words, they ¡®needed to be protected.¡¯

    The real reason Sha Liu had said all that was to direct the conversation towards that subject.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t really think much of it. If hisrades were in danger in front of him, he would not stand by and watch. No one needed to remind him of that.

    ¡°Do you know anything about this painting or painter?¡± Ke Xun turned on the electric fan. The door and small window were also open. This helped air circte through the stuffy room.

    Mu Yiran carefully examined the corners of the room, as if trying to find any differences fromst night. In particr, he focused on the angle of the ground in rtion to the walls. However, he didn¡¯t notice anything off.

    ¡°Breaking Through the Ground isn¡¯t a painting.¡±

    ¡°You better not tell me it¡¯s actually a horror movie.¡± Ke Xun was facing the fan, so his voice sounded distorted.

    Mu Yiran paused before continuing: ¡°Breaking Through the Ground isn¡¯t one single painting. It¡¯s actually a series or works. They describe the environment in which the painter grew up. There are twelve paintings in total, each brimming with vitality.¡±

    ¡°Twelve paintings?¡±

    ¡°The series, Breaking Through the Ground, consists of twelve paintings. They depict the streetscape the painter grew up in. There are depictions of snack vendors, hair salons, etc. They are a representation of an ordinary life.¡±

    ¡°Are there any mentions of the Spring Bamboo Apartments? Or any other circr tube-shaped apartments?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never researched the twelve paintings in detail. In contrast to painter Luo Bing¡¯s magical realism works, these twelve paintings are so realistic that they seem ordinary.¡± Several names of this painter¡¯s works appeared in Mu Yiran¡¯s mind. They were all filled with mystery and fanaticism. However, they all had deeper meanings rting to society and history behind them.

    ¡°Did you notice anything before entering the painting?¡± Ke Xun tried his best to recall what he had seen. ¡°For example, an electric fan or children skipping rope.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see as much as you did. Aside from thebel ¡®Breaking Through the Ground¡¯ in one corner of the painting, the only thing I could faintly make out while being pulled into the painting¡¯s vortex was¡­¡± Mu Yiran frowned. It seemed like he too thought that what he saw was peculiar¡ªevenical. ¡°A stalk of bamboo.¡±

    ¡°Bamboo?¡± Ke Xun couldn¡¯t recall if he had seen anything pertaining to bamboo after arriving at the apartmentplex. ¡°Do you think there¡¯s a connection between bamboo and the Spring Bamboo Apartments?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t reply. His eyes were focused on the old-fashioned desk in front of him. ¡°There¡¯s something engraved onto the desk.¡±

    ¡°Is it the character for morning?¡± Ke Xun also walked over. Upon getting closer, he noticed that it was actually the character for return. It looked like it was carved into the desk with a ballpoint pen as there were hints of blue ink inside the engraving.

    The character was very deeply carved into the desk. Who knew how many repetitions it would have taken to carve into the desk with a feeble ballpoint pen? Every single stroke was deeply engraved. One could imagine just how intense the carver¡¯s desire or hatred must have been.

    Eve: While it is kind of smart to use your womanly wiles to get protection (assuming it works), imma just say in a real life or death situation irl ain¡¯t few gonna care in this day and age.

 Chapter 51: The Anomaly in the Room

    <h4>Chapter 51: The Anomaly in the Room</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun was worried about Wei Dong so he went to check out Room 616. In the end, he had to be supported back by the other man on the way back to Room 411.

    Ke Xun turned to look at Mu Yiran, head disoriented and sight fuzzy. Was that a sliver of concern in the other¡¯s eyes?

    ¡°Ke er, I didn¡¯t expect you to have such a strong reaction to the room. Luckily I¡¯m the one living on the sixth floor. You¡¯d have suffered a lot if you had to sleep on the sixth floorst night.¡± Wei Dong led Ke Xun to the sofa.

    Ke Xun opened the little green bottle Old Man Li Taiyong had given him and poured out a few pills. He put them into his mouth. ¡°I would have exploded if I had to stay there for two more minutes.¡±

    Under Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze, Ke Xun quickly amended himself: ¡°My head, that is.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps this is a general difort directed towards the worlds inside paintings.¡± Mu Yiran put the book on mechanical theory down. He had been trying to find clues from that book just now. ¡°Did you feel unwell throughout the sixth floor or only in Room 616?¡±

    ¡°The entire sixth floor.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s mouth was filled with the bitter taste and cold feeling of the pills. However, both his heart and mood improved. ¡°The gatekeeper uncle described it really urately¡ªthe pressure up there really is crushing. My head felt so heavy, as if there was an aircraft carrier on top of my head. I couldn¡¯t lift my head up at all.¡±

    Wei Dong nodded along as he reported to the boss: ¡°Same here. My condition was much the same. It felt like there was a propane tank bnced on my head.¡±

    Mu Yiran ignored the ridiculous analogy. He poured Ke Xun a ss of water from the thermos and let it cool down. ¡°Were there any changes to the room?¡±

    Ke Xun smiled at the ss of water. He answered, ¡°Sure enough. That Zhu Haowen even pulled out a ruler to prove it. The outer wall is nted inwards. Meanwhile, the inner walls, that is, the wall where the door and small window are located, werepletely unaffected.¡±

    Ke Xun picked up the ss cup from the table. Although the water inside was still a little too hot, Ke Xun happily blew over the top. ¡°Did you put tangerine powdered drink mix in here?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked down. ¡°It seems like the water here is naturally tinted orange.¡±

    Wei Dong felt like he was being fed dog food. He straightforwardly stepped out of the room.

    ¡°Are you all in here?¡± Suddenly, Sha Liu appeared at the door.

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t know if he was being included or not.

    Sha Liu walked straight in.

    The three men looked at her. They didn¡¯t know what grave matters woulde out from her mouth this time.

    Sha Liu leaned against the door. ¡°Something horrifying happened in my roomst night.¡±

    Ke Xun took a sip of the piping hot water. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you mention it downstairs?¡±

    ¡°I was afraid of scaring Qiu Lu. She¡¯s timid. I didn¡¯t want her to do anything rash out of fear.¡± Sha Liu always had a reason behind everything she did.

    Mu Yiran got straight to it: ¡°What happenedst night?¡±

    Sha Liu¡¯s gaze swept over the room,nding on the pair of red slippers on the shoe rack by the door. She subconsciously shifted further away. ¡°In the middle of the night, when the girl had knocked on our door, I had been awake. But I didn¡¯t dare to move or open the door. I just sat there in the darkness and stared out the small window that faced the corridor. There is no curtain over that window in our room.¡±

    The men listened to her silently.

    ¡°The two girls had been panicking. They shone the light from their phones into my apartment, thereby illuminating the room¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong was the least brave amongst them. He sat down on the sofa and snuggled up to Ke Xun: ¡°Fuck, what did you see?¡±

    ¡°A person sat on top of the chamber pot by the window.¡± Sha Liu¡¯s voice was a bit low. ¡°She wasn¡¯t visible from the other side of the window.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just Wei Dong, even Ke Xun was startled. ¡°What kind of person was it?¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Fuck, you have chamber pots in your room?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Sha Liu pushed her sses up. She seemed to be adjusting her emotions. ¡°I also found it strange. There¡¯s a really big chamber pot in the room. It looks like a toilet. When the light from their phones shone in, I saw a woman sitting on the chamber pot. It was a¡­white-haired woman. She was pure white all over.¡±

    Although Wei Dong had experienced two terrifying paintings already, he was still frightened by the white haired, pure white woman on the chamber pot. ¡°Are you¡­sure you saw correctly?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to look at her for too long. I was so scared I closed my eyes at once.¡± Sha Liu looked like she was still afraid, despite the event having already passed. ¡°Nothing happened in the room even after the girls left. I waited a long time before I opened my eyes again. By that time, the pure white woman had already disappeared.¡±

    Ke Xun took another two pills and cleared his voice. ¡°Do you think that the woman had a physical body or was gaseous or something?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I only caught a glimpse.¡± Sha Liu bit down on her lips. ¡°But what I am certain of is that that woman was a previous tenant of Room 410.¡±

    Although Wei Dong was afraid, he still had the guts to think: then that chamber pot must belong to the pure white woman¡­.

    Sha Liu continued: ¡°The first time I entered the apartment, I had noticed very long strands of white hair on theb sitting on the vanity dresser. The hair likely belonged to her.¡±

    ¡°A vanity dresser?¡± Although Mu Yiran didn¡¯t know a lot about ult stuff, he still asked a very typical question: ¡°Did the woman have a reflection in the mirror?¡±

    ¡°No. Well, the vanity dresser didn¡¯t have a mirror.¡± Sha Liu also found this extremely weird. ¡°It was evident that its mirror had been removed. There were marks left over.¡±

    Wei Dong had originally thought that he was the most unfortunate, having to live on the sixth floor. Now, he thought that the other rooms were more dangerous. ¡°About that p-pure white woman¡­did you call her that because she was wearing white clothing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t have the nerve to look at her too closely. In any case, everything about her was white. I think her face was white too¡ªby white, I mean she was as white as a snowman.¡± Sha Liu suddenly felt like throwing up.

    ¡°Aside from this, did you notice any other abnormalities?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    Sha Liu resisted the urge to dry heave. ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep at allst night. During thetter half of the night, I heard my door open and close two times. Although it was really quiet, I could hear it in the silence of the night.¡±

    ¡°It opened and closed twice? You¡¯re saying that someone went out and came back in?¡± Mu Yiran frowned.

    ¡°It could also be that someone came in and then went out.¡± Ke Xun took another sip of the hot water of non-optimal quality.

    Sha Liu: ¡°That¡¯s not likely. The door is locked from the inside. People can¡¯t get in from the outside.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°The issue is¡­someone that can enter and exit at their own will at night¡­is probably not an ordinary human.¡±

    Sha Liu mulled over this before saying, ¡°I tried to get some information from the olddy that lives next door. She said that someone named Yafen lived in the apartment I currently reside in for about a decade. But she moved downtown with her parents a while back.¡±

    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that this Yafen is still alive?¡± Ke Xun knew his question sounded odd but he knew everyone would get what he meant.

    ¡°It sounded like the olddy was saying she moved away.¡± Sha Liu thought about the romance novels in the room. She didn¡¯t know why Yafen hadn¡¯t taken her books with her.

    If that pure white woman wasn¡¯t Yafen, who was it?

    Sha Liu cleared her throat unnaturally. ¡°Qiu Lu and I talked. We¡¯ll be spending tonight on the sofa in the outer room. If anything happens, we¡¯ll make a run for the corridor. If that happens, I hope you¡¯ll help us.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ke Xun agreed.

    Sha Liu sighed in relief. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. We should head downstairs and meet up with the others.¡±

    The group left the suite and saw Qiu Liing up from the third floor. She shouted at them: ¡°Come eat!¡±

    Qiu Lu had been with her two friends just now. Xin Miao was also with her.

    Everyone gathered downstairs. Qin Ci was already with Old Man Li Taiyong, waiting at the entrance to the restaurant. Zhu Haowen was standing next to them as well, no expression on his face.

    Mu Yiran looked at Qin Ci. Qin Ci nodded. ¡°I already told the older gentleman the truth. He didn¡¯t have a strong reaction.¡±

    Old Man Li Taiyong wasn¡¯t deaf. When he heard Qin Ci speak, he spoke up in a slow manner. ¡°There is a reason for everything. Although this ce seems otherworldly, it is not without reason.¡±

    Everyone reacted differently to his words. Qiu Lu had wanted to rebuke him but decided to drop it considering the fact that this was a seventy something year old man.

    Lunch consisted ofmon home-cooked dishes. Everyone decided to leave their discussion for after dinner, just in case they ended up hearing something that would make them lose their appetite.

    After everyone ced down their chopsticks, Qin Ci said, ¡°There¡¯s no issue with the furnishing in Room 307. There were no changes like in Room 616 either. But I did hear strange noisesst night. I don¡¯t know if that counts.¡±

    ¡°What kind of noises?¡± Sha Liu asked.

    Qin Ci thought back carefully. ¡°It was kind of like someone was making noises with their lips puckered. Like the sound we sometimes make when we feed little animals.¡±

    Xin Miao was the most timid of the group. She wrapped her arms around herself to force herself not to shake.

    ¡°I heard that sound too.¡± Old Man Li Taiyong, who stayed in the same room as Qin Ci chimed in, ¡°It¡¯s like the sound we make when we try to beckon kittens or puppies toward us.¡±

    Everyone knew what sound they were describing but no one wanted to make it out loud. They were afraid that the sound would haunt them if they were to do it.

    This kind of fear was hidden in the corner. It was different from the fear one would feel if a monster were to suddenly jump out. It was like if a ghost¡¯s hand were to suddenly reach out and scratch you slightly. It wouldn¡¯t hurt, but it was terrifying.

    ¡°What about the others?¡± Sha Liu looked at everyone.

    Zhi Shao, who stayed in Room 309, shook his head. ¡°We chatted untilte in the night but nothing strange happened.¡±

    Qiu Lu who was in 410 with Sha Liu said, ¡°Nothing happened in our room either¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun, Sha Liu, Wei Dong and Mu Yiran exchanged nces but no one made a sound.

    Soon after, Qiu Lu said, ¡°But I did dream of a snow womanst night.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong spoke up at the same time: ¡°What snow woman?¡±

    ¡°Like a yuki-onna from Japanese legends. The yokai that appears on snowy mountains and freezes the men she likes before adding them to her collection in her cave to admire.¡± Qiu Lu described her dream, ¡°The snow woman was dressed in all white and had pure white skin. She was beautiful.¡±

    Wei Dong and Sha Liu¡¯s expressions both turned ugly. The others also felt unwell after hearing about her dream. Only Sha Liu smiled. ¡°Many Japanese legends are romantic.¡±

    Qin Ci looked towards Mu Yiran and Ke Xun. ¡°What about you two? Did anything happen in 411?¡±

    Although Ke Xun didn¡¯t sleep very wellst night, he hadn¡¯t heard anything strange. He turned to look at Mu Yiran. He thought that the other would mention something he hadn¡¯t had time to tell him yet.

    As expected, Mu Yiran calmly said, ¡°I heard somethingst night. It sounded like it wasing from beneath the bed.¡±

    ¡°At the foot of the bed?¡± Everyone looked terror-stricken.

    ¡°It sounded like someone was searching for something.¡±

 Chapter 52: The Woman in Red

    <h4>Chapter 52: The Woman in Red</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun was watching with his arms folded as Mu Yiran personally ced the red slippers back under the bed. ¡°Did you have the same concern Sha Liu had for Qiu Ku? Did you think that I¡¯d make a scene because I would be scared? Was that why you hid the matter with the ghost from me?¡±

    Mu Yiran put the slippers down and then looked at Ke Xun with a mildly chilly expression. He was about to reply when he saw Ke Xunhand him the cool bar of soap: ¡°You should wash your hands.¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡±

    After Mu Yiran left, Ke Xun squatted down to look at the pair of red slippers at the foot of the bed. It looked pretty domestic. Intimate, really.

    Ke Xun thought of his childhood. His mom had a pair of red slippers and his father had a pair of slippers in a shade of warm brown. His own had been sky blue in colour. Every slipper had on a picture of a little bear. All together, they were ¡®the Three Bears¡¯¡­.

    As this memory drifted into his mind, the strange atmosphere dissipated. Ke Xun got up and walked over to the desk. He stroked the deeply engraved ¡®return¡¯ character. He didn¡¯t know who the owner of the red slippers was waiting for.

    Everyone spent the afternoon searching for the signature.

    Because of theck of clues, everyone had no choice but tob the building while using the clumsiest of methods. They couldn¡¯t enter the units belonging to non-group members at will and the signature was probably not in non-group member apartments either. Therefore, they focused on nket searching the corridors, staircases andmunal washrooms.

    Night eventually fell and nothing had turned up.

    The neers were especially disappointed. Only Shou Zhu had something to say. ¡°There were many good poems written on the walls of one of themunal washrooms on the fourth floor. Most of them were original works.¡±

    No one paid attention to him aside from Qiu Lu. She asked, ¡°Are you talking about the washroom to the west of 409?¡±

    Shou Zhu fanned himself with the folding fan in his hand, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°The women¡¯s washroom was also filled with poems!¡± Qiu Lu turned to look at Sha Liu. Since that was the washroom closest to 410, the two of them usually used that one.

    Sha Liu furrowed her brows. She had also seen those vulgar poems. She didn¡¯t think that there was a connection between these poems and the signature. She also thought that these poets were useless.

    Shou Zhu didn¡¯t pay her expression any mind and started to recite: ¡°Transparent as spring water, sharp as a knife, vast and sparkling¡­.¡±

    ¡°The same poem was in the female washroom!¡± Qiu Lu interrupted Shou Zhu. ¡°Did the same person write it?¡±

    Shou Zhu seemed to be thinking seriously for the first time. He flipped his fan closed. ¡°No wonder the style and hand-writing seemed a bit feminine.¡±

    ¡°Even if it was written by the same person, what does it prove? That a woman snuck into the male washroom to write a poem?¡± Sha Liu thought that this was disgusting. In contrast, it was exactly something an immoral person like Shou Zhu enjoyed.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s pretty weird,¡± Xin Miao said in a very quiet voice.

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t want to waste time on this, however. ¡°We need to search for the signature.¡±

    Everyone was congregating at the restaurant¡¯s exit. Some were earnestly listening to the others while others were lost in thought. Only Zhu Haowen was leaning against the wall, his head lowered as he yed games on his phone.

    Ke Xun pushed the bamboo curtain hanging over the door to one side for Wu Mei, who was holding a basket of vegetables. ¡°Let¡¯s go in and eat. We can talk while we have dinner.¡±

    The small restaurant felt stuffy so Wu Mei decided to bring a copsible table to the atrium: ¡°Let¡¯s eat outside. It¡¯s nice and cool!¡±

    ¡°Good idea!¡± Ke Xun walked over to carry the table for Wu Mei. ¡°I¡¯ll do it! You guys shouldn¡¯t just stand around either. Everyone, bring your own chair! Haowen er, don¡¯t y on your phone. Bring a chair over!¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked up, gaze drifting in Ke Xun¡¯s direction. He then walked into the restaurant and carried a chair out.

    Qiu Lu and Xin Miao were still thinking about the poems in the washroom. They were really dissatisfied with Sha Liu¡¯s pejorative attitude just now. Xin Miao walked over to Mu Yiran. ¡°Mu ge, don¡¯t you think that the poems are weird? This person went into the male and female washrooms. Is this person a he or she? They live on the fourth floor with us!¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look after dinner. If it¡¯s the same handwriting, we can all search our respective rooms and try to find matching samples of writing. Perhaps we¡¯ll uncover some clues.¡±

    Sha Liu looked at Mu Yiran. She then took off her sses and cleaned them with her shirt.

    Wu Mei turned on the light in front of the restaurant. The atrium lit up. The group didn¡¯t have much to say and many people had small appetites. After all, night would soon fall.

    ¡°Eat as much as you can. You¡¯ll only have energy if you eat.¡± Old Man Li Taiyong advised.

    ¡°The old sir¡¯s right,¡± Ke Xun used his chopsticks to pick up some shredded pickled radish and chewed on them. ¡°You have to keep up your strength if you want to have the energy to escape!¡±

    Everyone thought that this sounded reasonable. They then lowered their heads and focused on eating.

    Mu Yiran took in Ke Xun¡¯s friendly appearance. He couldn¡¯t help but stare a bit. It was rare to see someone like Ke Xun, who had an inherent ability to draw you in and feelfortable around him, in his normal life.

    Old Man Li Taiyong smiled. He really liked the child named Ke Xun. ¡°While you all were searching for clues upstairs, I yed a few rounds of Chinese chess with Old Zhang.¡±

    ¡°Old Zhang? Are you referring to the gatekeeper uncle?¡± Only now did Ke Xun find out that the elderly gentleman¡¯sst name was Zhang.

    ¡°Yes. I took the chance to ask him about the situation here.¡± Old Man Li Taiyong said calmly.

    Sha Liu was worked up upon hearing this. ¡°Did you ask about the deaths that happened here?¡±

    Old Man Li Taiyong shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not how one should start a conversation. One has to take it step by step.¡±

    Sha Liu lowered her head and twisted the steamed twisted bread roll in her hand. ¡°What did you talk about then?¡±

    Everyone slowly ate as they attentively listened to Old Man Li Taiyong speak.

    ¡°This building is old. It was built at the beginning of the eighties. It belongs to a factory. In other words, it was a dormitory for the factory workers.¡± Although Old Man Li Taiyong was old, his speech was very clear and his pace was unhurried. ¡°Two years ago, the factory was listed on the stock market. Factory Director Liao owns the most shares. Along with a few other shareholders, he decided to sell thend the Spring Bamboo Dormitory is located on.¡±

    ¡°Sell? But people are still living here, aren¡¯t they?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°Apparently, the factory had started to expel people from the dormitory before the selling took ce. The employees that had their own homes or were very honest moved out. However, most people refused to leave. The factory director thus decided to just call it the Spring Bamboo Apartments and left it open for renting for a year or two. Later on, he began negotiations with a developer from Hong Kong. As a result, they ended up signing a contract. He sold thend to the developer.¡±

    Qin Ci asked, ¡°If the people living here are employees of the factory, the factory should resolve the living situation for them.¡±

    ¡°The factory did give them a solution. They suggested the employees buy one of the new houses near the factory. Once they bought it, it would be theirs to keep. But it was expensive,costing about 100,000 yuan in full. The factory had been in a slump for many years at that point, so few could afford that.¡±

    Indeed, the concepts of down payments or paying in installments did not exist back then. If you wanted to buy a house, you had to pay the entire sum at once.

    ¡°Later on, the factory director and developer started to shoo people away together. It¡¯s illegal to go straight into someone¡¯s home and force them out, so they thought up foul methods. They erected a tall cement wall around the outside of the tube-shaped apartment. The wall reached the fourth floor. There was also a giant iron gate installed. They trapped the residents inside most of the time, only allowing them toe and go at fixed times during the day.

    Everyone started to frown upon hearing this. These people were ruthless.

    Ke Xun now understood who had written ¡®there are ghosts¡¯ on the wall outside in that sinister red font. It had to have been done by the factory director and developer.

    ¡°That¡¯s how the Spring Bamboo Apartments came to be like this.¡± Li Taiyong finished his story and then picked up his bowl to take a sip of his rice congee.

    ¡°I think that this should be the Spring Bamboo Apartments¡¯ backdrop. It might have something to do with the painting¡¯s main idea.¡±

    The hair salon was located next door to the restaurant. The beautiful female owner, who was wearing a red skirt, walked out. She headed towards their table with a smile on her face. She ced a box of Marlboro cigarettes in front of Shou Zhu: ¡°The smokes you wanted.¡±

    Shou Zhu had always been defenceless around beautiful women. A smile blossomed on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve troubled you! Xiao Sang, have you eaten yet? I¡¯ll order a few more dishes. How about you drink with us?¡±

    Zhi Shao elbowed hispanion. He didn¡¯t think it was an appropriate time to try and pick up girls.

    Everyone else also didn¡¯t like the fact that Shou Zhu was inviting an outsider to sit with them.

    Xiao Sang was very perceptive, however. She gave Shou Zhu a e hither¡¯ gesture and said, ¡°How about youe to my ce? The family next door just moved away and the unit¡¯s been free for a long time now. We¡¯re nning on having a disco party there!¡±

    Qiu Lu¡¯s expression turned ugly. She raised her chin slightly and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

    ¡°Sure, sure, sure!¡± Shou Zhu couldn¡¯t withstand the temptation. He hastily got up to follow Xiao Sang away.

    Zhi Shao was concerned and shouted: ¡°You have to return to the room before ten o¡¯clock! Don¡¯t wait until lights out!¡±

    Shou Zhu waved a hand. He fanned himself with his folding fan while chatting with Xiao Sang.

    After dinner, everyone went to investigate the washroom on the west side of the fourth floor. For many, it was the first time they had entered this washroom. Their expressions were tense.

    Wei Dong was dumbfounded. ¡°These obscene¡­poems¡­are too explicit!¡±

    Ke Xun then said, ¡°A woman wrote this.¡±

    ¡°Ke er, you¡¯ve looked into poems written by women before?¡±

    ¡°Look.¡± Ke Xun pointed to one of the phrases. Written in red, it said: My cavern is waiting for you to drown inside of it¡­.

    Afterparing the handwriting in the male and female washrooms, they concluded that it was indeed from the same person. Unfortunately, they could not find any matching writing samples in their rooms.

    Qiu Lu was rmed. ¡°I think that it has something to do with our room. Although we didn¡¯t find any matching handwriting samples¡­someone circled explicit paragraphs in the romance novels with a red pen.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Sha Liu also thought that this was weird. ¡°We¡¯ll keep an eye out tonight. Let¡¯s sleep near the door so that we can run to the corridor for help at any sign of movement.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Qiu Lu nodded apprehensively.

    It was already past ten o¡¯clock at night. Zhi Shao had personally gone downstairs to drag Shou Zhu from the disco party. Everyone returned to their own rooms to prepare to rest.

    Very soon after, the lights went out. The entire building was dark. Only the fourmunal washrooms emitted a dusky yellow light.

    ¡°Say, do you think she¡¯ll continue to search for the shoes tonight?¡± Ke Xun lied down on the bed and stared at the dark ceiling.

    The shoes were put back into their original ces. There was no reason for her to search for them anymore. Now, the question was, what would the person do after putting on the shoes?

    ¡°Sleep. We¡¯ll y it by ear.¡± Mu Yiran was tired. He hadn¡¯t slept muchst night.

    Ke Xun suddenly flipped over. He stretched an arm out and Mu Yiran grabbed his wrist. Their hands froze in ce in midair.

    ¡°Ow ow ow, that hurts!¡± Ke Xun tried to free his hand. ¡°I¡¯m trying to grab the fan next to you! The palm-leaf fan is next to your pillow!¡±

    Mu Yiran let go, turned over to grab the fan, and then threw it to Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun caught it and started to fan himself. A cool breeze fell over the two people. Mu Yiran also thought it felt nice.

    The other¡¯s voice then drifted over with the cool breeze, his words well articted: ¡°On a midsummer¡¯s night, a cool breeze brings relief~¡±

    Mu Yiran decided to just go to sleep.

    Ke Xun continued to fan them. He thought about what had happened during the day and started to feel sleepy. He had just shut his eyes when he heard the sounds of unhurried footsteps from the hall.

    It was the sound of high heels cking against the floor. The person was walking very slowly, sounding almost rhythmical. They took a few steps before pausing, only to walk again.

    None of the women in their group were wearing high heels. As such, who was the woman outside? Was it one of the neighbours?

    Mu Yiran had woken up. His voice was very quiet. ¡°It¡¯s on our floor.¡±

    The two of them tried to quiet their breathing as much as possible until the sound of high heels clicking against the floor grew distant.

    ¡°Should we take a look?¡± Ke Xun pointed to the small window that peered into the hallway.

    Mu Yiran nodded. The two of them got off the bed quietly and each took one side of the small window. They lifted the window curtain slightly and looked outside.

    There was a person walking down the fourth floor¡¯s hallway as expected. That person was wearing a red dress. Judging by the hair style, it was obvious that this person was the Xiao Sang from the hair salon.

    Xiao Sang walked slowly. Every time she passed one of the doors, she would pause briefly. She would then continue onwards.

    A person in red clothes was particrly striking against the darkness of the night.

    In the end, she stopped in front of one door and knocked on it.

    Eve: ¡­Bro, you really gonna pick up chicks after two people died¡­??? Also the poem reminds me of cringey fanfiction terms used to describe genitals. There¡¯s a whole list for alternative words to use in ce of ¡®dick¡¯ on tumblr somewhere.

 Chapter 53: @#$%^%@#

    <h4>Chapter 53: @#$%^%@#</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    TN for the title of this chapter:? This wasn¡¯t the original title but the original title was honestly gibberish. It makes senseter.

    <strong>Warning:</strong> ¡­Um¡­mentions of nudity and sexual activities.

    The door Xiao Sang was knocking on was a familiar one. The candlelight glowing out from that roomst night was still vivid in Ke Xun¡¯s mind. This was Room 402, where the three girls had stayed.

    Right now, there was only Xin Miao left inside.

    Xiao Sang knocked on the door for two minutes. When she saw that it wouldn¡¯t open, she left.

    The rhythm of her steps was the same. Xiao Sang paused every few steps upon reaching a door, as if trying to figure out who lived inside each unit.

    Ke Xun quickly spoke in a hushed voice: ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, the next door she will knock on is our room, Room 411.¡±

    Xiao Sang paused for a moment in front of each door, probably to determine whether or not the people inside were from the world outside the painting. If the answer was yes, she would knock on the door.

    The sound of her footsteps gradually grew closer. Xiao Sang walked down the hallway in a counter-clockwise fashion. 402, 401, 416, 415, 414¡­.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look.¡± Mu Yiran looked away. He pasted his body against the wall. At this angle, people could not see him from outside. ¡°She¡¯ll probably leave if we don¡¯t respond.¡±

    Ke Xun also stuck close to the wall. He listened to the sound of the high heels gradually pulling closer. Waiting like this was unbearable. It was like waiting for the end of days.

    Xiao Sang, who had on a pair of high heels, finally reached Room 411. She paused before knocking on their door, as they had expected.

    Her knocking was also very rhythmical. She was very polite.

    Itsted two minutes. Just as Ke Xun thought it would end, the knocking suddenly picked up speed. It was clear that she was getting impatient.

    Neither of them moved. They had nearly held their breaths. They tried their best to reduce their presence.

    The fast knockingsted another two minutes before stopping helplessly. She then took two steps forward in her high heels and abruptly stopped in front of the small window.

    The other started to knock on the window, unresigned. Bang, bang bang¡­.

    A shadow from outside suddenly enveloped them. The person outside seemed to be trying to peer inside. Suddenly, a delicate voice drifted in: ¡°Open the door~ Open the door for me, it¡¯s Xiao Sang, ah.¡±

    Ke Xun broke out into a nervous cold sweat. He had fought with Heishitian but the weird littledy outside still managed to scare him.

    ¡°Open the door~¡± The voice sounded coquettish.

    Both men held their breaths. They did everything they could to prevent the thing outside from sensing them.

    The woman outside sighed softly before leaving resentfully. The clicks of the high heels seemed to sound disappointed. They were even slower now.

    The next door was 410, so neither of them dared to move. It was too close.

    Contrary to expectations, however, the footsteps continued and eventually disappeared.

    Mu Yiran shifted his head and peered through the crack between the window and curtain: ¡°She went downstairs.¡±

    Ke Xun sighed in relief. ¡°Why did she let off Room 410?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was heavy. ¡°If my guess is correct, then she must havee out from Room 410.¡±

    The cold sweat continued. Ke Xun carefully gazed out the window and saw that the figure in red had already reached the third floor.

    Because the figure had descended from the west staircase by Room 409, its first stop was Room 308. The figure walked in a counter-clockwise direction at the same pace as before. Again, she stopped in front of each door before continuing onwards.

    Qin Ci and Old Man Li Taiyong stayed in Room 307. As they predicted, the red figure knocked on their door.

    Ke Xun¡¯s nerves were strung. Although he knew that Qin Ci was a reliable person and that Old Man Li Taiyong was even more unlikely to make a mistake, Xiao Sang was difficult to read. What if she flew into a rage when the door didn¡¯t open¡­?

    Xiao Sang eventually gave up on Room 307. Although she had knocked for a rtively long time, she hadn¡¯t knocked on their window. She then headed for Room 306.

    ¡°That¡¯s weird. I thought that she would knock longer and longer with each door.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Perhaps she can sense the people inside,¡±Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°Like she can tell how many people are inside?¡± Ke Xun thought about it. There were the same number of people in his room and Qin Ci¡¯s room. ¡°Can she sense our height and weight as well?¡± If that was the case, it would make sense as to why she knocked on their door the longest.

    ¡°No. I think she can sense the gender and age of the people in the rooms.¡± There was a nearly undetectable embarrassment in Mu Yiran¡¯s voice.

    Ke Xun suddenly realized that he had been too innocent just now. He had forgotten why a pretty ghost would be knocking on doors¡ªespecially if said pretty ghost was a female ghost that came out of Room 410. ording to what Qiu Lu had said, this woman used to love reading ridiculous novels¡­. This was also the person who had written those shocking poems in the washrooms¡­.

    But was it a ghost? Xiao Sang appeared during the day though.

    Their group members lived in two rooms on the thrid floor. Aside from Room 307, in which Qin Ci and Li Taiyong lived, there was also Room 309, which housed Shou Zhu and Zhi Shao.

    Xiao Sang walked through most of the third floor¡¯s hallway, slowly making her way to her destination.

    Room 309 was almost directly under 411. Because of this, Mu Yiran and Ke Xun could not see what was happening downstairs. They could only listen with their ears.

    The knocking started again. After knocking for about two minutes, Xiao Sang once again spoke up with a coy Zhejiang/Jiangsu ent. ¡°Open the door, ah. It¡¯s me, Xiao Sang. Gege, open the door, ah.¡±

    Mu Yiran quietly said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think her voice is different from the Xiao Sang during the day?¡±

    Ke Xun tried to analyze it. He then hesitantly said, ¡°The ent sounds about right.¡±

    ¡°No. The ent sounds deliberate. It sounds like she¡¯s imitating a Wenzhou ent.¡± Mu Yiran hadn¡¯t finished speaking when they heard the sound of a door opening.

    This caught them off guard. The door to 309 opened? Who was it? Who opened the door for her?

    ¡ª¡ªIt was probably Shou Zhu.

    The door opened and then closed.

    No one spoke during the entire interaction.

    Shortly after, they could hear someone staggering down the hall. A figure appeared in the hallway, appearing panicked. In the end, it approached Qin Ci¡¯s room. The figure knocked on the door and the door opened shortly after. The person then walked in. They could not tell who it was in the darkness.

    The entire building fell silent once more.

    Ke Xun¡¯s heart sunk. He waited for screams of rm or shouts for aid.

    But a long time passed and nothing could be heard. It was silent, as had beenst night¡¯s fire.

    The door to 307 had opened. Did that count as allowing someone to visit? Did that count as breaking the rules?

    Meanwhile, 309 had let an outsider in. What did this mean?

    Suddenly, the sound of breathing floated into his ear. The breathing sounded really loud, as if someone was right next to his ear. No¡­it was like he was in a room with surround sound.

    Mu Yiran and Ke Xun exchanged nces, confirming that it wasn¡¯t a hallucination. The sound once again echoed in the room. This time, it was an explicit moan and gasp¡­.

    What the fuck. Where was this loud, horrifying and obscene sounding from?

    Ke Xun thought that the ground was shaking. Suddenly, he thought he saw a white light flicker through the window. He hastily turned to peer out the window once more.

    What he saw, he would never forget in his lifetime. He felt like he had been blinded.

    One giant body was lying on top of another giant body in the middle of the tube-shaped apartment¡¯s atrium. The giant, pale shining white person was doing something indescribable¡­.

    The entire scene was like a holographic image, but it also looked so real. Their breaths seemed to cause the ss windows to fog up.

    Ke Xun finally understood what ¡®it burns my eyes¡¯ meant. Right now, his eyes were glued to the scene outside the window but they felt like they were going to explode. He couldn¡¯t even blink.

    @#$%^%@#¡­. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t even swear. Compared to what he was watching, all curse words sounded innocent in contrast, almost like songs of praise.

    Was watching this scene mandatory? Ke Xun tried his best to look away but his eyeballs wouldn¡¯t budge an inch. All he could do was stare at the giant ¡®live porno¡¯ ying out before him¡­.

    The two giant bodies emitted light, as if trying to attract attention. Ke Xun was finally able to see who they were. The giant, thin man was Shou Zhu. However, the snow-white, abnormal woman wasn¡¯t Xiao Sang.

    Perhaps it was because the ¡®exercise¡¯ was too intense, but the woman¡¯s ck, ¦¸-shaped wig had fallen off, revealing long, pure-white hair. When the two people changed positions in the middle of their passion, the woman¡¯s face waspletely revealed to Ke Xun¡­.

    A pure-white face, pure-white eyebrows and pure-white eyshes. Only her irises were a different colour¡ªpink. It looked like she was wearing coloured contacts.

    The woman was shedding tears of passion and she was shouting unspeakable words. It sounded like those shocking poems.

    Ke Xun used all of his strength to finally shut his eyes. Gradually, he regained control of his body. He hastily turned around and panted against the wall. He didn¡¯t know why he was tired from ¡®watching¡¯ but he was emotionally and physically exhausted.

    Mu Yiran was already leaning against the wall. Their gazes met and they both had a ¡°:)¡± expression on their faces.

    Silently crying without tears.

    The sounds outside continued and even became more and more intense. It was like huge surround sound systems had been installed all around the floor so that everyone in the entire world could hear what they were doing.

    Ke Xun stumbled back onto the bed andid back down. ¡°My fucking god, I thought I was gonna die just now. I¡¯m wrecked.¡±

    Mu Yiran was still standing by the window, motionless. He didn¡¯t look outside though. The cold stiffness inside the room was a stark contrast to the fervent passion outside.

    The loud noises continued for more than two hours before they gradually quieted down¡­.

    Ke Xun also gradually snapped out of the immense disgust and rm. ¡°Is it over?¡±

    Mu Yiran still didn¡¯t look outside. He pushed the curtains open, catching Ke Xun off-guard, forcing him to see the still-ongoing scene outside. He had no idea whose genitals he was getting a close up on. All he knew was that he could see every little detail. He had no words.

    Ke Xun felt his body go numb. In the end, he started to dry heave.

    ¡°An albino.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice sounded even colder in contrast to the sounds from outside the window.

    ¡°Who?¡± Ke Xun used the nasal inhaler. It wasn¡¯t enough. He still wanted to take a few pills as well.

    ¡°The woman outside who had pretended to be Xiao Sang. She¡¯s probably the snow-white woman Sha Liu sawst night. Judging by the colour of her skin and irises, she¡¯s likely an albino.¡±

    ¡°Why did she pretend to be Xiao Sang?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe because Xiao Sang is the type to be popr with men.¡± There was no expression on Mu Yiran¡¯s face as he said this.

    That¡¯s true. Xiao Sang had seeded in attracting Shou Zhu during the day. Perhaps Shou Zhu had ignored the rules because he had thought that it was Xiao Sang knocking on the door.

    He became fearless of death in the face of lust.

    By the time the soundspletely stopped, the sky had already brightened.

    Ke Xunid on the bed and rested for a while before going to pull the curtain open. It was finally back to normal outside.

    It was as if the enormous copting couple outsidest night was nothing but an illusion, or an asphyxiating, bizarre dream.

    ¡°What happenedst night was more like Luo Bing¡¯s style¡ªmagical realism.¡± Mu Yiran summed up the absurd matter in terms of art.

    ¡°Is that so.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t know what to say.

    When they walked out, dawn¡¯s light had already emerged. Several people came out of the other rooms, including Sha Liu and Qiu Lu next door. They both looked petrified. It was obvious that they had be numb fromst night¡¯s torment.

    When they peered down from the railings, they saw that several people surrounded a naked male corpse.

    Eve: Firstly, ew. Secondly, well, I guess you could say he died doing what he loved. Probably.

 Chapter 54: Yafen

    <h4>Chapter 54: Yafen</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    By the time everyone made their way down to the atrium, the naked corpse had already been covered with a white cloth.

    Everyone looked like a statue. Even their fear had been swept away.

    Only Wei Dong ran over to Ke Xun, dazed. He whispered, ¡°Ke <i>er</i>, did you see thatst night? I feel wrecked!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys go to bed really early?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Wei Dong smacked his chest. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I woke up in the middle of the night. They were so loud¡­.At that time, I saw Haowen er by the window. I also recklessly went over to take a peek. In the end, I couldn¡¯t look away. I had to watch the entire performance¡­. I thought I was going to go blind¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun patted his friend infort. ¡°Just pretend you didn¡¯t see it.¡±

    Pretend he didn¡¯t see it? Even if he reincarnated and lived through eight hundred lifetimes, he wouldn¡¯t be able to forget it! Wei Dong looked at the corpse on the ground, covered by the white cloth. He sighed. Suddenly, he felt like this person was really pitiful. He had died from excessive ejaction¡­. Dying was one thing, but his privates were also exposed in front of everyone before he kicked the bucket. It had even been greatly magnified.

    Qin Ci and Old Man Li Taiyong had juste down the stairs. Both their expressions were dark. Qin Ci turned around and said, ¡°Bring him down. Make sure he¡¯s covered with the white cloth.¡±

    Everyone snapped out of their petrified states. Qiu Lu rushed over, clearly agitated. ¡°Who died? Who else died?!¡±

    Very quickly, they saw two people carry down another corpse covered by a white cloth. This body was ced next to Shou Zhu¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°Is that Zhi Shao?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Qin Ci nodded.

    The frenzied Qiu Lu turned to ask Ke Xun: ¡°It¡¯s Zhi Shao? How do you know its him? How do you know?¡±

    Xin Miao, who was white as a sheet, spoke up. ¡°I saw it. I saw thedy in red knock on 309¡¯s door. After the woman entered, Zhi Shao rushed out.¡±

    She then looked towards Qin Ci: ¡°I think he entered your room.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded. ¡°He was scared out of his mind. In a panic, he knocked on our door. Uncle Li couldn¡¯t bear to leave him outside so he let him in.¡±

    ¡°Was his death rted to the woman in red?¡± Zhu Haowen suddenly asked.

    Qin Ci shook his head, helpless. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened either. Last night, he entered our room in a fluster. He said that the woman wasn¡¯t Xiao Sang, that it was actually a demon who was white all over. He thenined about Shou Zhu letting her in¡­. In any case, he kept mumbling about these things for about an hour before he strangled himself to death.¡±

    Qin Ci obviously hadn¡¯t slept wellst night. His dark circles gave him a sullen tint. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it had anything to do with that woman.¡±

    ¡°What?! He strangled himself to death?!¡± Qiu Lu¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Why would he do that? How can a person strangle themselves to death?!¡±

    Qiu Lu sprinted over to the corpse covered by white cloths frantically. No one could stop her in time. She lifted the cloth up. Zhi Shao was still wearing the clothes he had on yesterday. Both his hands were tightly wrapped around his neck and his face was a dark purple. His eyes bulged out of their sockets, bloodshot. His dark purple tongue was also extended¡­.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Someone shouted in fear.

    .

    Very quickly, someone else reached over to cover the corpse back up. Zhi Shao and Shou Zhu¡¯s bodies were then mercilessly sent out through the main entrance.

    Qiu Lu wentpletely soft. She leaned against the wall, paralyzed. ¡°Zhi Shao¡­he said that he was going to marry me¡­.He said that he¡¯d marry me once he finalized his divorce! He said that he¡¯d marry me!¡±

    This surprised everyone because there had been no indication that there was anything going on between these two people in the past. But then again, this secret no longer mattered considering one of them was now dead.

    Sha Liu thought that Qiu Lu¡¯s state would negatively impact everyone¡¯s ability to discuss. She thus walked over to pat on the other¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He can¡¯te back to life. All we can do now is to think of a way to escape. We have to live!¡±

    Qiu Lu didn¡¯t react. She continued to mumble the same things over and over again. No one had the time tofort her. They all nervously started to talk about their situation.

    Sha Liu was the first to speak. ¡°The situation is a mess. Two people died at once. Shou Zhu¡¯s cause of death is obvious¡ªhe was¡­killed¡­by the woman in redst night. As for Zhi Shao, his death was strange.¡±

    ¡°Zhi Shao broke a rule. He knocked on the door of another unit.¡± Zhu Haowen was the one who spoke.

    Ke Xun nodded. ¡°Zhi Shao¡¯s death is simr to the two girls. It was a punishment for visiting after lights out. The two girls died in a fire, much like the previous tenant of their room had. That means that Zhi Shao¡¯s death likely has something to do with Room 309.¡±

    ¡°But Zhi Shao didn¡¯t die in Room 309!¡± Xin Miao was skeptical.

    ¡°This is what we were talking about before. Death is not constrained to our respective apartments. As long as you break a rule, there is no escaping the punishment, regardless of where you run off to.¡± Ke Xun exined.

    Xin Miao wanted to ask another question, but Zhu Haowen ruthlessly interrupted her. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that and continue to talk about the woman in red.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Sha Liu: ¡°Where did shee from?¡±

    Sha Liu forced herself to stay calm: ¡°From our room¡ªRoom 410.¡±

    Everyone had expected that. Their gazes all gathered on Sha Liu.

    ¡°The snow-white woman appeared in our roomst night. I saw her change into a red dress in the darkness. She also put on makeup, a wig, and high heels before leaving the room¡­.¡±

    Sha Liu felt afraid just from thinking about it.

    Qin Ci went ¡®ah ha.¡¯ ¡°No wonder she didn¡¯t knock on Room 410¡¯s door.¡±

    It seemed like he had also noticed this peculiarity.

    ¡°If the same rules governing death applied to both Room 309 and 402, then Room 410¡¯s snow-white woman must be rted to another rule.¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Furthermore, it is up to us to figure out exactly what the rule is.¡±

    Everyone nodded pensively. They seemed to agree.

    The familiar jingle of keys sounded in the air as the gatekeeper uncle walked over to the entrance of the restaurant.

    Everyone walked over in small groups. They heard the gatekeeper uncle say something simr to what he had said yesterday. ¡°Everyone¡¯s here. There are two things we need to talk about today.¡±

    Everyone pricked their ears, including Qiu Lu, who was wiping away her tears.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about Room 309 first. Grandma Sun used to live there. I heard that she had plenty of children and grandchildren but not one of them was filial. None of her children were willing to take care of her. In the end, Grandma Sun fell into a depression and then hung herself.¡±

    The gatekeeper uncle sighed after saying this.

    Zhi Shao had strangled himself to deathst night. It was simr to death by hanging, in that the cause of death was asphyxiation. It seems like this was indeed the retaliation of Room 309.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s talk about Room 410. This story¡¯s a bit longer.¡± The gatekeeper uncle sat down on the chair Ke Xun had brought over. He nodded, a smile on his face. He then cleared his voice and continued: ¡°In the very beginning, Room 410 was the home of our factory¡¯s most learned family. The couple, Chen Gong and Doctor Zhou lived there with their three children. The eldest child, Yafen, has a congenital disorder. We old people call it, Tiaor. The scientific name for it is albinism. Her skin and eyes were white. Her eyes were also bad. She had photophobia.

    ¡°All three children were smart¡ªYafen included. Unfortunately, when she was in high school, her ssmates always called her names. In the end, she simply quit school. Yafen had a big ego and didn¡¯t like to go outside. She was also afraid of being exposed to the sun. As such, she spent all her time squirrelled away in her room, reading. Chen Gong and them eventually bought a new house. A while back, they moved out with their children. Only Yafen stayed here in the dormitory. She didn¡¯t want to live in an unfamiliar ce. In any case, the people in this neighbourhood all knew her. At the very least, they wouldn¡¯t jump in fright when they saw her.¡±

    ¡°Her parents lived far away. Doctor Zhou woulde by once a week, bringing food to her. Most of the time, Yafen spent her time holed away in her room. She was afraid of light. She even relieved herself in her room and only dared to venture out to themunal washrooms at night. The washroom on the west side was for her personal use. People didn¡¯t like bumping into her in the middle of the night.

    ¡°Yafen was talented. She loved to read and learn. She would frequently write poems and novels. Sometimes, she¡¯d send them to the newspapers and would end up published. Later on, she made a penpal. The two of them sent letters to each other back and forth for several years. In the end, they met in person. The other party wasn¡¯t pleased.¡±

    ¡°After that, Yafen changed. She acted erratic for some time. She waspletely lovestruck. All day long, she thought about how to win her target over. She said that she wanted to see the sun, to see the light. She said that she wanted to have family and be friends with the person she liked. She wanted everyone to give them their blessings. We also yed along. After all, that child was so pitiful.

    ¡°Her parents only cared about her younger siblings. Their family was well off and would go on vacation every year. Only she didn¡¯t go. When her parents moved out, they didn¡¯t bother to convince her when she said that she didn¡¯t want to go. Even three days after that brute surrounded our building with that cement wall, her parents still didn¡¯t know what was happening. They didn¡¯t care for her all that much.

    ¡°Later on, Yafen stopped trapping herself in her dark room. She would frequentlye out under the sun without hats or sunsses. But those with albinism have to be careful of the sun. In the end, Yafen died an early death. It might have been rted to all that sun exposure. Furthermore, she was unhappy.

    ¡°Many people don¡¯t know that Yafen died. They think her parents took her to live a happy life with them downtown. Actually, she died in Room 410. Her parents hastily arranged her funeral and didn¡¯t let any of the neighbours attend.¡±

    After the gatekeeper uncle finished telling his story, no one talked for a long time.

    The Yafen in the gatekeeper uncle¡¯s story was the abnormal phenomenon that appearedst night¡ªthe giant snow-white woman who had been drowning in ecstasy. They didn¡¯t seem like the same person at all.

    ¡°She had wanted to see the light all her life. Perhaps what happenedst night had stemmed from her desire for everyone to bear witness.¡± Xin Miao tried to think from Yafen¡¯s point of view.

    ¡°But she shouldn¡¯t hurt others,¡± Qiu Lu murmured, ¡°She killed two people.¡±

    ¡°It was because of her resentment.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was still that of indifference. ¡°Her resentment is a suitable catalyst for the creation of a death condition.¡±

    ¡°Actually, all three cases are rted to resentment.¡± Ke Xun assed, ¡°As Grandpa Li has said, everything happens for a reason.¡±

    ¡°Time to eat!¡± Wu Mei called out.

    Everyone filed into the restaurant. No one wanted to eat in the courtyard today. The scent of the two covered corpses seemed to still linger in the air.

    ¡°These three things have been settled. Where should we search for the signature now?¡± Sha Liu had no appetite.

    ¡°410¡¯s issue hasn¡¯t been resolved yet.¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°We know what caused the death, but the death condition itself is still unclear.¡±

    Qin Ci sunk into his thoughts. ¡°Indeed. The other two deaths happened because people broke the rules¡ªthey visited another room when after lights out. As a result, they were killed by the resentful ghosts of their rooms. But Yafen of 410 is an exception. Why is she able to appear at will? The people living in 410 didn¡¯t break any rules.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why Yafen didn¡¯t attack the people in her room,¡± Sha Liu said, ¡°She walked around the building in search of prey. Shou Zhu let her in. This was the result of his actions.¡±

    This was the result of him courting death¡ªwas what Sha Liu didn¡¯t say.

    ¡°But why was it Yafen of Room 410? Why wasn¡¯t it the former tenant of 411 or 307?¡± Ke Xun said while peeling his egg.

    ¡°Because¡­¡± Sha Liu thought that she had solved the problem, ¡°Because Shou Zhu responded to her during the day! Shou Zhu was the first person to discover the poems Yafen had written on the washroom walls! He had also called her poems romantic. He praised and validated her!¡±

    ¡°If that was the case, Yafen wouldn¡¯t need to search for prey. She could have gone straight for Shou Zhu¡¯s door,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Sha Liu couldn¡¯t rebuke his words.

    Everyone was at their wits end when Mu Yiran spoke up. ¡°The reason it was Yafen of Room 410 is because someone released her the night before.¡±

    Eve: Yafen is pretty pitiful. People can be mean.

 Chapter 55: Elephant and Rhinoceros

    <h4>Chapter 55: Elephant and Rhinoceros</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Everyone was shocked by Mu Yiran¡¯s words, including Ke Xun.¡±

    ¡°Released?¡± Qiu Lu, out of her mind from fear, turned to look at Sha Liu. ¡°Did you let that monster out?!¡±

    Sha Liu was frightened by Qiu Lu who had suddenly gotten into her face. ¡°As if!¡± She then sent Mu Yiran a pleading look,¡± Mu ge, can you straighten things out!¡±

    ¡°I think that Yafen was invited out by the person who knocked on her door.¡± Mu Yiran continued.

    Qiu Lu let go of Sha Liu. Sha Liu thought that Mu Yiran had done this on purpose. This person was probably somewhat discontent with her¡­.

    Everyone pondered over his words. Ke Xun¡¯s peeled egg was already cold so he threw it into his hot congee. ¡°So what Yiran is saying is that someone knocked on 410¡¯s door and that the knocking served as an invitation to the resentful spirit?¡±

    Xin Miao shivered in fear: ¡°Who was it? Who knocked on their door?¡±

    Wei Dong looked at her: ¡°The two girls who lived in your room.¡±

    That¡¯s right. Two nights ago, Tina and Luo Han had gone against the prohibition on visiting after lights out. They had knocked on 410¡¯s door.

    Qin Ci added to the discussion: ¡°In other words, not only did the two girls break the rule and ended up punished with fire by their own room, they also released Yafen of Room 410 by knocking on the door?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze fell on Sha Liu coldly. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the door open and close twice two nights ago? That was probably Yafen leaving the room anding back in.¡±

    ¡°But why didn¡¯t Yafen do anything the night before?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps there¡¯s another rule that states that a resentful spirit can only act the night after they are released.¡± Mu Yiran told them his conjecture.

    ¡°The reasoning sounds solid,¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°But this second type of death has only urred once, so we cannote to any conclusions just yet.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. He cast his gaze over to Qin Ci: ¡°Did anything strange happen in your roomst night? Aside from the sound. Did you see anything?¡±

    Qin Ci was astonished. ¡°Mu xiao ge, how did you know?¡±

    Ke Xun felt a baffling sense of excitement. The boss was about to blow their minds.

    Wei Dong, who was sitting next to Qin Ci, asked, ¡°Dr. Qin, did you really see somethingst night?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­. We saw something unusual.¡± Qin Ci and Old Man Li Taiyong exchanged nces. ¡°We both saw it. There was a man holding a porcin pot. He seemed to be mixing something, like stuffing or what not.¡±

    When everyone heard the word ¡®stuffing,¡¯ they felt their scalps go numb.

    ¡°We couldn¡¯t make him out very clearly in the darkness. That person had a hunchback and would asionally cough. He was probably quite old.¡± Old Man Li Taiyong added.

    Everyone¡¯s appetite disappeared. Xin Miao quietly said: ¡°That person isn¡¯t going to make human meat dumplings, right¡­?¡±

    Wei Dongforted him: ¡°Probably not. Wasn¡¯t there something already inside his pot¡­?¡±

    Sha Liu asked Mu Yiran: ¡°How did you know that Dr. Qin saw somethingst night?¡±

    Ke Xun answered on his boss¡¯ behalf: ¡°Because Zhi Shao knocked on the door of 307st night. He released the resentful spirit inside.¡±

    Sha Liu¡¯s brows were furrowed tightly. ¡°After the girls knocked on our door two nights ago, the snow-white woman appeared¡­. That means that the person holding the pot full of stuffing appeared after Zhi Shao knocked? Is this apparition an omen of sorts?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it can be considered a prediction.¡± Zhu Haowen agreed. He looked at Mu Yiran and looked impressed for once.

    Old Man Li Taiyong had already finished his meal. ¡°Going off of that, this means that the person that will appear in the hallway tonight is going to be the person from our room, right? It should be fine if no one opens the door for him.¡±

    After the subject of opening doors was raised, Xin Miao spoke up. ¡°Dr. Qin and Grandpa Li opened the door for Zhi Shaost night. Doesn¡¯t that count as allowing someone to visit¡­?¡±

    Old Man Li Taiyong hastily corrected: ¡°It¡¯s not Xiao Qin¡¯s fault. I opened the door without consulting him. If anyone should be punished, it should be me alone. It has nothing to do with Xiao Qin.¡±

    At this moment, Ke Xun was finishing his bowl of congee. He was moved by the kindhearted old man. He said, ¡°A vition to the rule would have been punished on the same night it urred. Since you two came out unscathed, this means that the one who is visited isn¡¯t considered to be a rule-breaker. So they won¡¯t be punished.¡±

    Everyone thought that this made sense. They then heard Ke Xun add: ¡°But others shouldn¡¯t emte them! What if a resentful ghost pretends to be one of us? What if they knock on our doors while in disguise? We¡¯d have no way to guard against this!¡±

    Old Man Li Taiyong quickly joined in, nodding. ¡°Yes, Xiao Ke er is right. No one should take such risks again in the future.¡± As he spoke, he swept a gaze over the group. ¡°Let¡¯s all finish eating first. We¡¯ll only have the energy to search if we eat our fill.¡±

    Everyone forced themselves to take a few more bites. They then heard Mu Yiran ask, ¡°Did anyone notice any changes in their rooms sincest night?¡±

    Probably because they had been too shaken up by the events fromst night, but most people hadn¡¯t noticed if anything in their rooms had changed.

    Only Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Our room changed shape again. The angle of the room is even more acute. It¡¯s not just that, either¡ªthe hallway and railing has started to bend inwards as well.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a look around the sixth floorter,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°I¡¯lle t¡ª¡±

    Before Ke Xun could finish, Wei Dong shot back: ¡°Ke er, you got your pills ready?¡±

    Ke Xun recalled the dizzy spell he experienced yesterday and had no choice but to abandon that thought. ¡°I guess I won¡¯t be going with you, Yiran.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun. He heard the other say, ¡°Eat this egg or else you won¡¯t have the energy to go up to the sixth floor.¡±

    Old Man Li Taiyong also said, ¡°That¡¯s right, eat this egg. In any case, it¡¯ll fill you up with nutrients.¡±

    Ke Xun really wanted to shake hands with Grandpa Li.

    ¡°Grandpa Li,¡± Sha Liu suddenly spoke up. ¡°Can you ask Uncle Zhang about Room 307 when you y chess with him today?¡±

    If they could find out about the death in Room 307 in advance, they might be able to prevent things from happening.

    Old Man Li Taiyong nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking, too. I¡¯ll try to get as much as I can out of him. I¡¯ll go y chess with him in a bit.¡±

    Upon hearing that, everyone felt like they had finally gained some hope.

    After that, everyone split up. Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen went up to the sixth floor. On the way, they also searched the fifth and sixth floor while they were at it. Ke Xun and Wei Dong inspected the third and fourth floor while Xin Miao and Qiu Lu were tasked with the second floor. Meanwhile, Sha Liu and Qin Ci were in charge of themercial district on the first floor and the atrium.

    Ke Xun narrowed his eyes as he watched Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen head upstairs. Both of them exuded an aura that kept others at a distance. He didn¡¯t want to admit it, but theyplemented each other well.

    ¡°Stop acting jealous. Let¡¯s hurry up and get down to business. Otherwise, someone¡¯s gonna dip their dumplings into you tonight!¡± Wei Dong dragged Ke Xun around the corner and onto the third floor.

    ¡°I feel like he¡¯s¡­.¡± Ke Xun had a suspicious look on his face.

    ¡°Haowen <i>er</i>? Impossible.¡± Wei Dong looked certain. ¡°My arms were exposedst night and he didn¡¯t even look at me.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Really, not even a nce. What are you looking at me like that for? He didn¡¯t look at me at all, for real.¡±

    ¡°We eat meat. If you bring him a bowl of gruel, he obviously won¡¯t so much as nce at it.¡±

    ¡°Who are you calling a bowl of gruel?¡± Wei Dong patted his own face. He thought it was firm and robust.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°You said ¡®we eat meat¡¯¡­who¡¯s included in the ¡®we¡¯¡­?¡± Wei Dong felt like that was a really loadedment. ¡°Just who are you interested in? Aren¡¯t you being too fickle? You better not wrong the boss!¡±

    Ke Xun suddenly stopped in front of a section of the wall in the hallway. He stared at it with a frown for a long time.

    Wei Dong also turned to take a look. He identified it: ¡°It¡¯s a small erotic picture.¡±

    ¡°How did youe up with that?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a dick?¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± Ke Xun hastily corrected him. ¡°It¡¯s bamboo!¡±

    ¡°I was wondering why there were so manyyers of skin on top¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Wei Dong carefully examined the simple drawing of a stalk of bamboo. ¡°This is just graffiti carved into the wall with a small knife. A kid probably did this.¡±

    Ke Xun nced at the room closest to the graffiti. It was Room 309, where the two male poets had stayed. He then decided to check the walls near each door. As expected, he found another indistinct carving of bamboo near Room 307.

    No other rooms on the third floor had a simr drawing beside it aside from these two.

    Wei Dong also found this odd. ¡°Do these bamboo drawings have anything to do with the Spring Bamboo Apartments?¡±

    Ke Xun leaned against the railing, supporting his head up with his hand as he gazed outwards. ¡°We should take a look at the fourth floor.¡±

    As he said this, he looked upwards. Completely out-of-the-blue, a wave of vertigo crashed into him. ¡°Fuck¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun rubbed his temples. He then tried to look up again. ¡°Dong zi, have you noticed that this tube-shaped apartment seems to have changed?¡±

    Wei Dong looked upwards but didn¡¯t sense anything.

    Ke Xun endured the dizziness and urge to vomit. He narrowed his eyes and tried his best to focus on the opening above the atrium. ¡°Have you noticed that the opening seems to have be smaller?¡±

    ¡°Did it?¡± Wei Dong had not noticed this at all.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go see if there are any bamboo drawings on the fourth floor.¡± Ke Xun moved to head upstairs.

    After investigating, they found out that the fourth floor was indeed the same. There were bamboo drawings on the outer wall of each room that housed people from the external world. Some were carved deeply while others were so faint you had to examine the wall carefully to find it.

    At noon, they all gathered downstairs and shared what they had found during their morning investigation.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just the sixth floor¡ªthe fifth floor has changed slightly as well. The entire top portion of the tube-shaped apartment is slowly moving inwards.¡± Mu Yiran was the first to share their findings.

    Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t say a thing. He leaned against the wall and yed on his phone.

    Everyone looked up to the sky. Except for Ke Xun, no one else seemed to notice anything different.

    Ke Xun talked about the bamboo drawings. Wei Dong had purposely gone to the sixth floor to test their hypothesis. As expected, he had found a simr bamboo drawing near Room 616.

    ¡°These drawings are very mysterious. Coincidentally, they are also rted to the Spring Bamboo Apartments name.¡± Sha Liu¡¯s expression was solemn. ¡°I think that we should be able to find the signature once we uncover the drawings¡¯ secret.¡±

    No one else¡¯s investigation had turned up with anything, including Old Man Li Taiyong. Apparently, as soon as he mentioned the room, the other would gopletely silent.

    But Old Man Li Taiyong had still managed to get some information. ¡°Because so many things had happened in the Spring Bamboo Dormitory, the Hong Kong Developer had been concerned. He even specifically got someone to sculpt stone statues of an elephant and a rhinoceros. The statues were ced outside the building. Apparently, they can ward off evil.¡±

    ¡°An elephant and rhinoceros?¡± Xin Miao didn¡¯t get it. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of anyone using these to ward off evil. Usually, people get things in the shape of dragons, tigers, qilins, or whatever¡­.¡±

    ¡°I did ask about that. Old Zhang said that it was because elephants and rhinoceroses are vegetarian.¡± Li Taiyong still didn¡¯t really get it either.

    Eve: I love Zhu Haowen and Li Taiyong.

 Chapter 56: About Magic Realism

    <h4>Chapter 56: About Magic Realism</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    ¡°A rhinoceros and elephant? Do you think it has something to do with the Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery?¡± Sha Liu thought this was unbelievable.

    Many other people had thought about this too. The simrities between the painting and reality were hair-raising.

    Old Man Li Taiyong remained calm. ¡°The Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery was built on thisnd. A few years ago, the road in front of the gallery used to be named Spring Bamboo Street. The street¡¯s name was changed some timeter and a subway track was built underground. From then on, Spring Bamboo Street disappearedpletely.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that the Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery and its famous restaurant are¡­¡± Xin Miao felt like the things in the outside world were like a dream right now while they were stuck in the world inside the painting.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. They were built by the Hong Kong developer.¡± Old Man Li Taiyong confirmed this.

    This was critical information concerning the Spring Bamboo Apartments, but no one knew how they could use this information in their search for the signature. After all, their scope was limited to the tube-shaped apartment. They couldn¡¯t go outside to examine the statues.

    The main gate was closed, after all. They could not leave at will.

    The oppressive emotions and the blistering heat diminished everyone¡¯s appetites. After eating, drowsiness befell everyone, which was no surprise, considering how no one had been able to sleep wellst night.

    Therefore, everyone returned to their rooms for a short rest.

    Ke Xun entered Room 411. He walked in and looked at the pair of red slippers at the foot of the bed. They had not moved. ¡°Did you hear anything in the roomst night?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°No.¡±

    That¡¯s right. Compared to the loud noises from the other side of the window, everything else sounded quiet inparison.

    They had electricity in the rooms during the day so they could turn on the electric fan. Under these poor circumstances, the fan was a luxury.

    Ke Xun fell asleep very quickly. He also had a very vivid dream. In his dream, he was a small child. He held a small box cutter and carved crude bamboo drawings into the wall.

    As he carved, the sky gradually darkened. Ke Xun thus woke up with a nervous heart.

    An afternoon nap in sizzling hot weather wasn¡¯t afortable experience. Ke Xun was sweaty all over. After waking up, he realized that one of his legs was thrown over Mu Yiran¡¯s leg. He subconsciously pulled away. As he did this, he realized that the other was awake.

    ¡°Sorry for pressing down on you in my sleep.¡± Ke Xun rubbed the marks on his face left from the summer sleeping mat on the bed. He waspletely awake now.

    He didn¡¯t know how long Mu Yiran had been awake for or for how long he had been pressing down on the other.

    Mu Yiran stayedying down. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to wake you from your dream, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Why was the boss worried about his dream?

    ¡°You were speaking in your sleep.¡±

    ¡°That¡­is rare. I don¡¯t usually do that.¡± Ke Xun wanted to make that clear.

    ¡°You said: The bamboo picture will soon be done. Very quickly, it¡¯ll break through the ground.¡±

    ¡°I said that?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, you said that.¡±

    Ke Xun carefully recalled his dream. ¡°I dreamt that I was a small child¡­.¡± As he said this, he suddenly realized something. ¡°That¡¯s right! A child! Have you noticed¡ªthe carvings of the bamboo are not very high up on the walls. I had to bend over to see them every time!¡±

    Mu Yiran was pensive. He subconsciously came up to a cross-legged sitting position. ¡°The painter, Luo Bing, is very young. He was born in 1985. If the current year in the painting is 1996, he would have only been eleven years old. He would still be rtively short.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that the child who carved those bamboo pictures is very likely the painter of this painting?¡± Ke Xun thought that this was a very brazen idea. However, it wasn¡¯t as if it waspletely groundless.

    If that was the case, where should they go to find clues pertaining to the signature? Was the signature also carved somewhere?

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°The situation in Room 616 is different from the other rooms. 616 was very likely an empty room in the past. The bed, desk, chairs, etc., were all brought inter on. It¡¯s like the apartment decorated it so that it would be easier to find someone to rent it to. It looks closer to a hotel room.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that the original tenant¡¯s belongings were moved out of Room 616?¡± Ke Xun hadn¡¯t finished saying what he wanted to say when they suddenly heard the sound of knocking.

    Although it was still daytime, the knocking was striking nheless.

    Wei Dong¡¯s voice came from the other side of the door. ¡°Ke er, open the door!¡±

    Ke Xun opened the door and saw that Sha Liu had alsoe over from next door at some point in time. The girl looked worried. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What happened,¡± she asked.

    Wei Dong told them right at the door: ¡°Haowen er discovered it. Outside our window¡­the ground outside¡­has gotten taller.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean the ground¡¯s gotten taller?¡± Sha Liu asked anxiously.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a concrete wall outside? It originally only reached the fourth floor. But when we looked out the window just now, we discovered that the ground and roads are now level with the fifth floor!¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t know how to describe it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± Mu Yiran had already gone through the door. Sha Liu followed after him. Ke Xun ignored the nausea and dizziness he suffered in the past and braced himself as he also headed upstairs.

    As soon as they reached the fifth floor, Ke Xun started to find it hard to breathe, as if they were at a very high altitude. ¡°Why do I feel like this floor has also changed?¡±

    Ke Xun took a few more Compound Danshen Dripping pills. The pressure was so strong it felt like his chest was going to explode. Gritting his teeth, he continued upwards.

    Room 616 was just as Mu Yiran had described. Its furnishing and decorations made it look like an old hotel. There was uneven, old-fashioned wallpaper on the wall. The window, door and heater all had wooden frames. Even the beds were ssic single beds. There was also a colour TV on the television stand.

    Zhu Haowen was sitting on the bed, ying games on his phone. When he saw that everyone had arrived, he moved away from the window.

    Mu Yiran opened the window and discovered that the ground outside was indeed level with the fifth floor. From the outside, people might think that this was a two-floored building.

    Ke Xun and Sha Liu gazed at the moving traffic outside. The mundane world outside seemed unreal.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the fourth floor located then?¡± Sha Liu seemed to have thought of something. She shivered.

    ¡°Likely underground,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Ke Xun still didn¡¯t understand. ¡°What did you guys see outside before?¡± He then looked at Mu Yiran: ¡°What did you see outside when you came to check the room this morning?¡±

    ¡°It was all white fog,¡± Mu Yiran answered.

    Wei Dong nodded. ¡°Yeah. Although we got light from the window, we couldn¡¯t see outside. It was as if there was a lot of fog outside so that sunlight could only filter in faintly.¡±

    ¡°Why are we able to see all of a sudden?¡± Ke Xun thought that this was extremely odd. It was even ratherical.

    ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®all of a sudden¡¯.¡± Zhu Haowen spoke up abruptly. ¡°We were able to see a bit this morning.¡±

    Sha Liu continued to gaze outside. An impulse suddenly rose inside her. Zhu Haowen put a stop to it in time: ¡°We can¡¯t leave through this. The window can¡¯t be open.¡±

    Mu Yiran seemed to have thought of something. ¡°Let¡¯s investigate the fifth floor.¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked up to gaze at Mu Yiran. He then followed the rest of the group as they made their way to the fifth floor.

    Because none of them lived on the fifth floor, they could only go look at the window in themunal washrooms. They discovered that the outside of the window was filled with hazy, dense fog. However, they could make out a bit of the city¡¯s outline.

    ¡°That¡¯s weird. What does this mean?¡± Sha Liu didn¡¯t care that she was inside the male washroom right now.

    ¡°This has to be rted to the changes in the rooms.¡± Ke Xun felt a lot better after arriving on the fifth floor.

    ¡°Why are the rooms changing? Just where are we?!¡± Sha Liu felt like she was going to lose control of herself. ¡°From what we saw on the sixth floor, the tube-shaped apartment is clearly buried in the ground! We¡¯ve been underground all this time!!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why this series is called ¡®Breaking Through the Ground.¡¯¡± Mu Yiran looked outside the window. Ke Xun could not make out his expression clearly.

    Ke Xun felt like electricity was running through his body as goosebumps broke out on his skin. It wasn¡¯t out of fear, but because he seemed to be on the edge of a realization. ¡°So this is what a magic realism piece is like.¡±

    Wei Dong was frightened by Ke Xun¡¯s words. ¡°Ke er, are you okay? Why are you suddenly an expert in this?¡±

    Despite Wei Dong¡¯s joke, Ke Xun had on a grave expression. ¡°Breaking through the Ground¡­the tube-shaped apartment¡ªthe entirety of the Spring Bamboo Apartments¡ªis breaking through the ground. The bamboo pictures represent our building. We are currently buried in the ground and are gradually rising from the earth.¡±

    Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t help but turn around. ¡°Keep going.¡±

    Because the male washroom was spacious and empty, Ke Xun¡¯s voice echoed through the room. It was like he was about to give a profound lecture.

    ¡°The reason for the changes inside the rooms was because the top of the tube-shaped apartment needed to gather inwards. Why does it need to gather inwards? Because the top of the building had to be pointy, like the tip of a stalk of bamboo and pierce through the earth!¡±

    Ke Xun painted a vivid picture with his words. It was so unreal, but it made sense in this world. It seemed toplete the story.

    Sha Liu¡¯s voice trembled. ¡°If we manage topletely rise out of the ground, what will happen?¡±

    No one answered her because no one had the answer.

    In the end, Mu Yiran said, ¡°Before wepletely break out of the ground, the top floor will be crushed together. We¡ªthe people inside¡ªwill bepletely trapped and separated from the outside. The building breaking through the earth is not for our sake. We are simply funerary objects meant to apany it.¡±

    ¡°No, no,¡± Sha Liu took two steps back. ¡°What about now? What should we do now? It¡¯s almost night time. The ghost from 307 is about toe out!¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at his watch. ¡°It¡¯s currently four o¡¯clock. We still have some time. We should try our best to look for graffiti. It doesn¡¯t matter where it¡¯s engraved. We have to search everything! We might be able to find the signature like this!¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Sha Liu was the first to leave. Findng the signature before nightfall was their only hope.

    Everyone went their separate ways as they went to search for graffiti. Some decided to team up with another member in their search.

    But when dinner arrived at six o¡¯clock, they all turned up with nothing.

    Unexpectedly, the gatekeeper uncle suddenly appeared at the restaurant and gave them a hint. ¡°You should all stay in your own rooms tonight. Don¡¯t go outside.¡±

    The NPC had suddenly changed the rules. More specifically, he had abruptly decreased everyone¡¯s scope of motion. Now, they weren¡¯t allowed to leave their rooms, let alone visit other units or other floors.

    Xin Miao was the first to raise a question: ¡°What if we need to use the washroom at night?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already ced a bucket in each of your rooms. After dinner, take the buckets into your bedrooms. You can relieve yourselves with the buckets at night.¡± The gatekeeper uncle said this expressionlessly.

    Because night was about to fall, most of the party members were distracted.

    Since two of herpanions had died, Qiu Lu became more afraid. ¡°If we can¡¯t go outside, we have nowhere to escape to! If a monster breaks through our door, we¡¯ll be dead for sure!¡±

    Sha Liu said, ¡°If nothing else, we can try to escape through the window.¡±

    Ke Xun frowned. ¡°You¡¯d probably end up even worse off.¡±

    Sha Liu red at him with red eyes: ¡°It¡¯s better than being turned into stuffing!¡±

    This reminded everyone of the hunchback of Room 307. That person had a porcin pot in his hand and was constantly mixing the stuffing inside.

    Eve: Announcement. I¡¯m very saddened and torn but after thinking about this for many months, I¡¯ve decided to quit tranting. My mental health has been terrible for a long time now and it¡¯s hit rock bottom. I have tranted to the end of this arc so releases will continue regrly until Feb 1, 2021. This novel is now looking for a trantor so if you would like to take over, please feel free to apply through the site. Thank you everyone for your love and support. I¡¯m so sorry I won¡¯t be the one to see it through. But I need to take care of myself. Thank you for your understanding.

 Chapter 57: The Whistle-Blowing Old Man

    <h4>Chapter 57: The Whistle-Blowing Old Man</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    At ten o¡¯clock at night, the group members all felt restless in their rooms so they decided to cool off in the hallways.

    Ever since they found out that the top of the tube-shaped apartment was gradually squeezing together, everyone started to notice that the opening above the atrium was indeed getting smaller. Everytime they looked up, they began to feel suffocated.

    Sha Liu, Qiu Lu and Xin Miao gathered together by the railings. They seemed to be discussing something with nervous expressions.

    ¡°I feel like there¡¯s something off about Sha Liu.¡± Ke Xun waved his palm-leaf fan and stared at the nearby girls.

    ¡°Speaking of which, she¡¯s lived through a painting already. Even if she¡¯s nervous, so is everyone else. But she didn¡¯t used to be like this.¡± Wei Dong regarded her coldly. He had always thought that she was scary.

    As they say, a leopard can¡¯t change its spots. When humans are faced with terrifying things, they will always reveal their true selves. Sha Liu had not lost her head in fear while faced with Heishitian. She had disyed a steadiness few young women possessed. She had also done everything she could to stay alive.

    But when everyone was discussing the matter of the ¡®bamboo shooting out of the ground¡¯, she had lost control of herself. She had be even more erratic upon hearing the NPC¡¯s hint. They didn¡¯t know if she had discovered something or if she had a motive or sorts.

    Sha Liu¡¯s gaze was trained on Ke Xun¡¯s group right now but her lips moved non-stop. ¡°In summary, if wepletely break through the ground, we¡¯ll all die.¡±

    Qiu Lu was panicking. ¡°We¡¯ve already discussed this during dinner. what I want to ask is if you have any other information.¡±

    Sha Liu looked like she was hesitant to speak. ¡°I didn¡¯t hide this from you guys on purpose. After all, we haven¡¯te up with a solution yet. I didn¡¯t want to scare you guys.¡±

    ¡°We should share all information! That¡¯s only fair.¡± Qiu Lu said hastily. Xin Miao also nodded.

    Sha Liu looked up at the opening above the atrium, as if gathering her courage. ¡°Do you guys remember how the staircases disappeared the two nights ago?¡±

    As they heard this, both of them felt fear as they nced at the stairs.

    ¡°Mu ge thinks that the opening shrinking is rted to what will happen tonight.¡± Sha Liu leaned against the railing, hand trembling slightly. It was obvious that she was terrified.

    Xin Miao was rmed. ¡°W-what you¡¯re saying is that the change in the opening is rted to the disappearances of the stairs?¡±

    Sha Liu nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what Mu ge thinks. But he only mentioned that off-handedly. He didn¡¯t say much about that.¡±

    Xin Miao¡¯s face was white as a sheet. ¡°Mu ge¡¯s always right¡­. What should we do? The entire building is trying to kill us!¡±

    Qiu Lu was so scared she couldn¡¯t speak. A long itemter, she spoke up. ¡°If the tube-shaped apartment closes off, then we¡¯ll be easy pickings for those monsters.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know how the ghost from 307 will kill us either! It¡¯s not going to cut us up and turn us into meat stuffing, is it?!¡± Xin Miao started to imagine some horrifying possibilities.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not as simple as we think. Like the snow-white woman fromst night¡­. Who would have imagined that Shou Zhu would die like that¡­?¡± Sha Liu struggled to think aboutst night¡¯s events.

    Xin Miao started to tremble in fear. ¡°I¡¯m all alone in Room 402. I don¡¯t want to die. If I have to die like Shou Zhu did, I¡¯d rather kill myself first!¡±

    ¡°But we shouldn¡¯t go against the NPC¡¯s rules. Otherwise, we¡¯ll die like Tina and Zhi Shao and them.¡± Sha Liu said.

    The two other women thought that she was right. They also felt that Sha Liu was the smartest amongst them. Qiu Lu thus asked, ¡°Do you have any ideas?¡±

    Sha Liu sighed. ¡°The only thing I can think of is really foolish. Honestly, if anything else, we can try to jump out the window¡­. After all, there¡¯s a cement wall in the way so it technically wouldn¡¯t count as us escaping to the outside world¡­. Furthermore, we¡¯re on the fourth floor. We might not die at this height¡­.¡±

    The two women silently processed this. Qiu Lu¡¯s eyes lit up slightly. ¡°The NPC¡¯s original words were literally: don¡¯t go out through the doors. Leaving through the window could be considered a loophole, right?¡±

    Sha Liu looked at Qiu Lu. ¡°That makes sense. The gatekeeper uncle only said to not leave through the doors. He didn¡¯t say we couldn¡¯t jump out the window.¡±

    Xin Miao was still afraid. ¡°But then we¡¯d be stuck between the building¡¯s wall and the cement wall!¡±

    Sha Liu and Qiu Lu seemed calm, however. ¡°We checked out the main entrance in the afternoon. Every day at five in the evening, it will open for one hour so that the people who went out to work or buy groceries cane back inside. The space between the building¡¯s wall and cement wall is empty. There¡¯s probably a path that connects outside.¡±

    ¡°But¡­.¡±

    ¡°This is ourst result. If we end up in a situation simr to what Shou Zhu faced, or something even worse¡­¡± Shou Zhu frowned, ¡°Then we might as well jump out the window. If we die, we die. If we live, we live.¡±

    Xin Miao also nodded, faced with Qiu Lu¡¯s decisiveness.

    Sha Liu didn¡¯t say anything else.

    The gatekeeper uncle¡¯s voice came from the atrium downstairs. ¡°Return to your rooms! It¡¯s time for the electricity to cut off!¡±

    Everyone returned to their respective rooms to face the darkness and the unknown.

    After returning to Room 411, Ke Xun suddenly realized that the curtain over the small window was gone. ¡°Who removed the curtain?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was unflustered. ¡°None of the rooms have curtains anymore. The NPCs probably did it.¡±

    Ke Xun stared at the bucket set in the corner of the bedroom. The NPC had probably removed their curtain when cing the buckets inside each room.

    To avoid any awkward situations, Ke Xun had abstained from drinking liquids. He had drunk very little congee at dinner. Mu Yiran had simply skipped it.

    The two of them had slept their fill at noon. They were currently sitting on the bed.

    ¡°Will the person tonight be like Yafen and walk ording to some sort of pattern?¡± Ke Xun recalled Yafen fromst night. Regardless of what floor she was on, she always walked in a counter-clockwise direction.

    ¡°Perhaps there is a rule it follows as well.¡± Mu Yiran looked at thepletely uncovered window. The moon was very bright tonight. They could even make out the railings in the hallway through the window.

    Ke Xun really liked to hear Mu Yiran speak in the dark. The other always spoke at a moderate pace. His voice was chilly but also rich and mellow. ¡°ording tost night¡¯s rule, Yafen would not knock on 410¡¯s door. Tonight should be the same.¡±

    Ke Xun had not thought of that. ¡°Seems like the ghost of 307 won¡¯t be knocking on the door ites out of. It will head straight for another unit. The key to 309, where Shou Zhu lived, has already been taken back. It¡¯s an empty room right now. That means that the spirit of Room 307 will head straight for the fourth floor.¡±

    There was no way they couldn¡¯t be nervous, talking about such things while on the fourth floor. However, Ke Xun felt inexplicably at ease sitting here next to Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice sounded in the room again. ¡°If the spirit of 307 also moves in a counter-clockwise direction, it will climb up from the staircase between Rooms 304 and 305. The first room it will reach aftering to the fourth floor is Room 402.¡±

    Ke Xun then said, ¡°If that spirit walks in a clockwise direction, it wille up from the staircase between 308 and 309. That means that the first Room it will reach is 410.¡±

    In any case, 411 would not be the first.

    It sounded cruel, but this meant that they could learn what the spirit from 307 would do to people of their group. They would be able to learn if it would knock politely like Yafen fromst night or not.

    A series of coughs suddenly came from outside. It sounded like it came from an old person.

    ¡°Wangfu¡ª¡± All of a sudden, someone shouted, startling everyone.

    Mu Yiran and Ke Xun both hopped off the bed without consulting each other. They each found a suitable corner to peer out the window. This way, they could look through the window without having to be at the window.

    A tottering old man appeared in the hallway of the fourth floor. It seemed like he was limping. He was hunched over and holding a pot in one of his hands. With his other hand, he stiffed whatever was inside the pot.

    This person looked exactly as Qin Ci described.

    ¡°Wangfu¡ªWangfue home¡ª¡± The old man¡¯s voice sounded raspy but he shouted with all his might. It sounded like he was calling for a child who had yet to return home.

    The old man staggered down the hallway in a counter-clockwise direction. He started to use the thing in one of his hands to knock against the pot. Bang bang bang. ¡°Wangfu¡ªit¡¯s time to eate home¡ª¡±

    The old man pulled something out from his chest and a sharp sound emitted in the air. It looked like he was blowing into a whistle hanging around his neck. The whistle sounds followed a certain rhythm. It sounded like it was calling out ¡®Wangfu¡¯ while dragging out the name.

    The old man finally stopped in front of Room 402. He stopped? blowing into the window. He also ceased his hoarse shouting. He simply stood there silently while in front of Room 402.

    This pause gave everyone an indescribable, stifling feeling.

    In the end, it was the old man himself who broke the silence. He started to beat the pot in his hand again. The beating grew increasingly mad and angry. Bang bang bang¡ªthey sounded like a curse in the night. It was like he was trying to summon some ferocious beast.

    ¡°Wangfu! Come out! Come out quickly!¡± The old man¡¯s voice sounded anxious. He leanedpletely against 402¡¯s window and then started to m the thing in his hand against the window. ¡°Come out Wangfu!¡±

    This neurotic banging and howlingsted about ten minutes before it slowly ended.

    Completely unexpected, Xin Miao, who stayed in 402 on her own, managed to make it through the pressure.

    The old man seemed to grow weary of shouting. He continued to move in a counter-clockwise direction, dragging his heavy feet. Every step, he banged the object in his hand against the pot and blew into his whistle.

    A whileter, the shouts continued. ¡°Wangfu¡ªWangfue home¡ª¡±

    Judging by the direction he was moving in, 411 was the next room he was going to stop at.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too close.¡± Mu Yiran returned to the bed and sat down. Ke Xun also sat down quietly.

    The two of them sat in a corner diagonal from the window. It would be difficult for anyone to see them from the outside.

    ¡°Wangfu, don¡¯t be naughty. Come out!¡± The old man¡¯s voice came through the window of their room, sounding like a nightmare.

    The old man smacked the window hard. Bang bang bang. It sounded furious.

    Ke Xun could faintly make out the object in the old man¡¯s hand. It was arge irondle.

    The bangingsted a very long time. It sounded like the window would shatter with every hit. Somehow, it managed to stay intact.

    ¡°Wangfu! Wangfu!! Wangfu!!!¡± The old man¡¯s voice grew increasingly agitated. When his emotions peaked, he started to sob. ¡°Come home¡ª¡±

    As he sobbed, the picture on the other side of the window changed.

    Ke Xun could feel Mu Yiran stiffen beside him. A giant face filled the window. The face belonged to the old man. Wrinkles lined his face and his beard waspletely unkempt.

    What made them even more ufortable was the expression on this person¡¯s face. His eyes were full of tears and unbearable sorrow. He was biting down hard on his lips and his face trembled non-stop¡­.

    ¡°Wangfu! Come home!¡± The giant face pleaded with a sobbing tone. Suffering seeped out of his haggard face.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran sat there motionlessly.

    The giant face went silent but came even closer. The muddy eyes tried its best to peer into the room. The slightly greyed eyes flickered back and forth in an attempt to scan every corner of the room.

    The giant face with constantly roving eyes and the heavy breathing brought with it intense pressure and horror.

    Ke Xun looked away from the giant face at the window and then closed his eyes. He pretended to be a piece of furniture or rock.

    A long, long timeter, the old man finally started to blow his whistle again. He then went to bang against the window of 410 with his irondle¡­.

    Mu Yiran discretely made his way to the window and watched for some time.

    The old man acted the same as he had in front of the other rooms. When his emotions reached their peak, his banging became erratic and he started to howl, sob and curse¡­.

    When that ended, the old man staggered upstairs.

    Mu Yiran then walked back to the bed. It seems like that person¡¯s body hasn¡¯t undergone any changes. The giant face we saw in the window just now was likely just an illusion or¡­.¡±

    ¡°Just magic realism¡¯s painting style,¡± Ke Xun summarized.

    Mu Yiran nodded. ¡°That makes sense.¡±

 Chapter 58: Jumping out the Window

    <h4>Chapter 58: Jumping out the Window</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun enjoyed the affirmation but his nerves were still strung tightly. It wasn¡¯t until the old man slowly left after doing the same action on 616 that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

    The old man didn¡¯te back downstairs. They didn¡¯t know where he went. Perhaps it was as Mu Yiran had said¡ªthe old man was just an illusion.

    Just as Ke Xun was about to sleep, frantic knocking suddenly sounded from Room 410. The knocking was very odd. No one had expected this.

    Soon after, a shrill scream came from next door.

    The voice was very familiar. It was Sha Liu¡¯s.

    Ke Xun, who had just rxed, tensed up once more. He nimbly made his way to the window. However, he didn¡¯t see anyone in front of Room 410.

    Another wave of screams came from next door. This time, they could hear both Sha Liu and Qiu Lu. All sorts of noises came from the other room. He didn¡¯t know what danger they were currently facing.

    In the end, Ke Xun heard the sound of a window opening. It was therge window that faced the cement wall¡­.

    When the sun came up, everyone rushed out of their rooms to lean against the railing. They peered down to see if there were any corpses covered by white cloth in the atrium.

    Ke Xun noticed that the atrium appeared to be the same as always. He felt relieved, but aplicated emotion also rose up in his chest.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze was on room 410¡¯s door. There was something like a clothesline hanging off of it. There was a red, stic whistle hanging off of a dirty nylon string.

    Although it was day time, the blood red whistle was terrifying. Sha Liu opened the door. She was clearly greatly frightened by the whistle.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? This must have been left by the ghostst night!¡± Sha Liu looked at the whistle that swung softly with the breeze. She stayed far away from it. ¡°Why did it hang a whistle on our door?!¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was cold. ¡°Because someone knocked on your doorst night. It probably wanted to give you the whistle.¡±

    Sha Liu was frightened by this. She then heard Ke Xun ask her, ¡°What happened in your roomst night? Where¡¯s Qiu Lu?¡±

    Sha Liu started to shake. ¡°Qiu Lu? The knockingst night was too scary. I think someone entered our room too. It flipped over a lot of stuff¡­. Qiu Lu¡­she¡­she jumped out from the fourth floor¡¯s window¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s first reaction was to rush into Room 410. He gazed down the window. The dark grey cement was as lofty as ever and the space between was still narrow. The space was about half an arm wide, which was enough for a person to jump down. Ke Xun lit up the darkness with the light of his phone¡¯s shlight but saw nothing.

    ¡°Someone entered your roomst night?¡± Mu Yiran seemed doubtful.

    Sha Liu swallowed and then nodded.

    ¡°What happened? What did you do after Qiu Lu jumped?¡±

    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know anything.¡± Sha Liu shook her head. She then looked at the slightly swaying red whistle hanging from her door. ¡°I fainted. By the time I woke up, it was already daylight.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at her probingly. Sha Liu didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Everyone congregated downstairs in the atrium. Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen were thest to arrive. Wei Dong even sneered, ¡°I was going to lose it if that old man kept tormenting us with that giant face of his! Damn it, why were our curtains taken down¡­¡±

    Wei Dong hadn¡¯t finished saying what he wanted to say when he saw people suddenly carry in a corpse covered by a white cloth. Everyone¡¯s hearts sunk. Qin Ci asked, ¡°Why is the corpse being carried in from the outside?¡±

    One of the people carrying the corpse said, ¡°We discovered the corpse by the cement wall. Check if it¡¯s one of yours.¡±

    Everyone subconsciously took a step back, especially Sha Liu. She hid far, far away.

    In the end, it was Qin Ci who uncovered the white cloth. ¡°It¡¯s Qiu Lu.¡±

    In the end, Qiu Lu had died.

    ¡°Did she fall to her death?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Qin Ci¡¯s expression was puzzled. He pulled the clothpletely off and began his examination.

    Mu Yiran also came over and Ke Xun followed along. Everyone had seen so much death. They had already lost their fear and conflicting feelings around corpses.

    Qiu Lu looked very peaceful. If it wasn¡¯t because she wasn¡¯t breathing, they would think she was just sleeping.

    Qiu Lu¡¯s body was covered in dirt. It was like she had been dug out from the ground. Her clothes and shoes were all filled with dirt.

    Qin Ci pressed down on Qiu Lu¡¯s chin gently. He discovered that her mouth was filled with dirt as well. When he leaned to the side, he also noticed that her ears were filled with dirt.

    The soil was very loose. There were also roots of some nts inside. asionally, a bug or two would crawl out.

    ¡°No wonder we didn¡¯t hear her crash into the ground. She had sunk all the way into the soil.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes moved to Sha Liu, who had moved far away. His gaze was icy.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s move it outside.¡± The gatekeeper old man¡¯s voice echoed? through the air.

    Soon after, Qiu Lu¡¯s corpse left through the main entrance.

    Wei Dong looked around. ¡°Where¡¯s Xin Miao?¡±

    Only then did everyone notice that Xin Miao had not shown up since dawn had arrived.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to Room 402.¡± Mu Yiran was the first to head upstairs. Everyone else followed after.

    Except for Zhu Haowen and Sha Liu.

    Zhu Haowen looked up from his phone. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going?¡±

    Sha Liu forced herself to sound tough. ¡°What about you?¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked at Sha Liu with aplicated expression. He didn¡¯t answer and simply continued to y his game.

    Sha Liu, however, turned to head upstairs, her steps agitated.

    The door to Room 402 was locked from the other side. When they called from the outside, no one answered. In the end, they busted the door open, but they found no one inside.

    ¡°Xin Miao? Are you in here?¡± Wei Dong called out. No one replied.

    402 was the same as always. The interior was filled with scorched marks and two-thirds of the bed was burnt. Xin Miao¡¯s single person mattress was against the innermost wall.

    No one knew how this girl had managed to survive two horrifying nights on her own.

    Therge window facing the cement wall was open. Mu Yiran walked over. ¡°She¡¯s here.¡±

    Xin Miao was stuck between the building and the cement wall between the second and third floors. Perhaps it was because the cement wall wasn¡¯t very smooth¡ªsome parts stuck out¡ªbut she had ended up stuck.

    ¡°She¡¯s still alive.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s words woke everyone up. Only Sha Liu, who stood far away, became increasingly pale.

    Saving her was rather tricky. In the end, Ke Xun volunteered. They tied him around the waist with some rope. He then slowly climbed down. He tied another rope around Xin Miao and they gradually pulled her up.

    Xin Miao stared nkly into space. Her eyes were lifeless.

    ¡°She must have been scared senseless,¡± Old Man Li Taiyong had followed them out of concern.

    If they weren¡¯t wrong, Xin Miao must have tried to jump out the window out of fear when the old man had appeared in the small window. That meant that she must have been stuck in the dark crevice for the entire night. She could not go up nor down. She had been stuck in the asphyxiating darkness, drowned in utter fear.

    Regardless of what they said, Xin Miao didn¡¯t react.

    Wei Dong flew into a rage. ¡°Why did she try to jump out the window?¡±

    Only silence and Xin Miao¡¯s nk expression answered him.

    ¡°Yafen¡¯s knocking was just as terrifying but Xin Miao didn¡¯t jump from the window then. Why did she try thatst night?!¡± Wei Dong thought that something was fishy.

    Ke Xun looked at Sha Liu who stood at the door. ¡°Not one, but two people tried it. Qiu Lu also jumped from her window. Sometimes, when there are no other visible escape routes, people will clench their teeth and force themselves to bear with things. But when they think there¡¯s another path they can take, the majority of people will cower and choose the escape route.¡±

    Sha Liu suddenly got angry. She red at Ke Xun. ¡°What are you looking at me for? It¡¯s not like I made them jump out of the window! I only suggested it out of fear.¡±

    Wei Dong walked over to Sha Liu. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you jump too?!¡±

    Sha Liu was forced back two steps. She screamed with tears in her eyes. ¡°I was also afraid! I didn¡¯t have the guts to jump! What are you trying to do? Are you going to force me to jump?¡±

    Suddenly, augh broke out in the room. It came from Xin Miao.

    Xin Miao giggled as she stood up. It was like she couldn¡¯t see them at all. She hummed as she walked out the door. She performed a few ballet moves in a very professional manner. She then ran and leaped all the way downstairs.

    Xin Miao had lost her mind.

    Everyone followed her downstairs.

    The gatekeeper old man was waiting for them, the ring of keys in his hands. ¡°The lock on Room 402 has been repaired and the key has been returned.¡±

    ¡°Why was the key returned? Someone still lives there!¡±

    ¡°No one lives there.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Wei Dong looked at Xin Miao who was dancing on the second floor. ¡°We didn¡¯t check out!¡±

    The gatekeeper acted like he didn¡¯t hear him. He pointed to each person as he counted. ¡°Seven people in total. You¡¯re all here. Time to eat.¡±

    Ke Xun looked around him. There were indeed seven people. But if you included Xin Miao, there should be eight people in total.

    Everyone hade to the same conclusion but no one said it out loud.

    Wei Dong¡¯s eyes were red. Ke Xun walked over to wrap an arm around Wei Dong¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Xin Miao¡¯s journey has alreadye to an end in this painting.¡±

    Wei Dong continued to watch Xin Miao on the second floor. ¡°But she¡¯s clearly still here! She¡¯s still breathing! She can even dance!:

    ¡°But in the real world, she¡¯s already dead.¡± Qin Ci¡¯s voice was solemn.

    ¡°Perhaps this is a form of release for her.¡± Ke Xun pulled Wei Dong into the restaurant.

    In the end, they had no choice but to ept this. They silently filed into the restaurant to eat.

    Sha Liu seemed to have already adjusted her mental state. She cleared her throat at the table. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys find it strange? The gatekeeper old man didn¡¯t tell us about Room 307.¡±

    Everyone did find it weird. Usually, the gatekeeper uncle would gather us all together to tell us what happened in the past in the room where someone died. Or, he¡¯d tell us the cause of death.¡±

    This happened before breakfast every single time. Today was an exception.

    ¡°This can only mean one thing.¡± Zhu Haowen chewed on a mantou expressionlessly. ¡°That means that yesterday¡¯s deaths had nothing to do with 307.¡±

    Everyone was shocked by this conjecture. But when they thought about it carefully, they thought that it was a reasonable exnation.

    ¡°Then how did they die?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°They either scared themselves to death or were frightened to death.¡± There was still no expression on Zhu Haowen¡¯s face.

    Sha Liu thought that there were still too many unanswered questions. She said, ¡°If the matter with 307 hasn¡¯t been resolved, does that mean that it will happen again tonight?¡±

    Everyone recalled the giant face they had seen through the window. They felt both afraid and annoyed.

    Sha Liu continued, ¡°No other spirits were summoned, either. If no one knocks on anyone¡¯s doors, does that mean that the previous night¡¯s nightmare will loop eternally?¡±

    Ke Xun sneered. He cracked the egg in his hand but didn¡¯t speak up. Sha Liu was doing everything she could to convince everyone that the reason why the NPC didn¡¯t exin the deaths was because no one knocked on any doors and not because of another reason¡­.

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Zhu Haowen nced at Sha Liu. ¡°But the thing is, the old man didn¡¯t hurt anyonest night. Unless hees back stronger, we¡¯d end up stuck in an infinite loop anyways.¡±

    ¡°The terrifying rooms are secondary. The most important thing is that we are bound to break through the ground.¡± Mu Yiran spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s already the fourth day. If my guess is correct, we willpletely break out of the earth on the seventh day.¡±

    That¡¯s right. The final major event in this painting was the breaking through the earth.

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°The change in 616 is even worse now. The room is no longer rectangr. You can see that the opening above the atrium has been noticeably pushed together.¡±

    ¡°However, we¡¯ve already searched all the ces we can search,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty,¡± Old Man Li Taiyong said, ¡°Didn¡¯t Xiao Ke er find the bamboo drawings yesterday? There has to be a nook or cranny still left unexplored.¡±

    Eve: God, Sha Liu is definitely a unique character. Cunning, puts herself first, selfish, does anything to increase her chances at survival. Unlikeable, but undoubtedly clever.

 Chapter 59: The Old Man Who Was Like a Beacon

    <h4>Chapter 59: The Old Man Who Was Like a Beacon</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Xin Miao had returned to the atrium at some unknown point in time. She would periodically oscite between dancing and staring nkly into the opening in the sky.

    Wei Dong bought a few bean paste buns and called her over to eat something.

    Although the gatekeeper uncle had excluded her from the ¡®human¡¯ category, she still had ¡®human¡¯ instincts when presented with bean paste buns.

    Old Man Li Taiyong said, ¡°You guys search for the signature. I¡¯ll watch over this child.¡±

    Therefore, the other six people continued to search the building for the signature or seal. There just so happened to be six people and six floors. Each person was tasked with one floor. They had to do their best to search in the most unexpected ces.

    As Sha Liu put it, they couldn¡¯t even let off a single crack between the tiles.

    Sha Liu volunteered to take the first floor. Ever since she heard that there was a store that sold second-hand goods and that some of their wares were purchased from the tenants of this building, Sha Liu had started to believe that this shop must have what they needed.

    The other people took the upper floors. As the men ascended the stairs, Qin Ci said, ¡°I just find it weird. Who was the one to knock on Room 410¡¯s door? And why did they only knock on that one door?¡±

    ¡°They also left a weird red whistle on their door.¡± There was some derision in Ke Xun¡¯s expression.

    Wei Dong turned to look at his roommate. ¡°Weren¡¯t you looking out the window the whole time?¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°Not when the giant face appeared.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°There was no one in front of 410¡¯s room when the knocking sounded.¡± Zhu Haowen said with no expression.

    This was exactly what Mu Yiran had seenst night.

    ¡°Maybe it was the old man from before? Maybe he can go invisible. Another possibility is that the person who knocked on Room 410¡¯s door is someone else entirely?¡± Qin Ci was befuddled.

    Mu Yiran suddenly spoke up: ¡°What I want to know is if Sha Liu has discussed Room 307 with any of you yesterday afternoon.¡±

    Everyone carefullybed through their memories. In the end, Qin Ci said, ¡°When we all went to take a nap, she knocked on our door. She said that she wanted to learn more about our room. She said that, ording to her analysis, the first door the resentful spirit would knock on would likely be her room, Room 410. Therefore, she wanted to be prepared.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± Several people said at once.

    ¡°We let her into the room. She searched the room for a long time but didn¡¯t seem to find any noteworthy clues.¡± Qin Ci furrowed his brows as he sunk into his memories. ¡°But¡­we did find something rted to the old man in the drawers. The old man who used to live in Room 307 was a very kindhearted person. He usually lived frugally. With the money he saved, he¡¯d help people who were worse off. In particr, he helped children that attended Hope primary schools.... There were a lot of letters from students who were helped by him. There were also letters of praise from the school.¡±

    Everyone thought of the old man fromst night who had been shouting ¡®Wangfu.¡¯ They had not expected for him to lead such a life.

    ¡°But we didn¡¯t find anything rted to the porcin pot. We have no idea what could possibly be in it¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran asked, ¡°What did Sha Liu say at the time?¡±

    ¡°She had been disappointed but Uncle Li tried tofort her. He said that the old man who used to live in Room 307 was likely a kind person and that he probably wouldn¡¯t harm them at night¡­. Sha Liu wasforted at first but quickly after, she started to worry about something else. She was afraid of the vote that would happen the next day should no one die¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran seemed to have a realization. ¡°No one can be certain of anything when ites to the vote. As such, some people will be restless as it nears.¡±

    ¡°No wonder. When we were talking about the bamboo¡¯s secret on the sixth floor, Sha Liu had looked terrified for some baffling reason.¡± Ke Xun had thought that Sha Liu had acted very abnormalst night. ¡°While the idea of breaking through the ground is indeed a horrifying thought, the atmosphere Sha Liu created was even scarier. She was acting like an rmist.¡±

    Wei Dong had also sensed that. ¡°She even suggested jumping out the windows at dinner.¡±

    ¡°Jumping out the window is a very tempting suggestion because the NPCs had never explicitly prohibited that action. Sha Liu probably really wanted to know what would happen if someone were to jump out the window, but she wasn¡¯t willing to test it out herself. That¡¯s why she chose to use someone else as a test subject.¡± Ke Xun looked at Xin Miao, who was dancing on the lower floor. Sha Liu was indeed ruthless. She felt no guilt towards Xin Miao. She had also rid herself of all responsibility for Qiu Lu¡¯s death.

    Qin Ci started to understand. ¡°If jumping out the window worked for someone else, then Sha Liu could use it in the future. If it didn¡¯t work, then she still wins because she ends up getting rid of one or two people. This would prevent the vote from happening the next day.¡±

    After working through her n, the men found her even more frightening.

    ¡°Just why did that old man choose Room 410? Was it even the old man?¡± Wei Dong still didn¡¯t get it.

    ¡°Has anyone noticed that the knocking on their door was quieter than normal?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    Qin Ci was the first to nod in agreement. ¡°Yes. It was a bit quieter and a bit muffled.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because the knocking came from the inside.¡± Mu Yiran slowly spat out his conclusion.

    Everyone was shocked. ¡°What? The people inside 410 knocked on their own door?! Was it Sha Liu?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± This time, it was Ke Xun who spoke up. ¡°Sha Liu only needed to make up an excuse to head into the living room on her own. She could then knock on her own door from the inside. She managed to trick all of us, let alone Qiu Li. After Sha Liu knocked on the door, she screamed. This made Qiu Lu think that something terrifying happened in Room 410. Sha Liu then flipped things over to make it seem like someone had made their way into the apartment. She then encouraged Qiu Lu to jump out the window.¡±

    The truth hade to light. There was a different expression on everyone¡¯s faces. Some had on a sneer, some were angry, some only sighed while some remained expressionless.

    Ultimately, it was Qin Ci who broke the silence. He sighed. ¡°Before the enemy is settled, a traitor is born.¡±

    ¡°But who hung the whistle?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Probably the old man from 307.¡± Zhu Haowen nced at the eye-catching whistle on the fourth floor. ¡°After everything settled, the old man silently made his way over to 410¡¯s door and hung the whistle before disappearing through the stairs.¡±

    ¡°Will yesterday¡¯s horrifying events cycle like an infinite loop?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°No. I think that hanging that whistle was really imaginative. I think it¡¯ll be more like an endless spiral upwards.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at his roommate. Suddenly, he thought that the other was kind of a freak¡­.

    A whole day passed but no one came up with anything.

    Sha Liu had searched through all the objects in the second-hand shop. In the end, however, she returned with disappointment.

    Sha Liu had difficulty controlling her emotions. After all, the whistle hung on her door.

    At dinner, Old Man Li Taiyong spoke with an earnest expression. ¡°I have something to tell everyone.¡±

    Everyone stopped eating and turned their gaze to the elderly person who rarely showed such grave expressions.

    ¡°Xiao Qin told me about the rules of the world inside the painting. He told me that if no one dies tonight, we will have to vote,¡± Old Man Li Taiyong paused, ¡°I think that this is something extremely difficult. Not only will this lead to a hurtful falling out, we will also be forced to take another¡¯s life.¡±

    Everyone knew that. It was just that the rules were the rules. No one could go against them.

    ¡°What I was thinking, is that if such a dayes, everyone, please choose me with no reservations.¡± There was kindness in the elderly man¡¯s solemn expression.

    Ke Xun was the first to oppose. ¡°Grandpa, we don¡¯t have to resort to that yet! We might find the signature tomorrow! Besides, even if we have to vote, I can¡¯t bear to vote for you.¡±

    ¡°Xiao Ke er, listen to me.¡± Old Man Li Taiyong smiled. ¡°You¡¯re all in the prime of your lives. There are still many things out there for you to experience. I¡¯m seventy-six years old this year. I¡¯ve experienced enough. I think that it¡¯s worth it, to trade my old life for your young lives. If I can do that, I won¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve lived in vain.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes reddened. Ke Xun felt like his eyes were hot. He looked at Sha Liu, whose head was lowered. He wanted to ask the elderly man something, but no words woulde out of his mouth.

    Old Man Li Taiyong continued, ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this for thest few days. I¡¯ve already made my decision. If you choose to abide by my decision, I will consider that the greatest respect you could ever confer to me.¡±

    Although Ke Xu had seen selfishness and schemes inside these paintings, he had also seen people like Zhou Bin, whose love for his girlfriend had been unshakable. There had also been Mother and Father Geng who had wanted to protect their child to their deaths¡­.

    But Old Man Li Taiyong was different from the others. After all, they were neither kin nor friends of the elderly man. They had only known each other for four days¡­. Do they deserve to get a get-out-of-death free card just because they were young? Should the elderly die first just because they were older?

    ¡°After you make it out of here, make ample preparations. Gain as much experience as you can. Help each other out. Do everything you can to make it through the following paintings. Make it back to our world! When the timees, you will be the strongest, most fearless group of young people the world has ever seen. If you have great ambitions, help build our nation. If you have no lofty aspirations, just live a happy life. Don¡¯t leave behind any regrets.¡±

    Ke Xun would forever remember Old Man Li Taiyong¡¯s words. Many, many yearster, he will still be able to vividly recall his speech.

    He would also recall what Mu Yiran had said afterwards. He had said that the elderly man was like a beacon.

    ¡­.

    The long night once again descended. At a bit past nine, Sha Liu came to ask the guys in 411 for help. She said that therge window in her room wouldn¡¯t close no matter what she did.

    Mu Yiranpletely ignored her. He acted like he didn¡¯t hear her at all.

    In the end, Ke Xun still headed over to 410 to take a look. He saw that therge window facing the cement wall was fully-opened. Because the window was an old-fashioned wooden one that opened by pushing outwards, one had to pull it in to close the window. But it was like the wood had rotted. No matter what he did, he couldn¡¯t shut the window.

    It was like it was preserving the scene from when Qiu Lu had jumped out.

    Sha Liu was suspicious of Ke Xun. She thought that he wasn¡¯t giving it his all to help her. Therefore, she also asked Qin Ci and Old Man Li Taiyong for help. She even went to ask the gatekeeper uncle. Regardless, the window was stubborn. It didn¡¯t close for anyone.

    Sha Liu was about to look for something to nail the window shut in a panic but the gatekeeper uncle gave them a warning for lights out before she could.

    It would soon be eleven o¡¯clock. Sha Liu was devastated.

    In the end, the electricity was cut and not a sound could be heard.

    Mu Yiran and Ke Xun did what they didst night. They stood guard over the small window that had no curtain.

    From their points of view, they could see the bright red whistle hanging off of Room 410. It was currently swaying softly with the night breeze.

    ¡°If our door is knocked on tonight,¡± Ke Xun had a premonition that this would happen. After all, Room 411 was the closest room to Room 410. If Sha Liu was in danger, she would very likely knock on their door. ¡°We have to make sure we look for any apparitions in our room.¡±

    The snow-white woman from Room 410 and the pot-holding old man from Room 307 both appeared three and two nights ago respectively when someone knocked on their doors. If they could carefully examine the apparition, they might be able to gain something.

    Mu Yiran nodded. He looked at Ke Xun. The moonlight illuminated the other man¡¯s body and face. He then shifted his gaze back to the window.

    Ke Xun had been enjoying the other¡¯s shining gaze before it disappeared. He sighed, content, before also turning towards the window.

    The view outside was the dark tube-shaped apartment. The circr hallways looked like the lines around a stalk of bamboo. The top was also slowlying together¡­.

    Suddenly, the red whistle began to emit a high-pitched noise in the silence of the freakish night. The first sound was short, as if someone was just testing it out.

    Quickly after, the whistles grew longer. It sounded like it was being blown to the rhythm of ¡®Wangfu¡¯¡­.

    However, no one was blowing into it. It was making noise on its own.

    Eve: Li Taiyong MY HEART. I almost tear up every single time I read his speech.

 Chapter 60: Wangfuâ€™s Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 60: Wangfu¡¯s Revenge ?</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    The red whistle sounded in the night all on its own. The sound of the whistle was sharp but would also asionally quiet down. Sometimes, it sounded like a private whisper. Other times, it sounded like a grieving shout¡­.

    Regardless, it was strange.

    A bit over half an hourter, the whistles came to an abrupt halt.

    The eerie silence made it seem like something was brewing within the darkness. It caused one¡¯s hairs to stand on end.

    From next door came Sha Liu¡¯s blood-curdling scream. Mixed with her scream were the low growls of some ferocious beast. No one knew what was happening in her room.

    ¡°Help me! Help me!¡± Sha Liu¡¯s piercing wails could barely be heard over the beast¡¯s roars. Slowly, the sound of something being devoured emanated from the room.

    Ke Xun listened to the chilling sounds of feeding and a cold sweat broke out. A wild beast was different from a ghost¡ªthe fear and pain brought by it was very real.

    ¡°Sounds like a canine of sorts.¡± Mu Yiran remained calm.

    The sound of metal shing came from the room next door. It sounded like Sha Liu had attacked back. Soon after, they heard the sound of the door open. From the small window of 411, they saw a bloody Sha Liu stagger out. Chasing after her was an enormous, vicious wolf. Ke Xun rubbed his eyes. He thought that this wolf looked a bit like a dog.

    ¡°Help me! Help me!¡± Although Sha Liu was yelling for help, her eyes were full of despair. Ke Xun suddenly realized that Sha Liu¡¯s left forearm was missing. Blood gushed out from beneath her elbow.

    The giant wolf didn¡¯t seem to want to kill its prey immediately. It tore at her as if it was toying with her. It widened itsrge jaw, clenched down on Sha Liu and dragged her backwards. It seemed to enjoy her miserable screams.

    In the end, Sha Liu managed to make her way to 411¡¯s door and knock. This time, she didn¡¯t scream for help. Instead, she shouted, ¡°I hope you die! You should all just die! None of you will be able to escape this ce alive!¡±

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran ignored her cursing. They split the room in two and waited for Room 411¡¯s spirit to appear.

    As expected, after the door was knocked on, Ke Xun saw a woman walk out from the bedroom. She was wearing the eye-catching pair of red slippers.

    Although it was a strange picture, Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to let any clues slip through the cracks. He stared at the woman unblinkingly.

    The other acted like she didn¡¯t see him. She walked over to the chiffonier with a natural expression on her face. She opened thest drawer and pulled out a bundle wrapped in cloth. Ke Xun had seen this bundle before. He opened it during their search for the signature. He only found some old clothes. As such, he had not taken a careful look at them.

    The woman seemed to be looking for something within the bundle. She looked through it before putting it back into the drawer. She then walked back into the bedroom.

    When Ke Xun reached the bedroom, the woman was already nowhere to be seen.

    The room was once again swallowed by darkness.

    Sha Liu¡¯s screams continued outside. Gradually, her voice grew quiet. Ke Xun didn¡¯t know if this was because she was getting further away or if her voice was weakening.

    There seemed to be something left in the hallway. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t make it out, but guessed that it was likely one of Sha Liu¡¯s severed limbs left in a pool of blood.

    ¡°The whistle¡¯s gone.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze was at the spot where the whistle used to be.

    ¡°Who took the whistle away?¡± It couldn¡¯t have been the dog/wolf-like animal.

    The whistle had probably already served its purpose. It was probably meant to summon the beast¡­.

    Nearly two hours had passed but they could still asionally hear Sha Liu¡¯s moans. Compared to the people in the previous nights, Sha Liu probably suffered the most.

    A single whistle streaked through the night sky. Once more, they heard that familiar hoarse old man voice: ¡°Wangfu¡ªyou finally came home¡ª¡±

    ¡­¡­

    When Ke Xun woke up, the sky was already bright. Mu Yiran had gotten out of bed and left a long time ago.

    Ke Xun left the room and noticed that the severed limbs and blood fromst night had already been cleaned up.

    Everyone stood around the corpse covered by a white cloth in the atrium, including Xin Miao, who had lost her mind. She was currently happily dancing around Sha Liu¡¯s body.

    Old Man Li Taiyong pulled Xin Miao to one side and gave her a lollipop.

    Wei Dong was retching on the side. When he saw Ke Xun, he said, ¡°You¡¯re lucky you got upte and didn¡¯t see the body parts strewn all over the building¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun frowned. Although he hadn¡¯t seen it, he could imagine it.

    Qin Ci said, ¡°I just don¡¯t get why her corpse turned white. Even her hair turned snow-white.¡±

    ¡°Because she incurred the wrath of her own room when she knocked on it.¡± Zhu Haowen answered Qin Ci. ¡°The original tenant of 410 is the albino woman. That woman died because of her disorder. That¡¯s why her body changed after she knocked on the door.¡±

    Wei Dong started to dry heave again. ¡°I was wondering why the body parts were so pale¡­.¡±

    In the end, Sha Liu¡¯s corpse was carried out. The stretcher toddled as it was moved, causing the group to grow concerned that the dismembered limbs would fall out¡­.

    The gatekeeper uncle walked over, waving the chain of keys. ¡°Everyone¡¯s here. Let¡¯s talk about what happened in Room 307.¡±

    At longst, they would hear about Room 307.

    ¡°The previous tenant of 307 was Cripple Liu. Old Liu was a good person. Although he hadn¡¯t been able to find a wife because of his leg, he was diligent and capable. He was also verypassionate and conscientious. He spent his savings on impoverished elementary students. When talking about Old Liu, we can¡¯t not talk about Wangfu. That¡¯s the little stray puppy Old Liu had taken in. He raised that dog for seventeen or eighteen years. The two of them relied on each other.

    ¡°When the bastards from the factory came to expel us, they thought that Old Liu would be easy pickings. They wanted to make Old Liu an example, to make him the first to move out! When Wangfu saw that Old Liu was being pushed around, he panicked. He bit down on the factory¡¯s vice director¡¯s leg. At this moment, trouble began. Although the vice director had on thick clothes and his leg was unharmed, he wasn¡¯t going to let this go just like that¡­.

    ¡°The vice director didn¡¯t say anything at the time, but the next day, Wangfu went missing. Old Liupletely panicked. Wangfu was like a child to him. The next few days, Old Liu searched for Wangfu day and night, his voice growing hoarse from all the screaming. In the past, Wangfu would scuttle over to him as soon as he heard Old Liu¡¯s whistle and the banging of his food bowl¡­.

    ¡°Many dayster, someone found Wangfu in the space between the tube-shaped apartment and the cement wall. The old dog had been killed by someone. Someone had hacked him to pieces and tossed the remains on the ground.

    ¡°None of us dared to tell Old Liu of this news. We were afraid he wouldn¡¯t be able to take it. Even on his deathbed, Old Liu never found Wangfu. That is probably his only regret.¡±

    It turns out that the vengeful being wasn¡¯t Old Liu but Wangfu.

    As for why the red whistle appeared before Room 410, that was a mystery.

    Was it because Old Liu had sensed the murderous air from the room? Sha Liu had coerced Qiu Lu to die. To put it another way, Sha Liu could be considered Qiu Lu¡¯s murderer.

    ¡°But why did the dog appear in Room 410?¡±

    ¡°Because the window facing outside was open. The dog¡¯s corpse was dumped in the space between the building and the cement wall. therefore, Wangfu¡¯s spirit had to climb up from there¡­¡± Ke Xun said.

    The Gatekeeper uncle suddenly looked upwards. Because the top of the building was closing in, the tube-shaped apartment was no longer as bright as it used to be. Actually, the opening above the atrium was only five or six metres wide right now. It made everyone feel like they were trapped in a small pot.

    The gatekeeper uncle looked gratified. ¡°Looks like things are developing rapidly. We might be able to break through the ground by tomorrow! You guys should hurry and eat! Breaking through the earth is a good thing! We¡¯ll finally be able to leave!¡±

    The gatekeeper uncle then beckoned for Xin Miao. ¡°The window in your room, Room 215, needs to be fixed. We¡¯ll have it reced for you in two days!¡±

    Xin Miao didn¡¯t understand. She simply smiled at the gatekeeper uncle.

    No one was in the mood to eat now. Qin Ci looked upwards. ¡°Have things been pushed forward?¡±

    ¡°The NPC wouldn¡¯t lie. It¡¯s probably because we triggered some condition and caused the timeline to advance.¡± Nevertheless, Mu Yiran could not think of the reason for this.

    Wei Dong said, ¡°If this building ispletely sealed off before the buildingpletely breaks out of the ground, we¡¯ll probably die from suffocation. Why aren¡¯t these people afraid?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Xin Miao, who was standing nearby. ¡°Xin Miao is now one of them. That¡¯s why she¡¯s not afraid.¡±

    Wei Dong suddenly realized that Xin Miao had changed into a red dress at some unknown point in time. ¡°It can¡¯t be that¡­the people living in this tube-shaped apartment are all¡­.¡±

    ¡°People of the earth.¡± Zhu Haowen replied straightforwardly.

    ¡°If it¡¯s as the NPC says¡ªthat the process of breaking through the ground will bepleted tomorrow¡ªthat means that the building will bepletely sealed off today.¡± Ke Xun analyzed the situation before their eyes. ¡°If we don¡¯t find the signature today, our corpses will probably grow cold here.¡±

    There were six people left: Mu Yiran, Ke Xun, Wei Dong, Qin Ci, Zhu Haowen and Old Man Li Taiyong.

    Old Man Li Taiyong walked over. ¡°I¡¯ll search with you.¡±

    But no one moved. They had searched every viable ce. They didn¡¯t know where to go now.

    Zhu Haowen was the first to speak up: ¡°I think that it has something to do with the opening of the atrium. After all, it¡¯s going to be the tip of the bamboo stalk.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s not like it¡¯s a rooftop for us to climb up on. It will be difficult for us to get up there.¡± Qin Ci was skeptical.

    ¡°Once its transformation has reached a certain degree, the windows on the sixth floor that face the outside will be the tip of the bamboo. We can break the window to get on top!¡± Zhu Haowen shared his thoughts.

    ¡°There¡¯s no time to lose,¡± Mu Yiran suddenly spoke up. ¡°You guys head to the sixth floor. Ke Xun and I will return to Room 411. We saw an apparitionst night. Perhaps it¡¯s rted to the overall situation.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Old Man Li Taiyong. ¡°Grandpa,e with us. After all, the sixth floor is too high up.¡±

    Therefore, the six of them split into two teams. Three people went to Room 616 while the other three headed to 411.

    Mu Yiran asked Ke Xun on the way: ¡°What did you seest night?¡±

    After all, they couldn¡¯t know for sure if it would be safe or not to discuss the apparition openlyst night. That¡¯s why they waited until day time.

    Ke Xun told the other about the woman he sawst night. He then looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°Did you see something different?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I saw the woman enter the bedroom from the living room. She pulled out paper and a pen and began to draw a self-portrait by using the mirror.¡± Mu Yiran also spoke of what he sawst night.

    ¡°That woman can draw?¡± Ke Xun felt like drawing was a delicate thing inside the painting.

    ¡°Yes. It was a professional grade sketch.¡±

    Old Man Li Taiyong said, ¡°I¡¯m slow. You two should head over first!¡±

    As such, Mu Yiran and Ke Xun sprinted over to Room 411. They first pulled open the drawers from the chiffonier and found therge cloth parcel. As expected, there were several hand woven wool sweaters and pants. They also found handsewn satchel. There were letters stuffed in the bag.

    This was a matter of life and death. It was not the time to worry about invading someone else¡¯s privacy. The two of them divided the letters and started to read them.

    The majority of the letters came from abroad. The two of them gradually learned that this woman¡¯s husband had left to study abroad. He studied oil painting.

    Because of financial reasons, the man had note back for many years. The woman raised their son on her own. They lived in Room 411 of the Spring Bamboo Dormitory.

    It was obvious that the couple was deeply in love. Ke Xun faintly realized what the engraved ¡®return¡¯ character on the desk meant.

    The two of them finished reading all of the letters. There was no letter in the bottom-most envelope. Instead, there was arge pile of notes. Ke Xun poured all of them out and looked through each one. Most of them had been written by the couple when they had been students. It seemed like they had been high school students at the time. They had been deskmates so they frequently passed each other notes.

    Eve: The old man and Wangfu break my heart. I feel so sad for them. We are nearing the end of this arc~

 Chapter 61: Iâ€™ll Take You Guys Out of Here!

    <h4>Chapter 61: I¡¯ll Take You Guys Out of Here!</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    The words on these notes were very small. Most of them were actually drawings. Ke Xun admired the artistic talent of these two people. With just a few strokes, they were able to sketch out vivid, life-like images. They were able to instill emotions in these simple drawings.

    For example, there was a drawing of a bespectacled boy standing in front of the cafeteria. There was a clock that showed 11:40 with its hands. It probably said: I¡¯ll wait for you at the entrance of the cafeteria at 11:40.

    Another example: There was a drawing of two girls. One girl had long, flowing hair while the other girl looked confident with her short hair. Next to each picture was either the letter A or B. It was probably asking: Should I leave my hair long or should I cut it? You have to choose one!

    What were the two of them doing now? Did the man return from overseas? After being separated for so many years, were they able to be as sweet and harmonious as they had been back then? Just thinking about it made one sigh.

    There were also childish doodles under the pile of notes. They obviously came from a young child. There were drawings of ducks, dinosaurs and monsters. It seemed like the mother had also saved her son¡¯s drawings from his early years.

    She seemed like a very considerate mother.

    Mu Yiran picked up one of them. There was a ratherplicated robotic skeleton depicted. It looked like an alien or some high-tech being. There were also many little people admiring it. Some of the little people didn¡¯t look quite human either. If their skin was peeled off, they would probably look like the robotic skeleton.

    This could be considered magic realism, Mu Yiran thought. Suddenly, he heard Ke Xun exim: ¡°Fuck! There¡¯s a clue here! So it¡¯s been hiding here all along!¡±

    Old Man Li Taiyong was currently sitting on the sofa in the living room waiting for news. When he heard Ke Xun¡¯s words, he looked over.

    Ke Xun flipped the magic realism style drawings over and let everyone see what was written on the back. There was a string of words written in pencil: Mom, I went to draw in Room 616. I already ate lunch.

    ¡°Room 616 and 411 belong to the same family!¡± Ke Xun was excited, ¡°And this family is rted to art!¡±

    Mu Yiran read the lines of text over and over. ¡°If I¡¯m right about this, they likely rented room 616 to use as an art studio.¡±

    ¡°No wonder there wasn¡¯t any furniture inside 616 before. If it¡¯s a studio, it was probably pretty empty. Of course there wouldn¡¯t be any home furniture.¡± Old Man Li Taiyong was about to stand up but the ground began to tremble.

    The speed at which the world darkened sped up. Ke Xun opened the door and rushed out. He saw that the opening above the atrium was only as big as a sewer hole now.

    ¡°They must have reached the atrium¡¯s opening, which caused the world to speed up the process of breaking through the ground.¡± Mu Yiran helped Old Man Li Taiyong up. ¡°Let¡¯s head to Room 616. The signature or seal is likely in there.¡±

    Old Man Li Taiyong waved a hand. ¡°I¡¯m slow. You two should hurry on first!¡±

    Ke Xun had alreadye back into the room. He bent down, his back facing the elderly man. He nned to carry the other. ¡°Come on. It¡¯ll be faster like this.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Old Man Li Taiyong didn¡¯t bicker with him. He got on top of the young man¡¯s seemingly strong back. The three of them then made their way to the sixth floor hurriedly.

    The entire building had started to shake. They could feel the upward force running throughout the apartmentplex. It seemed like it was trying to break through some kind of barrier.

    .

    Just as they approached the door to 616, Wei Dong and them ran out. ¡°No good¡ªwe can¡¯t get a steady footing up there. We nearly fell off!¡±

    It was clear that they had juste back from their attempt in climbing out the window. Wei Dong also intended to get a broom to sweep away the shards of ss from the window.

    ¡°The clues all point to the seal being inside Room 616!¡± Ke Xun held onto the nearly deformed door frame and let the elderly man down from his back.

    Mu Yiran had already entered the room. He started to investigate the room.

    Zhu Haowen was skeptical. ¡°I¡¯ve already searched the entirety of this room. There¡¯s no way I missed anything. That is, unless we need to pry the floorboards apart.¡±

    Mu Yiran acted like he didn¡¯t hear him. He continued his search. Qin Ci also joined in.

    ¡°I believe that Haowen er is a meticulous child.¡± Old Man Li Taiyong struggled to walk into the room. ¡°If the seal is inside this room, it has to be somewhere we have yet to search.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t stop his actions but his eyes started to scan the room. They were so close. Unfortunately, humans sometimes fail the final step.

    Ke Xun walked over to the heating unit that was encased with a wooden frame which had floral engravings carved into it. He ignored the pain and punched it a few times. He then yanked the wooden nks off with his bare hands. ¡°We probably haven¡¯t looked here yet.¡±

    Xin Miao had appeared in the room with them at some point in time. She watched everyone curiously but didn¡¯t speak.

    The floor continued to quake. The room was nearly pitch ck. Everyone felt a terrifying feeling of asphyxiation.

    Only Xin Miao¡¯s expression remained unchanged.

    Mu Yiran adjusted his breathing and coolly examined the entire room. His gaze fell on the wallpaper on the walls. ¡°Tear the wallpaper off!¡±

    Everyone got to it. However, theck of oxygen drained their strength. After much difficulty, they managed to pull all the wallpaper off of the living room. Everyone was gasping for air like dying fish.

    All of a sudden, one of the room¡¯s walls copsed. Ke Xun¡¯s reaction speed was the quickest. He shoved Mu Yiran, who was closest to the wall, away. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t quick enough in his own escape. One of his calves was trapped beneath the brick wall.

    Mu Yiran and Wei Dong rushed over to help Ke Xun pull his leg out. Wei Dong was close to tears from worry. ¡°Ke er, can you still move your leg?¡±

    ¡°Enough talking. Pull!¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t say much. The more they spoke, the more oxygen deprived they would be. In addition, he was already very sensitive to stifling conditions like this. He almost couldn¡¯t breathe.

    ¡°Youngdy,e help us out!¡± Old Man Li Taiyong called out to Xin Miao. Right now, the girl was the strongest one of them.

    Xin Miao was very obedient. She skipped over to the bedroom and lifted a corner of the wallpaper. Rip. She tore it off.

    A giant image appeared in front of them. As Xin Miao continued to pull, the image became increasinglyplete.

    Although the room had changed shape¡ªwhich meant that the picture was also deformed¡ªthey could still make out what it was.

    ¡ª¡ªA ridiculously tall stalk of bamboo stretched across the entire wall. There were tiny windows on the stalk of bamboo. It was clearly an abstract depiction of the tube-shaped apartment!

    There was a string of text written in juvenile handwriting next to the bamboo: I will take you guys out of here! Our Spring Bamboo Dormitory will soar into the skies! We¡¯ll break out of our cage and shoot towards outer space!

    Xin Miao squatted down as she finished ripping out thest part of the wallpaper. There was something that looked like a trail of fire that woulde out of a rocket beneath the stalk of bamboo. It really did feel like it would shoot into space.

    The painter¡¯s information was written on the bottom of the stalk of bamboo: Luo Bing, 11 years old.

    Everyone¡¯s gazes congregated on the young signature. Instantly, a faint golden light began to emit from the painting. A deformed frame began to emerge from the warped wall.

    ¡°We did it¡­.¡± An unknown number of people uttered these words, moved. Their voices were very weak.

    The unit was nearlypletely submerged in darkness. If they didn¡¯t have the light, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to see their arms outstretched.

    Another wave of intense shaking ran through the ground. It looked like one of the corners of the painting frame would copse. The entire frame now looked like a parallelogram.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Zhu Haowen was the first to step through the frame. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared.

    They only had a moment. If the wall toppled over, their exit would bepletely destroyed.

    ¡°Leave quickly!¡± Old Man Li Taiyong¡¯s voice echoed through the air. At some unknown point in time, the elderly man had gone over to hold together the cracking picture frame. ¡°Hurry!¡±

    Under Old Man Li Taiyong¡¯s frantic shouts, Qin Ci bent down and exited through the frame.

    ¡°Grandpa Li¡­¡± Ke Xun had yet to finish when Mu Yiran dragged him onto his back. With strenuous effort, he carried Ke Xun out through the picture frame that was so deformed it was only 1 metre tall.

    ¡°Youngdy, you should leave as well! You might be able to be cured if you leave this ce!¡± Old Man Li Taiyong almost couldn¡¯t hold on. He was now squatting down, using everyst ounce of his strength to keep to frame together. Because he was using an excessive amount of strength, the veins in his temples bulged out. ¡°Take her out of here!¡±

    Wei Dong gritted his teeth. He dragged Xin Miao with him and they crawled through the picture frame. The second he left, he heard a loud rumble, signalling the building¡¯s copse¡­.

    Light enveloped them, dispelling the nightmare.

    Ke Xun was still lying against Mu Yiran¡¯s back. His calf seemed to have lost all feeling. He didn¡¯t know when it had started, but tears streamed down his face, soaking the back of Mu Yiran¡¯s shirt.

    Everyone stood in the exhibition hall in silence. When they managed to gather enough courage to look at the painting, they were unexpectedly met with warmth and light.

    ¡¶Fifth in the Breaking Through the Ground Series¡·¡ª¡ªPainter: Luo Bing, 2016.

    The painting depicted the atrium courtyard of the Spring Bamboo Apartments. Every corner seemed to be bathed in sunlight. Although it was a painting of olden times, it was very colourful. It made people feel good.

    The courtyard was filled with warmth and cheer. There were children skipping rope and housewives picking vegetables or washing clothes. There was also a boy sitting in a corner of the courtyard, painting on a canvas. The image on the canvas was a giant stalk of bamboo. The boy was in the middle of adding the windows on the bamboo.

    In the painting, there were also two older men ying chess. One was the gatekeeper uncle, Uncle Zhang. The other was Old Man Li Taiyong, who had a kind smile on his face. Next to the elderly man was Xin Miao, who was performing a ballet move with a sweet grin gracing her face.

    Wei Dong looked down at his right hand. He had been holding Xin Miao with his right hand when he had crawled out. The space around him had grown increasinglyrge so he had gotten up to run. But as he ran, the resistance from the person behind him had grown lighter and lighter. By the time he made it back to reality, the girl had already disappeared.

    Right now, all that was left in the palm of his hand was a small, blue bow-shaped hair clip. It was the same one Xin Miao wore in her hair.

    ¡°They look really happy in the painting,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t say a thing.

    Qin Ci¡¯s expression was heavy but the only thing he could say now was: ¡°We should take Xiao Ke to the hospital. His leg might be fractured.¡±

    Eve: This is one of my favourite endings. My heart aches a lot for Li Taiyong and Xin Miao, but there¡¯s also so much hope. I¡¯m also d that they are at least happy and at peace inside the painting. The world needs more kindness. More people like Grandpa Li. Now I¡¯ll have to excuse myself because even though it¡¯s a hopeful end, it still hurts.

 Chapter 62: An Encounter in a Dream

    <h4>Chapter 62: An Encounter in a Dream</h4>

    Tranted by Eve

    Edited by EB

    Ke Xun found himself in a deep dream. In his dream, he walked nonstop. No matter how long he walked, he couldn¡¯t exit a lovely, verdant bamboo forest.

    Mu Yiran was not far in front of him but regardless of what Ke Xun did, he could not reach the other. He wanted to call the other¡¯s name but every time he tried, his voice would transform into a silent cool breeze¡­.

    Whe Ke Xun opened his eyes, he was met with Wei Dong¡¯s ridiculously close face. Ke Xun¡¯s hand came shing over, as if he was trying to call for help. ¡°Stop darting your eyes side-to-side. It reminds me of Wangfu¡¯s owner¡­.¡±

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re awake.¡± Wei Dong¡¯s face moved away. It was finally back to normal size.

    Ke Xun woke up fully. His entire body ached and he felt weak all over. Only now did he realize he was in a hospital room. He faintly recalled being exhausted after exiting the painting. He had then happily fallen into a slumber on Mu Yiran¡¯s back¡­.

    Maybe it was because of Mu Yiran, but it seemed like he didn¡¯t care about being a ¡®top¡¯ as much anymore¡­.

    Ke Xun smacked himself on the head. He had nearly fallen¡­. This wouldn¡¯t do. The gong! He had to be the gong! he could not fall!

    Crunch crunch crunch. Wei Dong was eating.

    Ke Xun looked at Wei Dong, who was eating potato chips next to him. ¡°Hurry up and set my bed to the sitting position. Don¡¯t just sit there! Peel an apple for me! What kind of bedside treatment is this? Hurry up! I want to drink water! I want to eat a peeled apple!¡±

    ¡°Where am I going to buy you apples in the summer? Do you want a refrigerated red Fuji apple? People usually only buy that when pregnant women specifically crave it¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong started to chatter on after he stopped munching on the chips. He then helped Ke Xun move the bed so that he could sit up.

    .

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to peel apples in a hospital room¡­.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s upper body slowly moved into an upright position. The smile on his face was elegant and poised. ¡°You, hurry up. I¡¯m thirsty.¡±

    Wei Dong handed him arge thick mug.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to give me a straw or something? How can you let a patient drink straight out of a cup?! Can¡¯t you be more meticulous?!¡± Ke Xun finally made out that he was in arge hospital room. There were six beds here. Including the visitors, there were about twenty people in the room.

    Out of the six patients, only Ke Xun didn¡¯t have a cast. Ke Xun moved his foot from under the nket. It moved quite nimbly. He then bent his knee. There was nothing wrong with it. ¡°Dong zi, how¡¯s my leg? Were there any fractures?¡±

    Wei Dong carefully thought about it. ¡°I don¡¯t really remember¡­. Everyone brought you to the hospital together. The x-rays showed no issues. They said the injuries were superficial. The doctor wanted us to discharge you this morning but I couldn¡¯t bear to wake you up. So I let you sleep for another three hours.¡±

    Ke Xun did a few exercises on the beg. His right calf hurt a bit so he pulled his pants leg up. There was arge bruise on his calf but the muscles seemed fine. The bone was fully intact.

    ¡°We all found it strange. It seems like our injuries are made less severe upon leaving.¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t mention the paintings in front of outsiders, even if the other people probably couldn¡¯t hear their words.

    ¡°How benevolent of Mr. Instigator¡­.¡± Ke Xun directly shortened ¡°painting instigator¡± to Mr. Instigator.

    ¡°We thought that the reason for this is so that we will heal faster. That means we can prepare for the next painting sooner¡­.¡± Wei Dong spat out the cruel truth.

    ¡°¡­.¡± Ke Xunid against the window to do some high level leg stretches, scaring the patient in the bed next to him. The other patient thought that this youngster hade to cause trouble.

    ¡°Bed number 84, hurry up and file the paperwork for your discharge!¡± A callous-looking nurse walked in to write down thest note on his report. ¡°Also, someone asked where you were. Probably came to visit you.¡±

    Ke Xun retracted his leg and straightened out the white and blue hospital gown on his body. ¡°How do I look? Am I presentable? Do I look sickly?¡±

    Wei Dong thought that the other looked healthier than he did. He didn¡¯t look like a patient at all. ¡°As awe-inspiring as always.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never gotten a bouquet from anyone while in the hospital¡­.¡± Ke Xun got back into his bed at a lightning fast speed. He pulled the cover over himself and leaned against his pillow.

    Wei Dong was just about to say: Mu Yiran already went back to S City. Even Qin Ci has returned to X City¡­.

    The hospital room door was pushed open. The person who walked in was unexpectedly Zhu Haowen. He had a small fruit basket in his hand. Inside were red Fuji apples¡­.

    ¡°Haowen er¡¯s from B City. He lives nearby so he couldn¡¯t not visit you.¡± Wei Dong went to pull a chair over for Zhu Haowen to sit on.

    Zhu Haowen decided to stand, however. He ced the small fruit basket on the table by the bed. ¡°I asked around about the art gallery during thest two days. The Spring Bamboo Apartments previously stood where the gallery now stands. The developer had expelled all the residents back then and had used foul methods to do so¡­.¡±

    Since they were talking about things that were rted to the painting, Wei Dong kept the curtain around the hospital bed drawn. To outsiders, it probably looked like they were helping the patient change clothes or helping him relieve himself¡­.

    ¡°There was a lot of news coverage on the developer¡¯s violent evacuation of the residents back then. Later on, it seems like the developer sealed off all information. I also learned a few things from people who lived in the vicinity, onnd that also belonged to that developer. Apparently, thend was cursed by the residents of the Spring Bamboo Dormitory. The Hong Kong developer was a very superstitious person. As such, he hired a feng shui master to take a look. In the end, they built rhinoceros and elephant statues to subdue the curse. Because of this, they also decided to name the gallery the Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery.¡± Zhu Haowen said all of this with his characteristk of expression.

    ¡°I also looked up rumours about the Rhino and Elephant Art Gallery, particrly those about the popr restaurant beneath it. Many people say that they see strange things at night when they go forte night snacks.¡± Wei Dong pulled out his phone and tapped on it. ¡°Unexpectedly, the more rumours there were, the most popr the restaurant became.¡±

    ¡°Strange things?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°The mostmon report is that they see flickering figures. The figure usually wears red clothing.¡± Wei Dong clicked on an article and read it out loud.

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°What I want to know is whether your previous experiences were like this.¡±

    Ke Xun mulled over this. ¡°This time, things seemed particrly life-like. Before, it felt a lot more like a game. The NPCs were a lot more robotic too. I think that the setting of this painting was the crucial part. Reality and the world inside the painting coincided. This probably caused the location to feel extremely realistic.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the thin curtain surrounding his bed. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you anything more. We can talk about it in the chatroom instead.¡±

    Zhu Haowen seemed interested in the worlds inside paintings. ¡°I¡¯m a man of logic and rules. As long as a world wasn¡¯t randomly formed, then I think its existence can be rationalized.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at Zhu Haowen. He was really d they were no longer roommates. If it wasn¡¯t because they had gone through a life-and-death experience together in the painting, he would have thought he was a NPC¡­.

    Wei Dong then looked at the ¡®lively¡¯ Ke Xun. He was currently chugging water from therge cup. Suddenly, he felt happiness, as if he was being tightly enveloped by reality.

    ¡°Can you friggin¡¯ stop looking at me with that shifty gaze?¡± Ke Xun managed to nce at Wei Dong while drinking water. It was quite a talent.

    ¡°Including the other two, there¡¯s five of us in total. See you next time.¡± Zhu Haowen said tly. He sounded like he was a grim homeroom teacher speaking to his new ss. Everyone, let¡¯s get to know each other.

    ¡­¡­

    After Zhu Haowen left, Ke Xunpleted his discharge paperwork and took a train with Wei Dong back to their home, Z City.

    Z City was pretty close to B City. It only took them two hours to get home. There were very few people on the train so there weren¡¯t any other people sitting around them.

    Wei Dong leaned against his seat, napping. When he opened his eyes, he saw Ke Xun smiling stupidly at his phone.

    ¡°What¡¯s making you this happy?¡± Wei Dong rubbed his eyes.

    Ke Xun chuckled but his eyes didn¡¯t leave his screen. ¡°Have you ever thought about what the people in our group are like after leaving the paintings? How the others are doing in their efforts? in assimting back to regr life?¡±

    ¡°What, can your omniscient cell phone tell you that?¡± Wei Dong unlocked his phone out of habit to y a game. ¡°Phone, phone, in my hand, can you tell me who¡¯s the lewdest man in thisnd?¡±

    Ke Xun ignored Wei Dong¡¯stter utterances. ¡°Yesterday, Dr. Qin said that he had a major surgery the day he returned to X City. He¡¯s the hospital¡¯s chief surgeon so the surgery went very smoothly.¡±

    ¡°Dr. Qin¡¯s used to stuff like that. A little blood isn¡¯t going to make his hands shake.¡± Wei Dong cleared a line of red balls. He felt good. It kind of felt like he was silently opposing the painting¡¯s actions.

    ¡°There¡¯s also him.¡± When Ke Xun mentioned him, it was like he had lost control of his eyes. Happiness that seemed toe from the heart burst out of his eyes and gradually scattered to the corner of his eyes and the space between his eyebrows.

    Wei Dong rarely saw Ke Xun look like this. Although Ke Xun had never acted as depressed as he had in the past, and had seemed happy hanging out with their friends, Wei Dong always felt like Ke Xun was holding back a piece of him. He thought that the piece he held back was the real him. Ever since Ke Xun¡¯s parents had died, he had never again seen the other¡¯s carefree smile from their youth.

    Although the life Mu Yiran lived in Z City was an international legend that they could only dream about, if it could make his friend happy, then Wei Dong hoped that the immortal-like man could stay in the mortal realm for just a little longer. Even if all that came out of this was a few more smiles from his best friend, it was enough.

    ¡°Did you hear me? You just had an entire KFC bucket. Are you still hungry?¡± Ke Xun tugged Wei Dong¡¯s head.

    ¡°Whose family¡¯s stabbing me?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Wei Dong blinked hard, trying to force his tears back. ¡°Mn. I didn¡¯t hear you just now. What about the boss?¡±

    Ke Xun patiently repeated himself. ¡°Two hours after leaving B City, he appeared at a painting auction in Hong Kong.¡±

    ¡°In two hours? Doesn¡¯t it take three hours just to fly from B city to Guangzhou? How did he get to Hong Kong in just two hours?¡± Wei Dong thought he was pretty smart sometimes.

    Ke Xun hadn¡¯t thought about this issue much. In his imagination, Mu Yiran is always whisked away by some mysterious characters after leaving the galleries. He imagined that they were all dressed like the characters from the Matrix¡­.

    ¡°He probably took a private jet to Hong Kong.¡± Wei Dong once again realized the distance between the boss and ordinary people such as themselves. He couldn¡¯t help but mutter, ¡°Ke er, I still think that the boss is way out of our league¡­ Actually, there are a lot of good people around us. For example, Haowen er.¡±

    ¡°Haowen er who?¡± Ke Xun looked up with a befuddled look in his eyes.

    ¡°Pretend I said nothing.¡±

    Eve: That¡¯s a wrap~ The next world is another one of my faves but it¡¯s also one that scarred me quite a bit. It¡¯s called ¡°Animal World.¡± I¡¯ll put a more detailed spoiler in potentially scarring chapters. But in general, there are some very gory scenes. It is rted to animal cruelty, especially with regards to pitting animals against each other for sport, inhumane treatment in farms, etc. If you¡¯ve ever watched a documentary about the conditions of farms by animal advocacy groups, this arc will probably make you feel simr emotions.

 Chapter 63: Come ah, Letâ€™s Meet Naked~

    <h4>Chapter 63: Come ah, Let¡¯s Meet Naked~</h4>

    The Cyrano Art Museum was located on a rtively quiet street in the cultural circle of City G.

    Judging from the information collected by members of the Introduction to Painting Theory group, this art museum has always been rather avant-garde. The exhibitions undertaken in the museum are typically abstract and surrealist works, with many of the owners of these works being small and unknown painters, while others were only well-known in niche circles.

    Even Mu Yiran failed to provide any useful clues this time.

    It¡¯s worth mentioning that, as a new member to the group, Zhu Haowen joined the ¡°Introduction to Painting Theory¡± chat. Meanwhile, A Gentle and Soft Green¡¯s avatar in the group was permanently fixed to a nk photo.

    It could be said that no matter what kind of person Sha Liu was when she was alive, in the end they felt they could not judge her in death and could only sigh in pity. But as people who were destined to die anyway, sympathizing with others was both inherently useless and a waste of emotions.

    When Ke Xun and Wei Dong arrived at the Cyrano Art Museum, it was raining heavily. Due to the fact that it was already midsummer, the climate was too humid to bear. Therefore, an open AC building like the art museum became the best ce for nearby pedestrians to avoid the rain and beat the heat.

    ¡°We¡¯ll definitely have enough people to join us now.¡± Wei Dong said sarcastically.

    Ke Xun copsed the umbre and went to find the personal item storage with Wei Dong, when they happened to find Zhu Haowen there already.

    Zhu Haowen¡¯s fashion was one that Ke Xun admired a lot: a blue and white horizontal striped T, a pair of moss green loose cks, rolled up trousers that exposed his ankles, and a pair of blue and white canvas shoes. The whole person emanated a sort of Japanese Harajuku style.

    It was a shame this set of clothes could easily be anything from beggar robes to even monk attire after entering the painting.

    ¡°Konnichiwa!!¡± Ke Xun greeted.

    Zhu Haowen turned his head, and after giving Ke Xun¡¯s face and body a once-over, nodded lightly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go up together,¡± Ke Xun offered. ¡°The fourth exhibition hall is on the third floor.¡±

    ¡°Although the building doesn¡¯t seem that big on the outside, it has quite a lot of floors.¡± Wei Dong added, looking at the towering iron staircase and wiping his face.

    The prospect of entering another painting reminded him of going to the hospital for injections as a child; the smell of disinfectant upon entering would cause his stomach to seize and his legs to tremble in fear.

    At this moment, Wei Dong really wished he was going to the fourth exhibition hall for an injection rather than to die.

    Ke Xun patted his shoulders sympathetically and took the lead going up the stairs.

    The architectural style of this art gallery was also very surreal and bizarre. A door here, a window there, and sculptures of strange shapes would pop up once in a while, causing the three people to search for a long time before they found the fourth exhibition hall entrance.

    At the entrance, there was a sign titled ¡°Works of Emerging Artists¡±, the area below showing twenty artist names.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s another mixed-artist exhibition hall,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°When we go inter, let¡¯s divide the work. Once the light shines from the painting, I will look at the canvas, and the two of you will look at the disy cards under the painting. Let¡¯s do our best to clearly see the artist¡¯s name and painting summary, alright?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wei Dong tried to make himself seem confident.

    Zhu Haowen carefully nodded his head in agreement.

    The three of them marched forward into the exhibition hall, and they were immediately blinded by the weird and bizarre paintings that ordinary people couldn¡¯t understand. The content was strange and the colors were bold; it was almost as if they had entered a mental hospital by mistake instead.

    When the overhead lights suddenly went out and another ray of light appeared, the three men immediately cast their eyes on the painting that was emitting light. After the sh, they opened their eyes and found that they were already in the painting.

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°This time we¡­ seem to have entered a men¡¯s bathhouse this time?¡±

    Why were there naked men in all directions¡­¡­

    Looking at each other, Zhu Haowen¡¯s Harajuku men¡¯s clothing, Ke Xun¡¯s ck T and hip-hop pants, and Wei Dong¡¯s white T and holey denim, all had disappeared without a trace, not even their boxers were left alone.

    ¡°Fuck! What the hell is this!¡± Wei Dong quickly covered his privates and mped his legs.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother covering it, there are only men here anyway.¡± Ke Xun looked around calmly as if he was wearing high-end clothing instead of being naked.

    ¡°Huh, howe it feels like you¡¯re getting exactly what you want.¡± Wei Dong side-eyed him.

    ¡°Does it seem like I haven¡¯t seen something like this before?¡± Ke Xun kept scanning the surrounding group of naked men. ¡°If you want to see this kind of thing, you can go to the public bathhouse anytime.¡±

    ¡°Forget about it, the men who go to bathhouses are all big-bellied middle aged uncles, unless you¡¯re hardcore like that.¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°That¡¯s just the kind of bathhouses you went to, considering there are only uncles in the public ones. Some bathhouses are filled with young, handsome and good-looking fresh meat like me.¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°You damn gay.¡± Wei Dong rolled his eyes.

    ¡°You damn hetero.¡± Ke Xun shot back.

    Zhu Haowen nced at them from the sidelines.

    Ke Xun was still sweeping his eyes across the crowd when Wei Dong directly exposed his intentions. ¡°If you want to see Lord Mu¡¯s body so badly just say straight out instead of acting like a groundhog.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m so bent, how could I tell it to you ¡®straight¡¯.¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°No wait let¡¯s stop for a second, this is a painting, not an actual bathhouse. Let¡¯s not forget the situation at hand okay?¡± Wei Dong looked around again, noticing that aside from him, all the other surrounding naked men were calmly sitting or standing orying on the grass; everyone looked extremelyfortable. He reluctantly moved his hand away from covering his privates. ¡°Did we enter an erotic painting or an anatomical model poster? Why is everyone butt naked?¡±

    Ke Xun asked him: ¡°Did you see what was written on the disy board before entering the painting?¡±

    Wei Dong replied: ¡°I saw the name of the artist, they¡¯re called Lex.¡±

    ¡°Where is Hao Wen¡¯er?¡± Ke Xun looked in the direction of the Zhu Haowen who had remained silent the entire time.

    Zhu Haowen maintained eye contact with Ke Xun¡¯s as he replied ¡°I was able to clearly see the painting¡¯s name; it¡¯s called ¡¾Animal World¡¿.¡±

    Wei Dong was puzzled: ¡°Are you sure this isn¡¯t a TV show? What does¡¾Animal World¡¿have to do with naked people?¡±

    Ke Xun replied: ¡°Technically humans are animals too, but as for the reason why we¡¯re naked, we probably won¡¯t be able to figure that out for now.¡±

    Wei Dong asked him: ¡°Did you take a look at the canvas?¡±

    Ke Xun replied: ¡°We entered the painting too quickly so I only got a quick nce. I think I saw a cow head, and there seemed to be a cat with a strange expression in the distance.¡±

    ¡°Well I guess we¡¯re not wrong about the animal part.¡± Wei Dong shook his head. ¡°What are we supposed to do now? Just hang around like these other naked people, chilling and ying under the sun?¡±

    Ke Xun answered seriously: ¡°I think our top priority should be finding our friends so we can all discuss together.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Hehe.¡±

    The three of them stood there and looked around, and after ten minutes, Qin Ci appeared on the grass.

    Qin Ci was obviously shocked when he entered the painting and immediately found himself naked, but in the end he was a doctor and soon calmed down. He calmly walked to the three of them and raised his hand to wave.

    Seeing each other naked like this¡­..

    Wei Dong hid behind Ke Xun and watched this ¡°bold¡± greeting.

    ¡°Doctor Qin, what do you think about the situation?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Qin Ci¡¯s usual calm andposed face was also a bit emotional at this moment: ¡°I also have no clue, I never thought the style of this painting would be like this¡­¡±

    Ke Xun tilted his head: ¡°Surrealism is an art style that breaks through all kinds of shackles and is free from secr constraints. By the way, have you seen Mu Yiran?¡±

    Qin Ci shook his head.

    The four of them stood there and continued to wait.

    After another ten minutes, there appeared two men in their twenties, both with panicked looks on their faces. One was very tall and broad, likely over 6 feet tall. The other youth was round and chubby, his belly bouncing up and down as he ran. Combined with the nakedness, it was very painful for the eyes.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong looked at them with indescribable expressions and watched these two men rush around aimlessly before running into the group of naked men basking in the sun. They didn¡¯t know what kind of questions they asked, but soon the two had attracted a group of people who looked at them with disdain.

    ¡°Over here!¡± Qin Ci waved over the neers.

    The two rushed over, and the tall and strong man cleared his throat and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Where is this? Who are you?¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong were ustomed to hearing these three questions from neers, but decided to leave this kind of thing to the very patient Qin Ci instead. The two moved aside, mainly to avoid the fat man¡¯s panting. Since everyone was naked now, the fat man¡¯s rapid breathing sprayed directly on the chest of the two people making them feel numb from head to toe.

    A few minutester, the two neers unsurprisingly voiced their doubts and reprimands; Ke Xun and Wei Dong moved even further when they saw this.

    Some things just can¡¯t be repeated again and again without losing an inordinate amount of patience. Of course, for the very patient Doctor Qin, his work was like this everyday.

    While Qin Ci continued exining to the neers, more than ten minutes had passed, and again came a young man around eighteen or neen years old from the grass. He had a pale body with a slim waist and short legs who seemed to be squinting at people, staggering as he ran.

    ¡°My sses are missing ¡ª my ssmates are missing ¡ª where is this? What¡¯s the matter? Who are you?¡± The pale youth held his head and shrank into a ball.

    Qin Ci continued his exnation.

    ¡°Something couldn¡¯t have happened to Mu Yiran, right?¡± Ke Xun looked at the grassy in.

    ¡°Maybe he would rather die outside than be coveted by you.¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°Hehe,¡± Ke Xun nced at him, ¡°I¡¯m more worried about the girls who entered the painting.¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s mouth opened fell open: ¡°Fuck! Why didn¡¯t I think of this- fuck- this is going to cause problems!¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Can you control your joyful expression, let¡¯s not forget the situation at hand okay?¡±

    Wei Dong squeezed his lips shut with his hand, but opened his mouth again and said: ¡°Howe we haven¡¯t seen a womane in after waiting for so long? Furthermore, have you noticed all the people over there sunbathing are men as well?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Perhaps due to the strange nature of this painting, it was only men who were selected to enter this time.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°What kind of bullshit painting!¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Pay attention to your quality of life and focus on harmony.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Harmony is ****! Tell me the truth, this painting was actually made by you right? Do you have a pen name called Lex, are all the animals you draw bent too?¡±

    ¡°Hush¡­¡± Ke Xun said suddenly.

    Wei Dong raised his eyebrows to look at him, and saw that the corners of his naturally curved mouth were gently bent upwards as he looked forward intently.

    Wei Dong followed his gaze and saw Mu Yiran slowly walking towards them under the brilliant sunlight.

    His skin was white and glowing, and his tight muscles resembled intricately carved sculptures of Greek gods. His narrow waist and slender straight legs perfectly reflected what was known as the golden ratio and what was called exquisite sexiness.

    Wei Dong felt that as a straight man, he couldn¡¯t even take his eyes off this body, let alone his gay bro¡­Huh, where¡¯d he go?

    Instead of flying forward as he imagined, his gay bro ducked behind him.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡­.¡±

    Is he really being shy, or is it¡­ ¡°getting up¡± at the sight?

    A: Hey everyone! This is Amanagawa here, I¡¯m super excited to be picking up the trantion for? Paintings of Terror  I¡¯ve been following the series for a while, so we¡¯ll all be experiencing the story together! This is my first time tranting, so please feel free toment or @ me in the discord if you find any mistakes. The big bulk of work is honestly from my lovely editor Hime <3 she helps me out so much QAQ please wee her too!

    Hime: Hiya, I¡¯m Hime the editor! Amanagawa is doing such a great job at tranting and I¡¯m so excited to be a part of the team and share this journey with you all >< Excited to see our mc melt MYR¡¯s ice heart (?????)? ??

    A: among other things¡­ hehe (?¦Ø<) About update schedules: Since I¡¯m just starting, I¡¯ll be doing a chapter a week (probably always posted Sat or Sun), but as we go along I¡¯ll start trying to up my load to 2 chapters a week or so. If there¡¯s ever a reason for a dy or time off, I¡¯ll always let you guys know through the discord

 Chapter 64: Grazing and Being Grazed

    <h4>Chapter 64: Grazing and Being Grazed</h4>

    The way Mu Yiran elegantly walked over made onlookers feel as if he was actually dressed to the nines, truly envy-inducing.

    ¡°You came.¡± Qin Ci greeted Mu Yiran before gesturing at the three new people. ¡°They¡¯re the only neers we¡¯ve seen so far, so we¡¯re still missing five people.¡±

    ¡°I think we don¡¯t need to wait any longer. It¡¯s past the required time to enter the painting.¡± Mu Yiran quietly continued, ¡°I believe the women are somewhere else.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The pale young man was frantic. ¡°I had two other ssmates with me, both girls, they should¡¯ve entered this weird painting world too. Where could they be?¡±

    Mu Yiran nced over at the nearby group of men. ¡°Everyone gathered here seems to be male, so I hazard the women should be in another ce.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true, it¡¯s inappropriate for both sexes to be present in this kind of situation,¡± Wei Dong replied with a smile.

    Qin Ci nodded. ¡°It¡¯s getting dark, I think we should go ahead and ask those guys about the situation.¡±

    No one had any objections, so everyone walked together towards the group of men in the distance.

    The three neers were all young and their ability to ept this sort of bizarre circumstance was high as well. Despite still being skeptical, all three obediently followed after them.

    Both Qin Ci and Mu Yiran walked at the very front and they chose an honest looking middle aged uncle to ask, ¡°This big brother, would you mind telling us where we are?¡±

    The middle aged man was sitting cross-legged on the ground and rubbing mud on himself, his big belly swooping down and covering his intimate parts which made everyone a bit relieved.

    When he heard this, surprise flitted across his face: ¡°You guys are neers? This ce is the Niu family farm.¡±

    A farm? Everyone shared a look. Since this was a farm, where were the animals?

    Qin Ci continued: ¡°May I ask where the farmhand is?¡±

    The middle aged man was even more shocked: ¡°What¡¯s the point of looking for the farmhand? Since it¡¯s not dinner time yet, he¡¯s obviously still at his office. Naturally we¡¯ll see him when it¡¯s time to eat.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­.what¡¯s everyone doing right now?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°Recess ah¡±, the middle aged man smiled. ¡°What kind of farm were you guys at before? You didn¡¯t have recess?¡±

    ¡°Re- recess?¡± The pale boy anxiously looked at Qin Ci, ¡°Did we be prisoners or something?¡±

    ¡°Even if we¡¯re prisoners, we shouldn¡¯t be naked.¡± The chubby man looked disgusted. ¡°Although it¡¯s possible for prisoners to be sent to farms for reformation, the people here don¡¯t seem to be doing any reforming. Bare asses everywhere, it¡¯s really painful for the eyes.¡±

    Honestly the most painful thing for the eyes right now is you okay, Wei Dong thought in his heart.

    .

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Mu Yiran suddenly said, ¡°What¡¯s the schedule like everyday on this farm? How are things handled?¡±

    The middle-aged man looked Mu Yiran up and down, and was about to look even lower when he found a flower shoved in his face, blocking his vision. He raised his eyes to see a young boy (Ke Xun) who didn¡¯t seem inferior in both figure and appearancepared to the former. He stared at them coldly before revealing a small smile, ¡°Ah, rx a bit young man, I don¡¯t have any bad intentions. I just feel that you all seem to be a good lot, it¡¯s possible that soon you guys will be treated even better than us.¡±

    Ke Xun raised his eyebrows: ¡°Then can you please just answer the question.¡±

    The middle-aged man smiled again: ¡°Actually we¡¯re not very different from other ces: we get three meals a day, during the daytime we have recess andze around in the sun, at night wee back and sleep. As long as you don¡¯t recklessly run around, everywhere is fair game. Just don¡¯t go inside the forest or beyond the fence. Let me give you some advice though: as new people, don¡¯t cause trouble or else you¡¯ll piss off the boss, and that won¡¯t be fun at all.¡±

    ¡°The boss? Who¡¯s that?¡± The tall six foot man asked.

    The middle aged man looked around, finally settling his gaze towards an area far beyond the bushes, and pointed: ¡°That guy over there, Mo Mou.¡±

    Everyone directed their eyes in the direction the man was pointing to, noticing a patch of grass that others seemed to be avoiding; at the very center squatted a handsome and robust young man.

    This person had wheat-colored skin, cold and stern eyes, and his facial features seemed almost engraved from stone. His muscles were especially prominent, and his body seemed to not have any excess fat. He had an amazing figure, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, almost like a Greek god.

    The most noticeable part of him was his intimidating aura; even if he didn¡¯t talk, he could make people scared.

    Ke Xun gave him a onceover before immediately looking away. He felt like someone had been looking at him as well, and after quickly darting his eyes to the side to look at Mu Yiran, swiftly withdrew his gaze.

    Qin Ci and Mu Yiran continued to ask the man a few more questions but couldn¡¯t garner any new information. It was obvious that having just arrived in the painting, they wouldn¡¯t be able to find any more clues for now.

    The small group gathered together to discuss.

    Qin Ci first said: ¡°I think we can only go with the flow for now. Let¡¯s try and follow what that person said and try to stick together when it¡¯s night time. It¡¯s possible that tomorrow¡­.. We¡¯ll be able to find something out.¡±

    Only the few who entered the paintings previously understood the meaning of those words.

    The pale young man hurriedly said: ¡°Since it¡¯s recess right now, can you guyse with me to look for my two ssmates? I¡¯m really worried about them. I don¡¯t have my sses right now so I can¡¯t see anything clearly. Can you guys please help me out?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Wei Dong replied.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran spoke up: ¡°It¡¯s toote. I looked around just now, it seems like the farm is fairlyrge, and it¡¯s already nearing dusk. If we go look for them now, we won¡¯t be able to make it back by nightfall.

    ¡°What¡¯ll happen if we can¡¯te back by then?¡± The pale young man asked.

    ¡°Death.¡±

    The pale young man curled into a silent ball in fright from seeing so many people give the same answer.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re all here, let¡¯s introduce ourselves.¡± Qin Ci spoke on behalf of the veterans and gave his surname.

    ¡°I¡¯m Dong Dong,¡± The six foot youth said before pointing at the fatty. ¡°This is my friend Yuan Yuan. We¡¯re childhood friends and we originally went into the museum to avoid the rain, but we didn¡¯t expect to get transported inside a painting.¡±

    Wei Dong and Ke Xun who were also childhood friends took a long look at the two and couldn¡¯t find any sense of resonance ¡­.

    ¡°My name¡¯s Bi Jing. Originally, I was going with my ssmates to meet our teacher at the museum, but a few people got stuck in traffic so we went ahead and entered the building¡­¡± The pale young man tearfully offered an exnation.

    While Bi Jing was relentlessly droning on, a far away whistle pierced the air and the surrounding naked men began moving in the direction of the sound. No one dared to walk in front of that guy Mo Mou, so everyone chose to crowd behind him instead.

    The yers merged into the crowd, walking neither too slowly or quickly. The veterans were calm while the neers remained anxious about the situation.

    Ke Xun perked his ears to eavesdrop since the naked men weren¡¯t very quiet while they were talking. The conversation was all very rxed, and the most frequently mentioned topic was about dinner. Some were saying ¡°Man, it¡¯s so itchy. I don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll be able to take a bath again¡±, while others discussed ¡°I miss women, I can barely control my ****¡±, and even more were talking about the yers themselves ¡°Those new guys look pretty rowdy, who knows when they¡¯ll be beaten up by the boss for causing trouble.¡±

    Ke Xun felt like the person they were talking about was him and decided it was better to be lowkey, so he lowered his head as they continued down the road.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, we already know yours is big, there¡¯s no need to appreciate yourself while walking.¡± Wei Dong¡¯s dissatisfied voice rang out from next to him.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡­.¡± He could sense multiple gazes from all directions aiming towards his privates.

    ¡°Although you were able to sessfully tter me, ¡° Ke Xun said, ¡°Can you please be more lowkey? This isn¡¯t the time to unt my assets.¡±

    ¡°What f**king unt,¡± Wei Dong lowered his voice and gestured at Mo Mou walking in the front, ¡°Actually if we¡¯re talking about size, I feel like you still lose out. In the future just quietly be a good-looking 0.¡±

    ¡°What the f**k,¡± Ke Xun cursed, ¡°If you keep looking at ces that shouldn¡¯t be stared at, I¡¯ll make thetter half of your life absolutely miserable.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you really are too vicious,¡± Wei Dong also cursed, ¡°Others would block a knife for their brothers, meanwhile you¡¯re the one f**king stabbing your bros. Where¡¯s your conscience? No wonder the ancients said ¡®bitches are ruthless and gays are faithless¡±; they really didn¡¯t lie.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­Are you two trying to be funny?¡± Fatty Yuan Yuan looked at them incredulously, ¡°I heard Doctor Qin say that at least one person will die every day in this painting. Was that just to scare us? Howe you two seem so rxed?¡±

    ¡°Comrade, if you experienced dozens of life-or-death situations the way we did, your mindset would be the same too.¡± Wei Dong smiled bitterly. ¡°Once you get used to it you¡¯ll be numb. There¡¯s no use in crying and screaming, so it¡¯s best to cheer up a bit. I would ratherugh until death rather than¡­.. Rather than cry until death. This is called strength of character.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Yuan Yuan took a long look at Wei Dong.

    Wei Dong: ¡°We¡¯re all guys here, don¡¯t recklessly stare like that.¡±

    Yuan Yuan: ¡°No matter how you look at it, I don¡¯t feel like this brother here embodies ¡®strength of character¡¯.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Okay buddy, you¡¯re really carefree. Don¡¯t you know we might die? Save some righteousness for the next life alright.¡±

    Just as he was talking, a row of house rooftops appeared in the distance.

    This piece of farnd wasn¡¯t t, it had rolling hills and low valleys; when reaching the peaks, everyone could see the row of red-brick houses with gray concrete foundations. They could also see the looming iron fence that stretched almost 10 stories high.

    However what really attracted everyone¡¯s attention was not the rows of houses that resembled prisons, but rather the hulking figure standing in front of the buildings. The eyes of those who entered the painting fell on that giant shadow, freezing them in ce due to their shock.

    That giant shadow¡­ was a bull.

    To be more precise, it was an anthropomorphic cow that stood on its hind legs the way humans did.

    It was wearing a pair of dark blue overalls and a white undershirt, in its hands¡­. Rather, in one of its front hooves was arge wooden stick. A pair of huge cows watched as it walked towards the naked men blowing on the whistle again.

    ¡°This¡­. This is¡­..¡± Just as Wei Dong opened his mouth to speak, the cow took the whistle out of its mouth and let out a ¡°Moo- Moo Moo Moo-¡±

    Upon hearing this, the naked men rushed towards the row of prison-like houses.

    ¡°I have an absurd idea¡­..¡± Ke Xun suddenly said.

    ¡°What is it?¡± The one who responded was Mu Yiran.

    Ke Xun clearly remembered himself walking a dozen or so steps behind him (MYR), and he didn¡¯t know when they ended up side by side.

    Ke Xun responded without looking at him: ¡°Why do I feel like that bull is more like a human, and we are¡­. more like livestock?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s cold voice rang from next to his ear: ¡°You¡¯re correct. In this farm, it seems like us humans are the ones being herded.¡±

    ¡­

    A: Raise your hands if you saw this oneing

    H: it¡¯s like if promised nevend was R-18 lmao

    Also tysm for thements everyone! <3 I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to keep responding bc the site started gging me as a spammer but we appreciate all of them!!

    Happy Lunar New Year!

 Chapter 65: Raising Animals

    <h4>Chapter 65: Raising Animals</h4>

    TW: Brief mention of an anorexic patient

    As he passed in front of the bull, Ke Xun boldly lifted his head up to look it in the eye.

    This bull was unlike the ones found in real life; it was taller and sturdier such that it made humans feel like cats or dogs inparison. Ke Xun needed to raise his head up awkwardly to even see its chin.

    The bull also lowered its head to nce at him, but it obviously didn¡¯t take Ke Xun seriously. Instead it used therge rod in its hoof to tap once on Ke Xun¡¯s back. The hit was neither too light nor too strong but still stung a bit, leaving Ke Xun with no choice but to hurry and join the others in entering the houses.

    The inside of the houses resembled prisons as well: there were booths on either side of the house that were separated by brick walls, and the ¡®doors¡¯ facing the middle hallway were blocked off by iron fences.

    Just then, all the iron fences opened up and the naked men began to file into the rooms one by one. However once in a while, that sturdy bull would lift somebody who just entered a room with its hoof and throw them into a different one. Ke Xun stayed behind and carefully observed for a bit and found that the room allocations seemed to be rted to age.

    Among the people present, the elderly were assigned to the same room and the middle-aged and younger men were simrly separated from each other. Right when Qin Ci, who¡¯d been walking at the front, was about to pick a room, the bull suddenly leaned down and picked him up with its hooves. The three neers were frightened and began to flee in different directions. Ke Xun immediately grabbed Wei Dong in one hand and Mu Yiran in the other before ducking into a nearby room.

    The giant bull ignored the scrambling neers and carefully examined the Qin Ci who was still dangling from his hooves before turning its head and raising its voice to shout outside: ¡°Moo moo, moo moo moo moo, moo?¡±

    ¡°What the f*** it can even shout questions?¡± Wei Dong quietlyined while shivering.

    Soon anotherrge bull resembling the first ran in from outside beforeing to a stop. It took Qin Ci from the other bull¡¯s hooves and also looked him over a few times beforemunicating with the first bull:

    ¡°Moo moo, moo moo moo, moo moo.¡±

    ¡°Moo, moo moo, moo moo mooo, moo. Snort snort oh oh.¡±

    ¡°Snort snort oh oh, moo moo moo.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong:? ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Is this¡­.. Aedy? These two- these two wouldn¡¯t also happen to be childhood friends right¡­.?

    After the giant bulls finished talking, one of them snatched Qin Ci and put him in an empty room before heading towards the still chaotic neers. The other bull left and returned after a bit with a round stamp in its hoof.

    At this time all three neers were thrown into Qin Ci¡¯s cell, but the first bull still moved around inspecting each room. Ke Xun spected that it might be looking for them.

    The other bull took the round stamp, grabbed Qin Ci and the three neers, and stamped each of them on their lower backs. Ke Xun remembered that there seemed to be blue marks on the other naked men, some of which appeared faded. Others were fresher and more recent but Ke Xun didn¡¯t dare look too carefully so he ignored it.

    Thinking of it now, these marks seem to be¡­¡­

    ¡°It seems simr to those stamps they put on pigs in a pig farm ah.¡± Wei Dong was picked out by the bull and bitterlyined as he was stamped on the back.

    In the end, the few outsiders couldn¡¯t escape the fate of being stamped and were all unceremoniously tossed into the same cell as Qin Ci. Aside from them, there were also seven or eight naked young men in thepartment as well.

    ¡°Call me ignorant but what exactly does a blue stamp on a pig¡¯s butt mean?¡± Ke Xun rubbed his lower back as if trying to erase the mark away.

    ¡°It means a boar (a male pig).¡± Qin Ci¡¯s expression wasplicated. ¡°A red stamp usually means a female pig.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­..¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather die than be humiliated like this!¡± Wei Dong touched his lower back as he wailed, and then asked, ¡°Wait, what kind of stamp does a breeding pig get-?¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­..¡±

    ¡°Can you guys stop being so noisy??¡± One of the NPCs in the same room spoke, ¡°If we¡¯re stamped then we¡¯re stamped, isn¡¯t this normal?! Be more obedient or else don¡¯t me us for being impolite!¡±

    Everyone calmed down after hearing those words and took a look at the seven or eight painting NPC¡¯s. These people who were close to their age had arrogant faces and two even had provocation in their eyes, especially when looking at Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, and the six foot tall Dong Dong.

    In the world of men, people either admired strength or they envied it.

    ¡°What are you looking at!¡± Dong Dong was someone with a fiery temperament. After adding in the stress and bewilderment he had ever since entering the painting, he finally erupted and stared down those two pairs of infuriating eyes like a wrestler in a fighting ring.

    ¡°What are you going to do about it?!¡± The two of them were even more unwilling to show weakness, and theirpanions followed suit in ring at Dong Dong.

    ¡°Dong zi, don¡¯t cause trouble.¡± Yuan Yuan promptly held Dong Dong back.

    Wei Dong: ¡°Eh?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Don¡¯t be so quick to answer, his name has an extra radical.¡±

    Wei Dong whispered back in a quiet voice: ¡°There¡¯s this diforting feeling of when a genuine product meets a counterfeit.¡±

    The two groups of people were still staring at each other when they heard cheeringing from the other rooms. Ke Xun, who had been standing next to the iron fence door, stuck his head out and saw the two bulls each holding arge pot and tossing food into thepartments.

    .

    This¡­ This was feeding time.

    Ke Xun nced at Qin Ci who had the same indescribable expression on his face.

    Unlike the previous paintings, this feeling of being akin to livestock was really unbearable.

    After all, in the first few paintings even if they died, it was at least the dignified death of a human being. In this painting¡­. The ego of being a higher organism on Earth waspletely trampled to dust.

    This kind of feeling really made a person feel both shame and anger.

    As the food was being distributed, those few painting NPCs no longer made trouble for Dong Dong, instead cheering excitedly as they watched the giant bull deliver their food. Ke Xun swore he saw sparkles shooting out of their eyes.

    Arge amount of food spilled out.

    These individual rooms didn¡¯t have ceilings as both the walls and the iron fence were high enough such that a human being couldn¡¯t climb up. Therge bull dropped the food from the space above, and they saw boxes rain down towards the hard brick floor. Unexpectedly, inside the boxes wererge amounts of packaged food bags, there was even Coke!

    Wei Dong was stunned silly by the bottle of Coke thatnded on him: ¡°Isn¡¯t this treatment a little too good? They get to eat this everyday?¡±

    Ke Xun also picked up some of the food near his feet: ¡°Whole milk, butter packets, cheese, french fries, cream puffs, cream biscuits, buttery cakes, chocte, nuts, candied fruits, canned fruits¡­.. I can¡¯t say exactly if this treatment is good, but these are things we sports students aren¡¯t allowed to eat.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Bi Jing asked.

    ¡°This kind of food increases fat storage as well as the burden on your liver and kidneys,¡± Ke Xun threw away the food he was holding and pointed at Yuan Yuan, ¡°You can ask him, the food here are probably his favorites.¡±

    Yuan Yuan was a little embarrassed and tossed away the Coke and fries in his hands.

    A few of the NPCs were still wildly snatching up the provisions, and each person tightly hugged them to their chest before running to a corner as if they couldn¡¯t wait to stuff the food down their throats.

    ¡°Can we eat these?¡± Yuan Yuan asked Qin Ci with a quiet voice.

    ¡°I feel like¡­. We probably can?¡± Qin Ci responded.

    ¡°Then¡­ let¡¯s eat?¡± Wei Dong looked at the other experienced yers.

    Qin Ci nodded slightly: ¡°Let¡¯s at least eat a bit, who knows what¡¯ll happen in the future.¡±

    Everyone picked up some food from the ground in silence.

    Ke Xun developed a habit of not eating junk food from his school days, so he felt conflicted looking at the food provisions. In the end he picked up a few nut packets and a can of fruit before sitting next to Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen.

    Due to being a starving artist for so long, Wei Dong wasn¡¯t very picky and chose a few different foods. Some of the packaging wasn¡¯t transparent and had strange words printed on them so it was hard to tell what was inside.

    After taking a bite of cake, Wei Dong looked over at Ke Xun, then at the Mu Yiran sitting across from them and couldn¡¯t help nudging Ke Xun and asking: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Howe you¡¯re not sitting with your male god? Why do I feel like you¡¯ve been avoiding him ever since you saw him again? What¡¯s up, were you violently rejected?¡±

    ¡°Shut up and eat your food, it seems like being naked really upped your curiosity.¡±? Ke Xun lowered his eyes and picked some fruits from the can, being especially careful to not drink the juice inside.

    ¡°You like him?¡± Zhu Haowen, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly asked.

    Ke Xun was startled and turned his head to look at him: ¡°Fuck, what¡¯s wrong with you guys today? Every time you eat you feel like butting into other people¡¯s business? What kind of strange disease do you guys have? Everybody just shut up and eat, alright?¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked at him a few times before putting a piece of chocte in his mouth.

    ¡°Hey, look at this,¡± Wei Dong called Ke Xun over, ¡°This seems to be meat?¡±

    In his hands was a packaged bag that emanated the smell of fragrant meat upon opening it.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be beef right.¡± Ke Xun smiled maliciously and pointed at the bull that had already reached the end of the hallway.

    Wei Dong was speechless: ¡°¡­.. Do you really think they¡¯d be so magnanimous that they¡¯d feed us their own meat?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s better not to eat the meat.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice came from the other side of the room.

    Wei Dong nced over at Ke Xun and saw this guy lowering his head again before picking more fruit out of the can.

    ¡°Big boss, you mean¡­ this meat isn¡¯t safe?¡± Wei Dong asked as he put down the meat.

    ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee what the meat is,¡± Mu Yiran faintly looked over, ¡°But it¡¯s definitely not beef, ormb, or even chicken.¡±

    ¡°Also, try to avoid eating too much of the other food as well,¡± Qin Ci added, ¡°I get the feeling something strange has probably been added to them.¡±

    ¡°How strange could it be?¡± Wei Dong lowered the cake in his hands.

    ¡°I have a good friend who studied traditional medicine,¡± Qin slowly replied, ¡°I saw them treat an anorexic patient once, and I¡¯ve tasted some of the herbs used in the medicine before. I seem to taste something simr in the food.¡±

    ¡°In other words,¡± Mu Yiran continued, ¡°The food likely has fattening ingredients.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­Fuck.¡± Wei Dong tossed all the food he¡¯d been holding to the ground.¡±

    ¡°Eat the dried nuts ba,¡± At this time Ke Xun raised his eyes as he continued talking, still avoiding Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze, ¡°These dried nuts all have shells, I inspected the insides and I didn¡¯t see any thread, so these are probably natural and haven¡¯t undergone any processing. Nuts are also high in calories so even if you eat less of everything else, you¡¯ll still be able to hold on for awhile.¡±

    ¡°These two bulls¡­..¡± Dong Dong hesitantly spoke, ¡°Why would they feed us fattening foods?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice sounded extremely callous: ¡°Why don¡¯t you think about why a pig farm would fatten their pigs.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    A: Guess how many times I had to type the word ¡°moo¡± for this chapter. Bonus points if you don¡¯t go back and count XD

    H: I keep wondering about the logistics of a bull holding anything in a hoof¡­

 Chapter 66: Interspecies Conflict

    <h4>Chapter 66: Interspecies Conflict</h4>

    A: The correct answer was¡­ 24 moos!

    An ominous feeling enveloped the hearts of these outsiders, and no one ate anymore than they needed to. Under the watchful eyes of Dong Dong, Yuan Yuan also reluctantly gave up his beloved French fries.

    Meanwhile the people in the painting were still wolfing down their food, almost as if they couldn¡¯t wait to squeeze all the food in the world into their stomachs. As he watched them, Ke Xun was reminded of Chihiro¡¯s parents from Spirited Away, and remembered Chihiro¡¯s ssic line:

    You can¡¯t eat until you¡¯re fat, or else you¡¯ll be killed.

    The outsiders watched the ravenous NPCs as they continued stuffing down food. Although they clearly knew these people weren¡¯t real, in the world of the painting they were ¡°real¡± flesh and blood humans, so what was the point in seeing them as separate? It was akin to nationality; whether or not someone was Chinese or a foreigner, they were still part of the same human race. Just like whether or not someone died inside a painting or in real life, it was still a vivid and bright human life that was extinguished.

    ¡°Hey, eat less okay¡­. Are you guys not scared?¡± Bi Jing was a college student who still maintained the innocence of someone who had yet to formally enter society, and he couldn¡¯t help but persuade some of the NPCs.

    One NPC bit a mouthful of fried meat before turning his head and ring at him: ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t even think of stealingo zi¡¯s food! Better make sure I don¡¯t kill you!¡±

    ¡°This little brother, don¡¯t be too kind to them; they won¡¯t listen to you. The look in their eyes has been strange ever since the food came out.¡± Wei Dong said, ¡°They¡¯re already addicted, you can¡¯t help them.¡±

    ¡°The food might be like drugs to them; they can¡¯t help wanting it.¡± Qin Ci added.

    ¡°Fuck, then will we also¡­.¡± Wei Dong was frightened.

    ¡°If possible, let¡¯s just eat the nuts,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°We need to hurry and find the signature so we can leave.¡±

    ¡°Where are we supposed to find it?¡± Yuan Yuan looked up; the walls of the room were too high to climb.

    The old yers didn¡¯t say anything. ording to experience, the signature definitely wouldn¡¯t appear in any of these jail-like cells. Furthermore, it was the first night of the painting, and was therefore inevitable that someone would die tonight. It was just that with all of them grouped up together like this, it was hard to tell which unlucky bastard would draw the ¡°prize¡±.

    The NPCs continued eating their dinner for a long time, until each of them had bulging stomachs, and only then did they reluctantly stop their mouths.

    But what really freaked the yers out was that: after eating, these NPCs squatted near the corners and shamelessly started urinating in front of everybody, immediately blinding all their eyes.

    ¡°What the fuck-¡± Yuan Yuan yelled as he covered his eyes, ¡°Does this ce not have any bathrooms?!¡±

    ¡°When have you ever seen a toilet in a pigsty?¡± Dong Dong replied as he closed his eyes in disgust.

    ¡°However, the room was quite clean when we first came in,¡± As a doctor, Qin Ci had seen a variety of conditions during his time, and was quite calm, ¡°That means that they probablye to clean regrly. We¡¯ll just have to bear with it.¡±

    ¡°This is the most disgusting thing I¡¯ve ever had to experience¡­.¡± Wei Dong pinched his nose and lifted his head up in despair.

    Just as everyone was feeling nauseated, that one NPC who was always full of provocation walked up next to Mu Yiran before squatting in position and giving him a smile that said ¡°What are you going to do about it¡±.

    Before Mu Yiran could even move, he saw that a figure was already one step ahead of him. He raised a slender and powerful leg before stomping it straight into the person¡¯s chest and letting out a cold ¡°Scram!¡±. In an instant, the NPC flew backwards andnded in an ugly ball three or four meters away.

    The man struggled to get up and stared at Ke Xun angrily: ¡°Boy, do you want to die?!¡±

    He was already rushing forward as he spoke, fists flying everywhere, but before he could even reach them, he was kicked away by Ke Xun¡¯s long legs again.

    ¡°Why are you guys still watching, let¡¯s attack together!¡± The man furiously yelled for hisrades to join him, and aside from one or two who were still doing their business, the rest all viciously rushed towards Ke Xun.

    ¡°Fuck, they want to use strength in numbers?!¡± Wei Dong had already jumped to Ke Xun¡¯s side, getting in position to confront the mob together.

    Dong Dong and Yuan Yuan weren¡¯t far behind; one was tall and strong, the other was sturdy and round, standing side by side, they immediately formed an imprable wall.

    Bi Jing hesitated for a long time, but in the end he still didn¡¯t have the courage to join them, shrinking his body into a corner in order to reduce his sense of existence.

    Zhu Haowen stood still with an expressionless face.

    The painting NPCs already reached the front of Ke Xun¡¯s group, swarming up and swiping at his legs. But the outsiders weren¡¯t weak either. Four pairs of legs, varying in sizes and skin tones, all kicked out and a distinct flesh-on-flesh sound was heard.

    Just as Ke Xun was pressing down the most arrogant one and beating him up, he felt a sudden wind blow behind his head. When he turned around, he saw Mu Yiran using an arm to mp down around another NPC¡¯s neck, and within 2 seconds, the man dropped to the floor.

    Ke Xun punched the man in front of him again and lightly touched the back of his head, feeling some goosebumps. It was then that he realized the guy that Mu Yiran had subdued was aiming to attack him just now.

    He couldn¡¯t help turn to look at Mu Yiran, and saw that the man in question was looking back at him with a cold face: ¡°Behind you.¡±

    Ke Xun hurriedly spun around with his arms folded to block the iing attack before punching out, hitting the opponent¡¯s stomach with a heavy muffled noise until the man couldn¡¯t help letting out a ¡°wu¡± and throwing up.

    Ke Xun tried his best to jump away but was still sprayed across his chest and stomach. His face scrunched up with disgust before he heard Mu Yiran say to him in a chilling voice: ¡°Do you not bring your brain with you when you fight?¡±

    ¡°My brain¡¯s all filled with you alone, I can¡¯t bear to bring it with me when I fight.¡± Ke Xun threw out a cheesy pickup line as he picked up the NPC who threw up and rubbed his chest with the person¡¯s hair.

    The cells next to them seemed to have heard the fighting. For a while, screams of excitement and more fighting sounds erupted throughout the whole¡­. Prison?¡­. Farm? Regardless, everything was in chaos.

    The overall time it took for the outsiders vs NPC scuffle to finish was very short, resulting in the visitor¡¯s overwhelming victory. It was unexpectedly discovered that Dong Dong and Yuan Yuan could actually fight very well; they hit ruthlessly, always targeting the most painful areas first. At first nce it was obvious that they¡¯d been bad kids ever since a young age.

    Several NPCs were thrashed around and beaten until they cowered in the second half of the room and didn¡¯t dare move. Even the one who¡¯d fainted earlier wasn¡¯t spared, Ke Xun threw him over into the corner as well. A number of them were bruised and had broken noses, quietly looking up at Mu Yiran and Ke Xun.

    These two were the best at fighting; even though Mu Yiran only made a move once, he was able to quickly subdue his opponent in two seconds.

    There was also that other guy who, despite looking a bit awkward, had super fast reflexes and agility. He could beat people up effortlessly without being sloppy, and he hit hard.

    Can¡¯t fight, can¡¯t fight¡­. These NPCs thought, even their fighting posture wasn¡¯t as good as them.

    ¡°If you keep overestimating your abilities, I¡¯ll beat you until even your sh*tes out!¡± Yuan Yuan threw out curses as he finished up.

    ¡°Absolutely not! Don¡¯t you think the stink of cr*p in this room is bad enough?¡± Wei Dong put a stop to that idea at once.

    ¡°I¡¯ll beat you until your bilees up!¡± Yuan Yuan corrected.

    ¡°¡­¡­You and them are actually the same right?¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Fuck, this one here has been professionally cursing for twenty years now, yet my skills are actually being called into question? If you think you can outdo me go ahead, if you can¡¯t then don¡¯t criticize others.¡±

    ¡°Dong zi, curse them out a bit, let him see what a true professional is like.¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong cleared his throat before resolutely ring at the NPCs: ¡°If you keep overestimating yourselves, I¡¯ll hit you!¡±

    Yuan Yuan: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    After all the turmoil subsided, the sky outside the window was already dark but the painting NPCs still seemed very lively and the sounds of talking could be heard in all directions. For the old members of the group, it almost created the illusion that the terror that would ur every night in these paintings would not happen here, giving them a small sense of security.

    ¡°When exactly will the death event you guys talked about ur? What kind of event will it be?¡± Several neers crowded the old yers and kept asking questions, no longer quite believing the information Qin Ci had given them at the start.

    ¡°Each painting is different from each other,¡± Qin Ci was still very patient, ¡° Some paintings will pick a random person at a random time, while others will have specific rules and death conditions. As of now, we don¡¯t know which one this painting could be so we can only go with the flow and don¡¯t let our guards down. We have to protect ourselves as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°So what you mean is that we can only figure out which kind it is once someone dies, right?¡± Bi Jing quickly picked the true meaning of Qin Ci¡¯s words and stared at him with a cold look in his eyes. However, because of his nearsightedness, to everyone else it just seemed like he couldn¡¯t focus his eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Qin Ci didn¡¯t cover up the truth and calmly responded.

    ¡°So all us new people here are actually just your guinea pigs?!¡± Bi Jing erupted.

    ¡°You can¡¯t say that,¡± Qin Ci had the stern look of a doctor on his face, ¡°The first one to die could be me, or him, no one can say for sure.¡±

    ¡°But you guys have experience!¡± Bi Jing said anxiously, ¡°You guys definitely know how to avoid the death event, you just don¡¯t want to tell us right? After we die, you guys can figure out how to escape. You¡¯re all definitely hiding something from us so that we can be your scapegoats right?¡±

    ¡°Hey,¡± Ke Xun stretched out a hand and grabbed the top of Bi Jing¡¯s head, turning it towards himself, ¡°This ssmate here shouldn¡¯t talk nonsense. If you don¡¯t have evidence then don¡¯t go around spewing shit, don¡¯t you know what the most taboo things are in a team?¡±

    ¡°What, what are they?¡± Bi Jing was a bit scared of Ke Xun.

    ¡°The first is unreasonable suspicion, the second is instigating disharmony, the third is a pig teammate, and the fourth is people like me not controlling their temper,¡± Ke Xun calmly looked over, ¡°Now let me ask you, which one are you afraid of the most?¡±

    Bi Jing¡¯s whole face read ¡°the fourth one¡± as he shivered: ¡°I just¡­. I just wanted some rification, or else I¡¯ll be anxious¡­¡­.¡±

    ¡°Then do you feel like Dr. Qin exined it clearly enough?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Very clearly, very clearly.¡± Bi Jing wanted to nod repeatedly, but his head was still in Ke Xun¡¯s grip so he could only blink his eyes furiously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother winking at me, this brother already has someone he likes.¡± Ke Xun released him.

    The person that he liked suddenly spoke from the side: ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±

    Everyone immediately perked their ears and heard the sound of hooves treading the ground at an even pace, slowly walking towards them.

    Sure enough¡­.. It was still impossible to escape having a person die at night?

    The sound of hooves walked and stopped, repeatedly going by eachpartment until it finallynded outside the cell that the outsiders were in.

    The huge bull¡¯s head hung over the room, his eyes roving around and carefully observing everyone inside.

    Bi Jing was so scared that he hid behind Ke Xun, wanting to use his body as a shield against those prating eyes,

    Therge bovine finally stretched out a huge hoof, pushing the people in thepartment here and there before picking someone up and lifting them out of the room.

    It was Yuan Yuan.

    ¡ª

    A: Uh oh¡­ Ngl, this does give me motivation to work out though¡­

    Hime¡¯s thoughts:

    KX: *flirting*

    MYR: ¡­.

    KX: *is still naked*

    MYR: ¡­¡­¡­.

 Chapter 67: Hotpot

    <h4>Chapter 67: Hotpot</h4>

    (A: Heads up guys, this is where the horror tag trulyes in. You probably already know what¡¯s about to happen, but I just want to put it out there that the first half of the chapter is a bit emotionally distressing. If you want a quick chapter summary instead, click here.)

    ¡ª

    ¡°What¡¯s going on¡ª¡± Yuan Yuan screamed in horror, ¡°Is it me? Are they going to kill me? Help¡ª Help¡ª Quickly h-help me¡ª Help me¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Yuan er¡ª Yuan er¡ª!¡± Dong Dong desperately jumped and tried to grab a hold of Yuan Yuan, but therge bull had already lifted Yuan Yuan too high off the ground.

    ¡°What are we going to do?! What¡¯s the n?! Is there no way to save him? Quickly say something!¡± Dong Dong anxiously grabbed Qin Ci¡¯s shoulders, ¡°Help him! Please, please help him!¡±

    Qin Ci helplessly looked at him with pity: ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do, the gap is too big. We¡¯ve only ever been able to avoid the painting¡¯s power, there¡¯s no way to fight it head on.¡±

    ¡°No¡ª No¡ª Yuan er¡ª Yuan er¡ª ¡° Dong Dong looked at the figure of Yuan Yuan desperately struggling as he hung from the giant bull¡¯s fingertips and roared in pain, but the facts made him helpless to do anything else except weep piteously as he and another NPC were carried away.

    The bull took the two people and calmly left. Meanwhile, the otherpartments were chaotically making noise, some people were screaming, some were joking around, some were singing, and some were recklessly fighting each other,

    They seemed to already be ustomed to this, ignorantly living their lives like a group of low-born animals who only knew how to eat and drink, unaware of their deadly future. They would squander the rest of their lives, only realizing at their deathbed the sorrow of their existence.

    Dong Dong bitterly cried as he knelt on the floor. No one came forward tofort him, simply because no words would be able to console him now.

    With red eyes, Wei Dong walked over and sat down next to Ke Xun, speaking in a low voice: ¡°If I die, you don¡¯t need to be sad. Besides, death onlyes once, and when it¡¯s over there¡¯ll be no knowledge, no pain. That¡¯s nothing to be sad over.¡±

    ¡°I can endure not being sad,¡± Ke Xun rested his arms on his knees, his eyes zoning out into the space ahead of him, ¡°But I can¡¯t bear to forget.¡±

    ¡°You fucking¡­.¡± Wei Dong choked up, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth, and couldn¡¯t speak anymore.

    Everyone was silent, when someone in the same cell suddenly yelled out: ¡°Quick, look over there, what are they doing?¡±

    Following the sound of the voice, they could see what was happening in the courtyard from the farmhouse window.

    Therge bull they had just seen was carrying Yuan Yuan and three to four other people into the courtyard. Another giant cow that had a huge serrated knife in its hoof came into sight just as two other bovine joined the group as well, setting up tables, chairs, and arge copper pot burning with charcoal.

    Ke Xun suddenly realized something and turned around to look at Mu Yiran. After receiving his gaze, Mu Yiran walked over behind Dong Dong who was still crying bitterly and put his hands around his neck, quickly dispatching him into fainting onto the ground.

    The NPCs in the same room huddled around the windowsill and looked out intently. The window was sorge that one didn¡¯t even have to go near it to see what was happening outside.

    A hugemp was lit as the giant cows set up the tables and chairs, and they began to te vegetables and dipping sauces as hotpot spices were thrown into the bottom of the pot.

    On the other side, one particr bull set down arge wooden barrel and picked up therge knife from before. Another bull seemed to be weighing out the humans before handing over the fattest Yuan Yuan.

    Yuan Yuan¡¯s horrified and shrill crying resounded almost throughout the entire yard and farmhouse, stirring up chaos throughout thetter.

    The giant bull holding the knife moved skillfully, leisurely pointing the tip at Yuan Yuan¡¯s neck and making a deep slit.

    The thick blood rushed into the barrel below as Yuan Yuan quietly struggled in pain, but he couldn¡¯t make a single move beneath the hooves holding him down.

    Therge bovine lifted his head and feet so the blood could flow down faster until Yuan Yuan gradually stopped struggling, hanging motionlessly as he was tilted upside down.

    Once all the blood was exhausted, the bull used the knife to cut open Yuan Yuan¡¯s belly and took out his stomach and intestines before tossing them into a bin next to it. Yuan Yuan¡¯s skin was then peeled off and the abdominal cavity was thoroughly rinsed. The other cow grabbed the only flesh-and-bones Yuan Yuan and dexterously chopped him into pieces of meat.

    The meat slices were finally served onto the table surrounded byrge cows. They were picked up using chopsticks, thrown into the pot, stirred and scattered. The soup began to fill with bloody foam that slowly began to turn turbid as it boiled,ter being scooped up by adle and thrown out.

    As the soup was boiling, several chopsticks reached into the pot and picked up the meat that had turned grayish-pink, dipping them into the sauce before sending them into the bellies of the huge bulls.

    The clinking of dishes, chopsticks, and wine saucers gradually rang throughout the yard and into the farmhouse, once in a while apanied by a moo sound between the cows that sounded like joking.

    Ke Xun heard someone say ¡°It smells good¡±, another person was saying ¡°Man, I¡¯m hungry again¡±, and another NPC was rmed, ¡°Oh shit, they died¡±, and yet no one was thinking ¡°Tomorrow it could be my turn¡±.

    Wei Dong and Bi Jing had both heavily thrown up near the wall, meanwhile Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen sat far away from the window, both directing their gazes at the farmhouse door.

    Only Mu Yiran stood beside him, his face calm and indifferent.

    Seeing Ke Xun turn to look at him, Mu Yiran responded: ¡°It was within my calctions.¡±

    ¡°It seems like the status of humans and cows have been switched in this painting.¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°But don¡¯t cows only eat grass?¡±

    ¡°In the painting, you could say they¡¯ve be carnivores,¡± Mu Yiran answered, ¡°To be more urate, you could call them ¡®adults¡¯.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing more scary than thinking of them as adults.¡± Ke Xun ridiculed, ¡°I hope they don¡¯t n on having hotpot for every meal considering it¡¯s bad for your health.¡±

    The giant cows feasted all the way until midnight before they were finally full. After resting a while, the satiated bulls cleaned up the tables and took some water from the pipes to clean out each farmhousepartment¡¯s leftover food and human excretion. It was only after they thoroughly washed every room that therge cows finally left.

    Several NPCsid on the wet ground and fell asleep immediately, but the outsiders still felt considerably disturbed and chose to stand around.

    Ke Xun squatted down and seemed to be tinkering around with something, and when Qin Ci came over to take a look, he was bewildered to see a few Coke bottles in his hands: ¡°Those weren¡¯t washed away earlier?¡±

    ¡°This guy made me hide them behind me earlier. Since the cow was too drunk, it didn¡¯t even notice.¡± In order to block the bottles, Wei Dong had been sshed head to toe with water.

    ¡°What are you going to do with these bottles?¡± Bi Jing hurriedly asked.

    Ke Xun ignored him, lowering his head to continue tinkering with the Coke bottles. After a short period of time, he arranged nine of the bottles in a three-by-three square formation, keeping the bottles tightly connected with some of the leftover food packaging. He then walked over to Mu Yiran¡¯s side, and after bending over to flip the bottles upside-down by his legs, said in a low voice: ¡°Sit down ba.¡±

    Everyone else: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran paused a bit before saying a ¡°Thank you¡±. Sure enough, the bottle bench was able to hold his weight after sitting down.

    Despite the horrors still weighing on his mind, Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but mutter in a low voice to Ke Xun who was walking back to his side: ¡°How about I reluctantly allow you to be my boyfriend for a few days? Take care of me too, okay.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother fantasizing about me, a good gay doesn¡¯t marry two husbands.¡± Ke Xun replied.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.. You really are a chaste gay. s¡­. do you think tonight¡¯s events are over?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°En, seems like it, unless they want to add a midnight snack.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°I don¡¯t know what Dong Dong will be like when he wakes up tomorrow.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°If I were him, I¡¯d do my best to survive through this, then help arrange things with his family after escaping.¡±

    In fact, Dong Dong was indeed very strong; the next morning he woke up early, no longer immersed in the grief of his best friend¡¯s death. He just silently sat down during breakfast and didn¡¯t touch any of the food given by the giant bulls.

    After breakfast, therge cow opened the fence doors to thepartments and let everyone out into the courtyardwn to freely move around.

    The outsiders gathered together with the intention to investigate the topography.

    Unfortunately this farm, like Mu Yiran said, was truly far too big. Despite moving around the whole morning, they couldn¡¯t see where the farnds ended. In the distance, however, they could spot another farmhouse that seemed to have groups of naked women lounging around in front.

    ¡°My two ssmates must be over there!¡± Bi Jing couldn¡¯t see anything clearly, but after hearing everyone¡¯s descriptions, immediately jumped up.

    ¡°So what, are you going to go over or have theme to you?¡± Ke Xun snarked.

    ¡°¡­..¡± Bi Jing stopped jumping around and quietlyined, ¡°I¡­.. I just want apanion¡­.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t think of us aspanions?¡± Wei Dong snorted on the side.

    ¡°It, it¡¯s not¡­.¡± Bi Jing cut himself off and tried to back away, but identally stepped on the foot of an NPC.

    That person angrily pushed him over, coldly shouting: ¡°Are you blind?! Do you want to die?!¡±

    Bi Jing was so scared that he quickly apologized, but the person refused to relent, walking over to grab Bi Jing by the head intending on bashing it down on his knee.

    Dong Dong, who was next to him, suddenly became violent, rushing forward and punching the man to ground, using all his might to vigorously beat him to death.

    Bi Jing was frightened and ran to hide, meanwhile Ke Xun stepped up to try and stop Dong Dong but was roughly pushed away.

    It was like Dong Dong had gone insane, he continued smashing his fists until the man¡¯s head was covered in blood, yet he still didn¡¯t stop.

    Perhaps Yuan Yuan¡¯s death had battered him with so much pain and grief that the only way he could vent it all out was through violence.

    Ke Xun wanted to step forward and try again, but was suddenly blocked by a group of rowdy NPCsing over. The group of people surrounded Dong Dong and the man; some were cheering, some were cursing, and some were even joining in on the beating, but not a single person tried to temper the fighting.

    Just when themotion was reaching its peak, there came the sound of a loud scream before everyone suddenly became silent. Looking over, they saw that person called Mo Mou surrounded by a small entourage slowly heading over, and therge group immediately parted to let him through.

    Mo Mou walked in front of the still punching Dong Dong and kicked his shoulder, immediately sending this six-feet tall muscr man flying back almost seven meters.

    When Dong Dong got up from the ground, he rushed towards Mo Mou with his fists raised while Mo Mou coldly stared back at him, spine straight and sharp eyes filled pride.

    Dong Dong flew towards him and even started kicking, but his moves were avoided one by one. When Mo Mou finally counterattacked, Dong Dong couldn¡¯t help but stagger.

    Ke Xun was finally able to squeeze into the center of the crowd to try and stop the Dong Dong who was ready to keep fighting, but heard a cow call from the distance: ¡°Moo moo-¡±

    Mo Mou suddenly turned around after hearing the sound, and began walking in the direction of the call.

    Wei Dong leaned on Ke Xun¡¯s shoulder as he watched Mo Mou¡¯s back slowly get smaller: ¡°No wonder he¡¯s called Mo Mou, that sound just now sounded just like ¡®Mo Mou¡¯.¡±

    It turns out this was the nickname the cows gave to their ¡°pets¡±.

    Ke Xun looked into the distance. Arge bull was ambling over, and everyone couldn¡¯t help but scatter in different directions, sneakily looking over at the cow.

    The giant cow stopped in front Dong Dong and looked at the man who¡¯d been beaten to the ground, then looked back at Dong Dong. After a moment of consideration, it took arge hoof and picked up the frantically struggling Dong Dong and began walking towards the farmhouse.

    ¡ª

    A: Is it bad that I want hotpot- *shot*

    Hime¡¯s thoughts:

    Everyone: *fear, death and destruction*

    Ke Xun: How can I make my male god morefortable¡­

 Chapter 68: Is it Worth it? It is

    <h4>Chapter 68: Is it Worth it? It is</h4>

    Wei Dong waited until the bull was farther away from the group before finally letting out a breath, fearfully creeping over towards Ke Xun to ask: ¡°What¡¯s the situation? Are they going to kill someone in broad daylight?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it seems like fighting is prohibited in this area,¡± Ke Xun¡¯s gaze fell onto the distant Mo Mou who was standing alone, ¡°Whether it¡¯s chickens or monkeys, all animals have a leader who is responsible for maintaining order.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Like¡­ like a ss president?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit different from that,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°Their boss would definitely have to be the strongest and most capable one in the group, and they gain their seat through fighting the previous leader. If they win, they be the leader, and the former one is expelled from the group. Of course, other members can challenge him as well and the cycle continues, therefore the leader will always be the strongest one.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Looks like this Mo Mou¡­..¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Yep, he¡¯s the leader of this group, and as far as I know, chicken farmers usually won¡¯t initially kill the head chicken because they need it to keep the other chickens in check.¡±

    Wei Dong shook a bit, then quickly lowered his voice and asked: ¡°What you mean is-¡±

    ¡°Kill Mo Mou, be the leader, avoid being killed.¡± Ke Xun carefully said each phrase, ¡°But this person won¡¯t be me, it¡¯ll be Mu Yiran.¡±

    ¡°Will he agree?¡± Wei Dong wasn¡¯t quite convinced.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to help him.¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°You give me a hand.¡±

    ¡°What, what do you need me to do?¡± Wei Dong was suspicious.

    ¡°Find an excuse to get Mu Yiran further away from here,¡± Ke Xun quietly ordered, ¡°After that, I¡¯m going to go pick a fight with Mo Mou. Once it bes a ruckus over here and thatrge bull hears us, make sure to pay attention: the moment it leaves the farmhouse, hurry and bring Mu Yiran over to where we¡¯re fighting. Whether or not I¡¯m at an advantage or a disadvantage, I¡¯ll pretend like I¡¯m being beaten, and then you¡¯ll plead with Mu Yiran to help me out. That way when the bulles over, Mu Yiran will have beaten Mo Mou, and it¡¯ll acknowledge him as the new leader.¡±

    ¡°But what if you and Mu Yiran aren¡¯t able to defeat Mo Mou?¡± Wei Dong fearfully asked.

    ¡°Do you think we¡¯re dumb- if we can¡¯t beat him individually we can just go together,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t think Mo Mou is strong enough to take both of us at the same time. I just need to make sure to put Mu Yiran in a position to win before the bull arrives.

    Wei Dong was swayed a little, but quietly said: ¡°I¡¯m just scared that if he bes the leader and you annoy him too much, you¡¯ll also be taken away by the cow like Dong Dong was. Ke-er, is it worth it? He¡¯s never even shown you a smile before.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s worth it.¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t speak for a long time, before finally murmuring: ¡°Mu Yiran may never know what he¡¯s missing¡­. There¡¯s someone in the world who loves him this much.¡±

    Ke Xun was a man of action; after discussing the n, he immediately set out to put it in motion.

    After he saw Wei Dong take Mu Yiran and the other outsiders away, Ke Xun began heading towards the formidable Mo Mou.

    Before he came close, he was stopped by Zhu Haowen who suddenly appeared.

    ¡°You want to fight with him?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    ¡°En,¡± Ke Xun put a finger up to his lips and then sent a wink at him, ¡°Don¡¯t spread that around.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re doing this for Mu Yiran?¡± Zhu Haowen asked another question.

    ¡°And for world peace!¡± Ke Xun joked, going around him towards Mo Mou.

    Zhu Haowen suddenly asked in a loud voice: ¡°Is it worth it?¡±

    Tsk, how strange.

    Howe so many people keep asking if it¡¯s worth it?

    Ke Xun inteced his fingers as he lifted his arms into the air, palms facing upwards as he stretched.

    Liking someone isn¡¯t the same as doing business- always having to worry about if you¡¯re getting the right price, always having to bargain, always having to seek the right opportunity.

    What they should be asking him is ¡°Are you having fun?¡±.

    Is it fun fighting for the person you like?

    It¡¯s very fun.

    Is it fun plotting for the person you like?

    It¡¯s very fun.

    Is it fun dying for the person you like?

    Wu¡­ although it¡¯s a bit scary, but knowing that it might help him survive, it¡¯s fun.

    Is it fun when the person you like doesn¡¯t like you back?

    I¡¯m currently in the process of trying to get him to like me back, so it¡¯s fun!

    Ke Xun stood in front of Mo Mou, causing the NPCs surrounding Mo Mou to all cast looks at him.

    ¡°I want to fight a round with you.¡± Ke Xun told Mo Mou.

    Mo Mou¡¯s arrogant gaze slowly fell onto Ke Xun¡¯s face, chest, and¡­. That ce below, staying there for a few seconds before raising his eyes back up to look at Ke Xun¡¯s face.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Well, males will evaluate other males in these three areas: appearance, strength, and¡­.. ability?¡±

    ¡°Are you satisfied with what you see?¡± Ke Xun put his hands on his hips.

    Mo Mou haughtily snorted: ¡°Small man, you¡¯ve seeded in getting my attention.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Please call me Ke Xun.¡±

    Mo Mou: ¡°In this ce, only the leader is qualified to have a proper name.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Hehe, are you sure your name isn¡¯t a pet name?¡±

    Mo Mou: ¡°Don¡¯t try to irritate me, small man, or else I¡¯ll show you what you wanted.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Fuck, please stop acting so cringy, I¡¯m starting to get goosebumps.¡±

    Mo Mou: ¡°Small man, I¡¯ll give you onest chance, either leave immediately or stay put and gratefully ept everything I¡¯ll bestow upon you. Don¡¯t me me for not warning you; you won¡¯t be able to bear all my rage and punishment.¡±

    Ke Xun jeered: ¡°Fuck, you¡¯re going to win already. My legs are growing soft, please stop talking and get to hitting me!¡±

    Mo Mou: ¡°Since you seem so desperate for my big guy, I¡¯ll satisfy you. Hopefully it won¡¯t be so painful that you can¡¯t get upter and regret it.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­..Can you please fucking rify, when did I express being desperate for your ¡®big guy¡¯?!¡±

    Mo Mou took out his big guy ¡ª it looked super hard ¡ª his fists.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to wait any longer, if he did, he might just end up being defeated by this cringy guy¡¯s words alone.

    His long legs pushed in into the air, almost resembling an unfurling lotus flower.

    Mo Mou couldn¡¯t avoid this kind of professional kick, body twisting and staggering two steps to the side. It surprised Ke Xun that he still remained standing; he¡¯d learned that kick from a brother who could do martial arts, and he hadn¡¯t met anyone who could still stand after taking a hit.

    On the other hand, not only did Mo Mou stagger a little before immediately resuming a fighting stance, seemingly unaffected by the kick, he thrust out a ¡®big guy¡¯ towards Ke Xun¡¯s chest.

    Ke Xun¡¯s reflexes were beyond those of normal humans, his body was able to dodge before throwing out a particrly lethal knee. Mo Mou was also not slow, sidestepping Ke Xun¡¯s knee and at the same time, went straight for his balls¡­..

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡­ Fuck your ancestors.¡±

    Can the human leader in this cow farm have a little more face please! Stealing someone¡¯s ¡®peaches¡¯ while naked, aren¡¯t you afraid of holding them in your hand and vomiting in your heart?!

    Fortunately, Ke Xun¡¯s reaction speed was always timely. He hurriedly closed his legs to prevent his ¡®peaches¡¯ from being swiped, but the opponent immediately changed his move, throwing a strong shoulder forward that directly crashed into Ke Xun¡¯s nose bridge.

    When Wei Dong brought Mu Yiran and the others to the fight as nned, he saw Ke Xun¡¯s face that was covered in blood, as well as Mo Mou¡¯s fist still punching his jaw.

    Wei Dong let out a loud scream: ¡°Ke-er!¡± Completely forgetting about Ke Xun¡¯s ns, he was ready to go all out and rush in, when he was pulled back by Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Ke Xun has the upper hand.¡± Mu Yiran calmly evaluated the two that were still fighting.

    It was at this moment that Wei Dong¡¯s head finally cleared, promptly rambing: ¡°Big boss, you have to go help him. Look at his face all covered in blood, even if he¡¯s winning right now, the blood loss will get to him eventually. It¡¯s flowing even more than period blood! Oh- look look, he can¡¯t do it, he just took another hit! And another kick! Ai- now he¡¯s rolling on the floor- big boss, t-this, at this point only you can really help him, the rest of us can¡¯t do anything ah!¡±

    ¡°Do you not see that he¡¯s still hesitating,¡± The words came from the Zhu Haowen who popped out of nowhere. The ¡°he¡± was probably referring to Mu Yiran, Zhu Haowen¡¯s face was indifferent with a touch of hostility, ¡°He probably doesn¡¯t want to get involved and implicate himself.¡±

    Good job! What a godly teammate, Wei Dong praised. With this kind of provocation, even if the big boss didn¡¯t want to make a move before, he¡¯d have to now. You wouldn¡¯t be able to tell at first nce, but It seems like thisrade Zhu has superior tacit understanding and good timing!

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t bother paying attention to these two people, his eyes still fixed on Ke Xun and Mo Mou who continued to roll around, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

    He didn¡¯t understand, when he first got here, Ke Xun clearly had the upper hand, yet in the blink of an eye he was suddenly pressed down. He was beaten up and down by Mo Mou and made several mistakes that he usually wouldn¡¯t have; it waspletely unlike his usual abilities.

    At first, Mu Yiran thought Ke Xun was just trying to trick the enemy, but looking at it now, he¡¯d copsed on the ground unable to even flip over.

    Could it be that in addition to the nosebleed from the first punch, he was also suffering from internal injuries?

    Mu Yiran stepped forward towards the fight, having not heard any of Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen¡¯s words this whole time. Right before Mo Mou¡¯s heavy fist was about to hit Ke Xun¡¯s chest again, he stretched out his arm to block the hit.

    Ke Xun¡¯s legs weakened causing him to stagger back a few steps before he sat down on the ground, panting, and looked at Mu Yiran with an eager look in his eyes.

    ¡°¡­.¡± Mu Yiran felt like something was off.

    Usually when facing such a strong opponent, Ke Xun wouldn¡¯t have given up so easily¡­ at the very least he would worriedly say something like ¡°be careful¡±, it was even more likely that he would directly propose to join hands and defeat the opponent together.

    The circumstances really didn¡¯t allow Mu Yiran to think about it any longer, as Mo Mou was already rushing towards him, even letting out a cold and arrogant sentence: ¡°Want to y 3P? I¡¯ll fulfill your wishes.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Men fighting butt-naked wouldn¡¯t look good on most people, but Mu Yiran was definitely an exception. He wasn¡¯t like Mo Mou, someone who would frequently hurt the eyes by squatting down to punch and jumping up to kick, his **** flopping everywhere. Mu Yiran used his two long legs to move around swiftly and only used his arms to defend and attack.

    Wei Dong was fully invested in the fight when he saw Ke Xun stand up and walk over to him and Zhu Haowen with his back to the fight, reaching his hands out to put on both their faces.

    Wei Dong: ¡°What are you doing.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°How can my male god be someone you can look at.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°He¡¯s nothing in my eyes.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Then it¡¯s the same whether your eyes are open or closed. Since nothing¡¯s happening anyway, just keep them closed.¡±

    Zhu Haowen tried to struggle, but was quickly spun around by Ke Xun and forced to keep still in Ke Xun¡¯s arms.

    Zhu Haowen quieted down, and after not saying anything for a bit, finally spoke up: ¡°If you don¡¯t personally see him fight, won¡¯t you be worried?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about? I believe in him.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice was tinged with a slight smile as it rang softly by his ear.

    ¡ª

    A: So is ZHW a 2nd ML? O.O

    H: I¡¯m sensing vi~bes~

 Chapter 69: Straight Manâ€™s Paradise, Gay Manâ€™s Hell

    <h4>Chapter 69: Straight Man¡¯s Paradise, Gay Man¡¯s Hell</h4>

    The facts proved soon enough that Mu Yiran really didn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s concerns, a sudden bang sounded amidst gasps of surprise, plunging the courtyard into silence. The quiet was broken by resounding cheers, as well as someone loudly yelling: ¡°Leader! You are our new leader! Long live the leader!¡±

    Ke Xun let go of Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen, and threw Wei Dong a wink before turning around.

    As he watched arge bull begin running towards them from afar, Ke Xun nced at the Mo Mou stillying by Mu Yiran¡¯s feet and backed away slowly, merging into the crowd.

    After the giant cow came to the front, it swept its gaze back and forth between Mu Yiran and Mo Mou before finally picking up thetter with its hoof.

    However, the bovine seemed to have spotted the blood-covered Ke Xun in the crowd, and moved its other hoof towards him.

    ¡°Ke-er! Ke-er!¡± Wei Dong felt like his screaming was simr tost night¡¯s Dong Dong, mourning and desperate as he watched his childhood partner, his good brother, his best friend, be lifted into the air.

    ¡°Dong zi,¡± Ke Xun shouted in his direction, a smile still on his face, ¡°If it seems like they n on eating hotpotter, stay away from the window. If you really can¡¯t do it then make Mu Yiran knock you out, don¡¯t look outside!¡±

    ¡°Ke-er!¡± Wei Dong¡¯s heartbroken wailing continued to ring out as he knelt on the ground, ¡°Why the f*ck are you so dumb¡ª why did you do something so¡ª you damn idiot- Ke-er¡ª Ke-er¡ª!¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t even have time to wave goodbye to Mu Yiran before he was unceremoniously carried towards the farmhouse.

    I don¡¯t know what these cows n on eatingter, Ke Xun thought in his heart, at least in the painting¡¾Faith¡¿he was still able to use a rock to kill himself. In this painting they were all butt-naked, even if there was a rock he wouldn¡¯t be able to conceal it.

    The giant cow carried him and Mo Mou into a huge room next to the farmhouse. Ke Xun guessed that this was probably the farm manager¡¯s room, and he was proven right when he saw several familiar cows sitting around. The cows fromst night seemed to be rxing, one was reading a newspaper, one was sleeping with its head on a desk, and there was even a cow knitting a sweater.

    The bull lifted both people higher and disyed them to the other bovine. They moo-moo-moo¡¯ed a bit, causing the others to suddenlyugh- or at least, Ke Xun thought they wereughing, though the sound was still moo-moo-moo.

    It wasn¡¯t known what exactly was beingmunicated between the cows, but the bull carrying the two men turned around and exited the room, heading towards the area behind the farmhouse.

    Ke Xun remembered that behind the farmhouse was anotherwn and another farmhouse, and that ce seemed to be¡­.

    One by one, naked women slowly appeared in Ke Xun¡¯s line of sight like little sheep, sending a foreboding chill down his spine.

    He nced over at Mo Mou and saw that the previous dejection from being defeated by Mu Yiran had already been wiped cleanly off the man¡¯s face. At the moment, Mo Mou seemed like he was pumped with chicken blood (an expression of excitement), especially the area down there, as that unspeakable object began to inte like a boar in heat.

    No¡­. perhaps not a boar¡­ Ke Xun seemed to havee to a realization, this was maybe¡­ a breeding pig¡­¡­

    Therge cow walked towards thewn filled with women and slowly put Ke Xun and Mo Mou down before gesturing towards the two men, causing the nearby women to promptly begin fighting their way over towards them.

    Oh¡­.. f*ck¡­.. Ke Xun¡¯s thing withered at the sight of the reality before him. Of course, it would never get hard when Mu Yiran was out of sight.

    He was a pure gay okay?! He¡¯d never been interested in women, even if they tried their best to warmly embrace him¡­.

    For him, not only was there not the happiness that came with being near a beautiful woman, on the contrary, there was a sense of humiliation at being forcefully set up like this.

    Mo Mou was the opposite, like a wolf in a sheep herd, he advanced towards the women gleefully.

    In fact, the NPCs set up by the world were not as aloof as they seemed on the surface. Perhaps it was the artist¡¯s intention for satire, but aside from appearing human on the outside and having basic human functionalities, these female NPCs were fairly bestial in all other aspects.

    The women at the moment seemed to be ying a game of chase, twisting and teasing Mo Mou; each time he finally pounces on one, they¡¯ll p him away and begin the chase again. Repeatedly, both parties danced around each other like the mating rituals seen during the XX period of some animals.

    In fact, when Ke Xun was really young, out of pure curiosity, he went behind his parents¡¯ backs to go to a neighbor bro¡¯s house to watch BG pornography.

    And then he was promptly shocked by what was depicted on the screen.

    At the time, he was still too young to know about the affairs of men and women, and only felt extremely disgusted by what he saw.

    Ke Xun sometimes felt that perhaps it was because of that unpleasant experience that made him resist heterosexuality- henceforth creating a modern gay- but even after growing up and understanding the situation, it was impossible for him to return to that ¡°conventional¡± sexuality.

    The things happening in front of him once again reminded Ke Xun of that past trauma, and he tried his best to curb his desire to vomit, moving away from the circle of women towards a remote corner.

    The giant bull, that had not left yet, noticed his attempt to flee and used itsrge hoof to drag him back into the center of the circle, once again pushing more women in his direction. At this point, even if Ke Xun wanted to cry, there would be no tearsing out.

    Several women in their thirties tentatively walked towards him, twisting their hips from time to time, and some were bold enough to start rubbing on his chest and back.

    Ke Xun¡¯s scalp went numb, and he felt like he was a little white rabbit surrounded by hungry wolves.

    ¡°Big sisters, please let me go,¡± Ke Xun tried his best to avoid the female NPCs¡¯ harassment as he bitterly begged, ¡°I¡¯m gay, gay! Even if you try and sit on me I wouldn¡¯t get hard, please let me go alright?¡±

    ¡°Come on, young man,¡± An elder sister smiled coquettishly as she hooked a finger towards him, ¡°Let¡¯s have a good time,e!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gay! Gay! Understand?¡± Ke Xun was truly desperate, ¡°This really is like hell on earth¡­ Mu Yiran! I¡¯m being bullied by heterosexuals! Do you know how wronged I feel?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re gay?¡± A slightly familiar voice suddenly rang out from nearby.

    Ke Xun pushed away the elder sisters who were persistently trying to stick to him, and looked over to see saw a tall and broad figure slowly making his way over.

    It was Dong Dong.

    ¡°F*ck me, you¡¯re not dead?¡± Ke Xun asked after getting over his shock.

    This physique was truly too good, making him a great breeding boa-¡­ er, breeding person. Ke Xun guessed that he was probably thrown into this ce first, and he couldn¡¯t help but look down at that thing and nod meaningfully.

    Dong Dong¡¯s ears turned a bit red, his voice a bit dry: ¡°There¡¯s no use¡­. A man¡¯s instincts¡­..¡±

    ¡°I understand, take care of your health, don¡¯t do it too many times a day.¡± Ke Xun responded.

    Dong Dong became more and more embarrassed, quickly changing the subject: ¡°So you¡¯re really gay?¡±

    ¡°En, are you scared?¡± Ke Xun brushed away a sneaky elder sister¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s alright¡­ I just never thought I¡¯d personally know a gay person.¡± Dong Dong hesitatingly answered.

    ¡°I remember an expert who said it well,¡± Ke Xun continued, ¡°Every man has the potential to be gay. Really sit down and think, are you truly straight, or were you just deceived by heteronormative standards.¡±

    ¡°You¡­.just what kind of dogsh*t expert did you hear this from?¡± Dong Dong had been absent minded this whole time due to the women tangled around him, but this particr sentence from Ke Xun finally caught his attention.

    ¡°Experts don¡¯t just randomly put out nonsense.¡± Ke Xun finally got rid of that elder sister¡¯s nking attack, and walked over to Dong Dong, ¡°What¡¯s your n, are you going to go with the flow and enjoy yourself, or are youing with me to go hide?¡±

    ¡°I¡­..¡± Dong Dong barely got a word out before he was once again enveloped by the numerous women around him.

    ¡°Okay I got it.¡± Ke Xun waved his hand, ¡°I¡¯ll go hide for a bit, you take it easy, ande find me after a while.¡±

    A big man like Dong Dong, it wouldn¡¯t take very much effort to get rid of all the women by his side. The fact that he was still sitting there alreadymunicated his true intent.

    Ke Xun eyed the bull that was no longer staring at the breeders, turned around and hurriedly ran towards the far area of thewn, preparing to go hide behind the grass slope.

    Unexpectedly, just as he turned around the slope, he saw four or five women screaming in terror as they scrambled to escape.

    Ke Xun was also taken aback and was just about to start running in the opposite direction before he stopped and turned around cupping his hands around his mouth, asking in a loud voice: ¡°Did you guyse from outside to painting too?¡±

    The women screamed for quite awhile before stopping, their faces filled with a strange mix of happiness, shock and trepidation as they looked at him: ¡°How did you know- Are you also- Did youe from outside the painting as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes, is there anyone here who knows someone named Bi Jing? He was with us.¡± In order to increase his credibility, Ke Xun didn¡¯t hesitate to name-drop Bi Jing.

    Sure enough, two eighteen-year old girls nodded their heads repeatedly: ¡°We know! He¡¯s our ssmate!¡±

    The group of women squatted on the ground as they talked, using the weeds on the ground as well as their hair to cover their bodies.

    Ke Xun also squatted down, angling his body away from them before saying: ¡°You all, what I¡¯m about to say next will seem very unbelievable, but this is the reality you see before you. This information is very important, and I hope you will all listen attentively. Even if you don¡¯t believe it, you need to force yourself to believe it-¡±

    He then proceeded to exin the rules and conditions of the world of paintings in detail, and finally said: ¡°The only way to leave this ce is to find the seal or signature of the artist. I hope you¡¯ll do your best to use your brains as much as possible. Wherever you end up, try and look for suspicious things, and whatever you do, don¡¯t just hide and wait for death. No one ising to save you, only you can save yourself.¡±

    Several women began crying, and some tried to speak up but Ke Xun couldn¡¯t hear them clearly through the crying.

    After these people finally calmed down, Ke Xun asked them about the circumstances of their farmhouse, and realized that their experience wasn¡¯t much different from the male side. The only thing was that there were norge cows eating dinnerst night, therefore no one was picked to die.

    Ke Xun spected that the two farmhouses were taken care of by the same herd of cattle, meaning that if they were eating at the men¡¯s farmhouse, they naturally wouldn¡¯t go over to the women¡¯s farmhouse as well.

    Ke Xun also told the women to try their best to not eat too much of the farmhouse food. If they really can¡¯t bear just eating the nuts, do not under any circumstances eat until they be fat.

    Before dinnertime came, Ke Xun, Mo Mou, and Dong Dong were all taken back to the men¡¯s farmhouse.

    A: Man, Wei Dong really missed out XD

    H: Hmm, I wonder who the bulls ate previously then, if Dong Dong is still alive?

    <i>Thank you Bolshv and Kitty for the Kofis!</i>

 Chapter 70: An Upright Gay

    <h4>Chapter 70: An Upright Gay</h4>

    Wei Dong¡¯s eyes were red and swollen as he threw himself towards Ke Xun and thwacked him on the head: ¡°You¡¯re okay?! F*ck, you¡¯re alright?! That¡¯s f*cking great! Awesome, very awesome! You-you¡¯re fine, haha- perfectly fine!¡±

    ¡°Calm down, stay cool, easy.¡± Ke Xun broke free from his arms and patted Wei Dong¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m alright, so put all that love and consideration back in your chest, you cry so damn ugly.¡±

    ¡°F*ck, who the f*ck was I crying for!¡± Wei Dong wiped away the tears that were once again uncontrobly falling down his face, walking to the side, afraid that Ke Xun would continue talking nonsense.

    Ke Xun looked towards Mu Yiran who had been watching him this whole time before his lips curved into a smile.

    Mu Yiran looked away, then moved back after a pause: ¡°Where did they take you?¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s smile dropped from his face, hesitantly answering: ¡°It was¡­. A gay man¡¯s hell?¡±

    Perhaps because the events of that day were too turbulent and stimting, adding onto the fact that he couldn¡¯t sleep wellst night, Ke Xun sat down as he used a coldpress on his injuries from the fight with Mo Mou and unknowingly fell asleep.

    He was awakened by a bottle of Coke, and after opening his eyes, found that arge cow was once again handing dinner.

    In light of Yuan Yuan being chosen yesterday, the few outsiders weren¡¯t in the mood to eat at the moment, scared that they would identally be fat and be the next pig up for ughter.

    Ke Xun rubbed his still injured nose, sat up and leaned against the wall, before noticing Wei Dong looking at him withplicated eyes.

    ¡°I heard you were dragged to breed?¡± Wei Dong asked in a weird tone.

    Ke Xun figured that Dong Dong that bastard had already been interrogated by everyone, and couldn¡¯t help but look in his direction, watching him sit there tiredly while slowly eating chocte.

    Wei Dong leaned in and lowered his voice: ¡°I can tell his legs are quite weak when he walks, I¡¯m afraid he was already squeezed dry.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Hehe, men are all pig trotters who can¡¯t control their lower bodies.¡±

    Wei Dong asked him: ¡°What about you? You didn¡¯t lose your virginity right?¡±

    Ke Xun stuck out a leg to kick him: ¡°You¡¯re ndering an upright gay man okay?¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Your dictionary doesn¡¯t have the word ¡°straight¡± in it.¡±

    Ke Xun nced around for a second, and feeling like something was wrong, asked Wei Dong: ¡°Why does it feel like ourpartment switched out a few NPCs?¡±

    ¡°No shit,¡± Wei Dong answered, ¡°You didn¡¯t happen to see a familiar face?¡±

    Ke Xun cast his gaze on the few NPCs who were snatching up food, and was surprised to see Mo Mou among them.

    ¡°Why is he here?¡±

    ¡°They just swapped some people out.¡± Wei Dong said, ¡°The big cow took the previous NPCs to anotherpartment and brought over stronger-looking guys. But what¡¯s awesome is that when they saw our big shot here they were honest and obedient, not even daring to go up and grab food just now. They asked him to pick first, and only then did they have the guts toe up and eat. Isn¡¯t this the so-called might of being a leader?¡±

    Ke Xun nodded: ¡°Yes, the chief chicken in the flock has the priority in choosing food and mates.¡±

    ¡°¡­..¡± Wei Dong looked at Mu Yiran, who was sitting on the other side, with aplicated expression. ¡°If I were a chicken, I probably would envy him. By the way, there¡¯s one more thing¡­. That guy Bi Jing was taken by the giant bull to anotherpartment, I don¡¯t know the reason why.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s too skinny.¡± Zhu Haowen, who had been sitting to the side, began talking with a few macadamia nuts in hand.

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Wei Dong asked hurriedly.

    ¡°The people were divided into groups.¡± Zhu Haowen pointed to the people in thepartment, ¡°We¡¯re all young and strong men. If you look closely, the NPCs are also very good in figure and appearance, like what that middle-aged uncle said, ¡®a good breed¡¯.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s ssified by excellent, good, medium, inferior, and poor?¡± Wei Dong realized and was taken aback, ¡°F*ck, they wouldn¡¯t try and start using the knife on ourpartment would they?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at him like he was mentally challenged, ¡°When you raise livestock, would you eat the strong and young ones first? Or would you eat the old and infertile ones?¡±

    Wei Dong scratched his head: ¡°But what about Yuan Yuan yesterday?¡±

    Ke Xun continued to eye him disdainfully: ¡°Would you use an old cow or a small fat cow for hotpot?¡± Although this was a bit disrespectful to Yuan Yuan, it was obviously the case.

    Wei Dong¡¯s eyes brightened: ¡°That means, it¡¯s very likely that we won¡¯t be picked again right?¡±

    Ke Xun shook his head: ¡°The rules of the painting are that someone has to die everyday, and depending on the nature of this painting, there shouldn¡¯t be an opportunity for us to vote on who dies. So even if we aren¡¯t fat cows, we will definitely be forced under the umbre of dying one per night. You have to understand that we aren¡¯t the only strong ¡®livestock¡¯ in the farm, there¡¯s plenty of other options. It also can¡¯t be said that there¡¯s too many of us, but it also can¡¯t be said that there are too few of us, therefore someone will definitely die tonight.¡±

    Wei Dong wilted and sighed: ¡°Even though during the day this painting seems like the easiest one we¡¯ve faced so far, it¡¯s actually the one we have the least power in. Facing the enormous gap in strength against the giant bull, there¡¯s no way we can resist or run away. This is just¡­ waiting to die,pletely powerless.¡±

    ¡°We have to hurry and find the signature.¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°How are we supposed to find it here? We even looked for it on thewn outside. Aside from these two locations, where else can we go?¡± Wei Dong answered miserably.

    Ke Xun got up, walked over to where Mu Yiran was sitting, squatted down and tilted his head to look at him: ¡°Male god, do you have any clues about the signature? It¡¯s very likely that the cows wille again tonight.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes fell on the ground in front of him: ¡°If you want to find the signature, you must first decipher the artist¡¯s intentions, and then analyze the content of the painting.¡±

    ¡°These surrealist painters are all somebination of half-crazy and half-genius,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°First of all, I¡¯m not crazy, and second, I¡¯m not a genius. So the psychology and intentions of these people are the most difficult to understand for me.¡±

    ¡°Actually, this one is fairly easy to understand,¡± Qin Ci chimed in. ¡°Since the name of the painting is ¡¾Animal Word¡¿, it¡¯s clear that animals are the masters of the designed by the painter. Meanwhile, humans have reced the roles and ranks of animals in reality, resulting in a great overturn of status.¡±

    ¡°What I¡¯m curious about is that since people have be the lowest level animals in this painting, then what is the artist¡¯s impression of himself?¡± Ke Xun responded, ¡°Does he also see himself as some kind of bottom feeder, or does he think of himself as a high-level being? If it¡¯s the former, since humans don¡¯t have any dignity in the painting to the point where they don¡¯t even deserve to have names, what right does he have to leave his signature on the painting? If it¡¯s thetter, then this person is super narrow-minded; other humans are livestock but he himself is a superior being? Whatever, he¡¯s the artist, so let¡¯s not bicker about his viewpoints. However in that case, what kind of animal would he be? A noble panda? A lion king?¡±

    Wei Dong nodded: ¡°That¡¯s a good question.¡±

    ¡°For some animal conservationists,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°Humans are inferior to animals in their minds.¡±

    ¡°Humans are selfish, negative, and cruel, they are indeed inferior to animals.¡± Zhu Haowen, who had been following along for some time, spoke up.

    ¡°ssmate Zhu, Hao Wen¡¯er,¡± Ke Xun brought his hands together, ¡°The subject of human nature is tooplicated. If we continue to discuss it here, we wouldn¡¯t even be able to finish the first page after seven days. The first task now is to find the signature. Everyone, let¡¯s brainstorm and speak quickly.¡±

    Mu Yiran was already toozy to correct the title Ke Xun gave him anymore, and continued to ignore him, speaking as he pondered: ¡°ording to our past experiences, the signature won¡¯t appear in ces beyond reach. The location of the signature should only be within the defined area that we are able to go. . We need to think in reverse, if there¡¯s no possibility of there being a signature in ces we can¡¯t reach, that means¡­..¡±

    ¡° -Some ces that seem to be out of reach for us can actually be essed!¡± Ke Xun continued, ¡°That makes sense! We didn¡¯t expect that once we thought about the issue in reverse, there¡¯ll be unexpected answers. No wonder you¡¯re a big shot, your thinking is much more in depth than ours.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Qin Ci said: ¡°Xiao Mu¡¯s conjecture makes sense. The locations we can currently go to at the moment are one, thepartments, and two, thewn outside.¡±

    He continued: ¡°Thewn epasses a veryrge area, and Xiao Mu and I have already observed it from a higher vantage point during the day. Neither the terrain itself nor the texture of the turf can form the pattern of the seal or the signature, so thewn can be excluded.¡±

    ¡°Regarding thepartments, it definitely can¡¯t be in the one we¡¯re currently upying, and it¡¯s unlikely to be in the other rooms, that would be meaningless. The walkway outside of the cubicles as well as the entire farmhouse is also not likely, due to the fact that as long as we look up and search around, we have a clear view of everything. If the signature was here, it would be too easy to find.¡±

    ¡°These are the only two ces that we go between daily. If these two ces don¡¯t hold the signature, that means it must be elsewhere. Although it seems like there aren¡¯t any other locations, ording to Xiao Mu¡¯s theory, it¡¯s likely that there¡¯s a ce that we missed because we originally thought it was impossible and didn¡¯t try.¡±

    ¡°What we are looking for now is this kind of ce. It¡¯s a location that¡¯s likely to have a signature, and it¡¯s also reachable with our abilities. Let¡¯s think together, what ce meets these conditions?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°The administrator¡¯s office? We can technically go there but that would require¡­. Cough, you know. It¡¯s just that I was carried there when I went, and there¡¯s no way to go without supervision. If we want to try, we can only think of a way to sneak in, but it¡¯ll be quite dangerous given that there are so many cows inside.¡±

    Dong Dong also coughed: ¡°And there¡¯s¡­. Also the farmhouse on the women¡¯s side, we could go¡­.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Mu Yiran nced at him. ¡°It¡¯s no use going there, it would be the same as the male farmhouse. If both the farmhouse and thewn aren¡¯t possible, then going there would be a waste of time as well. That¡¯s why I believe the administrator¡¯s office is one of the better possibilities. In addition, I think there should be both a ughter room and a food processing room nearby.¡±

    ¡ª

    A: It¡¯d be kind of funny if the signature was inside the hotpot pot or something

 Chapter 71: A Gay Man with a Serious Expression

    <h4>Chapter 71: A Gay Man with a Serious Expression</h4>

    Wei Dong and Dong Dong¡¯s expressions changed at the same time, and Wei Dong wailed, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to that ce¡­..¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°First let¡¯s think of a n, then you go to the administration area, and I¡¯ll go to both the ughterhouse and the food processing room.¡±

    Mu Yiran finally nced at him and spoke quietly: ¡°We can only go during the day when we have recess. There are no cows on thewn at that time, and none of them will notice our movements outside. However the problem is that they¡¯ll most likely be in the administrator¡¯s room. If we want to get in, we¡¯ll have to take a big risk.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s your opinion?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°Find a way to bring the cows out of the administration area.¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°I¡¯ll do this task..¡±

    In light of the tight deadline, Mu Yiran began to divide up the work for tomorrow¡¯s ploy.

    Qin Ci and Dong Dong were in charge of searching the admin room, meanwhile Ke Xun and Wei Dong were responsible for the ughterhouse. Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen would search the food processing room.

    After finalizing their game n for the next day, everyone remained in the corner of thepartment and didn¡¯t speak another word.

    Before tomorrow evenes, they would first have to get through tonight¡¯s hurdle: the death selection. Perhaps after tonight, tomorrow¡¯s three duos would lose one or more people, and their ns wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with the changes.

    This time around, the few NPCs ate and drank their fill, obediently staying in a corner of the room, and no one dared toe forward and instigate chaos for the outsiders like the ones from yesterday. Only Mo Mou would throw shady looks at Mu Yiran once in a while, as if nning for a possible counterattack.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t even bother looking at him, merely closing his eyes to rest his mend, but Ke Xun, who had been standing in the corner, raised his head to look over.

    These rooms, to put it bluntly, were exactly like the pigsty in pig farms; the pigs were enclosed all around byttice fences, with only an exposed roof for farmers to feed them food from above.

    This ¡°human-sty¡± was also surrounded on four sides, with brick walls to the left and right, the farmhouse wall with windows and iron bars on the back, and an iron fence door. The upper part of the door was also made of bricks and fused to the walls on either side. The lower part of the iron fence was a wide door that could be opened and closed for people toe in and out.

    Ke Xun observed for a while before walking over to Mu Yiran¡¯s side, lowering his voice: ¡°I think this painting is not quite the same as the previous ones. The first few paintings involved gods and ghosts, or some other kind of inhuman power that would prevent us from moving around at night. They would use a number of ways to restrict our actions, for example, going out of a prescribed range would make us feel suffocated, etc. But for this painting, I feel it¡¯s a bit different.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes opened a bit, thinking as he continued to listen.

    ¡°In this painting, animals are the absolute rulers. In other words, they are the humans of this world. Since they are humans, they can choose who lives and dies. Does that mean, they are already the most omnipotent being in the painting? And above them, there¡¯s no other higher power that will restrict us?¡±

    When Ke Xun¡¯s voice fell, Mu Yiran suddenly looked up, staring at him intensely.

    ¡°If they really are the ¡®humans¡¯ of this world, that means they would have simr human ¡®abilities¡¯, with no real divine power, just like us in the real world. For animals, the advantages are only in size and strength, but they¡¯recking in height and intelligence,¡± Ke Xun continued, ¡°But after all, this is a painting created by a human, therefore there can¡¯t be such arge disparity. We still have human wisdom and intelligence, as well as our ability to be bipedal. Here, our only differences between us and them are our build, size, and strength. If there isn¡¯t any other kind of unexinable power that exists, then wouldn¡¯t that mean¡­¡±

    Speaking until this point, Ke Xun moved close to Mu Yiran¡¯s ear and quietly said: ¡°In this painting, as long as there aren¡¯t any restrictions our ability to move, we can explore around at night?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s long and slightly curled eyshes flickered a bit below Ke Xun¡¯s eyes, causing Ke Xun to sit up and move a few inches to the side.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t pay attention to his small movements, but moved his gaze to scan around thepartment before finallynding on a corner between two walls.

    ¡°We can try.¡± He gave out a response.

    Ke Xun smiled, scratched his nose with his fingertips, lowered his voice and added: ¡°Actually, I think the ces I mentioned before that seemed impossible to reach but now might be possible, aside from the admin room, the food processing room and ughterhouse, there¡¯s one more.¡±

    Mu Yiran finally moved his gaze to look at Ke Xun¡¯s face.

    The distance between the two was still a bit close, so when they looked at each other suddenly, they could read the other¡¯s expressions clearly.

    After meeting each other¡¯s gazes, Mu Yiran seemed startled, and quickly moved his head away.

    Ke Xun also turned his head, silently taking a deep breath before saying: ¡°Outside the farm. Maybe we¡¯re allowed to go outside to thewn, as long as we can find a way out.¡±

    ¡°What you said sounds correct.¡± Mu Yiran calmly responded.

    The two then stopped talking and sat side by side in silence.

    Strangely and fortunately enough, up until the cows came to wash thepartments and even after they had left the farmhouse post-cleanup, no cows came to choose a person to kill.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Will we really have to vote tomorrow?¡± Wei Dong leaned over in surprise and asked in a low voice.

    Ke Xun also didn¡¯t understand; voting required all of the outsiders to be gathered together, but the male and female farmhouses were separate. Would a special bridge form so that everyone would be forced inside before voting?

    Mu Yiran thought for a while and asked Ke Xun, ¡°Among the five women from outside the painting, are there any older women?¡±

    Ke Xun scratched his head: ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to look closely since I had my back turned towards the, the entire time. Let me think about it.¡±

    Mu Yiran stopped speaking and waited silently until Ke Xun spoke again: ¡°Yes, I remember their voices. One of them sounded like she was around 40 to 50 years old.¡±

    Mu Yiran paused and then said in a low voice: ¡°Then maybe it¡¯s not that the giant cows didn¡¯t select someone to die tonight, but rather they just didn¡¯t select anyone from the men¡¯s farmhouse.¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­ they chose a woman?¡± Wei Dong was both a little scared and a bit disappointed.

    ¡°And it¡¯s probably the 40 to 50 year old elder sister,¡± Ke Xun understood what Mu Yiran meant. ¡°Young women are kept for breeding, but older women no longer have any value past their birthing years. They also wouldn¡¯t wait until they¡¯re too old or else the meat would go bad. So when the women reach forty or fifty years old¡­ butchering is pretty much the only thing they can do.¡±

    Everyone went quiet for a bit.

    After the silence, they couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit relieved knowing that at least their lives would be safe for tonight.

    It was midnight and the whole farmhouse was quiet, and with the exception of a few snores here or there, no other sounds of talking were heard. The NPCs in the samepartment were asleep, and both Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen had begun to knock out as well. However, at this moment, Mu Yiran silently stood up.

    Ke Xun, who had been watching him, also stood up and asked him in a low voice, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    Mu Yiran also lowered his voice and pointed to the corner between two walls: ¡°I¡¯ve practiced rock climbing before, and I want to try to climb up and look outside.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Ke Xun said without hesitation.

    Mu Yiran nced at him: ¡°Don¡¯t use all your energy at once, this wall is too high, especially if you haven¡¯t had practice previously. There¡¯s a chance of identally letting go and running out of stamina. Falling down from that height really isn¡¯t a joke.¡±

    Ke Xun smiled: ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me. When I was in school, if I was considered to be second ce, then no one could im to be first. Even after graduation, I haven¡¯t stopped exercising. You don¡¯t have to worry about my physical strength. As to whether or not I¡¯ll slip, it¡¯ll be up to you since you¡¯ll be in front of me. If you climb up I¡¯ll climb up, as long as you don¡¯t let go, I won¡¯t let go.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t say anymore, he knew that Ke Xun wouldn¡¯tpromise when it came to these things, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t let him take such a big risk alone.

    Leading him to the corner, he quickly taught him a few rock climbing skills in a quiet voice, but soon discovered that Ke Xun was indeed a sports student with a natural aptitude for physical fitness. After only a little instruction, he could already grasp a number of moves and put two and three together.

    Mu Yiran still reminded him of a few precautions after the exnation before waking up a bewildered Qin Ci and asking him to keep an eye on the NPCs. If someone woke up and found him and Ke Xun were missing from thepartment and yelled for the giant cow, they would be in big trouble.

    Mu Yiran asked Qin Ci to y it by ear, and if things really got out of hand, knock them out with a karate chop.

    Qin Ci remained speechless for a while.

    Even if he was a doctor, he didn¡¯t dare to just karate chop anyone. He wasn¡¯t as bold as Ke Xun, and if he did it wrong he could possibly kill someone. He was a doctor, and his job was to save people, not kill them, but he understood the importance of the matter. If he couldn¡¯t do it, it would be the outsiders who would die instead, so he ended up agreeing.

    When Mu Yiran was about to start climbing, Ke Xun suddenly felt regret.

    He would have to watch him climb in order to see where his hands and feet wouldnd.

    But upon looking up, the scene that met his eyes suddenly made his mind a mess, this¡­ this is just¡­. Ah¡­.

    At this moment, Ke Xun really admired Mu Yiran.

    This person really was honest and magnanimous in any situation, and he never did anything unnecessary or had extraneous thoughts, able to adapt at any time yet still unyielding.

    Ke Xun silently sang the Chinese national anthem several times in his heart before following with a solemn expression.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t climb very fast. In order to ount for Ke Xun¡¯s speed, he stopped from time to time and looked down to see whether he still had the ability to keep up.

    Obviously, Ke Xun¡¯s skills were very reassuring in this aspect. When he reached halfway up the height, Mu Yiran saw that his fingers between the bricks were still as stable as before, and he couldn¡¯t help but rx and continue climbing.

    It took the two of them more than twenty minutes to finally scale the top of the high wall. Standing at the apex and looking out, the whole farmhouse came into view, tall and spaciouspartments, two neat rows of fences; there were alsorge brooms, tables, chairs and other objects ced in a corner of the farmhouse, which gave a strange feeling akin to being in a kingdom of giants.

    The two used the moonlighting from the window to look around. Ke Xun was the first to discover an exit route, and pointed to an area of the back wall closer to the roof ¡ª there was a vent that was just big enough for a person to fit through!

    ¡ª

    A: Ngl I thought Ke Xun was in shock bc of MYR¡¯s ass¡­

    H: Is¡­ that not what happened? Or maybe¡­ MYR¡¯s¡­ other part???!

 Chapter 72: At the Mercy of Others

    <h4>Chapter 72: At the Mercy of Others</h4>

    <i>Content warning: heavy description on dismembered human bodies when KX enters the ughterhouse.</i>

    Without wasting any time, the two quickly and quietly climbed along the brick wall towards that side. This took longer than the initial climb upwards and was a test of physical strength. Fortunately, Ke Xun was able to follow closely behind Mu Yiran and sessfully climbed out the vent.

    Standing on the edge of the vent, they looked out into the distance and were surprised by how good the visibility was despite the waning moon and sparse stars. Unlike the polluted world of human beings, the air here was so transparent that it didn¡¯t seem like a realm of monsters.

    Because it was such a clear night, Ke Xun saw a cluster of tall buildings near the horizon. That was the city.

    This painting was also different from the previous ones they¡¯d entered, where the edges of the central subject were all low-pixel backgrounds. Whether it was the high teaus in ¡¾Faith¡¿or the modern cities in¡¾Breaking the Earth¡¿, the peripheral areas of the painting were always blurred and fuzzy.

    But here, there seemed to be more of the city visible past the horizon, and there seemed to be more beyond the end of the deep and vast sky.

    It was like a real, living world.

    ¡°Does this mean that our movement range is very wide, and activities within the scope, even at night, won¡¯t necessarily lead to the ¡®night exploration restriction¡¯?¡± Ke Xun gave the rule of ¡°not being able to move around at night¡± a name.

    Mu Yiran nodded his head a little, but his expression was still heavy.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ke Xun asked softly.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyelids fluttered for a bit before he looked at him: ¡°This also means that the range where the signature could appear is muchrger. Our search will be that much more difficult.¡±

    Ke Xun also lowered his eyes, then he looked up, the corners of his lips raised in an optimistic arc: ¡°Although the ¡®painting¡¯ has always shown malice towards us, you could say that every previous painting has left a small trace for us. When followed, no matter how difficult the search, the signature is always within our reach, and it won¡¯t give us clues that we won¡¯t be able to use, so¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran had been looking at him intently, and after hearing this, an almost indiscernible smile passed across his face before quickly disappearing: ¡°So no matter how vast the world is in the painting, the clues will definitely exist where we can reach.¡±

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s be optimistic, we can definitely find it. Let¡¯s continue?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Mu Yiran retracted his gaze and turned to look around.

    The area covered by the farmhousewn wasrge but irregr, bypassing some bushes here and low rocks there, and was further surrounded by tall wooden fences. When viewed from above, it vaguely resembles arge crouching dog. The edge of the fence seemed to stretch to the city in the distance, separated only by a dense thicket of trees.

    Nearby, there were several tall buildings on both sides of the farmhouse, and the furnishings inside could be seen through the windows. The two were able to easily identify which one was the manager¡¯s office, and which one had the ughterhouse and food processing room.

    Because it took so long to climb, the two of them didn¡¯t have time to visit these ces at night while running back and forth, so they decided to give up and just go around the wall of the farmhouse cubicles and check the corners. Unfortunately, there weren¡¯t any gratifying discoveries.

    By the time they returned to their room, the sky was almost bright.

    After breakfast, everyone was once again let outside the farmhouse for recess.

    For the time being however, there was no chance to act out yesterday¡¯s n. There were several cows roaming thewn, moving around arge wooden basin as well as a water hose.

    ¡°It¡¯s bathing time!¡± Several NPCs screamed happily, chasing and ying around the tub.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Ke Xun nced at Mu Yiran, this kind of situation, suddenly having to take a mandarin duck bath or something¡­. Emmm¡­.. although there seemed to be a lot of mandarin ducks entering the water at the same time.

    Ke Xun had some mixed feelings. The tub had been filled with water, and the giant cows had begun to bend over and toss some people inside. Some people didn¡¯t seem to like taking baths, and after being thrown in, they tried to leave the tub. However, the huge cows couldn¡¯t be tricked, and the humans were thrown back into the basin again and again.

    ¡°Moo-moo.¡± One cow yelled at Mu Yiran and pointed to the tub for him to enter.

    Listening to that pronunciation, it seemed he had also been given a nickname called ¡°Mu Mu¡±.

    Ke Xun inexplicably wanted tough, but he also didn¡¯t want ¡°Mu Mu¡± to be thrown around by the giant cow like a pig, so he hurriedly grabbed him and jumped into the basin.

    The water sshed and Ke Xun popped his head out from below the surface, shaking his hair like a big gold retriever. He turned his head to look over and was met by a wonderful picture of a ¡°tyrant exiting the water¡±.

    Mu Yiran poked his head out of the water with his face tilted slightly upwards. As a result, his soft hair was drawn behind his head, creating a stylish CEO haircut. The water slipped from his forehead, and some hung onto his eyshes, shimmering like diamonds, while the rest passed by the straight nose, moving over slightly opened lips, down that slender neck, beforending on a perfectly aligned corbone.

    ¡­.It was simply too much to handle.

    Even more aggravating was the fact that he still had a cold and handsome face, an aura of both desire and abstinence, simply¡­. Demonic.

    By the time Mu Yiran exited the basin, Ke Xun was still diligently singing the national anthem silently in the water. He suddenly felt a hand that reached out from behind him press against the top of his head, fingers curling up and grabbing his messy dog-like hair.

    ¡°Don¡¯t dy business,e out.¡± President Mu¡¯s low voice flowed near his ears.

    Ke Xun obediently came out and saw that Qin Ci, Wei Dong, and the others were all there, cautiously keeping an eye out.

    The giant cows seemed to be carrying equipment again, taking out a slender tube and a few strange utensils from the food processing room.

    ¡°ording to yesterday¡¯s n,¡± Mu Yiran said in a quiet voice, ¡°Groups should each slowly approach the room they¡¯re infiltrating, don¡¯t be too obvious. When I lead the giant cow away, you guys take the opportunity to enter. Leave one person to stay outside and watch carefully. Remember, don¡¯t linger too much, quickly go in and out. Safety first.¡±

    The crowd nodded and immediately dispersed.

    Ke Xun took Wei Dong in the direction of the ughterhouse, strolling slowly and getting closer.

    Right when they reached the entrance, they heard a sudden scream and through it was Mu Yiran starting to act, but after looking towards the sound, he saw that it was Bi Jing instead.

    Bi Jing was held aloft by the giant cow¡¯s hooves, both cheeks were mped, forcing his mouth to widen before one end of the thin tube was inserted deeply into Bi Jing¡¯s throat.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong were both stunned into silence, before Wei Dong tremblingly said, ¡°This depth¡­. It must¡¯ve gone directly into the stomach¡­.¡±

    The other end of the tube was connected to a strange machine, into which another giant cow was pouring porridge-like food.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Ke Xun frowned tightly, ¡°Force-feeding.¡±

    Wei Dong was frightened.

    Bi Jing was truly too thin. His quality was so low that he couldn¡¯t even be used for breeding, so the cows seemed to have decided to fatten him up quickly.

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t bear to look at Bi Jing¡¯s painful struggle between the cow¡¯s hooves, and turned his face away before squatting and retching uncontrobly.

    Fortunately the force-feeding process didn¡¯tst long. After Bi Jing¡¯s stomach swelled, he was released. The giant cow picked up the next thin person and inserted a thin tube into his stomach.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t look any further, instead directing his gaze at Mu Yiran in the distance.

    Mu Yiran seemed to be saying something to the NPC¡¯s near him. Those people obviously had a high degree of obedience to their leader and quickly divided themselves into two groups. Suddenly, one group started running towards the far edge of thewn, while the other group started chasing them, creating chaos across the entire field. Mu Yiran took advantage of the distraction and ran to the door of the food processing room where Zhu Haowen entered earlier.

    The chaos on thewn attracted the attention of several cows, and they temporarily let go of the thin people who were still being force-fed to chase the humans running around. The outsiders immediately entered their respective locations, leaving one person outside as a lookout.

    Ke Xun was thankful that Wei Dong didn¡¯t follow him inside.

    He would never forget the sight in front of him, in this life- no, perhaps even in the next life. The ughterhouse made him realize what hell on earth really was.

    Old and new blood stains remained in different shades across the walls, the floor, the huge tabletop, as well as the gaps between various machines.

    If you looked closely, you could still find shreds of meat wrapped around in some ces, bone shards embedded in others, as well as nails left behind.

    But these were still far less horrifying than the internal organs and intestines sitting in a big bucket in a corner, far less terrifying than the blood-stained human bones on the huge chopping board, and still far less shockingpared to the rows of iron hooks on the wall, where peeled off skin, dismembered limbs and heads, hollowed out abdominal cavities, and other chunks of the human body hung.

    Below that, there were huge basins lined up one after another, filled with hearts, livers, intestines, limbs, or piles of human heads. All of the heads had their hair shaved, and some still had their eyes open. Others had their mouths still open, and although some had peaceful expressions, a good portion still seemed to be trapped in eternal agony.

    His fellow humans, like raw meat waiting to be processed, were disyed here so neatly, coldly, without any dignity.

    Of course.

    There was no dignity for those on the lower end of the food chain.

    Inside the basin containing human heads, Ke Xun saw Yuan Yuan. On top of him was fresher, forty-year-old women¡¯s head.

    It took a long time for themotion outside to subside, and all the humans were driven back into the farmhouse stalls.

    ¡°Nothing found in the administrator¡¯s room.¡± Qin Ci shook his head.

    ¡°There also wasn¡¯t anything in the food processing room.¡± Mu Yiran didn¡¯t look disappointed.

    Everyone looked at Ke Xun.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Mu Yiran looked at his face for a while.

    ¡°Out of all the paintings I¡¯ve entered, this one has had the least amount of clues.¡± Qin Ci was sullen, ¡°Was the artist of this painting solely focused on having people understand the naturalws of survival?¡±

    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s an extreme vegan,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°When I traveled abroad, I encountered various vegan demonstrations. Many people held posters depicting animals eating humans in protest.¡±

    ¡°So maybe the signature will be on the vegetables?¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯ll be ironically signed on the hatchet.¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Or signed on the cow horns?¡± Dong Dong said.

    ¡°Ke Xun,¡± Mu Yiran did not participate in the discussion, but walked up to Ke Xun and stared at him with deep eyes.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Ke Xun replied.

    Mu Yiran looked at him for almost half a day, when he saw him with his eyelids down and not speaking, he stopped questioning him, turning to look at the crowd before lowering his voice: ¡°In the evening, we will go to the fence. Ke Xun and I spected that we can leave the area and go outside even at night. We can¡¯t wait to just die, so we should at least try to escape.¡±

    ¡°How do we escape?¡± Dong Dong and Wei Dong asked in unison.

    ¡ª

    A: I feel a little sick too¡­.

    H: Ahh our poor baby :((( he got the short end of the stick there (MYR, quick give him a hug!)

 Chapter 73: A Dazed Loyal Dog and a Gentle Male God

    <h4>Chapter 73: A Dazed Loyal Dog and a Gentle Male God</h4>

    <i>Thank you anon for the Kofi!?</i>

    ¡°I took a look today, and the soil on thewn is fairly soft,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°We can try digging a trench near the edge of the fence and escape outside.¡±

    The proposal made everyone excited, and there was a gleam of hope in their eyes.

    Mu Yiran looked back at Ke Xun and saw that he was still in the same state as before, his eyelids lowered, motionless.

    The giant cow began to distribute lunch, and all the NPCs avoided taking the nuts- since the leader wanted it, no one dared to grab it.

    Everyone ate some more nuts so they could shovel the soilter in the afternoon. The drinking water came from the hose as the giant cow washed thepartments, and everyone managed to save some with the empty Coke bottles.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t eat, instead sitting on the ground with one leg bent, his arm on his knee, and half of his face buried in his arms.

    After eating for a while, Wei Dong realized his strange demeanor. He was about to ask, but when he saw Mu Yiran approaching, he stepped aside.

    Mu Yiran sat next to Ke Xun and said calmly, ¡°Ke Xun, look at me.¡±

    Ke Xun tilted his face, his head resting on his arm, and his dark eyes looked at his face.

    Mu Yiran felt that at this moment, he was like a baby who had just opened his eyes to see the world. In his mindset, where right and wrong were clearly distinguished, everything in this enormous world was confusing.

    Facing such an expression and such a pair of eyes, Mu Yiran didn¡¯t notice that the lines of his face were inadvertently softening. He met those eyes and whispered to him: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have let you go.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Ke Xun said. The voiceing from beneath the crooked arm sounded like a young and fragile child.

    Mu Yiran pursed his lips, and his voice became lower and lighter: ¡°Forget those things, Ke Xun. Think of this as a painting, as a horrible and bloody R-rated movie, you have to know¡­. The people who die in this painting are still in the real world and won¡¯t die by the same method.¡±

    ¡°When I returned to the real world after my first painting, I once went to find the people who died inside. Although they had already passed, the rtives and friends around them still remembered them and confirmed that in reality, they did not experience such a terrible death.¡±

    ¡°You can think of death in this painting as an exaggerated image. It has only been rendered to be bloody and terrifying. There is no need to substitute it for reality, let alone be affected by it. Do you understand, Ke Xun?¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Mu Yiran looked at him.

    He only said that he understood, but his dark, nk eyes and unwavering face still clearly showed that he was trapped in that purgatory.

    Mu Yiran finally sighed softly, raised his hand, andnded on the back of Ke Xun¡¯s neck, ¡°Rest a while.¡± The hand resting on his head felt tickled by the furry hair sticking up near the back, the slender fingers on the anterior carotid artery applying a light pressure, and within two seconds, Ke Xun tilted his body and fell on top of him.

    When Ke Xun woke up, he heard Bi Jing¡¯s screams from a distance. Getting up, he quickly rushed to the fence door to look, and saw a giant cow in a skirt holding him high in the air.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Ke Xun asked the shocked Wei Dong next to him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Wei Dong shook his head, ¡°The female cow¡­ She was brought in by the administrator and seemed to be picking someone. After a while, she picked Bi Jing, but we don¡¯t know what for. It¡¯s still during the day, it shouldn¡¯t be eating again right¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun was silent, ncing over for a bit before leaving the fence gate.

    When he turned around, he saw Mu Yiran looking at him. Pausing, Ke Xun smiled: ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t speak, but it didn¡¯t mean that he didn¡¯t see the slight tremor in Ke Xun¡¯s hands when he heard Wei Dong say ¡°eating¡± just now.

    Bi Jing was taken away by the female cow, his screams only causing a briefmotion among the humans before they soon calmed down; continuing to numbly eat, drink, and y.

    The administrator cow who had sent away the other cattle returned and released all the other humans onto thewn.

    The people from outside the painting quietly moved to the far fence, taking turns to keep watch while the others began digging the ditch.

    Thewn here was indeed soft, and with five people working at the same time, the speed was not slow at all. By the middle of the afternoon, a trench shallow enough for a person to climb in had been dug out.

    But this wasn¡¯t the perfect time to escape. It would be dinner soon, and every time the steward cow drove the humans back to the farmhouse there would be a headcount. If there were six people missing all of a sudden, they would definitely search for them and catch up immediately.

    Only after nightfall, when the cows finished cleaning the farmhouse and left, would they have enough time to escape and run as far as possible.

    ¡°What if they pick someone from our side tonight?¡± Dong Dong asked worriedly.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t Bi Jing taken away?¡± Maybe it¡¯ll be him tonight¡­.¡± Wei Dong felt that what he said was a bit inconsiderate. Although the reality was obvious, he still ended up shutting his mouth.

    ¡°Even if someone is picked from among us,¡± Zhu Haowen obviously had no psychological burden regarding ¡°benevolence¡±, ¡°justice¡±, or ¡°morality¡±, and straightforwardly said, ¡°It¡¯s worth sacrificing one and protecting everyone else.¡±

    Everyone fell silent.

    Although no one wanted to be the one who was sacrificed, they had to admit what he said was justified.

    After dinner, the outsiders entered a state of anxiety. If someone was going to be picked, it would happen sometime in the next one to two hours.

    They were waiting quietly against the walls, radiating tension. Suddenly, they saw a bright white lighting in from the window. Turning their heads and looking out, they saw that themps above thewn were lit up, illuminating therge open space in front of the farmhouse. Bright as day, a few cattle were headed here with other cows that they¡¯d never seen before. The giant cows who hadn¡¯t been seen previously each showed up with a cage in their hooves, all of them closed with a human inside.

    ¡°What are they going to do?¡± Wei Dong asked in confusion.

    No one could answer him, everyone just stared outside silently, vigntly.

    The door of the farmhouse opened with a crash, and two stewards walked in before heading straight to the cubicle where the outsiders resided.

    ¡°No¡­¡± Fear and despair appeared in Wei Dong¡¯s eyes, ¡°They¡¯re going to choose someone¡­¡±

    The huge gap in height, build, and strength made people so sad that even the thought of running away couldn¡¯t emerge. Everyone could only stand still in despair while helplessly waiting for death toe.

    The giant cows walked to the door and looked down at the group, stretching out hooves and picking up the people in thepartment one by one. Each time they would scan the humans, whispering exchanges between the two cows from time to time.

    In the end, they selected a total of four people.

    Dong Dong, Mo Mou, Ke Xun, and Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Ke er-¡± Wei Dong was shocked, ¡°Why- Why are there three people-¡±

    His cry came to an abrupt end.

    Why couldn¡¯t it be three people? The painting never stipted that three people wouldn¡¯t die in one night.

    ¡°Doctor Qin, stun him!¡± Ke Xun yelled at Qin Ci.

    However, until Ke Xun and the others were taken out of the gate of the farmhouse, Qin Ci couldn¡¯t bear to do it.

    The four people were carried to the open space outside the farmhouse. There were no tables and chairs for hot pot, no knives and wooden barrels, only the empty ground, a dozen giant cows, and the people in cages carried in their hooves.

    The cows weremunicating. One bull brought something akin to a lottery stick box, and each cow drew a stick out.

    After the lottery results were illuminated, two cows stood up while the others stepped back, forming a circle and vacating the middle of thewn.

    The cows lowered the cages in their hands, releasing the people inside before retreating to the edge of the makeshift court.

    The two humans who came out were extremely strong and tall men, fierce in expression and emanating blood lust.

    They red at each other, gritting their teeth fiercely as they circled one another. Suddenly, their violence came to a head, rushing at the other swiftly, punches and kicks were thrown around, and the fierce battle soon turned into a brawl.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ is this cockfighting?!¡± Dong Dong finally understood.

    He had watched cockfighting videos on the Inte before, which was by no means as fun and enjoyable as people imagined.

    It was an extremely cruel and bloody sport that caused intense difort.

    In the video a few years ago, he still remembered the bloodstained and tragic death of the defeated rooster.

    He didn¡¯t understand who came up with this kind of entertainment, how they could take such perverse pleasure in watching it.

    Of course, this idea had only shed in his mind for a moment back then. Regarding the clip, he simply left a ¡°What the f*ck¡± in thements, not much different from the other viewers who jeered at the video saying things like ¡°just two farm hens pecking at each other¡±.

    He didn¡¯t have any sympathy for the chickens, unbothered to think about their thoughts and emotions, after all, they were simply birds.

    They also wouldn¡¯t know that those roosters who died in battle with pride and dignity were nothing more than ¡°cooking chickens¡± in the eyes of humans.

    The two humans fighting the circle had an obvious gap in strength, one of them had been beaten so badly that three or four teeth had been knocked out.

    However, he continued struggling to get up and fight, as if his life was only meant for fighting alone, and whether he lived or died didn¡¯t matter.

    As it were, he died, and was beaten to death by a stronger person.

    The giant cows apuded and whistled, moring and making noise.

    The deceased was carried down and thrown into the ughterhouse. Meanwhile, the survivor was brought back to his cage, and his master fed him food from the slits of the cage as a reward.

    A few of the giant cows took out what seemed like money and gave it to the owner of the winning human, ending a round of ¡°cockfight¡± gambling.

    The second round soon began, and the opponent who came on the court was even stronger than the previous human, followed by Mo Mou from their farm.

    Mo Mou seemed to be used to such asions, excited rushing towards his opponent without hesitation: ¡°You, the consequences of irritating me are very serious, you won¡¯t be able to bear it. I¡¯ll let you taste my ¡®big guy¡¯, and you¡¯ll cry and beg me to stop.¡±

    Mo Mou, he was the previous human leader of the farm, and although he was defeated by Mu Yiran, he was still very strong. Tall, built, handsome, full of fighting spirit and ambition, arrogant and prideful, even Ke Xun didn¡¯t dare to look down on him.

    However, the strong Mo Mou was immediately KO¡¯d by the opponent¡¯s heavy punch.

    The opponent only punched him once, but the heavy blow knocked him on the head, sending him flying back, leaving him twitching a few times after falling to ground before no longer moving.

    There was a roar ofughs from the onlookers, and the administrators of their farm seemed a little embarrassed. They weighed the remaining three people in their hands, and seemed to be choosing one that was strong enough to beat the opponent.

    Then their eyes fell on the new leader of the humans, Mu Yiran.

    ¡ª

    A: Not ZHW being like ¡°even if someone dies it¡¯s a worthy sacrifice¡± ASDKSADFID easy to say if you¡¯re not the one dying

    H: C¡¯mon God Mu! Save you and your hubby!

 Chapter 74: Cherishing You, Protecting You, Liking You

    <h4>Chapter 74: Cherishing You, Protecting You, Liking You</h4>

    ¡°Me! Me! Hey, look over here!¡± Ke Xun, who was being carried in the other hoof suddenly struggled, shouting and vigorously moving his limbs, looking extraordinarily eager and belligerent.

    The giant cow seemed to smile before bending down and putting Ke Xun in the court.

    ¡°Ke Xun!¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice sounded extraordinarily angry. Ke Xun turned around to look at him and saw an expression he¡¯d never seen before on Mu Yiran¡¯s face.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t his opponent, quickly retreat!¡± Seeing his indifferent attitude, Mu Yiran¡¯s face turned cold and fiercely punched the giant cow hoof that was still mping him.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t do any real damage to the cow, but it was enough to make it hurt. The giant hoof became slightly loose, and Mu Yiran quickly broke free from the restraint.

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± Mu Yiran strode towards Ke Xun, eyes deep and helpless like never before, ¡°Always so headstrong.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at him intently and smiled: ¡°In my whole life, I have only been headstrong for three people. My dad, my mom, and you. Who made you guys my most .¡±

    ¡°Since you cherish us so much, you shouldn¡¯t be so stubborn.¡± Mu Yiran already walked up to the front, frowning slightly before reprimanding, ¡°Go to the side.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Ke Xun stayed still, ¡°Whether or not he¡¯s my opponent, I¡¯ll only know if I fight. Mu Yiran, you don¡¯t really think that I can¡¯t beat you, right? It¡¯s easy to see that you¡¯ve properly learned wrestling, grappling, maybe even boxing. If we were to say that you¡¯re formally trained, then I¡¯m unorthodox, and these two styles pitted against each other, the oue isn¡¯t necessarily guaranteed. As for this lughead, it¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s also unorthodox, so it¡¯s more appropriate that I be the one to fight him.¡±

    ¡°His size and strength are superior to yours,¡± Mu Yiran frowned and looked at him, ¡°If you face him head-on, the chance of you being at a disadvantage is very high. You have to be clever, and resourceful, in order to be victorious. Ke Xun, I don¡¯t need your protection, and I don¡¯t need you to do things for me. If you think of me as such a person, it makes me feel ashamed. Do you understand?¡±

    Ke Xun dipped his head, rubbing a hand on his forehead, then raised his eyes and smiled helplessly: ¡°I hate quarreling with you cultured people the most. Good or bad can be misinterpreted by you and changed to other meanings. Okay, protecting and giving is to humiliate you. Then Mr. Mu, tell me, what are you going to do now? The person chose to fight that lughead was me, why did youe down here? Dissuading me and saying that I¡¯m not his opponent. Isn¡¯t this also considered humiliating me?¡±

    Mu Yiran choked up, and was about to speak again, but he saw Ke Xun suddenly take a step forward and stare into his eyes with a smile: ¡°But I like it. Please humiliate me as much as possible. But things that I want to do, I will do. Take care,¡±

    Just as he finished, he suddenly tilted his head and leaned forward, gently kissing Mu Yiran¡¯s cheek before turning around and walking towards his opponent on the field.

    Mu Yiran was stunned, and didn¡¯t try stopping Ke Xun again. He knew that this willful and stubborn guy wouldn¡¯t change his mind. He nced around, wondering why the giant cows didn¡¯t do anything despite him talking to Ke Xun for so long.

    However, it seemed like the giant cows were discussing something, and just when Ke Xun walked in front of that big guy, another giant cow carrying a giant cage came onto the field and opened the cage door, releasing another strong and agile man.

    Mu Yiran felt himself being pushed by a huge hoof into the field as well, and the surrounding herd screamed in excitement.

    Mu Yiran suddenly realized: these cows saw him and Ke Xun vying to fight, so they simply changed the gambling terms, creating a two-on-two situation. Or perhaps, they might¡¯ve preferred seeing four people create chaos instead, seeing as the strong man who¡¯d just arrived didn¡¯t appear to be on the same side.

    Mu Yiran took a few steps to catch up with Ke Xun and grabbed his arm: ¡°Don¡¯t rush to make a move, now it¡¯s two on two.¡±

    Ke Xun also understood and didn¡¯t rush forward. While staring at the two people who were staring back, he lowered his voice and spoke to Mu Yiran: ¡°Let¡¯s watch these two big guys fight first, then we¡¯ll take action.¡±

    Mu Yiran let out an ¡°un¡±.

    Ahead, the lughead and the strong man didn¡¯t immediately start fighting, but stayed alert of each other, both tentatively approaching Ke Xun and Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Hey, big guy,¡± Ke Xun suddenly said, ¡°You seemed super strong just now. Are you the big boss of the century? But as a leader you don¡¯t seem to have much defense power, it couldn¡¯t be that this little guy over here is your opponent right? If even this kind of trash can brandish its ws in front of you, shouldn¡¯t you do some self assessment? For some people, if you don¡¯t demonstrate your strength, then they¡¯ll never understand who¡¯s the boss, isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    The big guy¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change when he heard those words, but the strong man on the opposite side became heated and shouted angrily: ¡°Shut up! If you want to die so bad, I¡¯ll help you fulfill that wish!¡±

    ¡°What, are you looking down on the big boss?¡± Ke Xun chucked. ¡°People like you really are annoying, any man with courage wouldn¡¯t be able to tolerate your attitude. If someone doesn¡¯t show you some strength, you really won¡¯t put anyone in your eyes.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you¨C¡± The strong man rushed towards Ke Xun, but was stopped by the big guy halfway who threw a fist towards his chest. The former was able to avoid the hit, and the two of them, instantly started brawling.

    ¡°That man also isn¡¯t his opponent.¡± After only watching for a few moments, Ke Xun came to the conclusion.

    ¡°En.¡± Mu Yiran stared at the court.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should wait until the two of them arepletely done fighting,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°If we wait for the lughead to get rid of this guy, maybe the giant cows will release another person to continue the two-on-two. This psychological method won¡¯t necessarily work every time, and if a smart person happens to team up with that big guy, we¡¯ll definitely be screwed.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Mu Yiran approved.

    ¡°The worst thing would be returning to one vs one. No matter which one of us goes against him, the winning rate is still probably hard to say.¡± The corner of Ke Xun¡¯s mouth was slightly cocked, giving a sinister aura to the smile.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze was drawn towards that small hook for a moment, before he moved away nkly.

    ¡°So what I meant was, we need to seize the opportunity to get rid of that troubling issue.¡± Ke Xun pointed to the big guy who had the upper hand. ¡°When he goes to make the final blow, I¡¯ll go around the front to attract his attention, and you go attack him directly from behind.¡±

    Speaking until here, he turned his head and continued to look at Mu Yiran with a curl in his lips: ¡°Can you do a KO? If you can¡¯t, then change with me, you go to the front, and I¡¯ll go to the back.¡±

    ¡°Take care of yourself.¡± Mu Yiran nced at him coldly before walking towards the court.

    Ke Xun and his knight split in two directions, making a half circle before walking in front of the big guy, then changing directions continuously as the big guy moved on the court.

    The strong man had gradually been unable to withstand the heavy punches from the opponent, but he was still trying his best to attack, like a chicken with red eyes, covered in blood and flesh, still frantically trying to kill the opponent.

    Finally, when the big man hit his chest again with a heavy fist, he heard a ¡°bang¡± sound. It? seemed to be the sound of his sternum fracturing, and the strong guy was beaten back until he flew out with a scream.

    The big guy didn¡¯t stop, chasing up a few steps and throwing another punch, trying topletely stop his opponent¡¯s breathing. Suddenly he saw a flower in front of his eyes, followed by a huge pain in his face. After another bang, the man was mmed by a hard object and leaned back, staggering back several steps.

    Before he could clearly see the person in front of him, there was the sensation of fingers pressing on the back of his neck. The strong man was about to use his elbow to get rid of the nuisance, but his eyes went dark, and with a ¡°plop¡±, he fainted to the ground.

    Ke Xun rubbed his knee with one hand and gave a thumbs up to a stunned Mu Yiran with the other: ¡°This kid is really tough, his face about as hard as a rock. My kneecap was almost broken from knocking it.¡±

    The sudden change on the court happened in an instant. The big man fell and caught the onlookers off guard. There was a moment of silence outside the court, and then cows eximed, almost as if they were cheering.

    The cooperation between Ke Xun and Mu Yirancould be described as beautifully coordinated, and seemed to have opened a new door for the cows. They weren¡¯t eager to proceed to the next match, but talked for a long time. Finally, the administrators of the farm brough Ke Xun and Mu Yiran back off the court and threw them back to the farmhouse.

    Wei Dong, Qin Ci, and Zhu Haowen walked over, as the three of them had seen everything happening on court from the window.

    ¡°I was almost scared to death by you!¡± Wei Dong patted his chest in fear, ¡°The f*ckers are treating you guys like pitbulls! FIghting until yourst breath ah!¡±

    ¡°But since the cows let youe back, what about Dong Dong?¡± Zhu Haowen looked back at the window and saw that it was Dong Dong who was put on the court next.

    ¡°I thought they would keep the two of you on the field.¡± Qin Ci also had some doubts.

    ¡°I think they might have some new ideas.¡± Mu Yiran coldly looked out the window, ¡°They seem to have discussed something just now.¡±

    Outside the window, Dong Dong was forced to walk onto the field, and his opponent was also a robust guy. The two of them quickly began fighting, blows being exchanged high and low. This was bare-handedbat, and frankly speaking, bloody, cruel, and animalistic.

    Since the two men were almost equal in strength, the fightsted for more than ten minutes. In the end, Dong Dong won by a narrow margin. His opponent was strangled to death on the spot with his arms looped around his neck.

    Everypartment in the farmhouse was chaotic, everyone watching the carnage happening outside the window. Some eximed, some apuded, some scolded, and some evenughed.

    .

    Dong Dong was temporarily taken off the field, and the next two humans walked into the ring.

    Just like this, one round after another proceeded. Pairs were brought in and fought until one person was left, and then all the remaining people were once again paired up before continuing to fight. By the middle of the night, the fighting had ended, and only one human survived still covered in scars.

    The one who survived, wasn¡¯t Dong Dong.

    Before Dong Dong¡¯s body was thrown into the ughterhouse, the outsiders no longer looked out the window. The nightmarish things they saw tonight made everyone not want to talk, and they all sat in a corner silently with their eyes closed.

    The giant cows cleaned up the field but didn¡¯t immediately leave. Instead, theyid down tables, chairs, and dishes before proceeding to drink and eat supper.

    Zhu Haowen opened his eyes and looked out the window, only to see the big guy who fought Ke Xun and Mu Yiran stewed on a te, and next to him, a braised Dong Dong.

    ¡ª

    A: RIP Dong Dong TT-TT

    H: he dodged death once but it seems he was unable to dodge it a second time ;-;

 Chapter 75: Lex

    <h4>Chapter 75: Lex</h4>

    The giant cows ate and drank until twilight, and the guards soon went into the farmhouse to feed the humans.

    ¡°When we go to thewnter, we¡¯ll need to quietly approach the area where we dug the trench yesterday,¡± Mu Yiran said in a low voice. ¡°The giant cows haven¡¯t slept all night, so they¡¯ll definitely rest in the admin room in the morning. This is a great opportunity for us.¡±

    The few people continued to discuss, ¡°We only have this small timeframe in the morning to escape, as they¡¯ll find out when theye to feed us at noon. We can¡¯t stop for any reason and we have to run as far as we can. Although we don¡¯t know the situation outside, if we get scatteredter, don¡¯t focus on others and make sure to protect yourselves. We have to hurry and find the signature to leave.¡±

    Everyone nodded, and Qin Ci said: ¡°It may sound ruthless, but in this case, keeping ourselves safe is indeed the most important thing. We still should try and help each other if we can. What about this, if we lose each other in the process of escaping, leave a mark indicating the direction you travelled if you have enough energy so we can find a way to meet. Even if whoever finds the signature first leaves ahead of everyone, others will be able to find it as well by following the marks.¡±

    Seeing that everyone had no objections, Qin Ci drew a few signs on the ground that could point the way and express simple meanings so everyone would remember easily.

    After breakfast, the giant cows let the humans go on thewn as usual, but the n couldn¡¯t keep up with the change: the giant cow had singled out Mu Yiran and Ke Xun before putting them in a cage.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us, Dong Zi, you have to continue as nned!¡± Ke Xun yelled at the red-eyed Wei Dong. ¡°Go as far as possible, you have to find the signature!¡±

    Before Wei Dong could say anything, the giant cow had left the farmhouse with the cage.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran stared outside from the cage door, feeling that they¡¯d been carried for some time before they entered a giant room that had arge car parked inside. The two of them were thrown into the backseat, and one of the giant cows began to drive while the other one sat in the passenger seat. After a while, the car drove out of the farm grounds.

    ¡°Where do you think they¡¯re taking us?¡± Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran, ¡°A restaurant in the big city? Or an outdoor market?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s an underground arena.¡± Mu Yiran leaned on the cage wall and sat down, closing his eyes to rest.

    After thinking about it, Ke Xun understood: ¡°You mean that afterst night, those cows saw our potential, and decided to take us to an underground area for us to fight other humans and make a lot of money?¡±

    ¡°Most likely.¡± Mu Yiran closed his eyes.

    ¡°It seems possible, all the cows here seem to have the bad habits that humans have.¡± Ke Xun walked over and sat next to him. ¡°I feel that we¡¯re likely to die, so we have to find a way to escape. Do you have any ideas about the signature?¡±

    ¡°No clue.¡± Mu Yiran opened his eyes and frowned slightly, falling into a rare state of confusion.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Ke Xun raised his hand, trying to tten the furrow between his brows before stopping halfway. ¡°Think slowly, it won¡¯t be too difficult. It¡¯s possible that the answer is right in front of you, only that the window has been covered with a t of paper. All you have to do is pierce it.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t say anything, but stared fixedly into the void and fell into a deep trance.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t bother him, quietly standing up and walking to the edge of the cage, craning his neck to look out. He was barely able to make out the scene outside the car window,rge swaths of trees passed by and the sound of noisy sparrows came from above.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Ke Xun turned his head to look at Mu Yiran, ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird? In this painting, human beings have be smaller and cows have berger, and the status of the two species have been switched. Then what role do you think birds y in this world?¡±

    Mu Yiran quickly raised his eyes when he heard those words and met Ke Xun¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°I just saw a group of sparrows around the same size of the ones we see in the real world,¡± Ke Xun continued, ¡°But the size ratio between humans and cows is a bit strange. Even in the real world, domestic cows and humans are different in size, but not to this scale. Here, the difference in size is akin to humans to cats and dogs outside the painting. On the contrary, there¡¯s no change in the sparrows. What kind of scale did the artist use to create this painting?¡±

    ¡°There is only one possibility,¡± Mu Yiran stood up. ¡°The name of this painting doesn¡¯t match the painting itself. The name of the painting ¡¾Animal World¡¿seems a bit too broad, and the painting doesn¡¯t match the grand worldview it seems to imply.

    ¡°The painter wanted to skim the surface of the issue, only highlighting one or two key points in order to render the world he imagined. Unfortunately, after all, he¡¯s only a new painter who is young and immature, andcks the meticulousness thates with age.¡±

    ¡°In the process of painting, he neglected some small details, or he wanted to use these details in order to highlight the key points he wanted to express. Sadly, the conception had a lot of mistakes, and the desired effect was not achieved, and on the contrary, made everything seem out-of-ce.¡±

    Ke Xun made an expression of understanding: ¡°It seems like we¡¯ve been filled by our first impression, thinking that all the paintings we enter would be created by those famous impable artists, so we wouldn¡¯t have to think about the ws. As a result, the paintings exhibited this time around were all works by new and cutting-edge painters just after their debut, meaning that the paintings wouldn¡¯t be perfect. We only paid attention to the central meaning the painter wanted to express, but ignored the possible ¡®bugs¡¯.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded slightly: ¡°After we go over everything, we can start looking with a fresh point of view. Through the various encounters we¡¯ve experienced these past few days and the imbnced size ratio between the cattle, humans, and birds, we can infer that the artist¡¯s actual focus isn¡¯t the entire animal kingdom, but only one or a few animals and their subversive rtionship with people.¡±

    ¡°Obviously the animal used was a cow,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°What he wanted to paint was actually cows vs people.¡±

    ¡°But thinking of our encounters, the cows he painted aren¡¯t merely cows,¡± Mu Yiran added, ¡°For example, when they were force-feeding Bi Jing, they were imitating the technique used on ducks.¡±

    ¡°Another example, us and Dong Dong¡¯s experiences yesterday resembled cockfighting or dogfighting, so there¡¯s also an implication of these animals as well.¡±

    ¡°In addition to the management and feeding methods, there¡¯s also a simrity to pigs, sheep, or poultry.¡±

    ¡°So this painter exaggerated some of the phenomena he had seen in human¡¯s treatments of animals and ced those characteristics in his cows.¡±

    ¡°Looking at it this way, I feel like¡­. This painter seems to have a sympathy for animals?¡± Ke Xun touched his chin.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mu Yiran nodded. ¡°So Zhu Haowen¡¯s statement almost hit the mark. The artist may not be an extremist, but he is possibly an animal activist. However, I feel like saying that he¡¯s an activist might be a bit exaggerated, as his ideology might not have risen to that level yet. Judging from his constrained conception, his worldview is still too narrow, and he doesn¡¯t seem to care about all animals, just certain ones. Therefore, it¡¯s more urate to just say that he¡¯s an animal lover.¡±

    Ke Xun raised his eyebrows: ¡°Generally, people who have pets at home can be regarded as animal lovers. Dog owners love dogs, cat owners love cats, and parrot owners love parrots. Although these people still have a certain amount of empathy for other animals, it¡¯s not enough to pay attention to them all the time. It can only be said that they love the house and its crows (idiom for essentially loving things that the people they love also love).¡±

    ¡°It can be said then,¡± Mu Yiran began, ¡°Since the artist¡¯s starting idea for this painting was too narrow, it can be inferred that the artist shouldn¡¯t be an extreme animal activist.¡±

    ¡°This is not a painting that focuses on more macroscopic and in-depth humanistic thinking as well as humanitarian criticism. His ideological nature is only limited to a small-scale phenomenon.¡±

    ¡°But of course, this doesn¡¯t mean that this small-scale issue doesn¡¯t also have value in exploring its meaning with deeper thinking. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s a little more emotional in the way of expression and conception.¡±

    ¡°To put it inly, this painting seems more like a personal piece that the artist made to vent.¡±

    ¡°This kind of sentiment is understandable,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°When I was in high school and wanted to vent, aside from one instance, my runs were record-breaking. This could also be considered a kind of creation.¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him coldly: ¡°Since it¡¯s venting, then he obviously had some anger from rted incidents. An animal lover was angered and reversed the rtionship between humans and animals in the painting. It¡¯s not difficult to guess the cause of his anger.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s gaze lowered, and he spit out two heavy words: ¡°Senseless ughter.¡±

    ¡°Animal abuse and unneeded ughter are two things that every animal lover cannot ept or forgive,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was also heavy, ¡°I suspect that the artist himself has also raised animals, and that animal experienced being tortured and killed.¡±

    ¡°Was it a cow?¡± Ke Xun crossed his arms, ¡°In general, cows are hard to find in cities. Did the paintere from the countryside or the mountains?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s unlikely that it¡¯s a cow,¡± Mu Yiran shook his head. ¡°Cows are considered a source ofbor in the countryside, and it¡¯s unlikely that they¡¯ll be tortured and killed unless it¡¯s for a holiday feast, but that¡¯s not something that would cause the artist to hate the human race. I¡¯m more inclined to believe that the animal raised by the painter is amon pet, moreover in society it¡¯s an animal that ismonly abused.¡±

    Ke Xun frowned slightly: ¡°A dog, or a cat.¡±

    ¡°I think it should be a dog.¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°Right before I entered the painting, although it was only for a short moment, I was able to see part of the canvas. In addition to the cows, there were also some cats, but since they were located farther away from the focal point and were basically part of the background, I think a dog is more possible.¡±

    ¡°I remember when we were looking down at the farmhouse from the vent, the shape of the entire farm looked like arge crouching dog. I didn¡¯t care about it at the time, but now that I think about it, that was equivalent to a secret clue that the artist left behind.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also another powerful piece of evidence, which is the pen name of the artist.¡±

    ¡°Lex?¡± Ke Xun raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Lex is a verymon English name, and it wouldn¡¯t cause people to think any deeper.¡± Mu Yiran continued, ¡°But now that I¡¯m thinking about it, there¡¯s another meaning to it.¡±

    ¡°America has a dog that¡¯s been awarded with countless honors, also named Lex.¡±

    ¡°During the US-Iraq War, its owner unfortunately died, and Lex himself was seriously injured. There were more than fifty bullets in its body, but just like that, Lex kept dragging the owner to the doctor with his mouth.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, it¡¯s very likely that the painter¡¯s pen name came from this.¡±

    ¡ª

    A: MYR and KX keep getting to have their dates in the most ufortable ces LOL

    H: phew that was a lot of dialogue¡­ I hope our boys can finally get some proper date time after this painting

 Chapter 76: Heartwarming Corgi

    <h4>Chapter 76: Heartwarming Corgi</h4>

    <i>A: Hey guys! Just in case you didn¡¯t see the discord notif, but my lovely editor Hime discovered that I identally didn¡¯t upload the entirety of ch 75 QAQ so make sure to go back and catch up if you haven¡¯t already~</i>

    <i>A quick aside about the chapter title because it''s an interesting wordy that unfortunately doesn''t trante across to English T-T</i>

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the painter just paint a dog instead of a cow?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Dogs are human¡¯spanions, and the painter loves dogs. He doesn¡¯t want others to feel disgusted with dogs due to his radical painting. Or he could believe that dogs are loyal and friendly to humans, and no matter how much they¡¯ve abused or killed them, dogs would never do the same to humans.¡±

    Mu Yiran continued, ¡°He used cows as a stand-in for dogs in the painting, as they also typically have gentle and kind temperaments. In this way, after switching roles with humans, it will appear more impactful and cruel.¡±

    Ke Xun suddenly said: ¡°As for cats, since he never owned one, he doesn¡¯t care about protecting their image. In addition, there are many incidences of cat abuse, and since cats are usually seen as having cold mannerisms, he used them in the painting in order to add a sinister and eerie appearance.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded: ¡°That¡¯s why the world of this painting is farrger than the previous ones we¡¯ve entered, and we can even go to the city at the edge of the painting. He wants to express that this ¡°human sin¡± urs everywhere, whether through pet abuse, violent killing, or wrongful consumption. He wants to denounce simr incidents that may be happening in every corner.¡±

    ¡°Then, where do you think such a painter would leave his signature?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Maybe, this time the signature isn¡¯t confined to a certain location.¡± Mu Yiran raised his eyes, light shing onto his pupils, ¡°This painting is a world of animals, and the artist mainly wants to focus on the rtionship between them and humans. ¡°Animal¡± is the key point. We spected that the artist¡¯s original intention when painting was to denounce the horrible behaviors that happened to an animal he loved in reality, and this animal¡­¡±

    ¡°The dog!¡± Ke Xun blinked at him.

    Mu Yiran nodded his head and looked at the big messy-haired dog in front of him: ¡°The painter likes dogs, and he can¡¯t bear the image of an abused dog to appear in this cruel painting. But since his original purpose was to be the dog¡¯s voice, it¡¯s very likely that there will be a niche for the dog as well in the painting. In order to make viewers understand that dogs are a loyal friend of mankind, the dog in the painting will most likely appear as the savior of humans.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes sparkled, making Mu Yiran inexplicably think of the word ¡®puppy eyes¡¯.

    Looking away from his face, Mu Yiran quietly continued: ¡°So, the signature of the artist won¡¯t exist in the form of a human in this subverted world. He is ashamed by those evil people, and he also wouldn¡¯t make his signature any of the animals that have switched roles with humans to continue the torture. He likes dogs, and he believes himself to be their spokesperson, therefore he would want the humans of this world to be redeemed only with the help of dogs. Most likely, then, his signature will be a dog.¡±

    ¡°Then where should we go to find this dog? There are dogs everywhere in the city, so should we take advantage of the current situation and go with the cows?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°There is one savior that is typically referenced to in art.¡± Mu Yiran looked down and thought for a while, then raised his eyes, ¡°ording to our experience with previous paintings, the signature shouldn¡¯t be too far away from us, and it wouldn¡¯t be in a location that¡¯s difficult for us to ess. The reason why you and I were selected to be taken to the city is probably less likely for plot reasons, and more likely because the two of us are the next pair of people fated to die. If things go ording to n, we¡¯ll end up dying at the location. No matter how amazing our fighting is, there will still be a way for them to make us exhausted before killing us. That¡¯s why I think going to the city isn¡¯t the correct exit path.¡±

    ¡°If the signature can¡¯t be too far away, then it can only appear near the farm,¡± Ke Xun scratched his chin for a bit before his eyes lit up again, ¡°That¡¯s right, don¡¯t farms generally have dogs? We have to go back!¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded: ¡°Think of a n.¡±

    ¡°You should pretend to be dizzy, and I¡¯ll make a bunch of noise to get their attention,¡± Ke Xun¡¯s strange ns were numerous, ¡°They can¡¯t take a dizzy human to go gamble, so they¡¯ll have to turn around.¡±

    Mu Yiran reluctantly agreed to this method andid down in the cage before closing his eyes.

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t bear to look away from the beautiful face in front of him, but tore his gaze away to grab onto two of the cage bars and started yelling.

    The giant cow in the front passenger seat heard the sound and turned back, and saw the two humans in the cage tangled together. To be precise, one of the humans was riding on the other human¡¯s back and choking their neck with a hateful expression, as if they wouldn¡¯t stop until the other was dead.

    The other human being wasying motionless beneath him, fate seemingly unknown.

    The cow gave a ¡°moo¡±, and the driving bull stopped the car. Both cows got out of the car and opened the rear passenger doors, taking the cage out to carefully observe the humans and exchange more moos. After a while, they took Mu Yiran out of the cage and shook him around a bit, before finally going back inside the car and turning the car around.

    Ke Xun leaned over next to Mu Yiran, who could only continue to y dead, and lowered his voice: ¡°We did it. With your godly acting skills, it¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re not in the industry.¡± He stretched out his hand, then Mu Yiran felt a light tap on the tip of his nose.

    Mu Yiran kept his eyes shut, but the small green veins on either side of his forehead jumped.

    The giant cow drove the car back to the farm and took Mu Yiran out from the cage again. She seemed to want to head to the ughterhouse, but at this moment, Mu Yiran moved his body a bit. Therge cow shook him again and Mu Yiran ¡®came back to life¡¯.

    Seeing that Mu Yiran was in poor condition, the giant cow tossed him onto thewn. It was still morning recess, and all the humans were basking in the sun.

    Ke Xun took the opportunity to escape from the cage when Mu Yiran was carried out. Fortunately, the cows didn¡¯t seem to care, and they seemed to have dispelled the idea of going to the city today and let him run to thewn.

    Ke Xun nced calmly and saw that the figures of Wei Dong, Qin Ci, and the others had disappeared. After the giant cows returned to the admin room, he and Mu Yiran carefully went to the ce where they had dug the ditch yesterday.

    Climbing out of the ditch, they found themselves near the tall dense woods.

    ¡°Where do you think the dog will appear?¡± Ke Xun and Mu Yiran began discussing.

    ¡°It stands to reason that dogs are usually raised on the farm, but we haven¡¯t seen anything from beginning to end.¡± Mu Yiran also had no clue.

    Ke Xun thought for a while and looked at him: ¡°What about those girls?¡±

    This was a difficult situation.

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyes, and then looked back at him: ¡°Do what you want.¡±

    ¡°Then what about this,¡± Those puppy eyes were shining brightly, ¡°You go follow the signs and find Dong zi and the others. Since the signature is likely to be nearby, we don¡¯t need to escape too far. There are also trees all around, worst case scenario I can just climb one since cows can¡¯t go up trees. I¡¯ll go to the women¡¯s farm and dig a trench for them outside the fence, but it¡¯s up to their luck whether or not they escape. After that I¡¯lle back to join you again.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t answer immediately and stared at him, seemingly weighing the feasibility.

    However Ke Xun smiled: ¡°There¡¯s no time to think too much about it, let¡¯s just do it this way. Don¡¯t forget, I run very fast, no one¡¯s ever broken my school records. Don¡¯t worry.¡± He then turned around and ran.

    Mu Yiran looked at his back and shook his head helplessly.

    Really too headstrong.

    But¡­.

    It had to be said that having such a person by your side will always make you feel¡­ warm.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s speed was not slow.

    Following the marks left by everyone on the way, Mu Yiran spent half an hour searching before finally catching up with Wei Dong, Qin Ci, and Zhu Haowen who were still on the run.

    ¡°Eh? You guys are back?!¡± Wei Dong was surprised, ¡°Where¡¯s Ke er? Where is he?¡± He looked at Mu Yiran in a panic.

    ¡°He wille and join uster.¡± Mu Yiran then told everyone about his and Ke Xun¡¯s assumptions about the signature.

    ¡°If the signature is a dog, I have an idea,¡± Qin Ci contemted. ¡°No matter where the dog is, there¡¯s a way to draw it out, although¡­ the danger is too high.¡±

    Mu Yiran seemed to think of what he was going to say, and his expression was grave.

    ¡°If there¡¯s a dog on the farm, then this dog is probably the equivalent to a shepherd or hunting dog,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°If the farm finds that a human is missing, it¡¯s likely that they¡¯ll release a dog to help with the search. In that case¡­.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need to take the initiative to look for the dog, and can just wait for the dog toe to us,¡± Zhu Haowen said nkly. ¡°But doing so is likely to have a bad result; that is, if the dog hasn¡¯t arrived, and the cow finds us first.¡±

    Everyone shivered a bit, and after a moment of silence, Qin Ci spoke again: ¡°There¡¯s nothing else we can do, opportunities and danger will always coexist. I suspect that to leave the painting, this is the only avable choice. After all, it¡¯s impossible for the painting to let us leave easily. This is a necessary step of life or death, and it¡¯s very possible that if we¡¯re caught by the cows, we¡¯ll be immediately thrown into the ughterhouse when we return.¡±

    ¡°Naturally,¡± Zhu Haowen remained stoic, ¡°If you want to get something, you have to be willing to bet on it. I agree with this method.¡±

    Qin Ci looked at Mu Yiran and Wei Dong: ¡°I agree as well.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at the three of them: ¡°I want to wait for Ke¡¯er toe back.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s climb a tree and wait,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°He¡¯ll be back.¡±

    ording to Ke Xun¡¯s judgement, the girls would most likely still run and hide from the female NPCs likest time, so after quickly digging a trench with a few branches, Ke Xun snuck into the yard and carefully looked around.

    Those girls were considerably lucky.

    Ke Xun found them hiding behind a nearby grass mound, squatting in a circle while hugging and sobbing.

    Ke Xun threw arge pile of leaves that he¡¯d gathered to them: ¡°Once you¡¯re covered, follow me quickly.¡±

    The leaves were used to cover the body and it was something he¡¯d picked up during military training in college. He also wore some of the leaves for camouge.

    He¡¯d first made something to wrap around his waist to cover the private parts, before he made a few more for the women so they could move around easier.

    The girls trembled and followed him out of the trench one by one, but just as they were about to run into the woods, they heard a sharp long whistle from the farm.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been discovered!¡± A girl eximed in a panic.

    It was already noon since Ke Xun had spent a lot of time and effort digging up the trench. Previously, even with the other men, it had taken them half an afternoon. He was only one person, and having to use branches as tools, his hands were filled with blisters after a short period of time.

    ¡°Climb up the trees!¡± Ke Xun was decisive.

    But how were thesedies going to climb the trees? The trees here were taller and thicker than the ones in real life, and several girls had been climbing at the roots for a long time, but they couldn¡¯t even go past half a meter.

    ¡°What to do- what to do¨C¡± Several people broke down and cried, huddling together at a loss.

    ¡ª

    A: yeahhh ngl, Idk how to climb trees either LOL

    H: uhh human pyramid?? Rip girls

 Chapter 77: Dedicated to the Most Loyal Friend of Mankind

    <h4>Chapter 77: Dedicated to the Most Loyal Friend of Mankind</h4>

    <i>TW: Distressing description of dog abuse :((( please tread carefully. If you wish to avoid: skip once you see ¡°It was a group of shocking scenes¡± ande back at ¡°In the center of that golden light¡±. Also warnings for canon-typical gore and cow-eating-human shenanigans.</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s useless to cry ah!¡± Ke Xun was also falling apart, lunging forward to help grab people, but the girls¡¯ legs were already scared soft.? With their shaking and freezing every three steps, his efforts weren¡¯t able to get them very far.

    Ke Xun was very anxious, but he didn¡¯t have time to cate everyone. Even if there was time, it probably wouldn¡¯t have any effect. These girls were neers to the painting world, and although the guys at least had olderpanions to help give pointers, the girls came in confused and had to encounter terrible and iprehensible things one after another. Let alone having no time or experience to build psychological endurance, it was impressive enough that they made it until now.

    ¡°¨C Sisters, if you don¡¯t run then you¡¯ll die, please stop crying. Run- if you run then you¡¯ll be able to live. The signature should be right in front of us, I can almost see it, just run quickly towards the front.¡± Ke Xun worked hard to use an uplifting and optimistic tone to encourage them, almost like when he¡¯d cheer for his teammates on the track field.

    This gave the girls hope, struggling and stumbling but running after him desperately.

    However, the sound of giant hooves mming on the ground rumbled from behind them, once in a while broken up by a dog barking.

    ¡°Listen! If the dog catches up, don¡¯t hide and just jump on it!¡± Ke Xun shouted, ¡°The dog is the signature, if you jump on it you can leave the painting. Do you hear me?¡±

    No one could answer him, as the few girls were all out of breath.

    The hooves and barking sounds got closer and closer, and Ke Xun couldn¡¯t tell which one woulde first. If it was the dog they would live, if it was the cow they would die. He didn¡¯t dare to gamble the lives of these girls.

    It was a pity that they really couldn¡¯t climb trees, otherwise it would be easy to see which animal came first.

    Thinking of this, Ke Xun turned to climb up a tree: ¡°You guys keep running and listen for my voice. If the doges first, stop running, but if the cow¡¯s in front then keep going!¡±

    Ke Xun climbed up the tree at the fastest speed, looking in the direction of the sound, and saw a big golden retriever rushing in front of several giant cows!

    ¡°Don¡¯t run! The dog is here! The signature is here, don¡¯t run!¡± Ke Xun yelled at the girls who had begun to run forward.

    But, who knows if it was because they were so scared that they couldn¡¯t hear anything, or they couldn¡¯t believe Ke Xun¡¯s im that the dog was the signature¨C after all in this world, animals were still a thousand times more terrifying than humans.

    Several girls continued running forward desperately, scattering near the dense trees and fleeing in different directions.

    Ke Xun frowned, shook his head, and sighed.

    There was nothing he could do since the girls were all new to the world of paintings. If they were veterans, they definitely would¡¯ve listened to him and stopped.

    It¡¯s a pity that they weren¡¯t, and they couldn¡¯t believe this fantastical thought process. Truthfully, even if they were reced with Bi Jing or Dong Dong, his words wouldn¡¯t necessarily be believed either.

    After all, the barking of the dog sounded too fierce, as if it was about to bite the people it chased into pieces.

    This was just an illusion, a trick to confuse the outsider¡¯s vision and judgement.

    Ke Xun looked helplessly at the backs of several girls and sighed, then stared at the big golden retriever that had run up close.

    This was abrador retriever, which was said to have the highest level of loyalty to humans.

    Ke Xun thought, perhaps the painter Lex raised one before.

    The big dog was already close at hand, and Ke Xun was ready. As soon as therge dog swept under the tree, he jumped down and rode on its back.

    The dog carried him forward, like a heavenly canine spirit here to carry human beings from their deep misery and suffering. It rushed towards the dazzling golden light that lit up the forest.

    On the way towards that golden light, Ke Xun seemed to see some scattered pictures quickly fly by on both sides.

    It was a group of shocking scenes. Some dogs were beaten bloody, some were poisoned and foamed at the mouth, some had their tails, limbs, and eyes cut off, while others were covered in cigarette burns. There were dogs with countless scars, and there were dogs that had been beaten, strangled, drowned, smashed, and even skinned shortly after being born.

    There was also a dog who had been beaten and abandoned by their owner time and time again, but continued to return to the owner¡¯s door, waiting silently.

    In the center of that golden light, a framed picture of a cartoon dog head emerged, and Ke Xun was ushered towards it by thebrador under him: ¡°¨C F*ck! Wait- Mu Yi¨C¡±

    He rolled and fell onto the floor of the exhibition hall. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t bother to care about anything else, quickly jumping up and rushing towards the painting on the wall. But the painting was now simply a picture again, hanging there quietly and coldly, showing him the bizarre image inside.

    Ke Xun saw the cat he had originally seen at the periphery of the canvas, wearing a ridiculous officedy outfit, as well as a pair of bright red high heels on its feet.

    Even more disturbing was that the heel of one of the shoes was fiercely stabbing into the mouth of a thin human, directly prating his skull and spewing blood out.

    This human¡¯s body had almost no skin intact, and in addition to cigarette burns, there were also water burns, as well as signs of having their skin peeled while still alive.

    The nails on the humans¡¯ fingers were removed and the fingertips were bloody, but the most unbearable thing was his lower body which had been castrated by non-medical means, with blood flowing like a river.

    Ke Xun looked closer at this human¡¯s face and saw that it was Bi Jing.

    He had been picked up by that cow earlier, and who knows how many hands he¡¯d been handed over to in between for him to have fallen into the hands of this cat- or er, morous, elegant, white-cor worker.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to keep looking at the canvas anymore, but he had to force himself to continue searching the painting. He didn¡¯t want to find the silhouettes of Mu Yiran, Wei Dong, and the others, and he hoped that no one else would appear.

    Unfortunately, he saw the faces of the four girls. The one with a big belly had been made into a barbecue for family gatherings, and another girl had been ced in the center of a special table. Only the head poked through and the skull had been cut so that the bright red brain had been exposed. A pot of hot oil had been poured in, and her expression seemed extremely painful and distorted. It was obvious that at this time, she had notpletely died.

    This seemed to be the legendary practice of eating monkey brains alive.

    Ke Xun started gasping for air.

    He wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about why that girl suddenly grew a big belly, and he didn¡¯t want to look at how the remaining two girls were ¡®painted¡¯. He didn¡¯t even have the courage to check other parts of the painting to confirm if Mu Yiran and the others were safe and sound.

    Ke Xun suddenly remembered something from a famous book, ¡¾The ck Chapter¡¿ . He felt like he was now on the verge of ckening, no longer wanting to be a human being, and longing to be a demon.

    While he was in a trance, a strong force suddenly pushed through the canvas and Ke Xun was knocked backwards onto the ground. He felt a series of heavy objects fall onto his body one by one.

    ¡°F*ck¡­ this human pyramid is a bit too rough¡­¡± Ke Xun groaned at the bottom in pain, ¡°Everyone f*cking get up please¡­. Ah, just lie down, it¡¯s alright.¡±

    Seeing Mu Yiran who was pressed face to face in his arms, Ke Xun felt that it was stupid to be a demon, being a human was far better.

    Because in the world of humans, there was Mu Yiran.

    Leaving the exhibition hall, everyone couldn¡¯t help but look back at this extremely fierce ¡¾Animal World¡¿.

    That golden retriever seemed ipatible with everything else on the canvas.

    It wasn¡¯t simply a dog raised by the giant cows, rather it¡¯s existence seemed to be at peace with both humans and animals alike.

    It existed outside the picture, in the real world, waiting at the edge of the forest to help all creatures in need and in trouble.

    Its cry was vicious, but its eyes were very kind.

    Those who trust and treat it well have been redeemed, while those who misunderstood or rejected it pushed themselves away from its help and cut off their own path to life in the painting.

    On thement board below, the artist¡¯s self-introduction was written:

    Lex, an extremely passionate dog owner.

    This painting is dedicated to my loyal friend, Bobbie.

    ¡°Bobbie was his dog. Two months after he was stolen, he was found to have died tragically by a trash can. Before his death, he had suffered cruel abuse.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice message resounded in the groupchat, ¡°The truth is the name Bobbie is also from another famous dog in history. That dog, also called Bobbie, went missing while on a long journey with his owner. After six months of walking, the dog suffered multiple injuries and even his bones were exposed, but he still persevered in finding his master and his home.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps after Lex¡¯s dog disappeared, he was also hoping day and night that his dog would find its way back home. Unfortunately, this ce isn¡¯t the ¡¾Animal World¡¿.¡± Zhu Haowen¡¯s calm and cold voice concluded their adventure through the painting.

    Ke Xun hadn¡¯t appeared in the groupchat for many days, hadn¡¯t called anyone, or even gone out the door.

    When Wei Dong found him, he was lyingzily on the couch, like a big half-dead dog.

    ¡°Are you entering seclusion?¡± Wei Dong went up and kicked him. ¡°When the guys asked you to go out and drink, you won¡¯t go. When I call you, you won¡¯t pick up, soozi has toe and see whether or not you¡¯ve died at home.¡±

    Ke Xun rolled over on the sofa listlessly: ¡°I think I might be a bit depressed.¡±

    ¡°Depressed my ass,¡± Wei Dong scolded, ¡°Even if everyone else in the world was depressed, you would still stay positive. Stop being a hypochondriac, hurry up and roll out withozi to go on a walk.

    ¡°Even a dog can be depressed, why can¡¯t I?¡± Ke Xun closed his eyes, still half dead.

    Wei Dong looked at this man whose butt was rounder than a corgi and sneered: ¡°Why don¡¯t we take advantage of the remaining ten days and go to S city to y with the big boss?¡±

    The corgi twisted his butt and bounced off the sofa: ¡°Let¡¯s go then, you go head home and pack your things, I¡¯ll buy the tickets.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­. What about your depression?¡±

    ¡°Depressed my ass,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°Laozi here was in seclusion, what do you know.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Then please tell me what kind of seclusion you were entering.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Joyous meditation.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°Heh.¡±

    However, the two of them didn¡¯t end up going to S City, and Wei Dong still had to go to work¨C his family was very average, and if he didn¡¯t go to work, the pressure of life would be a little bit heavier. When it came time to enter the paintings, they weren¡¯t always lucky enough for it tond on the weekend, and sometimes he would have to take a few days off in advance. Afterwards, he could only take on the usual overtime to avoid being dismissed.

    Ke Xun finally stopped being so despondent. He went to the gym and ran twice a day, watched movies, yed billiards, and went to the supermarket frequently. At home, he would cook, go online, and asionally chatted with the members of the ¡°Enter Paintings¡± group.

    Mu Yiran was very busy. Many people in the chat @¡¯d him multiple times but he barely replied. The only time he did reply was for Ke Xun.

    Corgi: [Selfie.jpg]

    Corgi: Look at me quickly, even the impression that I pressed on my face when I slept is in the shape of loving you.

    Mooney: ¡­.

    Mooney: What is it.

    Corgi: The heart-shaped mark left by the pillow on my face.

    Mooney: Ke Xun, I¡¯m very busy, don¡¯t contact me if there¡¯s nothing important.

    Corgi: I have something very important to tell you.

    Mooney: Say it.

    Corgi: Mu Yiran, fall in love with me ba.

    Mooney: [Selfie.jpg]

    Corgi: What¡¯s that?

    Mooney: The mark of a heavy punch on a sandbag.

    Corgi:¡­

    Mooney: Understand?

    Corgi: Okay. If there¡¯s nothing important going on then I won¡¯t contact you.

    ¡ª

    A: RIP KX TT-TTe on MYR we know you care about him

    H: MYR stop being a tsuntsun plss QAQ

 Chapter 78: Fauvism

    <h4>Chapter 78: Fauvism</h4>

    <i>A: New arc everyone! Just a disimer for this entire section of the story, there¡¯s a lot of artistic themes and imagery and theory that I do not understand how to convey (STEM kid here ), so if you are an art major or enthusiast, plz feel free to DM me on Discord (you can find me in the CG disc) with any corrections or better exnations bc I need the help LOL also <strong>look out for a fun note at the end!</strong></i>

    The T-University Art Museum was, as its name suggested, established by the art department of T-City University. Although it wasn¡¯t very big, it had a history of over 100 years.

    The museum was always open throughout the year, and although half of the exhibitions were dedicated to younger artists, especially during graduation season, the museum would also exhibit works from graduates of other major art schools across the country.

    The person in charge of the gallery was very good at running its business. The newly graduated students¡¯ work would be sold while on disy, and because they weren¡¯t famous artists, the price wasn¡¯t high. Often, people would simply buy any works they liked as they passed by ¡ª most of the proceeds would go to the author, while the art museum would withdraw a corresponding fee.

    Because of this, undergraduate and graduate students from many different colleges across the country were happy to send their works to T-Museum for exhibition, and if they were lucky enough to sell them, they would also a profit.

    ¡°As a result, the art in this museum is never fixed. Paintings that were still on disy in the morning could be sold by the afternoon, and new works would then be added.¡± Qin Ci stood in the museum, looking at the avant-garde disy racks and canvases in the hall.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong met Qin Ci in front of a vending machine inside the gallery. It was very hot, and people couldn¡¯t help but want to drink something.

    After experiencing thest painting, everyone refused to drink any processed beverages. At this time, the three men each had a bottle of mineral water.

    ¡°The rotation of these works are unknown, so it¡¯s useless to worry about it,¡± Ke Xun drank a few sips of cool water, ¡°Just go with the flow.¡±

    ¡°Did you two just get here?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    Wei Dong nodded: ¡°We asked students from the university to help us out since the location of this small gallery was quite hard to find.¡±

    Qin Ci looked around at the several exhibition halls: ¡°I¡¯ve searched around, but I wasn¡¯t able to find Hall K.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong found it strange. The art gallery wasn¡¯t veryrge to begin with, where else could an exhibition hall be hidden?

    Qin Ci picked up the invitation letter in his hand and looked at it: ¡°There¡¯s no mistake, it says Hall K, but there¡¯s only ten exhibition halls in the museum. Arranged in alphabetical order, Hall K would belong to an 11th exhibition hall.¡±

    Most of the people who came inside the exhibition hall were students from the fine arts academy, and a lot of them were wearing T-shirts with the gallery¡¯s logo, probably here to act as volunteers and help out the attendees.

    The few men nned on asking someone for directions, when a female volunteer with pigtails came over and smiled enthusiastically: ¡°Are you guys here to see the exhibition? Today¡¯s works cover a wide variety of subjects, and there are four collections filled with excellent art from the university! If you want to learn more about these paintings, I can give you a brief exnation.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. We actually just wanted to ask, is there a K exhibition hall here?¡± Qin Ci inquired.

    ¡°Ah, it seems that you guys are familiar with today¡¯s exhibition. Hall K is just a temporary addition for us, because there have been so many exhibits thesest two days~¡± The girl shrugged her shoulders and smiled cutely, ¡°Everyonee with me please.¡±

    They didn¡¯t expect the exhibition hall to have such aplicated set up, and they also couldn¡¯t figure out how the game maker behind-the-scenes got ahold of the information in advance.

    The group didn¡¯t have time to think about it, so they followed the girl to the art gallery¡¯s backyard, bypassing some stone tables and chairs for guests to rest, and came to the door of an old building.

    The girl grinned and said: ¡°This ce was originally for people who wanted to take a break, but since there were just too many works, it was temporarily changed to an exhibition hall yesterday.¡±

    She said that she would lead everyone in, but the three of them waved their hands at the same time: ¡°Uh¡­ it¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll go in by ourselves.¡±

    The girl was still very enthusiastic: ¡°The works in Hall K are very unique. If they had to be categorized, the works in this exhibition would be considered Fauvism, and can even be said to be a revival of the movement.¡±

    Fauvism ¡ª it could be said that the next painting should be very powerful.

    The three of them didn¡¯t want to drag an innocent girl into the painting, so Ke Xun smiled with embarrassment: ¡°Thank you very much for showing us the way, but I think we need to use the bathroom first.¡±

    The girl nodded with an expression of understanding: ¡°I sincerely hope that you all will enjoy today¡¯s exhibition.¡±

    Wei Dong added another sentence: ¡°I think the lobby might need you more than us, after all, there were many guests up front.¡±

    ¡°Okay, if you need anything, just go to the front hall to find me. My name is Yening Chenyi.¡± The girl pointed to the name tag on her T-shirt and left with a smile.

    Seeing the girl¡¯s back towards them, everyone sighed with relief ¡ª this could be regarded as saving a life.

    There was a sign in front of the temporary exhibition hall ¡ª A Renaissance of Fauvism: Painting is not technical, rather it¡¯s our emotions,

    ¡°This is indeed the subjective view of Fauvism.¡± Wei Dong said suddenly.

    ¡°When did a little designer like you be a professional artist?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Wei Dong spread his hands out: ¡°Experiencees with time. If you¡¯re sick for long enough, you can even be a doctor.¡±

    The doctor, Qin Ci, smiled faintly and pushed open the door of the exhibition hall.

    There was enough light inside the building for it to be suitable for viewing the paintings.

    No one else was in the exhibition hall, possibly because the weather was too hot for people to enjoy going to the backyard, or perhaps the previous group of guests had already been absorbed into a certain painting.

    As the room had yet to darken, the three of them seized the opportunity to look at the paintings in the hall, wishing they could remember the contents andbels of these paintings as quickly as possible, as well as the artist¡¯s introductions.

    ¡°Where can I go to get some hot water?¡± The door of the exhibition hall suddenly opened, and a middle-aged woman recklessly stopped inside.

    The three of them had never encountered a situation like this before, and they all stared at the visitor.

    The door behind the middle-ageddy closed, and she looked around the room with a half-empty water bottle in her hand: ¡°This ce is just too improper, why isn¡¯t there boiled water anywhere? Don¡¯t museums and libraries usually have some free boiled water?! These people really are too good at making money, they put vending machines everywhere so they can scam money from people¡­¡±

    Before thedy had finished speaking, the entire exhibition hall suddenly went dark, and the woman furiously said, ¡°Why is there a power outage?! Even if they don¡¯t care, the guests will care! If someone falls, will they take responsibility?!¡±

    When the familiar white light lit up, the middle-ageddy was still chattering: ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is this an emergency light? Where¡¯s the exhibition hall door¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun clearly saw thebel beside the painting ¡ª ¡¾Shadow¡¿, by Rong Rang, born in 1993, ancestral home in Tongzhou, Hunan¡­.

    The picture itself was nothing worth studying: there were abstract lines everywhere, mainly ck, with blue, yellow, red, purple¡­. The colors all had the same density and depth, and this t canvas pulled everyone inside.

    The new world was dazzlingly bright, and Ke Xun once again experienced the so-called ¡°two-dimensional difort¡± that he¡¯d experienced before ¡ª just like being in a rapidly descending elevator or on an airne that just took off, there was a sense of vertigo in his heart. Except, inside the painting, this sense of weightlessness was simply a matter of up or down, but rather extended infinitely in all directions.

    The unique building in front seemed to be made of countless colored spots, the fruit trees shone with rich colors and grew next to a shimmering river that stretched far off into the distance without end.

    ¡°Is this world three-dimensional?¡± Ke Xun rubbed his temples, taking a deep breath to try and adjust to the difort.

    Wei Dong looked at his rtively 3D hand: ¡°It¡¯s three-dimensional, but the color is too bright, which makes people feel that it¡¯s a bit unnatural.¡±

    ¡°The sunshine here is simr in Nice,¡± Qin Ci exined, looking at Ke Xun and Wei Dong who both had nk expressions on their faces, ¡°Nice is a city in southeastern France. The former residence of Matisse, the pioneer of Fauvism, is located there. There¡¯s also a famous Matisse Museum ¡ª I traveled there two years ago.¡±

    ¡°Maybe this painting is a tribute to Matisse.¡± Ke Xun tried his best to adapt to the surrounding environment. Because the painting seemed to be more on the artistic side, outside the small world created by the painting, there were small shes of color in the white void, seemingly indicating that this was truly no-man¡¯snd.

    ¡°Where in the world am I supposed to find water?¡± The voice of the middle-aged women rang out from behind them.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong turned their hopeful eyes towards Doctor Qin. Qin Ci turned to the middle-ageddy and said, ¡°Go on ahead first, once everyone is here I¡¯ll exin.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not¡­ I don¡¯t understand this kind of modern art. I¡¯ll admit, you made the exhibition hall very beautiful, and I¡¯m even surprised¡­. But right now I want to find some drinking water! I only came inside the art gallery to use the restroom, and I felt like it¡¯d be convenient to get some water while I¡¯m at it!¡± The middle-ageddy spoke and spoke until she finally stopped, shocked to find that the big water bottle in her hand had somehow turned into a bright European-style ss jug, ¡°What is this? It¡¯s so heavy!¡±

    The three people in Ke Xun¡¯s group didn¡¯t speak, continuing to walk towards the beautiful building in front of them. The middle-aged woman was dumbfounded, and could only follow along with that heavy water jar.

    Everyone didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to their change in clothes ¡ªmoner garments that didn¡¯t seem to belong to any ethnic group: the base color was a dazzling white, while bright patterns of various shapes and colors decorated the clothing.

    Under the fruit tree by the river, Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen were already waiting alongside a middle-aged man in his 40s and a girl who looked like a college student.

    The girl sobbed softly as she was held in the arms of the middle-aged man, and from time to time they wouldfort each other by kissing. ¡ª This was actually a pair of lovers.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s clothes were also mainly white, but had very fine grape-purple patterns stitched on them, making him look like a noble prince.

    For the first time, Ke Xun felt like admiring a person was very simr to admiring a painting. He was about to look at the ¡®painting¡¯ more when he heard a familiar name from a distance away: ¡°Yening Chenyi, hurry up!¡±

    Yening Chenyi, it was the volunteer who had led everyone to the K exhibition hall just now. He didn¡¯t expect that she would not escape the fate of entering this cruel world of nightmares.

    Qin Ci counted the number of people in front, and then looked at the group of young people who were headed over: ¡°Everyone is here.¡±

    From the distance came five college students, three boys and two girls. At the tail-end of the group was Yening Chenyi with her pigtails, but she no longer had that enthusiastic smile on her face, instead it had been reced with panic.

    Qin Ci had be the recognized instructor for those new to entering paintings, and he once again entered the routine of exining the rules to the group.

    The neers naturally couldn¡¯t conceal their inner trepidation. Only the middle-aged man in his 40s was rtively calm, while the middle-aged woman became even more irritable: ¡°This is some horrible luck!¡±

    The middle-aged man embraced his crying girlfriend and looked at Mu Yiran and the others: ¡°You guys have experienced this already?¡±

    Qin Ci nodded in ce of the others.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to request your assistance for the rest of the road ahead,¡± The man was very used to getting his business card out of his jacket pocket, but he found that his clothes had already be an olden style without pockets, and couldn¡¯t help butugh, ¡°My name is Shi Zhendong, how should I address you all?¡±

    A few people reported their names, while some only used their surnames. For example, Mu Yiran: ¡°Last name is Mu.¡±

    The other college students looked at the girl in Shi Zhendong¡¯s arms, and a few greeted her unkindly: ¡°Xin Beibei, we only came to Hall K to find you in the first ce. You didn¡¯t evene to say hi, and instead ran off to go on a date?¡±

    Xin Beibei obviously couldn¡¯t bear to listen to these works, and simply continued to cry.

    ¡ª

    A: This is¡­ an unfortunate cast of cannon-fodder¡­

    H: I am cringing with every new introduction orz

    A: Hello everyone! It¡¯s been a two ish months since I took over this project from Eve and I¡¯ve been really grateful for the support I got from everyone Since I¡¯ve been busy finishing undergrad this past semester, I didn¡¯t have time to properly thank you guys as well as those who sent Kofi¡¯s sooo for the next three weeks (including this one), there will double updates!

 Chapter 79: Highly Saturated Color

    <h4>Chapter 79: Highly Saturated Color</h4>

    Among the college students, there was a tall sses-wearing boy who was slightly older than the rest. Acting as their representative, he proceeded to introduce everyone: ¡°My name is Zhang Tianwei, a graduate student at the Academy of Fine Arts, and several of us decided to volunteer for this exhibition. He Yu and Miao Zipei are juniors at the academy, Mi Wei and Xin Beibei are sophomores, and Yening Chenyi is the youngest, our freshman meimei.¡±

    As art students at a prestigious university withparatively steady minds and high quality volunteers, several of them seemed to have epted the facts of the situation.

    Yening Chenyi nodded towards Ke Xun¡¯s group: ¡°We meet again. Now I know why you guys wanted me to leave in the first ce.¡±

    Facing a girl, Wei Dong was much more proactive: ¡°Our main purpose is to find the seal or signature of the artist. Since you helped exin the paintings in Hall K to us, you should be familiar with these paintings right?¡±

    .

    Yening Chenyi nced at the unnatural scenery in front of her: ¡°I was panicked just now, so I didn¡¯t see which painting it was. But based on my experience, what we should be looking for is an autograph ¡ª today¡¯s exhibitions are all oil paintings, so the artist most likely didn¡¯t use a seal.¡±

    ¡°The name of the painting is ¡¾Shadow¡¿, and the author¡¯s name is Rong Rang.¡± Ke Xun told everyone what he¡¯d seen.

    The college students looked at each other and nodded. Zhang Tianwei took the lead as their representative to say: ¡°Rong Rang is a big fan of Fauvism. As a young painter who just graduated from graduate school, he¡¯s also gained some fame within the circle. There are five of his works in cirction, each of which is priced at more than 50,000 yuan, especially ¡¾Shadow¡¿, which is worth 120,000 yuan. This is considered a high price within the exhibition.¡±

    The group continued discussing as they walked towards the building ahead. Zhu Haowen put away his phone and asked Zhang Tianwei, ¡°What was this painting trying to express?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Zhu Haowen who had suddenly spoken, and felt like this person who had no sense of existence would often suddenly appear.

    Zhang Tianwei seemed to be stumped, looking around at the wonderful world in the painting: ¡°I feel, the colors used in the painting should be trying to express this.¡±

    ¡°Express what?¡± Several people asked simultaneously, one of them being the voice of the middle-aged woman.

    ¡°This carefree use of color, those rich and lively spots of streaks, can be used to constitute everything in this world!¡± Zhang Tianwei¡¯s voice was filled with excitement, ¡°This is truly a worthy tribute!¡±

    A skinny, long-haired boy standing next to him carefully analyzed his theory, and his expression also showed some excitement: ¡°This is probably what Matisse described to be the transparent yet delicate sunlight of the soul. These free and easy colors bear the weight of his spirit! They have the ability to be ¡¾Luxury, Serenity, Pleasure¡¿, or they could be the painting we are currently in,¡¾Shadow¡¿!¡±

    Everyone looked at the two beaming students. Only the other students from the Academy of Fine arts nodded in agreement, while the others all had varying expressions, and the middle-aged woman Guo Lixia directly said: ¡°You definitely shouldn¡¯t let your kids be artists. After they learn, they¡¯ll eventually be crazy.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t pay attention to what the others were saying, instead focusing on the building in front of him. After the group of people slowly approached, the grandeur of the structure gradually became apparent.

    ¡°Is this a castle?¡± Xin Beibei stopped sobbing and looked in astonishment at the dreamy castle made of bright pastel colors.

    As their vision got closer, the building was no longer as brightly colored as before, and gradually presented itself in more muted tones: dusty rose, navy blues, pine greens, mustard yellows¡­

    Ke Xun had already sidled up to Mu Yiran: ¡°Whether or not this really is a castle, it definitely has a lot of rooms. If I had to guess, there should be approximately a hundred of them, and they are probably rted to the death conditions.¡±

    No matter what environment you¡¯re in, no matter how confusing the circumstances, the first task in these paintings will never change ¡ª analyzing how one might die.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯ll be a maze.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze flickered towards the garden in front of the castle, inside which coincidentally had a small maze enveloped by greenery. Next to it, a round pond suddenly sprayed out a tall fountain of water, the droplets falling like diamonds onto everyone¡¯s bodies.

    Everyone was shocked by the sudden appearance of the fountain, but after their initial reaction, the girls were a little excited. Xin Beibei even turned to Mi Wei who was next to her: ¡°Do you think that¡¯s a wishing pool?¡±

    Mi Wei shook her head: ¡°It¡¯s best not to make a wish in front of this unknown thing, perhaps the other party will directly make you exchange your life or soul.¡±

    Xin Beibei felt like Mi Wei was deliberately frightening her, but she was still scared and took the initiative to stay away from the beautiful pool.

    Elegant music suddenly rang out,plementing the beautiful surroundings, and a sweet-sounding female voice reached everyone¡¯s ears: ¡°Wee everyone, please gather in the entrance hall.¡±

    This was the first time everyone had heard such a gentle and sweet NPC.

    The group of thirteen walked into the castle¡¯s hall one after another. The decorations inside weren¡¯tvish, more urately, it was simple yet beautiful: Wood tables and chairs with stoneware utensils, some flowers and fruits ced here and there like in still life paintings, and the handmade clocks on the walls seemed to bring people into a world of fairytales.

    Because the entire world inside the painting shone brightly, everyone couldn¡¯t quite tell where the light source wasing from. Even now they were stunned, seeing the rich colors that made up the shadows casted by the fruit, saturated with dark purples and lime greens that were no less bright than the fruits themselves.

    ¡°Oh my god,¡± the thin boy with long hair eximed: ¡°This whole room is a rare work of art! We could even turn this ce into a studio!¡±

    Mi Wei nced at him: ¡°He Yu, stop saying such unrealistic things. What we have to do now is leave here as soon as possible.¡±

    Guo Lixia put down the ssical jug in her hand onto the table and sat down on a wooden chair: ¡°I¡¯m so exhausted, it¡¯s so heavy!¡±

    She leaned on the chair, looking at the surroundings and the fruits on the table, ncing at everyone quickly, before finally fixing her gaze on Ke Xun¡¯s face: ¡°How long are we able to stay here?¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t understand why this elder sister was staring at him: ¡°The maximum is a week, after that we¡¯ll all die.¡±

    In fact, Guo Lixia felt that Ke Xun was the nicest of the bunch, and immediately asked a few more questions: ¡°When we leave, will we be charged for food and lodging? Will we just be freeloading these next few days?¡±

    Ke Xun felt like it was basically impossible tomunicate with this woman: ¡°Yes, we can freeload, but we might even have to use our life in exchange.¡±

    Guo Lixia heard that they didn¡¯t need to pay, and it seemed like a huge weight had been taken off her shoulders. Without any courtesy, she picked up arge peach from the fruit bowl and gnawed on it: ¡°I¡¯ve been thirsty.¡±

    Everyone was inexplicably not disgusted by this middle-aged woman, it was as if all the anger towards the painting world was taken up by this elder sister.

    As the familiar music sounded again, the sweet female voice came back: ¡°I hope everyone will enjoy their time here. Please separate into five groups ording to the pattern and color on your clothes, then find the room where you¡¯ll reside during your stay. Experience the beauty that hard work and toil brings us.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the pattern on his body. It was a sea-blue water ripple, while Mu Yiran had grape-purple curled grass-like patterns on his clothes ¡ª this was the first time that he couldn¡¯t be in the same group as him.

    Xin Beibei looked at the sky blue pattern on her own clothes, and then at the dark green stripes on her partner Shi Zhendong, and came directly up to Ke Xun: ¡°This brother, can you change clothes with him? You are also blue. I¡­ really don¡¯t want to be separated from him.¡±

    ¡°I also want to exchange clothes with someone, but this world won¡¯t allow it.¡± Ke Xun nced at Wei Dong and Yening Chenyi who had slowly gathered around Mu Yiran. These three people were all in the ¡®purple group¡¯.

    Xin Beibei wanted to continue talking, but Shi Zhendong patted his girlfriend on the shoulder: ¡°We¡¯d better not vite the rules here.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xin Beibei was still very obedient when it came to her boyfriend, and slowly walked toward Ke Xun, ¡°Who else is on our team?¡±

    Guo Lixia, whose dress was covered with royal blue circles, came over with peaches in hand¡­

    Everyone quickly divided into their respective groups. Under the guidance of the sweet NPC voice, they entered their respective ¡®work rooms¡¯ from the lobby, beforeing face to face with mountains of beautiful fruit. Everyone was stunned.

    ¡°Remove the leaves from the fruit inside the room, take out the cores, rinse the fruit thoroughly, and store them in the ss jars.¡± That sweet voice suddenly changed its tone, ¡°Whatever you do, don¡¯t bring the color from your room to another room! You cannot let these colors mix!¡±

    Mi Wei and Miao Zipei looked at the yellow tomato-like berries and heard Qin Ci from the same group say: ¡°What the NPC means to say is that we definitely cannot enter the other rooms freely. Everyone needs to remember these words clearly. This is the most fundamental death condition for this painting.¡±

    Mi Wei picked up a small yellow fruit and smelled it, the scent was very refreshing: ¡°Doctor Qin, before you said that the deaths happen at night. Howe the NPC asked us to abide by rules during the day.¡±

    ¡°This is indeed a bit unusual, but we¡¯d better do as it says. It¡¯s possible the boss is screening us throughout the day to find a target to kill at night.¡± Qin Ci rolled up his sleeves, washed his hands in the sink, and then sat down to process the fruits.

    The other two college students also followed along, washing their hands and sitting next to Qin Ci, starting the day¡¯s work.

    ¡°Have NPCs appeared like this every time?¡± Mi Wei had more questions.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s the first time that an NPC has appeared only as a voice.¡± Qin Ci looked at the yellow fruits and their peacock blue shadows that casted on the ground. The feeling of being inside a painting was truly amplified¡­

    Qin Ci subconsciously nced at his own shadow. It was also a beautiful peacock blue without any trace of blurring, tightly bundled up under his feet.

    At the same time, Ke Xun was also looking down at his shadow. The golden shadow gleamed like sand, and under the blue berries on the ground, there were such golden ¡®puddles¡¯ as well.

    Guo Lixia worked very efficiently, and her workload was more than Ke Xun and Xin Beibeibined. Her mouth wasn¡¯t very idle either: ¡°Do you guys think these blue fruits can be eaten? Could they mutant blueberries? If we eat some, the ones above shouldn¡¯t care right?¡±

    ¡°My god, Auntie Guo, aren¡¯t you afraid of being poisoned?¡± Xin Beibei began making a fuss.

    ¡°Call me Sister Guo!¡± Guo Lixia red at Xin Beibei, ¡°Your boyfriend is older than me!¡±

    Xin Beibei was still thinking of something when she heard Guo Lixia say: ¡°He wasn¡¯t born after ¡®75 was he? Jiejie here is a proper post-75 baby!¡±

    Xin Beibei¡¯s arrogance suddenly weakened, her face alternating between going red and white, and she heard Guo Lixia continue: ¡°Is he divorced? You¡¯re with him under ambiguous circumstances, probably thinking that you¡¯ve managed to catch a big fish, but in the end the one who will suffer the most is you!¡±

    ¡ª

    A: WAIT XBB is a sophomore¡­ SO SHE¡¯S ONLY 19/20 SDAASDBGDNL

    H: holy crap this new batch of people are getting on my nerves¡­ ¡°post-75 baby¡± pLS stop trying to eat everything you see!!

    <i>Thank you cherries for the typo correction!</i>

 Chapter 80: Into the Night

    <h4>Chapter 80: Into the Night</h4>

    The music once again came on, and the sweet NPC reminded everyone: ¡°It¡¯s time for afternoon tea, pleasee to the lobby to rest~¡± The intensity of the voice increased, ¡°Be sure to wash the berry juice off your hands, you cannot pollute the colors!¡±

    There were several round tables in the hall, bothrge and small and covered with whitece tablecloths. Most people chose to sit at thergest round table, while Xin Beibei and Shi Zhendong hovered around a smaller table before Shi Zhendong brought his girlfriend over to join everyone.

    ¡°Which 1970¡¯s year were you born?¡± Guo Lixia abruptly asked Shi Zhendong.

    Shi Zhendong¡¯s expression was a little embarrassed: ¡°I¡¯m a tiger.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a rabbit, so you¡¯re one year older than me!¡± Guo Lixia praised herself for her correct guess.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough Sister Guo, let¡¯s talk about the problem at hand!¡± Ke Xun directly interrupted the troublesome eldest sister.

    Guo Lixia nodded readily: ¡°Okay okay I¡¯ll stop, I¡¯ll listen to our team leader! Don¡¯t look at how young he is, he¡¯s extremely smart and convincing!¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun who was sitting next to him, and a faint smile crossed his face.

    Qin Ci was the first to ask everyone: ¡°Did you see anything unusual just now when we were all in our respective rooms?¡±

    Everyone had just be familiar with the environment and hadn¡¯t had any time to carefully observe everything.

    He Yu, with his long and untamed hair, said: ¡°I found that this world is very much inpliance with the Fauvist style. First of all, theposition isn¡¯t very proportional. For example, the distance between the green maze and the circr pool outside the castle to our current rooms was very long, but when you look out of a window, you can still see them clearly. This kind of rity should only be achievable at close range, and would bepletely impossible in real life.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded slightly; it seemed like he had also discovered this quirk.

    He Yu continued: ¡°Fauvism doesn¡¯t pay attention to perspective and shading. It¡¯s a tposition that breaks traditional Western painting styles. The color of the object itself and its shadow form a strong contrast, and the painting method itself is far from realistic. The painter instead pays attention to subjective feelings, which is in line with what Fauvists often say: painting is not purely technical, rather a manifestation of feelings!¡±

    This was the reason why Ke Xun doubted the three-dimensional aspect of the painting upon first entering.

    ¡°But the NPC always reminds us to not pollute the colors,¡± Mi Wei brought up, ¡°We all know that the colors of Fauvism are free and unrestrained. In Matisse¡¯s famous ¡¾Woman with a Hat¡¿, a portrait of his wife, he boldly used greens, reds, yellows, and blues on her face, interweaving all of these colors.¡±

    Guo Lixia was also seriously participating in the meeting, paying close attention to Mi Wei¡¯s every word. She let out a sigh: ¡°Can you even look at that face then¡­¡±

    Mi Wei gave Guo Lixia a short smile: ¡°On the contrary, those colors on Mrs. Matisse¡¯s face brought about a feeling of harmony, and were also pleasing to the eye.¡±

    Guo Lixia rubbed her eyes and didn¡¯t quite understand..

    Shi Zhendong nodded: ¡°What the students said just now is very valuable information, especially about the pool and the maze. Since they can be observed clearly from any direction, are these two things what the artist wants to highlight?¡±

    The few painting-hopping-veterans all looked at Shi Zhendong with admiration, and Qin Ci said: ¡°We can try and focus on these two ces. Maybe the artist¡¯s signature is nearby.¡±

    Zhu Haowen also suddenly spoke: ¡°The name of this painting is ¡¾Shadow¡¿, and the shadows in this world are indeed different. It¡¯s better to observe carefully- there could be a signature hidden in the shadows, or even a fatal danger.¡±

    This topic was a bit heavy. Everyone subconsciously looked at the shadows under their feet. In the lobby, everyone¡¯s shadows were a uniform dark purple with lime green borders.

    Qin Ci stood up and poured some tea from the teapot for everyone: ¡°Everyone should try and eat something. We don¡¯t know when dinner will be arranged.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong were basically full, and Wei Dong drank a sip of tea with some sugar and milk added in. He felt that it would be enough for his stomach until night time came: ¡°The problem now is that our day time schedule is arranged by the NPC. We can only be shut in the rooms to work, and at some pointe out to eat and rest. When will we have time to go explore outside to find the signature? It can¡¯t be that we can only go out at night.¡±

    Everyone went quiet, this was indeed a matter that needed to be solved urgently.

    Ke Xun said: ¡°Since we¡¯re supposed to work, there will definitely be a certain load required, but the NPC just hasn¡¯t said it yet. Once the daily workload is determined, we can arrange tasks ording to our roles. Some people will stay and work, while others can go out and look for the signature!¡±

    Wei Dong followed up and said: ¡°Although the NPC won¡¯t allow us to exchange rooms and ¡®pollute the colors¡¯, it doesn¡¯t restrict us from going out, or at least it hasn¡¯t said so yet! As long as we ensure that our workload isplete, we should be able to go outside!¡±

    Everyone thought it made sense, and after their tea break was over, they went back to their rooms to work, striving toplete the task as soon as possible in order to get free time.

    The NPC¡¯s voice sounded again, and it really did outline everyone¡¯s workload requirements: ¡°Before dinner, each room must finish storing threerge jars of berries. Hopefully you all can work faster, and savor the joy that hard work brings!¡±

    The red room only had two people inside, He Yu and Zhang Tianwei, but the two boys¡¯ hand skills weren¡¯t bad, and they soon finished their required three jars.

    The people in the yellow room were also working hard, when Mi Wei suddenly stopped: ¡°Have you guys noticed that the color of these berries isn¡¯t as bright as before?¡±

    Miao Zipei, who didn¡¯t talk much, also said, ¡°I noticed as well, not just the berries, but the shadows and colors around the room have darkened.¡± As he talked, he looked down at the patterns on his clothes again, ¡°These embroidered colors are getting darker as well.¡±

    The door of the room was suddenly pushed open, and Zhang Tianwei and He Yu walked in. He Yu excitedly said: ¡°Did you notice? This world uses color changes to distinguish day and night! There¡¯s no refraction of light or shadow at all!¡±

    The several students were caught up in the excitement of discovering new knowledge: ¡°It¡¯s hard to imagine how night will be expressed here!¡±

    Qin Ci kept his face calm, and said sharply to He Yu, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wash your hands!¡±

    Everyone was taken aback by the sudden harshness from Doctor Qin, turning to look at He Yu¡¯s hand which was still stained with obvious red juice.

    He Yu rubbed his hands: ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t pollute any colors¡­¡±

    ¡°Go back to your room and wash your hands!¡± Mi Wei urged He Yu.

    Perhaps it was because these youths had yet to experience the horrifying deaths in this world, so they didn¡¯t realize the fatal danger brought about by this behavior. Zhang Tianwei also came tofort Qin Ci: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, He Yu is this kind of informal person, usually his hands are full of paint, and he often just washes his hands carelessly, so it¡¯s not umon for his hands to be colorful.¡±

    When Qin Ci saw Zhang Tianwei¡¯s clean hands, he calmed down a bit: ¡°Student Zhang, I advise you to leave this room first. We currently still don¡¯t understand what the NPC meant by ¡®don¡¯t bring colors to other rooms¡¯ ¡ª? If the conditions are harsh, we might not even be able to enter other rooms even if we wash our hands.¡±

    Zhang Tianwei¡¯s expression was a bit awkward: ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go out first, we¡¯ll talk in the hall.¡±

    Once everyone hadpleted their tasks and arrived in the lobby, they found that the color of the room had noticeably darkened, the fruits and bread on the table had almost turned gray, and everyone¡¯s shadows were slowly turning ck.

    ¡°Please have dinner together!¡± The NPC¡¯s voice sounded enthusiastic, ¡°After dinner, you can go to the bedrooms on the second floor to rest. The colors are still divided ordingly, so please keep your own colors in mind! Don¡¯t pollute the colors!¡±

    When everyone heard about the mistake He Yu and Zhang Tianwei made, they were speechless for a while. Several studentsforted them, the reason being: Technically they didn¡¯t touch any of the yellow fruit with the red juice, so it shouldn¡¯t be considered polluting colors.

    The few veterans looked at each other tacitly, and carried out a cruel analysis in their hearts: He Yu and Zhang Tianwei hadmitted two different levels of mistakes. One had entered another room without washing another color off their hands. The second had entered another room after washing their hands. Both results didn¡¯t cause visible pollution to the color inside the rooms, but it was unknown if that was enough to escape punishment.

    If one or both end up avoiding death, it would prove that their behavior didn¡¯t constitute a death condition, and everyone could follow suit the next day.

    Shi Zhendong subconsciously looked at the pool outside the window, and found that the fountain had stopped spraying water at some point, while the greenbyrinth had turned grayish-green, as if it had suddenly lost all vitality.

    ¡°It¡¯s gotten dark, everyone should go back and rest early.¡± Ke Xun raised his head and looked at the ceiling. There was no trace of any light, perhaps the world would bepletely ck once night came.

    Everyone started walking up the stairs to the second floor one after another, but Mu Yiran walked to a window to observe outside, and found that the key objects, the fountain and the maze, outside had be pure ck. In order to distinguish them from the environment, thewn and other areas had be varying shades of gray.

    ¡°Looking from this point of view, this painting seems very strict with its colors.¡± Ke Xun stood beside Mu Yiran and looked at the print-like scenery outside the window. Even the grays were pure in their tones. ¡°The colors in this world don¡¯t have any transition shades, a bit simr to a child¡¯s painting.¡±

    ¡°The Fauvists do try to retain childlike innocence in their works,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes were still looking out at the ever-darkening scenery outside, and his voice suddenly lowered: ¡°It¡¯s better to be cautious the first night and not go outside.¡±

    Ke Xun felt a bit of happiness at being reminded, but this time he was very obedient and made a low ¡°un¡±.

    The two people followed the shadowy stairs up to the second floor.

    Theyout of the second floor was exactly the same as that of the first floor. Therge hall¡¯s original five brightly colored doors were now gray. Ke Xun could only knock on the originally blue door ording to his memory: ¡°Sister Guo, are you in there?¡±

    There was a quick response from inside: ¡°The leader is back!¡±

    The door opened from inside, Guo Lixia¡¯s skirt was now covered with ck and white circr patterns, which looked very eerie at night.

    Ke Xun still uneasily knocked on the door next to him. ording to his memory, this should be Mu Yiran¡¯s purple room: ¡°Dong zi, are you inside?¡±

    ¡°F*ck me, Ke¡¯er, stop messing around, don¡¯te in!¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice rang from inside.

    Mu Yiran nodded to Ke Xun and pushed the door open.

    ¡°Good night!¡± Ke Xun returned to his room afterwards, and found two wooden beds in the dark room.

    ¡°Group leader, she doesn¡¯t want to sleep on the same bed as me, and I don¡¯t want to be with her either!¡± Guo Lixia¡¯s voice rang out in the dark, and her whole person moved around in the room like ck dots on a white background.

    Ke Xun¡¯s pattern consisted of ck waves on a simr white canvas. At this moment, the waves trembled a little: ¡°W-what is Sister Guo thinking?¡±

    ¡°You choose, are you sleeping with me or with her?¡± Guo Lixia asked frankly.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    The ck dotsy directly onto a bed: ¡°Regardless, each of us are currently upying a bed. You can sleep wherever you want.¡±

    On the other bed was a thin ck rhombus, and the pattern with Xin Beibei¡¯s voice spoke up: ¡°No way, I¡¯m not used to sleeping with strangers. Besides, the group leader is still a man.¡±

    ¡°You finally understand that I¡¯m a man.¡± The wave pattern cried without tears.

    The rhombus pattern rolled over and seemed to fall asleep.

    Suddenly the whole room wentpletely dark, as if covered by a huge ck cloth, and all three patterns disappeared from view.

    ¡ª

    A: Oh shittt, it begins

    H: It¡¯s weirdly eerie ;w;

 Chapter 81: Dying to Become 2D

    <h4>Chapter 81: Dying to Be 2D</h4>

    <i>Brief reminder: diamond/rhombus = XBB, dots = GLX, waves = KX</i>

    In this dark and endless void, Ke Xun tried his hardest to perceive his own existence, and at one point, even questioned if his eyes had simply disappeared.

    About three minutester, the room was restored to its original condition again.

    The diamond pattern probably had her eyes closed just now, so she didn¡¯t notice anything abnormal.

    The dot patterned Guo Lixia spoke: ¡°What happened just now? Was that a power outage?¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± Sister Guo always had a way of making Ke Xun not know what to say.

    The diamond pattern turned over: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, go to sleep.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to cause everyone to panic before going to bed.

    Inside the room, except for the two gray beds, the rest of the bedroom was a pure ck. Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to sleep on this floor that resembled a ck hole. He looked at the two women on their beds and finally went over next to the dot pattern.

    Guo Lixia moved over a bit to make room: ¡°If the two of us sleep with our feet on opposite ends, we won¡¯t take up much space.¡±

    Ke Xun took the pillow Guo Lixia handed over andy down on the other side of the bed. When people¡¯s vision is obstructed, other sense organs would be extremely sensitive, such as smell. Ke Xun felt like the air was filled with a faint scent of paint and no other traces of life.

    After a while, the sound of Guo Lixia¡¯s snoring filled the room.

    ¡°It¡¯s so noisy¡­¡± The diamond pattern on the other bed murmured a few words before going silent after a while.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t feel sleepy. The heads of the two beds were in the same direction as the window. Since Ke Xun slept on the other side, he was facing the window.

    The window in the middle of the night was like a silhouette.

    Light gray window frames with an intricate pattern, and the night outside was lighter than the darkness inside the bedroom, resembling an inky blue canvas.

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t figure out what those three minutes of darkness meant, and what kind of power could make all living thingspletely blend into the night, or seemingly enter another world.

    At this time, the temperature inside the room was just right, and since there weren¡¯t any nkets on the beds, the three patterns representing the three people were extremely eye-catching.

    The dotted pattern on Sister Guo¡¯s body constantly fluctuated with her snoring, while the narrow rhombus belonging to Xin Beibei remained motionless, like decorative wallpaper.

    Ke Xun slowly became sleepy, and the silhouette-like window became a monotonous hypnosis, as if everything in front of him was just a painting, frozen in time.

    Because of his habit of being alert in previous paintings, Ke Xun seemed to have one eye open even while sleeping: especially without Mu Yiran nearby, he lost that feeling of being able to depend and rely on others.

    So, when the room fell intoplete darkness again, Ke Xun suddenly woke up.

    He first noticed that the silhouette-like window was gone, the dot-pattern Guo Lixia beside him had disappeared, and Xin Beibei¡¯s on the other bed simrly couldn¡¯t be seen. The wave pattern on his own clothes had also disappeared without a trace, as if he¡¯d been sshed with thick ink.

    He was grateful that Guo Lixia¡¯s intermittent snoring was still fluctuating in the room.

    Everyone was still there, just covered by this sudden darkness.

    If flowing water had a source of water, and light had a source from which it shone, then this darkness should also have its own source. In Ke Xun¡¯s imagination, the origin of this darkness was something like the ink sac of a squid, which would be sprayed out when needed, dying the world ck.

    Ke Xun stayed motionless in the dark, carefully using his ears and nose to try and distinguish the differences in this world, so when a corner of the window suddenly appeared in the dark, Ke Xun almost screamed.

    The silhouette-like window frame suddenly seemed to gain aplicated design, then there were more and more patterns stretching out from the corner, as if a magical nt was growing in the dark, and gradually half of the window was exposed, continuing until the entire window was revealed.

    Everything in the room appeared again: the two gray beds and the three people with different patterns on them.

    Ke Xun¡¯s eyes stared unblinkingly at the window. If he guessed correctly, the so-called source of that ckness should be that window.

    The window itself never fully appeared. The inside section was now the same darkness of the room, and that shadow seemed to wriggle, slowly changing shape.

    Ke Xun felt like something was blocking the window, but his line of sight was hindered, and he couldn¡¯t tell whether or not that ck thing was inside or outside the window.

    The darkness within the window gradually narrowed, and atst formed a thin ck needle-like point.

    The entire window was finally revealed, but Ke Xun noticed that the decorations on the frame were no longer the same as before.

    The pattern change seemed to ur only in the middle section of the window frame. Ke Xun blinked ¡ª because he¡¯d concentrated too hard, his eyes were a little sore ¡ª and upon looking closer, he noticed that there were many other designs hidden in thettice pattern. Ke Xun tried his best to distinguish the other shapes inside, but because everything was ck and white, his vision went blurry.

    Theplex pattern on the frame was simr to that ck band on the window just now, constantly changing shape, but unlike the slow calmness of that shadow, the design seemed always in danger of copsing into nothing.

    Ke Xun steeled himself and quietly got out of bed, wanting to get a closer look at the frame design. He was finally able to make out some moon-shaped patterns peeking out from the gap between the window frame; the small densely packed crescent moons scattered between eachttice crack.

    Ke Xun looked until he felt dizzy, and once he returned to bed, thatplicated pattern had disappeared.

    What was certain was that since the design had appeared outside thettice frame, simrly, that darkness just now must have been outside the window.

    Could something have passed by outside? ording to the moving trajectory of that object, it was moving from right to left, therefore the next window it goes through should be that purple room next door: the room of Mu Yiran and Wei Dong.

    As for where that thing began and ended, it was still unclear¡­..

    Regardless, the bedroom had been restored to its original form again.

    Ke Xun felt like he¡¯d experienced an ¡°Oscar-winning animated short film¡± kind of night.

    When they opened their eyes early in the morning, everyone was a little ufortable with the brilliant colors filling their vision. Xin Beibei got up first, patting the blue pillows and cing them neatly on the bed.

    The beautiful sky blue rhombus on Xin Beibei¡¯s white skirt greatlyplemented the golden shadow under her feet.

    The familiar music sounded again, and the sweet voice of the NPC came as promised: ¡°Good morning everyone! Please go to the lobby on the first floor to enjoy a delicious breakfast! After breakfast, please continue to enjoy the beauty of hard work. Today¡¯s task is still three big jars of berry storage. Please keep in mind, don¡¯t pollute the colors!¡± The NPC seemed to slow down, and suddenly spoke in a strange tone: ¡°Of course, the room without any color can now be freely entered and exited, so everyone do as you like.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s heart sank, and hurriedly got out of bed before putting on his own sea-blue cloth shoes: ¡°Everyone, quickly get up, something must¡¯ve happened outside.¡±

    Sure enough, many people in the hall had gathered in front of the door with a strange expression on their faces.

    The door was the red door, which had been in the center. At this time, the door that was supposed to be bright red had now turned into a lifeless gray-white.

    It was in this red room that He Yi and Zhang Tianwei, who had both made mistakes, lived in.

    Qin Ci stepped forward, preparing to open the door.

    Xin Beibei cried out: ¡°Don¡¯t recklessly enter! This door is just too weird!¡±

    Shi Zhendong came over tofort his girlfriend: ¡°The NPC already said that the door without any color can be freely entered.¡±

    The door was opened by Qin Ci, and the first to walk in were Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, and the other ¡®old members¡¯ who¡¯d already entered paintings. Shi Zhendong followed closely behind and told his girlfriend, ¡°You girls wait at the door, don¡¯te in.¡±

    Xin Beibei obediently stayed at the door, but Guo Lixia went in without even thinking, followed by Mi Wei and Yening Chenyi.

    The women¡¯s screams of horror soon erupted inside the room.

    Xin Beibei trembled with fright in the hall, moving further and further away from the gray door.

    If she had the courage to walk in, she would find that it wasn¡¯t just the door that lost color, but the whole room had be pale and void, including the corpse lying on the bed.

    He Yu¡¯s corpse almost blended in with the pale sheets. He had his eyes open, and even his eyes had be transparent like ss spheres. The hair and eyshes were simr to ster,pletely transformed into a dpidated off-white.

    The several college students couldn¡¯t help crying. There was sadness in their tears, but more than that, there was fear.

    Guo Lixia slowly sidled up to team leader Ke Xun¡¯s side: ¡°Could it be a dummy?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Mi Wei was the first to stop crying: ¡°What about Senior Tianwei? Where is he?¡±

    Indeed, this room should have had two people, but now only He Yu¡¯s body was found, but Zhang Tianwei was missing.

    Yening Chenyi wiped her red eyes: ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and find Senior Zhang. If we find him, we should be able to find out the truth! Maybe Senior Zhang was caught by someone because he witnessed what happened?¡±

    Everyone felt like Yening Cenyi¡¯s analysis was a bit too naive, but they couldn¡¯t bear to expose it.

    Ke Xun suddenly spoke: ¡°Xiao Ye¡¯s right, Zhang Tianwei should have been dragged away by something.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s deep eyes met Ke Xun¡¯s: ¡°Did you notice something strange with the windowst night too?¡±

    Ke Xun nodded and asked everyone: ¡°Those of you who remember, what was the pattern on Zhang Tianwei¡¯s smock?¡±

    Truly worthy of being art majors, these students were all very sensitive to patterns. Everyone said: ¡°His clothes were full of moon motifs; crescent moons, in red.¡±

    Guo Lixia couldn¡¯t help but ridicule when she heard this: ¡°ording to old folktales, when there¡¯s a red moon in the night sky, evil spirits will appear.¡±

    Everyone knew that the red moon was a natural phenomenon, but at the moment, they all hesitated after hearing Guo Lixia¡¯s statement. After all, in ancient China, the blood moon was indeed unlucky, and in some European legends, the red moon would strengthen evil creatures.

    Zhu Haowen bluntly said: ¡°I don¡¯t think the deathst night had anything to do with clothing pattern. The main reason is obvious, as someone in the room had made a mistake. The deceased not only recklessly entered another room, but also didn¡¯t wash their hands.¡±

    The neers were silent, finally face-to-face with the cost of viting the rules for the first time.

    Miao Zipei bravely inspected ¡®He Yu¡¯ying on the bed: ¡°Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s something wrong with his body? Like auntie Guo said just now, it really does look like a dummy. Although, calling it a dummy wouldn¡¯t be urate. Instead, the body seems to resemble that of a 2D person ¡ª he¡¯spletely lost any shadows!¡±

    As soon as she said this, everyone finally had the courage to observe the corpse. The strange paleness of the body had initially caused some psychological disturbance amongst the group, causing them to not want to continue looking. Now they could see that it had lost all sense of three-dimensionality, and the shadow was no longer present on the same ne of existence.

    ¡ª

    A: I¡¯m ngl, I spent half of the time tranting this chapter extremely lost QAQ

    H: You did a good job, jiayou!

 Chapter 82: Wishing Pool

    <h4>Chapter 82: Wishing Pool</h4>

    Although everyone¡¯s eyes were fixed on He Yu¡¯s corpse, their feet subconsciously moved away from it. There was a sense of alienation that made people feel extremely ufortable, where if they were somehow ¡®touched¡¯ by this phenomenon, they would also belong in that t and shadowless dimension.

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t n on examining the corpse: ¡°I¡¯m afraid this goes beyond the scope of medicine. I can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t known when the girls¡¯ sobbing finally came to an end. In everyone¡¯s eyes, the corpse on the bed no longer had any connection with the student they knew as He Yu.

    The group checked every corner of the room in search of possible causes of death. Yening Chenyi even carefully observed the walls, in fear that Zhang Tianwei would be ¡®painted¡¯ somewhere unknown.

    ¡°Are the windows in your room open?¡± Zhu Haowen¡¯s eyes rested on thepletely open window in the bedroom.

    The windows here didn¡¯t have mesh screens, once the window pane was open, the room would bepletely ventted ¡ª although there didn¡¯t seem to be any wind in this world.

    The people in the other four rooms all said no, the windows in their rooms were tightly closed.

    So who opened the window in this room? Was it the Zhang Tianwei who had ¡®left¡¯? Or was it the murderer fromst night?

    No one wanted to stay inside the room any longer. After their search was unsessful, they collectively closed the door and left, arriving at the familiar hall on the first floor.

    There was a hearty breakfast spread on the tables, with fresh fruits, exquisite pastries, and tempting sausages, but most people didn¡¯t have an appetite.

    ¡°What¡¯s our n for today?¡± Shi Zhendong asked first.

    Qin Ci swallowed the jam and bread in his mouth and took another sip of warm milk: ¡°ording to the requirements given by the NPC, our task today is still storing threerge jars of berries. If we go ording to our pacing yesterday, if everyone works together in our groups of two or three, it could be finished in an hour. We might as well divide the work and move together, leaving one person in each room to work, and the rest will go find the signature.

    Yening Chenyi: ¡°There¡¯s also Senior Zhang, maybe he¡¯s imprisoned somewhere.¡±

    Although everyone guessed that Zhang Tianwei must have already met a grisly and violent end, they noddedfortingly.

    Qin Ci: ¡°Then each group will discuss their arrangements. We can also rotate positions in the morning and afternoon.¡±

    ¡°Our blue team will leave me to do the work. Those two children are clumsy, and I can do it in five or six hours if I¡¯m by myself.¡± Guo Lixia¡¯s words made everyone admire her, before she continued: ¡°Everyone should try the fried eggs, they¡¯re super tender and delicious! I¡¯ve already eaten four of them!¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong from the purple group took the initiative to say: ¡°Since Boss Mu ns on looking for the signature, let¡¯s each work the morning and afternoon shifts okay?¡± Wei Dong said this to Yening Chenyi who was in the same group.

    Yening Chenyi nodded: ¡°Then I¡¯ll work first in the morning. Brother Dong and Brother Mu will go find autographs.¡±

    After the yellow team finished their discussion, it was decided that Miao Zipei would stay and work first, while Qin Ci and Mi Wei were in charge of searching for the signature.

    Shi Zhendong of the green group voluntarily asked to stay and work in the morning: ¡°Xiao Zhu is very observant, I believe he¡¯ll find something.¡±

    Xin Beibei¡¯s expression was a little ugly, and in her heart she wanted to be with her boyfriend: ¡°Your observation abilities aren¡¯t bad either, why have him look for it?¡±

    Guo Lixia directly interrupted Xin Beibei: ¡°Aren¡¯t they going to trade shifts in the afternoon? Why don¡¯t the two of us just change ours then?¡±

    ¡°Auntie Guo! Didn¡¯t you say that you would be solely responsible for the work in our room?!¡± Xin Beibei¡¯s voice suddenly got louder.

    Ke Xun looked at his team members: ¡°Working is everyone¡¯s duty. Sister Guo taking on these tasks is a kind contribution to the rest of our team.¡±

    Xin Beibei curled her lips and had nothing to say. She looked at Zhu Haowen and saw that the other party was slowly eating breakfast.

    Who knows what techniques Shi Zhendong used to coax his girlfriend, but Xin Beibei¡¯s expression was much better, and she softly warned her boyfriend: ¡°Don¡¯t stupidly put all your energy into work¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen wiped his mouth with a napkin: ¡°I advise everyone to eat as much as possible. Finding the signature requires a lot of energy.¡±

    Others felt what he said made sense, and forced themselves to eat some breakfast before dividing into groups based on previous decisions ¡ª Guo Lixia, Yening Chenyi, Miao Zipei, and Shi Zhendong temporarily stayed in the different colored rooms to work, while the others prepared to go find clues.

    Qin Ci once again warned the group: ¡°Everyone must remember, don¡¯t vite the rules again: you can¡¯t enter rooms that don¡¯t match your own color, or else you might be suspected of color pollution.¡±

    Everyone inwardly nodded, no one wanted to be the next He Yu.

    Shi Zhendong came up to Ke Xun, ¡°Xiao Ke, I¡¯ll have to ask you to watch over Beibei and don¡¯t let her break into ces where she shouldn¡¯t go.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anything, simply nodding his head.

    The four people in charge of work went to their respective rooms.

    There were now seven people left in the hall.

    ¡°Let¡¯s divide into two groups for the time being, one indoors and one outdoors.¡± Qin Ci expressed his opinion, ¡°The two girls have rtively weak physicalities, so it¡¯s best to separate them.¡±

    Mu Yiran also added his thoughts: ¡°From now on, we should mainly focus on the pool and maze outside the building. The fruit forest and river where we originally arrived are too far away from the central point, so we shouldn¡¯t consider them for now.¡±

    Xin Beibei couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°I want to go outside to look!¡±

    Everyone directly ignored her willfulness and continued to listen to Mu Yiran¡¯s words: ¡°There are many rooms in the building, just going off a visual estimate alone, there are probably hundreds of them. This is a veryrge workload, and we need to investigate each room one by one, so it¡¯s better to have more people searching inside the castle.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded: ¡°I will stay in the castle, who else?¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°Count me in.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s voice followed like a shadow: ¡°Me too.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°I and Ke-er won¡¯t be separated.¡±

    Those left over were Zhu Haowen, Mi Wei, and Xin Beibei.

    Xin Beibei looked at Ke Xun: ¡°You promised Zhendong to look after me! I want to check out the fountain!¡±

    Ke Xun really wanted to give this annoying girl a kick, and suddenly heard the other person say: ¡°Also, I don¡¯t want to be in the same team as this person!¡±

    The person Xin Beibei was referred to was Zhu Haowen.

    Zhu Haowen faintly smiled: ¡°You¡¯re more suited for staying in the hall to eat more food.¡±

    ¡°What did you say¡­¡± Xin Beibei was so angry that she started shaking.

    The always calm Mi Wei stepped forward and said, ¡°Dr. Qin is right, it would be best if both girls are separated. I feel that Ke-ge and Wei-ge should take Beibei to look outside, and the rest of us will be in charge of the castle.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go with that.¡± Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun, ¡°If you find anything, we¡¯ll discuss it together when youe back.¡±

    Ke Xun tilted his head and looked at Mu Yiran, pursing his lips like a silent kiss or whistle.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was indifferent, but it wasn¡¯t as cold as before.

    Mi Wei¡¯s distribution was actually very reasonable. The five men present were all experienced veterans, and it really wasn¡¯t suitable to have them all grouped together.

    As a result, everyone was divided into their respective two teams and headed towards their locations.

    Xin Beibei was very interested in the fountain and proceeded to quickly walk towards it. The pool seemed to sense that someone was approaching, suddenly spraying out those bright silver sshes, getting water all over the nearby people.

    ¡°Look at that, there are so many coins inside the pool! This really is a wishing pond!¡± Xin Beibei waved everyone toe over and take a look.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong walked over to take a look. The bottom of the pool was indeed covered with shiny coins, and the texture of the coin surface was very strange.

    Wei Dong teased Xin Beibei: ¡°You already forgot what Mi Wei said yesterday, don¡¯t make a wish for something in this unclear ce. The heavens aren¡¯t so kind.¡±

    Xin Beibei sat by the pool with cool water cupped in her hands: ¡°I already have everything I need, I am content! As long as we can walk out of here, I¡¯ll be the most fortunate person in the world~¡±

    Wei Dong felt some second-hand embarrassment watching Xin Beibei, and he turned to look at Ke Xun, who was carefully studying the coins inside the pool: ¡°What¡¯s up, could there be a signature hiding on the coins? We can¡¯t be that lucky.¡±

    Ke Xun continued staring for a long time: ¡°Dongzi,e look at this!¡±

    Wei Dong squinted his slightly near-sighted eyes: ¡°The patterns on the coins aren¡¯t the same. You see , there are leaves on this one, dots on the other, and the nearest one has a crescent moon on it¡­¡±

    Speaking until now, Wei Dong felt slightly strange. He hurriedly looked down at his clothes, which had triangr purple patterns on it. After looking around the pool, he found that several coins also had triangr patterns on them.

    ¡°The coin patterns are the same as the ones on our clothes. What does this mean?¡± The more Wei Dong looked at the pool, the weirder it became. Perhaps it was because each individual coin had different patterns, it was as if these designs were akin to their unique fingerprints, ¡°There is definitely something wrong with this fountain, it feels like all of our eight characters have been revealed.¡±

    Xin Beibei seemed a bit muddled: ¡°There are so many patterns out there in the world, who¡¯s to say that the triangle pattern in the pool is yours?¡±

    Ke Xun touched his chin and circled the pond twice: ¡°Since the pattern corresponding to Zhang Tianwei is still here, it proves that the coins in the pond don¡¯t necessarily foretell anything: if this really is a wishing pool, then these patterns should represent elements.

    ¡°Elements?¡± The other two couldn¡¯tprehend what he was saying.

    ¡°It¡¯s like how some people worship the Five Elements , and some people worship the wind, rain, thunder and lightning, etc. The people in this world probably worship their own elements, so they engrave these coins and throw them into the pool while making a wish. It¡¯s probably like how people in our world pray for good weather.¡± Ke Xun voiced his thoughts, but for the time being, he still didn¡¯t understand how these elements were rted to the main idea of the whole painting.

    Xin Beibei observed the shape of the fountain in the center of the pool: ¡°It¡¯s really strange, what do you guys think this stone sculpture is meant to express? I really can¡¯t tell whether or not it¡¯s a person or an animal.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong¡¯s gazes were also attracted by the shape of the fountain carved with ck stone. The object was indeed formless, and there really was no way to see what it was.

    ¡°It¡¯s very weird. Even if it¡¯s supposed to be abstract, it should at least help people understand the meaning, and in my experience, usually the more abstract the object, the more obvious the meaning.¡± Xin Beibei finally seemed like a real art student.

    The stone sculpture in front seemed to be deliberately taunting viewers: it was a chaotic amalgam without head or feet, frozen in three dimensional form.

    Ke Xun suddenly remembered the ck band that he saw in front of the windowst night. If they werepared, the two things really did look a bit like.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look at the green maze again as well. I especially like this kind of fluffy maze made of foliage, it¡¯s the type that can only be seen in foreign fairy tales!¡± Xin Beibei cast her eyes on the maze.

    ¡°Come back! Something¡¯s happened!¡± A shout came from up above.

    Everyone looked up and saw Qin Ci beckoning from a window.

    ¡ª

    A: Noooo I hate the idea of statuesing to life QAQ thank you Dr. Who and your weeping angels

    H: ikr¡­ ghg and nhsree to mind¡­ spooked

 Chapter 83: Zhang Tianwei

    <h4>Chapter 83: Zhang Tianwei</h4>

    The internal architecture of the castle was veryplicated. After the few of them went up to the fourth floor, they passed through a long open-air corridor before they saw Mi Wei who had walked over to greet everyone.

    At the other end of the corridor was a cylindrical building. Fortunately, it was very bright during the day, and although no one could tell where the light source was, the view inside the semicircr hall was unobstructed.

    On the other side of the semicircle was a room with a closed door, and that door was a striking blood red.

    Because of what happened previously, no one dared to carelessly open the door, for fear that there would be consequences for polluting the color.

    Xin Beibei suddenly screamed and jumped to hide behind Ke Xun ¡ª under the red door, a small amount of red liquid flowed out, like a pool of thick blood.

    Everyone was far away from the door, but they all stared at the red liquid overflowing under the door. That liquid seemed to be moving slowly, and it was hard to imagine what was happening inside the room.

    ¡°It¡¯s not blood.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was still slightly cold.

    Ke Xun looked at the other: it wasn¡¯t blood, but rather the color belonging to the room.

    ¡°ording to what happened before, once someone dies, the color of the door they¡¯re inside will be gray, matching the NPC¡¯s description of a room that has lost color.¡± Zhu Haowen¡¯s voice suddenly appeared, and his eyesnded on Ke Xun: ¡°We can only guess for now, but Zhang Tianwei may not be dead.¡±

    There were only two people who lived in the red room, Zhang Tianwei and He Yu. Early this morning, the bedroom they resided in had lost its color, including the red workshop on the first floor.

    So what did this bloody red door that suddenly appeared mean?

    ¡°However, there is no one representing red among us, and no one is qualified to open this door at present.¡± Qin Ci looked at the red door, which was much taller and wider than any of the previous ones, and seemed to give off a sense of oppression.

    Ke Xun took a close look at the door frame: ¡°The doors we¡¯ve seen before didn¡¯t have any internal or external locks. This door should be the same, but because there¡¯s no wind in this world, it will stay closed.¡±

    ¡°But how do we open it?¡± Wei Dong¡¯s eyes searched around, hoping to find a wooden stick or something else to pry the door open.

    Perhaps it was Ke Xun¡¯s words that reminded Mu Yiran, and his eyes lit up slightly: ¡°We can try to create wind.¡±

    Ke Xun understood his meaning, and he had already walked to the junction between the hall and the corridor. There was actually a wooden door here, and probably because it was open all year round, it was typically overlooked.

    Mu Yiran also walked over, followed by Zhu Haowen, and the three of them worked together to quickly push the heavy wooden door, trying to send some ¡°wind¡± into the hall.

    ¡°It worked!¡± At this time, the red door had been slightly opened by the ¡°wind¡±, and Qin Ci and Wei Dong had alsoe to help.

    MI Wei thought of something and closed the ss windows on both sides of the hall, making it so that air flow would only go through the wooden door,

    The five men worked together to quickly open the heavy wooden door. This time, a clear air current was formed, and the red door opened silently.

    Although the door had opened, no one dared to walk inside the door, instead standing outside to look inside.

    Soon enough, Xin Beibei¡¯s scream resounded through the entire castle.

    Inside the empty semicircr room, there was only one extrarge ss jar filled with red liquid. For some reason, the liquid would continuously overflow from the mouth of the jar and had already covered the entire floor. The excess had thus flowed out of the room.

    The red liquid wasn¡¯t viscous; it was even translucent inside the ss jar, and everyone could vaguely see a person immersed inside.

    The person in the tank was standing upright in the liquid with his limbs suspended. Because of the red liquid, it was impossible to see anything¡¯s original color.

    It seemed less like a human being, and more like a biological specimen.

    Everyone seemed to recognize the vague facial features of the specimen, but no one made a sound.

    In the end it was Qin Ci who said: ¡°It¡¯s Zhang Tianwei.¡±

    With tears in her eyes, Mi Wei tightly covered her mouth with her hand and nodded.

    Xin Beibei¡¯s unrestrained crying started again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back first, the people in the workrooms will be worried.¡± Zhu Haowen looked at Xin Beibei: ¡°Your screams were too loud.¡±

    Ke Xun dragged Mu Yiran back a couple steps, after noticing that the red liquid was still slowly spreading outward: ¡°Why is the liquid in the jar increasing for no reason?¡±

    It¡¯s almost like there was a faucet attached to the bottom.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°The source of the red should be Zhang Tianwei. The liquid may have been produced from him.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes stayed on the hand-made clocks on the wall for a while, and then he walked out of the hall with Ke Xun, his hand warmly ensconced in the other¡¯s. When Mu Yiran finally tried to move his hands, he saw Ke Xun lean in close: ¡°Did you also see that clock? It¡¯s exactly the same as the one in our hall.¡±

    ¡°The only difference is the background color on the dial,¡± Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun. The other party had already released his hand, but they were now looking into each other¡¯s eyes, and Mu Yiran¡¯s expression lessened somewhat.

    Zhu Haowen¡¯s voice came from behind: ¡°The dial background here a strong red, while the color in the hall today was a greenish color.¡±

    Mi Wei also joined the discussion: ¡°That greenish color is actually cyan, abination of blue and green.¡±

    ¡°Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. Cyan is indeed between green and blue.¡± Qin Ci followed everyone through the open-air corridor, ¡°What could the patterns and colors of these clocks? mean?¡±

    The red dial in the semicircr hall may be rted to the red ¡°made¡± by Zhang Tianwei, so what would the cyan dial in the first floor dining area represent? There was no cyan represented in any of the five rooms.

    When the group returned to the first floor, the four people from the workrooms were already waiting at a table. Guo Lixia asked first: ¡°What was that wailing sound just now?¡±

    Xin Beibei still hadn¡¯te out of her frightened state, and she threw herself into Shi Zhendong¡¯s arms: ¡°Scared to death, I was really scared to death. Zhang Tianwei¡¯s body was soaked in a colored bottle, and a lot of blood wasing out¡­.¡±

    Qin Ci briefly described the scene just now. After hearing that, the four people¡¯s expressions were veryplicated, and no one had the courage to go take another look at the scene.

    Shi Zhendongforted his girlfriend while discussing with everyone: ¡°Why did Zhang Tianwei and He Yu die differently?¡± He Yu died immediately, and the entire room lost its color, but Zhang Tianwei¡­ why was he treated like that?¡±

    ¡°Moreover, how was Senior Zhang¡¯s body taken away? Why didn¡¯t we hear anything?¡± Yening Chenyi¡¯s lips were a little pale. Although she previously believed that Zhang Tianwei might not have died, she didn¡¯t expect the other party to have such a terrible end.

    ¡°Did you all notice a problem just now?¡± The calm Mi Wei spoke, ¡°Senior Tianwei¡¯ is very tall, and I would estimately him to be at least 1.85 meters, but that bottle¡­ If I had to take a guess,¡± Mi Wei¡¯s eyes looked between Ke Xun and Mu Yiran, before finally settling on Ke Xun, ¡°The paint bottle was around the same height as Ke-ge.¡±

    Ke Xun directly reported his height: ¡°I am 1.88 meters.¡± He nced at Mu Yiran next to him and whispered: ¡°This year I identally grew a centimeter, when I was still in college I was still 1.87 meters.¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at Ke Xun, as if to say: I am still taller than you.¡±

    Mi Wei cleared her throat and continued: ¡°Even if the bottle was 1.9 meters high, Senior Tianwei inside the fluid looks much shorterpared to his actual height. His entire body is suspended, and there¡¯s an abundant amount of liquid both above his head and below his feet, if I had to guess, the excess would add up to 50 centimeters in height.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded as well: ¡°I¡¯ve also noticed this problem. At the time, I thought it was an illusion caused by the refraction of light on the ss, but now that I think about it, inside a ss cylinder, the objects inside should look muchrger than they actually are.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°So the reason why this red liquid continued to produce is probably because the source of it is Zhang Tianwei¡¯s body ¡ª this could be considered a way to consume the corpse.¡±

    Although the analyses all sounded very logical, for empathetic humans beings, it was a form of cruel torture.

    ¡°Truly too unlucky and miserable!¡± Guo Lixia wasn¡¯t even in the mood to eat fruit.

    ¡°I¡¯m still wondering, how was Senior Zhang¡¯s body transported out of the roomst night?¡± Yening Chenyi refused to let go of this question, ¡°If someone opened the door and went out, there should be some movement.¡±

    ¡°I believe he was transported out the window,¡± Zhu Haowen remained expressionless. ¡°Only the window in the red bedroom was open. This shouldn¡¯t be a coincidence.¡±

    When Xin Beibei heard Zhu Haowen¡¯s words, she suddenly became energetic: ¡°The windows can only be opened from the inside. Previously, I paid attention to our rooms¡¯ windows and they hadtches on them. If outsiders came into the room, they would still have to pass through the door.¡±

    ¡°Why must it be an outsider who opened the window?¡± Zhu Haowen looked at Xin Beibei with cold eyes.

    ¡°Are you suggesting that Zhang Tianwei and He Yu opened their own window to seek death?¡± Xin Beibei was a little annoyed.

    Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t bother to look at her again: ¡°People have a million reasons to open windows, it doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be seeking death.¡±

    Shi Zhendong was in the middle of trying to mediate between them, when familiar music came on, and the NPC¡¯s sweet voice spoke: ¡°Everyone has worked hard, now it¡¯s time to eat fruit. Please stop working ande to the lobby to enjoy fresh and delicious fruits!¡±

    No one was in the mood to eat fruit. Mi Wei looked at the clock hanging on the wall: ¡°I only paid attention to this clock during breakfast this morning. I felt like the color of the pattern on the clock face had changed a bit, but I couldn¡¯t remember what it looked like before.¡±

    Everyone looked up at the ssical handmade clock on the wall. Therge round surface had a light blue pattern on it, and Yening Chenyi expressed some surprise: ¡°When did this clock be cyan? Yesterday at dinner, it was still bright orange!¡±

    Everyone was stunned, and they didn¡¯t know what the color change could mean.

    Miao Zipei, who had always spoken very little, suddenly said: ¡°This watch didn¡¯t have any patterns at first, and only had a white clock face and ck hands. When I noticed the color change, it was already yesterday evening. An orange pattern suddenly appeared on the clock, and at the time when I told He Yu and Zhang Tianwei about the change, we were confused as well.¡±

    The crowd listened quietly to Miao Zipei¡¯s words, and Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help asking: ¡°Then when did it be cyan?¡±

    ¡°When I came down to the first floor this morning and looked at the clock, the pattern had already turned cyan.¡± As an art student, Miao Zipei was indeed very capable of observation. ¡°Moreover, it¡¯s not just this hall, but the clock in the lobby of the second floor also went through the same changes.¡±

    ¡ª

    A: Idk if the author forgot that Mi Wei, KX and MYR already had that conversation about the cyan clock? I can¡¯t tell if the three of them never knew that the clock used to be a different color and that¡¯s why they¡¯re confused too? Sometimes the author tends to reiterate things that have already been discussed and I never know if it¡¯s intentional or not QAQ it¡¯s the same with talking about Senior Zhang and the coloring out of his body

    H: Life is also hard for an author too I guess¡­ it helps my fellow fish-memory folk though xD

    ¡ª

    <i>Thank you sleepy avis for the correction!</i>

 Chapter 84: Clock-face

    <h4>Chapter 84: Clock-face</h4>

    ¡°When did the clock upstairs be cyan?¡± Mu Yiran quickly caught onto Miao Zipei¡¯s point and asked immediately.

    ¡°I can¡¯t remember the exact time.¡± Miao Zipei¡¯s eyes subconsciously looked at the clock on the wall, ¡°When I walked out of the room this morning and looked at the time, it was 6:55 and the clock face was still bright orange. Later when everyone found that something happened in the red bedroom, we went to go see He Yu¡­ once we all left the room, everyone¡¯s mood was down. When I reached the lobby on the first floor, I looked up at the clock and suddenly found that the color had changed to cyan. That was probably before 7:30.¡±

    ¡°The issue with the clock must have something to do with the incident.¡± Mi Wei looked at Miao Zipei, and was a little unsatisfied that the other party hadn¡¯t mentioned anything earlier.

    Miao Zipei: ¡°Everyone was discussing other things at the time, so I didn¡¯t have the chance to say anything¡­.¡±

    This art student was a little slow, but his observation ability was much better than ordinary people.

    Everyone was silent for a while, slowly digesting the situation.

    Shi Zhendong peeled a banana for his girlfriend and took a green apple for himself, making sure to avoid the bright red fruits as much as possible.

    ¡°How was our work efficiency this morning?¡± Qin Ci asked everyone.

    Yening Chenyi from the purple room took the lead and said: ¡°I¡¯ve almost finished a jar.¡±

    Guo Lixia from the blue room also reported her amount: ¡°I¡¯ve almost got two jars finished.¡±

    Miao Zipei in the yellow room said, ¡°I¡¯ve finished a jar and a half.¡±

    Shi Zhendong in the green room smiled with embarrassment: ¡°I¡¯ve only done half a jar.¡±

    Qin Ci began to re-arrange everyone¡¯s positions ording to each room¡¯s work volume: ¡°The current speed ofpletion isn¡¯t very optimistic, especially because we can¡¯t predict what¡¯ll happen in the afternoon. I suggest that everyone work together before lunch time and strive toplete more than half of the required jars.¡±

    Guo Lixia, who had done the most jars, had the most to say at this time: ¡°Our team leader should continue to look for the signature, Beibei and I will continue working.¡±

    Xin Beibei looked at Guo Lixia: ¡°Sister Guo, didn¡¯t you say you would do it all yourself¡­.¡±

    Shi Zhendong hurriedly nudged his girlfriend, and didn¡¯t let her finish her sentence.

    Guo Lixia spoke as she ate some grapes: ¡°Some people would be better off helping with the workload. There¡¯s no new information, and all they know how to do is scream.¡±

    Xin Beibei wanted to say something, but she heard Shi Zhendong say: ¡°Beibei, just stay and work okay? Right now there¡¯s more than an hour before lunchtime. Let¡¯s all hurry and try toplete the task while it¡¯s still morning, and then in the afternoon we can all look together.¡±

    No one had any objections. After eating the fruit and washing their hands, they returned to their respective rooms and continued to work.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t immediately go back to his room, and instead stood under the clock, inspecting carefully. Ke Xun slowly walked up to his side: ¡°What did you seest night?¡±

    Mu Yiran held his arm: ¡°Zhang Tianwei was probably dragged away from the window. The windowttice had a moon-shaped pattern resembling his clothes.¡±

    It seems like the scene that Mu Yiran sawst night was simr to what Ke Xun had witnessed. The red room was located in the middle of the five rooms, and Zhang Tianwei seemed to have been dragged from right to left, that¡¯s to say, passing by the blue and purple rooms that were to the left of the red room. The other two rooms shouldn¡¯t have noticed anything.

    ¡°Did you see that big ck mass?¡± Ke Xun spoke of the scariest part ofst night¡¯s ¡°nightmare¡±.

    Mu Yiran nodded: ¡°It should be that darkness that took Zhang Tianwei away.¡±

    ¡°This world was already very strange. Even during the day, there¡¯s always this feeling of being in different dimensions. It bes more obvious at night, bing a world of silhouettes, including myself.¡± Ke Xun needed to convince himself of the truth ¡ª Zhang Tianwei had been dragged away from the window in a sort of weightless and t 2D state.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes seemed to understand everything: ¡°Zhang Tianwei probably wasn¡¯t ttenedst night, as the pattern belonging to him was very unstable, far less held together than that of the shadow.¡±

    ¡°The shadow?¡± Ke Xun grasped onto these two keywords. Someone was finally willing to bring these words to light, ¡°If that darkness was indeed a shadow, then it matches the title of this painting ¡ª ¡¾Shadow¡¿.¡±

    ¡°If it really was a shadow, then it would be very difficult for it to drag a body. Even if the window was open, it would still be hard to aplish.¡± Mu Yiran put forward his own analysis.

    ¡°Like what Hao Wen¡¯er said earlier, windows can be opened by ¡®people¡¯, but it doesn¡¯t make sense for us living people to help out the entity.¡±

    Ke Xun felt like the strangeness of this world primarily involved subverting expectations, especially with its ability to change an object¡¯s physical dimensions, making everyone feel that their power was smaller than that of an ant.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how many shadows were presentst night.¡± Mu Yiran subconsciously looked at the shadows below him and Ke Xun: they were still a dark purple with lime green borders. ¡°No matter how powerful the magic behind the painting, everything inside must follow the rules of the world, including those shadows.¡±

    Indeed, the enemies inside the painting must strictly follow the rules in order to kill people, otherwise the game wouldn¡¯t be able to continue.

    Ke Xun looked up at the clock covered with cyan patterns: ¡°I don¡¯t know much about the color changes, but I think the clocks on the two floors of our building and the clocks in the circr building aren¡¯t affected by the same things, so they should have different meanings.

    The clocks in the round building had no patterns: they werepletely red, as red as the liquid that flowed out of the room.

    That clock seemed ominous, as if the color was especially set up for the dead.

    Right now, the clocks in the building were changing one by one into colors that were inconsistent with any of the five rooms ¡ª orange and cyan, it was unknown what these represented.

    Ke Xun originally thought that this Fauvist painting would demonstrate a more bold and decisive style, who knew that it also seemed to operate under such meticulous logic. In fact, it really wasn¡¯t difficult to escape the painting. As long as all the puzzles were solved, and the cause of the incident was found, logically, the artist¡¯s signature would be revealed.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost 11 o¡¯clock, let¡¯s go back to work.¡± Ke Xun went to the bathroom before returning to the blue room. The bathroom was located on the other side of the hall, its neutral palette indicating that it was safe to enter.

    Mu Yiran seemed to still be thinking hard about something, and Ke Xun didn¡¯t have a habit of asking his friends or boyfriends to go to the bathroom together, so he went alone.

    When Ke Xun came out, he found Mu Yiran still staring at the door of the blue room, his expression unnatural.

    ¡°Yiran?¡± Ke Xun stepped forward and patted the other¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Yiran.¡±

    Only then did Mu Yirane to his senses, and he looked at Ke Xun with distracted eyes: ¡°Ke Xun, there was a problem just now.¡±

    ¡°What did you see?¡± Ke Xun wanted to do something heartwarming and say something like ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid to hug me¡±¡­..

    ¡°Now that I think about it, I must have seen an illusion just now,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes looked at the blue door again, and the door had returned back to normal. ¡°That door seemed to be luring me in.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? Was my door helping me pull guys¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran directly ignored Ke Xun¡¯s casual flirting, standing up to prepare and return to his purple room.

    ¡°Yiran Yiran,¡± Ke Xun spoke his name out loud, feeling that this name was particrly exciting, explosive, and easy to ignite the hormones, ¡°Just now, what really happened?¡±

    Mu Yiran opened the purple door and looked inside, his expression bing more firm: ¡°The scene I saw just now was that of Wei Dong walking out of our room and directly into the blue room. After the blue door was opened, unexpectedly many of ourpanions had gathered inside as well.¡±

    ¡°F*ck, Ranran please don¡¯t scare me.¡±

    ¡°I was the only one in the hall at the time, and you broke the illusion when you appeared.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s brows were still furrowed.

    ¡°That illusion was truly too scary,¡± Ke Xun looked around the bright and harmless hall. ¡°In the illusion just now, were you able to fight it? Or were you still able to make your own decisions?¡±

    ¡°My consciousness was still clear, and because I thought the phenomenon was strange at the time, so I didn¡¯t act rashly.¡±

    ¡°In other words, if it had been someone else in your ce, they probably might¡¯ve been tricked by a different color door.¡± Ke Xun had just finished speaking when he heard a chuckle inside the hall.

    Theugh came unexpectedly, and it was instantly creepy ¡ª after a careful analysis, it was clear that theughter came from the sweet voice of the NPC.

    The chuckle came again, apanied by the familiar sound of music, and that sweet voice rang out: ¡°Next, I¡¯ll y a song for everyone. I hope everyone will enjoy their work with some beautiful music in the background.¡±

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran looked at each other silently. Even in the daytime, their every move couldn¡¯t seem to escape the hidden eyes inside the castle.

    As a result, the two of them walked into their respective rooms and went to ¡®enjoy the beauty of hard work¡¯.

    The two women in the blue room were almost finished with their task. Of course, the main source ofbor was Guo Lixia, while Xin Beibei was just awkwardly helping.

    ¡°Sister Guo, you can rest for a while, I will do the rest.¡± Ke Xun sat down on a small stool and carefully filled the blueberries into the jar.

    Guo Lixia really did feel a little tired, and she took a seat on the chair next to her: ¡°This job is far better than when I worked in a garment factory. Back then, we worked so hard that the days blended together.¡±

    Ke Xun tried to immerse himself in his work, he didn¡¯t want to learn too much about the personal details about thesepanions. The more he understood, the greater the psychological burden. After all, most of the people here would end up ¡®staying¡¯.

    Of the people who were forced into these paintings, some would simply be passerbys, while others might be imprinted so deeply that they¡¯ll never be erased in their lives.

    ¡°In order to buy a brand-nameputer for my son, I worked an extra month. Luckily I was still young back then, or else I would¡¯ve ended up in the hospital.¡± Guo Lixia massaged her waist as she talked about the past.

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but respond, ¡°Sister Guo¡¯s son, he should be in college now right?¡±

    Guo Lixia lowered her eyes, making it so that the others couldn¡¯t see her expression: ¡°He went to college in a foreign country; three years ago his father went abroad and brought his son with him. My son actually was willing to stay with me,¡± Guo Lixia¡¯s hand paused, ¡°I don¡¯t have many skills, and I didn¡¯t want to dy my child¡¯s future.¡±

    The topic was a bit heavy, so Ke Xun quickly put on a smile: ¡°When your son returns, Sister Guo will be able to rest easy.¡±

    Guo Lixia smiled bitterly and said nothing.

    Xin Beibei stood up to wash her hands and changed the subject: ¡°Group leader, did you already know Zhu Haowen from before?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been through three paintings together, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Is that guy gay ?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being GAY?¡± In Ke Xun¡¯s mind, this word has always been in all caps.

    Xin Beibei scrubbed the soap bubbles in her hands: ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just feel like he has some sinister thoughts, the kind of person who harbors a lot of bad intentions.¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help butugh: ¡°I really wonder¡­ Did something happen with Hao Wen¡¯er?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think his tongue is particrly sharp? Also he always deliberately targets me!¡± Xin Beibei rolled her eyes, ¡°I feel like he¡¯s interested in Lao Shi, looking at his attitude towards me, it really does seem like he¡¯s jealous.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Hao Wen¡¯er is not that kind of person.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t know Zhu Haowen very well, but whether or not he was gay, there was no way he would ever fight a woman out of jealousy.

    Guo Lixia couldn¡¯t help but interject: ¡°Although I don¡¯t speak English well, I also know what gay means. I don¡¯t understand, flies won¡¯t swarm eggs without cracks, so what are you so worried about? Or is it that your boyfriend Lao Shi is abnormal?¡±

    Xin Beibei¡¯s face flushed before remaining silent.

    Guo Lixia and Ke Xun looked at each other, they weren¡¯t expecting to hear this much gossip.

    Ke Xun: ¡°This elder-painting, did they pick us because we¡¯re like this¡­.¡±

    ¡ª

    A: Let¡¯s be real, if ZHW was interested in anyone, it¡¯s probably KX

    H: XBB, maybe you should look at your own rtionship first before pointing fingers at others¡­

 Chapter 85: The Purest Color

    <h4>Chapter 85: The Purest Color</h4>

    <i>T/N: So uh, for some reason the original novel has disappeared off jjwxc QAQ. I have another site where I¡¯m getting the raw chapters, but it doesn¡¯t show the original chapter titles so uh :))) wee to the naming game!! I¡¯ll do my best to guess what the author would name each chapter T-T</i>

    <i>Update: Thank you @tsundoku and Emilia Rose for finding a site with the correct chapter names <3?</i>

    Except for the green room where Zhu Haowen and Shi Zhendong were located, the other three roomspleted their three jars of berries before lunch.

    ¡°We¡¯re still missing a little less than a jar, so we should be able toplete the task before 2 o¡¯clock in the afternoon.¡± Shi Zhendong looked over at the clock on the wall that still had cyan patterns on it.

    Xin Beibei gazed at her boyfriend and then at Zhu Haowen who was sitting in the distance, with a veryplicated expression crossing her face.

    Qin Ci opened his mouth and said: ¡°Since there are only two people in the green group, it¡¯s normal for them to be slower atpleting the task. How about this, there¡¯s some free time after lunch: if you feel tired you can go back to your room to rest, or if you¡¯re interested, we can gather in the hall to discuss.¡±

    Shi Zhendong understood that Qin Ci was giving the green team some more time to work, so he smiled and said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll continue working after lunch. After that, we can all gather here at 2 o¡¯clock.¡±

    Everyone nodded, many of them didn¡¯t eat much for lunch, and they weren¡¯t in the mood to eat anyway, so Shi Zhendong and Zhu Haowen returned to the green room to work, while the others continued to sit at the table and discuss.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the clues we currently have.¡± Qin Ci spoke up again. ¡°The first thing is the death condition. He Yu entered another room without washing his hands yesterday, which was a clear act of polluting colors. So, he ended up dying in a way where he was deprived of color;

    ¡°The other deceased person was Zhang Tianwei. We still haven¡¯t been able to determine whether or not he contaminated colors, but obviously going into a different room with other colors is also a vition. There are many strange aspects around Zhang Tianwei¡¯s death, and everyone can discuss this issue first.¡± Qin Ci¡¯s eyes swept through all of those present.

    Mi Wei was the first to speak: ¡°I think the first thing we need to find out is, around what time did Senior Tianwei die, was he dead or alive before he was dragged out of the room, and also what we saw this morning¡­. Was Senior Tianwei dead by the time we saw him?¡±

    Xin Beibei was frightened by Mi Wei¡¯s speech: ¡°His body was already submerged in the bottle, of course he¡¯s dead!¡±

    Mi Wei continued: ¡°Since the world inside the painting is really strange, I just made a bold assumption. After He Yu died, he lost all his color. So when we saw Senior this morning¡­ when he was soaking in the bottle, was his color being squeezed out? If so, then how did He Yu lose his color? Was it also through this method?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then there would be marks throughout the entire bedroom,¡± Xin Beibei still felt a bit traumatized. ¡°The red pool that we saw this morning¡­ already flowed out of the room.¡±

    ¡°If Senior He was also killed in that way, then why didn¡¯t the murderer just kill Senior Zhang at the same timest night?¡± Yening Chenyi raised a question.

    ¡°The only way to verify your guess,¡± Ke Xun looked at Mi Wei¡¯s slender eyes, ¡°Is to go back to the scene again to see what happened to Zhang Tianwei after we left, and whether or not he ended up in the same circumstances as He Yu.¡±

    These words made everyone shudder, and the girls even regretted bringing up the previous discussion: verifying facts was much crueler than simply talking about the situation.

    ¡°Xiao Ke is right. In addition to verifying your hypothesis, it¡¯s also important to check Zhang Tianwei¡¯s body.¡± Qin Ci looked at the clock on the wall, and saw that it was only one o¡¯clock. ¡°There¡¯s still some time, who will go?¡±

    Xin Beibei couldn¡¯t help raising her voice: ¡°I won¡¯t be going anyway! I can still see the bleeding red bottle every time I close my eyes¡­¡± She grabbed onto Yening Chenyi who was next to her, ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t go too, it¡¯s too scary.¡±

    Mi Wei stood up: ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, if there are more people, there will be more eyes to observe for clues.¡±

    ¡°Dongzi, you stay here with the girls,¡± Ke Xun hadn¡¯t even finished speaking when he felt his bro cast over a grateful look. ¡°Although it¡¯s still daytime, it¡¯s better not to leave anyone behind. No one should be left alone, especially in the lobby.¡±

    Wei Dong nodded in agreement, and looked over at Guo Lixia, who had been leaning against her chair and napping, and counted this sister among the people left behind.

    Therefore, Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, and Qin Ci, along with Mi Wei and Miao Zipei, went up to the fourth floor again. Because the castle architecture was built in a strange shape, that open-air corridor only appeared on the fourth floor.

    It was Miao Zipei¡¯s first time going upstairs. When he found that the third and fourth floors were built simrly to the first two, he felt a little curious. Moreover, these rooms resembled the ones on the lower floors, and the red door in the middle had already be pale.

    There was a wooden door next to the hall on the fourth floor, and after pushing it open, it led to an open-air corridor.

    ¡°Pay attention to your feet!¡± After Mi Wei¡¯s reminder, everyone walked cautiously. As expected, there were some suspicious red marks on the ground at the end of the corridor.

    Everyone walked sideways, trying to get around the red colors.

    On the white floor tiles in the hall, those red marks were even more obvious.

    ¡°Those blood stains¡­ no, that red liquid has been disposed of.¡± Qin Ci was a little puzzled, ¡°but they weren¡¯t very careful with the cleaning.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like they used a broom or a mop,¡± Mi Wei boldly squatted down to take a closer look, ¡°Why does the red liquid show signs of being wiped off inrge swaths? What was used to clean it up?¡±

    Everyone said nothing. If they tried to imagine it, a horrible idea would emerge: these traces seemed like they were licked off by a huge tongue.

    Soon, these traces were ignored by everyone, because what was disyed beyond the open red door refreshed everyone¡¯s understanding again.

    The big ss jar from before was still there, and the red liquid inside was still flowing out slowly, but the rate was much slower than this morning.

    The person submerged in the ss jar could no longer be identified as ¡°Zhang Tianwei¡± ¡ª just like Mi Wei¡¯s previous observation, Zhang Tianwei¡¯s body had be shorter than before, and it was continuing to get even smaller.

    ¡°That¡­ is there a baby specimen in there?¡± The normally silent Miao Zipei stammered out.

    The human body was still immersed in the red liquid, but it was as small as a baby corpse, still standing upright with its small limbs suspended.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a baby, it¡¯s just a scaled down adult.¡± As a doctor, Qin Ci was able to urately answer Miao Zipei¡¯s question.

    After watching for a while, Mu Yiran stopped looking, instead turning around to look at the blood red clock on the wall: ¡°Because of the constant flow of red, it seems like Zhang Tianwei is almost out of color.¡±

    Miao Zipei couldn¡¯t help retching: ¡°Do all of our bodies have this much color?¡±

    This question seemed like an omen, and no one wanted to answer.

    Mu Yiran calmly looked at Miao Zipei: ¡°In this world, the artist wants to use color to express everything, including the lives of the people inside the paintings.¡±

    Miao Zipei tried very hard to suppress his vomiting, and he was almost overflowing with tears. He soon heard Ke Xun say next to him: ¡°We should take the opportunity to observe this hall, maybe there¡¯ll be other clues.¡±

    Mi Wei¡¯s eyes looked at the bright red clock on the wall: ¡°Do you think it¡¯s possible for the artist¡¯s signature to be on the clock?¡±

    Qin Ci was the first to deny this idea: ¡°Looking at it now, the clock seems a bit too obvious. There are clocks in every hall in the castle, so the signature is unlikely to be inside.¡±

    In Ke Xun¡¯s view, the things inside the room hadn¡¯t changed from this morning, aside from the blood stains being cleaned up.

    Miao Zipei¡¯s gaze fell on the window in the hall: ¡°The pattern on the windowttice is different from the one in our building, would this count as a discovery?¡±

    Ke Xun asked: ¡°Do you mean that in the building where we live, all thettice designs were the same?¡±

    No one else was able to answer this question, but Miao Zipei nodded affirmatively: ¡°Whether it¡¯s the working rooms or our bedrooms, including the halls on the third and fourth floors that I walked through just now, those windows had Morris patterns. To be more exact, they were golden lily patterns, and because the distribution of the patterns is different, everyone ignored them.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at this shining young man; whenever someone made a speech and was able to enlighten others, Ke Xun felt like they were glowing from the inside.

    ¡°So, do the window panes in this hall have Morris patterns?¡± Mu Yiran asked promptly.

    Miao Zipei didn¡¯t hesitate to answer: ¡°It¡¯s also a Morris pattern. If I remember correctly, this print shoulde from William Morris¡¯s pomegranate branch and white parrot design. Although these pattern panels are also split up ¡ª the point of the Morris pattern is that it¡¯s gorgeous and repetitiveposition emphasizes the beauty of ssicism. Any single part can be a whole perfect work in itself.

    ¡°Do you think these golden lilies, pomegranates, and white parrots you mentioned have any special meaning?¡± Qin Ci obviously didn¡¯t understand these things rted to art.

    ¡°It just represents all kinds of beauty and doesn¡¯t have any special meaning.¡± Miao Zipei could feel the encouragement from the surrounding eyes, so he continued, ¡°I just find it strange because Fauvism and Morris arepletely different. In terms of style, Morris¡¯s patterns emphasize more fine and courtly brushwork. I don¡¯t why this artist would use Morris patterns in the painting.¡±

    Mi Wei also felt this was reasonable: ¡°Fauvism relies on a kind of subversion and breaking of expectations. They don¡¯t usually pay attention to proportions andposition. Morris¡¯s pattern, inparison, is too conservative, and they¡¯re just simply two conflicting styles.¡±

    But these contradictions couldn¡¯t be understood by anyone in the painting, and perhaps even the painter himself couldn¡¯t exin it.

    ¡°This may have something to do with the artist¡¯s unknown mentality.¡± Mi Yiran said thisst sentence lightly ¡ª the older members knew that the previous paintings contained many different stories.

    Miao Zipei looked at the red clock on the wall again: ¡°Was the red you saw before the same shade as this one?¡±

    ¡°It was a very reddish red, would there be a difference?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Miao Zipei hesitated for a moment, and looked up again before squinting to observe the red on the surface of the clock: ¡°Red is the color with the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum. The wavelength ranges from around 625 to 720 nanometers and is considered one of the three primary colors of light.¡±

    Everyone quietly listened to Miao Zipei¡¯s words: ¡°In fact, red is just a general concept, and can be divided into hundreds of shades and tones. For example, the red on Zhang Tianwei and He Yu¡¯s clothes are different. Zhang Tianwei¡¯s clothes were dark red, while He Yu had a ga red tic-tac-toe pattern on his.¡±

    ¡°But judging from the red shade on the clock face, it seems to be the purest red. If divided ording to the optical color RGB index, the coordinates of the purest red would be: R is equal to 255, G is equal to 0, and B is equal to 0.¡±

    This was the first time that Ke Xun received such a professional lecture on color. After digesting it for a while, he couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°So is it possible that something wants to extract the purest color from us?¡±

    ¡ª

    A: Me and Hime as STEM kids going through this entire arc like ¡°Do I understand? Not really¡± LOL but I¡¯m definitely learning a lot XD

    H: *strokes non-existent mustache* Ah yes, art, I am familiar¡­¡­

    <i>Thank you Cat for the edit!</i>

 Chapter 86: Someoneâ€™s Been Polluted

    <h4>Chapter 86: Someone¡¯s Been Polluted</h4>

    <i>Update: @tsundoku and Emilia Rose have found another site with the correct chapter names, so we are back on track!! <3 apparently the author mentioned something about ¡°Unit 731¡± and that¡¯s why POT was removed off jjwxc hopefully it¡¯ll be back up soon</i>

    Shi Zhendong and Zhu Haowen finallypleted their workload before two o¡¯clock, and now everyone had congregated in the lobby on the second floor.

    After hearing about the changes to Zhang Tianwei¡¯s corpse, no one said anything, stunned expressions taking over their faces ¡ª aside from fear of the unknown, there was also the feeling of helplessness when facing so many changes.

    Miao Zipei looked up at the clock on the wall and felt a little puzzled: ¡°The color has changed again.¡±

    Everyone looked up one after another when they heard these words, but they couldn¡¯t see any obvious difference.

    Only Yening Chenyi said: ¡°It seems like¡­. It¡¯s more blue now, not so much cyan, but rather indigo.¡±

    ¡°Usymen don¡¯t really understand this kind of specific color ssification,¡± Shi Zhendong looked at his younger girlfriend who was also studying art, ¡°What is indigo?¡±

    Although Xin Beibei¡¯s expertise was average, she still knew the basics: ¡°Indigo is abination of blue and purple, but I don¡¯t think the current clock could be considered indigo.¡±

    Miao Zipei¡¯s eyes were like a highly urate instrument for distinguishing colors. He squinted his eyes and looked at it for a while: ¡°The color is undergoing a very slight change, slowly transitioning from cyan to indigo. Although the blue base is fixed, the underlying green is gradually turning into purple. I believe that after around ten minutes, everyone will be able to see the expected indigo color.¡±

    Shi Zhendong was a little ufortable: ¡°What does the color change on the clock mean? Although I don¡¯t remember the specific color changes you mentioned, all of these colors are mixed, and both cyan and indigo aren¡¯t among our five colors.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we have student Miao borate on each change, and let¡¯s try and analyze everything one by one.¡± Qin Ci said.

    Miao Zipei was about to narrate carefully for everyone, but was interrupted by an exmation.

    The voice came from Yening Chenyi. She stood up from the chair in horror and kept shaking her skirt: ¡°Oh my god, my skirt was stained with other colors!¡±

    The first reaction from everyone was to stay away from this girl immediately, after all, polluting colors was the biggest taboo in this world.

    After Yening Chenyi calmed down, she felt more and more like a harbinger of gue. At this moment, she took the initiative to stand far away from everyone, holding onto the skirt that had been stained with blue fruit juice, weeping lowly in the corner.

    Yening Chenyi¡¯s long dress was embroidered withvender flowers, but now, in an inconspicuous area of the skirt, there was a touch of blue ¡ª this fresh and soft color was very ring to the eye.

    ¡°Who is from the blue group?¡± After saying this, Ke Xun suddenly remembered that he was a member of the blue group.

    Guo Lixia and Xin Beibei in the same group both hurriedly stood up: ¡°This¡­ every time we walk out the room, we make sure to wash our hands well.¡±

    Yening Chenyi¡¯s entrie face turned pale in shock: ¡°What should I do, am I polluting the colors? When did this even happen? I¡¯ve never even been in another room.¡±

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t enter a different workroom, it shouldn¡¯t be considered pollution!¡± Ke Xun thought of this and quickly pulled Yening Chenyi towards the bathroom: ¡°Let¡¯s give it a try, maybe it can be washed off!¡±

    Like a vassal offering silks, Yening Chenyi rushed towards the bathroom to turn on the faucet, using soap to scrub the garment back and forth.

    The people in the hall looked very serious. Zhu Haowen said: ¡°It¡¯s currently unclear when she came in contact with the blue. If it was in the morning, then the room has now been contaminated.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not rush, the analysis should be carefully considered before drawing a conclusion,¡± Ke Xun carefully recalled everyone¡¯s schedule today, ¡°Xiao Ye has never entered the blue room, so the only exnation is that someone from the blue group identally brought the color outside and it stained Xiao Ye¡¯s skirt.¡±

    Both Guo Lixia and Xin Beibei frowned, their faces filled with indignation.

    Ke Xun continued to analyze: ¡°Everyone hadpleted their workload before lunch except for the green room, so after noon, no one else entered their work rooms. In other words, if the blue color was dyed after twelve o¡¯clock, then everything should be fine after washing it off.¡±

    Everyone nodded silently, and Shi Zhendong continued the train of thought: ¡°The most dangerous time would be the morning. From morning until noon, only four people were working. At that time, only Guo ¡ª Xiao Guo was able toe in contact with the blue juice.¡±

    Guo Lixia suddenly became anxious: ¡°When did it be my fault?! I¡¯ve been working all morning, always washing my hands beforeing outside, and being very careful not to bring the color out of the room. Who isn¡¯t afraid of what happened to He Yu yesterday?!¡±

    Shi Zhendong hurriedly said: ¡°Xiao Guo, don¡¯t worry, this might not be an urate hypothesis, and I didn¡¯t say it was really you who did it.¡±

    Ke Xun alsoforted Guo Lixia with a few words, and Guo Lixia finally calmed down, but she couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°This bad luck, I was just working and something went wrong¡­¡±

    Shi Zhendong continued: ¡°At ten o¡¯clock in the morning, everyone gathered in the lobby. This was an important time frame and the first opportunity for the skirt to be stained with blue juice. Later, everyone went back to their rooms to work together before going out again at lunch. This should be the second, andst, time frame.¡±

    At this time, Yening Chenyi also walked out the bathroom, her face still pale as paper: ¡°After washing it several times, I think the color washed off, but I don¡¯t know if that changes anything.¡±

    Everyone didn¡¯t know how tofort her, and all words paled inparison.

    ¡°Xiao Ye, who have you been in close contact with in the morning?¡± Ke Xun asked. After all, she would¡¯ve had to get close to someone in order for the skirt to be stained.

    Yening Chenyi carefully recalled for a long time: ¡°I don¡¯t remember, during the morning break, I mostly just spent time with Mi Wei¡­¡±

    Mi Wei¡¯s color was yellow, which immediately ruled her out of suspicion.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it happened in the morning,¡± Mu Yiran began speaking, and this sentence caught everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°When we left the first at one o¡¯clock in the afternoon, the clocks were still blue. We reunited here at two o¡¯clock, and Miao Zipei discovered that the color of the clock had changed from cyan to indigo. Indigo is abination of blue and purple, this shouldn¡¯t be a coincidence.¡±

    Everyone carefully analyzed Mu Yiran¡¯s words, and Miao Zipei looked up at the clockface that had be pure indigo: ¡°Indeed, indigo is blue and purple mixed together. Yening Chenyi¡¯s skirt was initially purple, and then it was stained with blue. Thebination of these two colors would create exactly this indigo color! Is this the clue that the clock was hinting at?!¡±

    Everyone was dumbfounded.

    Mu Yiran lightly nodded his head: ¡°Miao Zipei first discovered that the clock changed from white to orange, and orange is a mix of red and yellow. It¡¯s probably rted to yesterday¡¯s pollution when He Yu entered the yellow room without washing the red paint on his hands. Can this be understood as the pollution of red with yellow?¡±

    Everyone nodded thoughtfully, trusting this hypothesis: ¡°It turns out the color change on the clock face reflects the color of the pollution! Every time a color is polluted, the pattern on the clock will change color!¡±

    Mi Wei still grasped on a loophole: ¡°But what does the cyan represent? The cyan appeared after the orange, and it¡¯s abination of blue and green, and the clock turned cyan this morning. Was there any chance of us polluting colors before even entering the workroom?¡±

    Everyone fell silent again, and Ke Xun felt like his head would explode: ¡°Although it¡¯s impossible to exin the origin of the cyan color, the previous analysis should be correct. We all saw how the orange and indigo appeared.¡±

    Yening Chenyi was still at a loss: ¡°But, what can I do now¡­¡±

    ¡°At the very least, everyone has alreadypleted their work quotas, so you won¡¯t need to enter the workroom again.¡± Qin Ci also didn¡¯t have any ideas.

    .

    Yening Chenyi nodded her head in a panic: ¡°But, what about tonight? Our bedrooms are also filled with color!¡±

    Ke Xun thought of something and raised his head, meeting Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze. The two people frowned at the same time, but neither of them were able to think of anything.

    Guo Lixia also felt that this little girl was very pitiful: ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t you stay in the lobby on the second floor for one night.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a vition of the rules¡­¡± Yening Chenyi¡¯s whole person seemed sickly, almost resembling a terminally ill patient.

    No one dared to say any more, after all, the NPC required everyone to go sleep in their respective rooms.

    Just as everyone thought of the NPC, that familiar music sounded, and the NPC¡¯s voice was so sweet that people wanted to choke her to death: ¡°Congrattions everyone forpleting today¡¯s work task~ Afternoon tea is ready in the dining hall, requesting that everyone open the lobby door and go eat. After tea, everyone can stroll around and enjoy the scenery of the castle!¡± The NPC emphasized her tone as usual, ¡°Remember not to pollute the colors! Remember!¡±

    These words struck Yening Chenyi the hardest, and the girl was so scared that she couldn¡¯t even cry. At this moment, she looked at Mu Yiran in a panic: ¡°Group leader, what should I do?¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t expect that Mu Yiran would be promoted to the purple group¡¯s leader; they matched quite well¡­

    Mu Yiran looked at Yening Chenyi¡¯s eyes with a rare gentleness: ¡°The color has been washed off, so there might be a chance. Don¡¯t sleep in the hall at night, that in itself is a vition of the rules.¡±

    Xin Beibei seemed to have thought of something: ¡°If we think about the red bedroom, because of He Yu, the entire room lost color! If she really polluted the colors, will the purple bedroom also¡­¡±

    There was an unshakable determination in Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes: ¡°The painting always has a bottom line, and especially when it concerns death conditions, it¡¯s very strict ¡ª it will never use one person¡¯s mistake to punish others.¡±

    Wei Dong also said: ¡°Xiao Ye, you can rest assured and go back to our bedroom, we are not afraid! If there¡¯s any danger, maybe we can help you!¡±

    Yening Chenyi was very moved and nodded hurriedly.

    At this time, Guo Lixia had already pushed the dining trolley in. There were exquisite western-style pastries stacked in a tower, as well as a thin-necked round-bellied ssware containing bright red pomegranate juice.

    Everyone was a little bit put off and chose the ordinary tea instead.

    ¡°We have to continue looking for signatures, we shouldn¡¯t waste our free time during daylight hours.¡± Qin Ci ate the delicious cookies but his face was expressionless.

    ¡°This castle is made up of several connected buildings. As of right now, we only know about this square building, as well as the round building connected by the corridor on the fourth floor. We must find a way to figure out the floor n of the entire castle,¡± said Shi Zhendong.

    Xin Beibei quickly spoke up: ¡°There¡¯s also the exterior of the castle as well. We only looked at the wishing pool this morning, but we didn¡¯t have time to look at the maze yet!¡±

    ¡ª

    A: Ngl it¡¯s kinda creepy the way the castle seems to be slowly but surely tripping them up. They still haven¡¯t figured out how the blue juice got out of the room, and now that red pomegranate juice¡­

    H: It is indeed very eerie¡­ at least they finally figured out the meaning of the clock

 Chapter 87: Open Window at Midnight

    <h4>Chapter 87: Open Window at Midnight</h4>

    It was already 4 o¡¯clock in the afternoon, and night was about to fall in two or three hours. For the sake of caution, everyone didn¡¯t split into too many groups.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go outside to check? Obviously the fountain and maze are the most eye-catching objects in the whole picture!¡± Xin Beibei questioned.

    Shi Zhendong sincerely replied: ¡°As of right now, these two things aren¡¯t suspicious. We¡¯d better concentrate on searching the rooms in the castle.¡±

    Xin Beibei showed a regretful expression, but didn¡¯t say anymore.

    The remaining people were divided into two groups, and they searched the other buildings of the castle one by one before they had to return to the lobby at 6:30 for dinner.

    The two hours passed very quickly, the two groups of people didn¡¯t dare to waste time outside, and they all returned before dinner.

    Qin Ci¡¯s team was in charge of the circr building: ¡°The building has six floors, so it should be the tallest structure in the castle. The first and third floors can be reached from a staircase, and theyout is exactly the same as the fourth floor: one side is a semicircr hall while the other side is a semicircr room with tightly closed doors. The doors are the building¡¯s original color, and inside the rooms are empty¡­ emptyrge ss bottles, each around two meters tall.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s hearts felt heavy, it was as if those empty bottles were waiting for someone to fill them up.

    ¡°You said the circr building has six floors?¡± Zhu Haowen asked, ¡°As of now, we¡¯re been split into five color groups, so then what¡¯s the other floor for?¡±

    Qin Ci naturally didn¡¯t know: ¡°The fourth, fifth, and sixth floors are separated from the others, and we can only reach the fourth floor through our connecting corridor. If we want to go up to the fifth and sixth floors, then we¡¯ll have to use the copperdder on the outside. I was thinking little brother Ke is very agile¡­¡±

    Ke Xun understood: ¡°I¡¯ll go check it out tomorrow.¡±

    Yening Chenyi couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°How¡¯s the situation with Senior Zhang?¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s expression turned gloomy: ¡°The red liquid is no longer spilling out, and the thing inside the bottle has already be the size of a fist. If you aren¡¯t looking carefully, you¡¯ll most likely miss it.¡±

    Everyone seemed to feel numb regarding the decreasing size of Zhang Tianwei¡¯s body. After so much shrinkage, it¡¯s no doubt that everything would bepletely squeezed dry.

    ¡°What about Haowen¡¯s group? What did you find?¡± Shi Zhendong looked at Zhu Haowen.

    Xin Beibei¡¯s expression was a little unhappy, and she immediately nced at Ke Xun: ¡°Are there any new discoveries in team leader¡¯s group?¡±

    Ke Xun felt like Xin Beibei was a littleughable, but his group really didn¡¯t manage to find anything, so he wasn¡¯t able to smile even a little: ¡°We went to the centermost building, but the main entrance was locked, and without a key it can¡¯t be opened. The two buildings next to it were the same, so we ended up going outside to see the fountain and the maze.¡±

    ¡°You guys went to the maze?!¡± Xin Beibei was astonished.

    ¡°You seem to be very interested in the maze.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze seemed to hide some sharpness.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to go into a maze, I¡¯ve only ever seen them on TV.¡± Xin Beibei felt wronged, ¡°Were there any new discoveries inside the maze?¡±

    ¡°The structure of the maze is veryplex, so we just looked around the outside, but we weren¡¯t able to find anything just yet.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°If possible, tomorrow, we should stand somewhere where we can look down at the maze and draw a map of its route so it¡¯ll be easier to see where we¡¯re going.¡±

    Xin Beibei looked at Zhu Haowen: ¡°In other words, your group has found nothing.¡±

    Zhu Haowen was toozy to look at the woman, instead looking directly at her boyfriend: ¡°We found something wrong with the pool, the coins inside have changed.¡±

    ¡°The coins have changed? Is it different from what you saw this morning?¡± Shi Zhendong asked.

    Ke Xun nodded: ¡°We weren¡¯t as careful this morning, especially since there was an incident that interrupted our observations. We remember that at the time, there were coins inside the fountain that had a corresponding pattern to Zhang Tianwei, as for He Yu¡¯s Jing pattern, at the time no one really saw anything.¡±

    ¡°What happened to the coins?¡± Someone asked.

    ¡°The moon patterned coins have all disappeared.¡± Ke Xun answered, ¡°Furthermore, we looked through the entire fountain, and there were no coins with the Jing pattern.¡±

    ¡°What does this mean? After a person dies, the coins with their pattern inscribed disappear?¡± Shi Zhendong didn¡¯t understand the mystery. ¡°But you clearly saw the moon-shaped pattern this morning. Could it be that¡­ Zhang Tianwei wasn¡¯t dead at the time?¡±

    Zhang Tianwei was already immersed in the blood-red bottle by then. It was unimaginable that he wasn¡¯t already dead at the time.

    There wasplete silence at the dinner table.

    It was Yening Chenyi who broke the silence: ¡°If the same thing happens to me, please do everything you can to kill me.¡±

    What could they even do?

    Although the dinner itself was sumptuous, everyone could only regard it as a necessity for filling their stomachs. After barely finishing the meal, they all walked upstairs with heavy steps.

    The colors in the hall were gradually darkening, and the world¡¯s night wasing.

    ¡°Be extra careful tonight.¡± Mu Yiran, likest night, did not rush to leave the first floor.

    ¡°It¡¯s me who should be saying that.¡± Ke Xun stood beside Mu Yiran, ¡°The one who¡¯s most likely to have an incident tonight is the Yening Chenyi in your room.¡±

    ¡°A danger that can be predicted is not necessarily the greatest one.¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at the darkening indigo pattern on the clock: ¡°Indigo is in the light, and cyan is in the dark.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, regardless of which color it is, our blue room is unable to escape.¡± Ke Xun lifted his arm, ¡°ording to color theory, regarding the cyan, aside from our rooms, the green room is also in danger.¡±

    If there were two corpses the next morning, one of them should be Yening Chenyi, while the other one could be anyone from the blue or green room.

    ¡°I¡¯m just wondering if the person who caused the cyan color knows what really happened.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s words were filled with meaning.

    ¡°If they know then why wouldn¡¯t they say it out loud? Everyone could find a way to help.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell, maybe they¡¯re scared of being rejected, or maybe it¡¯s because of something else.¡± Mu Yiran looked at the grayed fountain and maze outside the window, ¡°No matter what, the danger tonight can¡¯t be resisted, so don¡¯t act rashly.¡±

    ¡°Yiran, you really care about me.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice suddenly sounded rxed ¡ª after experiencing so much life and death, it was nice to experience things that weren¡¯t rted to them.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t speak anymore, the shadow of the night made the curly patterns on his clothes be even more distinct, and the whole person seemed to turn into a carefully crafted print.

    The two went upstairs one after another, returning to the lobby on the second floor.

    .

    Although it was night, everything still had clear silhouettes, such as the light gray stairs, the dark gray tables and chairs, as well the ck and seemingly bottomless floors and walls.

    Ke Xun returned to his own room, where everything was the same asst night; the patterns belonging to the twodies lying on different beds.

    ¡°Group leader, we were just talking about what happenedst night. Why didn¡¯t anyone call for help?¡± The polka dot pattern belonging to Guo Lixia turned over and looked towards Ke Xun, ¡°If there¡¯s another ident tonight, will it still be silent?¡±

    ¡°Even if someone calls for help, it¡¯s impossible for us to go to another room to help.¡± Xin Beibei¡¯s body looked like a narrow strip, and the small rhombus patterns all over made people feel dizzy.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anything, insteadying down next to Guo Lixia likest night.

    Facing the two women in the blue room, he felt a bitplicated. After all, the blue color that polluted Yening Chenyi¡¯s skirt could have only been brought out of the blue workroom. Ke Xun firmly believed that he wouldn¡¯t have been able to do this, so the only suspects were the two women in front of him.

    ¡°Say, what secrets do you guys think are hidden in that maze?¡± Ke Xun suddenly asked such a question.

    ¡°It¡¯s unlikely for the signature to be hidden in there.¡± Xin Beibei replied.

    ¡°How would we know?¡±

    ¡°The only things inside are green nts, nothing else. Unless the signature is on one of the leaves, and in that case, how would we even find it?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ke Xun yawned and stopped making any sounds.

    Perhaps everyone was tired, and Guo Lixia¡¯s snoring soon filled the room.

    Ke Xun was not sleepy, instead staring unblinkingly at the silhouetted window and night outside that hung like ck cloth.

    If one looked closely, the windowttice was really like what Miao Zipei described, filled with lilies of different shapes, but because of theposition, it was almost impossible to distinguish the original appearance.

    About two hourster, Guo Lixia was already in a deep sleep, and Xin Beibei was silent. Just as Ke Xun was fighting to keep his lids open, the whole room suddenly entered darkness.

    All sleepiness immediately disappeared, and Ke Xun silently kept his eyes open, trying to see anything hidden in the darkness.

    If, as previously guessed, this darkness belonged to a certain shadow, just how much surface area did this shadow cover? And where was the original entity from which the shadow originated?

    When people find themselves in extreme danger, they often develop something simr to a sixth sense. Ke Xun at the moment was in this situation, and he felt that the shadow was passing by his own window without any confirmation. However, once the darkness gradually left, Ke Xun almost screamed.

    All of the Morris patterns on the window were gone!

    That meant the windows of the room were fully opened.

    Who did it? Was it someone outside or someone inside?

    Ke Xun remained motionless, listening to Guo Lixia¡¯s snoring next to his ears as his eyes spun around the room. He suddenly found that Xin Beibei, at some point, had changed her position, and was now sitting on the opposite bed.

    Ke Xun said nothing, trying to make the other party think that he was still asleep.

    The diamond pattern belonging to Xin Beibei stayed sitting on the bed. Because of the darkness, it made people wonder what she was looking at so seriously.

    Was she looking out the window? Or was she sizing up the people on the other bed?

    Xin Beibei stayed sitting for a few minutes before lying back on the bed.

    Ke Xun gazed at the open window and found that he had no strength to get up and close it ¡ª His whole person seemed to be stuck to the bed. When the shadow descendedst night, he felt a simr feeling.

    Who opened the window? It should be Xin Beibei.

    It could only be Xin Beibei, because thetches on the windows were located inside the room, and it was impossible to open them from outside.

    What did Xin Beibei want to do?

    Was Xin Beibei still Xin Beibei?

    Did He Yu and Zhang Tianwei open their windowsst night in the same way?

    Could it be that the shadow could only use its power to make the people inside the room open the windows? Was that darkness really a shadow or was it an entity in itself?

    Ke Xun looked at the empty gray window frame. The whole window was like an open door, inviting anything outside toe in.

    ¡ª

    A: This is getting freakyyyyy

    H: omg im spooked *huddles pillow*

    Shoutout to @sleepy avis on Discord for helping us figure out that one line!

 Chapter 88: Dragged

    <h4>Chapter 88: Dragged</h4>

    <i>T/N: For reference on color changes so far (minor spoilers for the chapter). <strong>Also please check the bottom for a very important note :(((</strong></i><strong>??</strong>

    After several long and deep breaths, Ke Xun felt like his body was gradually recovering, and he was finally able to clench his fists with a bit more strength.

    Ke Xun sat himself up in bed, thinking of a way to close the window.

    Xin Beibei once againy motionless on the opposite bed, and it wasn¡¯t known whether she really fell asleep or was just lying there watching Ke Xun.

    Just as Ke Xun finally stood up and prepared to walk to the window, his eyes were suddenly blinded, and the unexpected darkness once again enveloped everything.

    Ke Xun stood there, not daring to act rashly when he couldn¡¯t even distinguish the direction.

    The feeling this time was very clear, something hade into the room, as opposed to just ¡°passing by¡± like the previous two times.

    In the vast invisible darkness, only smell and hearing were left.

    Perhaps Guo Lixia felt some fear in her dreams, her snoring had slowly quieted, leaving only the sounds of heavy breathing in her sleep.

    Another voice sounded in the darkness from Xin Beibei; it was a rapid gasp, with a sound as if she was going to suffocate in pain.

    The darkness seemed to have a smell simr to the scent of the berries in the workroom, as well as the bottle Zhang Tianwei was soaked in.

    Ke Xun felt this strong smell pass by his nose before gradually fading away. His eyes looked in the direction of the window, trying to see if the other party was about to leave.

    Finally, a touch of gray came into view; it was the color of the window frame ¡ª the entire square frame was revealed, and everything inside the room gradually came to light.

    Guo Lixia¡¯s polka dot pattern was still lying on the bed and sleeping soundly.

    Ke Xun¡¯s own water ripple pattern stood in the middle of the room.

    And Xin Beibei¡¯s diamond pattern was being dragged towards the windows in an extremely disturbing way.

    That¡¯s right, Xin Beibei was squirming around like a snake being dragged through the dirt, and her pattern looked like a moving tablecloth.

    Ke Xun clearly saw the thing dragging Xin Beibei away. It originated at her feet,pletely ck, and it was around the size of Xin Beibei herself.

    If his judgement wasn¡¯t wrong, that thing should be Xin Beibei¡¯s shadow.

    Ke Xun slowly stepped back from his bed, trying to stay away from Xin Beibei and her shadow.

    ¡°Xin Beibei?¡± Ke Xun finally called out the other party¡¯s name. The death event was happening before his eyes, and it was impossible to ignore it.

    The diamond pattern belonging to Xin Beibei made a vague sound: ¡°Guru..¡±

    It was a low gurgling sound from suffocation.

    Ke Xun¡¯s body broke out in cold sweats as he watched Xin Beibei¡¯s body being slowly dragged out of bed, moving towards the window sill.

    Xin Beibei¡¯s shadow had gradually spread to the window, dragging her feet over with it.

    Ke Xun boldly approached Xin Beibei¡¯s head. Since her head was the farthest from the shadow, it should be safer.

    Xin Beibei let out a hoarse gasp, as if she was being strangled.

    Ke Xun grabbed Xin Beibei¡¯s shoulders and tried to drag her back, but found that his strength was too weakpared to the opponent.

    Ke Xun tentatively touched Xin Beibei¡¯s neck with his hand, and found that the area of her neck was deeply sunken ¡ª the flesh was tightly strangled by something invisible.

    Ke Xun bravely touched the concave shape and pulled his hand back.

    That shape clearly took the form of arge invisible hand.

    Because of the disparity in power, Ke Xun could only watch Xin Beibei being dragged out by her own shadow. The narrow diamond pattern wriggled painfully and gradually disappeared out the window.

    Ke Xun raced to the window sill and poked his head out. The ck shadow had melted into the dark night. The most eye-catching part was the pattern belonging to Xin Beibei, shakily moving as it was dragged past the window next door and far into the distance.

    Just likest night.

    At this time Ke Xun felt a little cold; his clothes had been drenched with sweat.

    Ke Xun looked at the windows to the left and right, and found that the windows of all the rooms were tightly closed, and he was just about to close his own windows.

    He scanned the pool and the maze outside, but suddenly found that there was a ck and white pattern in the maze, particrly distinct in the pure gray maze.

    That should be a person, a person walking the mazete at night.

    Ke Xun wanted to clearly see the pattern on the man¡¯s clothes, but the distance was too far, so he could only vaguely see the outline of the man, standing straight next to the maze. He seemed to be looking back at Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun subconsciously closed the window, but didn¡¯t leave, continuing to observe the opponent through the window pane.

    The man stood there for a few minutes before walking into the maze and disappearing.

    The whole night finally passed, and then it was dawn.

    The first news everyone got was: Yening Chenyi, like He Yu yesterday, died miserably.

    Fortunately, the other two people in the purple room weren¡¯t affected, and the room itself didn¡¯t change; the door was still purple.

    Although the death of Yening Chenyi was within everyone¡¯s expectations, the disappearance of Xin Beibei made everyone puzzled.

    Many people unanimously turned their sympathetic eyes to Shi Zhendong.

    Shi Zhendong was silent for a long time, and his voice seemed to be trying to suppress his choking: ¡°The cyan pattern of the clock yesterday was actually rted to Beibei.¡±

    ¡°But why was Xin Beibei selected? Did she also pollute the colors?¡± After saying this, Mi Wei subconsciously looked at the clock in the second floor lobby and found that it was still the indigo color fromst night, before signing: ¡°Yesterday, Miao Zipei said that the clock changed from orange to cyan in the morning, but at that time, everyone hadn¡¯t worked yet, so everyone thought that the change had nothing to do with color pollution.¡±

    ¡°At that time yesterday morning, everyone was on the second floor, just like now.¡± Qin Ci said.

    Mu Yiran continued the train of thought: ¡°That¡¯s why I think, entering a different colored room will still change the color of the clock pattern.¡±

    ¡°You mean, someone entered the wrong room yesterday morning?¡± Everyone was puzzled.

    ¡°Think about it carefully. When everyone was observing He Yu¡¯s body in the red room yesterday, who was the only one left alone?¡± Mu Yiran raised this question.

    A lot of people had yet to figure it out, when they heard Shi Zhendong suddenly say: ¡°It was Beibei; she was very scared at the time, so Beibei was left alone.¡±

    Zhu Haowen also recalled: ¡°At that time, we stayed inside the red room for a while, at least more than 20 minutes. What did Xin Beibei do in the hall alone? Why would she enter another room?¡±

    Everyone was puzzled. Xin Beibei could be said to be the least courageous among this group of people, how could she risk her life to enter another room?

    ¡°I¡¯ve mentioned before that when a person is alone, especially in the hall, they¡¯re likely to be deceived in some way.¡± Mu Yiran looked at everyone, ¡°I personally experienced it yesterday afternoon. Through hallucinations, people can¡¯t help but want to open other doors.¡±

    Ke Xun experienced an entire night of torment, and was a little listless early the next morning. At this moment, he heard this and seemed to think of something: ¡°No wonder I always felt that Xin Beibei¡¯s hostility towards Hao Wen¡¯er was somewhat unfounded. The illusion the other party showed her may have been rted to Hao Wen¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that because she saw something rted to me, when everyone gathered in the red room yesterday morning, she went into our green room alone?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s very possible, or rather, it should be the only possibility,¡± Ke Xun looked at the green door. ¡°Blue and green add up to cyan.¡±

    Shi Zhendong¡¯s eyes were red, and his voice was a little hoarse: ¡°But Beibei didn¡¯t act any different yesterday, and her behavior was the same as usual.¡±

    ¡°This is probably due to the world¡¯s scheming influence,¡± said Mu Yiran. ¡°People who have been bewitched by it maintain their usual temperament until it¡¯s time for them to act, so they won¡¯t be noticed by everyone.

    Wei Dong grabbed his somewhat disheveled hair: ¡°You mean, Xin Beibei was the one who stained Xiao Ye¡¯s skirt yesterday?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t speak, indicating his agreement.

    Guo Lixia frowned: ¡°But after we finished work at noon yesterday, all three of us washed our hands, and Xin Beibei was the one who washed the most.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not necessary for the color to be transferred by hand, for example, just hiding a blueberry in your pocket would be enough.¡± Mu Yiran began his hypothesis, ¡°At one o-clock yesterday afternoon everyone split up, the green group continued to work, while a portion of the others went to the fourth floor to check on Zhang Tianwei¡¯s corpse and the leftover people remained in the hall.¡±

    Wei Dong nodded: ¡°That¡¯s right, at the time me, Xiao Ye, Sister Guo and Xin Beibei stayed behind.¡±

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t guess wrong, Xin Beibei and Yening Chenyi¡¯s were rtively close at the time, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sister Guo was taking a nap back then. The two girls were chatting the whole time, and I couldn¡¯t really join in.¡± Wei Dong still felt that Yening Chenyi¡¯s death was unfair, ¡°Xiao Ye had already washed the color off her skirt, so why¡­¡±

    ¡°Perhaps the colors in this world can¡¯t be removed after they¡¯ve been painted. Even if it disappears from the naked eye, it still exists.¡± Mi Wei tried to remain calm, ¡°That¡¯s why the clock suddenly became indigo!¡±

    Everyone discussed the connections between the various clues that urred yesterday, and they were all consistent with today¡¯s inferences.

    ¡°When Xiao Ye was attackedst night, did those of you in the room hear any strange noises? Or did you see anything weird?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    Wei Dong¡¯s face looked haggard: ¡°We couldn¡¯t sleepst night, Xiao Ye was too scared to fall asleep. Then the room suddenly became dark. There was no movement at the time, and when the room returned to its original state, we found that Xiao Ye was missing.¡±

    ¡°Missing?¡±

    ¡°The pattern belonging to Xiao Ye was gone, and it seemed like her body had merged with the darkness. When dawn came, she became like this..¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t continue speaking.

    The real death in this world was to be one with the shadow; and in daylight, it was to be as pale as chalk.

    ¡ª

    A: Hello everyone! If you missed the discord notification, I¡¯m very sorry to say that Hime and I will be dropping this project for the time being due to a lot of life changes ?We really wanted to finish the arc for you guys at least, but this painting is particrly long QAQ Thank you for joining and supporting us on this journey <3 If you¡¯re interested in picking up this project, please feel free to contact CG staff + message me on disc if you need any help!

    H: Thanks for joining us on this journey, but unfortunately all good things muste to an end  Hopefully PoT can find a good home with another trantor!

 Chapter 89: Xin Beibei

    <h4>Chapter 89: Xin Beibei</h4>

    ¡°Yening Chenyi¡¯s method of death is exactly the same as He Yu¡¯s. Both of them were stained with abnormal colors, or brought their own colors into the room where they shouldn¡¯t have,¡± Mi Wei analyzed. ¡°Can we infer that the people who were contaminated by other colors were not just dragged away as corpses but were killed on the spot?¡±

    .

    Ke Xun had a sudden realization. ¡°Maybe those who were dragged away were not corpses yet, but were still living bodies¡ªXin Beibei might still be alive.¡±

    Everyone recalled the coins in the pool. When Zhang Tianwei was found immersed in arge ss jar, the pool still had coins that belonged to his moon pattern.

    Presumably, Zhang Tianwei wasn¡¯t dead yet at the time.

    In this way, Xin Beibei was also very likely not dead.

    Shi Zhendong wanted to go upstairs. ¡°I¡¯m going to check the inside of that round building. Maybe Beibei still hasn¡¯t been put in a ss jar yet!¡±

    At this moment, no one was in the mood to eat breakfast, so they all went upstairs with Shi Zhendong.

    When they came to the familiar open corridor on the fourth floor, the door of the circr building was still open. The red door inside was also open, but the ss jar that Zhang Tianwei had been soaked in had disappeared without a trace.

    The ground was as clean as new, as if those red liquids had never been there.

    ¡°What floor will Xin Beibei likely be on?¡± Mi Wei looked up at the copperdder leading to the fifth and sixth floors.

    ¡°This way. I¡¯ll climb up thedder to take a look.¡± Ke Xun took the initiative to speak. Yesterday, he also had this same n.

    The copperdder was very strong, and so Ke Xun was quickly able to climb up to the fifth floor. Looking back, he found that Mu Yiran was also following close behind him.

    Ke Xun smiled slightly. ¡°Do you care about me or do you care about me?¡±

    Mu Yiran moved quickly to the fifth floor. ¡°I just don¡¯t want anyone to be alone.¡±

    They pushed open the wooden door of the fifth floor hall and were quickly attracted by the eye-catching blue clock on the wall.

    ¡°It should be right here.¡± Ke Xun looked at the hidden blue door and immediately shouted to everyone waiting in the corridor on the fourth floor, ¡°It¡¯s the fifth floor!¡±

    Shi Zhendong and Zhu Haowen quickly climbed up. Seeing that Qin Ci wasing up too, Ke Xun hurriedly shouted, ¡°Not too many people. Try not to be alone!¡±

    Qin Ci understood that, ording to Mu Yiran¡¯s analysis today, it was very dangerous to ¡°stand alone¡± or even stay with a very small number of people.

    In their future actions, it is best that they maintain a body count of more than three people, so as not to end up meeting with some terrible enchantment.

    The few people who came to the fifth floor used yesterday¡¯s method to force the blue door to open by ¡°creating wind.¡±

    Although everyone had already expected to see the scene behind the door, when they actually saw the big blue ss jar with their own eyes, they couldn¡¯t help but step back again and again.

    There was a two meters high ss jar half filled with blue liquid. Xin Beibei¡¯s entire body was immersed in the liquid, revealing only a head suspended in the water.

    Seeing his girlfriend¡¯s situation, Shi Zhendong couldn¡¯t hold himself back; he began to tremble violently. ¡°This person¡­is she really Beibei? Beibei, Beibei! Can you hear me?¡±

    Xin Beibei¡¯s eyes were open, but her gaze was vacant, like that of a statue.

    ¡°I¡¯ll call Sister Guo toe up and help!¡± After Ke Xun said this, he took thedder back down to the fourth floor.

    ¡°Sister Guo? Xiao Guo?¡± Shi Zhendong was a little dazed.

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Sister Guo and Ke Xun are both in the blue team. They should be qualified to walk into this room.¡±

    Soon, Guo Lixia came up, ¡°protected¡± by Wei Dong and Ke Xun. ¡°That youngdy is still alive? How do we save her? We¡­¡±

    Guo Lixia¡¯s words abruptly stopped when she saw the scene in front of her. This was the first time Guo Lixia saw a person stored in a ss jar. Although she didn¡¯t scream, she still couldn¡¯t help but feel scared. ¡°Mother of God¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°I may have to wrong Sister Guo.¡± Ke Xun unhesitantly walked into the room and looked at the ss jar as tall as himself. ¡°Sister Guo can support me from underneath, while I go up to see if I can pull her out.¡±

    The ss jar was slippery, with no clear foothold at all, making it very difficult for him to directly climb up by himself.

    Guo Lixia didn¡¯t hesitate too much. ¡°I¡¯ll lower myself down here. You can step on my shoulders. No problem at all! I¡¯m just afraid that this ss jar is too big and you, group leader, might fall in.¡±

    ¡°Fuck, Sister Guo, don¡¯t scare people!¡± Ke Xun smiled. Seeing that Mu Yiran was looking at him with some concern, he smiled again.

    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll try my best to hold your feet.¡± Guo Lixia was also a person who dared to put words to action, and she followed Ke Xun into the room.

    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Mu Yiran said. It was unknown when a bundle of rope had appeared in his hands. ¡°This was just discovered behind the wooden door. Tie this around your waist so that it¡¯s safer.¡±

    ¡°What a great idea!¡± Guo Lixia was the first to throw a like. ¡°Even if the group leader really fell in, we can all work together to pull him out! Brother Mu, you can start.¡±

    Mu Yiran gave an imperceptible nod. Wei Dong also quickly grabbed onto the rope, fearing that Ke Xun might meet with a mishap.

    Shi Zhendong also came over. ¡°With everyone pulling together, it¡¯s bound to be safe.¡±

    Thereupon, Ke Xun, with a rope tied around his waist, soon stood on Guo Lixia¡¯s shoulders, grabbed the mouth of the ss jar, and stuck his head inside.

    The surface of the blue water was like a small sea, and Xin Beibei¡¯s long ck hair was floating on that surface like seaweed.

    ¡°Xin Beibei? Can you hear me?¡± Ke Xun called tentatively.

    But there was no response.

    Ke Xun leaned over until half of his body was nearly in the ss jar. He stretched out his long arm, and his hand finally grazed across the other person¡¯s hair. The sensation of coolness and dampness across his fingers was disconcerting.

    Without dwelling on it too much, Ke Xun grabbed Xin Beibei by the hair and tried to pull her up.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t put too much strength into it. At first, he felt some resistance, but then there was a sudden give.

    A loud shriek came from outside the room, and soon there was another shriller scream from Guo Lixia at his feet.

    The few people standing outside the blue door saw this indelible scene that they would remember for the rest of their lives: Xin Beibei¡¯s head snapped off very easily, with blue liquid gushing out from her broken neck. Even the five orifices on her head were leaking blue liquid.

    ¡°Ssh¡ª¡± The head returned to the water again, floating freely on the water¡¯s surface.

    Ke Xun nkly opened his hand.

    ¡°Ke Xun! Quickly,e out!¡± Mu Yiran pulled on the rope, calling the nk-minded Ke Xun¡¯s soul back.

    Guo Lixia was so frightened that she copsed to the ground, causing Ke Xun to tumble down.

    Even though Ke Xun¡¯s legs were also soft, he supported Guo Lixia, and they both staggered out of that terrible blue room. No one looked back.

    They all stared at each other speechlessly. Ke Xun looked at Shi Zhendong, whose face had gone gray, and finally squeezed three words out from his throat, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    Shi Zhendong looked like a puppet with its strings cut off. After a long time, he finally raised his head to look at Ke Xun. ¡°I don¡¯t me you¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen was still calm. He looked at the blue liquid on Ke Xun¡¯s hands and said, ¡°You have to wash your hands quickly.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Ke Xun walked into the bathroom in the hall without a thought, and directly washed his hands.

    To avoid suspicion, Guo Lixia went to the bathroom to wash her hands as well.

    After Ke Xun had washed his hands, he walked out of the bathroom and found Zhu Haowen standing at the door, still expressionless as usual. ¡°Just now, if she wasn¡¯t already dead, what you did would be considered as relieving her of her suffering.¡±

    ¡°I would rather that she was already dead.¡± Ke Xun felt as if he¡¯d just killed someone.

    ¡°You tried your best,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°You must have also tried your best to save herst night, but your opponent¡¯s strength was just too strong.¡±

    Ke Xun nced at Mu Yiran. ¡°It was her own shadow that dragged her awayst night, and I couldn¡¯tpete with it. Her neck seemed to be pinched tightly by a pair of invisible hands.¡±

    Mu Yiran frowned, unable to figure it out.

    They all returned to the fourth floor using thedder. When the other people saw their expressions, they didn¡¯t ask very many questions.

    The group walked back to their own building, and Ke Xun washed his hands once more in the bathroom on the fourth floor.

    ¡°What the heck happened?¡± Mi Wei asked Wei Dong.

    Wei Dong sighed. ¡°Xin Beibei is dead?¡±

    ¡°Like Zhang Tianwei?¡±

    ¡°Just about.¡±

    As Shi Zhendong staggered downstairs, Guo Lixia, as a peer, expressed sympathy. ¡°I¡¯ll go down to keep an eye on him, so that nothing goes wrong.¡±

    A familiar music sounded, and the voice of the NPC appeared, still as sweet as ever. ¡°A new day has arrived. The castle has prepared a delicious breakfast for everyone. Everyone is invited to go to the lobby on the first floor for a taste. Our task today is still three jars of canned berries. Remember not to contaminate the colors!¡±

    Miao Zipei looked up at the clock on the wall that was still covered with indigo patterns. ¡°Let¡¯s go downstairs. There are still many tasks to be done today.¡±

    Indeed, although their workload hadn¡¯t changed, the number of people was slowly decreasing, which meant that the workload was not only gradually increasing but the time they could spend looking for the signature was also decreasing.

    ¡°Xin Beibei actually gave us some clues,¡± Zhu Haowen suddenly said.

    ¡°Are you talking about the maze?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°She had shown a lot of interest in the maze. Furthermore, she really wanted to enter the maze herself,¡± Zhu Haowen analyzed. ¡°I think this shouldn¡¯t be her original intention. There seemed to be something fishy about it.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to eat first, and then we can assign somes workers to work on the tasks so that others can focus on searching the maze. Just like yesterday¡¯s n.¡± Qin Ci stretched his head toward the window, his gaze on the maze below.? ¡°We can look down at the maze from here and draw its paths.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s face improved slightly. ¡°We can still use the rope.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at the rope bundle in his hand. ¡°When Theseus escaped the Minotaur¡¯sbyrinth, he used a ball of thread.¡±

    Wei Dong was at a loss when he heard this. ¡°What are those things?¡±

    ¡°That is the earliestbyrinth in the world, probably built in 1600 BC, dating back to the Mycenaen period. lt is located on the Ind of Crete in ancient Greece,¡± Mu Yiran exined.

    Ke Xun recalled the scene he sawst night. ¡°Regarding the maze, will there be a maze guard?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps. When King Minos built abyrinth for the Minotaur, the person who guarded thebyrinth was the Minotaur himself.¡±

    Ke Xun frowned. ¡°I saw a person from the windowst night, standing at the northeast corner of the maze. At that time, Xin Beibei had just been dragged away by the shadow. The person had stood there for a few minutes before walking into the maze.¡±

    <strong>Xida:</strong> I¡¯ll be tranting POT from here on out. Hopefully, 3rd time¡¯s the charm and I¡¯ll be able to work on this to the very end (rolls up sleeves, ready to work hard). Also, double updates.

 Chapter 90: Tracking

    <h4>Chapter 90: Tracking</h4>

    When everyone arrived at the lobby on the second floor, they found Guo Lixia trying to console Shi Zhendong. ¡°Anyway, what we have to do now is to find the signature quickly, and then quickly escape the painting. Maybe those people can still be saved.¡±

    Shi Zhendong smiled bitterly and didn¡¯t say anything. Seeing that everyone hade downstairs, he didn¡¯t wait for them to try to console him. He stood up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the first floor and eat, and then we can start work afterward.¡±

    Wei Dong pushed open the door of his bedroom, looked inside, closed the door again, and came out.

    ¡°Is Yening Chenyi¡¯s body still missing?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    Wei Dong nodded, sighing. ¡°The first time we saw Xiao Ye, we felt that she was a particrly good girl, warm and sensible. Who knew that she would submit to the painting in the end¡­¡±

    Miao Zipei asked, ¡°Where could Yening Chengyi and He Yu¡¯s body have gone?¡±

    ¡°Probably the painting cleared them from the scene,¡± Zhu Haowen answered. ¡°Perhaps for the boss, those who are contaminated with other colors are the most meaningless existence.¡±

    ¡°Regardless, at least Xiao Ye didn¡¯t feel any pain when she left.¡± Wei Dong thought of Xin Beibei, who had lost her head in the blue liquid, and felt that Yening Chengyi was much luckier.

    Everyone went back to the lobby on the first floor, had a simple breakfast, and then divided thebor. After some discussions, one person was left in each room to continue working: Wei Ding in the purple room, Guo Lixia in the blue room, Qin Ci in the yellow room, and Shi Zhendong in the green room.

    Shi Zhendong had no intentions to continue searching, so he volunteered to stay and work.

    There were fewer and fewer people now, leaving only five people responsible for finding the signature.

    The five people first found paper and pen in the drawer of the hall, and then they went to the fourth floor window to look down and drew the maze. Because of the angle, it was impossible to look down at exactly 90 degrees. Therefore, the northern half of the maze wasn¡¯t clearly drawn and only a rough idea was sketched out.

    ¡°Xin Beibei mentioned several times that she wanted to enter the maze. If she was really bewitched by the painting, what was her purpose in going to the maze?¡± Mi Wei analyzed along the way. ¡°After all, in full view of everyone, it would be impossible for her to do anything.¡±

    ¡°When her skirt was contaminated by Yening Chenyi¡¯s blueberries, there was no one beside her,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Mi Wei frowned and said nothing.

    Once they were outside the castle, they headed toward the pool to take a look.

    The pool seemed to sense that someone wasing to look at it. It suddenly spewed crystal clear spring water, making the coins at the bottom of the pool shine brilliantly.

    They approached the pool and carefully observed the coins inside. Almost everyone looked for their own patterns first. Ke Xun was the only one who searched for the familiar curly grass pattern first before looking for his own wave pattern.

    The little flower pattern belonging to Yening Chenyi had disappeared, and Xin Beibei¡¯s diamond pattern had also disappeared.

    The statue in the center of the pool was carved out of ck stone, giving it an indistinguishable outline, almost like a physical shadow.

    ¡°About the shadow, I have a few thoughts.¡± It was Mi Wei who spoke.

    The crowd motioned for her to continue.

    ¡°Since Xin Beibei was dragged away by her own shadowst night, can we understand it as her shadow betraying her first?¡± Mi Wei¡¯s gaze gradually deepened. ¡°Scientifically, this exnation doesn¡¯t make sense, but we¡¯re now in a painting, which has nothing to do with science. So, in this respect, a shadow can take on a different meaning.¡±

    ¡°You mean, Xin Beibei wasn¡¯tpletely bewitched and it was her shadow at fault?¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Mi Wei nodded. ¡°Since the painting we entered is called ¡®Shadow¡¯, then shadows must y a very important role in the painting.¡±

    The shadow statue in the center of the pool seemed to have felt that its secrets were being spied upon, and it sprayed out more and more water to try to cover it up.

    Mi Wei continued, ¡°But what puzzles me is that, since the shadow could overpower Xin Beibei¡¯s body, it is clear that the power of the shadow is greater. But what about the big hands that Brother Ke said were wrapped around Xin Beibei¡¯s neck? Whose hands were those? It couldn¡¯t have belonged to Xin Beibei.¡±

    That was exactly what Mu Yiran had been thinking about.

    Mi Wei continued, ¡°If there was indeed an invisible person holding Xin Beibei¡¯s neck, was the person controlling the shadow this invisible person? If the shadow alone can hold the body, why bother to choke her? To prevent her from calling for help?¡±

    Miao Zipei, who hadn¡¯t spoken for a long time, also gave his own analysis. ¡°If she was being dragged away, it would be difficult for that same person to also be strangling her.¡±

    ¡°There must be something more powerful that dominates everything. When the night ispletely dark, that thing will appear.¡± Ke Xun looked at the ck statue in the pool, feeling a little ufortable. It felt as if there were many people wrapped up under that ckyer of skin, struggling to break free.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head over to the maze.¡± Mu Yiran unfolded the map in his hands and walked toward the maze first.

    The maze was about half the size of a football field. The walls of the maze were made of dense shrubs, and the fluffy green nts were trimmed neatly. It really looked like something right out of a fairy tale, as Xin Beibei had said.

    There were five people standing outside the maze: Mu Yiran, Ke Xun, Zhu Haowen, Miao Zipei, and Mi Wei.

    ¡°It¡¯s best for two people to go in, while three guards the outside,¡± Zhu Haowen suggested, looking at Ke Xun, fearing that this person would bravely rush forth.

    This time, Ke Xun intended to seek out big shot Mu¡¯s opinions first. ¡°Mi Wei is female and isn¡¯t suitable for charging through the maze. Miao Zipei is bookish, thin and weak, and is also not suitable. Among the remaining three people, the most suitable person to lead them is just you.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: I guessed wrong. It turns out that this guy not only volunteered himself, but me as well.

    Before Mu Yiran could speak, Zhu Haowen directly gave in to Ke Xun. ¡°Then we¡¯ll both enter.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t say anything more and directly handed over the rope. ¡°Be extremely careful. The rope will be stretched out, so if there¡¯s any danger, pull on the rope.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s two words were said with great gravity. He lowered his head and tied the rope tightly around his waist.

    Zhu Haowen also tied the rope around himself while holding the drawn map in one hand.

    As they walked into the maze, tied with a rope, Ke Xun felt as if they were two good dogs being released¡­.

    They slowly walked into the inner circle of the maze ording to the map. They not only depended on the drawings and the rope, but also made marks along the path.

    But the reality was different from what was drawn on paper. In the end, they still found themselves on the wrong path.

    When they walked onto their first dead end, they suddenly discovered that there was a barely perceptible door on that end.

    It was indeed a door, a door made out of nts.

    .

    Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen looked at each other: Does every dead end have such a door?

    ¡°Let me do it, since the door is green.¡± Zhu Haowen still firmly remembered what color group he belonged to¡ªgreen.

    Ke Xun smiled: Haowen¡¯er was too serious.

    Zhu Haowen opened the door of green nts. Inside was a small space that housed some ropes and yard maintenance tools. The most eye-catching thing was the entrance on the floor.

    ¡°This heads underground,¡± Zhu Haowen said to Ke Xun, who was standing at the door.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time to explore underground right now. We should try to get out of the maze first.¡± Ke Xun felt the rope around his waist straining, and couldn¡¯t help shouting, ¡°We¡¯re all right, we just went the wrong way!¡±

    The end of the rope loosened, indicating that he¡¯d been heard.

    The three people outside were reserved, and so they didn¡¯t respond loudly.

    Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen continued to look at the drawn map and move forward. They had to stop and take a look every time they passed a wrong path. Sure enough, there was a door made of nts hiddened at every dead end. Zhu Haowen only opened two of them to see what was inside. Both structures were simr, with an underground entrance on the floor.

    They gradually reached the center of the maze. Since they entered from the northwest corner of the maze, ording to the top view, the exit should be located at the southeast corner.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that there¡¯s no sun in this world, otherwise we can distinguish the direction based on the sun.¡± Zhu Haowen looked at the drawn map in his hand. The north mentioned above was just the north in everyone¡¯s imagination¡ªording to Chinese customs, buildings usually faced northsouth, so everyone marked the direction of the castle as north.

    ¡°If the exit is in the southeast corner, it happens to be that same ce I sawst night¡­¡± Ke Xun suddenly fell silent. He looked at Zhu Haowen, who instantly became cautious.

    If the green nts in the maze could be called walls, then the current situation could be called: there was someone in the wall.

    There was the sound of light footsteps, walking past the path along the partition wall.

    Although it was in broad daylight, it was still terrifying.

    When had this person appeared in the maze? When they were all looking down at the maze from above, they didn¡¯t see anything unusual inside.

    The sound of footsteps on grass gradually disappeared into the distance.

    ¡°Is this person just passing by, or has it been following us?¡± Zhu Haowen asked quietly.

    Ke Xun could only judge by intuition. ¡°I think this person suddenly appeared just now. Maybe he passed by here, because maybe he lives in the maze.¡±

    There were some words that Ke Xun did not say: It was also possible that this person had been following us.

    As they walked, they slowly and quietly edged forward, only to find that the rope was getting more and more taut. It seemed that the length wasn¡¯t enough.

    Mi Wei¡¯s shout suddenly came from outside the maze. ¡°Come out first! The rope isn¡¯t long enough! Come out! Don¡¯t take risks!¡±

    At this time, no one dared to take risks easily, so they walked back, retracing the path they came. When they passed the center of the maze once, they both couldn¡¯t help but stop.

    The center of the maze was easy to identify. From the top view, one could see that there was a small circr space in the center of the maze.

    On the wall of this circr space was the vague outline of a door.

    Zhu Haowen stepped forward and tentatively opened the door.

    Inside was a simple living room, but what attracted their attention more was the ss jar ced against the wall, filled with pure red liquid.

    This ss jar wasn¡¯t big and was less than one meter tall.

    The two of them squinted their eyes for a long time, but the red liquid was too thick, and they couldn¡¯t make out what was inside.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back first.¡± Zhu Haowen looked at the big entrance on the floor of the room, as if thinking of something.

    Ke Xun also thought of it. Both of them no longer spoke, but walked back along the way they came. Because there was a rope guiding them, they quickly returned to the entrance of the maze.

    The three people waiting at the entrance were full of concerns.

    Ke Xun¡¯s voice was low. ¡°The maze and the castle are probably connected by an underground passageway.¡±

 Chapter 91: Sudden Attack

    <h4>Chapter 91: Sudden Attack</h4>

    When the five people returned to the lobby on the first floor, it was noon, and lunch was already on the table.

    They raised their heads and looked at the clock on the wall. Seeing that it was still in the indigo pattern, they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

    After the NPC called everyone out for dinner, the people working in the four rooms came out one after another. As if nned, everyone showed their hands and turned out their pockets to prove that they had absolutely washed their hands and had no intentions of contaminating anyone¡¯s colors.

    Once everyone was sitting around thergest dining table, Qin Ci took the lead and said, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I felt a sense of pressure, so that today¡¯s work performance is extremely productive. From morning to noon, I havepleted two and a half jars.¡±

    Everyone nodded and praised him. Wei Dong also said, ¡°I finished more than two jars too! I wanted to finish the work quickly so that I can help look for the signatureter on in the afternoon.¡±

    Shi Zhendong was a little ashamed. ¡°My hands are a little slow, so I only barely finished two jars.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s already pretty good,¡± everyone said.

    Guo Lixia rolled her wrist. ¡°Today my wrist is a little ufortable so I only got a little more than one jar done.¡±

    Mi Wei looked at Guo Lixia. ¡°We still need to finish the work soon. I don¡¯t know what else will happen this afternoon.¡±

    Guo Lixia was a little unhappy. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to speak out of turn, but your group has the most people. It was Xiao Miao who stayed behind to work yesterday morning. This morning, it was Doctor Qin. It stands to reason that Doctor Qin has experience, is a man, and has great strength. Let him go out and look for the signature! Storing berries isn¡¯t aborious task. It¡¯s easier than making tomato sauce. You girls nowadays are too delicate and just wanted to avoid work!¡±

    Mi Wei, who was suddenly criticized for no reason, shook with anger. ¡°Sister Guo, you¡­Since you aren¡¯t even working hard, aren¡¯t you also the one who works the slowest and does the least?¡±

    ¡°You damn little girl!¡± Guo Lixia shot back rapidly. ¡°My wrist was injured this morning. Our group leader fell and stepped on my wrist! It¡¯s you who isn¡¯t working and is provoking others!¡±

    Mi Wei was so angry that she began to cry, feeling very wronged.

    The remaining men hurriedly tried to console them. The first thing Ke Xun looked at was Guo Lixia¡¯s wrist. ¡°Guo Lixia, why didn¡¯t you say anything earlier? Is it still painful now?¡±

    Guo Lixia waved her hand. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt much, but whenever I work hard, it¡¯ll be a bit ufortable. I feel distressed and upset at still being told that I¡¯m not doing a good job working!¡±

    ¡°Sister Guo, take a good rest. Let Ke¡¯er do the rest of the work!¡± Wei Dong also coaxed Guo Lixia on the sidelines, nning to help her rub her wrist.

    Mu Yiran suddenly grabbed Wei Dong¡¯s arm and pulled him aside, saying in a calm tone, ¡°Let Ke Xun do it. He¡¯s the one who caused it.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡ª¡° Ke Xun picked up Guo Lixia¡¯s wrist and massaged it. ¡°After all, I¡¯m also an athlete and can professionally massage this traumatic injury.¡±

    Guo Lixia¡¯s face gradually rxed.

    Mi Wei was alsoforted by the others and gradually stopped crying.

    After lunch, Ke Xun told everyone about his discovery that morning.

    ¡°Yesterday, the other buildings in the castle were all locked. Can we enter the other buildings using the underground passageway in the maze?¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t understand. Since the people who made the underground passageway are also people in the painting, shouldn¡¯t these people have the keys to the castle?¡± Mi Wei asked.

    ¡°That jar of red paint was transported from the castle to the maze. The murderer must have done this. He¡¯s the one who was extracting the red paint!¡± Guo Lixia also made a rare suggestion.

    Mi Wei frowned slightly. ¡°Since the murderer is the big boss of the painting, how could he not have the key to the castle?¡±

    Guo Lixia sneered. ¡°The murderer isn¡¯t necessarily the owner of the castle. What if it¡¯s something outside the castle?¡±

    As everyone listened to their analysis, Wei Dong hurriedly said, ¡°Everyone has their own deductions. We should go in through the underground passageway at dawn. Maybe we can really get into the other buildings in the castle.¡±

    Guo Lixia smiled. ¡°I am afraid that this kind of tunnel work is not suitable for females.¡±

    Wei Dong hurriedly waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll go down! Ke¡¯er and I! You all can wait outside!¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Guo Lixia said loudly, ¡°females should stay in their respective rooms and work. It is against the rules to fail toplete the tasks.¡±

    Mi Wei¡¯s face turned ugly. ¡°I think emphasizing this division ofbor between men and women is itself a discrimination against women! Women¡¯s IQ is not lower than men¡¯s! I have always had my own thoughts on the whole case, and I can help make suggestions if I¡¯m there!¡±

    Miao Zipei felt that it would be bad not to help his groupmate, so he whispered next to her, ¡°Yes, Mi Wei¡¯s brain is better than mine¡­¡±

    Guo Lixia seemed to have not heard Miao Zipei¡¯s words. Her eyes were fixed on Mi Wei. ¡°Since you can do it, then go do it! You don¡¯t want to pay attention to the division ofbor between men and women? Then go into the tunnel!¡±

    Ke Xun was about to go up and persuade them with a few words, but who knew that Guo Lixia¡¯s strength was greater than himself, allowing her to push him away at once.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze was trained on Guo Lixia. Although he was full of suspicion, after they¡¯d finished eating, he still saw no traces of anything suspicious on Guo Lixia.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing dangerous about her,¡± Zhu Haowen said quietly, ¡°but her state is indeed abnormal.¡±

    The so-called dangerous things would naturally be polluting the colors in this painting.

    Guo Lixia was still yelling, ¡°Aren¡¯t you very capable? Aren¡¯t you a strong woman? Then you go into the tunnel! Until now, I haven¡¯t seen you solve any puzzles! Isn¡¯t it just you trying to find a reason to bezy? I have seen many people like you!¡±

    Mi Wei trembled with anger. ¡°I don¡¯t need to use the tunnel to prove my worth! I have professional arts knowledge and rigorous logical thinking skills! I can help everyone! While some people can only do physicalbor!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just beingzy and ying at cking off. There used to be a lot of female workers like you in our factory, and they all ended up sleeping with the deputy director so that they would have less work!¡± Guo Lixia¡¯s spittles directly hit Mi Wei¡¯s face.

    ¡°Shrew! Uncultured shrew! Abandoned shrew!¡± Mi Wei¡¯s voice tore into her like a fork. She picked up an apple on the table and threw it at Guo Lixia.

    Guo Lixia was definitely not to be outdone. The tigress rushed towards Mi Wei and grabbed her by the hair, causing her eyes to roll up in pain.

    The men hurried over to convince them not to fight, with two people holding onto each crazy woman.

    ¡°For us to survive in the painting, the most important thing is unity,¡± Shi Zhendong finally said. ¡°Now that you two are the only femalepatriots left, you should be more considerate of each other.¡±

    Mi Wei lowered her head and started crying in aggrievement.

    Guo Lixia released her and threw away a handful of long hair, mulishly silent.

    Everyone took a sigh of relief, and Qin Ci said, ¡°We have to finish the rest of the work, and then we can go to the maze and try to use the passageway.¡±

    Miao Zipei hurriedly said, ¡°For our team, let me do it. There¡¯s only half a can left to do. I¡¯ll do it!¡±

    Mi Wei wiped her tears and said nothing.

    Ke Xun also said, ¡°Sister Guo¡¯s wrist is injured. I will do the rest of the work! Sister Guo, please rest.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°I did it smoothly earlier, and so I¡¯ll continue on. Boss Mu, go find that signature!¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°I¡¯ll stay and finish the rest.¡±

    After the tasks were assigned, they began to head back to their respective rooms, preparing to work harder toplete the task as soon as possible.

    Mi Wei rubbed the top of her aching head, intending to go out with the rest of the people to continue looking for the signature. Who knew that when she walked by Guo Lixia, the woman suddenly turned violent. She grabbed the front of Mi Wei¡¯s shirt, stunning her. Expression like a madman, she screamed, ¡°Who is the abandoned shrew?! Who is the abandoned one?! Go and die!!!¡±

    This was too sudden, and the people who had already returned to their rooms didn¡¯t realize what was happening.

    Mi Wei was violently pushed far away, causing her to m directly into the door of the blue room, falling inside.

    In the hall, Guo Lixia murmured like a sleeptalker, ¡°You go and die, you go and die. Those people who expose other people¡¯s scars should die!¡±

    After Mi Wei fell to the floor of the blue room, she didn¡¯t get up for a long time. Her face was full of terror and disbelief.

    Because, in this way, she had instantly be a ¡°polluted person.¡±

    Ke Xun hurriedly helped Mi Wei up.

    No one knew how to console Mi Wei, and for a while, they regretted being too careless. But because it had all happened so fast, they didn¡¯t even have the mind to me Guo Lixia.

    Mi Wei was like a wounded beast, wailing at everyone. ¡°I have polluted the color! I¡¯m going to die tonight!¡± Then her expression abruptly became sullen, and she stared at Guo Lixia. ¡°If I die, don¡¯t even think about living!¡±

    ¡°Quickly, stop her!¡± Everyone outside the room could only watch helplessly.

    Ke Xun held Mi Wei back, but he could still feel her fierce struggle. ¡°Die. Everyone should die together. As long as I¡¯m alive, you¡¯ll all be polluted!¡±

    Like this, Ke Xun pushed Mi Wei out of the blue room. After Mu Yiran had tied Mi Wei up firmly with the rope in his hands, he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Mi Wei cried wildly. She stared hatefully at Guo Lixia and screamed, ¡°You¡¯re a murderer! You¡¯ve killed me! I won¡¯t let you go!¡±

    Guo Lixia seemed to have finally woken up. Her expression became somewhat frightened, and she avoided Mi Wei¡¯s eyes.

    No one had expected that such a thorny incident would happen today, and so their original n was nearly disrupted.

    Qin Ci reluctantly said, ¡°Let¡¯s do the work as we¡¯ve nned and wrap it up.¡±

    Shi Zhendong shook his head. ¡°At least one person must stay to look after Mi Wei. This left only three people to enter the tunnel. It¡¯s too dangerous. Let¡¯s stay and finish the work first.¡±

    At that moment, Mi Wei suddenly pleaded, ¡°Please, throw other colors on me. If this is the case, then I don¡¯t want to be squeezed to death by the big boss¡­at least I can be like He Yi and Yening Chengyi, dying joyfully.¡±

    They had been feeling ufortable, but now they became even more sad after hearing Mi Wei¡¯s words. Ke Xun forced himself to cheer up. ¡°Don¡¯t think so negatively. Maybe we can find the signature today and so you won¡¯t die.¡±

    Mi Wei smiled and shook her head. ¡°How is it possible? Even if you can enter the other rooms in the castle, it¡¯s impossible to search hundreds of rooms in just one afternoon¡­Hurry up, please. Now. Let me die with peace of mind.¡±

    Suddenly, green juice sttered all over Mi Wei¡ªZhu Haowen stood beside her, squeezing a green berry in his hand.

    Mi Weiughed sadly. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The clock on the wall turned pure green, a mixture of blue and yellow, but everyone deliberately avoided looking at it.

    ¡°Regarding the shadow that dragged Xin Beibei awayst night, I roughly have an idea,¡± Mu Yiran said suddenly.

    <strong>Xida:?</strong>I should mention my posting schedule¡­Basically, I don¡¯t have one, but unless something unexpected came up, I will post regrly. At the very minimum, I pledge to have at least two chapters per week but will aim for a chapter every other day. I should also note that double updates will be posted asionally (depending on my productivity level) but please don¡¯t expect it regrly.

 Chapter 92: Bewitched

    <h4>Chapter 92: Bewitched</h4>

    Mu Yiran¡¯s words attracted everyone¡¯s attention, including the desperate Mi Wei.

    ¡°ording to Ke Xun¡¯s observation,st night, Xin Beibei was constrained by two powers. The first was her own shadow, and the second was an invisible person choking her by the neck.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice had a slight echo in the deathly quiet hall.

    Everyone was engrossed in what he was saying, and only Ke Xun had a slight distraction, thinking: The way he said his name was really nice.

    Mu Yiran continued. ¡°As you have analyzed before, if these two forces were working together, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to achieve harmony and unity. In addition, there is another issue that cannot be ignored. Why do this force need to use the people inside to open the windows? Since it¡¯s so powerful, it should have no problem opening doors and windows by itself.¡±

    Shi Zhendong said, ¡°The windows are bolted from the inside. Someone from outside might not be able to open them.¡±

    ¡°But how did Yening Chengyi die then?¡± Mu Yiran knew his purple room very well. ¡°The windows in our bedroom have always remained closed and have never been opened.¡±

    No one had considered this issue before. He Yu and Zhang Tianwei were staying together in the same room. However, one of them was confused by the painting, and so, just like Xin Beibei, he opened the window, allowing ¡°that thing¡± inside the house.

    But, in the purple room, no one had opened the window. How did Yening Chengyi die?

    ¡°This is too confusing. Is the big boss trying to confuse us from the start? First, there¡¯s the color and the maze, and now even opening the window is a mystery.¡± Wei Dong scratched his head, feeling a headacheing in.

    Zhu Haowen said calmly, ¡°ording to the various prompts in the painting, this painting should have a strict logic. It¡¯s just that we haven¡¯t discovered the main thread.¡±

    He returned his gaze to Mu Yiran, looking forward to his answer.

    ¡°Perhaps we can infer that that thing¨CI¡¯ll call it a shadow for the time being¨Cthat shadow can go in and out of any ce freely, because shadows are inherently invisible and stateless,¡± Mu Yiran shared his thoughts. ¡°Once our rooms are entirely shrouded in dark shadows, it means that the entire castle is under its control.¡±

    The others were still puzzled. ¡°Then why use people like us to open the windows?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t mind the interruption and continued, ¡°The purple bedroom didn¡¯t have an open window, but Yening Chengyi was still killed. This shows that the shadow could kill people through the window. Regardless of whether it was Yening Chenyi or He Yu, they should have been killed through the window.¡±

    ¡°The reason why it has to use others to open the window is that the shadow couldn¡¯t control physical things. Therefore, doing so would require bewitching living people.¡±

    Qin Ci couldn¡¯t help but interrupt, ¡°Since it can¡¯t control physical objects, how can it kill people through the window? Living people themselves are physical beings!¡±

    ¡°This is indeed the most critical point. Once solved, the entire puzzle itself can then be unraveled.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s tone gradually rose. ¡°The shadow can only control shadows. When the entire room is enveloped by ck shadows, this will create a giant shadow that will then be considered to have contained all of our shadows.¡±

    Everyone listened,pletely engrossed. The giant shadow could only control shadows¨CThis was the most reasonable answer.

    ¡°Yiran¡¯s meaning is that what the giant shadow was stranglingst night was actually the neck of Xin Beibei¡¯s shadow?!¡± Ke Xun asked, and he couldn¡¯t help but secretly praise Yiran¡¯s cleverness in his heart.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Yiran cast a cool gaze at Ke Xun. ¡°I don¡¯t know what meaning a shadow represents in this world, but in the real world, both the shadow and the physical body are considered one and the same, so much so that one can say that they are connected by the soul. Although this argument is a bit absurd, if someone is able to control the shadow, then the physical body will be affected and be treated as the same.¡±

    Zhu Haowen fell into deep thought. ¡°We have analyzed before that people can be bewitched through their shadows.¡±

    ¡°This statement is still valid. I still believe that Xin Beibei¡¯s action in opening the window was driven by her shadow.¡±

    ¡°Then the shadow, wouldn¡¯t it directly¡­?¡±

    ¡°The shadow doesn¡¯t want to die.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze deepened. ¡°The giant shadow was able to bewitch the human shadow to do something, but the human shadow didn¡¯t want to be killed by it. And so the giant shadow choked his neck and dragged him away, causing the physical body to also be dragged away.¡±

    This exined the scene on the first night: a giant shadow covering the entire window, turning the room dark. Thenter, it turned into a single shadow, which was actually Zhang Tianwei¡¯s shadow being pulled away. Which, in turn, dragged Zhang Tianwei¡¯s body forcefully through the decorative moon-shaped window.

    The same process applied to Xin Beibei¡¯s body. The giant shadow grabbed Xin Beibei¡¯s shadow¡¯s neck, dragging it forward. This caused Xin Beibei¡¯s body to be dragged by her shadow. Even though she struggled and resisted, she was still forcibly dragged away by this much stronger opponent.

    All physical bodies appeared to be affected by the drag of the shadow, and this was probably due to the giant shadow¡¯s inability to ¡°directly control physical objects.¡±

    ¡°Our shadows are actually the giant shadow¡¯s medium. They can be bewitched to do its bidding, and eventually, they will be butchers that will threaten our lives.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was cold and emotionless.

    Ke Xun looked at Guo Lixia¡¯s trembling shadow, then raised his head to look at her person. She looked dumbfounded, as if scared into freezing, without the slightest bit of trembling.

    He returned his gaze to her shadow once more. Her shadow was still trembling slightly, but when he looked at the other people¡¯s shadow, they were all normal and motionless.

    Ke Xun sucked a breath, but revealed nothing on the surface.

    Suddenly, a burst ofughter sounded in the hall, like a sneer that couldn¡¯t be contained.

    Theughter startled everyone, and they looked up at the ceiling and at the corners all around them in the hall, trying to find theughing person in hiding.

    The NPC¡¯s voice suddenly said, ¡°Everyone, enjoy your hard work! Afternoon tea of blueberry juice and chestnut cake have been prepared for you.¡±

    Theughter earlier clearly came from the NPC. This was incredibly eerie, as if no movements could escape its secretly watching eyes.

    In the end, everyone decided to work together. After finishing the work, they would all go and look for the signature.

    As Ke Xun was about to walk into the blue room, Mu Yiran¡¯s voice came from behind him, ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Although these two words were a bit cold, they were sweet, like rock candy.

    Ke Xun nodded and couldn¡¯t help but look at the innocent Mi Wei in the hall. ¡°Should I be bewitched, at least my heart is at peace.¡±

    Mu Yiran and Qin Ci stayed in the lobby to guard Mi Wei.

    When Ke Xun returned to the work room, he inadvertently nced at Guo Lixia¡¯s shadow and found that it had returned to normal.

    Guo Lixia immersed herself in working hard in a low-key fashion, no longer resembling that person who was quick to act and quick to speak.

    In Ke Xun¡¯s eyes, she was no longer the big sister Guo, but had be a bewitched person.

    ¡°Sister Guo, don¡¯t think too much. You were just a little angry at the time and failed to control your strength,¡± Ke Xun forced himself to sayforting words.

    ¡°Ai, my intestines are green with regret.¡± Guo Lixia put on a very regretful expression. ¡°A good girl was actually killed by me¡­¡±

    ¡°In the world, there¡¯s no medicine for regret. What we need to focus on now is to find the signature as soon as possible!¡± Ke Xun said.

    Guo Lixia nodded repeatedly. ¡°Yes! If we can find the signature, we can leave! Mi Wei will also be able to leave with us!¡±

    Ke Xun nodded, but in his heart, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh with sorrow at the ingenuity in which the bewitched person could maintain its nature: the person bewitched did not have a change of character, but rather, certain aspects of her personality would be erged to a certain degree, as needed, causing the person to change without notice into the devil.

    ¡°Sister Guo, you rest. It¡¯s better for your wrist.¡± As Ke Xun¡¯s hands worked, his eyes strayed to the window. ¡°We clearly heard a hidden person¡¯s footsteps in the maze today. Who do you think those footsteps belong to?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s someone else in the maze? How weird.¡± Guo Lixian didn¡¯t stop working. As she removed the leaves from the blueberries, she said, ¡°Isn¡¯t the killer a shadow? Can shadows appear by itself during the day?¡±

    Ke Xun tried not to look at Guo Lixia so his eyes wouldn¡¯t reveal his intentions. Instead, he lowered his head and put the berries into the ss jar. ¡°I also find it strange that, if the killer is really a shadow, how can the shadow move by itself? After all, it¡¯s bound to the physical body and only the physical body can move it.¡±

    Guo Lixia denied Ke Xun¡¯s statement. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. If the shadow is real, then he doesn¡¯t have to rely on us to open the window for him.¡±

    Ke Xun suddenly felt that the conversation between himself and Guo Lixia was a bit funny, because he now regarded the other person as a shadow, but the other person showed a full-fledged Guo Lixia style.

    ¡°I saw a person by the maze through the windowst night. He was a living person. It¡¯s a pity that he¡¯s so far away and so I couldn¡¯t see the patterns on his clothes,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Then maybe he¡¯s the person you heard in the maze? If you can hear his footsteps, then he¡¯s definitely not a shadow.¡± Guo Lixia¡¯s analysis was quite reasonable.

    ¡°Right now, what the giant shadow wanted was for us to either open the windows for it or to secretly pollute the colors of innocent people¡­¡± Ke Xun emphasized the word ¡°secretly¡± for fear that Guo Lixia would have a sh of inspiration and realize that her behavior in pushing Mi Wei also belonged to this category.

    Guo Lixia suddenly looked at Ke Xun. ¡°Group leader, if there¡¯s someone to block the person opening the window, will you be able to stop it?¡±

    Ke Xun chuckled. ¡°I can¡¯t stop it. At that time, everyone in the room will feel powerless. They won¡¯t even have the strength to get out of bed, let alone stop others.¡±

    ¡°Then it can¡¯t be stopped.¡± Guo Lixia sighed.

    ¡°Maybe there is a way.¡± Ke Xun looked at Guo Lixia with interest. ¡°After all, this is our world during the day. I see that there are ropes and wooden boards in the rotunda in the lobby. There are also many tools in the rooms inside the maze. We can nail the windows down ourselves.¡±

    Guo Lixia didn¡¯t make the panicked expression that Ke Xun was expecting. Instead, she even showed a look of admiration. ¡°What a good idea! We¡¯ll nail all the windows shut.¡±

    Ke Xun continued to work calmly. ¡°Okay. In a bit, I¡¯ll go nail the windows shut! Don¡¯t worry about shadows getting in, and at least the living won¡¯t be dragged out!¡±

    Guo Lixia¡¯s voice was a little hesitant as she said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that we¡¯ll anger the giant shadow. The killer is so cruel. What if we angered him and were killed because of it?¡±

    ¡°Yiran said everyone in the painting must abide by the rules, including the boss himself.¡±

 Chapter 93: Putting the Cart Before the Horse

    <h4>Chapter 93: Putting the Cart Before the Horse</h4>

    For the duration of their work time, Guo Lixia and Ke Xun immersed themselves in their work.

    Guo Lixia didn¡¯t object too much to Ke Xun¡¯s proposal to board the windows shut, which made Ke Xun more firmly believed that the so-called shadow bewitching would only work under special circumstances and that it wouldn¡¯t control the person at all times.

    The bewitched person¡¯s abilities were more based on the person¡¯s physical fitness and IQ. Ke Xun even felt that, fortunately, the two people selected by the shadow weren¡¯t very powerful. If the person being bewitched was Mu Yiran, he feared that it would be impossible for anyone to escape the painting.

    For the sake of caution, when everyone finished, they gathered in the lobby and showed their clean hands and pockets.

    Ke Xun shared his idea of boarding up the windows, and after some discussion, everyone agreed that this might help.

    But the most important thing at the moment was to find the signature. The first ce they¡¯ll need to go was to the maze and, along the way, they could also gather the tools in the maze rooms.

    Before they took action, Ke Xun went to the bathroom, where he and Mu Yiran ¡°unexpectedly¡± met.

    Mu Yiran showed Ke Xun his beautiful profile. ¡°Did you make up the n to board up the window to deceive someone?¡±

    ¡°Yiran also knows me well.¡± Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but bared his teeth in a grin.

    ¡°This kind of bewitchment is exactly what I thought. Once the time is right and the condition is right, this person will probably receive instructions from the depths of her soul.¡± Mu Yiran washed his hands.

    ¡°But I still don¡¯t understand. When was Guo Lixia deceived?¡± Hao Wen¡¯er¡¯s voice suddenly sounded.

    Ke Xun then saw Zhu Haowen in the bathroom mirror, and he suddenly remembered that yesterday, Xin Beibei had cursed Zhu Haowen as a gay. As someone who actually was gay, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit of sympathy for him.

    ¡°I have also carefully spected about this period of time,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°It couldn¡¯t have happened in the morning when they were working. I asked Wei Dong, and he hadn¡¯t left our purple room all morning, so Guo Lixia couldn¡¯t have had the chance to be polluted by purple.¡±

    ¡°How can we be sure that she was polluted by purple?¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice suddenly rang out, right before he squeezed over to wash his hands.

    Ke Xun tilted his head to look at Wei Dong. It was unclear where he got his experience from, but basically, he could tell at a nce whether a man was straight or gay. He instantly felt that, now that Wei Dong¡¯s face had also appeared in the mirror, the entire image wasn¡¯t very harmonious¡­

    Zhu Haowen directly answered Wei Dong¡¯s question. ¡°Guo Lixia must have been polluted by purple because she¡¯s blue. Only blue and purple can form indigo.¡±

    ¡°Why must it be indigo¡­oh¡ª¡± Wei Dong thought of the answer under everyone¡¯s encouraging eyes. ¡°Because from yesterday until the Mi Wei incident at noon, the clock had always been indigo¡ªGuo Lixia¡¯s blue polluted by purple also happened to be indigo! The change from indigo to indigo was equivalent to being unchanged, so that¡¯s why we didn¡¯t realize it!¡±

    Ke Xun put on an expression of ¡°children can still be taught.¡± ¡°The painting is very cunning. This underhandedness gave us the illusion that no one had contaminated the color and that we had no betrayers among us, causing everyone to rx their vignce.¡±

    Indeed, it was precisely because of this rxation that resulted in everyone trying to appease Guo Lixia.

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°If you break down the time, Guo Lixia¡¯s pollution could only have happened before breakfast.¡±

    Mu Yiran added, ¡°After getting up in the morning, everyone went to the round tower to check on Xin Beibei¡¯s body. At that time, everyone was together. It¡¯s unlikely that something happened there. ording to this analysis, the most likely time for an ident was after Shi Zhendong and Guo Lixia left everyone.¡±

    Wei Dong was confused, ¡°When had these two left us?¡±

    Ke Xun also recalled the scene in the morning. ¡°Indeed, Shi Zhendong was in a bad mood and went downstairs alone. Sister Guo was worried and said she wanted to console him, so she followed him downstairs. When we got to the second floor, we also saw Sister Guo there, earnestly trying to console him.¡±

    Everyone was silent. It seemed that this time period was the most likely.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask Shi Zhendong about the specific situation at that time,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    After everyone finally assembled in the lobby, Miao Zipei proposed to untie Mi Wei. ¡°Maybe Mi Wei can help us look for the signature.¡±

    Indeed, Mi Wei should be the one who most desperately wanted to find the signature.

    As everyone was hesitating, Shi Zhendong said, ¡°The incident that happened at noon today was unexpected. However, we must focus when looking for the signature, and it would be impossible for us to do so if we¡¯re distracted by looking after other people. So¡­you¡¯ll still have to be wronged for a while.¡± Shi Zhendong looked at Mi Wei with sincerity. ¡°Please wait for our good news in the hall.¡±

    Mi Wei showed a mocking sneer and didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Or, let me apany her. She¡¯ll be lonely in the hall all by herself.¡± Guo Lixia seemed to want to atone for herself.

    Mi Wei finally snorted. ¡°No need.¡±

    Guo Lixia¡¯s words reminded Ke Xun. ¡°We can¡¯t leave someone alone in the hall!¡±

    So Wei Dong and Miao Zipei stayed to guard Mi Wei, while the others went to the maze together.

    Wei Dong thought that staying in the hall would be a leisurely errand. At the very least, he wouldn¡¯t need to enter the tunnel. But he ended up being forced to listen to Mi Wei¡¯sst words.

    Mi Wei confessed herst words to Miao Zipei. ¡°Just tell my mother that I have gone to study abroad as an exchange student, and videos are not allowed there. Please imitate me and send emails to my mother in the future¡­Anyway my mother doesn¡¯t have me in her heart, only my brother. I haven¡¯t been home for the New Year since I started college two years ago.¡±

    Wei Dong wanted to interrupt her several times, wanting to tell her that the reality of an incident so severe as death could not be cloaked away by making up reasons. But he held back and remained silent.

    This way, Mi Wei could ¡°travel¡± more at ease.

    Herst words ounted for more than an hour, and for the remaining time, they discussed the painting. Miao Zipei said, ¡°The shadows in Fauvist paintings are often expressed in various colors, which is very consistent with certain settings in this painting¡¯s shadow. The shadow may need colors and could get it by taking our colors.¡±

    Wei Dong thought that his analysis made sense. ¡°Our daily task is to store berries. In fact, to put it inly, we¡¯re basically storing colors. It seems that the position of colors in this painting is very important.¡± He added with a helpless sigh, ¡°Do you think, if we really nail up the windows with wooden boards, we can block the shadow?¡±

    Miao Zipei didn¡¯t have an answer to this question, so he turned to Mi Wei.

    Mi Wei shed tears again. ¡°I think that the people who meet the conditions of death will die tonight. This has nothing to do with windows. However, those wooden boards should be able to block the transportation of the body, so at least the person might avoid Xin Beibei and Zhang Tianwei¡¯s tragedy.¡±

    Although Wei Dong¡¯s work was more focused on art designs that can cause early onset of balding, he was still an alumni of the Academy of Fine Arts. Therefore, he had somemonnguage with these two people. ¡°The solutions to the first few paintings are in line with the original intention of the author, and so there¡¯s arge connection between the two. What do you think the author of this painting wanted to express?¡±

    Miao Zipei thought for a moment and said, ¡°Rong Rang is a very young painter. He has only emerged in the past two years. He relies a great deal on the unconventional Fauvism revival painting style, but due to his obsessive worship of Fauvism, he often scorned other schools.¡±

    Wei Dong looked down at the brightly colored shadow at his feet. ¡°It¡¯s clear that this painter is very twisted. You should have seen the original painting ¡®Shadow.¡¯ What is it about?¡±

    ¡°It depicts some very abstract expressions. The person was like a silhouette, but had a very gorgeous figure. The colorful and thick lines that outlined the person, I think these are the author¡¯s way of depicting shadows,¡± Miao Zipei expressed his views.

    ¡°You said that the figure is like a silhouette?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°Yes, the person had a somewhat printmaking effect and looked like ck and white type of pattern. Or maybe it¡¯s just a pure ck human figure.¡± After he said this, Miao Zipei seemed to have realized something. ¡°Speaking like this, isn¡¯t the usage of shadow in this painting tantamount to putting the cart before the horse?¡±

    Mi Wei¡¯s spiritless eyes also brightened. ¡°Is this the painting¡¯s meaning? The shadow is the master, and the physical body is the shadow¡¯s vassel!¡±

    The other two nodded, thinking that Mi Wei had hit the point.

    ¡°Although we understand this, how does it help us solve the painting? Where can the painter¡¯s signature be?¡± Miao Zipei was still helpless.

    ¡°What¡¯s the special significance of the maze in the painting?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t clear. Maybe the painter admires ancient Greek culture. Maybe the painter wants to use thebyrinth to express wisdom. Even now, some Europeans still like to drawbyrinthine maps, because they think thebyrinth represents wisdom,¡± Miao Zipei said.

    They were still discussing this when the others finally returned.

    Wei Dong hurriedly asked, ¡°How was it? What¡¯s in the underground passageway? Does it connect to the castle?¡±

    Everyone looked exhausted. Even Guo Lixia was panting tired, and who knew what role this woman yed in it.

    Qin Ci wiped away his sweat and sat down. ¡°The underground passageway does indeed lead to the castle. We went to every building in the castle, but they were allpletely dark inside. Even when we turned on our mobile phones, we still couldn¡¯t see anything inside at all.¡±

    Ke Xun and several others temporarily put down the wooden boards and various tools they were carrying in the lobby. He said, ¡°Right now, only the highest level of the circr building is left unexplored.¡±

    Indeed, the circr building had six floors. The first three floors were filled with empty ss jars. The fourth floor was used as the representative of red, where Zhang Tianwei¡¯s red color was squeezed out. The fifth floor was used as the blue representative, which was the ce where Xin Beibei was stored.

    In the morning, due to Xin Beibei¡¯s decapitation incident, everyone was a little rmed, and so they hadn¡¯t gone up to the sixth floor to investigate.

    ¡°Okay, Yiran and I will make a trip to the sixth floor, so please board up the bedroom windows!¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s proposal was unanimously approved by everyone.

    As a result, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were able to be ¡°inseparable¡± and act alone with just the two of them.

    But this trip was not pleasant. When they climbed the copperdder outside the fourth floor to the fifth floor, they saw a frightening and confusing scene: in the open blue room, half of the blue liquid in the ss jar had disappeared, but Xin Beibei¡¯s body was still inside.

    Without the cover of the blue liquid, they could see her corpse clearly¡ªthere was only one meter left of her, as if her entire body had shrunken down.

    Because of the failed rescue in the morning, Xin Beibei was now decapitated and so she remained in the ss jar.

 Chapter 94: Son of the Cave God

    <h4>Chapter 94: Son of the Cave God</h4>

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran didn¡¯t linger too long in front of Xin Beibei¡¯s body, but seized the time to climb the copperdder to the sixth floor.

    Theyout of the sixth floor was the same as theyout of the other rooms in the entire circr building. It was still a semicircr hall. Behind the wooden door, there should also be an empty ss jar.

    But what surprised them was that the ss jar in the room wasn¡¯t empty; it was filled halfway with a pure purple liquid .

    Ke Xun looked back at the door subconsciously. It was obviously a wooden color representing safety, and the clock on the wall inside the hall also had a pure white clock face.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with these purple liquids? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Xiao Ye¡­¡± Ke Xun was naturally puzzled. At this moment, the first thing he thought of was Yening Chenyi, the purple victim.

    Mu Yiran also couldn¡¯t make sense of it. ¡°I think this purple has something to do with Yening Chenyi, and there must be some significance to the purple appearing here.¡±

    Ke Xun said regretfully, ¡°I should havee up and taken a look this morning.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve done your best.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s expression suddenly turned somewhat strange. ¡°Let¡¯s go back first.¡±

    The reason why everyone wasn¡¯t in the mood to go up to the sixth floor that morning was because Ke Xun had identally pulled out Xin Beibei¡¯s head when trying to rescue her¡­At that time, everyone present was panicking, all secretly calcting the psychological shadow it must have left on Ke Xun¡­Mu Yiran was no exception.

    When they returned to the lobby on the second floor, they discovered that the yellow bedroom window was used as the key mission point and had been nailed with wooden boards.

    Qin Ci held a tool in his hand, saying, ¡°Which room is next?¡±

    Ke Xun scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯m timid so let¡¯s nail my room first.¡±

    Looking at each other, several old members immediately understood that the blue room was the next top priority tonight.

    There was a lot of manpower, and so they were divided into two groups. All the windows in the four rooms were soon boarded up before dinnertime arrived.

    The lighting in this world had always been strange. Even when all the windows were blocked, the room was still ¡°bright,¡± with all the furnishings brightly colored.

    ¡°Why are the other buildings we visited so dark?¡± Shi Zhendong was still puzzled. ¡°Where¡¯s the light source in this world?¡±

    Miao Zipei answered, ¡°Fauves aren¡¯t very particr about refraction and perspective, so the painter deliberately avoided utilizing light sources, probably hoping that all images under his brushes would themselves shine through like stars.¡±

    ¡°But he himself is a shadow worshiper.¡± Mi Wei was still tied up, but had been moved to the second floor. ¡°In this world, the only thing that can make people feel the boundless darkness is only that huge shadow.¡±

    Qin Ci nced at Zhu Haowen subconsciously. ¡°This was simr to what Haowen said. The other buildings are probably the shadow¡¯s domain and are controlled by it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this painter is very contradictory?¡± Miao Zipei said. ¡°The three of us discussed this in the afternoon and concluded that, in this painting, the shadow is probably the master and the body is it¡¯s vassal! This implied that the author himself felt conflicted about his own worship of color.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, he used the maze as a kind of discement,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°Discement?¡± the others questioned.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether this wording is urate, but the core of this world should be the maze and not the castle as we¡¯d previously identified.¡± Mu Yiran also felt a little impatient. Before he could fully figure out the answer, he spected out loud¨C

    ¡°The maze should be a ce where the body and the shadow can exchange, transfer, and even sublimate. The reason why the painter uses the maze to represent this important ce is perhaps due to the contradictions that lie in the painter¡¯s heart¨Cone of the biggest features of the maze is that it makes people lose their way. In the painter¡¯s mind, this matter might have always been a maze-like existence.¡±

    ¡°You mean that the artist himself is also puzzled by this?¡± Shi Zhendong asked with a frown.

    Guo Lixia was constantly feeling at a loss, and she finally couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°I don¡¯t understand. What is the painter so confused about that he needed a maze tomemorate it?¡±

    Shi Zhendong patiently replied, ¡°It¡¯s the question everyone was puzzled by just now, which is who should dominate? The ck shadow or the bright colors? And what should the painter focus on more? I think this is probably rted to the painter¡¯s creative process.¡±

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help asking Miao Zipei, ¡°What do you know about this painter? Regardless of whether it has anything to do with this painting, you can tell us. Maybe it¡¯ll be useful!¡±

    Miao Zipei tried to recall. ¡°In fact, this painter named Rong Rang has always been a little mysterious. Every time he made a brief introduction about his life in exhibitions, he only reported his birthce and graduate school. The other thing is that he has an obsessive worship of Fauvism.¡±

    ¡°I remember that this painter is from Tongzhou.¡± Ke Xun also recalled thebel on the painting from a few fragments of memory. ¡°The author Rong Rang, born in 1993, from Tongzhou¡­¡±

    Miao Zipei nodded. ¡°He is indeed from Tongzhou. He seems toe from a very remote mountain vige in Tongzhou. It is said that this painter is an orphan, but the whole vige took great care of him. Although that ce is very poor, the entire vige contributed to his hospital costs.¡±

    ¡°The people in that ce are really simple and honest, and so helpful.¡± Shi Zhendong couldn¡¯t help but sighed.

    ¡°What other works does he have? Can you tell me everything you can recall?¡± Mu Yiran looked at Miao Zipei, then nced at Mi Wei.

    ¡°Most of his works are Fauvism, with many colorful figures, still lifes, scenery¡­Miao Zipei said that he also created ck and white prints,¡± Mi Wei recalled.

    Miao Zipei nodded. ¡°In the past, the A University¡¯s art gallery had an exhibition where his prints were disyed. They were very ethnically distinctive and werepletely different from the current modern style.¡±

    ¡°Ethnically distinctive means¡­¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°It probably reflects the scenes of the people in his hometown, such as where they work and live. I remember that one of the series of prints was called ¡®Son of the Cave God¡¯,¡± Miao Zipei said with certainty.

    ¡°Cave God?¡± Everyone was somewhat puzzled, and some even wanted to inquire which character that first word was.

    ¡°Tongzhou has many mountains with many caves, so there are many mountain gods and cave gods.¡± Mu Yiran was in deep thought. ¡°In the Tongzhou people¡¯s tradition, mountains, trees, caves, and rocks can all be gods. Meanwhile, water buffaloes, eagles, swallows, and fishes can all be demons.¡±

    Shi Zhendong seemed to have thought of something. ¡°I¡¯ve travelled to Tongzhou before, and I once heard a legend about the fallen flower cavegirls. Is the cave god rted to fallen flower cavegirls?¡±

    Some people had heard of this phrase and others had not. Wei Dong directly asked, ¡°What are fallen flower cavegirls?¡±

    ¡°There is a legend in Tongzhou that some girls will be chosen as brides of mountain gods or cave gods. While inside the cave, these girls would be unable to eat or drink, and once they returned, they would slowly die. This phenomenon was known locally as ¡®fallen cave.¡¯

    Wei Dong felt that these fallen flower cavegirls were very pitiful. ¡°Would these girls be married to the cave god after they died?¡±

    ¡°Yes, these women would be dressed up in wedding clothes after their deaths, and their funeral ceremonies were also organized as a kind of wedding.¡± Shi Zhendong lowered his eyelids. ¡°ording toter scientific statements, in actuality, these girls just suffered from some kind of depression.¡±

    Mu Yiran suddenly interrupted Shi Zhendong. Looking at Miao Zipei, he said, ¡°You just said that one of Rong Rang¡¯s print series is called ¡®The Son of the Cave God¡¯?¡±

    Miao Zipei nodded. ¡°At first, I thought it was to worship the gods there, simr to descendants of the dragon or sons of the East¡­¡±

    ¡°Fallen flower cavegirls would have never married a mortal in her life, much less have children.¡± Shi Zhendong seemed to have guessed Mu Yiran¡¯s thoughts.

    Mu Yiran shook his head slightly. ¡°I used to live in Tongzhou for a bit and heard many local rumors. There was a vige girl who was conceived in a cave by a fallen flower cavewoman. Such children are called children of the cave gods. When their mother dies, these children will be protected by the whole vige, and they are often gifted.¡±

    No one had the nerve to delve deeper in the story behind these kinds of conceptions. At this moment, they thought that, despite being an ¡°orphan,¡± the whole vige even sent him to college. In this case, it was very likely that Rong Rang was one of the legendary ¡°sons of the cave god.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that Rong Rang has such a high artistic talent. He turned out to be a son of the cave god.¡± Miao Zipei sighed ruefully. ¡°But what does this matter have to do with the contradictions in his work? Especially with regards to shadows¡­¡±

    ¡°In some extremely remote viges in Tongzhou, there are extremely pious cave god worshippers, and the vigers there also revere ck,¡± Mu Yiran said the true meaning.

    ¡°You mean that Rong Rang was probably born in such a vige?¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°So then, the cave god is their totem, and ck is their auspicious color.¡±

    Everyone seemed to have to gradually touch upon the truth of the matter.

    When it came to anything painting-rted, Miao Zipei would never hesitate to mobilize all his brain cells. ¡°He¡¯s not only from an ethnic vige that worships ck, he is also the son of the cave god, and had thus attracted the attention of the entire vige. Naturally, to such a person, ck is different from the other colors. However, after being exposed to the outside world, he obsessively fell in love with the most daring Fauvism and its focus on strong colors. This is simply aplete tearing of his view of colors!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why there are contradictions and confusions, and such things as a maze,¡± Zhu Haowen summarized.

    Seeing the truth of the matter, everyone became silent.

    The annoying NPC began to urge everyone to go downstairs for dinner. Mu Yiran directly made arrangements, ¡°Four people are responsible for going downstairs to get dinner. Let¡¯s eat on the second floor.¡±

    Everyone agreed, so dinner was settled hastily on the second floor.

    Miao Zipei wanted to untie Mi Wei and let her eat, but Mi Wei shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t have an appetite.¡±

    Night was gradually falling, but they still hadn¡¯t found the signature. Mi Wei, who had been sentenced to death, would naturally have no desire to eat.

    ¡°The answer is clear. The signature must be in the maze.¡± It was Ke Xun who spoke.

    Everyone agreed with this answer. The maze was the intersection of the body and the shadow, and at the same time, it served as a discement between ck and the other colors.

    Mi Wei gave a long sigh. ¡°But night hase¡­ I wish you all the best tomorrow.¡±

    Everyone was saddened, unable to say anything in return.

    No one dared to enter the maze at night. Night was the world of the shadow, and they had even boarded up their windows to keep this shadow out.

    ¡°What did you find when you went to the sixth floor?¡± Zhu Haowen finally remembered to ask.

    Ke Xun remembered and told them, ¡°The sixth floor is very strange. There is a ss jar with purple liquid in it, but the door is wood-colored, and the clock on the wall is white.¡±

    As for them seeing Xin Beibei¡¯s body, Ke Xun didn¡¯t mention it, so as not to make everyone ufortable.

 Chapter 95: Black

    <h4>Chapter 95: ck</h4>

    Regarding Xin Beibei¡¯s corpse, Ke Xun had already thought of the reason¨Conly colors could be squeezed out of the living. After death, the corpse might have stopped secreting colors, or perhaps, the color may have be stale. Therefore, the blue liquid that Xin Beibei had secreted before death was taken away, and the useless body was abandoned in the jar.

    This meant that Zhang Tianwei had still been alive until he became as small as a fist.

    Xin Beibei had originally still been alive, and had only died once her head was separated from her body.

    Everyone was very puzzled about the situation on the sixth floor. Wei Dong directly thought that this was a bug, but she couldn¡¯t exin where the purple liquid hade from.

    ¡°The purple liquid must mean something. It¡¯s just that we haven¡¯t thought of the answer yet.¡± Shi Zhendong looked at the darkening hall, feeling a little depressed.

    Qin Ci looked at Mu Yiran¡¯s expression and tentatively asked, ¡°Does Xiao Mu have a clue?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just thinking that, when the ¡®painting¡¯ deceives people, is it random or selective?¡± Mu Yiran took advantage of the darkness and shared his thoughts. Time was getting tight, and he didn¡¯t want certain conclusions to be an afterthought.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s selective,¡± said Zhu Haowen. ¡°Especially on the first day. We didn¡¯t know that we could be bewitched if we¡¯re alone in the lobby. That day, there should be more than one person alone in the lobby at a time. At least, there will always be people traveling through the hall for bathroom breaks between work, and the process of walking from the workroom to the restroom can be regarded as being alone in the hall.¡±

    ¡°What is the painting¡¯s purpose in selecting these people?¡± Miao Zipei asked.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, the person who was bewitched on the first day should be He Yu,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Shi Zhendong seemed to have thought of something. ¡°Haowen means that the painting was specifically selecting people with weaker mental abilities?¡±

    Then, he seemed to have felt that his statement was incorrect. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s people with rtively poor psychological defenses who are easily exploited by others.¡± Shi Zhendong¡¯s voice lowered. ¡°A simple girl like Beibei.¡±

    Zhu Haowen nodded. ¡°Compared to Zhang Tianwei, He Yu seemed more brash and impulsive. Looking back now, his act of rushing into the red room with his hands full of yellow paint should be because his impulsivity was being amplified, and eventually, he became a demon who ended up strangling himself and his roommates.¡±

    Some people tried not to look at Guo Lixia, for fear of what she might think, but they still spected in their heart: Although Guo Lixia wasn¡¯t young, she was a person with a great temper, and such people had psychological weaknesses that are easy to exploit.

    ¡°No matter what, our actions in the future must be like this: we will try our best to stay together so as not to be confused by the painting,¡± Qin Ci said.

    Everyone nodded. At this time, the room had gradually lost its color, but no one wanted to go back to their bedroom.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice resounded in the dim hall, ¡°I¡¯m not referring to just the painting¡¯s selection of people. In this world, color is as important as the soul.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s thoughts followed Mu Yiran¡¯s meaning as much as possible. ¡°If this is the case, then the order of color selection is: red, blue¡­¡± Ke Xun paused, not saying that Guo Lixia¡¯s color was also blue.

    Miao Zipei¡¯s voice suddenly rose. ¡°Red and blue adds up to purple! Thebination of Zhang Tianwei¡¯s red liquid and Xin Beibei¡¯s blue liquid is exactly purple! The purple you see on the sixth floor should be these two liquids. It¡¯s a mixed liquid!¡±

    When everyone heard this, they suddenly understood. Qin Ci asked, ¡°But why didn¡¯t the clock and door change ordingly?¡±

    ¡°Because the final color hasn¡¯t beenpleted.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was cruel. The sixth floor should be a ce where all colors are concentrated. The purple liquid we see today only filled up about 2/5th of the ss jar. There is room for three other colors.¡±

    ¡°I can understand the use of red and blue to make purple, but to mix all the colors together¡­¡± Before Wei Dong could finish speaking, he heard Ke¡¯er, who was next to him, say coldly, ¡°It¡¯s ck. All the colors mixed together is ck.¡±

    Ke Xun would always remember the three color news in the winter of 2017. At that time, a great many people¡¯s portraits were converted into the three primary colors. The three colors exactly resulted in a deep ck.

    ¡°ck, the worship of ck. It¡¯s the color of the shadow.¡± Mi Wei¡¯s voice trembled.

    All colors ultimately have only onew, and that is to be ck.

    When everyone looked at the darkening room, there was an ocean of grief in their hearts, and they couldn¡¯t tell who it was for, whether it was for themselves or for something else.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Zhu Haowen. ¡°Why did the third choice ovep? It stands to reason that the painting should have chooses a different color than before.¡±

    The first time, it chose the red He Yu. The second time, it chose the blue Xin Beibei, then the third time, it should not have chosen the same blue Guo Lixia.

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°The painting was just using her as a stepping stone. It¡¯s clear that the ultimate goal was someone else.¡±

    Ke Xun instantly understood what Mu Yiran meant. The painting only used Guo Lixia as a springboard. Its target was actually Mi Wei, the yellow Mi Wei.

    If one followed this spection, then the order of red, blue and yellow would be the result, so that at least the three primary colors were gathered, and the painting would quickly get the ck it wanted.

    Mu Yiran continued, ¡°If it adds purple and green, the effect may be stronger, but the painting is probably impatient.¡±

    A few smart people understood Mu Yiran¡¯s words, and Qin Ci said, ¡°If the shadow gets ck, it¡¯s abilities should be stronger. Even now, we¡¯re already helpless against it. It¡¯s hard to imagine what it¡¯ll be like in the future¡­¡±

    ¡°So, I won¡¯t allow it to get yellow.¡± It was Mi Wei who was speaking. Because of the darkening of night, the fan-shaped pattern on her body looked ck and white. If it was daytime, one would see that the fan-shaped pattern was a brightly colored goose yellow.

    Mi Wei¡¯s body had been contaminated with green juice, which meant that the boss behind the scenes had failed to obtain a pure yellow tonight.

    Tonight, the only eligible people were Mi Wei and Guo Lixia. As everyone was discussing the issue, they all stared at the circle of dots that belonged to Guo Lixia.

    ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. I want to go back to bed.¡± Ke Xun yawned. ¡°Everyone, go back to sleep.¡±

    ¡°Tonight, it¡¯s better that everyone stays in their room. We already put the corresponding container in each room. When life and death are at stake, it¡¯s better not to worry about gender,¡± Qin Ci said.

    Guo Lixia seemed to be a little tired. Sheid down and stretched out on her back.

    There was one missing person in the blue room tonight, and so Ke Xun simplyy on another bed.

    Xin Beibei¡¯s figure covered with diamond patterns seemed to have be vividly visible.

    Ke Xun tried his best not to think about Xin Beibei. If he thought too much, he would naturally recall those extremely unpleasant experiences.

    ¡°Group leader, although you were ying dumb riddles just now, I basically understood,¡± Guo Lixia suddenly spoke from the opposite bed.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t know what to say for a while.

    ¡°You¡¯re suspicious of me, suspecting that I have been bewitched.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s silence was regarded as a confirmation.

    Guo Lixia sighed. ¡°I regret the matter about the little girl Mi Wei today. As for your analysis just now, I also feel that what I did today was quite wrong.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why we nailed the window, andter we will nail our door with a wooden board from the outside,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Why go to such trouble? You can just tie me up, just like you tied up Mi Wei.¡± Guo Lixia¡¯s dot pattern was very eye-catching in the darkness.

    ¡°Sister Guo¡­¡±

    ¡°What I said is only the truth!¡±

    ¡°At present, we are just suspicious, and we have no full confirmation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t ask you to contaminate my color. I am also afraid that I will be wronged.¡±

    ¡­ In the end, under Guo Lixia¡¯s strong request, Ke Xun really tied her up, as loosely as possible so as to lessen her difort.

    The night seemed extremely long, and it took a long time for the huge ck shadow to arrive.

    The night was very quiet, and the absence of Guo Lixia¡¯s snoring made the whole night even more deste.

    Guo Lixia couldn¡¯t sleep either, so she simply chatted with Ke Xun in the dark. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t have anyst words. There is no old man in my family, there¡¯s just myself. My son followed his dad abroad at a very young age, with very little possibility ofing back. My life is boring, my mouth is quick, and I love to offend people. I haven¡¯t saved up much liquid money, but the house I live in now can be reserved for my son. When I die, thew will allocate it to him¡­The house is now worth a lot of money, and so my son will definitely return home for this¡­He could also entomb me and my parents, so that I wouldn¡¯t have given birth to him in vain¡­¡±

    Ke Xun became more ufortable as he listened, but he didn¡¯t know whatnguage to use tofort a dying person.

    Guo Lixia¡¯s voice loomed in the dark, like a rushing train speeding into a cave.

    The window was boarded up, and so the original gray silhouette of the window pane had disappeared. Now, the darkness was pervasive. Ke Xun even smelled the unique smell of the dark shadow once more.

    After the world turnedpletely dark, Guo Lixia¡¯s voice disappeared, reced with painful gasps.

    Ke Xun boldly asked into the dark, ¡°Sister Guo? Sister Guo?!¡±

    He once again experienced that sense of powerlessness, as if he¡¯d stepped into endless ck space and there was no bottom, no up, no down, left, or right.

    Guo Lixia¡¯s pained gasps abruptly stopped.

    The world was so quiet, as if it had died.

    Ke Xun suddenly remembered a sentence: Death is like evaporating water.

    When the darkness finally left, Ke Xun even thought that the striking wave patterns on his body was an illusion.

    This time, darkness stayed too long, making people almost feared the light.

    There were only two gray beds left in the room. And there was the pattern on Ke Xun¡¯s body, but elsewhere in the room, there was just darkness.

    The dot pattern belonging to Guo Lixia had disappeared.

    Ke Xun was a little sad, but he still fumbled to Guo Lixia¡¯s bed. If he could get to Guo Lixia¡¯s colorless body, he might be able to give her first aid and help her breath again.

    He never gave up on a glimmer of hope. After all, even a glimmer of hope was an opportunity.

    He touched the bed on the opposite side of the room, and he even searched underneath the bed, but it waspletely empty.

    Ke Xun crouched and searched every inch of the floor again, but still, there was nothing.

    Where was Sister Guo? There ought to be a corpse, like in Yening Chenyi¡¯s case. Or, if the body was dragged away like Xin Beibei, how did her body pass through the thin gaps between the wooden boards?

    <strong>Xida:?</strong>The author even managed to make the mixing of colors into ck seem grotesque and a little horrifying.

 Chapter 96: Guo Lixia

    <h4>Chapter 96: Guo Lixia</h4>

    The whole night was like a car driving silently in the darkness. It was unknown where the end point was or what would be encountered on the road.

    Ke Xun looked at the gradually brightening colors in the room. If this change could have a name, it would be best to call it ¡°breaking dawn.¡±

    Ke Xun carefully inspected the window that was nailed with wooden boards. The gaps between the boards were so narrow that not even a chopstick could pass through.

    Where was Guo Lixia? It was very strange not to see a body, whether alive or dead.

    After searching for a while, Ke Xun saw a ball of paper at the base of the wall beneath the window. It looked just like waste paper that had been scrunched up into a ball.

    He couldn¡¯t remember if anyone had used paper in this room, and so he doubtfully picked up the ball of paper. It weighed about the same as a piece of ordinary A4 paper.

    As he unfolded the paper, he realized that the shape of the paper was rather strange. It didn¡¯t seem to be a traditional square shape, and it gave off a certain feeling of indescribable lubricity against his hand.

    As the paper was slowly unfolded, Ke Xun¡¯s heart sank bit by bit. When the entire piece of paper wasid t on the table, his heart dropped into a deep ice valley.

    ¡°Ke¡¯er! Are you okay? Come out!¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice came from outside the door.

    In aplicated mood, Ke Xun rolled up the paper, held it in his hand, and opened the door.

    Everyone¡¯s expression was bad, but without the early panic from days ago. Instead, it was more like a kind of resignation.

    ¡°Something happened to Mi Wei?¡± Ke Xun had already guessed the result.

    Miao Zipei¡¯s voice was low and deep. ¡°Mi Wei didn¡¯t suffer, just like when Yening Chenyi left.¡±

    Shi Zhendong looked into the open door of the blue room. ¡°What about Xiao Guo?¡±

    With a solemn expression, Ke Xun walked to the table in the hall and spread the paper out on the table.

    Wei Dong was the first to walk over to take a look. ¡°What is this? Is this a little person? This is¡­¡±

    ¡°This is Sister Guo.¡± Ke Xun no longer looked at the horrifying and somewhatical-looking little piece of human skin.

    Upon hearing this, Wei Dong shook with fear, but still managed to gather up the courage to cautiously examine the ¡°little person.¡± To be precise, it was a piece of human skin that had been emptied of its inside. It was about 30 cm high when spread pliable on the table. Looking at the features, it was indeed Guo Lixia.

    Although everyone had either seen or heard about the tragic sight of Zhang Tianwei and Xin Beibei inside the ss jar, none of it was as shocking as this ¡°Guo Lixia.¡±

    This unspeakable ¡°corpse¡± was now lying on the table in front of everyone. There was no need to enter the circr building, and there was no specialrge ss jar. There was only a thin, cold corpse, looking like a piece of paper that may have been overlooked if it wasn¡¯t clearly ced in front of everyone.

    ¡°When you first discovered it, was this thing already like this?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°No, it was balled up like waste paper¡­¡± Ke Xun said.

    Zhu Haowen took a closer look at ¡°Guo Lixia.¡± ¡°It might be that the ck shadow probably dragged his prey to the window using the same method it had used before. The only difference was that this body could not pass through the window. It hated to waste such prime color resources, and so it just extracted the colors on the spot.¡±

    ¡°Extracted the colors on the spot? Extracted, how?¡± Miao Zipei asked.

    Zhu Haowen shook his head. ¡°Probably only the shadow himself could answer this question.¡±

    Even if they didn¡¯t know the specifics, they could still imagine the situationst night. The color should have been strongly squeezed out from Guo Lixia¡¯s body. This method was probably simr to extracting colors using the ss jar, but it was simply more brutal and cruel. As a result, the entire body was emptied out, and even the human skin was wrinkled and bunched, until it finally shrank into something that looked like a ball of waste paper.

    Just like when one was drinking a kind of bagged beverage. When one sucked strongly, the bag would buckle and bunch together.

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help thinking of the painful sounds Guo Lixia had emittedst night.

    ¡°If this method is also effective, why did the dark shadow try it¡¯s best to drag people away?¡± Shi Zhendong took a closer look at Guo Lixia¡¯s body once more, and he found that, although the corpse was as t as a piece of paper, there was still a faint touch of color on it. Her facial features and hair could still be seen clear as day, and the polka dot pattern on her clothes still had a faint light blue color.

    Qin Ci quickly discovered this too. ¡°Using this method, the shadow might be unable topletely extract the color, and torturing people this way was probably at the shadow¡¯s limit.¡±

    Ke Xun seemed to have thought of something. Anxiously, he rushed downstairs. ¡°Hurry up to the pool and check if Sister Guo¡¯s coins are still there!¡±

    Everyone thought of it instantly and tensely listened to Mu Yiran¡¯s arrangements. ¡°We¡¯ll divide into two groups. One group will go to the pool downstairs, and the other group will go check in the round building. Afterward, let¡¯s gather in the lobby on the first floor.¡±

    They quickly divided into groups. Miao Zipei was about to rush downstairs with Wei Dong, but then he heard Mu Yiran say, ¡°Go to the sixth floor instead. You probably need to identify the color there.¡±

    Miao Zipei seemed to understand. He nodded and followed Qin Ci and the others upstairs.

    Ke Xun arrived at the pool. Although he was mentally prepared, when he saw that the coins with circr patterns were still at the bottom of the pool, he still couldn¡¯t ept the facts.

    Mu Yiran and Wei Dong did not speak. At this point, it was hard to imagine that Guo Lixia was still alive.

    ¡°Let¡¯s treat Sister Guo well.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice was almost inaudible.

    The current ¡°Guo Lixia¡± was being held by Mu Yiran. Mu Yiran silently walked to the pool andpletely immersed this little human skin in the water. A few minutester, those dot coins at the textured pool bottom gradually disappeared.

    The human skin floatedpletely on the water, floating like garbage.

    With his bare hands, Ke Xun dug a half-wall deep pit directly by the pool, buried ¡°Guo Lixia¡± in it, and muttered in an inaudible voice, ¡°I¡¯ve wronged Sister Guo. When your sones back from abroad, I¡¯ll have him kowtow to you with incense.¡±

    Wei Dong stood on the sidelines, feeling very ufortable. He still remembered that Guo Lixia was an exceptionally innocent person when she¡¯d inadvertently entered the painting two days ago. All she wanted was to find water to drink.

    But these people who entered the painting, these people who came and went, back and forth, which one of them weren¡¯t innocent?

    Meanwhile, Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes were fixed on the maze, as if lost in thought. He walked to the side of the maze, stood at the northeast corner, and looked into the distance.

    ¡°Yiran, what did you find?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Mu Yiran narrowed his eyes, as if he was trying to see something in the distance. He heard Ke Xun¡¯s question and replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing special. I just heard what seemed to be movements in the maze, so I walked over to listen.¡±

    Ke Xun frowned. ¡°Could it be the Minotaur that you spoke of yesterday?¡±

    Wei Dong looked at his best bro: It¡¯s really rare that you can remember such a long name.

    ¡°The Minotaur is essentially a person with a bull head who lives in a maze. It was said that virgin maidens would be used as a sacrifice to pay tribute to him.¡± Mu Yiran walked away from the maze, and they headed toward the castle. ¡°Later, during an archeology dig in Crete, archaeologists discovered the remains of thebyrinth that was mentioned in the myth. There were arge number of linear writings on the y tablet found inside. These writings were records, such as seven sacrificial Athen maidens, boys and girls names, and so on. These records were exactly in line with the myth of sacrificial tributes being paid to the Minotaur.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the members who were passing by the outside corridor above the castle, and his vision paused momentarily on the round tower. ¡°Would you say that the dark shadow¡¯s extraction of people¡¯s colors is considered as a kind of sacrifice?¡±

    Wei Dong looked at the pool that could record life and death. ¡°There is also the setting of the pool, which seems to be quite ritualistic.¡±

    ¡°If it really is a sacrifice of color, then who is it used to worship?¡± Mu Yiran analyzed. ¡°When added together, these colors will result in ck. Is the shadow using ck to make itself strong, or does it have other purposes?¡±

    ¡°I always think that, as long as there is a shadow, then there should be a physical body. These two things are interdependent and indispensable to one another.¡± Ke Xun looked down at his own shadow. ¡°Thews of this world are also like this. The people who died will lose their colors. At the same time, their shadow will be lost¨CI think the same rules applies to the shadow itself as well.¡±

    ¡°The shadow itself is already strong enough, imagine how powerful the actual body is!¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t imagine it.

    ¡°Fauves would sometimes magnify something they want to express, such as this shadow that the painting wants to express.¡± At this time, more people had returned to the hall, and Mu Yiran continued ¡°Although the shadow isrge enough to cover everything, it¡¯s material body may not be as big.¡±

    It happened that another team member had juste downstairs to the lobby. Hearing Mu Yiran¡¯s words, Zhu Haowen said thoughtfully, ¡°If the shadow has a material body, the actions of this body should be consistent with his shadow. ording to our previous analysis, the big shadow could control our shadows, so as to control our physical bodies. So what was the shadow¡¯s material body doing at that time?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes immediately lit up, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he looked at Miao Zipei and asked, ¡°Did you discover anything new?¡±

    Miao Zipei said, ¡°The fourth and fifth floors are still red and blue, but the doors representing them are now tightly closed. The sixth floor is a pure purple. Whether it¡¯s the color on the wall or the purple liquid in the ss jar, it is the purest purple, an equal mixture of red and blue.¡±

    Qin Ci asked Mu Yiran and Ke Xin, ¡°Is this the same purple you saw yesterday?¡±

    Ke Xun scratched his head, feeling that it was difficult for him to provide clear information on the description of color.

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°The purple we saw yesterday was slightly reddish.¡±

    Miao Zipei had a sudden realization. ¡°That¡¯s it! It seems that someone had added a small amount of blue to the purple liquid today, which makes the red and blue equal, so the colors extracted became the most correct and pure purple!¡±

    As for where those small amounts of blue came from, everyone knew in their hearts; the corpse of the poor Guo Lixia appeared in their minds.

    The NPC¡¯s voice sounded, announcing that today¡¯s work task was still to store three jars of berries. Then it invited everyone to have breakfast.

    Now that there were only seven people left, their work tasks had be extremelyborious, particrly in the blue room. In that room, there was only Ke Xun alone who couldplete the work, even if he worked diligently.

    ¡°Have you ever thought about why the NPC never showed up? We have never encountered this type of situation in the previous painings,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Suddenly, there was a sneer in the hall, clearlying from the NPC.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably too ugly to let anyone see it,¡± Ke Xun said, raising his voice loud and clear into the void.

    ¡°¡­..¡± Zhu Haowen looked at Ke Xun. ¡°Or maybe this person can¡¯t show his appearance, so he could only broadcast his voice to us.¡±

 Chapter 97: The Degree of Bewitchment

    <h4>Chapter 97: The Degree of Bewitchment</h4>

    ¡°Hao Wen¡¯er, don¡¯t scare people by saying that the NPC is like the big boss behind the scene and has been watching us.¡± Wei Dong sped up his breakfast, hoping the other people¡¯s analysis wouldn¡¯t affect his appetite.

    ¡°The NPC definitely isn¡¯t the big boss.¡± Qin Ci finished his cup of milk. ¡°But, the NPC must be able to represent the boss. At the very least, it must be the boss¡¯ personal follower. Thinking back to the settings in the previous paintings, weren¡¯t they all like this?¡±

    ¡°What you mean is that if the NPC can¡¯t show up, the big boss behind the scenes also can¡¯t show up? They arepletely different from us,¡± Shi Zhendong said.

    Many people heard this sentence, but no one could give a clear answer about the rtionship between the shadow and the physical body.

    ¡°This time, the focus of our search is still near the maze,¡± Qin Ci looked at the remaining seven people. ¡°Without the four people who have to stay behind and work, there will be only three people left who can go and look for the signature.¡±

    ¡°Since time is tight, it can only be so,¡± Shi Zhendong said. ¡°I am already familiar with the essentials of the work. I¡¯ll stay this morning and try to finish all three cans.¡±

    Miao Zipei also took the initiative to say, ¡°Dr. Qin has experience. I¡¯ll stay and work. I¡¯m already familiar with the storage of those berries.¡±

    Wei Dong also took the initiative to take over the work in the purple room.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t have anyone to modestly decline the work, and so he could only look pitifully at Mu Yiran and said, ¡°Then you all go. Please pay attention to safety.¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyelids. When he raised his eyes, he said, ¡°As the workers, you all must remember not to be alone in the hall. Even if you go to the restroom, you must take at least onepanion with you.¡±

    They nodded silently. Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran with bright eyes, and from his heart came a bullet screen with the words: You have to be careful too. Remember to pick flowers for me. Don¡¯t allow your body to get dirty¨C

    Ke Xun shuddered fiercely. Why did he suddenly be so internally witty and effeminate just now? Mu Yiran evidently became ¡°softened¡± by his eyes, and he even forgot to put on a cold expression¡­

    Ke Xun was momentarily baffled. Just now, there was something wrong, but he couldn¡¯t tell what it was.

    Now that time was running out, no one wanted to dy for even a minute. Soon, they divided themselves into two groups. Four people went to the workroom, while three people went outside to the maze to look for answers.

    Ke Xun finally said to the other three workers. ¡°We must stay alert. I feel like I was almost bewitched by something just now. If someone wants to go to the toiletter, it¡¯s better to shout at the door. Once someone responds, you both can then go together.¡±

    When it came to the matter of being bewitched, no one dared to take it lightly. The others nodded and remembered clearly before returning to the rooms to work.

    Although Ke Xun was preupied with other thoughts, it didn¡¯t affect his work efficiency. After all, he was the only one left in this room. He had no choice but toplete the task faster than the others.

    The strange idea earlier remained a mystery to him. Thinking about it carefully, it was clearly an idea that came out from him, but upon closer inspection, there was something very wrong about it.

    He removed the berries from the leafy branches, carefully recalling the situation earlier. That explicable and coquettish remark was indeed a voice that came from his heart, as if there was someone hiding there, suddenly revealing a secret to him.

    If it were a person less determined, that person might have revealed something on his face¨CKe Xun smiled shamefully. At that time, the expression in his eyes had indeed slightly revealed some of his innermost thoughts.

    Ke Xun carefully thought about where he was a moment ago. At that time, there were still many people in the hall, and he wasn¡¯t alone. Why was he still bewitched? Had his position and behavior vited any implicit conditions?

    As he carefully listened to everyone¡¯s analysis, he was sitting facing the wooden cab that stood against the wall. There was nothing strange about that cab. It was made entirely of pure wood and stained ss, and there was no color on it.

    Ke Xun¡¯s inner lights shed, as if he¡¯d captured a hint of an epiphany. At this moment, he suddenly heard Shi Zhendong¡¯s voicee from outside, ¡°Does anyone need to go to the bathroom? I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    Ke Xun had no thoughts to apany Shi Zhendong to the toilet. He was still chasing after that epiphany. Then he heard Miao Zipei from next door replied, ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡±

    It was reassuring that there were two people going together.

    He restlessly continued the train of thoughts about the cab just now, that hand-made wooden cab ced against the wall. The cab¡¯s door was bright ss, and through the ss, one could see the exquisite tea set inside.

    The shiny ss was reflecting the light, and if the angle was just right, one could even see one¡¯s own image on it.

    Shadow.

    The reflection in the ss or mirror was also a kind of shadow.

    Ke Xun suddenly had a sh of insight, clearing away the muck. He recalled that someone had been bewitched while alone in the hall before. What¡¯s more, Mu Yiran had analyzed that, because there was a separation between the shadow and its material body, the boss could manipte other physical bodies through their shadows.

    Was the strange words in his heart earlier caused by his reflection on the ss cab door? But why use those strange words to bewitch him?

    Ke Xun really didn¡¯t dare to think about what would happen if he had also be bewitched. Thinking back to Xin Beibei¡¯s jealousy and Guo Lixia¡¯s violence and savagery, was his weakness tender looks and false femininity?

    At that time, Mu Yiran had unexpectedly given him a slightly touched look. Thinking about it now, this was clearly an illusion that only he could see, and it was also one of the means by which the shadow was attempting to bewitch him!

    He was very d that he wasn¡¯t sessfully bewitched¡­

    After thinking about this, he suddenly remembered the two people who had just gone to the restroom. Ke Xun hurriedly opened the door to remind them to be wary of the ss cab. But after opening the door, he saw that Shi Zhendong and Miao Zipei were sitting at the table in the lobby, talking.

    Shi Zhendong was frowning as he told Miao Zipei, ¡°Every holiday, I often go to many art museums all over the world. Some foreign art museums are very distinctive. A few museums had strangely shaped containers that held candies the same weight as the painter. I think this style is mind-blowing, as if the painter¡¯s inspiration and artistic sense were rendered to everyone.¡±

    Even Ke Xun thought that this style was very good. Why didn¡¯t the art museum that he visited give out sugar?

    Miao Zipei raised his gaze and saw Ke Xun. Smiling, he beckoned him over with an enthusiasm that made Ke Xun somewhat ufortable.

    Although Miao Zipei liked to talk about art, he rarely speaks, much less makes such an enthusiastic greeting.

    Ke Xun exchanged nces with Shi Zhendong, and then smiled at Miao Zipei. ¡°Although I¡¯m a little bit resistant to ces like art museums, what you just said sounds pretty good.¡±

    ¡°Many sessful painters are absolutely devoted to art. In the early days, some painters had even used their bodies to make paint, and some painters had even sacrificed their own rtives¡­¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t listen anymore. ¡°People sacrificing themselves for art is a personal choice, but to sacrifice their own rtives for art is nothing short of extreme selfishness and cruelty.¡±

    Miao Zipei just smiled faintly and continued, ¡°Have you heard the story of the famous Japanese painting called ¡®Infernal Transformation¡¯? In order to better depict the image of a carriage burning in hell, the painter put his beautiful daughter in the carriage and set it on fire. He watched as his daughter burned to death in that burning carriage, watching until the carriage fell into the cliff¡­But the painter was able to create the ¡®Infernal Transformation¡¯ that made everyone feel frightened and full of despair.¡±

    Ke Xun was about to respond when he saw that Shi Zhendong had given him a light nce. He nodded, saying nothing.

    It was best not to be the target of the person bewitched; otherwise, he himself might be the target of that person¡¯s sneak attacks. Therefore, it was better to maintain normality.

    In the end, Shi Zhendong¡¯s age had afforded him some experience, and so he smiled and said to Miao Zipei, ¡°We still have a lot of berries to store. Everyone should hurry up and return to work.¡±

    Miao Zipei was the first to return to his yellow room.

    Ke Xun wasn¡¯t in a hurry to go back. Seeing that Shi Zhendong had pulled a chair aside for him, as if he wanted to tell him something, he sat down and listened.

    ¡°You can see it too? Xiao Miao has some problems,¡± Shi Zhendong whispered.

    Ke Xun subconsciously nced at the ss cab facing him some distance away and hurriedly withdrew his gaze. ¡°How did Miao Zipei end up alone in the hall when you both went to the restroom together?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s pretty fast, and he wasn¡¯t used to waiting for people in the bathroom. After washing his hands, he went to the hall. The time between him leaving and meing out was within a minute.¡± Shi Zhendong¡¯s expression made me a little panicked. ¡°Could it be that the shadow is more powerful now? It seems to have gotten better at bewitching people.¡±

    ¡°We all need to be more careful.¡± Ke Xun clenched his fist, not saying anymore.

    ¡°Why does it seem like yourplexion is very bad. Are you okay?¡± Shi Zhendong had strong observation skills.

    Ke Xun shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just feel that we¡¯re running out of time. Three nights had already passed, and the painting didn¡¯t seem to have the patience to give us our full seven days. If Miao Zipei has really be bewitched, then the yellow he represents is exactly the color the boss urgently needs.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s try our best to protect ourselves. As for Xiao Miao¡­If he really began to engage in suicidal behavior that would pollute his color, then I¡¯m afraid we wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him.¡± Shi Zhendong sighed.

    After this, they no longer chat, and both went back to their respective rooms to work.

    Ke Xun deliberately sped up his work, making his arms extremely tired, until he was finally able to finish storing three big jars of berries before noon.

    As he worked, Ke Xun didn¡¯t stop thinking, and so he was finally able to figure some things out.

    He gently pushed the door open and soon arrived at the door of the purple room. He made a soft whistle¡ªthis had been a secret signal between himself and Wei Dong for many years. When they were young, this was how they secretly made appointments to meet each other by their windows and go to the Inte cafe to y games.

    Wei Dong quickly opened the door. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted¡­¡±

    ¡°Dongzi, listen to me carefully,¡± Ke Xun¡¯s expression was solemn, making Wei Dong immediately quiet down to carefully listen.

    Ke Xun¡¯s voice was very quiet. Although he was standing at the door of the purple room, only they could hear what he said. ¡°You return to the room right now and quietly bar the door from the inside. I¡¯ll run out yelling, but don¡¯t open the door until wee back and tell you to open it.¡±

    Although Wei Dong didn¡¯t understand what was going on, Ke Xun was the person he trusted the most. So, he closed the door and barred it from the inside with a table and chairs.

    Ke Xun tried not to look at his reflections in the hall, and he rushed out the door with a single stride.

 Chapter 98: The Mirror Room

    <h4>Chapter 98: The Mirror Room</h4>

    After Wei Dong barred the door from the inside, he fell into a state of confusion. He looked at the result of his hard work, which was a little over two jars of paint, and lost the desire to continue working.

    He went to the window, which wastched from the inside so it should be fairly safe.

    A view of the fast-running Ke Xun soon greeted Wei Dong¡¯s eyes, and he stared as Ke Xun ran into the maze.

    At this moment, Shi Zhendong¡¯s voice came from outside the door. ¡°Did something happen to Xiao Ke? Why did he run out so suddenly? Xiao Miao? What are you doing? Xiao Miao! Xiao Miao!!!¡±

    Miao Zipei¡¯s voice came, though it was uncertain whether he was excited or in pain. ¡°Don¡¯t stop me! I¡¯ll never force anyone, but don¡¯t block my freedom! I¡¯m willing to sacrifice myself for this painting! I am willing to contribute my color!¡±

    Wei Dong hesitated, but he believed in Ke Xun more, so he didn¡¯t move nor did he make a sound.

    Soon, he saw Miao Zipei shed past through the window, followed by Shi Zhendong, who was trying to catch up but failing.

    Wei Dong hesitated again, but he still dared not act rashly.

    Finally, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran rushed over from the maze. Wei Dong let out a sigh of relief and moved the table and chairs away from where they were blocking the door, ready to go out.

    But then, he heard Qin Ci eagerly shouted, ¡°Everyone, go to the colorless room in the middle! The signature is in that room.¡±

    Wei Dong paused, and for a while, he didn¡¯t know who to believe. Until finally, Mu Yiran entered the purple room and gestured to Wei Dong, before quickly turning around and walking back out.

    Soon there came the deafening sound of wooden boards being nailed. When Wei Dong went out to look, he saw that the others were nailing the door of the middle room with wooden boards¡ªthis was the door of the red room. However, because Zhang Tianwei and He Yu were gone, the room had turned from red to colorless.

    Shi Zhendong¡¯s voice came from inside that room, ¡°What are you doing?! What are you doing?! We need to get Xiao Miao back now! He¡¯ll give his yellow color to the shadow! Xiao Miao has been bewitched. We need to save him!¡±

    Mu Yiran and Qin Ci were responsible for nailing the door. After a while, Zhu Haowen and Ke Xun walked in from the outside with tools such as hammers in their hands. ¡°We¡¯ve also nailed the windows from the outside. He won¡¯t be able to get out.¡±

    ¡°Outrageous! What are you trying to do!¡± Shi Zhendong finally lost his mind and yelled out from inside the room, ¡°We should stop Xiao Miao now! Let me go!¡±

    Standing outside the room were five old members who had experienced many paintings together. At this time, everyone was silent.

    Shi Zhendong yelled, seemingly afraid, ¡°Is there anyone out there? Where are you? Where did you all go?!¡±

    With aplicated expression, Ke Xun looked at the wooden door that had been nailed shut. ¡°Brother Shi, about Xiao Miao, you said as much earlier. Didn¡¯t you tell me, if he really did want to do something likemit suicidal pollution, we wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Shi Zhendong started pounding on the door again. ¡°This isn¡¯t the reason why you shut me in! You¡¯re afraid that the history of Xiao Guo hurting Mi Wei will repeat itself! You¡¯re just unwilling to risk him taking us off guard and hurting someone, so none of you don¡¯t want to go after him.¡±

    ¡°The shadow urgently needs yellow. I¡¯m afraid Miao Zipei isn¡¯t in the mood to hurt others,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Next to him, Wei Dong nodded. ¡°I heard Xiao Miao say earlier that he is willing to sacrifice himself for this painting and that he would never force others.¡±

    The room became quiet. Shi Zhendong¡¯s voice slowly calmed. ¡°What is your purpose? Why do you want to curtail my actions?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the whole hall. At this time, the reflective ss cab had already been temporarily blocked with wooden boards. ¡°When someone is alone in the hall, they can be easily bewitched by shadows, even our shadows on the floor. This bewitchment includes all reflective objects, such as mirrors, ss, and eyes that can reflect one¡¯s own figure.¡±

    Shi Zhendong was silent.

    Ke Xun continued, ¡°I was almost bewitched this morning. The shadow that tried to bewitch me came from the reflective image on the ss cab door. I never understood how the angle I was sitting at was facing the ss cab door. It was actually very awkward to have a chair in that position.¡±

    ¡°When you and Miao Zipei came out from the bathroom, I already discovered that Miao Zipei was bewitched. At that time, you pulled the chair out and asked me to sit down so we could talk about it. I found that the position of the chair was exactly the same as it was this morning. My figure would bepletely reflected on the ss cab door. At the time, I was just suspicious. But when I thought about it carefully, I remembered that it was you who called me to sit down for breakfast, and it was also you who led me to that dangerous seat.¡±

    ¡°Due to my previous experience, I tried my best not to look at the ss cab door, but when I looked at you while I was talking, I saw my own figure reflected in your eyes, and I was almost bewitched again.¡ªThree coincidences, could all these really be coincidences?¡±

    ¡°Just now, you have been emphasizing to me that we are all just thinking of ways to protect ourselves, not wanting to block Miao Zipei¡¯s unnecessary sacrifice. In fact, you¡¯re actually buying time for Miao Zipei. It seems that you have foreseen Miao Zipei¡¯s determination tomit suicidal pollution. Maybe, you were the one who bewitched him?¡±

    Shi Zhendong¡¯sughter sounded from inside the door. ¡°Xiao Ke, you can really joke. I don¡¯t have such great ability. Don¡¯t think so much. Open the door quickly. We¡¯re running out of time!¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°I have always had doubts about how Guo Lixia got bewitched. Yesterday morning, you were in a bad mood due to the matter regarding Xin Beibei. You went down from the fourth floor to the second floor by yourself. About two minutester, Guo Lixia was worried about you so she went downstairs to see you. Two to three minutester, the rest of us came downstairs to the second floor, and I saw Guo Lixia talking to you.¡±

    ¡°ording to the timeframe, Guo Lixia had almost no time alone in the hall on the second floor, but you have two minutes alone. During that period of time, you became bewitched and so you went and bewitched Guo Lixia.¡±

    Shi Zhendong chuckled. ¡°I became the big boss behind the scenes, but now you¡¯re talking about how I confused Guo Lixia?¡±

    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t understand this before, I couldn¡¯t make a judgement. After listening to Ke Xun¡¯s words today, I realized that you were using eye pupils at the time,¡± Mu Yiran said slowly.

    ¡°Then why had the clock not changed? Everyone who is bewitched will change the color of the clock dial,¡± Shi Zhendong protested.

    ¡°That¡¯s a misunderstanding,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°Only when people enter other rooms by mistake, or actually pollute the colors, will the clock change. In contrast, you were just following the prompts given to you by the screen behind the scene. You took no actions to pollute the colors so that other people wouldn¡¯t be suspicious of you, nor would you be swallowed by the shadow because you have not vited the death condition.¡±

    ¡°Anyone who became bewitched wouldn¡¯t turn into a stranger. They would retain their original characteristics, but will be more extreme in certain aspects. Simrly, these people would also be limited by their own IQ, resulting in events of various kinds.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Shi, you¡¯re much smarter than those before you. You¡¯re very good at lurking. It¡¯d been more than 24 hours since yesterday morning, but you¡¯ve been patient, looking for the right person and time. In this action, you want to use Ke Xun to cover-up Miao Zipei¨CYour main goal today is Miao Zipei, because the shadow is in desperate need of yellow.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t consider thisyer. ¡°You mean to say¡­¡±

    The person who answered him was Zhu Haowen. ¡°Once he seeds in bewitching you, he will push you into the cusp of the storm and draw everyone¡¯s attention to you, so that he can provide cover for Miao Zipei.¡±

    Shi Zhendong¡¯sughter suddenly came out from the room. ¡°You young people aren¡¯t easy to fool, but it¡¯s toote! Even I don¡¯t know where Miao Zipei went when went straight into the ck building! You can never find him!¡±

    Silence answered Shi Zhendong, as if there was no one outside.

    There was indeed no one outside in the hall. Everyone quietly walked out of the door and checked the first three floors of the round tower. They didn¡¯t find Miao Zipei, and so they made a beeline for the building in the center of the castle.

    ¡°Is it the window in the middle of the third floor?¡± Qin Ci raised his head and looked up, visually checking the distance.

    The others nodded. While in the maze, Mu Yiran had revealed a mystery that he¡¯d previously observed.

    ¡ªWhen standing at the northeast corner of the maze and looking towards the castle, one of the castle¡¯s ss windows reflected bright light. Because this world had no sr light source, this reflected light was very strange and should be indicative of something important.

    ¡°Did you check this room when you came here yesterday?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°The buildings here are all pitch ck inside. We could barely walk in any direction. Even with the lighting on our phone, we still couldn¡¯t see anything. We had to grope in the dark through two rooms.¡± Qin Ci tried to climb the protruding rock on the outer wall of the building and discovered that climbing up to the third floor was not impossible.

    Zhu Haowen followed Ke Xun and climbed up. ¡°I hope this window will reveal a bright and shining world.¡±

    The five old members, at times quickly and at times slowly, climbed up to the third floor. Ke Xun was about to smash the ss window with a stone he¡¯d prepared ahead of time, but found that the window wasn¡¯t locked. With a slight push from the outside, the window swungpletely open.

    In keeping with Zhu Haowen¡¯s auspicious words, this room was really bright.

    The moment everyone climbed in, they only felt that it was too brilliant, so bright that they couldn¡¯t open their eyes for a moment.

    When everyone adjusted to the brightness and saw the surrounding scene clearly, they were all taken aback.

    The ceiling, floor, and walls of this room werepletely covered in mirrors. Walking in was like entering the interior of a diamond and seeing their images reflected at every corner.

    Ke Xun looked at the ¡°people¡± all over the room, feeling dizzy.

    ¡°Be on guard, everyone. Don¡¯t be fooled by your own reflection,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°This¡­it¡¯s hard not to be fooled!¡± Wei Dong rubbed his eyes and looked at the people crowding the mirrors. There were so many, he couldn¡¯t even find himself.

    Qin Ci cautiously stopped walking. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is right. We aren¡¯t the only people in the mirror.¡±

    Wei Dong let out a low shout and backed up two steps. ¡°That over there, that¡¯s Zhang Tianwei!¡±

    Ke Xun followed the direction of his gaze but saw instead that, in a mirror on the ceiling, Xin Beibei was smiling. This smile was somewhat narcissistic, as if she was taking a selfie with her mobile phone.

    ¡°Are we still going in?¡± Qin Ci hesitated. He saw in the mirror on the floor that He Yu was looking up at them through it. He suddenly moved his entire face closer and dipped his hand in paint to paint a bright red pattern on the mirror.

    ¡°Miao Zipei! Are you there?!¡± Ke Xun shouted suddenly.

 Chapter 99: The Person Without a Shadow

    <h4>Chapter 99: The Person Without a Shadow</h4>

    The people in the mirror didn¡¯t seem to hear Ke Xun¡¯s voice; they continued to do their own thing.

    ¡°We mustn¡¯t let our reflectione into contact with these people.¡± Zhu Haowen was a little wary, and he subconsciously moved away from the gloomy Zhang Tianwei in the mirror.

    Ke Xun looked at Yening Chenyi, who was trying to pull up her sleeves. ¡°These people shouldn¡¯t be able to harm us. Even if they¡¯re malicious, they could only y a shadow role at night.¡±

    He looked at his reflection in the mirror that was ¡°disturbed¡± by Yening Chenyi. The girl seemed to be trying to pull herself up, but her shadow seemed to be separated from her by ayer. No matter how much she tried, she could not directly touch herself.

    This reminded Ke Xun of the phrase about heaven and humans being separated forever.

    Ke Xun tried to raise his arm and greeted Yening Chenyi with his reflection in the mirror. It seemed to have worked because Yening Chenyi stared at Ke Xun and smiled.

    Ke Xun mouthed, ¡°Miao Zipei.¡±

    Yening Chenyi seemed to feel somewhat dazed and rather sad. She shook her head slightly and turned her gaze away.

    ¡°No. I¡¯m very ufortable staying here.¡± Wei Dong smacked his own head. ¡°I feel nauseous enough to throw up, as if my body¡¯s about to be divided.¡±

    The others weren¡¯t feeling too well either, feeling as if they were all just barely holding on.

    Mu Yiran hadn¡¯t spoken all this time. He had walkedpletely into the mirror room and was scanning each mirror sharply. ¡°These people in the mirror can¡¯t hurt us. Don¡¯t be influenced by them, and try not to look at your own reflection too carefully.¡±

    Hearing Mu Yiran¡¯s words, Wei Dong seemed to feel better. The difort just now wasn¡¯t a physical feeling, but rather a psychological problem. In such a mirror room full of reflections, the first thing one must ovee was one¡¯s own psychological disturbance.

    The people in the mirror seemed to feel bored, and so they used their own colors to rx. He Yu had already painted argendscape with red paint. Mi Wei had given her yellow paint a sand-like effect and was starting a sand painting. Guo Lixia didn¡¯t know how to paint, and so she dipped her hand into the blue paint and made a lot of royal blue handprints on the mirror surface.

    ¡°Have you noticed that the mirrors are actuallyyered, and the world inside isn¡¯t unified?¡± Zu Haowen touched his chin and carefully observed the mirror.

    Indeed, those colors seemed to exist on different levels or dimensions, and weren¡¯t affected by the refraction of the mirror at all, They were simply divided into areas ording to colors.

    Deep purple, bright yellow, warm red, soft green, refreshing blue, these colors flowed in various gestures, interweaving into a new world.

    ¡°Look over there!¡± Taking advantage of his experience as an artist, Wei Dong quickly discovered the bug in the color. He pointed to the ceiling. ¡°There seems to be two ck spots over there!¡±

    Everyone focused their eyes on the two ck dots on the corner of the mirror. As they approached slowly, they found that the so-called ck dots were actually two letters. The handwriting was very casual, with both letters facing the lower right corner. Tilted, they gave out a strange, artistic aura: RR

    ¡°Is this Rong Rang¡¯s initial?¡± They guessed.

    Ke Xun was already lifting up Wei Dong. Wei Dong raised his hand and touched the ck signature on the ceiling. Wherever his finger made contact, it seemed to create a wave that rippled out like water. The two ck letters turned into faint ink stains and then spread out.

    When Wei Dong lifted his finger away, the ink stains slowly gathered again, reforming the two letters.

    Mu Yiran frowned. ¡°This is¡­the signature¡¯s shadow?¡±

    ¡°Shadow? The signature¡¯s shadow?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t seem to disassociate fiction and reality in this painting.

    ¡°Everything has a shadow, especially in this world where shadows are particrly emphasized. In this sense, the artist¡¯s signature should also have a shadow.¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked at the window. ¡°I think we should go into the maze immediately.¡±

    The five members tacitly climbed back out the window one after another, even though Ke Xun didn¡¯t understand why they had to go into the maze. Another ignorant follower was Wei Dong, who followed Ke Xun out the window.

    No one noticed that the golden yellow in the mirror was partially wiped away, revealing a face inside¨CIt was Miao Zipei, who seemed to be trying to mix the purest color. His face was solemn, like a religious devotee.

    The five members climbed down to the ground along the castle wall and hurried in the direction of the maze.

    When he passed by the pool, Ke Xun still paused to look inside. All the coins with the wheel-shaped pattern that was reflective of Miao Zipei had disappeared.

    Looking at Ke Xun¡¯s expression, everyone had already guessed the result. Their heart felt heavy, but this meant that they needed to act with more urgency: Tonight, the shadow had gathered the three primary colors it needed¨Cred, yellow and blue¨Cand it might have gained a qualitative leap in ability.

    ¡°I have an idea. Although this method of walking through the maze might be breaking the rules, right now, we can only do this.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s expression took on a slight rascally air.

    Seeing that Mu Yiran had also cast his gaze over, Ke Xun continued, ¡°We don¡¯t have to walk in the dark, staying within the lines, when we can fly over the walls like Night Rangers.¡±

    ¡°What you mean is that we can walk on the walls of these bushes, so that we can see the situation in the maze at a nce?¡± Mu Yiran looked at the bushy walls of the maze, thinking that this method might actually work.

    Ke Xun skillfully climbed to the top of the bush wall, which was very strong and could bear the weight of an adult man. He looked into the distance. ¡°The distance one can see is quite good. At least three turns can be seen clearly.¡±

    The others also quickly climbed to the top of the bush wall one after another, with the exception of Wei Dong, who was slightly afraid of heights.

    ¡°Tell me, why are you so sure the signature is in the maze?¡± Ke Xun¡¯s sense of bnce was very good. To him, standing on top of a tall wall was like walking on t ground.

    ¡°While you were working, we made some new discoveries in the maze.¡± It was Qin Ci who answered Ke Xun. ¡°We found a man hidden in the maze. He was very fast and we couldn¡¯t manage to catch up. But that person is different¨CHe has no shadow.¡±

    This discovery was unexpected to Ke Xun. ¡°What does that person look like?¡±

    ¡°There are colorful patterns on his clothes. He ran too fast and so we couldn¡¯t see him clearly. But we¡¯re certain that he has no shadow.¡±

    Ke Xun felt that they were getting closer and closer to the truth. ¡°In other words, this person without a shadow is the dark shadow¡¯s material body?!¡±

    Everyone tacitly agreed. They began to walk slowly forward on top of the wall, watching the situation down inside the maze.

    Wei Dong walked the slowest, for fear that he would take a wrong step and tumble down. ¡°My cerebellum seems to be hindering my brain¡¯s ability to guide my movements. Just now, I feel like I¡¯m walking on tightrope¡­What did you just say? There¡¯s a person living in the maze? And his shadow lives in the castle? How did he be separated from his shadow?!¡±

    Mu Yiran was watching when Wei Dong was walking carelessly, and he stretched out his hand to help him. ¡°That mirror room is definitely not pointless. It should be the ce where the shadow meets his material body.¡±

    This was the first time that Wei Dong had made ¡°contact¡± with Mu Yiran. Suddenly, he felt that the other person wasn¡¯t so cold, and this gave him a rare sense of intimacy. ¡°Thanks¡­Then ording to you, the signature should be the same, with the shadow in the house and the real signature in the maze!¡±

    Mu Yiran realized that after he¡¯d pulled Wei Dong, the other party didn¡¯t let go. He was clutching him hard with sweaty palms.

    Just when Wei Dong was feeling that Mu Yiran was getting more and more kind, he suddenly heard the other person coldly say, ¡°You sit here and wait.¡±

    Wei Dong, who was already lowering his body for fear of falling: ¡­..

    From a distance, Ke Xun said, ¡°Dongzi, you stay outside and observe!¡±

    Dongzi, who might have nted down the side if he had taken one step further, nodded hurriedly and squatted tremblingly on the wall.

    ¡°I saw that person!¡± Qin Ci moved forward quickly, pointing to the path ahead.

    .

    Four people cooperated and tacitly surrounded the person in the maze along the outer path. The person was very fast and very familiar with theyout of the maze. But he seemed to gradually realize that it would be difficult for one person to beat four, and so he simply stopped running.

    By this time, everyone had already pushed the person to the center of the maze. The person stopped walking and sat down directly on thewn at the center of the circle.

    Ke Xun dropped down from the wall, maintaining a safe distance from the man.

    Zhu Haowen and Mu Yiran also came down, with only Qin Ci remaining on amanding height, keeping a vignt observation of their surroundings.

    This man wore arge robe embroidered with patterns in four colors: blood red moon, blue circles and diamonds, goose yellow wheels, and orange maze.

    If the moon represented Zhang Tianwei, then the circle represented Guo Lixia, the diamond Xin Beibei, and the wheels Miao Zipei. These were the members whose colors had been absorbed. Then, who did this orange maze pattern belong to?

    ¡°No wonder we¡¯re divided into five colors. In addition to the three primary colors, there are also two intermediate colors: purple and green. The only missing color is orange.¡± Zhu Haowen¡¯s eyesnded on that person. ¡°It turns out that you¡¯re the orange.¡±

    This person was very thin, but had piercing eyes. His entire person looked a bit weird, probably because he had no shadow.

    The person didn¡¯t say a word.

    ¡°Actually, I think all colors have their own beauty. People like all kinds of color, and there are also many who like colors like duck feces yellow and bile green,¡± clearing his throat, Ke Xun made his opening remark. ¡°Anyway, all the colors added together make ck, so why not enjoy the process of these colors. Divide them as you want andbine them as you want. Why not give yourself some freedom?!¡±

    The shadowless man looked at Ke Xun indifferently and said nothing.

    This was the first time Ke Xun received such thousand-year-old cold eyes. Compared to this person, Mu Yiran¡¯s coldness was at best a box of ice cream, of the lemon vani vor kind.

    The signature must have been hidden by this person. Judging from his cold eyes, even if he was tortured all the way, he would not say a word.

    ¡°I am willing to contribute part of the purple,¡± Mu Yiran finally opened his mouth. ¡°So that you can gather six colors to get the ck you wanted.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish!¡± The big ss jar used for soaking people appeared in Ke Xun¡¯s mind, and for the first time in his life, he shouted at Mu Yiran.

    ¡°We have already searched all the ces we can find, and now we can be sure that the signature is on this person.¡±

 Chapter 100: R.R.

    <h4>Chapter 100: R.R.</h4>

    ¡°Night ising. Death awaits you,¡± the man in the colorful robes finally spoke for the first time.

    ¡°As long as we haven¡¯t vited the death conditions, we still have four nights,¡± Mu Yiran coldly replied.

    Wei Dong¡¯s voice floated in from the distance, ¡°Boss Mu, we¡¯re both purple. If we add both our colors together, will we also be condensed little people¡­?¡± Wei Dong¡¯s distant voice sounded miserable.

    ¡°The colors are just symbolic.¡± Mu Yiran gazed at the shadowless person in front of him. ¡°We can contribute a few drops of blood, only a few drops.¡±

    The man sneered. ¡°I can take them from all of you at will.¡±

    ¡°What happens if you¡¯re separated from your shadow for too long?¡± Mu Yiran suddenly asked.

    The man¡¯s expression turned ugly, making him look somewhat angry.

    The four members exchanged brief looks. Perhaps because they had broken through many paintings together, everyone had a rare tacit understanding.

    ¡°We have many ways to destroy the mirror house,¡± Qin Ci said with the rigor of a doctor, which gave him a kind of scientific conviction. ¡°At the very least, we¡¯ll make it so the person looking in the mirror won¡¯t be able to see his own reflection.¡±

    ¡°We also have many ways to destroy the ss jar on the sixth floor of the round building.¡± Zhu Haowen showed the serious expression of the type of gamer rarely seen. ¡°At least, we can make it impossible for the lids to open.¡±

    ¡°Our patience is limited. We don¡¯t want to spend another night here, not even an hour.¡± This time, Ke Xun turned into a bad-tempered street fighter.

    After the three of them had said their pieces, Mu Yiran didn¡¯t add any words but instead assumed a cold front.

    Wei Dong¡¯s shout came from a distance. ¡°Just do it. We¡¯ll shed a few drops of blood and you give us the signature. It¡¯s a win-win¡ª¡°

    Wei Dong¡¯s tone sounded entirely like one of those merchant hawkers trying to force a purchase.

    The man seemed to be thinking about this seemingly domineering proposal.

    Zhu Haowen secretly looked at the green pattern on his body. Right now, the color that this mancked, aside from purple, was green.

    It was unknown what had happened to the bewitched Shi Zhendong, who was the same green as himself.

    At this time, it was almost noon, and the whole maze had a kind of shining vitality. The whole castle also glowed with bright and charming colors.

    Shi Zhendong was pacing angrily in the room nailed shut by wooden boards. The other members had not returned since they left. Perhaps they had already found the signature, or perhaps they were in danger.

    If these people really found the signature, Shi Zhendong refused to believe that they would outright abandon him. He might have been bewitched by the painting, but he was still alive. As long as he walked out of the painting with everyone else, he could still live.

    If they abandoned him, it was tantamount to killing him.

    Thinking this, Shi Zhendong calmed down and put himself in the other¡¯s position. If he were Ke Xun or one of the others, what would he do with ¡°Shi Zhendong¡±? They would definitely try to stay away from him, for fear of being bewitched. But once they found the signature, they wouldn¡¯t abandon him. Was there any way to do both?

    Once Shi Zhendong figured this out, he began to search the room. Those people must have left a way out for him.

    Sure enough, he found an axe in the gap between the furniture and the wall. This axe was rusty and very unsuitable for use. If he tried to cut down the wooden boards across the door or the windows, it would take a few hours. Buying time¡ªif they failed and had to return, they would find a way to shackle him again; if they found the signature as expected, he could leave before darkness fell, just one step behind them.

    Thinking of this, Shi Zhendong picked up the rusty axe and swung it at the wooden board across the window¡­

    At this time, in the maze, the shadowless person in arge robe walked toward the person closest to him¡ªthe expressionless Zhu Haowen.

    Zhu Haowen took a deep breath. Feeling that his friends were slowly surrounding him from all directions, he gradually gained some confidence in his heart.

    But then, the pattern on the person in front of him suddenly changed. In the red, yellow, blue, purple and orange pattern, long green lines suddenly appeared. The change caught them off guard, and Zhu Haowen couldn¡¯t help but shudder.

    These green lines were exactly Shi Zhendong¡¯s pattern.

    Meanwhile, the purple pattern on the robe originated from the few drops of blood that Mu Yiran and Wei Dong had contributed moments ago.

    All eyes were focused on those green lines, and the man expressionlessly said, ¡°Your partner wasn¡¯t able to get rid of his demons in the end; he¡¯d made too many deals with me. He¡¯s already part of the painting and can¡¯t leave.¡±

    Unexpectedly, this person would now attack Shi Zhendong. Did this mean that they would soon be able to leave the painting?

    Everyone silently watched as the man quietly walked toward the hall of green nts. He groped for a while among the nts with hisnky hands and then pulled open an invisible door.

    The man walked through the door, his back deste.

    The moment he walked through, the door automatically closed behind him.

    Everyone pushed aside the nts covering the door, gradually restoring the true face of this ancient wooden door.

    On the mottled wall of the wooden door, there were two distinct letters, dark and heavy: R.R.

    The handwriting was rather casual with a very artistic ir. Just like the signature reflection in the mirror room, each R was slightly inclined to the lower right.

    As for the man who had just left, whether or not he had finally defeated his own demon, no one could tell.

    Although he wore brightly colorful clothes, the written letters were as dark as a Tongzhou cave.

    The signature on the door radiated a dazzling light, and a huge picture frame appeared in front of them.

    Even though they had already anticipated this, they still felt a sense of disbelief when they were finally faced with the frame.

    This was the first time they were leaving the painting so calmly, and all five oldpanions were still alive. They should be rejoicing, but they felt sorrowful instead.

    The five men walked through the darkness and saw the light again. But they didn¡¯t feel that the light was too dazzling. In fact,pared to the painting, the colors of the real world looked dull and monotonous.

    The painting in front of them wasposed of many gorgeous colors. Though irregr, the round rhombus-shaped lines and other patterns had extraordinary meanings to them.

    These patterns formed something that resembled a maze. It was rare to see an author¡¯s signature in the center of a painting and the signature was the ck letters of Rong Rang¡¯s initials: R.R.

    At the moment, they were the only people in the exhibition hall, where the walls were filled with many brightly colored Fauvist paintings.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Qin Ci reminded them.

    Everyone silently turned to walk out of the exhibition, but when they opened the door, they unexpectedly ran into a huge oil painting.

    The oil on the painting hadn¡¯t yet dried, and all five men were stained with colors.

    Wei Dong looked at his terrible-looking T-shirt, but he was full of emotions of another kind. ¡°Shit, I was scared to death just now. I thought I was entering a painting again!¡±

    Two volunteers quickly walked out from behind the oil painting. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. Just now, I thought I saw that there was no one in this exhibition hall, so we just pushed the work forward!¡±

    It was Yening Chenyi who was speaking, and Miao Zipei stood beside her.

    Both of them expressed infinite apologies and insisted onpensating them for their clothes, but they declined, particrly Ke Xun, who was quite firm.

    Yening Chenyi wanted to say something more, but they suddenly heard someone shouting from outside. ¡°Mi Wei fainted! Call an ambnce!¡±

    When the two heard this, they hurried over to see.

    Only then did Ke Xun and the rest leave the exhibition hall. They first went to the bathroom to wash the oil paint from their arms and faces, but they still left the art gallery stained with various colors.

    ¡°Mi Wei and the others, how long do they have left to live?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    ¡°One week if more. If less, then immediately,¡± Qin Ci replied, touching his pants pocket. He found that there was already a ticket there. ¡°Next stop, Square Box Art Gallery.¡±

    Right now, the world in the painting had already passed, and none of them had anything more to say to those people in the painting. Regardless of whether they bid farewell or not, despite the many partings between life and death, they could notpletely be numb to it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s change our clothes first. These clothes are too eye-catching.¡± Wei Dong looked at his colorfulpanions. ¡°Those pedestrians thought we were doing body art.¡±

    This university art gallery was located on a youth street behind the university, and there were shops selling clothes along the street.

    So they all walked into a shop selling casual clothes.

    The store was small, and the walls were covered with all kinds of T-shirts. The printing style was too avant-garde, to the point of gaudiness¨Csuch as the bright, pink hand with its middle finger raised; the mustard green shirt with six pairs of breastfeeding banshees; a giant foot with multicolored ointments on its sole.

    The other wall was full of cuteness, with various fruits and food printed on the T-shirts.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have a banana.¡± Ke Xun directly chose one with a banana design, and at the same time, he also picked one with a pineapple print. ¡°Yiran,e here.¡±

    The pineapple wasn¡¯t just a pineapple; it had a small heart cut into it. Mu Yiran frowned and chose a T-shirt with a couple of thick and strong sugar canes printed on it.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen chose a cream-yellow t-shirt printed with a few bright green watermelons, which had an inexplicable 80s small town style.

    Qin Ci chose the most inconspicuous white T-shirt with a few green olives on it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take this one, I loved to eat Mylikes.¡± Wei Dong immediately put on the new T-shirt, which was sky-blue and had a print of a chocte colored ball with half of its snow white pulp exposed.

    Zhu Haowen looked at it. ¡°That¡¯s not Mylikes.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a coconut! Coco is coco, nut is nut¨C¡± Wei Dong sometimes really admired his own trantionprehension ability. ¡°This is exactly a kind of Mylikes with nuts¨C¡±

    Zhu Haowen wanted to say something, but he still swallowed it alive. Mylikes was Mylikes. They had been in and out of various paintings so many times, it didn¡¯t matter whether it was a coconut or a Mylikes.

    As a result, five big men collectively walked on the street wearing fruit T-shirts, with an indescribable contrast.

    ¡°Are you going back to S city directly? I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°In two days, my cousin will be getting married in S city.¡±

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯ll be lively this time.¡± Before Wei Dong could respond, he heard Qin Ci say, ¡°I also happened to have a one-week medical exchange meeting in S city.¡±

    Ke Xun, who was wearing a banana T-shirt, tilted his head to look at Mu Yiran, who was wearing a sugarcane T-shirt. ¡°How about it? The five of us gather at my ce to celebrate our new lease on life?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t have a cold face this time. Despite wearing a fruit T-shirt, he was still like a jade tree overlooking the wind, with the sugar canes on his clothes only giving him a certain purple bamboo effect. ¡°I¡¯ll be busy these next two days, so I¡¯ll have to arrange some time.¡±

    Qin Ci smiled and said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll wait for you to make arrangements. We¡¯ve been on the brink of life and death together for so long, and we haven¡¯t even sat down and eaten a meal together yet. It¡¯s really unreasonable.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. Let¡¯s not go to the restaurant. Let¡¯s just go to Ke¡¯er¡¯s house! Let him make a table full of food for us!¡± Wei Dong had the look of someone acting as a host.

    ¡°Yes, you alle over!¡± Ke Xun also smiled.

 Chapter 101: The Beginning

    <h4>Chapter 101: The Beginning</h4>

    ¡°Our S City is a well-connected city, and it is very tolerant.¡± Acting as a guide, Ke Xun led everyone around once they got off the high-speed rail. After passing by a sesame seed cake stall, he bought everyone a square sesame seed cake and said, ¡°Stove baked sesame seed cakes are one of the characteristics of this city.¡±

    Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen were also there, each biting into the cakes in their hands, enthusiastically chewing.

    Wei Dong tasted the taste of his hometown and felt a sense of rebirth. ¡°I just had an idea. At some point, once I¡¯ve made enough money, I¡¯ll shoot a film called The Sesame Seed Cake at the Tip of the Tongue, and I¡¯ll photograph sesame seed cakes all over the country. What kind of crab, what kind of tbread, what kind of seed? And, also our city¡¯s own unique stove baked square sesame seed cakes!¡±

    ¡°Young man, what lofty ambitions!¡± praised an old man sitting beside the stall, eating sesame seed cakes.

    ¡°Uncle, you spoke well. Bless you!¡± Wei Dong also replied. Then he said to everyone, ¡°This is the way ofmunication in our city. In the eyes of the old people, we are all promising youths.¡±

    Qin Ci answered his phone and then exined to everyone, ¡°The organizer of the medical exchange has arranged a hotel room for me. Hao Wen¡¯er, if it¡¯s inconvenient to look for a ce, you can stay with me at my hotel instead.¡±

    Zhu Haowen chewed hard at the cake in his mouth, feeling that his cheeks were bulging. ¡°I¡¯ll stay at my aunt¡¯s house. My cousin needs manpower for the wedding preparations so I¡¯ll have to go early to help when the timees.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at his mobile phone and saw that it was past 17 o¡¯clock. ¡°It¡¯s still early. Let¡¯s find a restaurant to rest for a while and eat before going back.¡±

    Everyone nodded, and Qin Ci also said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat something simple tonight, and wait for Xiao Mu to get together again in a few days.¡±

    So Ke Xun took everyone to a clean restaurant. The well-built restaurant owner looked at the four men in front of him¨Cthe fruit pattern on the front of their T-shirt made them look very fresh and juicy¡­

    The restaurant owner opened his mouth and spoke in the eastern ent of S City, ¡°God Ke, you always say you¡¯lle, but I barely saw a hint of you. Today, I¡¯ll have to entertain you well.¡±

    Wei Dong whispered to their twopanions, ¡°Ke¡¯er was the one who brought about Boss Li¡¯s rebirth¡­¡±

    Boss Li immediately said in a booming voice, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that these two new friends don¡¯t know. Three years ago, they used to call me Fat Dumpy Li! I weighed more than 230 catties, can you believe it? If it weren¡¯t for God Ke, I guess right now, I would be too fat to even walk!¡±

    As he was talking, Boss Li showed everyone the muscr lines of his forearms. Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen subconsciously gave the gold metal body sculpting expert Ke Xun thumbs up¨CThis was the first time he came and he even brought his friends from outside. In the midst of talking andughing, there was a hint of cherishment between life and death.

    Over by the door of the private box, Ke Xun and Boss Li were talking. ¡°It¡¯s just four people, all our own people. Quickly put that out of your head. A sheep feast? That¡¯s enough, that¡¯s enough! Just bring four bowls of traditional noodles, served with a few side dishes¡­¡±

    Even though Boss Li said that the ¡°restaurant is small and the food is simple¡±, he arranged for the waiter to put ¡°16 steaming bowls¡± on the table. The 16 steaming bowls, including the ck porcin bowls on top, were 32 bowls altogether.

    ¡°Old Li Changliang, I¡¯ll give him 32 likes.¡± Wei Dong wasn¡¯t polite. He stretched out his chopsticks and put a couscous in Qin Ci¡¯s bowl. Then he grabbed another piece of fried tofu in soup and put it in Zhu Haowen¡¯s bowl. After having experienced so many paintings together, they could nearly ascertain each other¡¯s likes and dislikes.

    ¡°Since the experience¡­of entering¡­, this is the first time I have calmly tasted such delicious food.¡± Zhu Haowen dipped the fried tofu in fried chili oil and put it in his mouth. It was hot and crispy. He breathed out the heat, thoroughly enjoying himself. After chewing hard, he said, ¡°After eating so well, it makes you cling harder to this human world.¡±

    If it were in the past, they might be down-spirited due to this sentence, but no one thought about it at this moment. Instead, theyughed and raised a ss of wine. ¡°People clinging harder to this world are most worth drinking.¡±

    Ke Xun ced the phone in the middle of the table. Mu Yiran was on the screen. He was frowning a little, staring at the slightly shaking camera. Finally, he understood what was going on and he raised his coffee cup toward the camera, drinking with everyone.

    ¡°Kelp and tender meat, your favorites.¡± Ke Xun pushed the two steaming bowls in front of the camera.

    After Ke Xun told Mu Yiran this, Mu Yiran put down the coffee in his hand, touched his chin and looked at him and at the food on the table that he couldn¡¯t eat.

    ¡°Boss Mu, when are youing? We¡¯ll go to Ke¡¯er¡¯s ce for dumplings.¡± Wei Dong¡¯s tolerance for drinking wasn¡¯t good, and he already felt a little dizzy after drinking three to five cups of alcohol.

    Mu Yiran smiled faintly, but Ke Xun understood from his smile that this person probably had no time toe over to apany everyone. As for the next time they¡¯ll meet again, he¡¯s afraid that he would have to wait for the next painting.

    The painting, this weird existence, should he hate it or be grateful for it? Ke Xun and Mu Yiran ¡°touched ss¡± and drank.

    ¡°Counting it down, how many levels have we broken already?¡± After looking around, Zhu Haowen felt that this private box was safe and so he took the initiative to talk about this sensitive topic. Even so, he still avoided using the word ¡°painting.¡±

    Zhu Haowen continued, ¡°I started at the tube houses, with everyone, and in total, I¡¯ve broken through three levels.¡±

    Wei Dong pushed the meat egg roll in front of Zhu Haowen. ¡°Ke¡¯er and I had two with you.¡±

    After Qin Ci finished drinking, his face wasn¡¯t red but pale instead. ¡°I experienced it twice with Xiao Mu, and the third time, I met Xiao Ke and Dongzi.¡±

    Zhu Haowen tasted the delicious meat egg roll and mentally did the math. ¡°In other words, judging from the total number, this game has already gone through seven levels. Brother Qin, are you sure it was the first level when you entered?¡±

    Qin Ci pulled his thoughts back to the day that he didn¡¯t want to recall. ¡°At that time, all 13 people said that it was their first time. It was in the northwest of L City. I worked there for six months due to a medical exchange program, and I would usually go to look at art in my spare time and wander around the museums. Even now, I still remember that the name of the gallery was called Time Art Gallery.¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s current mood could only be understood by those who had experienced a painting.

    Mu Yiran was silent on the other side of the screen.

    ¡°I think we¡¯d better write down each experience. Instead of recording it in detail, we can just record some key words and numbers in vague ways. Maybe we can find some pattern from it.¡± Judging from Zhu Haowen¡¯s expression, this person probably had recorded his experiences in all three paintings.

    Wei Dong was already flushed from drinking. He pulled at his hair and said, ¡°When do you think this will be over? Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯ll just keep going through levels after levels for the rest of our lives?¡±

    The idea of constantly having to enter paintings for the rest of their lives was wretched.

    ¡°If Brother Qin is certain that he and the others had entered the first level, then one can say that this painting has a beginning.¡± Zhu Haowen hesitated, then extended his hand and patted Wei Dong. ¡°Everything has a beginning and an end. It¡¯s impossible for it to loop indefinitely.¡±

    ¡°We can draw two conclusions about the beginning of this matter,¡± Mu Yiran said from the screen. ¡°Perhaps, Time Art Gallery was the general beginning, or perhaps at a certain time in the past, an entire group was annihted, and so a new starting point was re-established.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s always a beginning.¡± Ke Xun took over. ¡°At present, every level we had experienced thus far had its own rules. As long as there are rules, there are certain numbers, and so we can¡¯t go through these levels forever. There must be an end point to these levels.¡±

    There must be a total number to these paintings.

    People constantly went in and out of the painting, but which painting would be the final one?

    ¡°Since the number of participants is 13, then perhaps the total number is also rted to 13,¡± Wei Dong said what everyone was thinking. Then he scratched his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a lucky number.¡±

    ¡°Under the premise of this hypothesis,¡± Zhu Haowen said as he dipped his hand in water and wrote the number 13 on the table. ¡°Since the first, we have passed 7 levels today, and so we¡¯re halfway to the 13th level already. It¡¯s just around the corner. But judging from the three levels I¡¯d gone through, there hadn¡¯t been any changes in the degree of difficulty, and there seems to be no pattern between easy and difficult.¡±

    ¡°Because the time period and the style of these works are different, the world they show is different,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°The NPCs all acted differently. Some are very mechanical, some are indistinct, and some will observe us secretly and even try to bewitch us.¡±

    Mu Yiran was referring to the ¡°Shadow¡± that everyone just came out of. ¡°By the way, those Morris patterns are indeed rted to the painter¡¯s experience. In order to put himself through school, this man once worked on drawing Morris patterns for a huge mansion. These patterns were primarily orange, and they were continuously spread throughout the mansion. The painter spent a full year drawing this, and then he had to undergo nearly a half a year¡¯s worth of psychological treatment. This incident probably caused him a great deal of stimtion.¡±

    This exined why Morris-patterned windows would appear in a Fauvist painting, and why Rong Rang¡¯s image would be orange¨Call these represented the painter¡¯s inner world.

    Mu Yiran seemed to have something going on over there on his end. He nodded to everyone and terminated the video chat.

    But before he left, Ke Xun looked at the video, and Mu Yiran looked at him one final time.

    ¡°ording to Xiao Mu just now, is it possible that the NPCs in these levels are gradually bing stronger? Even gradually thinking for themselves?¡± Qin Ci spected.

    Everyone was eager to figure out the rules of these paintings. Their understanding of the clues to these rules might be a magic weapon that could save their life.

    But their analysis at this moment was just a guess.

    The door to the private box opened, and the restaurant owner came in. He carried a tray with four bowls of delicious-looking, steaming beef noodles with green coriander sprinkled on top.

    ¡°I personally made the glutinous rice noodles. The taste is absolutely extraordinary!¡± The boss enthusiastically put the rice noodles on the table one by one. Then he put down a te of cut beef and a few small saucers. ¡°When I was at the door, I heard a few words, and I don¡¯t understand what you young people are saying these days. It¡¯s almost like my kid, who stays at home and ys games all day. He chats with his ssmates all day long, so I¡¯ll tell him, ¡®Unlike the game world on theputer, reality is really dangerous! You¡¯ll understand when you enter society. In games, you can be resurrected after losing your life, but in the real world, if you fall, it¡¯ll sometimes be difficult to climb back up.¡±

    After hearing this, everyone thought it was the truth, and so they all toasted the boss.

    ¡°Sorry. Since I started exercising, I¡¯ve quit drinking.¡± The boss poured himself a cup of tea and drank it with everyone. ¡°This year is the year of my birth sign. How much older am I whenpared to you younger brothers? In these 50 years, I¡¯ve also experienced a few dangerous ups and downs, and I feel that some things that may seem difficult aren¡¯t necessarily bad. Some people need experience, and once they¡¯ve experienced it, they would no longer be so timid.¡±

 Chapter 102: This Damned Gay is Handsome

    <h4>Chapter 102: This Damned Gay is Handsome</h4>

    When Ke Xun and Wei Dong arrived in J City, a government sponsored science and technology fair was being held.

    Colorful gs were erected on both sides of the main road, forming a kind of barrier, and rted advertisements and the likes were scattered everywhere.

    Even while sitting in the dumpling restaurant across from the Square Box Art Gallery, a city employee still squeezed in to hand them two exhibition flyers.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong had developed a habit. They must eat and drink before entering a painting. Since it was lunch time, and the time for the painting was usually before 6 pm on the same day, they had no worries and sat by the window that overlooked the street, eating slowly.

    The Square Box Art Gallery on the other side of the street was very technologically styled. From the outside, it looked like stacked square ck and white boxes. The exterior wall resembled pianocquer, glowing in the sun. It also exuded a sense of coldness and simplicity that wasmon to the era of technology.

    They were both eating while staring at their mobile phones.

    Wei Dong said, ¡°A girl in our advertising department took a selfie with a skin smoothing beauty filter and nearly lost her nose. She looked like Mrs. Voldemort, showing just two nostrils on her big white face.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°You¡¯re watching the moments of the girls in yourpany?¡±

    Wei Dong replied, ¡°Am I such a superficial person? I¡¯ve already finished watching long ago. Now, I¡¯m just watching Weibo.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°¡­Beast, even looking at other people¡¯s Weibo?¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s because thepany doesn¡¯t have a marketing staff. You don¡¯t know how shameless our boss is. He¡¯s forcing all employees to push out with the regrity of three meals a day, and share publishedpany product advertisements to their own circle of friends. No one could escape. He¡¯s even forcing everyone to apply for Weibo just to forward the various promotions and advertisements posted on thepany¡¯s official blog on a daily basis. No exceptions are made. Thepany won¡¯t even let go of family and friends. They have to help too. Since it¡¯s not noon yet, I want toplete my assignments¨CKnow what, you follow me on Weibo. I just applied for an ount to share thepany¡¯s official blog posts. You can then forward mytest Weibo posts.¡±

    Ke Xun asked, ¡°What¡¯s your ID?¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Weifeng_Mang.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°¡­How do you even like this name?¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°It¡¯s not illiterate. The word ¡®Weifeng¡¯ seems elegant at first. And mang? At first nce, it¡¯s clearly rogue. So, if I turn my name upside down, it bes?Elegant Rogue Awesome, right?¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°¡­That¡¯s not wrong when converted like that. Haowen¡¯er just sent a wechat message¡­He¡¯s also here.¡±

    As he spoke, he raised his head to look outside, and he saw Zhu Haowen standing in front of the Square Box Art Gallery, looking as if he was searching for someone. Ke Xun immediately waved at him.

    Zhu Haowen entered the shop and sat at the table. Ke Xun wanted to order another bowl of dumplings. ¡°What to drink, alcohol or a beverage?¡±

    Zhu Haowen wasn¡¯t polite with him either. ¡°A beverage.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Ke Xun raised his voice. ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll have another bowl of dumpling soup!¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    Wei Dong quickly asked Zhu Haowen to follow him on Weibo, so as to help him forwardpany ads.

    Zhu Haowen looked at the both of them a little speechlessly.

    ¡°Life has to go on.¡± Ke Xun shrugged. ¡°A single dog like Dongzi can do nothing but work.¡±

    ¡°Needle through my heart.¡± Wei Dong covered his chest. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the pot calling the kettle ck? We¡¯re all single dogs, more noble than anyone else.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me, dogs can also be divided into experience dogs and greenhorn dogs,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°I want to report your experience point.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°I was wrong, big brother. This greenhorn requested to be carried.¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked at Ke Xun. ¡°You¡¯ve had a boyfriend before?¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°I did. I¡¯m so handsome, it would be strange if I¡¯ve never had one.¡±

    Zhu Haowen asked, ¡°Why did you both separateter?¡±

    Wei Dong replied, ¡°That kid couldn¡¯t stand the pressure. Ke¡¯er was the school idol back then. He would walk into school and thousands of pairs of eyes would be staring at him. As a result, people became aware that Ke¡¯er and this kid were a couple. But the kid was too ashamed and wanted to break up with Ke¡¯er. Then he turned around and found a girlfriend to refute the rumors. Hehe. He¡¯s obviously gay, but he ran to fucking deceive a woman¡¯s feelings. Snatched us straight guy¡¯s potential love partner. How shameless.¡±

    Zhu Haowen asked, ¡°¡­ Ke Xun, does your family know your sexual orientation?¡±

    Ke Xun answered, ¡°Regardless of whether they know or don¡¯t know, that old couple can¡¯t control me anymore. Fortunately, my old man wasn¡¯t obsessed with passing on the family line. Even if he finds out from up there, at most, he¡¯ll just visit me in my dream and scold me or shout at me. It¡¯s not like he cane back to life and return his son.¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t know you¡­¡±

    Ke Xun replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Zhu Haowen stopped talking and quietly ate his dumplings.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong finished their share and slid their mobile phones out.

    ¡°Online graphic livestream: This poster met a very handsome little brother on the main road. Getting ready to summon the courage to go up and give it a go,¡± Wei Dong read the blog post on the phone. ¡°Hope this poster will have good luck. Please wait for my follow-up!¡ªFuck, girls these days are really getting more and more superficial. They don¡¯t understand what inner beauty is. Being handsome doesn¡¯t necessarily equate to being kind and gentle. Just like us, someone with a good temper, a careful heart, and hard working. Patient art designers like us are the best choice.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Who are you watching now?¡±

    Wei Dong answered, ¡°I was just searching the city casually, and when I saw that the girl¡¯s profile picture was pretty, I clicked in to take a look. My expectations once more felt the malice of the world towards single dogs.¡±

    As he was talking, he saw a beautiful girl enter the store and directly walked over. Blushing and clutching her phone, she asked Ke Xun, ¡°Little brother, little brother, can I take a photo with you?¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ke Xun solicitously stood up. ¡°Where?¡±

    The beautiful girl concealed her inner ecstasy and pointed outside. ¡°Can we go out? The light in the shop is too dark.¡±

    Zhu Haowen had just finished eating his share, and so he wiped his mouth and he and Wei Dong followed Ke Xun out.

    Outside, there were two girls standing under the tree. They seemed to be the beautiful girl¡¯s best friend. They were holding onto their mobile phones with one hand and covering their mouth with the other hand, giggling.

    The three girls looked at the mid-day view. After considering that taking pictures in front of the dumpling restaurant wouldn¡¯t be very scenic and that Ke Xun¡¯s attitude seemed to be very kind, they finally decided to take pictures in front of the art gallery across the street.

    As he was crossing the road, Ke Xun saw Qin Ci and Mu Yiran walking towards this side and beckoned them over.

    After finding a good position outside the art gallery, Ke Xun stood beside the pretty girl.

    The pretty girl herself wasn¡¯t short, but there was still quite a height difference when she stood next to Ke Xun, causing the two girlfriends to scream cutely as they raised their phones to shoot.

    Wei Dong whispered to Zhu Haowen next to him. ¡°Die, public enemy of single dogs.¡±

    Zhu Haowen was expressionless.

    ¡°Little brother, can I add your Wechat as a friend?¡± The beautiful girl looked at Ke Xun expectantly after taking the photo.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid this won¡¯t work,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°I fear my boyfriend will be jealous.¡±

    The beautiful girl was taken aback. ¡°You¡­ Damn!¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Look, she¡¯ll scold him.¡±

    The beautiful girl eximed, ¡°Awesome! Only a man is worthy of such a handsome little brother! Ahhh!¡±

    Wei Dong was stunned. ¡°¡­WTF?¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­..¡±

    Qin Ci came closer. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t understand these young girls nowadays¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­..¡±

    The men watched as the beautiful girl rushed to her girlfriends, and after a whisper, the three of them screamed in excitement. It was then that they decided to quickly enter the art museum.

    Before entering the gallery, Ke Xun turned his head and told the three girls, ¡°Don¡¯t enter this gallery. It has just been renovated and it¡¯s full of formaldehyde and dust, both of which can easily cause cancer and are corrosive to the skin.¡±

    Although the Square Box Art Gallery hadn¡¯t really been recently renovated, it had been closed recently and today was the first day it opened its door. They weren¡¯t eager to enter the designated exhibition hall and instead focused on looking at the other exhibition halls for useful clues.

    However, the result wasn¡¯t optimistic.

    The paintings exhibited in this art museum span various themes and genres. They were a bit like a nouveau rich wearing gold, silver, jade, and diamond rings all on one hand, making it impossible for other people to infer the theme or genre of the painting they¡¯ll enter.

    Finally, they entered the designated exhibition hall, and they almost immediately scanned their surroundings, trying to see as many paintings in the hall as possible.

    When the light went out and the only light source came on, what they all saw was an old, gray painting.

    In the center of the painting was a low and dpidated building. Thick creepers covered the outer walls, and fallen leaves were piled on the ground. Outside the building was a wooden sign with ck letters in a white background. Before they could clearly see the words on the wooden sign, the painting became distorted. Under the bright light, the half-opened iron gate seemed to have yawned wider and wider, weing their arrival.

    Immediately, before entering the painting, Ke Xun caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a pale and frightened face in a dark window of the dpidated building. The face¡¯s gray lips were wide open, as if screaming: Don¡¯te in.

    Oak Mountain Research Institute.

    The wooden sign next to the big iron gate had long been eaten by insects and termites, which proved that this building had been abandoned for many years.

    Everyone stood in front of the big iron gate and looked up at the abandoned research institute that they were about to enter.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this kind of ce,¡± Wei Dong swallowed and muttered.

    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t,¡± Qin Ci said calmly.

    Their group of five weren¡¯t the first to enter the painting. The sounds of panicked footsteps came from one side, then they saw two men running from a short distance away. Seeing them, the men quickly called out three questions, ¡°What¡¯s going on?! Where is this?! Who are you?!¡±

    As Qin Ci exined the situation to them, the rest of the group members looked around.

    The building wasn¡¯t densely surrounded. There were only a few low buildings some distance away, and sandwiched between them were lifeless trees, two dpidated brick walls, and a small dirty and deserted street. From a distance, the buildings and trees were all shrouded in a smoggy gray fog.

    This was obviously a limited type of painting. The limited types were called thus because they restricted the range of activities to within a certain area. Except for these areas, other ces were like virtual images. In other words, they would appear extremely fuzzy with low pixtions. This meant that this specific painting wanted participants to move only within the area of the research institute.

    After hearing Qin Ci¡¯s exnation, the two men obviously regarded Qin Ci as a mental case. One of them, a man in his thirties with a thug-like air, directly pushed Qin Ci, saying, ¡°Tell me, is this some kind of technological gimmick that you and the relevant departments put together? Do you have our consent? I¡¯ll tell you, you¡¯re infringing on our rights! I¡¯ll file aint against you, believe it or not! Hurry up and take us back. Otherwise your art museum won¡¯t be able to open anymore! I know people in the city. Once I made it known, it¡¯s game over for you, do you understand? Now hurry up and take us back!¡±

    Qin Ci shook his head and simply stopped talking. Reality would make him understand that the people he knew in the city wouldn¡¯t be able to solve this problem that he was facing.

    The thug violently left Qin Ci, and he and the other man rushed to the other side of the small street once more. Obviously, before Ke Xun and his group had entered the painting, these two had already run around the street many times, trying to find a way out.

    Everyone watched the two men disappear into the gray fog at the end of the small street, and then they turned their heads to look at the other side of the street. As expected, after a while, the two men ran over from the other side, panting.

    A painting with a limited range wouldn¡¯t allow them to go anywhere else. Once the person had reached the end of the range, he would appear on the other side of the painting.

    Before the two astonished men could run out again, another man and woman came over from the depths of the gray fog. This was followed by the usual doubts, anger, fright, inquiries, and disbelief. Ke Xun¡¯s group of five simply stayed to the side and ignored them.

    About ten minutester, another woman walked over. Half an hourter, from the depths of the gray fog, thest three people appeared.

    Ke Xun took one look at them and couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    <strong>Xida: </strong>This new arc is one of my favorite arcs. It¡¯s called Human Studies, and as it¡¯s name suggests, it is creepy and intense. And finally, we get to see Mu Yiran thaw significantly toward Ke Xun.

 Chapter 103: When Fujoshis Entered a Painting

    <h4>Chapter 103: When Fujoshis Entered a Painting</h4>

    The final three that came were the three girls who took pictures of Ke Xun just moments ago. The excitement still hadn¡¯t abated from their faces. They looked around hesitantly, but when they saw Ke Xun, they became excited again.

    ¡°Little Brother, what a coincidence. You¡¯re here too!¡± The beautiful girl waved at Ke Xun, but the look on her face revealed that it was no coincidence that she met Ke Xun here.

    ¡°These three girls didn¡¯t just follow you in, right?¡± Wei Dong whispered to Ke Xun.

    For a while, Ke Xun didn¡¯t know whether to sigh or to be exasperated. ¡°It turns out that aesthetes aren¡¯t lucky either.¡±

    ¡°¡­Are you indirectly scolding people?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    With thirteen people gathered, the scene became chaotic.

    Qin Ci had to, one again, tirelessly exin the rules of the painting to the neers. Finally, he looked at the shocked neers and said, ¡°So please believe that we are in a painting and that this is the world of the painting. This is not a variety show gimmick organized to trick passersby. This is a different dimension created by a phenomenon with power beyond the exnation of science. We need to find clues ording to the setting of the painting. This will guide us to the artist¡¯s signature, which we will need to find in order to leave¡ªWhether you believe it or not, this is the reality we are facing now.¡±

    For a long time, the neers were speechless, and even the street thug looked dumbfounded.

    Even if he refused to believe it, the weird scenery in front of him and the fact that he could only run back and forth in circles no matter how he ran, all showed that what he saw and was experiencing was absolutely unusual.

    In the panic and silence, one of the three girls suddenly said in anticipation, ¡°So we¡¯ve¡­transmigrated?¡±

    The other two girls came back to their senses and nodded again and again. ¡°It appears so! Transmigrated! Look at this ce! How could we have reached another ce as soon as we closed our eyes? This absolutely is transmigration!¡±

    ¡°Wow¡ª¡± The three girls suddenly became excited, screaming and hugging each other.

    The old members: ¡°¡­.¡± Have we been entering paintings all wrong?

    ¡°Don¡¯t take this as a joke,¡± Qin Ci had no choice but to emphasize. ¡°It really will kill people, and it won¡¯t be a natural death. The method of death might be extremely desperate and painful.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. If the worstes to worst, we can just transmigrate back,¡± one of the girls said with a big grin.

    Qin Cin couldn¡¯t help but pinch his eyebrows.

    As they were trying toe up with ways to make these silly girls fully understand the severity of their situation, Mu Yiran¡¯s cold voice sounded, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s go in.¡±

    As he spoke, he took the first step through therge iron gate and walked toward the dpidated building.

    The three girls whispered behind him, ¡°This little brother is so handsome too! He looks so sophisticated.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, so cold and restrained!¡±

    ¡°His legs must be 1.8 meters long!¡±

    ¡°Follow him, follow him!¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun, who was walking at the back of the group, took the opportunity to look at everyone¡¯s clothes. Although the clothes they were wearing had also changed this time, it wasn¡¯t as exaggerated as it¡¯d been in previous paintings. For example, he was originally wearing a T-shirt, pants, and sports shoes. Now, he was still wearing a T-shirt, pants, and sports shoes, but the styles and patterns on his T-shirt had changed and became very outdated. His sports shoes had also changed from trendy shoes to particrly old-fashioned back shoes.

    When they pushed open the door of the institute, a strong smell of dust puffed out toward them, making a few people choke, cough, and sneeze.

    The entrance opened into a foyer covered with a thickyer of ash. In front of them was a dark wall, and on the wall was a line of characters written in dark red: Reveal the essence of consciousness, discover the power of life, guide severance back to nature, and help the lost regain their inherent self.

    On opposite sides of the hall were narrow corridors covered in dust and cobwebs. Doors lined the walls on each side of the corridors, and a small window hung at the very end, transmitting an extremely dim light.

    ¡°Will the signature you mentioned be in here?¡± asked a capable looking middle-aged female neer dressed in a white shirt and pencil skirt.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Qin Ci nodded.

    Since it was a limited type painting, the signature or seal would definitely be within the limited range.

    ¡°So in the next seven days, the only thing we have to do is to find a signature?¡± the woman asked again.

    ¡°We must try to find the signature as soon as possible, and everyone must pay attention when night falls, so as to keep your life,¡± Qin Ci reminded them.

    ¡°Then can you tell us, based on your experience, where the signature usually appears?¡± The middle-aged woman was very calm and looked at Qin Ci without rushing.

    Qin Ci said in a deep voice, ¡°Our previous experience is almost useless, because the signature or seal of each painting is usually reflected in different ways. The only thing that I can tell you is to use your brains more and be more observant. Only by piecing together the clues will we be able to discover the deep meaning of the painting, figure out the artist¡¯s intention, and finally locate the signature.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± The middle-aged woman didn¡¯t seem to believe Qin Ci¡¯s wordspletely, but she didn¡¯t unt it. She just nced at everyone and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s hurry up and search for signatures from room to room as soon as possible. I suggest splitting into smaller groups. Before entering, I took a look at the building from the outside. It¡¯s three stories tall, and each floor had ten rooms on each side, making it 20 rooms total per floor. We can divide into three groups, with one group per floor. Try as best as you can to find the signature. If you can¡¯t, we¡¯ll switch floors so that there are at least two groups covering each floor, so as to catch any areas that might have been overlooked. What do you think?¡±

    This middle-aged woman was probably a leader in her unit. The arrangement that she blurted out seemed very organized, and everyone had no objection.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get to know each other first.¡± The middle-aged woman took charge.. ¡°My name is Xu Zhen.¡±

    The street thug said with a grim face, ¡°Qi Qiang.¡±

    The man who came in with him had a coarse, yellow face, triangr eyes, tattooed arms, and an aura of unstoppable ferocity. He didn¡¯t speak much from start to finish, and he always stood some distance away, watching everyone. When it was his turn to introduce himself, he only uttered two words, ¡°Huang Pi.¡±

    This obviously wasn¡¯t his real name, but no one intended to pursue it. Asking for names was only for the sake of convenience in addressing one another.

    Next was the young man and woman who entered the painting together. One was 27 years old and the other was 18. The man wasn¡¯t tall at about 1.72 meters, and he smelled of sweat. His name was Deng Guang. The woman wore a pair of pink-framed sses. She had two pink hairpins in her hair, and she wore knee-length shorts that revealed rather thick legs. Her name was Cai Xiaoyan.

    The three girls were younger. The beautiful-looking girl was Zhang Hanrui, and her two girlfriends were chubby Li Yaqing and tall and thin Zhao Youyi.

    The veteran members also reported their names, and so the next objective was to separate into groups.

    ¡°I suggest that those of you with experience should split up and take us neers. Thebination of new and old is more efficient,¡± the middle-aged officedy Xu Zhen said. ¡°Also, let me ask, Deng Guang and Cai Xiaoyan, are you two a couple?¡±

    Cai Xiaoyan¡¯s face turned a bit awkward. ¡°No, we¡¯re not¡­¡±

    Deng Guang¡¯s face was stern. ¡°We just met today. Our family introduced us as blind dates.¡±

    Xu Zhen turned to Qi Qiang and asked, ¡°Are you and Huang Pi together?¡±

    Qi Qiang and Huang Pi¡¯s gazes collided and then quickly shifted away. Huang Pi didn¡¯t say anything but Qi Qiang became a little impatient. ¡°I don¡¯t know him. I came by myself.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s assign it like this.¡± Xu Zhen didn¡¯t mind everyone¡¯s attitude, but made arrangements decisively and simply. ¡°Each group should have old and new members, male and female, and older and younger, and know each other as much as possible. Stay in a group so that you can help each other when there¡¯s danger. Gentlemen, please take care of thedies as much as possible, and the older ones, please take care of the younger ones.¡±

    Seeing that everyone had no objections, Xu Zhen continued, ¡°Deng Guang and Cai Xiaoyan, since they¡¯re here as blind dates, let¡¯s put them in a group. In this same group, we¡¯ll add Huang Pi and Mr. Qin. Mr. Qin will lead the team to search the first floor. The second group will consist of Ke Xun, Zhang Hanrui, Qi Qiang, and me¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Ke Xun raised his hand, ¡°I¡¯ll be with him.¡± He pointed a finger at Mu Yiran.

    Xu Zhen raised her thin eyebrows and was about to speak when Zhang Hanrui also raised her hand.

    ¡°I want to be with them too,¡± she said, pointing to her two girlfriends. ¡°We came here together, so we have to stay together. I don¡¯t want to be separated from them!¡±

    The girlfriends nodded quickly. ¡°Yes, we can¡¯t separate!¡±

    Xu Zhen said coldly, ¡°This isn¡¯t like taking a walk in the park! With thirteen people divided into three groups, there will be two four-person groups and one five-person group. If you three are in a group, if something dangerous happens, it¡¯ll be hard for the man to help you!¡±

    ¡°Regardless, we won¡¯t be separated!¡± the three girls insisted.

    ¡°Whatever you want.¡± Xu Zhen turned her head coldly and looked at the few remaining people. ¡°Then who of you would like to be with the three of them?¡±

    Wei Dong raised his hand in frustration.

    Xu Zhen looked over at him. ¡°Then Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen will be with the three of them, and Qi Qiang and I will be together with Ke Xun and Mu Yiran.¡±

    ¡°No, we have to go with the little brother!¡± Zhang Hanrui said hurriedly, and the two girlfriends nodded quickly.

    Xu Zhen couldn¡¯t hide the disgust on her face. She looked at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran. ¡°Then do you two have any objections?

    Ke Xun shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s decided. Let¡¯s not waste any more time,¡± Xu Zhen said coldly. ¡°Wei Dong, Zhu Haowen, Qi Qiang, and I are in charge of the second floor, and the five of you are in charge of the third floor. We¡¯ll meet here when we¡¯re done.¡±

    The groups of people were so troubled by the three girls that they broke up quickly and began to search the room separately.

    The stairs were located at both ends of the corridor. The second group went up from the east stairs, while Ke Xun and Mu Yiran took the three girls from the west stairs to the third floor.

    ¡°Little brother, are there ghosts here?¡± The three girls gathered around Ke Xun, their voices more curious than frightened.

    ¡°Usually not during the day. I¡¯m not sure after eleven o¡¯clock in the evening,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Really? There are really ghosts?¡± The girls eximed, ¡°Little brother, have you ever seen a ghost before? What did the ghost look like? Was it a male or a female ghost? A Chinese ghosts or a Japanese ghosts? Is there any way to deal with ghosts?¡±

    Ke Xun: My brain hurts.

    ¡°Little brother,¡± Zhang Hanrui made eyes at him and siddled closer, ¡°Does your boyfriend know about you entering the painting?¡±

    The two girlfriends were also busy looking at Ke Xun.

    ¡°He knows.¡± Ke Xun smiled and lifted his chin to the side. ¡°He¡¯s here too.¡±

    The girls turned their heads to look at Mu Yiran in surprise, and at the next moment, they uttered a meaningful scream.

    Mu Yiran:¡­

    Ke Xun: I think I just went deaf.

    The two groups on the first floor and the second floor raised their heads and looked up:.¡­..

 Chapter 104: The Instituteâ€™s Research Lab

    <h4>Chapter 104: The Institute¡¯s Research Lab</h4>

    They checked from west to east.

    As they pushed open the door of the first room, a cloud of dust moved toward their faces. Fortunately, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were prepared. They covered their mouths and noses, and waving away the dust in front of them, they fixed their gaze on the room.

    The room was old-fashioned, with the upper part painted a powdery white and the lower part green. The wall was peeling due to age, exposing the brick and cement inside.

    There were wooden tables and chairs stored inside, all scattered and jumbled haphazardly, covered with a thickyer of cobwebs. The window was an old-fashioned open-sash window with a wooden frame. The ss was covered in dust, making it nearly impossible to see outside.

    Seeing this, the three girls refused to enter the room and stood by the door instead. Meanwhile, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran walked in and carefully searched through the room.

    .

    Ke Xun opened wooden desk drawers and saw scattered office supplies. He searched for a while, but found nothing useful.

    They searched each room one by one. There were 20 rooms on each floor, basically very simr in that they all looked like offices. At the end of the corridor, facing the stairs, were two bathrooms. The male bathroom was on the east side, while the female bathroom was on the east west.

    There are no notable clues in the bathrooms either.

    The other two groups returned to the first floor lobby one after another. Xu Zhen told everyone what she and her group found.

    ¡°The first floor had a meeting room, a warehouse, a library, an archive room, offices, and a small canteen,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing in the meeting rooms, offices, and the small canteen, but there are a lot of things in the warehouse, library, and archives. We didn¡¯t have time to search through them so we¡¯ll need help.¡±

    Xu Zhen said, ¡°The second floor seems to be a staff dormitory. All rooms have single beds and wash racks. No suspicious objects or signatures were found. What about the third floor?¡±

    ¡°The entire third floor is an office area, and we found nothing useful,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Then we might as well go to the warehouse, the library and the archives room on the first floor together,¡± Xu Zhen said.

    The warehouse wasn¡¯t very big, and it housed various things, such as office supplies, various instruments, daily necessities, and even food.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, what are we going to eat here?¡± Zhang Hanrui asked suddenly. ¡°The food in this refrigerator is too old and can¡¯t be eaten.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re going to be staying here for seven days. But this is an abandoned building, so where do we go to get food?¡± The two girlfriends also asked quickly.

    Everyone seemed to realize this problem only now, and they couldn¡¯t help but look at each other.

    ¡°The refrigerator isn¡¯t powered off,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice sounded calmly. ¡°The food inside is edible.¡±

    ¡°But this is obviously an old facility,¡± Xu Zhen disagreed. ¡°Even if the refrigerator still has power, the food in it should have already pass its shelf life.¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at her briefly. ¡°I just saw that there are white rice and beans in intact vacuum packages. At a below 4.4¡ã Celsius temperature, the shelf life of white rice grain and beans can reach 30 years. Another edible thing are those jars of natural, pure honey on the shelf. As long as they are properly sealed, pure honey is the only food that can be preserved forever.¡±

    Xu Zhen had nothing to say.

    ¡°Little brother is so good and knowledgeable!¡± the three girls praised again and again.

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense and look around.¡± Xu Zhen¡¯s expression was calm.

    The things in the warehouse were scattered in a jumbled mess. By the time they managed to finish rummaging through them, the sky outside was already dark.

    Cai Xiaoyan went to pull the rope to the light that was hanging by the door, but the light wouldn¡¯t turn on. It seemed that all the electrical equipment had failed except for the refrigerator.

    ¡°Obviously, the reason why the refrigerator is still working is so that it can provide us with food. This is something the painting had deliberately set up,¡± Zhu Haowen said expressionlessly. ¡°The reason the other things couldn¡¯t be used is also something the painting had set up for what would happen at night.¡±

    ¡°What will happen at night?¡± the girls asked with some anxiety.

    Zhu Haowen¡¯s face was still expressionless, with no signs of pitying and cherishing jade. ¡°There will be deaths in line with the institute¡¯s settings and background.¡±

    The girls hugged each other in fright.

    Qi Qiang couldn¡¯t bear it, and mmed a thermos bottle to the ground, smashing it to pieces. He said angrily, ¡°I don¡¯t care! I¡¯m leaving this damn ce! Fuck you!¡±

    He rushed out of the warehouse. From the sounds of his footsteps, he seemed to have ran directly across the hall toward the entrance of the institute.

    This was soon followed by the sound of him banging on the door. After a while, they saw him rush back angrily, surprise on his face. ¡°What¡¯s going on?! Why won¡¯t the doors open?!¡±

    ¡°This is the will of the painting,¡± Qin Ci told him quietly. ¡°We have to stay inside the research institute until we find the signature.¡±

    ¡°What kind of fucking bullshit is this!¡± Qi Qiang was so angry that he picked up several washbasins and threw them at the things on the warehouse shelf.

    Several of the girls shrank back into a ball, screaming in fright. The screams seemed to have annoyed Qi Qiang even more. He grabbed Cai Xiaoyan, who was the closest to him, and pped her hard in the face.

    But before the p couldnd, someone abruptly grabbed his hand. Qi Qiang turned his head and saw that it was the tall youngster with the extremely handsome face. The rage in his stomach burned hotter, and he pushed away the frightened Cai Xiaoyan, turned, and threw at fist at Ke Xun¡¯s face, yelling, ¡°You fucking want to die?!¡±

    Ke Xun lifted his palm to block the fist, raised his knee, and mmed it hard into Qi Qiang¡¯s stomach. Qi Qiang kneeled over with a cry of pain and retched dryly with his mouth open.

    Ke Xun loosened his hands and patted Qi Qiang on the shoulder, his face cold. ¡°Calm down a little. You¡¯re scaring the girls.¡±

    For a while, Qi Qiang could not make a sound. He could only squat on the ground, clutching his stomach.

    Qin Ci ignored the chaos and continued the discussion with Mu Yiran. ¡°So far, we have very little clues. ording to past rules, once night falls, we should have been divided into groups. But we still haven¡¯t gotten any tips about how this should be done. I think there¡¯s something we must have overlooked.¡±

    ording to past rules, death woulde at night. Under normal circumstances, it would be unwise for everyone to remain in the same enclosed space together.

    Mu Yiran pondered out loud, ¡°Since the background of the painting is set in the research institute, the focus may be rted to the projects studied here. Through our search in the three-story building just now, we have found that there is one very obvious BUG in this research institute.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the bug?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°Since this is a research institute,¡± Mu Yiran lifted his gaze and looked at everyone, ¡°then where are the researchbs?¡±

    Everyone was surprised. Indeed, in these three floors, there were offices, dormitories, conference rooms, warehouses and even canteens, but there were no researchbs! Wasn¡¯t this too weird?

    ¡°Did we miss something?¡± Xu Zhen frowned and recalled, ¡°No, this building obviously has t floors. There shouldn¡¯t be any corner rooms.¡±

    ¡°Maybe there¡¯s a hidden room or something like that?¡± Wei Dong said.

    Mu Yiran shook his head. ¡°No. Ke Xun and I specifically studied the distance between the walls, and the thickness of the walls in each room is equal to the length of the corridor outside. There is no secret room hidden between.¡±

    ¡°What about a basement?¡± Ke Xun pointed to his feet.

    Everyone looked at each other, then they turned and walked out.

    When they came to the stairs at the end of the corridor, they saw cartons, tables, chairs and other debris piled up between the stairs and the wall. ¡°We haven¡¯t had time to search there yet,¡± Qin Ci said.

    The older members didn¡¯t say much and immediately moved their hands in tacit understanding. As they moved the pile of debris aside, a dark red iron door slowly appeared on that corner of the dark staircase.

    ¡°Frick, it has a code lock.¡± Ke Xun nced at the door handle, which had something simr to a safebination lock. He tried to slide the door open, but it refused to budge.

    ¡°Is there a passcode written next to it?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    Ke Xun pushed his face in for a closer look, getting spider webs on his face. ¡°I can¡¯t see it clearly. It¡¯s too dark.¡±

    He took his phone out of his pocket and turned on the shlight.

    The light from the mobile phone was supposed to be a bright white, but now, it was a dim yellow, simr to the light emitted from old-fashioned shlights, so that the door still looked dark and gloomy.

    Next to him, Zhu Haowen pulled out his mobile phone and turned on its shlight. Seeing that his light beam was also dim, he merged it with the light from Ke Xun¡¯s phone so that they could barely make out the door.

    They searched carefully with their phones, but unfortunately, there was nothing to be found. The pointer on thebination lock remained at the 0 position.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the desks in the offices and look for the passcode,¡± Xu Zhen said. ¡°Usually, the passcode would be recorded in some notebooks or pressed under the ss te of the desk. Sometimes, it would even be written on the desk calendar.¡±

    Qin Ci turned his head and looked at the sky outside. Then he looked at the neers in front of him and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s toote.¡±

    ¡°Move out of the way!¡± Qi Qiang, stills clutching his stomach, had walked to the stairs without them realizing it. He violently pulled away Deng Guang, who was in front of him, and pushed over Wei Dong, who was standing beside the door. Moving close to the door, he crouched down, pressed his ear to the door, and began to turn thebination lock with one hand.

    ¡°So powerful. A skilled person,¡± Wei Dong whispered to Ke Xun.

    ¡°I could see it.¡± Ke Xun wasn¡¯t surprised at all. ¡°When this person looks at others, he is always very sneaky. And he habitually looks at other people¡¯s pockets. It¡¯s clear he¡¯s a habitual thief.¡±

    Wei Dong subconsciously checked his pants pockets and was relieved to find that his phone was still there. He took it open, pressed it on, and looked at the time. It was already 8:20 in the evening.

    Seeing that Wei Dong had taken out his mobile phone, Zhang Hanrui, who was next to him, also hurriedly took out her mobile phone. Seeing that there was still no signal, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh. While clicking on the apps on her phone one by one, she whispered to her girlfriends, ¡°This terrible ce doesn¡¯t even have a cell tower? I can¡¯t make calls and get Wechat messages. All other functions, except for the time and the shlight, are disabled¡­Okay, fortunately, the camera can still be turned on for selfies¨CAhhhh¨C!¡±

    Her sudden scream startled everyone. Qi Qiang, who was in the middle of turning thebination lock, jerked. Then he jumped up and kicked at Zhang Hanrui, shouting, ¡°What are you screaming about!¡±

    The others were standing a little further away, and before they could stop it, his foot had already mmed into Zhang Hanrui¡¯s waist. She directly fell over andnded hard on the ground in a sitting position.

    However, this kick didn¡¯t stop Zhang Hanrui from screaming. She sat on the ground, tossed her phone away from her, grabbed her head, and continued to scream desperately, her voice filled with endless panic and horror.

    Her two girlfriends, Li Yaqing and Zhao Youyi, were frightened by her screams, and so they hugged each other, not daring to approach her.

    Ke Xun walked to the ce where Zhang Hanrui had tossed her phone, bent over to pick it up, pressed the screen, and saw that a code was needed. So he walked over to Zhang Hanrui, bent down in front of her, and patted her shoulder. ¡°Little sister, stop. Don¡¯t scream so much. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll draw something strange over.¡±

    Zhang Hanrui stopped abruptly and plunged frantically into Ke Xun¡¯s arms, her body trembling.

    He held her shoulder and asked as gently as possible, ¡°Little sister, tell me, what did you see on your phone just now?¡±

    Zhang Hanrui shrank in on herself, her long hair blocking half of her face, making her eyes look particrly dark. With trembling lips that appeared gray in the dim light, she pointed a shaky finger at the phone in Ke Xun¡¯s hand. ¡°You¡­you turn the camera on¡­Take a look.¡±

 Chapter 105: The Institute Was Packed with People

    <h4>Chapter 105: The Institute Was Packed with People</h4>

    Ke Xun stood up. He tapped on his phone and turned the camera on.

    The camera defaulted to selfie mode, and the first thing he saw was his own face. Perhaps due to the dim light, his face appeared bluish-grey, and the color of his eyes appeared very dark, nearly covering all the whites, making his eyes looked like dark holes. His lips were very pale, like a dehydrated patient whose lips had dried up for a long time, all gray and wrinkled.

    Ke Xun switched the camera around, so that it was facing in the same direction that he was, and then, with a ¡°fuck, fuck,¡± the phone flew out with a flick of his hand. Mu Yiran, who was only a few steps away, was startled by this. He caught the phone, held it in a shooting position, and nced at the screen.

    ¡°What, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Wei Dong asked Ke Xun anxiously.

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s fine.¡± Ke Xun rubbed his hands on his pants, rubbing away the cold sweat. ¡°I just looked too handsome.¡±

    Hearing this, Wei Dong dared not ask anymore.

    Next to him, Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen silently turned their phone camera on. Despite the lessons from Zhang Hanrui and Ke Xun, their hands still shook uncontrobly when they saw what was on the screen, and they silently put their phones back into their pockets.

    But the neers obviously didn¡¯t have this level of restraint. Xu Zhen had also taken out her phone, and after looking at it, she screamed wildly and dropped the phone to the ground.

    ¡°What was that?! What was that?!¡± The officedy, no matter how calm she had been before, could not remain calm now when seeing such a scene with her own eyes. She turned to Mu Yiran, who was closest to her, and grabbed his arm, her fingers cold with fright.

    ¡°Exactly what you saw.¡± Mu Yiran expressionlessly avoided her scrabbling fingers. He walked over to Ke Xun and handed the phone back to him.

    The camera was still on, the dim screen still showing the scene in front of him.

    The corridor, the opposite room, this staircase corner filled with messy junks, all of which were empty when viewed with the naked-eye, were now full of people when viewed through the camera. These people were all pale and thin, and their faces were nk.

    They wore loose gray and white clothes, and they stood at every corner and every spot, staring expressionlessly in the area where everyone was. Their faces were gray and gaunt, their skin like dry, cracked bark. Their lips were pale and peeling with dead skin, and their ck, hole-like eyes looked at everyone indifferently. They were like standing blocks of human tombstones.

    However, when Ke Xun gazed away from the phone and looked straight ahead with his naked-eye, he could see that there was nothing there. It was only with the camera could he see those gray and silent spectators.

    Ke Xun retracted his gaze from the phone and held Wei Dong¡¯s hand.

    Because, through the camera, there was a person standing right in front of him, dark, hollow eyes staring directly at him.

    The neers were frightened. Even Qi Qiang looked away from the screen of his phone awkwardly. He shifted his gaze to the old members and said, ¡°What the fuck¡­What should I do?¡±

    At this moment, Qi Qiang was finally willing to believe Qin Ci, and the muscles on his face twitched uncontrobly.

    ¡°Continue to open the door.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s calm,posed voice gave Qi Qiang a measure ofposure. He pressed himself out the door, trying to figure out the passcode.

    Before Ke Xun could turn off the camera, he saw that there were seven to eight white figures standing by the iron door, watching Qi Qiang.

    Qin Ci walked to Mu Yiran¡¯s side and said in a low voice, ¡°What do you think these people are doing? Why are they here?¡±

    Mu Yiran raised his gaze and looked at the empty space, as if looking at those ¡°people¡± who only existed in the dark. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re the staff of the institute. They were all wearing the same clothes.¡±

    ¡°No, their clothes aren¡¯t exactly the same,¡± Ke Xun said. Mu Yiran looked over and saw him pointing to his left chest. ¡°There¡¯s a set of numbers here on their shirt. Each person¡¯s number is different.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze shifted slightly. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Trust me, my eyesight is very good,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Qin Ci wanted to say that if he wasn¡¯t sure, he could turn on the phone camera. But Mu Yiran seemed to have easily believed in Ke Xun¡¯s words and had no intentions of verifying it.

    ¡°What do these numbers represent? A job number?¡± Zhu Haowen looked at Ke Xun.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°These numbers areposed of letters starting with abination of horizontal bars and numbers, such as A-013. I just nced at it. The initials have A, B, C and D. Maybe there are more, but I didn¡¯t take a closer look.¡±

    ¡°Are these numbers a clue?¡± Xu Zhen had tried her best to calm her shock, but her voice still trembled.

    Qin Ci nodded. ¡°I think so, but the specific direction of this clue needs further verification.¡±

    After he spoke, they heard a low growl from Qi Qiang. ¡°Got it!¡±

    The iron door made a ¡°click¡± sound, as if a huge finger had bent and popped back up, like a fingernail scratching their heart.

    Qi Qiang didn¡¯t open the door immediately. He just stood up and looked at the older members with an unreadable expression. ¡°What now? Go in or not?¡±

    ¡°In,¡± Mu Yiran answered without hesitation.

    As he was about to step over, Ke Xun grabbed his arm and said, ¡°Hold on, let me take a look first.¡± He raised his phone and turned on the camera again.

    Through the screen, several gray figures were still standing by the door, motionless.

    Ke Xun suddenly felt that these people weren¡¯t staring at them, the outsiders that had broken in. In fact, what they were staring at so motionlessly was the door.

    Mu Yiran walked over and grabbed the door handle. Some of the girls were so scared that they screamed. Because Ke Xun was holding his mobile phone and Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen were standing by the door, the girls swarmed over Wei Dong and hugged him, this old member who was standing idly.

    Wei Dong:¡­The peach blossoms came too fast, like a tornado, but I am not moved nor do I dare to move at this moment.

    Mu Yiran pulled the thick and cold iron door open.

    The screen on Ke Xun¡¯s phone was suddenly filled with a denseyer of gray and thin faces. The small opening on the other side was crowded with people.

    In other words, it was packed.

    From the top to the bottom, every gap of the door was covered with so many faces that their bodies were barely visible. They seemed to be scrambling to escape, falling and climbing over one another. The knuckle bones on their gray, skeletal fingers were protruding due to the strength of their grip, as if right on the verge of breaking through the thin skin.

    Ke Xun¡¯s scalp went numb.

    It wasn¡¯t because of the faces crowding the door frame. Rather, it was the wide-open mouths on these faces, like bottomless ck holes opened too impossibly wide andrge for normal human mouths. Inside the ck holes of their mouths, their teeth and tongues were like endless darkness, screaming so hard that it seemed to take on substance.

    Ke Xun moved the phone away, took a deep breath, and switched to view the corridor behind him.

    Before, those ash-colored spectres on every nook and corner had been indifferent as they looked at the door; but now, on the screen, they looked like those people inside the door, their mouths desperately open, as if this kind of mouth was embedded on their gray and expressionless face. It filled all the dusty corners of the building, making it seem more vivid, more dark, more terrifying.

    Ke Xun was frightened by these ck holes. Rubbing the goosebumps that had suddenly appeared on his arms, he followed Mu Yiran through the iron door.

    There was no one blocking the door that they could visibly see. By the entrance was a counter simr to a front desk, and next to the counter was a narrow staircase leading underground. The entrance of the staircase was blocked by an iron fence door. Through the fence, the steps gradually descended downward, slowly sinking into the deep darkness and making it impossible for them to see the end of the stairs.

    Mu Yiran turned on phone¡¯s shlight and searched the iron fence door, but he couldn¡¯t find a manual or code lock. It wouldn¡¯t open no matter how he pushed or pulled at the door.

    ¡°The door is either controlled electronically or with some sort of mechanism.¡± Mu Yiran turned his head and searched the counter. Qin Ci, Zhu Haowen, and Ke Xun stepped forward to help. Among the neers, only Qi Qiang and Xu Zhen came forward to help them. Huang Pi stood outside the door, staring at the people inside with a gloomy expression.

    Also outside the door, Wei Dong was captured by the girls and was being hugged immobile, while Deng Guang shrank even more, nearly burying himself in the pile of debris next to him.

    It didn¡¯t take the people inside the room long to find a dusty, cobweb-covered machine in the corner of the counter. On the diamond-shaped metal te were the words ¡°Take-A-Number Machine.¡±

    ¡°Numbers.¡± Ke Xun looked at the others, and they all exchanged nces.

    ¡°Don¡¯t rush to take a number. We need to make arrangements first.¡± Qin Ci looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°What does Xiao Mu think of this number machine?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not sure how the numbers will be assigned to us.¡± Mu Yiran looked down at the machine. ¡°We can only try it out with four people first and look at the numbering rules on those first four numbers.¡±

    ¡°Then which four will go first?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t rmend that all the old members go first,¡± Xu Zhen couldn¡¯t help but answer. ¡°It¡¯s best to have a mix of old and new members, men and women, so that we can try more patterns.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°Then, which old member wants to go first?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Ke Xun walked over, and before anyone could respond, he reached out and pressed the button on the number machine. There was a ¡°click¡± and a business-like card popped out from the mouth at the top of the machine. Ke Xun held the card in his hand and nced at it under the light of his phone. It said: A-182.

    Seeing that the others were looking at him silently, Ke Xun raised his eyebrows. ¡°What?¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked at him and calmly said, ¡°Even when you¡¯re unsure of the risk, you still always rush ahead.¡±

    ¡°¡­So,¡± Ke Xun put his hand on Zhu Haowen¡¯s shoulder, ¡°are youplimenting me on my bravery?¡±

    Zu Haowen lowered his gaze and didn¡¯t answer.

    Qin Ci suddenly smiled. ¡°Compared to you, us more cautious, more hesitant people look timid and selfish.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think that way. I don¡¯t have such a high level of consciousness.¡± Ke Xun flipped the card between the two fingers on his hand. ¡°I¡¯m just used to it. Whenever I participate inpetitions, the first person to start is usually under the most pressure. But as the captain, I¡¯ve always been ced in this position.¡±

    Mu Yiran suddenly said, ¡°We need to hurry.¡±

    He stretched out his hand. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t stop him and could only watch as his slender finger pressed down on the button of the number machine.

    A-183. Mu Yiran¡¯s card was connected to Ke Xun¡¯s.

 Chapter 106: Theyâ€™re All Monsters

    <h4>Chapter 106: They¡¯re All Monsters</h4>

    ¡°Could it be that the numbers are connected? Let¡¯s try another one.¡± Qin Ci turned his head and looked at the neers behind him. ¡°Who wants to go next?¡±

    None of the neers came forward. Xu Zhen looked at Mu Yiran and Ke Xun. ¡°Since it¡¯s been confirmed that the numbers are arranged in sequential order, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary to try again. It¡¯s better to use these two first and see what they do.¡±

    Ke Xun nced at Xu Zhen with the corners of his mouth hooked up.

    This woman¡¯s thoughts were quite deep. Earlier, she suggested that old and new members should each take a number. But it was just to fool others into taking the number cards first for experimental purposes. Once the result was obtained, she immediately stepped back, refusing to participate.

    ¡°There¡¯s only two numbers. It¡¯s not enough to verify the rule of number selection,¡± Zhu Haowen said expressionlessly.

    ¡°But the reason why we have to take a number is to find a way to open the iron door, right?¡± Xu Zhen reasoned. ¡°I think our main purpose should be to open the door first and see what¡¯s down there.¡±

    Zhu Haowen seemed toozy to respond to her. Instead, he reached out and took a number.

    A-184.

    ¡°Sure enough, they are connected.¡± The old members looked at each other.

    ¡°Don¡¯t press anymore.¡± Seeing that the numbers of the three old members were connected, Xu Zhen frowned. ¡°Why don¡¯t you see if it could open the door first?!¡±

    None of them paid attention to her. Ke Xun took his number card and turned to the iron door. Finally, he found something simr to a punch card machine on the wall next to the door.

    ¡°Should we go down and take a look?¡± He turned to look at Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Yiran looked at Qin Ci. ¡°You stay behind for now.¡±

    Qin Ci understood his intentions and nodded.

    Ke Xun inserted his number card into the punch card machine. There was a ¡°click¡± as the iron fence door unlocked. He pushed at the door and it swung open with a rusty ¡°creak.¡±

    Upon seeing this, Xu Zhen asked, ¡°In this case, can we enter through the door without taking a card?¡±

    ¡°Then do you want toe in?¡± Ke Xun looked back at her with a smile and made a gesture as if inviting her to enter.

    Xu Zhen¡¯s mouth snapped shut.

    Although the iron door was open, indicating that anyone could enter at will, Mu Yiran still inserted his number card into the punch card machine. There was another ¡°click¡± sound, as if his number was recognized and confirmed.

    Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t speak but punched his card in the same way. Then he followed Ke Xun and Mu Yiran through the iron door. The moment he entered, the door shut behind him, as if blown by a gust of wind.

    The three people who¡¯d just entered turned their heads in unison. Everyone outside looked at them withplicated expressions. Xu Zhen was even looking at them like she was looking at three dead men.

    Separated by a fenced door, the two groups of people inside and outside suddenly seemed to be isted in two separate worlds, but it was unclear which group was in the human and which was in the underworld.

    The three people inside didn¡¯t say much. They simply turned and, without hesitation or retreat, calmly and resolutely walked down the narrow and cramped staircase into the deep darkness.

    The stairs were indeed very narrow. They were all tall and could only walk down single file. Ke Xun was first, followed by Mu Yiran, while Zhu Haowen held up the rear.

    Ke Xun used his mobile phone to illuminate the path in front of him. In the dim light, he could see less than one meter away in front of him, and countless dust particles and microbes floated under the light, like specks on an old ck-and-white TV with no signal.

    This kind of visibility made the darkness around them appear all the more suffocating and dense. The walls on both sides seemed to be closing in on them, and with every step forward, the darkness rushed toward their faces, so thick that they could feel its tangible touch on their body.

    The stairs were narrow and steep, and the cement steps were somewhat uneven, making it difficult to walk smoothly. With every few steps, the stairs would turn, spiralling downward. For the person in front, it was like being blocked by brick walls, suffocating and oppressive.

    Such a narrow and cramped space was really quite ufortable for someone with long arms and legs like Ke Xun. This feeling of being unable to stretch out his limbs made him feel as if he was locked in by iron hoops. After a while of being unable to flex his muscles or bones, his entire body began to ache in protest.

    Stifled in, Ke Xun thought that Mu Yiran, who certainly wasn¡¯t shorter than him, probably wasn¡¯t feeling any better than him. He was about to stop and slow down, but he suddenly heard Mu Yiran say in a deep voice, ¡°Stop for a moment. There¡¯s something written on the wall.¡±

    Ke Xun stopped, and they all held up their phones to look at the wall.

    The old-fashioned wall was made of red bricks. A thinyer of cement was painted over it, but due to age,rge pieces of the cement had fallen off, exposing the faded red bricks inside.

    In areas where the cement was still intact, there were some dark and hasty scribbles. The strokes were very thick, and the colors were very dark, though the ends of each stroke were rather faded.

    It was difficult to distinguish the color of the ink in the dim light, but it looked either like an earthy brown or a dark brown.

    ¨CMonster! All monsters! They¡¯re all monsters!

    ¨CLet me die let me die let me die.

    ¨CHelp me! Help me!

    ¨CDon¡¯te in, don¡¯te in, don¡¯te in¡­

    ¨CKill you! I want to kill you! You¡¯re all dead! Dead!

    For a long time, no one said a word. Finally, Mu Yiran broke the silence. ¡°These words were all written with fingers. As for the paint, I think it¡¯s blood.¡±

    After speaking, he pointed to an area beneath the handwriting.

    Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen moved the light on their phones over and saw that it was densely packed with handprints.

    These handprints ranged fromrge to small, fat to thin. The smallest ones were only the size of a baby¡¯s palm, and the thin ones were obviously from elderly women with craggy skin.

    Each handprint looked wet, as if pressed there after dipping in thick paint.

    ¡°This feels like entering a prison camp,¡± Zhu Haowen said quietly. ¡°The wall is covered in pain and resentment.¡±

    ¡°I want to know why this kind of baby¡¯s handprints were left here.¡± Ke Xun stared at the tiny handprints with a nk face.

    ¡°We must continue,¡± Mu Yiran said calmly. ¡°Hurry up.¡±

    Ke Xun continued to lead, elerating the speed of their descent so that they were now moving faster. After walking for a full half hour, the soles of his feet finallynded on t ground.

    Because they had been walking on a narrow stairway, the oxygen supply in the air wasn¡¯t enough. When they finally reached the ground, their ears were ringing, apanied by a faint headache. Zhu Haowen was worse. His physical condition wasn¡¯t as good as Ke Xun¡¯s or Mu Yiran¡¯s, and after walking down such long, steep stairs, his legs had gone rubbery. He supported his waist, panting.

    ¡°Hao Wen¡¯er, your body isn¡¯t good enough.¡± Ke Xun patted him on the back. ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait here and Yiran and I will continue on.¡±

    Zhu Haowen raised his head and looked at the path ahead with the light of his phone.

    They were now in a long and narrow corridor. The walls on both sides had rooms with doors facing one another. On the door of the rooms were words like ¡°Laboratory A¡± and ¡°Laboratory B.¡±

    ¡°You can go and check the rooms. I¡¯ll keep watch in the corridor here. I¡¯ll call out if something¡¯s wrong. When you hear me, don¡¯t dawdle. Immediately rush out,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°If there are any issues, just shout and run. Don¡¯t wait for us,¡± Ke Xun added.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhu Haowen nced at him. ¡°I¡¯m not you. I actually cherish my life.¡±

    Ke Xunughed, winked at him, and walked forward along the corridor with his phone lighting the way.

    There was also a punch card machine outside the door of eachboratory. Ke Xun inserted his card into the machine, but there was no reaction. He took it out and re-inserted it but there was still no movement. He tried to push the door, but it refused to budge.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He looked at Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran looked at the sign on the door and pointed his chin to the door on the side. ¡°This is Laboratory B. Try the door for Laboratory A.¡±

    Ke Xun went over and inserted his number card. This was quickly followed by a ¡°click¡± sound.

    Zhu Haowen stood at the foot of the stairs, catching his breath. He looked at Ke Xun, who was surrounded by the dim light of his phone. In such thick darkness, his face was strangely very clear. His thin eyelids were swept downward, his thick eyshes casting a crescent-shaped shadow on the wall beside him.

    The vast majority of people couldn¡¯t have light shining up from below their faces, because the light and shadows would cause uneven contours, making their faces look like ghost masks.

    But it wasn¡¯t the case for this person.

    The light from the phone lit him from below, flowing smoothly across his cheeks, drawing fluid shadows along the contours of his lips, his nose, his eyes.

    It made him looked a bit¡­like a husky.

    Zhu Haowen clicked on the Wechat app on his phone. Although there wasn¡¯t any signal, he ought to still be able to change the Wechat name.

    After changing ¡°Corgi¡± in his friend¡¯s list to ¡°Husky,¡± Zhu Haowen spontaneously clicked on the camera app.

    On the screen, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were opening the door of Laboratory A and stepping in through the entrance. At the foot of the door, a gray baby hand stretched out and grabbed onto Ke Xun¡¯s pant legs.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran didn¡¯t stay long in Laboratory A. When they walked out, they saw Zhu Haowen holding his phone up to the wall, looking for clues.

    ¡°What did you find?¡± he asked.

    ¡°A weird room.¡± Ke Xun motioned as he talked, and the three of them began to walk back up the stairs. ¡°It looks like a baby¡¯s room with a few cribs in it, and the storage cabs are filled with baby products. But the strange thing is that there are also small cages in the room.¡±

    ¡°For the babies?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    ¡°No.¡± Ke Xun shook his head. ¡°The cages are very small, onlyrge enough to hold hamsters. Thergest one could probably hold a rabbit. In addition, there are also various tools, such as whistles, awls, and hammers. All these things put together doesn¡¯t bode well.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Zhu Haowen pondered for a moment and said, ¡°Small cages, hardware tools, and baby supplies. It¡¯s very conflicting for these three things to appear in the same room together. Since the room is called Laboratory A, what experiments can be done with these things?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of what they could be doing,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that there weren¡¯t tools such as swords and axes, I would have even thought that they were doing heartless, unconscionable things like dismembering babies. But there¡¯s no blood in that room.¡±

    ¡°I think,¡± Mu Yiran suddenly said, ¡°that if you want to know the connection between these things and the content of these experiments, you can only get more clues by opening all the test areas.¡±

    Ke Xun looked up.

    That meant that the remaining people upstairs must also each get a number card, go down to the test areas, and open the corresponding door.

    What was terrible was that the number cards were issued in the sequence of consecutive serial numbers. In other words, only after all the number cards for Laboratory A were issued would the number cards for Laboratory Be out.

    Therefore, they couldn¡¯t expect that the number cards would be issued out of order, which meant that it would take more than a few people to open all the rooms. No one would be able to avoid taking a number.

    If they want to gather all the clues, they must enter all the test areas. To enter the test areas, they must get the number cards for all the rooms.

    Ke Xun felt that, if his assumption was correct, in order to ensure that everyone had to take a number card, the number card for thest experimental area would only appear in the hands of thest person to take a card.

    In other words, thest person would have to work alone.

 Chapter 107: Babies, Animal Cages, Iron Tools

    <h4>Chapter 107: Babies, Animal Cages, Iron Tools</h4>

    ¡°What happens if I don¡¯t get a number card?¡± Xu Zhen asked calmly.

    ¡°The number cards are used to group us, and from experiences gained from previous paintings,¡± Qin Ci said, ¡°people who remained ungrouped would vite the setting of the painting.¡±

    Caught in a dilemma, the neers were silent for a long time.

    Drawing a number card meant going down into that terrible ce. Such an enclosed ce, with no sunlight in sight, was already eerie enough, giving people a sense of suffocation and difort. But now, they had to experience it in this weird painting. In this world, no one dared to imagine what terrible things or ¡°thing¡± might await them in those underground test areas.

    But if they don¡¯t draw a number card, what awaited them was punishment for breaking the rules of the ¡°painting.¡±

    Wei Dong broke through the girls¡¯ encirclement, squeezed forward, and pressed the button on the number machine. His number was A-185.

    After a sigh of relief, Wei Dong looked at Qin Ci. Among the experienced members, he was the only one who had yet to take a number. Qin Ci raised his hand and was about to press down, but Xu Zhen suddenly rushed to the front and took action before he could. A card popped out and the number on it was B-186.

    Xu Zhen was taken aback for a moment, then she turned to look at the old members with aplicated expression. ¡°The letter has changed¡­Only four people are allowed in each test area?¡±

    ¡°Thest person to take a card will most likely be allocated to aboratory by himself,¡± Ke Xun reminded the rest.

    The neers were shocked. Ignoring their fear of the terrible things that might await them in the basement, they rushed up to take a number. Qin Ci was the closest, so he took a number first. It was also a B,ing right after Xu Zhen¡¯s number at B-187.

    The neers tried to crowd past one another, stretching out their hands. But suddenly, several of them fell back with a cry of pain as the gloomy Huang Pi pulled them back by their hair. Throwing them to the ground, he strode forward and took the B-188 card.

    Qi Qiang was the next one to take a card, which was also a B. Deng Guang followed him, but his card was a C. After him came the group of three girlfriends. Outnumbered, the helpless Cai Xiaoyan wasst.

    Looking at the only number D card in her hand, Cai Xiaoyan burst into tears.

    The others looked at her in silence, helpless.

    ¡°Can cards be exchanged?¡± Xu Zhen suddenly asked the old members.

    Qin Ci hesitated for a moment. ¡°We¡¯ve experienced simr grouping rules before, but exchanging our group signs was prohibited and would be considered as a vition of the rules. But the rules of each painting will also vary based on the content and the meaning of the painting, so I¡¯m not sure whether it can be changed. However, it¡¯s better not to try to challenge the rules on the first night. After all, we still have no understanding of this painting at all.¡±

    ¡°Then what should we do next? Do we just wait for bad things to happen on the first night?¡± Xu Zhen¡¯s expression was ugly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take advantage of the time we have left to go down and open the other three test areas, so we can quickly try to find clues,¡± Mu Yiran said indifferently.

    By now, everyone had already been pushed to this point, and so they couldn¡¯t not go down.

    Once again, Ke Xun used the light of his phone to lead the way, while the others filed in behind him. Huang Pi and Qi Qiang held the rear. After taking just a few steps, he heard a ¡°ng¡± behind him, and immediately turned his head to see that the iron door was now tightly shut.

    Qi Qiang rushed up and shook the door hard. Seeing no sign of it budging, he inserted his number card into the machine. Still, there were no movements. He had no choice but to turn back gloomily and continue down with everyone else.

    Qin Ci used his B card to open the door of the Laboratory B, and several of the old members followed in after him.

    Laboratory B was divided into four smallpartments. The strange thing was that the rooms were empty; there wasn¡¯t anything in there at all.

    They turned on their phone¡¯s shlight and checked the walls, the roof, and the floor. The surfaces of the four rooms were not made of masonry, but were instead iid with a soft material. When they stepped on the floor, there were no sounds. Beating hard on the walls also produced no sounds, not even the sounds of their fist making contact with the wall.

    Deng Guang opened the door of Laboratory C with his card.

    There were two identical machines with four chairs in the room, with each chair on opposite sides of each machine. There was also a desk and several office chairs. Behind the door was a hanger for hanging clothes, as well as a mop, a broom, and a dustpan for cleaning up.

    The two machines seemed to be electronic devices, with a wire extending out on each end. Seven after carefully studying it, they couldn¡¯t figure out its purpose at all.

    Cai Xiaoyan, who had been crying so hard that she could no longer speak, opened Laboratory D with Qin Ci¡¯s help.

    Laboratory D had a special chair, and next to the chair was a scientific instrument full of wires, which were connected to some strange things.

    A medical bed was pushed up against the wall and next to the bed were various medical equipment. On the other side of the wall was a desk with a small projector. There were also a lot of office supplies and various documents on the desk.

    Out of all the four test areas, only D seemed to be the mostplicated. This made Cai Xiaoyan panic even more. She huddled on the ground, shivering.

    The experienced members ignored her for the time being and focused on searching the room for useful clues. As Qin Ci searched through the medical equipment, Mu Yiran checked the instruments next to the chair. Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen searched through the desk drawers while Wei Dong tried to locate the power strip connected to the projector.

    There were many items inside the desk drawers, but most of them were documents. Ke Xun nced at the documents with the shlight on his phone and discovered that they were primarily research journals and documents dense with medical terms. As he was about to start carefully reading through the journals, he heard Zhu Haowen mmed the drawer that he¡¯d just opened shut.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Ke Xun tilted his head to look at him.

    Zhu Haowen paused, and said calmly, ¡°Nothing, just some inappropriate things.¡±

    ¡°Such things should be even more suspicious.¡± Ke Xun nced at him curiously and stretched out his hand to pull open the drawer he¡¯d just closed.

    Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t stop him, and simply looked at the hair sticking up at the back of his head. Then he turned his head to check the things on the table.

    ¡°¡­Woah.¡± He heard Ke Xun blurted out in a low voice.

    Mu Yiran was walking over, his gaze on Ke Xun. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Ke Xun stuffed the things back into the drawer and closed the drawer with a bang. ¡°Nothing, just some inappropriate things.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran carefully gazed at him. ¡°You should know that such things are even more suspicious.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Ke Xun opened the drawer again and picked the documents back up. ¡°I¡¯ll check it again. You go on.¡±

    Mu Yiran gazed at him with a look of ¡°What¡¯s up with you?,¡± walked over, and stretched out his hand. ¡°Let me see.¡±

    ¡®What about trust?¡± Ke Xun had no choice but to hand the contents over. ¡°We need to agree first that, if you took offense, you can¡¯t get mad at me. This has nothing to do with me.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t pay any attention to him and nced at the contents he¡¯d handed over. Then his body visibly stiffened.

    ¡°Hai, you¡¯re still looking?¡± Ke Xun studied Mu Yiran¡¯s expressionless face. ¡°Why don¡¯t you put them back. I think that it would be too nonsensical for the signature to be on something like these.¡±

    Mu Yiran continued to ignore him. He only froze for a moment before resuming his movements, continuing to flip through the contents expressionlessly.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Wei Dong quietly nudged Ke Xun with his elbow, pointing his chin to the things in Mu Yiran¡¯s hands.

    ¡°A stack of photos,¡± Ke Xun replied.

    ¡°What¡¯s in the pictures?¡± Wei Dong was surprised.

    ¡°Uh, something that we all have,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Why are there pictures in the test area?¡± Wei Dong said, thinking it strange.

    ¡°¡­Maybe it was a personal hobby?¡± Ke Xun said ambiguously.

    Wei Dong nced at him even more strangely, but did not ask any more questions and continued to check the mess on the table.

    Everyone was busy searching when, suddenly, they heard a low-pitched cue from an electronic device. They looked around and finally saw a t square-shaped timer on the wall.

    The timer disyed fluorescent red numbers. Starting from 60, it had begun counting down.

    Ke Xun thought of something and quickly nced at the time on his phone. There was less than a minute left before the usual 11 o¡¯clock restriction in the painting.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost restriction time. Everyone, go back to the test area where you belong!¡± Ke Xun reacted, shouting at the neers. He grabbed Mu Yiran and began walking out, saying, ¡°Dongzi, Hao Wen¡¯er, follow us.¡±

    ¡°No¡ªdon¡¯t¡ªplease¡ª¡± Seeing that everyone was rushing out the door, Cai Xiaoyan burst into tears. She grabbed Deng Guang, knelt on the floor, and pleaded, ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me alone. Please, Deng Guang. Save me, save me¡ª¡±

    Deng Guang became anxious. He couldn¡¯t yank himself out from Cai Xiaoyan¡¯s grasp, and after multiple tries, he simply kicked her chest in anger, knocking her to the ground. Cursing ¡°Fuck you,¡± he hurried out of Laboratory D.

    Regarding Cai Xiaoyan¡¯s situation, the old members couldn¡¯t do anything. After all, the power behind the painting wasn¡¯t human, and so it wasn¡¯t something that could be solved just by helping others.

    Everyone entered their own test area and closed the door.

    Although Laboratory A had a few baby cots, no one wanted to sit on them, so they found a fairly clean corner and sat down on the floor.

    The room waspletely dark, leaving only the red timer on the wall still counting down. Once the number reached 0, the timer emitted a few beeps before plunging into darkness.

    Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen sat side by side against the wall, silent for a long time. The only sound that could be heard in the darkness was the slight sound of their breathing. Ke Xun¡¯s was light and strong, and Mu Yiran¡¯s was long and rxed. Naturally, Wei Dong¡¯s was short and urgent, while Zhu Haowen¡¯s was shallow and calm.

    After a period of silence, Wei Dong said in a low voice, ¡°What kind of research institute do you think this is? These four experimentalboratories are different from one another. Especially Laboratory B, which has nothing in it. What are they researching?¡±

    ¡°Since there are different areas, they must study different things,¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°The only thing I¡¯m certain of is that this Laboratory A studied babies.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Wei Dong asked hurriedly, ¡°Are the cribs here the reason why you think babies are being studied? There are also small cages too. Aren¡¯t mice usually used as test subjects? Maybe what they¡¯re studying are mices instead.¡±

    ¡°In fact, there is a way to know the focus of eachboratory,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°What¡¯s the method?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°Turn on your phone camera,¡± Zhu Haowen responded lightly.

    Wei Dong shivered. ¡°Forget it¡­¡±

    ¡°This method,¡± Mu Yiran suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯ve tried it before when I was in the other three areas earlier.¡±

    ¡°What did you see?¡± Ke Xun asked.

 Chapter 108: Ke Xunâ€™s Potential

    <h4>Chapter 108: Ke Xun¡¯s Potential</h4>

    ¡°Men and women, old and young,¡± Mu Yiran said quietly, ¡°They¡¯re no different from the people above ground, just nkly standing still.¡±

    Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°But this may prove that the research in this research institute is rted to people.¡± Ke Xun remembered that before entering the gate of the institute, he saw a phantom figure through the window. It seemed to be shouting ¡°Don¡¯te in.¡± It¡¯s mouth was a ck hole, just like the other figures seen through the camera.

    ¡°If they are studying people,¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°then there seems to be too little equipment in Laboratory A and Laboratory B, especially in Laboratory B. I made sure to study it carefully. There¡¯s no blood or blood stains in theboratory. No remains of any human body and external tissues, of course, except for the words that seem to be written in blood on the wall.¡±

    Speaking of bloodstains and human tissues, Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but shudder. ¡°But, there are instruments and equipment in Laboratory C and D. What kind of abnormal human experiments are being conducted? For example, something like separating people into four parts and putting them back together into an entirely new person¡­¡±

    ¡°I hope not.¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of the author painting this?¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°A dark style of painting? Like some darkics, it attracts people with the gimmick of blood and violence?¡±

    ¡°If this is the case,¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°then this painting obviously doesn¡¯t have any major motivating force behind it.¡±

    ¡°So where would the artist sign a painting without a theme?¡± Wei Dong scratched his head. ¡°In general, it would be in the lower left corner, the lower right corner, or in the nk space next to the central scene or figure in the painting.¡±

    ¡°The lower left corner, the lower right corner, isn¡¯t that equivalent to the location of the basement?¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Despite having talked for a long time, it¡¯s like not saying anything at all,¡± Wei Dong muttered. ¡°There are two test areas in the lower left corner and two in the lower right corner. Let¡¯s talk about the four test areas, not ruling any of them out.¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s all just spection,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°We don¡¯t know the meaning of this painting. Whether the signature is in the left or the right corner is also spection. I think this is like the previous paintings. Only after the first night will we get more clues.¡±

    Thinking of the unknown horror that was about toe, they didn¡¯t say anything for a long time.

    The passage of time seemed both fast and slow in the darkness, and after an unknown amount of time, the sounds of footsteps broke the silence.

    It was the sounds of leather shoes stepping on concrete floor, causing an empty reverberation. It came from outside the test area, slowly descending from the stairs, and then moving along the corridor before walking towards this side at an unhurried pace.

    There was more than one sound of soles treading on the ground. They came one after another, both quickly and slowly.

    They walked over, and then made the sound of opening the door of the test areas one after another, followed by the sound of opening and closing doors. Finally, the sounds of footsteps died away, until atst a few lone footsteps stopped outside the door of Laboratory A and B.

    The four people sitting against the wall instantly held their breath.

    The ¡°people¡± from outside wanted toe in?

    Aftering in, would everyone die?

    This was a situation they had never encountered before in previous paintings¡ªListening to the sounds of footsteps just now, it seemed that those people were about to enter the room!

    The ¡°painting¡± would never allow everyone to die in one fell swoop. As long as it wasn¡¯t the seventh day, everyone wouldn¡¯t be killed overnight.

    So what was the situation now?

    Wei Dong, who was sitting next to Ke Xun, clutched Ke Xun¡¯s left arm so tightly that he felt as if his bone would break. But he didn¡¯t move away. If this could give Wei Dong a sense of security, then so be it.

    Hearing the sound of the card machine at the door, Mu Yiran suddenly said in a low voice, ¡°No matter what happens, don¡¯t make a sound.¡±

    The other three people stayed mute, but Mu Yiran knew that they were listening, staring in the direction of the door in the darkness. Suddenly, he felt warmth in his hand, and he realized that Ke Xun, who was sitting next to him, was holding his hand.

    Mu Yiran was about to break free, but he heard the door being pushed open. Two sets of footsteps entered before closing the door behind them.

    Mu Yiran no longer moved, letting Ke Xun hold his hand. A steady stream of heat came from his palm, dry, warm, and full of strength.

    Mu Yiran pursed his lips, raised his chin slightly in the darkness, and looked in the direction of nothingness above.

    After those footsteps entered the door, they did not turn on the light, and instead walked around in the dark, calm and easy going. They seemed familiar with the room, as if they were just going about with their daily work, giving everyone the illusion that these ¡°people¡± were actually working in high-rise offices.

    The footsteps were still moving about, broken by a few whispers in the middle. Ke Xun tried to listen carefully, but although he was clearly in the same room, he couldn¡¯t make out a single word.

    Then, the noises in the dark space began to increase. There was the sound of metal utensils rubbing and colliding, and small iron cages trembling and groaning. There was the sound of papers being flipped and small animals squeaking.

    As if, in this invisible darkness, a normal experiment was being carried out.

    The four people leaning against the wall were motionless, trying their best to keep their breathing light to a minimum, and trying to identify the movements in the darkness and the trajectory of ¡°their¡± behavior.

    Like this, maybe half an hour passed, maybe an hour passed, but at the moment when midnight fell, in the yawning darkness of the experimental area, there was a sudden sound of a baby¡¯sughter.

    Giggle.

    Ke Xun noticed Wei Dong shivering.

    Giggle.

    There was another sound.

    In a situation like this, hearing the innocent and cheerfulughter of a little baby was disturbingly eerie.

    Ke Xun felt a chill rise from his tail vertebrae and climbed up his spine, as if a baby¡¯s hand was gently stroking up along the skin.

    He thought he might have also shivered, because Mu Yiran tightened his hold on him, using a little bit of strength.

    Ke Xun retracted his fingers and held him tighter.

    After facing death side by side so many times, he had, in fact, gradually be numb to fear. Life and death was bing more and moremonce, and Ke Xun sometimes even felt that the calm that came with waiting for death with the person next to him was more timeless, providing a more worthy aftertaste.

    Sounds of footsteps stomped towards theughing baby, and all kinds of fine sounds continued to be heard. Suddenly, a voice said something, and everything abruptly stopped.

    This voice was a bit dull and ambiguous, so that it clearly rose above the other voices, but it was stillpletely indistinguishable. It was neither like a dialect nor a foreignnguage. If one must define it, then it was more like¡­anguage from another world.

    Before they could analyze what kind ofnguage it was, a sharp metal percussion pierced through the darkness. The sound was beyond unpleasant. It wasn¡¯t crisp like metal, but more chaotic, like metal scraping against a broken tool.

    This harsh sound instantly filled the entire room, piercing their ear drums overwhelmingly from all directions. They were stunned, unable to think and inwardly writhing. There were no interruptions in the sound, no gaps in the middle. It rang continuously, not giving them a single moment of respite, so that they felt as if their heads would burst into pieces at any moment.

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t bear it. He let go of Ke Xun¡¯s arm and desperately covered his ears. The other three people also did the same thing. Zhu Haowen even covered his ears and mped his head between his knees.

    But to no avail.

    No matter whether it was with hands or knees, covering their ears made no differences. They werepletely unable to block the intrusive sound at all. That high-pitch, that unending, that tearing sound with no undtions, no gaps, continued to pierce their eardrums, shocking them to the point of bursting blood vessels, to the point of insanity.

    The blood vessels in Ke Xun¡¯s head went into a sudden state of shock, and even light shed before his eyes. He gave up covering his ears and fumbled for Wei Dong, but Wei Dong had already rolled away out of his reach.

    Next to him, Mu Yiran became aware of Ke Xun¡¯s movements. Fearing that he would go out of control and do something impulsive, Mu Yiran was about to grab on to him. But suddenly, he felt dry palms covering the hands he¡¯d ced over his own ears.

    Mu Yiran was stunned. Immediately after, he wanted to push him away, but Ke Xun continued persistently. He got up, knelt in front of Mu Yiran, and forcefully wrapped his arms around him, pushing his head into his upper body, using his entire embrace to hold him firmly and cover his ears.

    Mu Yiran never knew that Ke Xun was so strong. He struggled a bit but couldn¡¯t escape him at all.

    If he used his full strength, he might be able to break free, but he was afraid that doing so would rm those ¡°things¡± in the darkness.

    Mu Yiran sighed inwardly and had to let it go.

    And this, indeed, was useful.

    The strange thing was that in such a noisy environment, he could still hear Ke Xun¡¯s heartbeat.

    His head was pressed against Ke Xun¡¯s chest, and he could still hear his heartbeat over everything else.

    Thump, thump.

    Calm and powerful, steady and warm.

    Thinking of how fierce and ignorant he was when he¡¯d entered a painting for the first time, he suddenly realized that this guy was better than anyone, adapting faster and growing faster than anyone else.

    Just like that sunny, bright and cheerful youth in the photo in his closet, who grew up in a single night to bear all the pains of the world. But he still smiled, carrying on the sloppy appearance of a yful, carefree man, brimming withughter.

    The harsh metal percussion continued to pierce their eardrums and brain nerves. The terrifying and extremely painful sound was torturous. Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen were bothpletely huddled on the ground, trying hard to fight against the shattering sound with all their strength.

    Mu Yiran knew that this situation was incredibly tortuous, but he was surprised that Ke Xun, with nothing covering his ears, still managed to cover him motionlessly, his heartbeat still the same frequency, so calm and powerful.

    Mu Yiran suddenly remembered that there were a few rare people in this world who would explode with a terrifyingly huge potential when faced with a critical situation. There was no way to cultivate this kind of potential, no way to achieve it by acquired training, and no way to reach it as an ordinary person.

    Therefore, such a person was a talented person who was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

    The strong resistance and endurance that Ke Xun showed at this moment exceeded Mu Yiran¡¯s expectations.

    This guy seemed to be getting stronger every time he went through the baptism of the ¡°painting¡±, whether it was courage, mind, willpower, endurance, or his¡­cheekiness.

    Just when Wei Dong had reached the limit of endurance, and had even begun to groan faintly, he suddenly heard a heart-piercing baby cry in the darkness. The tender and undting tone suddenly slowed the harsh metal percussion, giving them reprieve from the nerve-wrecking sound. The four of them only felt that their whole bodies could slightly rx, allowing them to maintain a step away from the edge of madness and copse.

    The baby¡¯s crying and the metallic noise were intertwined,sting for a long time. Then, atst, it ended with a final metallic note. Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen were limp on the ground. Mu Yiran pushed Ke Xun away, only to discover that that person had suddenly lost all strength. As he fell softly toward the ground, Mu Yiran subconsciously stretched out his arms. He wrapped them around Ke Xun, embracing him.

 Chapter 109: Mu Yiranâ€™s Change

    <h4>Chapter 109: Mu Yiran¡¯s Change</h4>

    When Ke Xun woke up, there were a few faint cell phone lights in front of him, and he could hear Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen¡¯s low voices speaking not far away.

    He couldn¡¯t help but turn over, and he heard Wei Dong¡¯s weak voice, ¡°Are you awake?¡±

    Ke Xun sat up and found that his clothes were drenched with sweat, clinging coldly to his body. His hair was also wet, the locks sticking to his face.

    Using his fingers to draw his hair back away from his face, Ke Xun raised his gaze and looked at Wei Dong¡¯s face first. It was hard to see him clearly in the darkness, but he was sitting against the wall, looking utterly exhausted. Ke Xun asked, ¡°How are you? Are you ufortable anywhere?¡±

    ¡°My whole body hurts everywhere. Other than that, there¡¯s nothing else,¡± Wei Dong said weakly. ¡°Fortunately, Boss Mu knocked me out thest few times; otherwise, I would have really knocked my head into the wall and killed myself.¡±

    ¡°Thest few times?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡± Wei Dong nced at him. ¡°You¡¯re so lucky. Didn¡¯t the baby cry some more after the first time? After crying for a while, the sound stopped, and I thought that was it. But after a while, the sound came again. Then the baby started crying again. Anyway, I was tortured again and again. After the second time, I couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. I was about to m my head into the wall so I asked Boss Mu to knock me out. But the sound soon woke me up again, and so Boss Mu had to knock me out again¡­Anyway, this was how I was able to handle it. Don¡¯t you think that, if this happened too many times, the sounds would driven people crazy and make them mentally retarded¡­?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran, who was holding his phone and checking on something with Zhu Haowen. Mu Yiran¡¯s clothes were also wet with sweat and were sticking to his body. His immactely white shirt was now coated with dust, but this did not detract from his outstanding temperament. His face was still calm as he meticulously looked for clues.

    Ke Xun got up, and a shot of painnced through his mind. A few white shes of light burst across his vision, but he soon felt better after standing still for a moment. He walked over and stopped next to Mu Yiran. Tilting his head, he looked at the things in front of them. ¡°Were these what ¡®they¡¯ were using to make that sound?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhu Haowen answered, pointing to the hammer, to the iron cone, and then to the metal tools next to them. ¡°But if only these things were used, it would be impossible to make such piercing and hurtful sounds. So we think the soundsst night were infinitely exaggerated for purpose of lethality. But it is very likely that, in reality, the sounds these tools could make would only be regarded as sharp and ufortable.¡±

    Last night? Ke Xun took out his cell phone and looked at the time. It was past five o¡¯clock in the morning.

    Rubbing his throbbing temple, Ke Xun propped one hand on the table to support his exhausted body. He looked at Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen and said, ¡°Then what happened to the babyst night?¡±

    Everything in thisboratory seemed quite contradictory. The various kinds of hardware equipment that were used to make sharp noises, the babies, and the cages for small animals, these were three things that didn¡¯t fit together at all. So then, what were they studying?

    Mu Yiran nced at the hand that Ke Xun was using to support himself on the table, then he looked away and turned off the shlight on his phone. His gentle voice sounded in the darkness, ¡°Judging from the phenomenonst night, the purpose of this sound seemed to be to make the baby cry. When the baby stopped crying, the sound would ring again, continuing a second round to cause the baby to cry. I also don¡¯t understand what their intention was and what kind of research they were doing, but this can be considered a form of infant abuse.¡±

    Ke Xun tilted his head and looked at him in the darkness. Although he could see nothing at this moment, he intuitively felt that Mu Yiran was also looking at him.

    Ke Xun felt that something had changed in Mu Yiran, something different.

    For example, in the past, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to say the words ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡± to him so peacefully.

    It was like¡­ crushing the shell of a nut, revealing that the fruit inside the shell was not only solid but also genuine and real.

    Boss Mu became a little confused by the sound, right? Ke Xun thought to himself. But he didn¡¯t dare to ask for fear of being rebuffed and so he pretended not to respond.

    ¡°No matter what kind of experiment,¡± Zhu Haowen said coldly, ¡°this is against humanity.¡±

    ¡°No wonder these experimentalboratories are underground.¡± Ke Xun raised his eyebrows. ¡°This kind of experiment is against humanity and is really abnormal. Of course, it had to be carried out undercover, because they dare not put it up to the light. From this, we can infer that the other three test areas must also be abnormal.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look,¡± Mu Yiran said. Then he paused and spoke once more, ¡°How are you?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ke Xun was taken aback, ¡°Are you asking me? I¡¯m fine. Why¡­¡±

    <i>¡­.do you want to ask?</i>

    Ke Xun swallowed back the second half of that question just in time. He really wanted to ask, but he felt that, if he did, Boss Mu might just raise his foot and leave.

    Although he didn¡¯t know why the boss¡¯ attitude towards him was suddenly thawing, Ke Xun felt that this was good. It was better not to wake Mu Yiran up, lest this proud little brother became angry and beat him or something.

    So after the ¡°Why¡± Ke Xun turned the question around. ¡°Why are there no movements in the otherbs? Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡±

    Turning on the shlight in his phone, Ke Xun went to help Wei Dong. Wei Dong had also slowed down a lot. He leaned on the wall and slowly followed everyone outside. In fact, Zhu Haowen wasn¡¯t any better than the rest of them and was walking with uneven steps.

    Aftering out of Laboratory A, the four of them went to Laboratory B, which was the opposite door. They knocked on the door and had to wait a long time before Qin Ci finally opened it. With his face somewhat pale, he looked at his fourpanions and forced out a smile. ¡°You also managed to get through it. That¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°How are you?¡± Ke Xun took a look inside the room with his mobile phone and saw that the doors of the four small areas were opened. Xu Zhen, Huang Pi and Qi Qiang were lying on the ground, immobile.

    ¡°Fortunately, there are no casualties.¡± Qin Ci shook his head with some embarrassment. ¡°But if we have to stay here another night, I can¡¯t guarantee the same oue.¡±

    ¡°What happenedst night?¡± Mu Yiran asked him.

    ¡°About twelve o¡¯clock,¡± Qin Ci said, ¡°our senses abruptly disappeared.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Wei Dong actually understood, but he couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°Our ability to hear, touch, smell, see, and taste.¡± Qin Ci¡¯s breathing became a little heavier. ¡°Even breathing. You couldn¡¯t feel the breathing in and out of your lungs. This feeling was like suffocation. Although you¡¯re still breathing, it felt like you weren¡¯t, making you feel as if you¡¯re suffocating. This psychological fear would increase your stress response, which made you feel even more like you¡¯re suffocating.

    The four people in Laboratory A shared a moment of silence.

    Although the noise was painful and unbearable, when thinking about the feeling of suffocation and the loss of bodily senses that the people in Laboratory B had suffered, they felt as if they were a little bit luckier.

    Qin Ci seemed to know what the four of them were thinking, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile again. ¡°You think suffocating is the hardest part? In fact, most people don¡¯t know that after losing touch, sight, smell, taste and hearing, life would be sadder than death. In the absolute silence of 0 decibels of sounds, and still you couldn¡¯t see, couldn¡¯t feel, couldn¡¯t smell, maybe¡­it was like floating inside an endless ck hole, never dead but neither alive. That was how it felt.¡±

    Wei Dong shivered steadily, and quickly waved his hand. ¡°Doctor Qin, Doctor Qin, please stop talking. I¡¯m about to vomit in terror. I¡¯m still dying here.¡±

    Qin Ci smiled, and no longer said anything. He turned his head and looked at the other three B people in the room. He told Mu Yiran, ¡°Let them rest first. Let¡¯s check the people in the other twobs.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded, and Qin Ci walked towards Laboratory C first.

    Ke Xun nced at his somewhat exhausted back. Then he fell back and quietly leaned into Mu Yiran¡¯s shoulders. In the past, whenever he leaned in to whisper into his ears, Mu Yiran would move his head back a little to put some distance between them. But this time, Mu Yiran didn¡¯t move away, allowing Ke Xun¡¯s warm breath to gently brush against his ear.

    ¡°Do you think that Doctor Qin¡¯s state is a bit strange?¡± Ke Xun said in a very quiet voice.

    Mu Yiran nodded slightly, causing his earlobe to identally graze Ke Xun¡¯s lips.

    Ke Xun returned to walking normally, looking at Qin Ci.

    Mu Yiran was silent for a moment. Finally, he asked quietly, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    <i>I was thinking about why you¡¯re acting so abnormal right now, but how could I say it? Boss, are you possessed by something? Why are you acting so strange when you woke up this morning? It¡¯s making me feel so confused. Are you treating me like what I thought? Oh my god, why am I even thinking this? I must be stupid, right?</i>

    Ke Xun let out an ¡°mmn.¡±.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­..¡±

    <i>I asked what you were thinking, not if you were thinking.</i>

    ¡°Perhaps because of the experiencest night, he had a little negative reaction left over.¡± Mu Yiran brought the topic back to Qin Ci and kept his voice down as much as possible.

    Ke Xun: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°It seems to be a sensory deprivation experiment.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Mu Yiran asked, ¡°¡­Are you listening?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°¡­What did you hear?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­..¡±

    Qin Ci knocked on the door of LaboratoryC, but no one came to open the door even after they had been waiting for a long time. They looked at each other with a sinking feeling

    Since they couldn¡¯t get in, they had to go to Test Area D first.

    Test Area D only had Cai Xiaoyan, who was the poor, unlucky person most likely to diest night.

    When they knocked on the door, it was quickly opened from the inside. Cai Xiaoyan looked dazed and scared, and when she saw them, she threw herself forward in relief and hugged the person closest to her, crying bitterly.

    Wei Dong could barely support his own weak body and was nearly thrown to the ground by this sudden embrace. He patted Cai Xiaoyan on the shoulder, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t cry. In fact, this is good. The fact that you survived is already good. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay.¡±

    They entered the room, checked it again, and found that it was no different than yesterday. Mu Yiran asked Cai Xiaoyan, ¡°Did something happenst night?¡±

    Cai Xiaoyan said in a dull voice, ¡°I heard someone opening the door and walking in..There were people talking, but I couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying. I was too scared¡­I fainted, and soon afterward I woke up, you came¡­¡±

    They silently looked at each other.

    This situation was obviously somewhat unexpected. They thought that the person who would die had unexpectedly survived. Instead, it was the people in Laboratory C who had not responded to their knocks.

    This painting was even more bizarre than they had imagined.

 Chapter 110: Crazy Experiment

    <h4>Chapter 110: Crazy Experiment</h4>

    Everyone returned to Laboratory C and knocked on the door.

    By Mu Yiran¡¯s inference, there must be survivors in Laboratory C. Otherwise, no one would be able to open the door from the outside. If everyone with a C card were wiped out, thisboratory would be temporarily inessible.

    After knocking for ten minutes, someone finally opened the door shakingly from the inside.

    It¡¯s Zhang Hanrui.

    The girl who was originally bright and beautiful now had tears, snot, and drool clinging to her face. A scent of urine exuded from her body. The moment she saw them, she copsed to the ground, crying too hard to speak.

    Everyone left Wei Dong at the door tofort the girl and walked into theb.

    Under the dim light of their mobile phone, they could see that, on the chairs next to the two simple machines in the room, the other three people in this group were still unconscious, all with drool covering their faces and the smell of urine on their bodies.

    Qin Ci walked over and checked their pulses. He raised his gaze and said, ¡°Deng Guang and Zhao Youyi are both dead. This girl Li Yaqing is just unconscious.¡±

    Ke Xun studied the scene in front of him with the light from his phone. The three people were sitting on opposite sides of the two machines. Zhao Youyi and Li Yaqing were sitting on both sides of the same machine, while the other side of the machine Deng Guang was at was empty. That chair was probably Zhang Hanrui¡¯s.

    The dead Deng Guang and Zhao Youyi were still both holding a special wire that was sticking out from the machines. Meanwhile, Li Yaqing, who was just unconscious, was empty-handed.

    From this, they could infer that both machines were in usest night, and of the two people on the same machine, one would die while the other would live.

    The focus was on the two machines and the cords held in the hands of the dead.

    Ke Xun stepped forward to inspect the two machines. Everyone had checked when they camest night. The two machines were only connected by a simple circuit and cable set. Ke Xun found a suspected switch button and pressed it. It clicked on, but there was no power, and so the machine did not respond.

    Unable to figure out the machine¡¯s operating principle, they had to ask Zhang Hanrui, who was presently the only sober C person.

    ¡°What happenedst night?¡± Mu Yiran walked to the door and asked Zhang Hanrui, who was still crying.

    Zhang Hanrui was inconsble with fright. She didn¡¯t say anything and only continued to cry.

    Qin Ci had to wake the unconscious Li Yaqing. Before she could fully recover, he quickly asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Electric¡­electricity¡ªElectricity!¡± Li Yaqing screamed as she sat on the ground, incessantly kicking her legs. ¡°Don¡¯t-don¡¯t-Youyi-please, please, don¡¯t let go. I don¡¯t want to die¡ªPlease¡ª¡°

    Standing outside the door, Zhang Hanrui heard Li Yaqing¡¯s words and broke downpletely, crying even harder. Wei Dong was still in shock fromst night¡¯s noise and he still had a headache. When he heard this noisy cry so close to his ear, his legs gave out and he ended up taking Zhang Hanrui and Cai Xiaoyan down with him.

    It became a bit chaotic, and so everyone had to withdraw from Laboratory C.

    ¡°They have to leave here temporarily and calm down,¡± Qin Ci said in a deep voice, rubbing his eyebrows. ¡°The three of them can no longer stay in these rooms. Otherwise, it will cause emotional instability. Let¡¯s go back upstairs to get some fresh air and eat something. Hunger can destabilize people¡¯s emotions and weaken their willpower.¡±

    Everyone had no objections. Qin Ci returned to Laboratory B and woke up the other three members. Together with the two surviving girls in Laboratory C, they all returned to the upper floor.

    Although the light on the first floor was still dim, they could see the sky and the scenery outside. The building was also more ventted than the underground area. Everyone went to the bathroom to wash their faces, and they finally felt some measure of calm.

    ¡°Now that everyone has calmed down,¡± Qin Ci¡¯s mood at the moment was much better than it had been this morning, allowing him to restore his doctor¡¯s calmness. ¡°We need to divide the work first and proceed in an orderly fashion. The first thing we need to resolve is food, the second is to examine what happened in theboratoriesst night, and the third is to look for the signature. I suggest that some people prepare breakfast while the rest discuss what happenedst night. So I¡¯ll trouble Xu Zhen, Zhang Hanrui, and Cai Xiaoyan to help prepare breakfast, okay?¡±

    Xu Zhen said with a pale face, ¡°I can¡¯t cook.¡±

    Seeing Qi Qiang staring at her in disbelief, Xu Zhen coldly added, ¡°I¡¯m usually a workaholic, and I don¡¯t have time to cook. I always order takeaways or go directly to a restaurant.¡±

    Zhang Hanrui also sniffed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I usually eat at the cafeteria when I live at school, and my mother always cooks at home¡­¡±

    Cai Xiaoyan shivered. ¡°I can only do the simplest¡­I, I don¡¯t dare go by myself¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Ke Xun said and called Cai Xiaoyan to follow him to the warehouse.

    Mu Yiran retracted his gaze from Ke Xun¡¯s departing back and turned to look at Zhang Hanrui and Li Yaqing instead. ¡°Now can you tell me what happenedst night?¡±

    When they heard this, Zhang Hanrui and Ki Yaqing started crying again. They squatted on the ground, wanting to cry to death.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fucking cry! Cry and I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Qi Qiang yelled, stepping forward and grabbing Zhang Hanrui by the hair. Still gripping her hair, he pulled her up from the ground. It was so painful that Zhang Hanrui couldn¡¯t help but scream.

    ¡°Speak nicely,¡± Qin Ci hurriedly tried to stop him. ¡°If you scare her like this, she¡¯ll be even less likely to talk. She¡¯s a girl¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if she¡¯s a girl or a boy!¡± Qi Qiang¡¯s violent temper surged, and he gave Zhang Hanrui a vicious p across the face.

    Zhang Hanrui let out a wretched grunt. Blood dripped down her mouth, and a bloodied tooth fell from her lips.

    Qi Qiang didn¡¯t feel any sympathy at all. He waved his arm, raising his palm for a second p. Mu Yiran firmly grabbed onto his wrist. Looking at him coldly, he said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, then stop.¡±

    Qi Qiang was unwilling to listen. He tried to yank his arm out to continue beating that little white face, only to find that his arm wouldn¡¯t budge at all. He couldn¡¯t help but turn his head to stare at Mu Yiran, startled.

    Mu Yiran released him. Then, ignoring him, he turned to look at Li Yaqing, who was paralyzed on the ground, so frightened that her cries werepletely enveloped in her throat. He told her quietly, ¡°Crying won¡¯t solve anything. It¡¯s best to be strong and tell us what happenedst night as much as possible. Only in this way can we leave earlier. Crying will only put you closer to death. Do you understand?¡±

    Still sobbing, Li Yaqing nodded. Scooting as far away from Qi Qiang as possible, she began talking about what happenedst night, her recounting broken intermittently by sobs. Last night, the four of them were forced by an irresistible power that seemed ¡°human-like,¡± which dragged them up from the ground and pressed them onto the chairs of the two machines.

    Some ¡°people¡± forced their heads on the machine toward a small electronic screen that had lit up. Instructions for use were disyed on the small screen.

    This line of instructions was simple and easy to understand: after the power came on, if one of the users at both ends of chair A and B let go first, then the other would die.

    ¡°¡­Something attached to a wire was stuffed in my hand¡­Then someone pressed a button and there was an electric current, woo¡­It was so painful¡­Really¡­I really tried my best to hold on but¡­it was really too painful, so painful I felt as if I would die. I really¡­really couldn¡¯t hold on anymore so¡­I let go¡­¡±

    After Li Yaqing said this, she threw herself on the ground, sobbing.

    Everyone finally understood what Zhang Hanrui¡¯s and Li Yaqing¡¯s tears were hiding.

    Zhang Hanrui might be fine. After all, the person she was paired with was Deng Guang.

    But Li Yaqing was partnered with her good girlfriend and sister, Zhao Youyi.

    She couldn¡¯t bear the torture of the electric current, and so she let go, causing her best friend to receive a lethal electric shock.

    Li Yaqing felt that she¡¯d killed her friend.

    This was even crueler than killing aplete stranger.

    ¡°Who woulde up with such a crazy experiment?!¡± Xu Zhen gritted her teeth and yelled, ¡°Is this a fucking test of humanity?! The person who designed this kind of experiment is the most inhuman beast!¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡°At present, we already know the experimental contents of the threeboratories, AB and C. Only Laboratory D is left. It also has some equipment that needs to be powered on to operate. But it seems that theboratories will be powered off during the day. Maybe if we want to find the signature, we¡¯ll have to wait for one more night in Laboratory D in order to gain more clues.¡±

    ¡°No matter what,¡± Xu Zhen said firmly, ¡°we can¡¯t do nothing during the day and just wait for night toe. We need to search this ce from top to bottom, not letting a single brick go.¡±

    No one objected. Since breakfast wasn¡¯t yet ready, everyone left Li Yaqing, who was still in the throes of copse, and Zhang Hanrui, who had been hit and was sitting paralyzed on the floor. They went back to the small gated door leading to the basement, only to find that the iron gate refused to open no matter how they swiped their cards.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Xu Zhen looked at Qin Ci and Mu Yiran in surprise.

    ¡°Could it be¡­¡± Qin Ci¡¯s voice was slightly cold, ¡°it wants us to get a new number card?¡±

    ¡°In order to regroup us.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze became heavy. ¡°Since we have already learned the contents of the experiment, regrouping and selecting new numbers is probably another way to test humanity and human thinking.¡±

    ¡°The research projects of this institute cannot be separated from ¡®people¡¯,¡± said Zhu Haowen. ¡°Whether it¡¯s human nature, human thoughts or human physiology, these are their research topic, and people are their research target, or rather, their test subject.¡±

    Everyone was silent for a moment, until Xu Zhen broke this silence. ¡°So, if we each take a number again this time, will the people in front still get the number card A?¡±

    ¡°This is clearly the case,¡± Qin Ci nodded slightly. ¡°But this time, the people who¡¯ll get the number card A won¡¯t necessarily be four people. Two people diedst night and so the number of people in each area will also be reduced. It could also change so that, correspondingly, there might not be only one person in Laboratory D this time.¡±

    ¡°So, who wants to go first?¡± Xu Zhen looked at everyone.

    Everyone already knew the contents of the experiment in Laboratory A. Even though Mu Yiran only narrated it with a few unmodified words, everyone could imagine what it would be like.

    No one answered Xu Zhen¡¯s words at first. They were all silently considering the experimental contents in their hearts, judging which one would be¡­easier to get through.

    In this way, the atmosphere became somewhat guarded, each thinking about themselves.

    Upon seeing this, Qin Ci spoke calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t think we should worry about this now. We can set aside some time for consideration and discussion. Maybe we cane up with a better and safer way.¡±

    They had no objections, and when they came out of the room with the iron gated door, they saw Cai Xiaoyan approaching. She called, ¡°The meal is ready. Come to the canteen to eat.¡±

    When they walked into the canteen, everyone was surprised.

 Chapter 111: Frontal Lobotomy

    <h4>Chapter 111: Frontal Lobotomy</h4>

    There was a pot of steaming hot and fragrant white rice bean porridge on the rectangr dining table, and Ke Xun was standing by the table, holding a pair of chopsticks and skillfully mixing the small bowl of cold, mixed beans sd in his hand. The sour scent of vinegar and the aroma of cooked beans was like a warm wind after a midsummer rain, instantly opening everyone¡¯s taste buds.

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat first.¡± Ke Xun raised his head, met Mu Yiran¡¯s quiet and clear gaze, and gave him a warm smile.

    Good food was good medicine for adjusting the mood. Perhaps it was because the color and the fragrance of the food had the ability to make people feel the freshness and warmth of life, because after a full meal, hope finally gained the upper hand over despair.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s discuss the number selection now.¡± Xu Zhen¡¯s tone of frustration had eased significantly whenpared tost time. She sat on a chair in the canteen, looking at everyone.

    They all fell silent. This was a sensitive topic. No one wanted to die, and so everyone wanted to select an experimentalb that would increase their chance of survival. This was a matter of life and death, and no one wanted to be modest.

    ¡°I¡¯ll dere it in advance,¡± Xu Zhen said. ¡°I won¡¯t give anyone the chance to survive over myself. Of course, I hope everyone can survive, but don¡¯t try to make me humbly consider the young or the weak when ites to survival. Everyone is equal, and my life isn¡¯t lower than theirs.¡±

    As she spoke, she nced pointedly at the three young girls.

    The girls didn¡¯t say anything, Zhang Hanrui¡¯s tears rolled down silently. Li Yaqing seemed to have be tired of crying, and so she just bowed her head in a daze. Cai Xiaoyan bit her lip and tugged at her clothes, her nervous action disying her fear and distress.

    ¡°If this is the case, then let¡¯s be fair,¡± Zhu Haowen said. This person was almost always ruthless in his use of logic. ¡°Let¡¯s decide by drawing lots.¡±

    After some hesitation, Xu Zhen nodded in agreement. ¡°This is the fairest method. Whether the oue is good or bad, we can only me our luck.¡±

    The others had no objections. Qin Ci got up and went to the office next door to find paper and a pen. When he came back, he cut the paper into pieces and wrote numbers on the strips. Because he wasn¡¯t sure how many people could enter each experimental area today, he could only write sequential numbers.

    After folding the pieces of paper, he put them into a chopstick tube, shook it, and put the tube on the table. ¡°Take one.¡±

    Xu Zhen was the first to reach out and pull a piece of paper out. When she opened it, the expression on her face brightened. ¡°Number 1!¡±

    The first number would most definitely get a number card in Laboratory A. For those who had experienced the painful torture of Laboratory B, the experiment being run in Laboratory A seemed like an improvement.

    So, many people actually hoped to be able to enter Laboratory A.

    The rest of the people also took out a paper stick one at a time. Ke Xun drew after Mu Yiran. He stayed in the chopstick holder for a while, stirred the remaining paper sticks with his fingers. He looked at the number 7 on Mu Yiran¡¯s paper, then blinked at him and said, ¡°Do you believe in me? My instinct is really urate.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him and replied in a gentle voice. ¡°Pick one.¡±

    For a moment, Ke Xun was stunned by that sound, and he felt as if a mushy electric current had generated from the back of his head and shot down to the tips of his fingers that was inside the chopsticks holder.

    With his fingertips, he mped down one of the paper sticks, took it out, unfolded it, and saw that it was a number 8.

    After showing the numbers on the paper to Mu Yiran, Ke Xun¡¯s lips curled up.

    If their numbers were next to each other, the probability of getting into the same researchb would increase.

    After everyone had drawn the lottery, they realized that Qi Qiang and Huang Pi hadn¡¯t drawn. Qin Ci looked at the two of them. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Qi Qiang impatiently took out a card from his pocket and pped it on the table. ¡°I have already taken a number card!¡±

    This entry card to the basement was printed with an A-195.

    Xu Zhen reacted, staring at Qi Qiang and Huang Pi, daring to be angry but not daring to speak.

    Huang Pi hadn¡¯t drawn lots either. He¡¯d obviously done the same as Qi Qiang. Earlier, when everyone had walked out of the room with the iron gated door, the two of them had stayed behind and drawn their cards in advance. They knew that Laboratory A would be given out first and they refused to wait and discuss with the others.

    The matter was over, and it was useless to say more. Everyone got up, went to the small room with the iron gated door leading to the basement, and took numbers one by one in the order determined by the lottery.

    This time, the people who got the A cards were Qi Qiang, Huang Pi, and Xu Zhen.

    The people who got the B cards were Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen.

    The people who got the C cards were Li Yaqing, Cai Xiaoyan, Mu Yiran, and Ke Xun.

    The people who got the D cards were Qin Ci and Zhang Hanrui.

    Li Yaqing, who had drawn Laboratory C once more, copsed on the spot. She sat on the ground, crying.

    In everyone¡¯s eyes, only the experiment in Laboratory C was lethal. Therefore, if one got a C card, it was like having one foot in the yellow springs.

    ¡°There is still time,¡± Ke Xun squatted down and shook Li Yaqing¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Crying won¡¯t solve the problem. Let¡¯s find the signature first. We can leave after finding the signature.¡±

    Still crying, Li Yaqing nodded. She struggled to get up and then followed everyone down to the underground experimental area.

    This time they carefully searched through every experimentalb, inch by inch, not letting go of even a single brick.

    Several of the more experienced members were concentrated in Laboratory D. Their inspection was interrupted halfway through yesterday and so they wanted to continue today.

    ¡°There¡¯s still one question,¡± Qin Ci said as he searched, ¡°What is the central meaning of this painting? Find out the meaning and it won¡¯t be far from finding the signature.¡±

    ¡°If all the experiments are based on primarily studying people,¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°then the meaning of this painting should be closely rted to people. Remember the words written on the wall in the hall: Reveal the essence of consciousness, discover the power of life, guide severance back to nature, and help the lost regain their inherent self.¡±

    ¡°Consciousness, physiology, psychology, and ideology,¡± Mu Yiran summed it up. ¡°It includes all the products that can be produced by individuals like ¡®human¡¯, subjective, objective, substantial, and non-substantial.¡±

    ¡°Then you guys, will the signature be on a person¡¯s body this time?¡± Wei Dong said, ¡°Like in the painting ¡®Animal World¡¯, where the signature was on a dog. But this time, it¡¯s a human instead.¡±

    ¡°In the entire institute, we are the only humans in the painting,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°I don¡¯t think there will be people in the paintinging in from outside halfway through.¡±

    ¡°I suggest that we take a closer look at these research materials,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°Maybe we can find out the true intent behind these experiments.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the stack of photos in his hand. They¡¯d seen this in Laboratory Dst night. He handed them to Qin Ci. ¡°Might this be considered research data?¡±

    Qin Ci took them and the moment he saw the contents of the pictures, his face stiffened. With a cough, he handed the photo back to Ke Xun. ¡°This may be¡­um, an office pastime.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like one of those old little yellow books, but nowadays, people just look at those bad websites on their cell phones instead, right?¡± Ke Xun put the photos back in the drawer. ¡°But the researchers at this institute are also very bold. They even took photos directly to work. Did a little yellow book no longer satisfy them anymore?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Wei Dong was confused. He walked over and flipped through the drawers, ¡°What little yellow¡ªFuck!¡±

    Holding onto the photos, he looked at Ke Xun in surprise. ¡°There¡¯s something like this? This is too bold. Fuck¡­I¡¯ll check if there¡¯s anything suspicious in the photos.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Haha.¡±

    Wei Dong flipped through a few photos and said in a weird tone, ¡°Wait. Why are there only naked males?papa in here? Is it possible that the researchers in thisboratory are all women? Are they all fujoshis?¡±

    ¡°They may also be gay,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong nced at him. ¡°You seemed to have identally exposed your personal collection hobby.¡±

    ¡°Stop spouting nonsense. When did that ever happen? Put them back if you don¡¯t read them,¡± Ke Xun said. He turned around and walked to Mu Yiran¡¯s side. Seeing that he was holding a stack of documents and looking at them closely, Ke Xun immediately held up his phone to light them for him.

    ¡°On April 13th, after the whole group had discussed and arrived at a decision, it was unanimously approved to perform a frontal lobotomy on Subject 213 seven dayster,¡± Ke Xun read the words out loud. Then he raised his head and asked Qin Ci, ¡°Dr. Qin, what is frontal lobotomy?¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s expression became more serious. ¡°The human brain is divided into four lobes, and the frontal lobe is thergest. Once it was excised, a person will lose a lot of body functions, including arge part of his personality. This is an extremely inhumane operation¡­¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°What kind of monstrous operation is this? Why does a person need this kind of operation?¡±

    Qin Ci exined, ¡°In the mid-19th century, some Western medical schrs believed that this kind of surgery could prevent schizophrenic patients from emotional distress, thereby turning them quiet and obedient. It was said that patients with violent or suicidal tendencies did indeed be quiet after the operation. Moniz, the inventor of this operation, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for this. Henceforth, during that time period, frontal lobotomy became an important method for treating mental illness, to the extent that it became quite fashionable.¡±

    ¡°Does this¡­ really work?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    Qin Ci smiled sarcastically. ¡°I¡¯ll exin the procedure, and you¡¯ll know that it won¡¯t work.¡±

    ¡°The process is very simple. First, the doctor uses local anesthesia to keep the patient awake to a certain extent, because the doctor needs to inform the patient of the next step in the operation. If the patient bes unresponsive, the doctor will use electric shock to wake the patient.¡±

    .

    ¡°Next, the doctor will insert a steel pointed cone about 18 centimeters long into the bone under the eyelid, facing the eye socket. He¡¯ll tap the bottom of the steel cone with a small hammer, and the steel cone will prate the bone at the bridge of the nose into the brain.¡±

    ¡°Once the pointed cone has entered about 5 cm into the frontal lobe of the brain, the doctor will rotate the pointed cone to cut off the white matter that connects the prefrontal cortex and the rest of the brain.¡±

    ¡°In the words of a certain doctor, this was actually inserting the cone into the head and mixing the brain up. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes. 10 minutes and the patient would probably no longer be the same as before.¡±

    ¡°F¡­.ucking¡­hell¡­¡± Wei Dong cursed dumbfoundedly. ¡°Is this like fucking stirring the brain into porridge? Is this doctor a monster?!¡±

    ¡°The mortality rate for this type of operation was a high as 14%, but at the time, there were still quite a lot of doctors with a nearly pathological obsession with using it,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Obsess¡­There are people who are obsessed with this kind of abnormal surgery?¡± Wei Dong clutched his forehead.

    ¡°The prefrontal cortex ys a key role in helping people make decisions and in shaping and maintaining their personality,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°So some medical experts at that time believed that this kind of surgery was an operation on the soul, which would allow them to reshape a person into someone more eptable to society.¡±

    ¡°It seems that the key lies here,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°If Laboratory A, B, and C are focused on studying people, then the purpose of Laboratory D is to transform people.¡±

 Chapter 112: The Bright and Warm Ke Xun

    <h4>Chapter 112: The Bright and Warm Ke Xun</h4>

    Mu Yiran turned the experiment log over a few more pages. These pages recorded the preparations for the operation and the physical condition of test subject No. 213.

    Until he turned another page, and it read:

    At 3 o¡¯clock in the afternoon on April 20th, No. 213 underwent frontal lobotomy. The operation went smoothly and took 9 minutes and 23 seconds.

    During the operation, No. 213 was conscious and able to answer questions.

    .

    After the operation, No. 213 fell into aa.

    ¡­

    At 6:15 in the afternoon, test subject No. 213 had a brain death. The operation failed.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Ke Xun cursed, but seeing that Mu Yiran was still flipping, he had to continue to light up the page with his mobile phone.

    ¡ªJune 10, the second day after the operation, test subject No. 214 woke up, unable to respond to questions.

    ¡ªJune 13, test subject No. 214 was diagnosed to be in a persistent vegetative state.

    ¡ªAugust 3, test subject No. 251 lostnguage functions after surgery.

    ¡ªSeptember 21, test subject No. 276 passed an intelligence test after surgery and was determined to have regressed to the mental capacity of a 2-year-old child.

    ¡ªOctober 9, test subject No. 282¡¯s body was in good condition after the operation and was ready to enter the second phase of testing.

    ¡ªOctober 13, test subject No. 282 showed no expected adverse reactions to the test. The frontal lobotomy was determined to have no side effects on test subject No. 282. After discussion, the research group will prepare to conduct an ET exam on 282 in ten days.

    ¡ªOctober 23, an ET exam was carried out on test subject No. 282 and had no effect.

    ¡ªOctober 24, periodic ET exams are showing slow results. The subject must be observed over a period of time.

    Ke Xun asked Qin Ci, ¡°What is a persistent vegetative state?¡±

    ¡°Like a vegetable,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°What about an ET exam?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Qin Ci frowned, puzzled. ¡°ET? Endothelin? Embryo transfer?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like it. What do you think?¡± Ke Xun turned his face toward Mu Yiran and asked.

    ¡°Mmn.¡± Mu Yiran turned the log to thest page, ¡°This log ended in December of that year. It doesn¡¯t include the final results of the experiment or mention the purpose of these experimentations.¡±

    ¡°And it doesn¡¯t sound like a very standardized medical log,¡± Qin Ci said, ¡°It can be seen that this isn¡¯t a professional or specialized medical institution. It just uses some medical methods to conduct experiments.¡±

    ¡°And this research institute doesn¡¯t seem to hesitate to use various research methods that are decertified and disapproved for implementation,¡± Mu Yiran said coldly. ¡°It¡¯s clear that it would do anything for experimental purposes.¡±

    ¡°So, does the painter want to illustrate the research value of ¡®people¡¯, or is he exposing these sinful perversions at the research institution?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    Qin Ci said, ¡°I prefer thetter.¡±

    ¡°If it is thetter, then we need to think about where the artist will put his signature,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°Could it be those high-sounding words on the wall of the foyer?¡± Wei Dong wondered.

    ¡°Would it be so obvious? We saw it as soon as we entered the door,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°How can we be sure? The light is dim there,¡± Wei Dong responded. He turned to look at Ke Xun and added, ¡°Ke¡¯er, let¡¯s go up and try.¡±

    They both left the underground basement and went to the lobby on the first floor.

    The passage on the wall seemed to be written in paint. Ke Xun went to the canteen and found two knives. After handing Wei Dong one, he spent the whole morning scraping the red paint off the wall, in case it was covering up the signature.

    However, Wei Dong was disappointed to find that there was nothing under the paint.

    ¡°Sure enough, there¡¯s no such good thing.¡± Wei Dong shook his sore hand. ¡°Ke¡¯er, do you think I should carry this knife with me? If somethinges up to me at night, I can use it. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Unlikely.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to pour cold water on him, but he had to make him recognize reality. ¡°If just chopping at them with a knife is so easy, this painting wouldn¡¯t be difficult. But you can still carry the knife. It¡¯ll strengthen your courage.¡±

    ¡°What courage?¡± Wei Dong sighed. ¡°I¡¯m afraid of hurting myself with it, so forget it. What did Dr. Qin tell us about Laboratory B? When people be anxious, their behaviors be extreme¡­Do you think I¡¯ll survive tonight? I¡¯m really afraid that I¡¯ll fall on this one.¡±

    Ke Xun lowered his eyelids, thinking. Then, he suddenly raised his gaze to look at him. ¡°In fact, I think Laboratory B is the easiest of the four in terms of survival. It¡¯s just a loss of various senses. Think about it? What situation puts a person in a status simr to having a loss of senses?¡±

    ¡°Death,¡± Wei Dong said dejectedly.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have any expectations for your IQ,¡± Ke Xun said indifferently. ¡°In addition to death, there are two conditions. One is unconsciousness, and the other is deep sleep.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Huh?¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Kneel down and call me Dad.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Dad, my old man, even though what you say is reasonable, do you think I can sleep in that kind of situation?¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°I don¡¯t recognize this stupid child. If you can¡¯t sleep, then you can be unconscious. Before 11 o¡¯clock in the evening, let Boss Mu go with you to Laboratory B and pinch you and Haowen¡¯er unconscious. When you¡¯re unconscious, even if you lose your senses, you wouldn¡¯t feel it, and so you could rest easy until dawn.¡±

    ¡°Fuck! This idea is too great,¡± Wei Dong eximed. ¡°Even calling you grandpa wouldn¡¯t be a loss. Okay! We¡¯ll do it like this.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be too optimistic,¡± Ke Xun warned. ¡°If those ¡®researchers¡¯ wake you up before the experiment begins, then you¡¯ll have to bear with it.¡±

    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t scare me,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°That kind of experiment can affect people like Qi Qiang Huang Pi, Xu Zhen and Dr. Qin. Qi Qiang and Huang Pi both look like hard people. And although Xu Zhen is a woman, she has a strong personality and is definitely more determined than ordinary people. Dr. Qin is a doctor himself, and so he shouldn¡¯t be too flustered about this situation¡ªeven people like them could barely survive the night. I¡¯m so weak-willed. People like me who are afraid of suffering probably won¡¯t survive the night.¡±

    Ke Xun squeezed his shoulders. ¡°If you have to bear with it, think about other things and distract yourself.¡±

    Wei Dong said with a bitter face, ¡°What could I think about? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to think of anything under that kind of pain.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Think about your bosses, and think about your clients who are incessantly demanding that you make alterations to your images.

    Wei Dong said, ¡°I think I can live.¡±

    ¡°Very good,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong looked at him. ¡°Then what about you? In Lab C, people would surely die¡­Ke¡¯er, have you figured out what to do?¡±

    Ke Xun lowered his eyelids and turned the knife in his hand. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Wei Dong asked hurriedly.

    Ke Xun smiled. ¡°Probably to power up with love.¡±

    Lunch still consisted of only rice, bean porridge, and mixed bean sd. Everyone exchanged the result of the morning¡¯s search. The result of the exchange was that there was no result, so they continued in the afternoon, focusing on the contents of all the documents that could be found upstairs and downstairs.

    Even though the documents in the research institute were not as vast as the sea and were piled up in mountainous piles, they had no choice but to stack them up in the entrance hall so that they could look through them using the lights streaming in through the windows.

    ¡°Could there really be a signature in these documents?¡± Xu Zhen had patiently flipped through documents most of the afternoon and finally couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Even if there¡¯s no signature, we can learn about the background or other rted things about this institute,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°This will help us infer where the signature will appear or in what form.¡±

    ¡°These all have scientific or medical terms, I really don¡¯t understand them.¡± Xu Zhen pinched her eyebrows, and pointed to the stack of documents next to her. ¡°Even more terrifying, they¡¯re all research papers and obscure scientific materials. I feel like I¡¯m reading a book.¡±

    Qin Ci couldn¡¯t respond to this, and Qi Qiang even jumped up anxiously to kick down arge stack of documents.

    ¡°What the fuck do you want to find out?!¡± Qi Qiang cursed, eyes blood-shot. His emotions were clearly out of control.

    When Zhang Hanrui, Li Yaqing, and Cai Xiaoyan saw this, they were so scared that they immediately moved away from him. The swelling on Zhang Hanrui¡¯s face still hadn¡¯t gone down yet.

    Qi Qiang turned around twice, then he rushed to the office next door, pulled out a chair, and smashed it against the front ss door.

    As a result, the chair was smashed to pieces, but the ss was still intact.

    Qi Qiang refused to give up. He went to the next room and tried it again.

    Ke Xun was annoyed. He got up and went to the cafeteria, where the cooking had nowpletely fallen on his head.

    As he was washing the rice and cooking the beans, he saw Zhang Hanrui and Li Yaqing walked in, arm in arm. They stood nearby, watching him nkly.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ke Xun asked, turning his head.

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s fine¡­We just don¡¯t want to stay in the hall¡­¡± The two girls¡¯ emotions had stabilized a lot.

    ¡°Then sit here for a while, and we¡¯ll eatter,¡± Ke Xun said, turning his head and continuing to wash the rice.

    ¡°Brother Ke¡­¡± Zhang Hanrui called to him in a trembling, nasally voice. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be¡­very scared?¡±

    Ke Xun lowered his eyelids and smiled. ¡°Fear is the just beginning of fearlessness. Besides, I have a boyfriend for protection. What is there to be scared of?¡±

    His words rxed Zhang Hanrui and Li Yaqing¡¯s nervous emotions, and they let out tearfulughs. Zhang Hanrui sniffed and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Even with things like this, you¡¯re still showing affections here.¡±

    ¡°The show right now is the real show,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zhang Hanrui chuckled. ¡°The love at this time is the real love.¡±

    Feeling better again, she asked casually, ¡°Then you and Brother Mu, who is the gong and who is the shou?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡± Fujoshis were all demons.

    Li Yaqing interjected, ¡°I feel like Brother Mu is more aggressive¡­¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°¡­Are you two feeling better now? Come and boil the water. Can you boil water?¡±

    ¡°Why boil water?¡± Zhang Hanrui sniffed, walked over, and took the pot that Ke Xun had handed over.

    ¡°To soak your feet in.¡± Ke Xun was expressionless.

    The two girls couldn¡¯t help butugh again, and then they turned on the water hose to get water.

    Zhu Haowen stood at the entrance of the canteen and looked at them. His eyes fell on Ke Xun¡¯s hands holding chopsticks and mixing beans.

    This person always had the ability to dissolve any dark, depressing and fearful atmosphere, creating a sliver of light and warmth from that broken gap.

    Others might be colder and more apathetic, but not him.

    He will only be brighter, work harder, and be more fearless, time and time again.

 Chapter 113: Ke Xunâ€™s Life-Saving Method

    <h4>Chapter 113: Ke Xun¡¯s Life-Saving Method</h4>

    By the time dinner ended, it was already dark.

    They hadn¡¯t finished looking through the mountain of documents, but everyone had given up checking today. The battery on their mobile phone needed to be saved, so they could only wait for daytime tomorrow.

    Meanwhile, Ke Xun and Wei Dong went to the warehouse to find a few old-fashioned shlights and distributed them to the others. Perhaps, because the battery had been left for too long, the lights from the shlights were as dim as the light from their mobile phones.

    Everyone entered the underground experimentalboratories. Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn¡¯t 11 o¡¯clock yet, they used the shlights to search every corner of the underground basement once more.

    ¡°Maybe there¡¯s a brick in this basement that will activate something, like some kind of mechanism or something.¡± Li Yaqing looked at the bricks that were revealed through the crumbling wall.

    ¡°Yes, maybe there is such a possibility. Isn¡¯t it often like this in novels and on TV?¡± Zhang Hanrui nodded quickly, and she and Li Yaqing both looked eagerly at Ke Xun for approval.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s check every brick.¡± Ke Xun nodded his head as expected and took the two of them to start the inspection from the far side of the wall.

    ¡°What about the bricks at high ces?¡± Zhang Hanrui raised her head and pointed up to the bricks above.

    Ke Xun squatted at the base of the wall and patted his shoulders with his backhand. ¡°Come on. You step on my shoulders and hold on to the wall. I¡¯ll stand up slowly so that you can go up and check those bricks.¡±

    ¡°Will that work?¡± Zhang Hanrui looked at him hesitantly.

    ¡°¡­Sister, what kind of question is that?¡± Ke Xun said dryly. ¡°Never question a man¡¯spetency. Hurry ande up.¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh.¡± Zhang Hanrui carefully stepped on Ke Xun¡¯s shoulders, not daring to day that she was treating him as a little shou.

    It didn¡¯t take much effort for Ke Xun to lift up the slender Zhang Hanrui, and so the three of them checked every brick little by little.

    Meanwhile, Mu Yiran used a shlight to continue checking the documents in Laboratory D.

    Qin Ci looked at what appeared to be a stack of personal files in his hands and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Do you have any ideas?¡±

    Without raising his head, Mu Yiran said while reading, ¡°Since this research institute had set up this experimental research area underground, it means that these experiments weren¡¯t officially approved. Or, these hical experimentations might bepleted under the guise of legal research. If this is the case, these experiments must require confidentiality. Not every person in the research institute can be involved in handling core secrets. This would be problematic.¡±

    He raised his gaze to look at Qin Ci. ¡°How did the painter know that this research institute undertook these projects?¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°That¡¯s right! Unless someone leaked the secret and publicized what happened here.¡±

    ¡°This research institute touched upon topics that were both important and sensitive,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°In that time period, even if it leaks, it would have been suppressed by the relevant departments to prevent the news from spreading and causing public shock. So, even if there was a leak, the public wouldn¡¯t be allowed to know much about it in detail. But, judging from the content of this painting, the artist knew the details of these experiments very well, which shows that the artist is probably an insider in the institute.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and he should be a core member.¡± Qin Ci nodded. ¡°He knows the detail of the four experimental research projects, so he might not just be a core member, but someone on the level of a leader.¡±

    ¡°Before I entered the painting, I remembered the name of the artist. It was Kang Lai,¡± Zhu Haowen suddenly said. ¡°Is he famous in the art world?¡±

    Mu Yiran flipped through the files in his hands. ¡°The Square Box Art Gallery was just built two years ago. They only have a few masterpieces, and the rest are from novice or unknown artists that could be bought at a low price. Therefore, this Kang Lai has no reputation in the industry. At least, I¡¯ve never heard of him. If he really was an insider in this research institute, he might be an art enthusiast.¡±

    ¡°Then he is very contradictory,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°While participating or managing the research as a core member, he also painted this inside story as a critique.¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s thoughts moved. ¡°This kind of behavior does look a bit fractured. Is it possible that he has a dual personality?¡±

    ¡°It is also possible that, yearster, he felt guilty for the things he¡¯d done,¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°so he confessed about his participation.¡±

    ¡°This is also very possible.¡± Qin Ci walked over and looked through the files with Mu Yiran. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s find this person¡¯s work information first. Maybe we¡¯ll get a clue.¡±

    They looked until past ten at night.

    ¡°Today, we¡¯re staying here,¡± Qin Ci said calmly, looking at Mu Yiran. ¡°Xiao Mu, do you have any suggestions about Laboratory D?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked down and thought for a moment. ¡°Cai Xiaoyan faintedst night. I don¡¯t know if it was for this reason that she was lucky enough to escape. If you¡¯re willing to try this method, I can help knock you out.¡±

    Not everyone dared to be knocked out in this situation, because it was equivalent to taking away one¡¯s precaution and self-protection, thuspletely exposing one¡¯s most vulnerable and helpless self to danger.

    .

    Qin Ci hesitated for a long time and finally nodded with difficulties. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t hide from misfortune, nor can I lose consciousness. I ought to keep my head, but why not give it a try?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t say much, Seeing that Ke Xun was sending in Zhang Hanrui, who was already crying from fright, he asked her if she wanted him to make her lose consciousness. With a face full of suffering, Zhang Hanrui said, sobbing, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­Maybe it¡¯s useless to me¡­I have a special physique that makes it difficult for me to lose consciousness even after anesthesia injections. Evenst night¡­I didn¡¯t faint. I don¡¯t know¡­Why do I have this physique? I would rather faint and die unconsciously instead of dying from torture¡­¡±

    The more experienced members tacitly remained silent. Even if she did lose consciousness, she might still be awakened and then tortured to death.

    In the end, Zhang Hanrui finally decided to give it a try, in case she got lucky.

    When Ke Xun was about to leave Laboratory D, Zhang Hanrui couldn¡¯t resist chasing after him and clinging to him. ¡°Brother Ke¡­if I die, you¡­take my mobile phone back to my parents. I wrote something on it. Show it to them. It has myst words. The screen password is XXXXXX. Please.¡±

    ¡°Mmn, rest assured. I¡¯ll take it to them.¡± Ke Xun patted her on the shoulder. He turned and walked out. When he was out the door, he turned back and told her, ¡°Hanrui, don¡¯t be afraid.¡±

    Zhang Hanrui burst into tears and nodded, choked.

    After pinching Qin Ci and Zhang Hanrui unconscious, they ced them in the corner of theboratory. Mu Yiran closed the door and entered Laboratory B with Ke Xun.

    Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t hesitate about being knocked out, so Mu Yiran did the same to them.

    Finally, they entered Laboratory A and asked Xu Zhen, Qi Qiang, and Huang Pi if they wanted to try this method.

    Huang Pi didn¡¯t say anything; this was a person of very few words. From the time of entering the painting to now, he had hardly said more than a few words. Qi Qiang also refused. Only Xu Zhen hesitated and asked, ¡°Even if I¡¯m unconscious, would I still be awakened by the harsh noise you mentioned previously?¡±

    ¡°To be honest,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°I think it¡¯s very possible. But even if you¡¯re passed out, there won¡¯t be any danger aside from the noise. At least, nothing had moved usst night. It was just a noise attack.¡±

    Xu Zhen thought for a moment. ¡°In that case, I already prepared some things to plug my ears. So, let me plug them in first and then you can knock me out. Please put me in the corner and cover my head with the bedding on the crib.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at her and said, ¡°Are you sure you want to use what¡¯s in the crib?¡±

    ¡°I have already used it.¡± Xu Zhen said coldly, showing the cotton wool in her hand to Ke Xun. ¡°These are taken out of the bedding.¡±

    Using some of the sticky rice from the porridge, she kneaded the cotton wool into a ball and stuffed it in her ear. Outside the cotton balls was ayer of rice paste, and her two ears were tightly covered with a wide strip of cloth folded over several times. Once she wrapped the little quilt over her head, she made an OK gesture to Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran knocked her out and ced her in the corner of theboratory. He was about to wrap the bedding on the baby crib over her, but Qi Qiang snatched it over to himself and put it over his own head.

    Mu Yiran and Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anything and left Laboratory A.

    Even if they had forcibly taken the bedding back from Qi Qiang and put it over Xu Zhen, Qi Qiang would just snatch it back after they left. Maybe, it might even cause Qi Qiang to hurt the unconscious Xu Zhen in a fit of anger.

    Back in Laboratory C, Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan were holding each other, crying and shaking. Seeing them enter the door, Li Yaqing cried hoarsely and asked Ke Xun, ¡°Brother Ke, what shall we do? I don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to die! Wooo¡­¡±

    Ke Xun used the shlight to illuminate the ground and saw that Deng Guang and Zhao Youyi¡¯s bodies were still lying in the corner of the room. They had removed their sweaters this morning and used it to cover the corpses¡¯ faces. This way, they would only see the stiff and cold bodies and not the face.

    Ke Xun asked Li Yaqing, ¡°Last night, after you felt the current pass through the palm of your hands, how long were you able to hold it before letting go?¡±

    Li Yaqing cried bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­I don¡¯t know¡­It hurted. It really hurted. I felt like I was dying. I really couldn¡¯t hold on to the wire head¡­I really tried my best. I endured it hard¡­but I couldn¡¯t help it. I couldn¡¯t hold on and let go¡­I don¡¯t¡­I really don¡¯t want Youyi to die¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry. I wasn¡¯t ming you.¡± Ke Xun quickly tried to calm her down. ¡°I think the oue will be the same even if you change with someone else. The pain caused by the painting isn¡¯t something that can be tolerated under normal circumstances. This isn¡¯t your fault, this is the malice of the painting.¡±

    Li Yaqing cried and nced at the three of them. Then she choked up and said, ¡°Then what should I do tonight¡­I¡¯m afraid I;ll hurt you again¡­and I don¡¯t want to die¡­¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t do anything about this.

    In the experimental nature of Laboratory C, two people were destined to indirectly kill the other. The willpower of humanity will be subjected to the cruelest test here. Even he himself didn¡¯t know whether he would survive this.

    After thinking about it, he suddenly smiled and said, ¡°How about we make a desperate move?¡±

    Seeing three people looking at him, Ke Xun turned on his phone, pulled up the stopwatch function, and ced it in front of them. ¡°I¡¯ll turn on the phone in constant light mode and ce it in front of the machine. When we¡¯re connected to a current, everyone can stare at the stopwatch together. Every five seconds, we¡¯ll all let go. Tell me, what would happen if we do this?¡±

 Chapter 114: Whoever Lets Go First Will Live

    <h4>Chapter 114: Whoever Lets Go First Will Live</h4>

    No one could predict what would happen, but it was better than just waiting to die.

    .

    At one minute to eleven, the timer on the wall began to count down. The four people in Laboratory C sat against the wall, waiting for the night to decide whether they would live or die.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran sat further away from Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan. In the darkness, Ke Xun put his mouth close to Mu Yiran¡¯s ear and spoke in a low whisper, ¡°¡­Actually, my method isn¡¯t reliable at all.¡±

    ¡°Mmn.¡± Mu Yiran felt the heat of Ke Xun¡¯s breath on his ear, but he didn¡¯t move away.

    ¡°A brother in my university dormitory was electrocuted,¡± Ke Xun said, trying his best to use a volume that Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan wouldn¡¯t hear. ¡°He said that his whole consciousness felt blurred during the electrocution process, and it was impossible to think, let alone stare at a timer and wait for five seconds.¡±

    This unreliable method was just as a means offorting the two girls.

    ¡°I know,¡± Mu Yiran finally said. With his cold voice lowered, he emitted a kind of sexy self-restraint. ¡°But if the purpose of this experiment is to test human nature or human will, then I think that this machine will produce an electric current at a controlled voltage that will allow people to remain conscious. It wouldn¡¯t only make people suffer extreme pain, but also keep people awake long enough to think about the trade-offs. This is a very cruel setting.¡±

    ¡°That said, maybe we can really try it,¡± Ke Xun said. Suddenly, he tilted his head and sneezed.

    ¡°Cold?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°No.¡± Ke Xun rubbed his nose and turned his face back, without saying that it was because Mu Yiran¡¯s hair was scratching his nose. If he said it, this person would probably refuse to allow him to get so close.

    ¡°Although we can try your method, the possibility of sess is unlikely,¡± Mu Yiran continued to say in a low voice,pletely unaware. ¡°If we take out everyone¡¯s reaction speed, even if the first few times were sessful flukes, I don¡¯t think the researchers would allow this experiment to have problems. They will eliminate the problem in time so that the experiment can proceed smoothly.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s likely that they¡¯ll destroy the phone?¡± Ke Xun asked thoughtfully. ¡°Then we just need to count to five or we won¡¯t need to count at all. One person could call to let go, and then we¡¯ll all let go together.¡±

    ¡°We still have the same problem. People¡¯s reaction speed can be fast or slow, and whether they¡¯ll seed will depend on luck,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anymore, and they fell into a long silence.

    After a long period of time, Ke Xun spoke again, telling Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan of the remedial n to shout let go. Finally, he added, ¡°Unfortunately, if our mouths are blocked, our voices will be blocked. If you can hum, do so. But if you can¡¯t speak, just count to five in your head. Although it might not work, at least we will have tried our best to survive and wouldn¡¯t die within one second.¡±

    Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan whimpered in the darkness.

    Ke Xun¡¯s voice had a smile in it. ¡°Student Xiao Li, you can think about it this way. Maybe you will really transmigrate this time. You¡¯ll transmigrate into a beautifuldy, and when you grow up, there will be a domineering prince who will love you to death and various types of beautiful boys will mor everyday to marry you. Then, your life will really have reached the peak, right?¡±

    Li Yaqing snorted twice through her nose and said vaguely, ¡°I don¡¯t want to transmigrate¡­or have a rebirth¡­¡±

    Ke Xun smiled. He raised his head against the wall behind him, tilted his face, and asked Mu Yiran, who was close at hand but whose face he could not see. ¡°Do you have anyst words to confess?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t speak, and Ke Xun no longer asked. Theboratory fell into the terrible silence that often came before death.

    Time passed, and death approached step by step.

    Finally, there was a torrent of footsteps in the corridor, unhurriedly walking towards the door of theboratories.

    Ke Xun stretched out his hand and urately found Mu Yiran¡¯s hand in the darkness. He held him tightly, tilted his head close to his ear, and whispered: ¡°Yiran, I don¡¯t regret entering the painting at all.¡±

    <i>How could I have met you if I hadn¡¯t entered the painting?</i>

    This was¡­hisst words? Mu Yiran¡¯s hand tightened over Ke Xun¡¯s. He didn¡¯t know whether it was him or Ke Xun who was holding on too tightly.

    Immediately before theb¡¯s door was opened, Ke Xun turned on the phone screen and ced it in front of the two machines.

    The faint light was engulfed in darkness, barely shining more than half a meter away, and so it was impossible to see anythinging in through the door. They could only hear the sounds of ttering footsteps, apanied by vague dialogues that seemed both near and far. It sounded very busy.

    Ke Xun stared in the direction of the sounds but couldn¡¯t see anything.

    Suddenly, he had a sh of inspiration. He wanted to take out his phone to turn on the camera, only to remember that he¡¯d turned on the phone¡¯s screen and ced it in front of the machines.

    Just as he was about to signal Mu Yiran to turn on his phone, he heard the tone of one of the faint voices suddenly rise a few decibels, and then the sound of footsteps ttered toward their directions.

    Ke Xun turned around and suddenly threw his arms tightly around Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran paused, and his brows furrowed slightly¡ªThis kid Ke Xun normally wouldn¡¯t act like this at a time like this. He must have a purpose in doing this¡ªWhat was he thinking, could it be¡ª?

    And then Mu Yiran was no longer allowed to think about it anymore. An irresistible force pulled him and Ke Xun from the ground and pushed them toward the two machines.

    The machines were already powered on, and the red, yellow and green indicator lights glowed in the dark. With the help of the faint light, Mu Yiran saw Ke Xun forced onto the chair on the other side of the same machine as his. A few belt-like things were buckled on them, firmly securing their bodies and limbs in ce.

    Some ¡°people¡± moved their heads so that they could look at the long electronic screens on the machine. A line of instructions were disyed on the screen.

    If one party lets go, the other party will die.

    When he could finally move his head, Mu Yiran saw Ke Xun turn his head to face him. He smiled at him, winked, and mouthed a word to him: Goodbye.

    Mu Yiran became apprehensive.

    Ke Xun did it intentionally! The reason why he hugged him under the nose of the researchers was because he must have guessed that, of the four people assigned to Laboratory C, the closer their rtionship, the higher the value of testing their humanity and willpower. This was why Li Yaqing was assigned to her best friendst night. Therefore, if these researchers thought that he and Ke Xun had a lover rtionship, the probability of them being assigned to the same machine would be higher.

    Why would Ke Xun want to be grouped with him in this experiment where survival meant killing the other?

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t need to guess carefully. He knew Ke Xun¡ªhe didn¡¯t even know when it started, but he knew this person¡ªKe Xun didn¡¯t want him to die. If he was grouped with one of the other twos, he would most likely die.

    So Ke Xun wanted to be with him, because he wanted to protect him. He wanted to personally force him to live.

    Even if he died, he would die in Mu Yiran¡¯s hands.

    This fool. Mu Yiran stared coldly at the cell phone screen not far away from him. The timer had already started. He and Ke Xun both had to look at the time the moment the machine started and let go after waiting five seconds. What a foolish method. Only a fool would think of such a foolish idea.

    The idea was so stupid that he wanted to beat him up.

    Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan still couldn¡¯t resist the fear in their hearts. They were so frightened that they were crying, but their sobs could not cover up the beep that sounded when the power was turned on.

    Beep¨C

    An invisible current that resembled electricity but was not quite electricity instantly rushed out from the end of the wire they were holding, instantly prating their whole body.

    As Mu Yiran had expected, this electric current wasn¡¯t enough to cause confusion, but the pain it produced in the human body happened to be stuck between ¡°unbearable¡± and ¡°pained to death.¡±

    It wouldn¡¯t kill you, but you wouldn¡¯t be able to stand it either.

    This kind of pain made the whole body felt like it was being hammered, burned, and acutely pierced by needles and bitten by ants. The flesh swelled in pins and needles, stinging, giving the sensation of thousands of ants eating at the skin, and the bones seemed to be fragmenting under the repeated blows.

    Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan screamed sorrowfully, and Mu Yiran heard Ke Xun roar, ¡°When I call let go, then we¡¯ll all let go! One! Two! Let go!¡±

    Mu Yiran knew why Ke Xun had to yell. Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan were crying so much that they could hardly see the screen of the phone and let go in time. From their screams, if there was no one to guide them, they would immediately let go without hesitation.

    Immediately after Ke Xun spoke, Mu Yiran let go. For a moment, he actually hesitated, fearing that Ke Xun wouldn¡¯t let go, fearing that this guy would act stupid again.

    But after another thought, he felt that, instead of dying in his own hands, what this stupid guy hoped most was to live with him.

    It turned out that he was right. Although Ke Xun was asionally impulsive, he was never reckless. He was actually a very thoughtful person.

    Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan continued to weep. But contrary to expectations, an excellent phenomenon urred. They all let go at the same time and so they all luckily survived.

    But immediately after, that force once again squeezed the wire heads into their hands, and the current once again shot through their bodies. Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan both screamed again.

    ¡°Let go when I call let go,¡± Ke Xun shouted again. ¡°One! Two! Let go!¡±

    Once again, four people survived by chance.

    The foolish idea was stupid, but it really worked.

    But Mu Yiran wasn¡¯t optimistic that this method wouldst all night.

    It turned out that this method worked for less than ten minutes. The ¡°researchers¡± seemed to have discovered the problem, and so they sealed all four of their mouths.

    Not only could Ke Xun no longer speak, he couldn¡¯t even make a sound in his throat.

    The spot where Li Yaqing and Cai Xiaoyan were had be extremely quiet, and the sounds of sobbing no longer sounded out.

    The moment the current came back on, Mu Yiran stared at the timer on the screen.

    This method was actually very risky. If they look at the watch one second slower, when they let go, someone would instantly die due to the other being one second slower.

    But now, Mu Yiran had no time to think about whether Ke Xun might be a second slow or fast. He could only choose to believe in him. They could only meet each other, or he could kill him head-on, or be killed by him.

    1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

    5 seconds.

    Let go!

    He couldn¡¯t hear anything next to him, and he wondered if Ke Xun was dead or alive.

    After a short pause, the current was switched on again¨CKe Xun was still alive, and so the experiment continued!

    1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

    5 seconds, let go.

    After a short pause, the current came back on.

    Another countdown. Let go. Pause. Current on.

    Time and time again, in a room without any sounds, the cold and cruel process was repeated again and again.

    Countdown. Let go. Pause. Current on.

    Mu Yiran could not hear or see Ke Xun in the darkness, let alone imagine what he looked like at this moment.

    But he knew that Ke Xun was working hard, struggling hard to live with him.

 Chapter 115: An Alternative Partnership Toward Life and Death

    <h4>Chapter 115: An Alternative Partnership Toward Life and Death</h4>

    The ¡°researchers¡± tirelessly made them press the power button every five seconds.

    Although the electric current only switched on every five seconds, the unbearable pain it brought remained in the body with no reduction, and so they were given no buffer during the short power-off time.

    This kind of agonizing pain needed to be endured, hovering at the upper limit of human tolerance.

    It was unknown how long this repetition went on, but it was so long that even Mu Yiran¡¯s body became soaked with sweat. Beads of sweat stubbornly rolled down his forehead. Suddenly, a few drops fell onto his eyshes, hanging before his eyes.

    He blinked, but to no avail. The sweat remained, as if deliberately trying to block his vision of the phone screen.

    Mu Yiran closed his eyes and looked at the screen with his other eye. Unfortunately, after a while, dripping sweat also smothered this eye.

    Everything became blurred, and no matter how he blinked, the sweat clung firmly onto his eyshes.

    If there was even one second of error, he or Ke Xun would surely die.

    Ke Xun¡­was trying very hard to live with him.

    Mu Yiran took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, let go.

    Pause.

    Would it be powered on again? It must. It muste through.

    The moment the current ran through his body, he felt relieved for the first time.

    Mu Yiran closed his eyes like this, dancing on the tip of a knife, counting silently, dangerously cooperating with Ke Xun to support both their lives.

    The sweat on his eyshes became ufortably greasy. Mu Yiran opened his eyes, and unexpectedly, the phone screen in front of him became clear again. But in the next moment, he saw that there was a low battery warning disyed.

    There was only 4% left of the battery.

    And dawn was still a long, long time away.

    Once the phone ran out of battery and shut down, what would happen to Ke Xun?

    It was impossible for Ke Xun to think that Mu Yiran had been silently counting down all this time, so he wouldn¡¯t use this method to continue on. Even if Ke Xun had thought about it, he couldn¡¯t be sure that he (Mu Yiran) would. Moreover, Mu Yiran also couldn¡¯t be sure that Ke Xun would switch to silently counting down.

    3% battery remaining.

    They couldn¡¯t make a sound, and there was no way to pass a secret signal. When the phone screen went off, there could only be one ending.

    What to do? Would it really end here?

    2% battery remaining.

    Through so many paintings, people kept leaving along the way.

    Mu Yiran thought that he had long be used to separation. He looked down on death, but at this moment, he realized that he was still unwilling to ept it.

    1% battery remaining.

    What would Ke Xun do?

    He said ¡°goodbye¡± to him.

    This guy¡­he had expected this long ago.

    The phone screen shed as the phone prepared for shutdown. In three seconds, the entire Laboratory C would fall into a deep darkness.

    Mu Yiran no longer silently counted down the time; instead, he firmly grasped the wire end in his hand.

    The extreme pain dragged him to the edge of death, and every microsecond felt like hell, splitting his liver and galldder and shattering his nerve-endings.

    It was very simple to escape. Just let go. Just let go, and he would be free, and he would live.

    Sweat drenched his body. Mu Yiran raised his eyes and looked into the dark void. Sweat continued to flow into his eyes, bringing a stinging pain, but that pain was minisculepared to the agony he was suffering at this moment. Not evenparable.

    Time seemed to slow to an extreme crawl. Every second stretched infinitely, slipping slowly and slowly, bit by bit.

    More than once, Mu Yiran hoped that Ke Xun would let go first, hoped and even longed for it.

    Death was better than this agony.

    But Ke Xun, that stubborn, foolish person, just held on like this. Not saying a word and never letting go.

    Even if he hadn¡¯t been gagged, that guy would definitely not say a word. He needed a spanking.

    Suddenly, being forced to kill each other became an active contest, to see who couldn¡¯t bear to admit defeat first, to see who was the stronger of the two.

    Mu Yiran suddenly felt that his kid might have wanted to pull him over a long time ago.

    However, as soon as he (Ke Xun) pulled him over, he (Ke Xun) wanted to die by his hand.

    Time was still passing slowly, and the agonizing pain continued and continued to umte.

    In the darkness of the dead silence, two people who couldn¡¯t see or feel each other, relying on the death current that connected their two lives, walked through the sea of fire in an alternative way of joining hands.

    After countless rebirths of life and death, amid exhausting overdrafts and weak breathing, the death current finally ceased.

    The sounds of footsteps shed away, and the straps that bounded his body instantly loosened. Suddenly, he could hear his own faint breathing in the silence.

    Li Yaqing¡¯s cry abruptly sounded. Howling and hoarse, she shouted incoherently, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to¡­I didn¡¯t want to kill¡­Why, why is this happening to me¡­¡±

    No one could answer her.

    Mu Yiran had never been as weak as he was now. Even the movement of reaching into his pants pocket to get his phone was a difficult struggle. His hand trembled so much that his phone nearly dropped to the ground.

    Brushing the screen, Mu Yiran turned on the shlight toward Ke Xun on the other side of the machine.

    That guy was in the middle of a yawn, but he seemed to be too exhausted and too weak, so he just opened his mouth and gave up halfway. With tears from the yawn staining the corners of his eyes, he turned his head with great effort to look at Mu Yiran.

    He didn¡¯t even have the strength tough. He only bent his eyes into crescents, lifted the corners of his lips, closed his eyes, andpletely copsed on the chair.

    Throughout the night, who could imagine what kind of pain they had experienced, and what kind of willpower they must have dredged up to manage to survive.

    Mu Yiran put down the phone and closed his eyes.

    The darkness was still this darkness, theboratory was still thisboratory, and the painting was still this kind of painting.

    But something, or some person, seemed to have changed.

    Mu Yiran was awakened by a pounding on the door. Wei Dong yelled out in a mix of panic, anxiety, and sorrow. ¡°Ke¡¯er! Ke¡¯er! Don¡¯t scare me! Come open the door, Ke¡¯er! You¡¯re okay! I know you¡¯re okay. Open the door, Ke¡¯er!

    Mu Yiran shed the phone again and shone it to the side, only to see Ke Xun still asleep, softened into a puddle of mud on the chair, like a husky flopped in slumber.

    Mu Yi stood up with great effort. The pain fromst night was substantial, and the lingering aftereffects remained on his body for a long time.

    He hobbled slowly to the door and took great effort to open the door.

    Wei Dong, Qin Ci, and Zhu Haowen stood outside the door. When they saw Mu Yiran, their expressions rxed at first, but they were immediately startled by his appearance. Qin Ci hurriedly asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? What about the others?¡±

    Wei Dong had already rushed into the room regardless. The moment he saw Ke Xun on the chair, Wei Dong roared and rushed over, knelt down beside him, and wailed, ¡°Ke¡¯er, Ke¡¯er, you wake up-don¡¯t scare me-I know you are not dead, you will not die-Ke¡¯er-Ke¡¯er, tell me you just fell asleep-you must have fallen asleep-wake up, wake up Ke¡¯er¡ª¡°

    ¡°I fucking¡­ just fell asleep¡­Get away from me, you¡¯re crushing me to death¡­,¡± Ke Xun¡¯s weak voice rang out from the top of Wei Dong¡¯s head.

    ¡°¡­¡± Wei Dong raised his face to look at him in shock, and then grabbed his face and turned it toward him. ¡°You¡¯re not dead?! You¡¯re not dead?! Fuck your uncle!¡ªThat¡¯s great ¡ªThat¡¯s great.¡ªWuwuwu, fuck your uncle¡ª¡±

    Soon after, Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen entered: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­cry¡­Your snot is getting on me¡­.¡± Ke Xun struggled to sit up straight, pushing Wei Dong back with shaking hands.

    ¡°You¡¯re so fucking stinky, but you¡¯re hating on my snot¡­¡± Wei Dong wiped his face and stood up. After taking a picture of Ke Xun with his shlight on, he said, ¡°Why are you so wet? So scared you peed yourself?¡±

    ¡°¡­Can you urinate so evenly all over your body?¡± Ke Xun leaned back on the chair, not wanting to get up. Resting his forehead on one hand, he raised his head slightly to look at Mu Yiran, who was leaning against the door frame.

    He couldn¡¯t help butugh. If they were going to be weak, then they will be weak together. Very good.

    To live, of course, they must also live together.

    Li Yaqing had cried and fainted. Next to her was the dead Cai Xiaoyan. After experiencing such pain, fear, and moral shock for two consecutive nights, Li Yaqing may havepletely copsed.

    ¡°Where is Zhang Hanrui?¡± Ke Xun asked Qin Ci, since they were both together in Laboratory Dst night.

    Qin Ci was silent for a moment before speaking, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here and go above ground first. You¡¯ll find out when you get there.¡±

    Seeing Ke Xun trembling and trying to stand up from the chair, Zhu Haowen stepped over to support him before Wei Dong could. Qin Ci helped Mu Yiran, while Wei Dong ced the unconscious Li Yaqing on his back. They all left the underground area, exited the gated door, and went to the canteen on the first floor.

    They saw Qi Qiang, Huang Pi, and Xu Zhen, all of whom were in Laboratory Ast night. Qi Qiang¡¯s head was bloodied, and he was washing the wound with water. Xu Zhen¡¯s elbows, knees, and legs were covered with bruises.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Wei Dong was surprised. ¡°Were you beatenst night? Wasn¡¯t it just noise in Laboratory A?¡±

    Xu Zhen¡¯s expression was very ugly. ¡°It¡¯s only noise, but the noise was so terrible¡­¡± She nced at Qi Qiang. ¡°The injury on his head came from hitting it against the wall because he couldn¡¯t stand the noise.¡±

    She didn¡¯t say how her injury came about, but it was clearly the same as Qi Qiang.

    ¡°It seems that Haowen¡¯er and I were lucky,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°Fortunately, Ke¡¯er had a good idea. Since we were knocked out, we didn¡¯t feel anything. What about you, Ke¡¯er? How did you get throughst night?¡±

    Ke Xun had no energy to answer. Hey down on the table and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. He could hear Mu Yiran, who was sitting next to him, speak briefly about what happenedst night, shocking everyone into silence.

    ¡°Where is the girl in the room with you?¡± Xu Zhen asked Qin Ci.

    Qin Ci¡¯s voice was low, and he only answered with one sentence, ¡°She was subjected to frontal lobotomy.¡±

    Everyone fell into a deeper silence.

    It seemed that Zhang Hanrui wasn¡¯t lucky. She woke up halfway through the night.

    ¡°Is she still alive?¡± Ke Xun suddenly raised his head and asked.

    ¡°Alive.¡± Qin Ci paused, then added, ¡°But¡­she lostnguage functions, most of her bodily functions, and the ability to think.¡±

    It was no different from a vegetative state.

    ¡°Dongzi, go down and carry her back,¡± Ke Xun said to Wei Dong. ¡°She¡¯s still alive.¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°I¡¯ll go. I just temporarily put her on the bed in theboratory. She¡­has incontinence.¡±

    When Qin Ci came back up with Zhang Hanrui on his back, the clothes on her were dirtied. However, among the remaining people, only Xu Zhen and Li Yaqing were women. Li Yaqing was still unconscious, and it was difficult for the men to help clean Zhang Hanrui up¡­They looked at Xu Zhen.

    ¡°I¡¯m almost dead myself, so why should I care about a half-dead person?!¡± Xu Zhen refused expressionlessly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s decide on the order of taking numbers right now,¡± a hoarse voice suddenly sounded. It was Huang Pi, the man who rarely spoke.

 Chapter 116: Reality was suddenly beautiful, and memories were forever precious

    <h4>Chapter 116: Reality was suddenly beautiful, and memories were forever precious</h4>

    Everyone calmed down unanimously and looked at this person with such low presence. Right now, no one could ignore him.

    The hoarseness in Huang Pi¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t a maic kind of hoarseness; rather, it was the hoarseness peculiar to old smokers. This, coupled with the low tone of voice, made him sound like some kind of weird owl.

    Since this person entered the painting, he¡¯d hardly ever spoken, let alonemunicate with others. At this moment, he suddenly faced everyone and spoke, so that they ended up paying extra attention to him.

    Seeing everyone was looking at him, there was no expression on his yellow-skinned face. He only focused on looking at Qin Ci. ¡°Let¡¯s draw lots.¡±

    Since a person who never expresses an opinion suddenly gives instructions at this time, there must be a reason.

    Qin Ci thought for a moment, but did not object.

    No matter the time, they will have to draw lots to determine the order of taking numbers. It didn¡¯t matter if it was now orter. If Huang Pi created discord, it would only cause trouble.

    So, he cut the paper that was leftover yesterday on the table into strips and wrote numbers on them.

    After he¡¯d pushed the chopstick holder with the papers into the middle of the table, Huang Pi took the initiative to reach in and take the first piece. But he didn¡¯t open it. He threw it on the table and looked at everyone gloomily.

    After everyone had drawn out their numbers, Qin Ci ced thest one in the tube in the empty seat at the table, representing Zhang Hanrui¡¯s lottery.

    Although she was no different from a vegetable at the moment, she was still alive. If she didn¡¯t enter the basement tonight, she would definitely die.

    As the saying goes, it is better to live than to die. As long as you live, there is hope¡­ even if the hope is really slim.

    Everyone opened their papers to reveal their numbers.

    Li Yaqing drew No. 1, which was equivalent to confirming that she would be in Laboratory A tonight.

    Qin Ci drew No. 2, followed by Ke Xun, Qi Qiang, Xu Zhen¡­ This time thest three unlucky numbers were Zhu Haowen, Wei Dong, and Mu Yiran.

    So this was equivalent to confirming that at least Mu Yiran would be in Laboratory D tonight, that crazyboratory that had performed the frontal lobotomy on Zhang Hanrui.

    Ke Xun looked at him and Wei Dong, but did not say anything.

    Breakfast was prepared by Qin Ci, which consisted of heating up the porridge and the mixed beans that Ke Xun had made yesterday so that they could fill their stomach.

    Cai Xiaoyan¡¯s death and Zhang Hanrui¡¯s experience left everyone in no mood to say extra words. Qin Ci called Zhu Haowen and Wei Dong and they all went to the archives room to bring in all the documents. Then, everyone sat at the table, going through files.

    Ke Xun flipped over and fell asleep until he was awakened in a daze. ¡°Get up and eat something.¡±

    Struggling to lift his heavy eyelids, his gaze met Mu Yiran looking down at him. Ke Xun moved his lips, saying, ¡°Ha, this your heart, ah.¡±

    ¡­Fuck, sleep had made his tongue all stiff.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s usually expressionless face still had no expression, but his voice wasn¡¯t as cold as usual. Instead, it was just calm, making it difficult for people to hear the emotions underneath.

    ¡°I said,¡± Ke Xin ran his hand over his face and struggled to sit up straighter. ¡°You cared about me. What time is it?¡±

    ¡°One in the afternoon.¡± Mu Yiran put a bowl of porridge in front of him.

    ¡°Why are you only eating at this time?¡± Ke Xun looked at the bowl of rice porridge that looked freshly cooked, and then he smelled a mushy smell.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Qin Ci answered with some embarrassment. ¡°This was the first time I cooked porridge and so I didn¡¯t manage the heat well. So let¡¯s just take this as a soup to drink.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Dr. Qin. It¡¯s much better than when I made porridge for the first time.¡± Ke Xun took up the bowl and drank nearly half of it in one go. ¡°My first time, I ended up boiling the porridge directly into crispy rice.¡±

    Qin Ci smiled slightly self-deprecatingly. ¡°Thank you, Your words are very effective inforting me. I think you¡¯re very skilled in cooking. This is rare in families with boys. When did you start learning how to cook?¡±

    Ke Xun also smiled. ¡°Dr. Qin, you must still be living in thest century. Now it¡¯s the men who have to cook. Girls are only responsible for beauty and eating.¡±

    ¡°It seems that your father also cooked in your house?¡± Qin Ci asked with a smile.

    ¡°The old couple used to do it together, now I do it.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t exin much. He only took a few mouthfuls to finish the porridge, put down the tableware, and asked them, ¡°What clues have you found this morning?¡±

    Qin Ci shook his head. ¡°Kang Lai is not in the staff files.¡±

    Ke Xun thought for a moment. ¡°Where are the files of the person who is the test subject? Have you looked for those?¡±

    Zhu Haowen answered, ¡°We didn¡¯t find any files about the test subjects. However, we did find a few documents that were burned in the toilet. There was half a ck and white one-inch ID photo on a piece of paper. We suspected it might be rted to the experiments because the photo was obviously on the upper right corner of the page. Usually archived materials have the photo in the upper left hand corner of the paper.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Where did you find it? I¡¯ll take a look.¡± Ke Xun stretched out his hand.

    Zhu Haowen looked at his hand, then raised his eyes to meet his gaze. ¡°The toilet squats is a pit on the floor. If you want to go look, help yourself.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun retracted his hand and touched his hair.

    The toilet in this research institute was just a pit, as it was many years ago. There was a partition in the middle. The pit at the foot was open, like a trench. When flushing, it rushes from one end to the other and into the sewer.

    This kind of pit was quite unsanitary. Dirt would umte where the water couldn¡¯t wash away, making it extremely disgusting.

    ¡°Who was so talented that they could find the paper in the pit?¡± Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help asking.

    The opposite Wei Dong raised his hand. ¡°My artist¡¯s eyes are sharp.¡±

    ¡°We suspect that the abandonment of this research institute happened suddenly,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°The personnel were evacuated very hastily, and it was toote to take away more important documents. Or in other words, it was impossible to take important documents out of the research institute, so they resorted to burning those deadly things.¡±

    ¡°If all these informal studies that the institute was engaging in were exposed, let alone whether the researchers would be subject to legal sanctions and public criticism, family members of those chosen to be experimental subjects would not give up easily on demanding recourse.¡±

    ¡°So for researchers, the most deadly thing was records of the test subjects. Destroying the archive was akin to destroying evidence of the victims.¡±

    ¡°In addition, the important thing is the experimental log. Of the four experimental areas below, only Laboratory D kept a part of the experiment log. I guess this was not destroyed in time. Looking at the other threeboratories, there were no paper records. They were probably burned like the files of the test subjects, thrown into the toilet, and flushed away.¡±

    ¡°So in this way, Kang Lai, the author of this painting, is very likely a test subject?¡± Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran.

    ¡°He may also be an external person who knows everything inside,¡± Zhu Haowen answered, ¡°For example, the person responsible for handling this matter.¡±

    ¡°Regardless of whether he is a test product or a handler,¡± Xu Zhen suddenly grabbed her hair and stared at several people with some signs of breaking down, ¡°we can¡¯t get any information about them anymore, right?! How can we find the signature? Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?!¡±

    ¡°The painting won¡¯t give us a dead end,¡± Mu Yiran said lightly. ¡°So, there must be a way to find a signature.¡±

    ¡°How to find it?!¡± Xu Zhen yelled, ¡°Is it possible that we¡¯ll have to get into the sewer to collect the archive fragments?!¡±

    No one answered her. There was a moment of silence in the room. Suddenly, Qi Qiang pounded the desk hard, gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Look! You have to find them in the sewer! You!¡± He pointed at Xu Zhen, ¡°Go look!¡±

    Xu Zhen was astonished. ¡°Why should I go?!¡±

    ¡°If I tell you to go, then just go. Stop your fucking nonsense. Don¡¯t make me kill you!¡± With a fierce face, Qi Qiang stepped forward and grabbed Xu Zhen by the front of her shirt, lifted her from her chair, and dragged her out.

    ¡°What are you doing?! You let me go!¡± Xu Zhen screamed, kicking Qi Qiang desperately. Qi Qiang pped her across the face and a broken tooth flew out of her mouth.

    ¡°Stop.¡± Ke Xun stood up from the chair, stepped out in front of Qi Qiang, and looked at him coldly.

    ¡°Boy, I warn you. Don¡¯t fucking get in the way, otherwise the knife in my hand won¡¯t have eyes,¡± Qi Qiang said, showing the knife in his other hand.

    It was a knife from the cafeteria, with a narrow de and a sharp tip. He¡¯d discovered it and hidden it on his person at some point.

    Ke Xun acted as if he hadn¡¯t seen the knife, and only stared coldly at his fierce eyes. ¡°The drain is too small for people to pass through. It¡¯s useless if you let her find it. Let her go.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s thin, she can squeeze through it. Get out of my way!¡± Qi Qiang said with a wave of the knife in his hand, making a gesture as if to slice Ke Xun¡¯s neck.

    This was just a threat. The actual tip of the knife was still two or three inches away from Ke Xun¡¯s flesh. Qi Qiang wanted to make Ke Xun retreat in fear, but unexpectedly, this kid didn¡¯t even take the usual path. He grabbed his wrist and with a tug, Qi Qiang somehow felt that his wrist no longer belonged to him. The knife fell from his weak hand, and his whole hand was shaking like it was just hanging on his arm.

    Ke Xun¡¯s movements didn¡¯t stop. He stretched out his hand and knocked on the tendons of Qi Qiang¡¯s elbow that was holding Xu Zhen. At the moment Qi Qiang lost his strength, Ke Xun dragged Xu Zhen from his grip, breaking her free.

    After pushing Xu Zhen to a safe distance and then kicking the knife on the ground away, Ke Xun looked at Qi Qiang¡¯s frightened expression. ¡°Stretch your hand over, and I¡¯ll re-attach it for you.¡±

    Only then did Qi Qiang know that this kid had dislocated his hand. He wanted to kill him directly, but he nced at this kid¡¯s physique. He was so tall and his reaction speed was very fast. His movements were also very neat. If Qi Qiang really tried to do it, he might not have an advantage. So he had to back down.

    Qin Ci watched the whole process and couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Xiao Ke¡¯s technique is almost as good as a professional osteopath.¡±

    ¡°They practice sports. Dislocations, fractures and injuries aremon, and they be doctors after so many injuries,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°What¡¯s more, the group of wild animals in their physical education department fights with foreign schools all day long. Knowing how to treat a dislocation will allow them to create a dislocation, and this trick is perfect for everyone.¡±

    Zhu Haowen nced silently at him. ¡°I couldn¡¯t imagine Ke Xun as a school ruffian.¡±

    ¡°Then you may have misunderstood him,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°Ke¡¯er never took the initiative to make trouble, but couldn¡¯t hold back everyone from the same school and from his department. You couldn¡¯t bow your head all the time and never look up, especially if the other school came to look for trouble. He couldn¡¯t leave his ssmates and brothers behind. He usually would go to support them, providing them with a lot of power, unless someone hit him on the head¡­sigh.¡±

    When Wei Dong said this, he couldn¡¯t help sighing, and didn¡¯t say more.

    Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t ask any more. They knew the meaning contained in this sigh.

    The lives of those normal people had long been far away from them. At this time, it seemed like those memories that were once considered boring, naive, or meaningless, now seemed so precious, peaceful and beautiful.

 Chapter 117: Pictures that Burn the Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 117: Pictures that Burn the Eyes</h4>

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can find any clues here.¡± Qin Ci looked at everyone. ¡°It¡¯s probably better to go underground to look for clues. I also personally think that Laboratory D is the most likely ce for the signature to appear.¡±

    Zhu Haowen gave a small nod. ¡°I think so too. Since the painting won¡¯t give us a dead end, and the threeboratories AB and C have no documents for us to search for clues, the most likely ce for the signature to appear is Laboratory D.¡±

    ¡°But how do we find it?¡± Xu Zhen clutched the swollen half of her face that had been hit by Qi Qiang. ¡°Haven¡¯t we already searched through it many times in the past two days? Is it possible that there is another floor underneath Laboratory D?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is possible,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°We still have a lot of documents in Laboratory D to look through.¡±

    ¡°Also, judging from the previous paintings, sometimes the signature would only appearter,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°It might need to be activated, such as through a certain behavior, reaching a certain ce, or figuring out the intentions behind the painting. Only then would the signature appear.¡±

    ¡°So, there must be something we haven¡¯t done, or behaviors we haven¡¯tpleted,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°Then what do we do next?¡± Xu Zhen, who had been strong and determined to take a leadership role, finally gave up at this moment andpletely pinned her hopes on these veteran members.

    ¡°Next, we¡¯ll go down to get our number,¡± Qin Ci said calmly. ¡°We¡¯ll hurry up and search for clues in Laboratory D before dark.¡±

    No one raised any objections. The numbers would remain the same regardless of whether they got it early orte, so they got up and headed toward the room with the iron fenced door.

    Ke Xun had slept the entire morning. At this moment, his physical strength had increased by a lot. Zhang Hanrui, who had been lying on her back near the table, opened her eyes and stared vacantly at the roof. Gone was her usual vividness and vitality; now, she was half dead, only breathing.

    Ke Xun took her phone out of her pocket and kept it with himself. It still had thest words she¡¯d left for her parents.

    Li Yaqing, who had drawn No. 1, cried as she grabbed her number card A. She¡¯d already cried so much that she had no more tears to shed and so she was just making a keening sound in her throat.

    Qin Ci, who was No. 2, also got the A card.

    Next was Ke Xun, who got No. 3. However, he didn¡¯t go forward to take his card. Instead, he said, ¡°Dongzi, let¡¯s switch.¡±

    Regardless of whether it was Laboratory A or B, they were significantly easier to survive than Laboratory C or D.

    Wei Dong was stunned, and shook his head. ¡°No, you always let me go first before. This time, big brother will be the dad.¡±

    ¡°Haha.¡± Ke Xun looked at him with an indifferent expression. ¡°You promoted yourself too prematurely. Like before, big brother can use force to make you take the number. Don¡¯t waste time. Get the number.¡±

    ¡°Ke¡¯er¡­¡± Wei Dong frowned, still resisting .

    ¡°This father, I want to die with my male god,¡± Ke Xun looked at him with a serious gaze. ¡°Please let me.¡±

    Wei Dong was taken aback. He looked at Mu Yiran, who was standing next to him.

    Mu Yiran was looking at Ke Xun, and Wei Dong couldn¡¯t tell what kind of look it was. He just felt that it was different than before. It seemed that something had changed between the two of them.

    Wei Dong understood Ke Xun, and so he walked forward without saying another word and pressed the button on the number machine.

    His number was a B.

    Ke Xun¡¯s brows finally rxed. With the knockout technique, Laboratory B could be regarded as the most harmless of the fourboratories.

    However, when Qi Qiang went to take his number next, he got the card starting with the letter C.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Qi Qiang shouted angrily. He threw the number card on the ground and stomped on it hard with both feet.

    Ke Xun¡¯s face wasn¡¯t very good either. This C card appeared early, which meant that Laboratory D would have more than just him and Mu Yiran.

    Because of the format of its experiment, Laboratory C must have a total of four people at a time. At present, there were only three people total in Laboratory A and B. Except for these three and the four in Laboratory C, the remaining three would be in Laboratory D, which meant that the third fromst, Zhu Haowen, would also be in Laboratory D.

    Unlike the 50% mortality rate in Laboratory C, the nature of the experiment in Laboratory D was still uncertain, especially regarding the conditions of how people would die or be half-dead vegetative like Zhang Hanrui. The more unknown it was, the more fearful it was.

    However, the three people who were assigned to Laboratory D disyed no fear on their faces, and they calmly took the stairs down to the underground experimental area.

    Qi Qiang, who took the rear, stared gloomily at Ke Xun, who was carrying Zhang Hanrui on his back. Suddenly, his eyes shed. He stooped to pick up his number card and followed them.

    Before dark, everyone gathered in Laboratory D. Some were in charge of rummaging through documents, and some were in charge of searching every corner and every brick.

    Ke Xun sat cross-legged in the corner, flipping through the stack of photos with his shlight.

    These photos were the same stack of photos he¡¯d seen the first time he¡¯d entered Laboratory D. The photos showed all kinds of handsome, elegant naked men, and there were even a lot of images disying males engaging in papapa. There were no protective mosaic, and so the images were very frank, very revealing, and very proficient in arousing the blood of any gay guys.

    ¡°What are you looking at so seriously¡­?¡± Wei Dong walked over and nced down, pretending to be the Monkey King, Wukong. But he was instantly blinded by the pornographic images. ¡°Ahh, my eyes¡ªmy eyes¡ª¡°

    ¡°Go away,¡± Ke Xun said without looking up.

    ¡°Fuck, what is this? You still have the heart to look at this stuff?!¡± Wei Dong felt as if his very close friend was finally letting his nerves get the best of him.

    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Ke Xun raised his head and looked at him apathetically. ¡°I think it¡¯s weird that this pile of things would appear in such a ce and on such an asion. Maybe they might provide us with some clues. It¡¯s just that their contents make it easy for people to ignore them.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that it might be used by the staff in their leisure time?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°If that person really wants to have this kind of pastime, then why not just bring a yellow book?¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°The photos are conspicuous and can be easily seen. Isn¡¯t this person afraid of being discovered by his colleagues? And we all overlooked one point. Even with how much more open society is now, true homosexuals would never dare take such things to work so tantly, let alone in a conservative era. To do so would be tantamount to taking the initiative to make others regard him as an outcast.¡±

    ¡°Eh?! That makes sense!¡± Wei Dong was surprised, ¡°Why haven¡¯t we thought of it before?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not surprising. After all, straight guys have never been in this kind of position and so you wouldn¡¯t be able to appreciate the psychology of people like us.¡± Ke Xun held up a photo and illuminated it with a shlight, trying to see through something.

    Li Yaqing was sitting next to him, and when she saw the picture, she let out a surprised cry.

    Ke Xun quickly put his hands down and turned to look at her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This is burning your eyes. Sister, you go over there. Stay away. This isn¡¯t suitable for children.¡±

    ¡°No¡­,¡± Li Yaqing said hoarsely, and then bit her lip in hesitation and embarrassment.

    ¡°Do you have something to say?¡± Ke Xun turned the pile of photos in his hand face down, and looked at Li Yaqing.

    Maybe it was because Ke Xun¡¯s bright eyes made it easy for others to rx their guards, or perhaps, the attributes of his being gay made it easy for the opposite sex to view him as bestie material. Li Yaqing finally pursed her lips and told him in a low voice, ¡°The picture just now, I¡¯ve seen it before¡­¡±

    Ke Xun was surprised at her answer. ¡°Really? How could you have seen this kind of photo before?¡±

    After he spoke, he turned the photo over and looked at Li Yaqing again. ¡°Do you mind checking again?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let me take a look.¡± Li Yaqing took the photo and looked at it carefully. Handing it back to Ke Xun, she said, ¡°I was right. It¡¯s exactly this photo. There¡¯s a heart-shaped birthmark above the man¡¯s belly button so it shouldn¡¯t be that I mistook this for a different photo.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask where you met this person?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen this person in reality. I just saw a photo, which is exactly the same as this one.¡± Li Yaqing became a little embarrassed. ¡°You know¡­We¡¯re all fujoshis¡­Sometimes we go to that kind of website¡­You know, that kind¡­¡±

    ¡°Gay website, understood.¡± Ke Xun nodded.

    ¡°Mmn¡­there are many pictures like this on that website¡­¡± Li Yaqing tried to act as natural as possible. ¡°This photo is one of them. The reason why I remembered this photo was because of the birthmark above his belly button. At that time, Hanrui also joked about this heart-shaped birthmark, saying¡­saying that if the Xiao Gong was the first to see this birthmark¡­he would be the first to react¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah-hem.¡± Ke Xun tightened his grip on the photo. ¡°So you remember clearly that this person is the same person as the one in the photo you saw before?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him.¡± Li Yaqing nodded.

    Ke Xun touched his chin and thoughtfully said, ¡°Many of the pictures on those gay websites are aggregated from various websites. Anyone who looks handsome, has a good figure, is sexy, or wears revealing, provocative clothing will be added to the website. Of course, many of them were uploaded by users. But why does this photo appear in this research institute as well as on a gay website? Is there a corrtion between the two?¡±

    Li Yaqing didn¡¯t know, so she had to remain silent.

    It was unknown when Zhu Haowen hade to stand next to him. Suddenly, he asked Li Yaqing, ¡°Which website did you see this photo on? Tell me the website¡¯s name.

    Li Yaqing froze for a moment, and quickly answered him, ¡°The website is easy to remember. It¡¯s XXX.GAYJJ¡­¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen expressionlessly said, ¡°I see. This website is one of the best maintained and most regted gay websites out there. But at the same time, it still couldn¡¯t avoid infringing on people¡¯s rights and allowing many hical pictures in it. The team collected from various channels, including old newspapers, magazines, celebrity shots, and these images will be scanned into the website for people to appreciate.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at him strangely.

    Wei Dong suddenly said, ¡°So, the picture these girls saw on the website was actually scanned in, and this one is the original. But what does this have to do with the current situation?¡±

    Ke Xun retracted his gaze, and told Wei Dong. ¡°It¡¯s rted. This at least proves that this pile of photos weren¡¯t taken of real people here. Looking at the quality of this photo, it¡¯s likely to be a copy.¡±

    ¡°Let me take a look!¡± Wei Dong quickly stretched out his hand. Ignoring whether the picture was unpleasant to the eyes or not, he carefully observed every pixel on the photo with the light of the phone. ¡°Yes! This is a copy! Damn, I knew it. See, there¡¯s a shadow in the upper left corner. This is because the photo was copied from some pornographic magazine. And if the photo was older, there would be undtions or wrinkles due to dampness or folding, resulting in shadows in these ces. Looking at the pixels, this is definitely a copy and not a live shot.¡±

    ¡°So, isn¡¯t it weird?¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°They¡¯re researchers at a research institute, why would they want to make a copy of this photo and keep it in theboratory? If it¡¯s a personal pastime, then it¡¯s quite tant. Therefore, putting it here must be a deliberate act with a certain purpose behind it.¡±

    ¡°What is the purpose?¡± After Wei Dong asked this question, he began to think deeply about it.

    ¡°I think,¡± Ke Xun picked up an oil-based pen that he¡¯d pulled out of the drawer, ¡°this stack of photos is likely to be rted to the ET exam mentioned in the research log. But no matter what, let¡¯s take precautions first.¡±

    After saying that, he made a few strokes and the naked man in the photo suddenly wore ck body-building pants.

 Chapter 118: Fearless Heresy

    <h4>Chapter 118: Fearless Heresy</h4>

    ¡°If we destroy these machines, what do you think the consequences will be?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°I guess there will be a bacsh,¡± Ke Xun answered.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t modifying the photo considered a kind of destruction?¡± Wei Dong pointed in concern to the photo that Ke Xun had turned unrecognizable.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be counted,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°I haven¡¯t changed its character. At best, I just put ayer on it, which can be wiped off with one rub. See.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°I¡¯m just worried about you. There are ways to deal with the other threeboratories, but it¡¯s only thisboratory¡­¡±

    ¡°Listen, Dongzi, if I also be a vegetable, don¡¯t hesitate to kill me directly. Don¡¯t let me live in suffering,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Saddened by this words, Wei Dong nodded absent-mindedly.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to see Wei Dong feel sorry for him, so he got up and put the photos back in their original ce. Then he moved next to Mu Yiran and watched him check the documents in his hands.

    Mu Yiran tilted his head and nced at him. ¡°You seem to have discovered something?¡±

    Ke Xun repeated the analysis he¡¯d made moments ago and then asked, ¡°What do you think these photos were used for?¡±

    Mu Yiran put down the files in his hands, looked down thoughtfully for a moment, and finally said lightly. ¡°If you don¡¯t specte about the experimental content and start from the photos themselves, how would you react when you see these photos?¡±

    Ke Xun tilted his head to look at him, ¡°You really wanted me to tell you?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t answer, nor did he look at him. Instead, he just lowered his eyelids.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to tell you, you can guess,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°But the thing is, this is something that I may react to, but not necessarily the others, such as those with normal sexual orientations. Well¡­that doesn¡¯t include those fujoshis.¡±

    Mu Yiran suddenly raised his gaze and looked at him. ¡°On the first night, Cai Xiaoyan, who is normal, went unscathed; on the second night, Qin Ci, who is normal, went unscathed; but Zhang Hanrui, who is a fujoshi, became a test subject.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°You mean, thisboratory experiment is aimed at homosexuals and fujoshis?¡±

    ¡°Or you can interpret fujoshis as a group of people that agrees with and endorses homosexuality,¡± Mu Yiran added. ¡°We can further generalize that the experiment in thisboratory is aimed at a group of people with nonconforming sexual orientations. In the background of that era, this would fall under the category of ¡®heresy¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the heterosexuals who entered the painting? Wouldn¡¯t they be unaffected by thisboratory?¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°In fact, isn¡¯t Laboratory B equivalent to being ineffective right now?¡± Mu? Yiran said. ¡°The painting would never give us a dead end, and the difficulty isn¡¯t necessarily tailor-made for us or for others who enter the painting. If you¡¯re lucky, you might pass without harm. If you¡¯re unlucky, you might not even get through the first day. Remember what I told you when you first entered the painting? There will be BUGs. What does this mean?¡±

    ¡°It means that the painting isn¡¯t tailor-made for us. It¡¯s set in advance and the setting of the painting won¡¯t allow it to change,¡± Ke Xun replied. ¡°So every difficulty that we face will either be deadly or will allow us a narrow chance to live. It all depends on luck. Of course, for the most part, the difficulty is just enough to allow us to live by the skin of our teeth.¡±

    Mu Yi nodded his head.

    Ke Xun sighed, then he sighed again and chuckled. ¡°Then we are very unfortunate. Why do you and I happen to be assigned to Laboratory D? It¡¯s as if it¡¯s by the painting¡¯s design.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s face became slightly stiff. He picked up the file in his hand and looked through it again.

    Looking at him, Ke Xun leaned closer and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Yiran, do you have anything you want to tell me?¡±

    Without raising his gaze, Mu Yiran said indifferently, ¡°What do you think I should tell you?¡±

    Ke Xun unexpectedly took the shlight from Mu Yiran¡¯s hand and turned off the light. The section they were standing in abruptly plunged into darkness.

    Ke Xun¡¯s warm breath grazed across Mu Yiran¡¯s ears and he whispered, ¡°If we¡¯re subjected to frontal lobotomy tonight, maybe tomorrow morning, we would never recognize each other again. Yiran, I think, life is short, especially for those like us who are caught in the painting. So, we should say what we want, do what we want while we¡¯re alive, so that we will have no regrets when we die. If we miss our chances while the other is still here, we will really regret it for the rest of our lives.¡±

    Mu Yiran was silent in the darkness. Ke Xun waited for him patiently. It was unknown how much time had passed, but just when Ke Xun was starting to feel sympathetic for him, secretly sighing that he shouldn¡¯t have embarrassed him and was just about to look for a new topic, he heard Mu Yiran¡¯s quiet voice. ¡°Ke Xun.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Ke Xun was suddenly a little nervous. Just after he¡¯d licked his dry lips, he sensed Mu Yiran¡¯s hande up from behind, and thennded in the back of his head.

    ¡­Rubbing his messy hair like one would a dog, Mu Yiran gently said, ¡°You talk too much. Hurry up.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    After returning the shlight to Mu Yiran, Ke Xun walked around and caught a glimpse of Wei Dong staring at his ck cell phone with a gloomy face. ¡°The power¡¯s running out¡­ I¡¯ll have to bring a power bank next time I enter a painting¡­¡±

    Ke Xun stretched his hand into his pocket and touched his cell phone, which was already dead. He suddenly remembered something and turned to walk back to Mu Yiran. He said, ¡°I think there¡¯s something very strange. I verbally unified the four of usst night, telling us when to let go. But it didn¡¯t take long for us to be gagged. After that, we relied on the timer on my phone. There was something as bright as a mobile screen in front of us, but why didn¡¯t those ¡®researchers¡¯ stop it like they gagged me? Why did they leave the phone all the way until it ran out of battery? If I had my phone plugged into a power bank and used it until dawn in one go, it would be considered cheating. But why wasn¡¯t it banned?¡±

    Mu Yiran raised his head to look at him, and nodded slightly, ¡°This is indeed a bit strange.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that these things can¡¯t see the light?¡± Ke Xun wondered.

    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be the reason.¡± With his chin, Mu Yiran gestured to the projector on the table. ¡°If they can¡¯t see the light, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use the equipment.¡±

    ¡°Is it because the background of this painting is from a long time ago, when there were no mobile phones, so these things don¡¯t recognize mobile phones?¡± Ke Xun said.

    Mu Yiran thought about it briefly. ¡°This may be one of the reasons, but I also have another spection about it.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Tell me.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°In this research institute, all the research projects are rted to people. To sum it up with an appropriate term, it¡¯s people-oriented. They study the most primitive, authentic and natural things about people, not about industrial products, technological products, and other products created and transformed by humans. So can we infer that these things are only sensitive to humans, and are not interested in other non-human materials except theboratory¡¯s own equipment.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case,¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes lit up, and Mu Yiran stared at him intently, ¡°I suddenly have an idea. Dr. Qin,e here!¡±

    Qin Ci came over. ¡°Have you found it?¡±

    Ke Xun took Qin Ci¡¯s shoulders and pulled him closer. Lowering his voice, he said, ¡°Tonight, you¡¯ll suffer a noise attack in Laboratory A. Yiran and I just spected that these things may not be sensitive to technological products, so I thought about something that can maybe help you withstand the noise. I just don¡¯t know if it will really work.¡±

    After speaking, he took out a pair of earphones from his pocket and stuffed them into Qin Ci¡¯s hand. ¡°My earphones are very soundproof. Do you have music on your phone?¡±

    Qin Ci looked at him with admiration. ¡°Xiao Ke, your mind is turning faster and faster. There are a few songs on my phone, all of which are slow-paced music.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s perfect,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if it can block the noise, but even if it couldn¡¯t, as long as there¡¯s music in the middle, it can buffer the harsh and monotonous sound. If those things are not sensitive to technological products, they shouldn¡¯t stop you from ying music. Do you have a lot of battery life left?¡±

    Qin Ci pulled out his phone and took a look. ¡°There¡¯s still 70% left. If I only listen to music, it shouldn¡¯t consume the battery too quickly.¡±

    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work, you let Deng Guang and the others use it,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Qin Ci nodded. ¡°For the sake of safety, I had better make some preparations. The girl surnamed Li may also need to make more preparations.¡±

    After Qin Ci left to fiddle with his phone, Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran again. ¡°I have another idea. Since those things aren¡¯t sensitive to technological products, let¡¯s make a video with the phone¡¯s camera through the night. Maybe we can capture something. What do you think?¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded his head.

    Ke Xun reached out to him. ¡°Lend me your phone.¡±

    Mu Yiran took it out, unlocked it, and handed it to him. Ke Xun pulled up the camera and took a video of the situation in the experimentalb. Simr to the first day, there were several gray figures in the room with withered and shriveled faces, dull, emotionless eyes, and mouth like ck holes. Their arms were stretched out, five fingers bent, as if struggling against or trying to escape something.

    ¡°Do you think these ¡®people¡¯ are victims of the failed experiments mentioned in the log?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°You said that these ¡®people¡¯ were the victims of the failed experiments mentioned in the experiment log?¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mu sighed, ¡°Ipared the numbers on their clothes with the test subject numbers mentioned in the log. Some of them matched but there were also some that weren¡¯t mentioned in the log. However, I think these people should all probably be test subjects.¡±

    Ke Xun took a picture for a while and suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯m going to the toilet.¡± He strode out of theboratory.

    Mu Yiran put down the papers in his hand and looked thoughtfully at a certain ce in the darkness. Suddenly, he heard Zhu Haowen¡¯s voice came from beside him, ¡°Homosexuality was considered a mental illness in the past.¡±

    ¡°So they detached the frontal lobe in an attempt to cure these ¡®mentally ill¡¯ patients,¡± Mu Yiran continued indifferently.

    ¡°Could it be that the painter was an anti-gay person?¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°That¡¯s why he painted Laboratory D in the most detailed way so as to express his aversion to homosexuals.¡±

    ¡°Or he might be homosexual,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°And he painted this to expose and criticize what was happening.¡±

    ¡°But I think that, due to the background era of this painting, it¡¯s impossible for homosexuals to speak out so brazenly for their own kind. Only those who are rebellious would dare paint something like this,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°In any age, there¡¯s no shortage of fearless heresy.¡± Mu Yiran watched as Ke Xun stepped in through the door, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

 Chapter 119: Unafraid of Life or Death, Unyielding to Fate

    <h4>Chapter 119: Unafraid of Life or Death, Unyielding to Fate</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Mu Yiran took the phone that Ke Xun had handed back and pulled up the photo album.

    ¡°Did you take a picture of that half one inch photo in the toilet?¡± Zhu Haowen looked at Ke Xun.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve ever yed games like escape rooms.¡± Ke Xun patted Zhu Haowen on the shoulder. Suddenly he thought of something, paused, and then put his hand down very naturally. ¡°The rule is that all seemingly useless or small and inconspicuous things may be the key to customs clearance, so I think that even if it is half a photo thrown in a toilet pit, it¡¯s best not to ignore it.¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked down at Ke Xun¡¯s hand, and then turned his gaze to the screen of Mu Yiran¡¯s phone.

    The photo Ke Xun had taken was disyed on the screen. The revealing portion of the photo had already been blocked with a mosaic.

    The half that could be clearly seen revealed an ordinary-looking man. Because the photo was too old and was photocopied, it was difficult to determine his age. However, he didn¡¯t seem too old. His hair was dense and fluffy, his eyebrows were straight, and the corners of his lips were curved in a shallow smile.

    ¡°Haowen¡¯er, cell phone,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Zhu Haowen immediately understood his intention. He took out his mobile phone, turned on the camera, and then the three of thempared the images on the two mobile phones, looking for a face simr to the one in the photo among the gray figures in the room.

    Looking carefully at each individual face was a really ufortable process. The longer they looked at the gray faces, the more terrifying these figures became. Because, while they were looking at these figures, these figures were also looking back at them with dead, vacant eyes that had lost all the emotions and vitality of humans.

    ¡°These people are probably all experimental test subjects who had underwent a failed frontal lobotomy,¡± Zhu Haowen said coldly.

    ¡°But remember, the operation on one test subject was sessful and he entered the second phase of testing.¡± Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran nodded. ¡°Test subject No. 282.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°None of these figures were him, and their clothes had no 828 on it either.¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Might he be outside, perhaps in the otherbs? Or in the corridor? Or even above ground?¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°We can¡¯t let go of the slightest possibility. We¡¯ll have to ask the others to help us look.¡±

    Ke Xun asked everyone to retake a photo with their mobile phones and then they searched the entire institute.

    Time waited for no one, and the sky was getting darker.

    They didn¡¯t bother with dinner. Even so, despite having searched all the way until 11 in the evening, they still couldn¡¯t find a shadow of that person among those gray figures.

    Mu Yiran and Ke Xun went to Laboratory B and knocked Wei Dong unconscious before returning to Laboratory D.

    Three people sat next to one another in the corner, like every night in the painting, waiting for death¡¯s footsteps.

    ¡°This is probably the most unsure we¡¯ve been,¡± Ke Xun said, breaking the silence, trying to make his tone as calm and rxed as possible. ¡°It seems like there¡¯s no way to avoid it, right?¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t speak, but he could feel the heat radiating from the person beside him in the darkness.

    This man had figured out a way to avoid death for all his friends, but he couldn¡¯t think of one for himself.

    ¡°Do you think Huang Pi and Qi Qiang are a bit weird?¡± Zhu Haowen suddenly said.

    ¡°Although Qi Qiang is fierce, he is a hoodlum at best,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°It¡¯s Huang Pi that¡¯s really difficult to deal with. He¡¯s the one that¡¯s really ruthless.¡±

    ¡°Why would these two people go to a ce like an art gallery?¡± Zhu Haowen questioned.

    ¡°I presume that Qi Qiang went in to steal things,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°It certainly wasn¡¯t to steal paintings but more like the phones or bags of spectators. But why was Huang Pi there? I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t ask any more questions, but went on to say, ¡°The two strange things about them are that Huang Pi suddenly proposed to draw lots today to get our numbers, and even though they both got Lab C, they weren¡¯t dissatisfied. I thought they would at least force someone to switch numbers with them. After all, Lab B is currently the safest.¡±

    ¡°Now that you mentioned it, it¡¯s true that these two people were acting a bit weird,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°When Qi Qiang drew the C card at that time, I remembered that he was mad and threw the card on the floor. Then I don¡¯t know why, but he ended up going to Lab C honestly. Could it be that he was bewitched like in thest painting?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Mu Yiran answered. ¡°I think Huang Pi¡¯s preferred number card wasn¡¯t originally Lab B. People like him are very vignt and defensive. There¡¯s absolutely no way he would allow someone to make him unconscious, so Lab B wasn¡¯t a ce he wanted to go.¡±

    ¡°Lab C was his ultimate goal, especially when he saw that Zhang Hanrui, who has be a vegetable, is also assigned the C card, which puts her even more in his hands.¡±

    Ke Xun frowned. ¡°You mean, in the experiment in Lab C, Huang Pi wanted to be paired with Zhang Hanrui? Since Zhang Hanrui could no longer move, once the power is turned on, Huang Pi would be the first to let go, giving him a 100% chance of survival.¡±

    ¡°This was clearly his goal,¡± Mu Yiran said coldly. ¡°The order of the draw this time should be exactly what he intended, so he didn¡¯t take the initiative to say anything afterward. If he drew one of the top numbers or got an A card, I think he¡¯ll likely show his true color and force someone to switch with him.¡±

    Ke Xun cursed in a low voice.

    ¡°As for Qi Qiang,¡± Mu Yiran continued. ¡°As a person of the same kind as Huang Pi, he guessed Huang Pi¡¯s intentions earlier than us, and after seeing Xu Zhen, who had also drawn Lab C, he gained more confidence in his own survival.¡±

    ¡°Women¡¯s reaction speeds are a little slower than men. Of course, the case of Zhang Hanrui and Deng Guang was an exception.¡±

    ¡°Secondly, Qi Qiang makes a living by stealing. He relies on his pickpocket¡¯s hand speed. Even if Xu Zhen¡¯s physical function is at its peak, I¡¯m afraid that she won¡¯t be faster than Qi Qiang when ites to hand speed.¡±

    ¡°After figuring this out, Qi Qiang happily epted the C card.¡±

    Ke Xun was silent for a moment before speaking, ¡°In that case, Huang Pi and Qi Qiang will survive tomorrow in Lab C.¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s no ident, it should be so,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t speak. It was unknown what he was thinking about in the darkness, but after a while, he suddenly turned on the shlight to illuminate the wall on the right. ¡°I¡¯m seeing some bloodied handwriting on that wall. What¡¯s it saying?¡±

    Mu Yiran was sitting on Ke Xun¡¯s right side, and so he turned his head to look. Suddenly, Ke Xun raised his hand and chopped at the back of Mu Yiran¡¯s neck, causing him to immediately lose consciousness and fall down. Ke Xun raised his arms in time to catch him .

    He gently rubbed the back of Mu Yiran¡¯s neck and then positioned him so that he was leaning against the wall.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zhu Haowen¡¯s voice came from behind.

    Ke Xun turned his head to look at him. ¡°Remember, Dr. Qin said that during frontal lobotomy, the patient will be kept awake so that the doctor can inform the patient of the next step in the procedure.¡±

    ¡°So you knocked out Mu Yiran so that he wouldn¡¯t be the first choice for experimentation.¡±

    Zhu Haowen gave Ke Xun aplicated look.

    ¡°Bingo. You can be next.¡± Ke Xun gave him a harmless smile, ¡°You¡¯re wee. You can just call me a young pioneer.¡±

    ¡°But Dr. Qin also said that if the patient doesn¡¯t respond, the doctor will wake the person up with electric shocks,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°The premise is that they use a conscious patient to perform the operation. After the operation causes the patient to lose consciousness, electric shock will be used instead of going with aatose patient for the operation. Zhang Hanrui is an exception. She woke up halfway,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Consider animal experiments. Don¡¯t they always pick animals that are alive and at least moving? When have you ever seen them use animals that seemed as if they¡¯d died?¡±

    ¡°But if all three of us fainted,¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°what if they ended up picking one person to do the experiment anyway.¡±

    ¡°Haowen¡¯er, you and Dongzi were unconscious when you were in Lab B, and you didn¡¯t see those ¡®researchers¡¯ wake you up to be experimented on.¡± Ke Xun looked at him with eyes that were like stars on a summer night. ¡°I would rather take a gamble. This Lab D may have the same rules. Will you believe me or not?¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked into his eyes. After a long moment, he said in a low voice, ¡°I believe you. But what about you, you can¡¯t knock yourself out.¡±

    ¡°Of course I can.¡± Ke Xun winked at him. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you that, regarding Boss Mu¡¯s technique of pinching people¡¯s necks to make them faint, I¡¯ve asked Dr. Qin in private about it and I¡¯ve learned it.¡±

    After speaking, he pressed his hand at a certain position on his neck. ¡°As long as this ce is pressed, people will pass out. I can find something to press against it and knock myself out.¡±

    ¡°You find the right thing first.¡± Zhu Haowen looked at him nkly.

    Ke Xun got up and moved a chair over. He took the mop from behind the door, stepped on the mop head, grabbed the mop handle, and inserted the handle into the gap on the back of the chair to fix it in ce. Finally, he took off his T-shirt and wrapped it around the head of the handle. He held it to his neck and made an OK gesture to Zhu Haowen.

    Zhu Haowen was a little speechless. ¡°Are you sure this stick won¡¯t kill you directly?¡±

    Ke Xunughed. ¡°I¡¯m an expert at doing something like this. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll angle my body and use the force of my body. Once I lose consciousness, my body will definitely tilt to the side without hurting my neck.¡±

    Zhu Haowen silently watched his smile. After a long time, he calmly said, ¡°Don¡¯t chop my neck. Pinch it instead.¡±

    Ke Xun rubbed his thumb against his fingers. ¡°I just happened to let you see this new method I learned. To be on the safe side, let me give ast word first. It¡¯s best to attach some kind of payment pin number to the treasure.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Come on. One nap until dawning right up.¡± Ke Xun stretched his fingers and pressed down on Zhu Haowen¡¯s neck. ¡°Good night.¡±

    Under this calm, warm, andmon greeting, Zhu Haowen plunged into the darkness of senselessness.

    Ke Xun ced him next to Mu Yiran and leaned him against the wall. Then he stood up and turned around.

    He wasn¡¯t sure whether this would allow them to sessfully escape the death selection in Lab D. If not, regardless of whether any of the three of them would survive tomorrow or whether none would survive at all, he wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be killed senselessly.

    When it came to death, he¡¯d experienced the horror of it the first time he¡¯d entered a painting, and he¡¯d also experienced the calmness of it now. At the beginning, he could onlypletely rely on Mu Yiran, but now he could fight hand in hand with him, even on his own.

    He was unafraid of life or death, but he also didn¡¯t want to yield to fate.

    Even if he was going to die tonight, he wouldn¡¯t go down without a fight. Maybe Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen would survive. Even if they didn¡¯t, there was still Wei Dong. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t die in vain.

    Ke Xun stood in the middle of the room, looking down, thinking.

    Suddenly, he had a sh of inspiration. He hurried to the desk, pulled out arge roll of transparent tape from the drawer, found a pen and a stic folder, cut it, and wrapped it with tape. The final product was a simple and rough mobile phone holder.

    Finally, he took out the phones from Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen¡¯s pockets. He¡¯d already asked for the passwords to unlock their screens beforehand. He started with Zhu Haowen¡¯s screen first, brought up the camera, turned on the shlight function, and scanned it around.

    The light was too dim, allowing him to see only one to two meters in front of him. He turned on all the shlights and used them to illuminate the desk andboratory equipment.

    Even with this, the light was barely suitable and the visibility range is only slightlyrger. Ke Xun fixed the mobile phone holder in a position that would record the desk and theboratory equipment.

 Chapter 120: Test Subject No. 282

    <h4>Chapter 120: Test Subject No. 282</h4>

    Breathing a sigh of relief, Ke Xun looked at his watch. With only a few minutes to midnight left, he walked over to Mu Yiran¡¯s side, sat down, and leaned against his shoulder.

    ¡°Big Boss,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°You are really such a tsundere. I gave you a chance to say what¡¯s in your heart, but you refused to say anything. Don¡¯t be like me. If you miss the chance to speak from the heart, it might nevere again¡­Forget it. I¡¯ll leave you with a smile and you¡¯ll realize it yourself.¡±

    After he spoke, he turned Mu Yiran¡¯s phone camera to selfie mode and tilted his head so that his head was touching Mu Yiran¡¯s head. Then, raising a big smile at the camera, he pinched a heart between their cheeks.

    The time on the phone jumped to 12 o¡¯clock.

    In the corridor outside the room came the sounds of footsteps.

    Ke Xun quickly adjusted Zhu Haowen¡¯s phone to the camera function and turned on the lighting. Then he walked to the phone holder a few steps away, put the phone on the holder, adjusted the angle, and walked back to his position. Positioning his neck to the mop handle, he held Mu Yiran¡¯s mobile phone in his hand and pulled up the camera.

    He wasn¡¯t in a hurry to make himself unconscious. He wanted to look through the camera lens first and see what kind of ¡°people¡± woulde through the door, hoping to find an important clue that might lead to the signature.

    The sounds of footsteps reached the door. A scratching sound rang out, and the door was pushed open.

    The camera showed a few gray figures. When they walked in, they made sounds of surprise. Then, two figures went and turned off the shlights Ke Xun had left on in the room.

    The shlights were something found in the research institute, so naturally they would be recognized by these figures, while the mobile phone confirmed Ke Xun and Mu Yiran¡¯s guess¡ªit was a modern technological product that was not recognized by the ¡°people¡± here. Therefore, it was left alone.

    The room without the illuminations from the shlights was almostpletely dark, and Ke Xun could no longer see anything in the lens of the phone in his hand.

    The light of the mobile phone was too weak and could only shine right in front of him.

    Fortunately, Zhu Haowen¡¯s phone, which was fixed near the desk, should be able to record something.

    Ke Xun turned off Mu Yiran¡¯s phone and used the mop handle to locate the acupuncture points on his neck.

    Perhaps as Qin Ci had said, he was born with sensitivity to strength and precision control. The pressure he felt on his neck was just right. It didn¡¯t take long for him to lose consciousness. His body leaned to the side and fell to the ground.

    Since entering the painting a few days ago, Ke Xun had never ¡°slept¡± so well.

    When he felt someone calling him, he opened his eyes in a daze.

    ¡°You seeded.¡± Zhu Haowen stood beside him, looking at him from above. ¡°However, my phone has run out of battery, and I can¡¯t call up the video you madest night.¡±

    Ke Xuny on the ground and took a moment to stretch his waist before finally sitting up. He raised his face and smiled at him. Winking, he said, ¡°Brother Loud, I¡¯ll tell you my brilliant n.¡±

    Zhu Haowen felt that this person was like a husky, happily squatting in front of him. Suddenly, he had the urge to pat his person¡¯s dog head.

    ¡°You¡¯d better solve it immediately,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice suddenly came coldly from the side. ¡°Otherwise, it may be you who will be resolved.¡±

    Ke Xun felt that the boss might want to get revenge for making him lose consciousnessst night, so he hurriedly got up. Taking Zhu Haowen¡¯s phone that had shut down due tock of power, he took the SD card out from it. ¡°I changed the storage path.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    Why did this person always have a lot of¡­ideas that were actually normal but often was unexpected to others?

    Ke Xun handed the SD card to Mu Yiran, who immediately switched it out with the SD card in his own phone and pulled up the photo album.

    The first thing he saw was the photo in his mobile phone. His and Ke Xun¡¯s faces upied the entire cover of the folder.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen, watching from the side: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t care about the details, just click on the video fromst night and take a look,¡± Ke Xun said.

    When the recording started, it was shaking due to Ke Xun rushing to the desk with the phone. The images stabilized and soon after, a muffled sound was heard nearby.

    ¡°That was me on the ground, unconscious,¡± Ke Xun exined.

    The screen was frozen on a dark background. Under the weak light, the only thing they could see was tiny specks of dust. From the speaker came the sounds of footsteps ambling back and forth, apanied by chaotic and unclear voices talking, intermixed with the slight sounds of clothes rubbing and of paper turning, as if work had just started.

    Suddenly, a gray human face appeared on the screen. He was too close to the phone¡¯s light, and so the bright light was reflected in his hollow eyes. His lips were dry and gray, and they opened stiffly, revealing a ck hole-like mouth.

    Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen were caught off guard and subconsciously jerked back. Mu Yiran, who was holding the phone, was calm as usual. He paused the recording.

    After carefully looking at this face, he brought up the photo Ke Xun had copiedst night topare. There was no simrity so he continued to y the video.

    The face shed to the side after only a few seconds in front of the camera, and the picture returned to the original static scene. After a few minutes, six to seven gray figures appeared among the dancing dust motes in their field of vision.

    These figures kept wandering around the desks and the experimental equipment, but they never made any substantial actions. It seemed that theck of a test product meant that they couldn¡¯t do anything, and they could only wander aimlessly around theboratory.

    Mu Yiran kept tapping the screen to pause the video, carefully observing the faces of these wandering figures andparing them to the photo. However, the lighting wasn¡¯t ideal. Because the light was too dim, they couldn¡¯t see the faces well enough unless these faces were very close to the camera lens.

    As they were stopping and ying the video, they heard Wei Dong shouting outside theboratory door. ¡°Ke¡¯er! Ke¡¯er! How are you? Open the door! Open the door!¡±

    Ke Xun went over and opened the door. Wei Dong was relieved when he saw that he was still ¡°alive¡±, and then he sighed again. ¡°Even if you¡¯re lucky enough to not die, the anxiety you suffer every day will shorten your life significantly¡ªHey, what are you doing?¡±

    Ke Xun grabbed Wei Dong¡¯s neck, pulled him through the door, and threw him to Mu Yiran¡¯s side. ¡°Yiran, let Dongzi take a look. These art designers are very sharp-eyed.¡±

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t know what was going on, so when Mu Yiran stretched the screen of his phone out to where he could see, he saw a big gray face on the screen. A pair of ck eyes that almost entirely upied the eye sockets stared coldly at the camera with deadly stillness.

    ¡°¡ªFuck!¡± Wei Dong jerked back instinctively. Clutching his heart, he looked at the expressionless Mu Yiran. ¡°¡­Big brother, at least tell me in advance. You don¡¯t have to make mischief.¡±

    ¡°Look to see if there¡¯s a face simr to the one in the photo,¡± Boss Mu said lightly, not wanting to make mischief with him.

    Wei Dong took the phone with trembling hands. He spent a long time preparing mentally before finally mustering up the courage to take a look.

    The other three people in the room didn¡¯t bother him, but stood beside him and waited.

    Wei Dong watched very carefully. Although his heart took a hit at first, he soon became immune after looking at it for a long time. His professional habit as an artist slowly emerged and his expression became more focused.

    After observing the video for a long time, Wei Dong suddenly raised his head. ¡°It¡¯s this person! The picture of the half face in the photo belongs to him!¡±

    Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, and Zhu Haowen walked around to look at the phone. The face on the screen was still blurred, and so to them, it was difficult to tell whether it was really the same person as the one in the photo.

    Zhu Haowen looked at Wei Dong cautiously. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s this person?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, trust me!¡± Wei Dong gestured to the face on the screen with great certainty. ¡°This person¡¯s face and ears are at least 95% simr to the one in the photo.¡±

    Ke Xun took the phone and clicked the y button. The video continued, and the face on the screen slowly slid past the camera. After a while, it appeared a little further away, swaying slowly and aimlessly toward the desk at one end and then toward the experimental equipment at the other end, and finally stopped there.

    ¡°He¡¯s experiment test subject No. 282,¡± Ke Xun suddenly said.

    When Mu Yiran heard these words, he turned to stare at the ce Ke Xun was pointing to, which was at the figure¡¯s chest. The gray shirt had three digits on it, but the numbers were too small and vague, looking like three tiny star-like mosaics, making it difficult to identify them.

    ¡°How can you be sure?¡± Zhu Haowen said from nearby.

    ¡°First of all,¡± Ke Xun said, pointing to the three numbers that were as small as a few pixels, ¡°the numbers on both ends are simr in shape. Second, the shape of the 8 in the middle is very familiar to me. I have a photo of a game, and my number was 384. The photo was taken long ago by a handicapped person in the team so it was very blurry. The shape of the 8 was simr to this. However, this is just my subjective judgment. The most important point is, my instinct tells me that he¡¯s number 282.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Your special intuition is the most subjective, okay,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Ke Xun¡¯s finger lightly brushed across the face of the presumed test object No. 282 on the screen. ¡°I think the look in his eyes when standing next to these devices is different from that of the other ¡®people¡¯.¡±

    Wei Dong studied the screen. ¡°¡­Dare to ask, where do you see his eyes?¡±

    ¡°Believe me or not.¡± Ke Xun raised his gaze to look at Mu Yiran. ¡°I think so anyway.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him and nodded slightly.

    ¡°This number 282 seems to be the only person in the experimental log record who sessfully underwent frontal lobotomy and survived normally,¡± said Zhu Haowen. ¡°He also went through ET exams, the content and the results of which were unknown.¡±

    ¡°He may be the key to finding the signature,¡± Mu Yiran said in a somewhat muted voice. ¡°I want to stay in Lab D tonight and stay awake.¡±

    As he said thesest four words, he stared coldly at Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun put his two front paws together like a New Year greeting and fired puppy eyes at Mu Yiran. ¡°Big brother, I was wrong. Please bring me along tonight.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯d better check on the number of people who survived today,¡± Zhu Haowen said quietly next to him. ¡°If only six people survived, maybe Lab D will be closed, thus preventing us from being able to find a way to the signature.¡±

    Wei Dong was startled and counted with his fingers: ¡°Lab C requires at least four people, then one in Lab A and one in B¡­We won¡¯t get the entrance card for Lab D! I¡¯ll see how Dr. Qin is!¡±

    After speaking, he ran out of Lab D.

    Ke Xun looked at Wei Dong¡¯s back and shook his head. Then he turned and looked at Zhu Haowen. ¡°Haowen¡¯er, was I too carelessst night when I pinched you out, thus causing you to suffer some aftereffects? If you want to continue to enter Lab D tonight, there is a fairly simple way.¡±

    ¡°¡­What way?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    Ke Xun raised his eyebrows. ¡°Let¡¯s not leave the undergroundboratories for the whole day today. Is that alright?¡±

 Chapter 121: The Cold, Self-Assured Big Boss

    <h4>Chapter 121: The Cold, Self-Assured Big Boss</h4>

    Zhu Haowen was a bit speechless again, not at Ke Xun, but at himself.

    This may be the repercussion of paying too much attention to the rules. Several days of selecting numbers to determine the group cements in the experimental area had boxed him into habitually thinking that it was the only way. In addition, in the previous few times, they still needed to leave the undergroundboratories to look for clues about the whereabouts of the signature. Now that they¡¯re already 70-80% certain that the signature was in the undergroundboratories, there was no need to go above ground.

    As long as they don¡¯t leave the underground area, their number cards would not refresh, and they wouldn¡¯t be required to get a new card.

    It must be said that, even if Ke Xun was given a dubious eye roll, he would still manage to surprise people.

    Wei Dong returned with Qin Ci and Li Yaqing. Although their faces weren¡¯t very good, at least they were still alive.

    ¡°Xiao Ke¡¯s method is very useful.¡± Qin Ci returned the headset to Ke Xun. ¡°I¡¯m d to see that you¡¯re all safe and sound. Did you find anythingst night?¡±

    Zhu Haowen briefly exined in a few words, and then said, ¡°So we decided to stay here from now on.¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s eyes moved slightly, and his voice lightened. ¡°I don¡¯t think Huang Pi and Qi Qiang will agree. Moreover, there won¡¯t be four people in Lab C. I don¡¯t know if this nonpliance will result in a bacsh.¡±

    ¡°Dr. Qin,¡± Ke Xun said, looking at him as if looking at a patient with seque, ¡°the two machines in Laboratory C both do the same kind of experiment. It doesn¡¯t matter if there are two people less, there is still one machine that can be used. This is not a vition of the rules.¡±

    ¡°Moreover, even if there is no one in Laboratory C, I think this is also not a vition of the rules. If we can¡¯t leave the painting within a few days, then people will die more and more. When there are only four people left, there will always be an experiment in aboratory that cannot be performed.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, we used induced unconsciousness to escape the experiment in the two Laboratories B and D, which resulted in something equivalent to ck of test subjects and unable to conduct experiments.¡¯ There was no bacsh, so there¡¯s no need to worry about the number of people.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Qin Ci nodded slightly.

    Suddenly, they heard Qi Qiang¡¯s voice at the door. ¡°What are you doing? Why aren¡¯t you hurrying up?!¡±

    Ke Xun raised his gaze and saw him and Huang Pi standing outside the door. As expected, it was Zhang Hanrui and Xu Zhen who died in Lab Cst night.

    Ke Xun turned to look at Mu Yiran and the others. ¡°Tell me, if these two people leave the underground area and return, whichboratory number card will they get?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the number card for Lab C,¡± Qin Ci said thoughtfully. ¡°After all, the otherboratories are still upied. If they both draw again, they can only fill up the vacancy in Lab C.¡±

    ¡°It may also issue number cards for Lab A and B,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°Even if the cards in our hands haven¡¯t been refreshed, the number machine might refresh anyway and reissue new cards starting with Lab A.¡±

    ¡°The worst oue is that, once someone leaves the underground area, the cards in everyone¡¯s hands will be invalidated, thus forcing us to take new numbers,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°What are you talking about?!¡± Qi Qiang looked at everyone warily.

    ¡°We don¡¯t n on going up and wanted to stay here instead,¡± Ke Xun answered him in a straightforward manner, not wanting to tiptoe around him. Regardless, he would eventually find out anyway.

    Taking into ount what had been said earlier, Qi Qiang could make a vague guess as to why, and his expression darkened with uncertainty. When he had a sudden realization, his face sank even more. Li Yaqing was standing by the door, and so he grabbed her hair and yanked her in front of him. Staring at everyone, he cursed, ¡°Fuck you all. I¡¯m going up to get a new number! If you dare y around, I¡¯ll kill her first and then I¡¯ll kill all of you.¡±

    Ke Xun could guess that Qi Qiang was afraid that if he didn¡¯t go up and get a new number, he would remain in Lab C, which would result in a life and death battle between himself and Huang Pi.

    Li Yaqing¡¯s scalp was about to be ripped off by Qi Qiang. Trembling with pain, she looked tearfully at Ke Xun. ¡°Brother Ke¡­Help me¡­Help me¡­¡±

    ¡°Qi Qiang, how much weight do you attach to yourself that you don¡¯t know how to calcte in your heart?¡± Ke Xun looked at Qi Qiang nkly. ¡°Not to mention whether it¡¯s you against all of us, even if it¡¯s just one on one, you¡¯re not my opponent at all. Let her go first, and we¡¯ll find a way out together. If we¡¯re all dead, you can¡¯t escape alone. You have to realize this.¡±

    The tense stalemate stretched on for a while, but finally, Qi Qiang slowly released Li Yaqing. Li Yaqing staggered as she fled toward Ke Xun and buried her face in his arms.

    Ke Xun held Li Yaqing while guarding against Qi Qiang. Suddenly, he felt that a piece of clothing was thrown over his shoulder from behind, and he heard Mu Yiran¡¯s low voice, ¡°Put it on.¡±

    He turned his head and saw that it was the shirt he¡¯d wrapped around the mop headst night. Then he looked at his naked upper body and saw that there was a gleam of water on his chest. It was Li Yaqing¡¯s tears.

    As Ke Xun threw the shirt over his head to put it on, he heard Mu Yiran said to Qi Qiang and Huang Pi. ¡°You have two choices. One, go up and get another card, where you might possibly be assigned to Lab A or B. Second, stay underground and continue with Lab C tonight. You¡¯ll have a good chance of survival in Lab A and B, but you should know that if you choose to stay in Lab C, I have a way for you both to survive. You can decide after some careful consideration.¡±

    ¡°What way?¡± Qi Qiang asked vigntly.

    ¡°If we destroy the machine outright, we¡¯ll suffer a bacsh,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°But if we destroy the machine with something that this world doesn¡¯t recognize, there might not be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Good idea!¡± Ke Xun instantly grabbed hold of Mu Yiran¡¯s thoughts. ¡°If we use a mobile phone to short-circuit the machine, it might explode, rendering the machines useless.¡±

    Qi Qiang¡¯s expression fluctuated for a moment before he finally said through gritted teeth, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll stay in Lab C, but you¡¯re responsible for destroying the machine!¡±

    Ke Xun nced at him and knew what this guy had done some calcuations¨CEven if the method of connecting a phone to short-circuit the power failed, he must have believed that his quick hand speed would save his life.

    Huang Pi, who had not spoken at all this entire time, turned and left. It seemed as if he was nning to go above ground.

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help being taken aback. He turned andined to the boss, ¡°He must be going upstairs to get a new number!¡±

    Without a change in expression, Mu Yiran stepped forward. Worried, Ke Xun made as if to follow, but MuYiran turned and said, ¡°Stay here. Two people might increase his vignce.¡±

    Ke Xun stopped and said, ¡°Be careful. That guy¡¯s no good.¡±

    Mu Yiran made a sound of cknowledgement and walked out.

    ¡°If the signature is really in Lab D, then what about the people in the otherbs?¡± Zhu Haowen shifted his thoughts to more important matters.

    ¡°What will happen if a person runs out of thebs halfway?¡± Qi Qiang asked Qin Ci with a gloomy face.

    ¡°This will usually result in a bacsh to that person, but this was just a rule in previous paintings,¡± Qin Ci replied. ¡°We haven¡¯t tried testing this painting, so we can¡¯t be certain what will happen if we leave our assigned space.¡±

    ¡°I think something would happen.¡± Zhu Haowen pointed to the timer on the wall. ¡°One minute before 11 o¡¯clock, this thing will start counting down. It¡¯s obviously to remind us to go back to our respectiveboratories. This is quite an obvious hint that our movements will be restricted.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­what can we do?¡± Wei Dong was a little worried. He would be in Lab B alone and had been able to survive it by losing consciousness once night fell.

    Everyone fell into deep thoughts. Thissted until Mu Yiran and Huang Pi returned from outside.

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran, who remained silent. He didn¡¯t know what Mu Yiran had told Huang Pi to convince him not to go up and get a new number. Now, all the surviving people were gathered in Lab D, and everyone began to discuss the issue of how to enter Lab D from the otherboratories.

    During this period, Ke Xun went to Lab C.

    Zhang Hanrui and Xu Zhen had copsed on the machine.

    It was unknown if Xu Zhen was too frightened, too hurt, or if the electric shock had caused her to rx her bowels, but the smell of urine and feces floated out from under her skirt. The slender, white cor worker had died without dignity.

    Zhang Hanrui¡¯s ck hair was spread out under her head, her young and beautiful life ruined by this inexplicable world of the painting.

    Ke Xun was no longer a neer to these paintings. Along the way, he¡¯d seen all kinds of death. The anger, the reluctance, the helplessness, these could no longer influence his emotions.

    But that didn¡¯t mean that he had be numb and used to the death of others. His father had told him that to respect life was to respect himself.

    Ke Xun moved Zhang Hanrui and Xu Zhen¡¯s corpses to the corner of Lab C, cing them with the corpses of Cai Xiaoyan, Deng Guang, and Zhou Youyi. Then he went over to Lab A, took the sheets from the cribs, and used them to cover the head of these corpses.

    When he turned around, intending to leave Lab C, he saw Mu Yiran standing by the door, quietly watching him.

    Ke Xun patted the machine next to him, gave Mu Yiran a smile, and said, ¡°I really hate and fear thisboratory, but it also gave me an unspeakable feeling. I suspect that I may be a deviant in my bones. Sometimes, when I think about thest time I stayed here overnight, I even have a little bit of willing satisfaction.¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyelids. Not responding to what Ke Xun had said, he entered the room and began to observe the machine with a shlight.

    Ke Xun took over holding the shlight for him. After sneaking a nce at the door, he asked in a low voice, ¡°What did you say to Huang Pi?¡±

    ¡°I just told him,¡± Mu Yiran answered as he continued to check the machine with his head lowered, miting public anger is the most unwise decision. It is absolutely impossible for him to leave the painting on his own. Therefore, he could either obey or he could die.¡±

    Thus, Huang Pi decided to be obedient. Ke Xun chuckled twice. His family¡¯s big boss was exactly this kind of cold, self-assured type.

    ¡°Go to Lab D. There¡¯s a toolbox in one of the drawers. Bring it over,¡± his family¡¯s big boss ordered coldly.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ke Xun took his orders and left.

    In Lab D, everyone had found a ce to sit, and they were all silent, with some caught in a daze while others were thinking.

    Ke Xun found the toolbox and walked out. Zhu Haowen got up and followed him.

    Wei Dong whispered to Qin Ci, who was sitting next to him, ¡°Comrade Xiao Zhu doesn¡¯t get it. He always plugs in between the two of them like arge 100-watt light bulb.¡±

    Qin Ci thought to himself that it was a good thing he hadn¡¯t inserted himself in the middle, otherwise he would have resembled a floormp.

 Chapter 122: The Magical Use of Mobile Phones

    <h4>Chapter 122: The Magical Use of Mobile Phones</h4>

    After Ke Xun returned to Lab C with the toolbox, Mu Yiran found a screwdriver in the toolbox and unscrewed the panel behind the machine, revealing the various circuits inside.

    ¡°If you damage or modify it, you¡¯ll likely receive a bacsh,¡± Zhu Haowen reminded as he watched from the side.

    ¡°No, I just opened it.¡± Mu Yiran put the panel aside. ¡°Neither the character nor the function of the machine has changed.¡±

    Ke Xun took out his cell phone that had long turned off due tock of battery. After thinking about it, he put it back in his pocket and went out to Lab D. He quickly called Qi Qiang and Huang Pi over, and then held out his hand. ¡°Both of you, take out your cell phone and bring them here. They¡¯ll be needed for the night.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    This man really was a male canine, not only guarding his children¡¯s but also his own things.

    ¡°How are you going to do it?¡± Qi Qiang looked at Mu Yiran as he hesitantly handed his phone over to Ke Xun.

    Mu Yiran took the mobile phone that Ke Xun handed him. Using the tools he¡¯d picked out from the toolbox, he disassembled Qi Quang¡¯s phone without mercy. Without even ncing at Qi Qiang, he just said lightly, ¡°If the lithium battery in the phone is deformed by an impact, its connected internal positive and negative electrodes will inevitably result in a short circuit. The short circuit will cause the internal heat within the battery to umte, resulting in a sharp increase in pressure that will ultimately end in an explosion. The lithium ions in the battery will also directly chemically react with the oxygen in the air, causing another violentbustion.¡±

    Qi Qiang¡¯s face of only a junior high school diploma carrier hadn¡¯t even had time to crack at the celestial script that came out of Mu Yiran¡¯s mouth, when he heard Ke Xun added from the side, ¡°You only need to put your phone inside this machine. When it explodes, the fire will destroy the wiring inside and the machine will be scrapped.¡±

    ¡°But can this be regarded as causing physical destruction to the painting¡¯s setting?¡± Zhu Haowen looked at Mu Yiran cautiously.

    ¡°We¡¯re not detonating the phone with our own hands,¡± Mu Yiran calmly replied. ¡°We¡¯ll set up a linkage system to let the ¡®researchers¡¯ do it themselves.¡±

    ¡°¡­Awesome.¡± Ke Xun gave a thumbs up.

    ¡°Mobile phones aren¡¯t something that can be identified in this painting, rendering it equivalent to a ck hole in the universe or in the air, invisible and intangible,¡± Mu Yiran continued lightly. ¡°As long as it is not directly caused by us, even if it destroyed the machine, it could be considered as having no connection to us.¡±

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    ¡°There are only two ces where the ¡®researchers¡¯ in thisboratory can use their strength.¡± Mu Yiran nced at the door of theboratory, ¡°One is the force used to open the door when entering, and the other is the force used to ce and confine the test subject onto the chair connected to the machine. Thetter is too arbitrary to be used, so we can only use the former, because the trajectory of the door being pushed open will not change, and so the direction of force will also not change.¡±

    Ke Xun understood what he meant. ¡°You want to create a mechanism that uses the force of those ¡®researchers¡¯ pushing the door open to deform the mobile phone ced in the machine, causing an explosion.¡±

    ¡°Even if it can¡¯t be impacted and deformed, it can be pierced directly,¡± Mu Yiran added.

    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked at him: That¡¯s right. He once said that he was an expert at pitting schemes.

    They moved the two machines as close to the door as possible and then collected everything in theboratory that could be useful, such as the supplies on the desks, the hangers behind the door, the mop handle, and the toolbox. They even tore Qi Qiang¡¯s jacket into strips to be used as a rope. Guided by Mu Yiran and with the assistance of the other three, Ke Xunpleted a simple mechanism that connected the door to the cell phone battery inside the machine.

    When the ¡°researchers¡± opened the door, the force of the door opening would strike one end of the mechanism, which would jerk the rope that connected it to the other end of the mechanism. This would cause the goat horn-like hammer to drop down and hit the phone battery.

    In order to ensure that it would be sessful, they conducted a few experiments without using the cell phone battery. After ensuring that when the horn-like hammer smashed down, it wouldn¡¯t use too much force, Mu Yiran gently and carefully made the final preparations for the cell phone battery.

    Inside the lithium-ion battery, there was only a thin piece of stic separating the two electrodes. If the battery was damaged and the sticyer failed, the positive and negative electrodes woulde into contact and cause the battery¡¯s liquid electrolyte to catch fire and explode.

    Mu Yiran made the skin of the battery as thin as possible and ced it at an angle that was easy to be smashed and deformed by aligning the tip of the hammer at the position of the stic.

    ¡°What if it fails?¡± Qi Qiang said through gritted teeth while staring fiercely at Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Then ask for more luck.¡± Mu Yiran indifferently left behind these five words as he walked out of Lab C.

    Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen returned to Lab D with him. Ke Xun pointed to the machine whose purpose they were still clueless about. Looking at Mu Yiran, he said, ¡°You said we needn¡¯t make any adjustments to this machine yet, right?¡±

    This machine was much moreplicated than the one in Lab C. It had several screens of varying sizes, and since there was no power at the moment, it was unknown what they were used to disy.

    Several wires protruded from the socket of the machine. The other end of a wire was connected to a device simr to a headband, while there were also devices that resembled clips, handcuffs, and sticks.

    How cruel it appeared.

    ¡°I think this machine shouldn¡¯t be fatal at first,¡± Zhu Haowen said thoughtfully. ¡°The contents of the experiment log indicated that No. 282 was still alive even after the first ET test, otherwise it wouldn¡¯t be possible for them to advance to long term observation.¡±

    ¡°Moreover,¡± Qin Ci added, ¡°If you want to destroy this machine tonight, I suggest that you don¡¯t do it too early for the time being. In case the machine has to be running for the signature to appear. Therefore, if the machine is destroyed too prematurely, there¡¯s a chance the signature might not appear.¡±

    If this was the case, there was nothing they could do. In Lab C, they could rely on the ¡°researchers¡± exerting force to open the door to destroy the machine. However, they could not replicate this method in Lab D because they could not be certain whether the machine would be required for the signature to appear.

    ¡°Then tell me, if this is the case, can we just use a mobile phone to blow up the tool for the frontal lobotomy? It would be less dangerous, right?¡± Wei Dong said in a moment of inspiration.

    ¡°The tools used for frontal lobotomy are all simple and small pieces. Unlikeplicated, electronically controlled machines, there must be spares. Therefore, destroying this set wouldn¡¯t be helpful.¡± Mu Yiran, who was studying the ET machine, responded, faintly extinguishing Wei Dong¡¯s aura.

    Ke Xun took a utility tool and started working with Mu Yiran. They removed one side panel on the machine, exposing theplicated wiring and mechanical parts inside. After careful inspection, they concluded that there was nothing that could be used in there and put the panel back on.

    After that, they could only sit quietly in the dark. There was no food or water in the basement, and they still had to stay the entire night.

    Everyone turned off all their mobile phones to save power. They also turned off the shlights, and so Lab D waspletely enclosed in darkness. Ke Xun sat next to Mu Yiran. They were both leaning against the wall, looking out into the ck hole-like darkness in front of them. Then Ke Xun shifted his hand, and when he made contact with Mu Yiran¡¯s hand, he held it in his own.

    Mu Yiran paused, and he was about to shake Ke Xun¡¯s hand away, but Ke Xun tightened his grip, insisting on holding hands. Then Ke Xun leaned in and whispered into his ear, ¡°Yiran, I don¡¯t have a good feeling about this.¡±

    Ke Xun had already shown several times in the past that his instinct was quite urate.

    Mu Yiran paused again, and asked quietly, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just an inexplicable feeling,¡± Ke Xun put his chin on Mu Yiran¡¯s shoulder. ¡°¡±It¡¯s not toward the others, it¡¯s me. My muscles are tense and there is a little feeling of being scared.¡±

    As he said this, he pressed Mu Yiran¡¯s hand over his heart.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­¡±

    Very good, the excuses are getting more and more impable.

    When Mu Yiran withdrew his hand, Ke Xun no longer chased after it. He just rested his head on Mu Yiran¡¯s shoulder, with the tip of his nose only a few millimeters away from his ear, no longer moving.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s neck became slightly itchy from the soft and messy hair on this man¡¯s head, but he didn¡¯t push him away. He sat motionless, letting him lean on him.

    Darkness and silence not only brought fear and loneliness, but also made people think calmly so that they could face the truth in their heart.

    It was unknown how much time had passed in this silent darkness, but finally, Mu Yiran sighed softly in his heart.

    In the end, it was impossible for him to be hard-hearted; in the end, it was impossible for him not to be drawn in and not to stumble.

    A night that was more tense and unpredictable than the previous few days arrived. Qin Ci took Li Yaqing back to Lab A, and Ke Xun followed Wei Dong to Lab B and made him lose consciousness before returning to Lab D. In Lab C, Huang Pi and Qi Qiang were silent.

    ¡°Have you thought of countermeasures in case a frontal lobotomy is forced upon us?¡± Zhu Haowen looked at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran.

    ¡°We only have a very short time to act,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°After the ¡®researchers¡¯ enter the door, they will take a few minutes to make preparations before the experiment begins. We¡¯ll use this time to search for No. 282 with our phone camera and observe his behavior.¡±

    ¡°I have a spection. Since the three of us are awake and the frontal lobotomy could not be performed on all of us at the same time, then one of us must be taken to do the ET test in the meantime.¡±

    ¡°The first step in the frontal lobotomy is to prepare an anesthesia needle and apply local anesthesia to the test subject. This will take up a part of the time. During this time, the ET test will beunched. We can then learn about its content and take the opportunity to find the signature.¡±

    .

    ¡°So, the time from the ¡®researcher¡¯s¡¯ entrance to the onset of the anesthesia is the most critical for us. The third person who isn¡¯t chosen as a test subject will be responsible for finding the signature as soon as possible and rescue the other two.¡±

    ¡°The biggest problem is,¡± Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen, ¡°we have less than an hour, and we have no way of knowing in what form the signature will appear. Therefore, our responses and judgements would need to be quick and urate, so as to decrease our chances of making mistakes. This mission absolutely allows for no mistakes.¡±

    ¡°Then, good luck to us.¡± Ke Xun grabbed Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen¡¯s hands and put their three hands together in a cheering posture.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun suddenly thought about what Mu Yiran had said previously, which was self-evident, making him feel awkward and embarrassed.

    [In Lab D, only people with herectical tendencies in their sexual orientation will be test subjects.]

    ¡­What was most frightening was the sudden silence in the room.

    Seeing that the other two had fallen into silence, Ke Xun remained motionless, pretending that he wasn¡¯t there, not even daring to breathe.

 Chapter 123: ET Experiment

    <h4>Chapter 123: ET Experiment</h4>

    The phone Ke Xun was using belonged to Xu Zhen, while the one Zhu Haowen was using belonged to Cai Xiaoyan. Meanwhile, Zhao Youyi and Deng Guang¡¯s phones were with Qin Ci and Li Yaqing.

    At midnight on the dot, the door to Lab D opened right on schedule, and the three of them quickly turned in their mobile phones and pulled up the camera.

    Six to seven gray figures walked within the camera¡¯s frame and began making preparations next to the desk and the experimental equipment.

    Ke Xun simply walked over with his mobile phone, looking for No. 282 in these figures at close range.

    He saw a ¡°person¡± using a syringe to draw in anesthetic, while someone was taking out the sharp cone needed for the frontal lobotomy¡ªTime was running out!

    ¡°Here!¡± Ke Xun was the first to spot No. 282. The person within the lens of the phone, like the other ¡°people,¡± had a gray, thin, shriveled, and expressionless face. The pair of eyes that had originally appeared gentle and spirited in the photo was now dull and silent, and the jet-ck eyeballs nearly upied the entirety of his eye sockets. Even if these eyes were directly facing the light from the phone Ke Xun was holding, they could no longer reflect any light.

    He lingered next to the ET machine, his nk face and eyespletely motionless.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Ke Xun asked suddenly.

    For some reason, he felt that his ¡°person¡± was different from the other figures.

    No. 282 did not respond to his question.

    ¡°Are these people test subjects or researchers?¡± Zhu Haowen suddenly asked.

    If they were test subjects, why were they conducting the experiments?

    If they were researchers, why was No. 282 a test subject?

    Mu Yiran¡¯s fingers flew over the phone screen, calling up several photos that he¡¯d previously taken in areas outside of theboratories. These were photos of all kinds of gray figures. After zooming in on the photos, he carefully observed the numbers on their chests. ¡°Researchers also have numbers on their chest. The only difference is that the numbers on the researchers are the job number, while the numbers on test subjects are the experimental order number.¡±

    ¡°Then, if No. 282 is a test subject, why was he able to enter theb at this time?¡± Ke Xun held up his mobile phone and took a picture. There were no other experimental test subjects in theboratory aside from the researchers and No. 282.

    Mu Yiran walked over to stand next to Ke Xun. He looked at No. 282 in front of him and then at the other researchers. Then, afterparing them to the photos in his phone, he pointed to the number on No. 282¡¯s chest. ¡°Look carefully. The numbers are different in style. The job number has a border and the font is an elegant ck. On the other hand, the number on the test subjects has no borders and the font is a in print. This No. 282 is a researcher.¡±

    This discovery caught them off guard; they found it iprehensible. What was the reason that a researcher would also be a test subject at the same time? Was he truly that dedicated to the research?

    But time refused to wait for them to continue their observations. Several gray figures quickly walked toward them. Ke Xun hurriedly pulled Mu Yiran to evade them, but after all, these figures were equipped with supernatural powers, and so they were caught within moments. Ke Xun felt an irresistible force grab hold of his arm and violently dragged him toward the ET machine.

    At the other end, Zhu Haowen was controlled by another force and firmly pressed onto the medical bed where the frontal lobotomy was to be performed.

    Mu Yiran wasn¡¯t selected, but he could only helplessly watch.

    ¡°Yiran¡ª¡± Ke Xun was forced to sit on the seat next to the machine, where his head, hands, feet and body were bound with leather straps. Apart from speaking, he could not move at all. ¡°Yiran¡ªNo. 282 must have a problem. I think he has the solution. He¡¯s different from the others¡ª¡±

    Ke Xun was afraid that he would be gagged like he had been in Lab C, and so he tried to share his thoughts with Mu Yiran as quickly as possible. Mu Yiran stood next to the ET machine, but he could not stop those figures¡¯ movements nor prevent them from turning on the machine. He watched through the camera as the headband was ced over Ke Xun¡¯s head and his fingers, chest, lower abdomen, and even his unmentionable, were all connected with wireheads. The screens of varying sizes on the machine lit up with images simr to graphs from an electrocardiogram disy.

    On the bed, Zhu Haowen was being pressed down as one figure swiped him with an alcohol swab while the other figure held an anesthesia needle.

    What were they going to do?

    How could they stop this?

    Where was the signature?

    What would they need to do for it to appear?

    Mu Yiran stared at No. 282 on the phone screen. No. 282 was standing next to the ET machine, facing the imprisoned Ke Xun on the seat. There was still no emotion on his face and eyes, and he was dull and silent.

    He was different from the others, so what was the difference?

    He had a solution, but what kind of solution did he have?

    Mu Yiran frowned, and he couldn¡¯t help but turned his attention back to focus on Ke Xun. The headband on his head was like the golden hoop around Sun Wukong¡¯s head, a rock monkey whose nature was free, happy, and unfettered. Until he became the errand boy of others and morphed into a helpless soldier. Otherwise, he would throw off his bindings, follow his heart¡¯s desires, and engage in the ardent affair of love and hatred.

    ¡°Ke Xun,¡± Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t help calling him. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll find the signature.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Ke Xun smiled at him. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t die immediately on this ET machine, remember.¡±

    As his voice fell, a dim light was suddenly projected from the projector on the desk, falling onto the wall opposite Ke Xun.

    Both Ke Xun and Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes focused on the wall, and even Zhu Haowen, while in the midst of being injected with anesthesia, struggled to pay attention.

    Was it the signature? Could it be the signature?

    With a click, an image appeared on the wall. It was an image all three of them had seen before from among the pile of photos in the desk drawer. The image was a full-length frontal picture of a half-naked man. The only reason he was half-naked was because his lower body had previously been cked out by Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    So the projector was used to disy images?

    But the photos weren¡¯t transparent, so how could they be projected?

    However, this may only be a symbolic act of rendering in the painting. The meaning it wanted to express was to actually show these photos during the ET test.

    ¡ªWhy do this?

    As Ke Xun was unable to make heads or tails of it, Mu Yiran paid close attention to the disys on the machine, which seemed to show Ke Xun¡¯s heart rate and other strange data.

    The clip-head-shaped wire connecting Ke Xun¡¯s heart seemed to be an electrocardiogram measuring tool.

    Why measure his heartbeat?

    Mu Yiran suddenly remembered what he¡¯d asked Ke Xun before: What was your reaction when you saw these photos?

    As a homosexual, what would your reaction be when you see sexually suggestive photos of the same sex?

    Mu Yiran vaguely realized something, but before he had time to think about it, he heard another click sound. The picture on the wall changed to another image in the stack of photos.

    If these photos hadn¡¯t been scribbled on by Ke Xun, perhaps they would conform to the gravity of the current situation. But now that these ¡°things¡± were showing him these images with the graffiti still on, it was as if they were showing Ke Xun the images inint of his actions, giving it a kind of indescribable¡­humor.

    As the photos switched from one to the next, Mu Yiran paid close attention to the frequency of Ke Xun¡¯s heartbeat, which always remained at a steady rate.

    Nearby, Zhu Haowen had already been injected with anesthesia, and several figures were prepping the surgical instruments next to him. However, Zhu Haowen¡¯s mind was still clear.

    ¡°Ke Xun,¡± Zhu Haowen¡¯s voice was a little faint, but still as calm as usual. ¡°If I die here, please go to my residence. There¡¯s a letter in my desk drawer, written to you. My address can be found on my phone.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Ke Xun said.

    With a click, the photo suddenly disappeared. A few secondster, an image appeared on the wall once more. This time it was in video format, disying a naked man with exquisite eyebrows and an provocative figure that kept making seductive movements.

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun felt inexplicable. ¡°What the fuck is going on¡ªAhh!¡±

    An unexpected electric current pierced his skin through the tip of his finger, his lower abdomen, and the sensitive part of his body that was connected to a wire. The current flowed throughout his body, resulting in such indescribable pain that, in an instant, Ke Xun¡¯s sweat flowed out. He felt as if he was on the verge of dying from the sharp pain.

    He let out a groan in agony, and Mu Yiran saw that his entire body had suddenly shrunk in on itself, as if his bones were being fiercely deformed at this moment. It was hard to imagine the extent of Ke Xun¡¯s pain, and Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t help but blurt out, ¡°Ke Xun! Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡­I¡¯m still¡­¡± Ke Xun was sweating, as if a bucket of water had been poured over his head. He opened his mouth to say more, but the pain was so strong that he could hardly make a sound.

    Mu Yiran frowned tightly. Withdrawing his gaze with forced calm, he fixed his eyes on the screen of the phone.

    The only way to save Ke Xun now was to find the signature as soon as possible.

    Through the phone¡¯s screen, No. 282 was standing next to the machine¡¯s disys, with a dull face slightly drooping.

    Was he looking at the disy?

    Mu Yiran had been paying attention to the frequency of Ke Xun¡¯s heartbeat. However, even if the picture on the wall was switched from an image to a video, his heartbeat remained unchanged. So why did he get an electric shock?

    Not because of his heart rate.

    It was the data on the other disys.

    Mu Yiran had also been paying attention to the other disy screens. He quickly recalled the data just now,pared them with the current data on the screens, and found that the data on one screen had a slight fluctuation.

    Obviously, this disy was the same as the one that monitored the heart rate. It must be connected to some physical changes in Ke Xun¡¯s body or within the body itself. The moment the video on the wall appeared, it had monitored a change in Ke Xun.

    What was it then?

    Dopamine? Adrenal hormones? Dtion and contraction of pupils? Or brain waves?

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t believe that Ke Xun would have any sexual thoughts under these circumstances, so the changes monitored must be a conditioned response that could not be controlled by the consciousness.

    This was the same reason that when hetersexuals were looking at naked photos of the opposite sex, even if they had no sexual attraction, there would be a sexual consciousness formed by logical thinking.

    This was human instinct.

    Unless Ke Xun became heterosexual, he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid being monitored for the changes produced by this reflex and would continue to suffer from electric shocks.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes were as deep as a ck abyss. Through the camera of the phone, he met No. 282¡¯s gaze.

    The ET test turned out to be Electroshock Therapy.

    Homosexuality was a heresy, a perversion, and a mental illness.

    This experiment was to use the violent means of electric shock to ¡°treat¡± homosexuality into heterosexuality.

 Chapter 124: Headstrong, Affectionate Lover

    <h4>Chapter 124: Headstrong, Affectionate Lover</h4>

    The headband on Ke Xun¡¯s head was equipped with earphones. Whenever the painful electric current rushed through his body, countless cold voices could be heard speaking through the earphones in tones of ridicule and disgust, filling his ears with insults.

    ¡°Dead gay, pervert, disgusting, inferior to pigs and dogs, beast, dirty, nasty, shameless, scum, dead gay, filthy thing, dead gay, die a terrible death, go to hell, jump into the oil pan and burn to death. What are you doing alive? You beast that¡¯s against morality and humanity. Dead gay. Dead gay, dead gay, dead gay¡­¡±

    The horrible words were more injurious than any wounds inflicted by an ax or a machete.

    Destroying the body was just inducing pain, but destroying the spirit and faith was cruel and inhumane torture.

    Such cold and hateful words trampled upon human dignity and faith. Eventually, one would be more and more convinced that one really was a beast, a filthy thing unworthy of being human and of having dignity, spurned and shamed by everything in the world.

    If this scorn and humiliation was tangible, then Ke Xu would probably be covered with thick sputum and drowning in dung. It was as if he¡¯d been stripped naked and thrown into the dirtiest of dirt, surrounded by the shaming expressions and gazes of the self-righteous men who watched him.

    Theyughed at him, pinched their noses, and scorned him like a puddle of dirt. They said, ¡°Dead gay, do you know to repent?¡±

    Ke Xun lifted his head from the filth and raised his lips into a half sneered. ¡°Go fuck your repentence. Laozi is born gay and will die gay and will still be gay even in hell. Even when the sky changes and the earth changes, Laozi will not change!¡±

    The data on the disy was vaciting frantically, while electric currents were constantly rushing through Ke Xun¡¯s body via the wire heads. His body shrank in pain again and again under the impact of the electric current, nearly shattering his bones.

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun, who was soaked in sweat as if he¡¯d just been fished out of the water. He watched as Ke Xun¡¯s fingers dug into the armrest, and he reached out and grabbed Ke Xun¡¯s hand, holding him tightly.

    On the screen, No. 282 remained standing beside the disy. Mu Yiran searched all the corners and details that could be found, but still couldn¡¯t find the location of the signature.

    On the other side, several gray figures held the tools for surgery and slowly gathered around Zhu Haowen. Theymunicated with each other as if they were doing ordinary work.

    Their voices were vague, and even at close distance, it was difficult to discern what they were saying.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyshes suddenly trembled, and his finger moved slightly over the phone. He clicked on the recording button and, facing the microphone, he said in a deep voice, ¡°No. 282 where is Kang Lai¡¯s signature?¡±

    After speaking, he pressed stop and then pressed y.

    From the phone¡¯s speaker came a string of vague and indistinct words spoken in the sounds of his voice.

    He didn¡¯t understand what was being said but No. 282 seemed to understand.

    No. 282 moved his chapped and gray lips, and made a low, indistinct sound. Mu Yiran tapped on the record button, and when No. 282 was done speaking, he tapped y.

    ¡°I¡¯m Kang Lai¡­ What do you need my signature¡­for?¡± No. 282¡¯s voice came from the speaker, gentle but deste.

    ¡°We need your signature to leave here,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°Leave here¡­Leave here¡­¡± No. 282, Kang Lai, spoke in a voice full of mncholy and sadness. ¡°Yes¡­you should leave here. He should leave here too¡­A pity, a pity¡­I couldn¡¯t take him out of here¡­¡±

    Through the hand that Mu Yiran was holding, he felt Ke Xun twitched fiercely under the electric shock, as if his bones had shrunk into a ball. Mu Yiran asked again in a deep voice. ¡°Kang Lai, where is the signature?¡±

    ¡°I¡­can write it on you¡­now¡­¡± Kang Lai said gently.

    He stretched out his thin, gray fingers and tapped them on Mu Yiran¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Write on him first.¡± Mu Yiran pointed to Ke Xun.

    ¡°I¡­I¡¯m not in a hurry¡­¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice was extremely weak and shaky. ¡°Hao¡­ Haowen¡¯er¡­ anxious¡­¡±

    The sharp cone used for the lobotomy had already been inserted into Zhu Haowen¡¯s eye socket.

    ¡°Please help.¡± Mu Yiran pointed to Zhu Haowen.

    Kang Lai turned around and gently walked toward Zhu Haowen. His fingers touched Zhu Haowen¡¯s chest and wrote the word ¡°Kang Lai¡± on his body.

    A dim light shed around Zhu Haowen¡¯s body. A picture frame faintly appeared in the light, and Zhu Haowen¡¯s body disappeared into the picture frame.

    Kang Lai came back and looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°Who else do you want to save?¡±

    But it was Ke Xun who spoke. ¡°Yiran¡­ask him¡­can he go to¡­the otherboratory¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran understood what he meant in a second, and he looked at Kang Lai. ¡°Could you please go to the other threeboratories and help rescue all of ourpanions?¡±

    Kang Lai looked at Mu Yiran nkly with dark eyes, and asked him. ¡°You and him¡­ are you in a lover¡­ rtionship?¡±

    This ¡°him¡± referred to Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun¡¯s neck and head were secured in ce by the leather strap, and so he was unable to look up to see Mu Yiran¡¯s expression and movements. His ears were also filled with the vicious voicesing through the headphones, and he could not hear Mu Yiran¡¯s answer clearly.

    Toward the end, he only heard Kang Lai¡¯s voice ¡°tranted¡± through the phone, sad and gentle and with a slight smile. ¡°He¡­very much like¡­my lover¡­as stubborn¡­headstrong¡­ and¡­ affectionate¡­ I hope you two¡­ cherish¡­¡±

    Ke Xun lost consciousness under the faint light.

    A low voice faintly came into his ears, like a cool wind in early autumn, blowing in a clear, deep voice.

    Ke Xun opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the voice.

    Mu Yiran sat on the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, his eyes lowered as he spoke in a low voice into his mobile phone. The brilliant light outside the window draped heavily over his body, making his pale skin and the snow-white shirt on his upper body reflect soft light.

    His hair was still a bit damp, as if he had just taken a shower, the moisture turning his eyes and lips more vivid and picturesque.

    Ke Xun licked his chapped lips, his throat dry.

    But he didn¡¯t make a sound. He simply continued to lie on his side like this, looking at Mu Yiran without blinking.

    ¡°¡­Mmn, I received the email,¡± Mu Yiran continued talking on the phone in a low voice. His eyes fell on the ss coffee table in front of him, where there was a transparent cup filled with clear water, reflecting the sunlight. ¡°¡­I will trouble you toplete the relevant procedures for me. I¡¯ll take a ne tomorrow, and will take care of the rted, follow-up matters such as the relocation of the grave. I¡¯ll do it myself¡­ Yes, mmn, ok, that¡¯s it, bye.¡±

    Mu Yiran hung up the phone, turned, and met the still-abed Ke Xun¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°You have to take responsibility for me,¡± Ke Xun said hoarsely, but it didn¡¯t prevent him frommitting a second crime. He wrapped himself tightly with the sheet to give off the pitiful appearance of having been ravaged by a cultured beast.

    The cultured beast picked up the water ss in front of him, walked over, and stood by the bed. Two buttons on the cor of his shirt were undone, disying a certain lustful asceticism. Ke Xun wished he could drag a pair of gold-rimmed sses on the bridge of his nose, and then pull this person into bed.

    ¡°Get up and drink some water.¡± Mu Yiran looked at him expressionlessly, taking what he said just now as farting.

    Ke Xun sat up and took the cup obediently, ¡°Are the other people okay?¡± He drank the water. In fact, it was an empty question. The others must be okay, otherwise Mu Yiran would not sit here so peacefully and kindly feed him water.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Mu Yiran picked up Ke Xun¡¯s empty cup, ¡°Do you still want to drink more?¡±

    ¡°Drink.¡± Ke Xun sat on the bed happily and looked up at him, eyes shining.

    ¡°Get up and get it yourself.¡± Mu Yiran turned and left ruthlessly.

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun fell back on the bed and turned over while holding the sheet. Half of his face was buried in the pillow, half of his face looked at Mu Yiran, who had sat back on the sofa. For whatever reason, his phone was vibrating constantly with new messages. With a sigh, Ke Xun asked him, ¡°Do you never take a break all year round? You¡¯re busy with business before you enter the painting, and after youe out of the painting, you¡¯re busy with business. Is struggling against death in the world of the paintings settled so effortlessly?¡±

    ¡°Otherwise?¡± Mu Yiran drew the brightly-lit phone, and his slender fingers moved over the screen.

    Ke Xun scratched his head, thinking about it.

    If entering a painting was given too much weight, how should life continue?

    Even if you had to fight to the end with the painting, you still had to manage your own life so long as you live for even a single day longer. If you allowed your real life to be ruined by the paintings, then what was the point of living?

    Ke Xun got up from the bed and went to take a shower.

    The hotel room was booked by Mu Yiran and so Ke Xun¡¯s clothes weren¡¯t there. However, the clothes on his body had been soaked with sweat, and so he had no clothes to change into after the shower. He came out with a bath towel wrapped around his waist, and Mu Yiran looked at him with a gloomy face.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t mean to seduce you. I just want to ask if I can temporarily borrow some clothes to wear.¡±

    Mu Yiran probably went through a very fierce battle between heaven and man in his mind, but finally he stood up with a gloomy face and took a pair of pants and a shirt from his luggage.

    ¡°Won¡¯t you let me borrow a pair of underwear too?¡± Ke Xun frantically probed on the edge of danger. ¡°I don¡¯t despise you.¡±

    ¡°Get dressed and get lost,¡± the big boss said coldly, trying his best to push back the dog¡¯s head.

    Ke Xun sighed and sat on the side of the bed to put on the pants. ¡°I have never tried such a sly operation, wearing pants without underwear.¡±

    He buttoned up the shirt and fixed his clothes. Then he looked down and said, ¡°¡­Would you like to lend me a suit jacket to block the protruding part?¡±

    Mu Yiran stared at him coldly, but when his eyes took into Ke Xun¡¯s appearance, he paused slightly.

    A person who was ustomed to casual andzy wear suddenly changed to a noble and elegant style. This contrast resulted in a great visual impact.

    Especially for someone like Ke Xun.

    Without the sloppy embellishment of loose cks, a pair of slender and straight but tightly muscled legs wrapped in stylized pants was perfectly presented to Mu Yiran. The pants made his firm and pert buttocks look more elegant and noble, looking extremely sexy. The smooth shirt entuated his tight and powerful waist and sculpted his straight shoulders, making them look all the more brilliant and inexhaustibly powerful.

    Ke Xun looked like apletely different person, a little less scattered and meaningless and a little more brilliant and¡­coquettish.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit wedged in.¡± Ke Xun, who was not used to formal attire, sat on the side of the bed and looked down at his crotch. The messy strands of hair on the top of his head fully demonstrated his ¡°awkwardness.¡±

    After Mu Yiran answered two more calls, Ke Xun walked over and sat on the opposite sofa. Picking up the refilled ss cup he had just used, he looked at him and asked, ¡°What happened with Kang Lai?¡±

 Chapter 125: I Want To Stand Behind You to Protect You

    <h4>Chapter 125: I Want To Stand Behind You to Protect You</h4>

    Kang Lai had a boyfriend.

    In the past, homosexuality was regarded as a heresy, a crime, and a mental illness.

    Therefore, they had to be very careful and could onlymunicate secretly and fall in love silently.

    On the road of scientific exploration, if there was ingenuity, there was perversion, and if there was a right path, there was a wrong way.

    In the era when frontal lobotomy was popr, arge part of it was applied to homosexuals. The ¡°normal¡± people weremitted to ¡°curing¡± homosexual ¡°patients.¡± After frontal lobotomy was gradually abandoned by the medicalmunity, electroshock therapy became the best tool for ¡°treating¡± homosexuals.

    ¡°He was reported. Every time he walked outside, he would be ridiculed, insulted, and even beaten by other people,¡± Kang Lai wrote in his autobiography. ¡°He could only stay at home, and even then, the doors of his house would be sshed with feces and swill. The hallway outside was filled with curses in red paint, scolding him and demanding that hemit suicide.¡±

    ¡°¡­At that time, the phone line to his home was cut off, and so I lost contact with him while studying abroad.¡±

    ¡°¡­One day, a few schr-like people found his home. They said they could help him and relieve his troubles. They asked him to sign an agreement to voluntarily be a test subject.¡±

    ¡°There was a confidentiality use in the agreement, but he still left me a secret letter, hidden in thepartment under the desk drawer of his home. Only he and I knew about that ce.¡±

    ¡°After I asked for leave, I rushed back to China from abroad. I searched everywhere I could think of, but I couldn¡¯t find him. I tried every means to find out and finally found clues that he was taken away by those people.¡±

    ¡°I thought that he would have left me a message, so I found the secret letter in thepartment¡­But I couldn¡¯t enter the institute as an outsider. It was a secret research base. I didn¡¯t know who it belonged to and I didn¡¯t know what projects were being researched there.¡±

    ¡°I had to find him. I already had a bad feeling, but I didn¡¯t want to believe it.

    ¡°¡­I took my doctorate of medicine certificate I received from abroad, pulled all the useful connections I had, and was finally able to enter the institute.¡±

    ¡°¡­I couldn¡¯t believe what I saw with my own eyes.¡±

    ¡°¡­This was inhumane. This was against society, a heinous evil experiment that wipes out heaven and humanity!¡±

    ¡°They bought babies from their parents at a high price and carried out inhumane experiments on them. They put soft, cute, harmless hamsters and little white rabbits in front of the babies, and banged metal objects hard enough to be piercing to the ears. They created sharp, irritating, unpleasant sounds until it scared the babies into crying.¡±

    ¡°They wanted to make the babies fearful of all white things, such as pets, clothes, tissues, and even white beards, by associations. This experiment was repeated again and again, just for the purpose of how humans establish fear.¡±

    ¡°¡­They conducted sensory deprivation experiments in anotherboratory. The purpose of these experiments was to verify that people¡¯s psychological growth was dependent on their environment. Once people were taken out of this environment, their psyche became deficit.¡±

    ¡°Those poor experimental test subjects who became guinea pigs, after they were deprived of all their senses, sessively experienced various problems such as confusion, emotional restlessness, and intellectual impairment. 40% of the subjects also had hallucinations, and even some hadmitted suicide.¡±

    ¡°¡­They were like the devil troops. They found lovers, couples, mothers, and children, and used electric current to do abnormal experiments. Under the guise of testing human nature, they satisfied their curiosity about human psychology.¡±

    ¡°¡­I couldn¡¯t find my person in Laboratory D. The experimenters told me that many people died from frontal lobotomy. They didn¡¯t know how the corpses were handled, but they had seen¡­ A handsome young man went from lively and stubborn to an emotionless walking dead.¡±

    ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t know how I managed to survive that period of time. I was immersed in extreme grief and hatred. I wanted to burn down this demonic, hellhole prison, but the remaining trace of reason within me told me that the greatest revenge would be to expose the perversions of these devils to the world.¡±

    ¡°I gritted my teeth and stayed there to collect evidence and gain first-hand information.¡±

    ¡°¡­ However, my identity as a homosexual was eventually exposed.¡±

    ¡°They sent me to the operating table for a frontal lobotomy. Fortunately, I was one of the few people who underwent the operation and remained normal.¡±

    ¡°So I was arranged to continue receiving electric shock therapy.¡±

    ¡°They wanted me to change and to make me feel ashamed of my identity as a homosexual, but how was this possible?¡±

    ¡°In any age, there was no shortage of fearless heresy. And I, I am willing to be the sacrifice of the ¡®abnormal love¡¯ of this age.¡±

    ¡°I had never been so brave, even if the electric current made my flesh and bones suffer from convulsions.¡±

    ¡°I became stronger than ever under their insults and trampling. I dered that I loved him. I sneered and told those ¡®normal people¡¯: I am homosexual. I will never back down and never fear, and never change.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Kang Lai delivered his evidence to the relevant departments and newspapers,¡± Mu Yiran said softly. ¡°However, the newspaper was instructed by the people above to suppress the incident, and they did. The research institute was seized and most of the materials and files were destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Kang Lai was still alive at that time. He wanted to find his lover¡¯s body; however, the research institute was closed and out of reach, and he was being monitored for fear that he would get the matter out, causing irreversible turbulence in public opinion. Therefore, his freedom of movement was restricted.¡±

    ¡°Constrained like this, Kang Lai could only rely on painting to resolve his depression and give him reason to live. The <i>Human Studies</i> painting was his one and only work.¡±

    ¡°He poured all his feelings and regrets into this painting, and what caused him to die in depression was that he was never able to find the body of his lover.¡±

    Ke Xun was silent for a long time. Holding the cup, he looked down at his blurry reflection on the water.

    ¡°Where was the original site of the research institute?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Square Box Art Gallery,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t find the remains or anything like that during the demolition?¡± Ke Xun looked up at him.

    ¡°A piece of paper was found.¡± Mu Yiran looked back at him calmly. ¡°It listed all the names of the deceased test subjects, as well as the ce where their ashes were buried and the storage number of each urn.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s the urn now?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Mu Yiran stood up and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ll go through the formalities tomorrow. When I was in the painting, I promised Kang Lai that I¡¯ll bury them next to each other.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t object, because even if he didn¡¯t bring this guy along with him, he would jump over by himself.

    Mu Yiran took a step away, intending to leave. Suddenly, he heard Ke Xun stand up. Taking a few steps forward, Ke Xun hugged him from behind.

    ¡°The road in front of people like us is actually very difficult,¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice came slowly from behind his shoulders.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°So, even if you refuse to lift your walls for me, I won¡¯t make it hard for you.¡± After saying this, Ke Xun suddenly released him. ¡°If keeping a distance can protect you, then I¡ª¡± He retreated to the floor-to-ceiling window. When Mu Yiran turned his head to look, he saw him framed by the sunlight, raising a wide smile at him. ¡°I am willing to stand this far behind you to protect you well.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him. The sunlight draped over him, making him look sun-drenched in warmth.

    Mu Yiran looked at him for a long time, and suddenly moved his long legs, walking up to him in slow, casual strides.

    ¡°Ke Xun.¡± There was a subtle maism in his cold voice. ¡°You,¡± he said, raising his hand to hold Ke Xun¡¯s chin with slender fingers, ¡°talk too much.¡±

    Ke Xun was pressed against the windowpane, his eyes wide open.

    A timely knock sounded at the door, and Mu Yiran let go of his chin. While doing the buttons on his cuffs, he turned to open the door.

    It was Wei Dong and Qin Ci. They seemed to have just woken up and taken a shower, still a little tired and a little damp.

    ¡°Is Ke¡¯er awake?¡± Wei Dong entered the room and looked at the bed. ¡°Huh, where is he?¡±

    He looked around, nced at the man standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, and asked Mu Yiran, ¡°Is this your friend?¡±

    Mu Yiran spared Wei Dong a single nce, opted to ignore him, and turned around to answer a phone call.

    Qin Ci looked at Ke Xun for a moment and finally reacted. ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t even recognize Xiao Ke, wearing a suit was like changing a person.¡±

    Wei Dong was startled. ¡°Fuck! You¡¯re Ke¡¯er?! Fuck! What are you doing?! Have you been possessed?! What the fuck are you wearing?! Are you changing to the office seduction route?¡±

    ¡°¡­Shut up.¡± Ke Xun tore himself away from the French window and brushed his fingers over his chin, which still carried the breath of Mu Yiran. He was still in a dreamlike trance. ¡°Then what¡­Are you hungry for dinner? Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Wei Dong rubbed his stomach. ¡°This father has never eaten in such a high-ss hotel. I haven¡¯t even eaten for a whole day so let¡¯s hurry up.¡±

    Ke Xun stepped forward, with his head still in the clouds. He stopped in front of Mu Yiran and looked at him dumbfoundedly. ¡°I¡¯ll treat.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll treat.¡± Mu Yiran looked at him and his lips lifted slightly. ¡°What do you want to eat?¡±

    Ke Xun became even more confused and couldn¡¯t speak for a long time.

    ¡°What?¡± Mu Yiran buttoned up the second button on his cor and continued to look at him as if there was all the time in the world. ¡°Don¡¯t you usually talk a lot?¡±

    ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Ke Xun scratched his head.

    It wasn¡¯t that he was too stupefied but that the enemy¡¯s offensive was simply too strong¡­

    They went to the next two rooms to wake up the still sleeping Li Yaqing and the just-showered Zhu Haowen. After leaving the painting, Qi Qiang and Huang Pi had disappeared, and Qin Ci wasn¡¯t so kind as to chase after others.

    Although Zhu Haowen¡¯s brain was almost pierced by a surgical awl in the painting, this minor injury was weakened once he left the painting, leaving almost no traces behind. Therefore, after some sleep, he was able to recover enough to sit in the hotel restaurant with everyone else.

    Qin Ci told Li Yaqing about the follow-up precautions, and Ke Xun also asked her to take Zhang Hanrui¡¯s phone to her parents.

    During the meal, Ke Xun remembered to ask Zhu Haowen, ¡°There¡¯s a letter you wrote to me in your drawer. What did you write?¡±

    Zhu Haowen picked up a piece of vegetables, his face expressionless. ¡°Some personal arrangements that I could only rely on you toplete.¡±

    ¡°Then what kind of letter did you write? Tell me now. I¡¯ll record it down if it¡¯s impossible to send a Wechat message,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Zhu Haowen looked down at the tip of his chopsticks. ¡°Without that letter, Kang Li would never have been able to reunite with his lover once more. When the memory fades, when the phone is damaged, when electronic data disappears, a letter would still remain.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    The author has something to say:

    The four experiments described in this article have all existed in history. Of course, the details and process of the experiments have been exaggerated through spiritual dissimtion and dramatic rendering, but perhaps the cruelty and abnormality of the nature of these experiments described herein could not evenpare to the horror of them in reality.

    Human studies is the study of human beings, and perhaps the most difficult one in the world. After all, human nature isplex and will always refresh our cognition and three views in different fields and stages.

 Chapter 126: Corgi Is a Stray Dog

    <h4>Chapter 126: Corgi Is a Stray Dog</h4>

    After helping Kang Lai and his lover reunite in the grave, due to Li Yaqing¡¯s begging, Ke Xun apanied her to visit Li Yaqing and Zhao Youyi¡¯s home. By the time these were allpleted, it was already a weekter. Once Ke Xun returned to his home in Z City, he slept for an entire day.

    After waking up, he started cleaning.

    Yes, life had to go on, right?

    His empty house wasn¡¯t difficult to clean up. Therge pieces of furniture consisted of only a bed, a dining table, aputer desk, and a set ofzy couches. The wardrobe was wall-mounted. After wiping the cab doors, the tables, the ss windows, and the doors, he dragged a rag over the floors in all the rooms. Afterward, he removed the curtains and sofa covers and threw them into the washing machine.

    Then, he went to the supermarket, bought various items, and went back home to cook.

    Sweet and sour short ribs, ck pepper meat, kung pao shrimps, eight-treasure tofu, fresh bamboo shoots with butter, peaches in soy sauce, and a soup.

    After setting up a table full of dishes, he sent Wei Dong a Wechat message, ¡°Come out and eat.¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Wei Dong responded quickly. ¡°You should have told me half an hour ago, and I¡¯ll be sitting at your table right now! But now I¡¯m at my grandma¡¯s ce, and the food¡¯s already on the table. It won¡¯t look good if I leave. I¡¯ll eat with you tomorrow. You can prepare a meal fit for royalties for me.¡±

    Ke Xun put down the phone, feeling confused. Before cooking, he should have sent a message to Wei Dong. Everything was ready now. Even if Wei Dong coulde over, by the time he got here, the food would be cold.

    Scratching his head, he filled a bowl full of rice and sat down at the table.

    Clean white tabletops, clean white bowls and dishes, clean white hot meals, and empty clean white rooms.

    Ke Xun served himself some vegetables. There were six different dishes and one soup, creating an array of red, green and yellow. The intense colors in some tes made the clean white all the more apparent.

    After eating, he tidied up and yed on his phone on the sofa.

    Hisst Weibo post was published before he¡¯d entered thest painting. Behind the work-rted post Wei Dong had shared was a photo of the Square Box Art Gallery and a single sentence: I¡¯m going in. Good bye.

    Fortunately, this sentence didn¡¯t be thest message of his life. The timeline of his Weibo could continue to extend¡­for a while longer.

    Ke Xun called up the camera, snapped a photo of the sunlight on the clean wooden floor, and uploaded it to Weibo.

    <i>Corgi is a stray dog:</i> The world is stable, and the years are peaceful.[smile]

    Very soon after it was sent, it garnered more than a dozenments.

    At first, Ke Xun thought that he¡¯d read it wrong. Usually his post would only result in one or two replies from friends he knew in reality. Aside from this, most of his posts had 0ments, just like all the posts made by transparent, ordinary people on the inte.

    When he clicked on it, he saw that the firstment came from ¡°Defending_masses.¡±

    <i>Defending_Masses:</i> It¡¯s already 8012. Your ancient chicken soup has already gotten stale, right?

    .

    The next one was from a gym buddy.

    <i>Exercising makes me abnormal:</i> Brother, since you have time to hide at home and talk nonsense,e and take a look at this ce.

    Next werements from people he didn¡¯t know.

    <i>Piapiapia:</i> Oh my god, the little brother updated his blog. Requesting a picture.

    <i>Did the idol marry me today:</i> Since you¡¯re fine, then the day is full of sunshine.[Dog head]

    <i>A Mouthful of Tenderness:</i> Little brother, you¡¯re so handsome. Requesting a mutual follow~

    <i>Too handsome to close his legs:</i> Handsome, where¡¯s your boyfriend? [Smiling quietly]

    <i>Everyone I follow is handsome:</i> From the angle and the height of the photo, the person taking the picture should be lying in bed or on the sofa, and judging from the brightness of the sunlight on the floor, the person taking the picture should be in a very good mood. Thebination of the smoothness of the floor and the angle of the sunlight echoed the photographer¡¯s state ofziness, satisfaction, happiness, and contentment. Therefore, we know that the poster and his boyfriend are resting mid-way. [Dog head]

    The next reply:

    <i>They both barked:</i> Puf¨Cvery talented!

    <i>It¡¯s a pear:</i> A godly reply [Chinese praise]

    <i>Crossing the ocean to you:</i> Hahahahaha, resting mid-way, huh?

    <i>ssmate Tian:</i> After a 90 minutes battle, the final score is 1 and 0. [smile]

    ¡­

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Where did these peoplee from?

    How did they know whether he was male or gay?

    How did they know he was handsome?¡­

    Ke Xun clicked on the Weibo of a person called ¡°A Mouthful of Tenderness.¡± Judging from the tone and content of this person¡¯s message, she should know what he looked like.

    Ke Xun had never posted a picture of himself on the Inte before, so perhaps this person knew him in real life?

    Looking at this person¡¯s Weibo, he spected that she ought to be a girl and a fujoshi. Eight of the ten Weibo posts on her page were very enthusiastically sprouting male CPs of various dimensions.

    Until he turned to her Weibo a week ago.

    These articles were all forwards, and the original posts were all from the same person whose ID was called ¡°The sun lusts after the vapours of dust¡±:

    ¡ª¡°Online graphic livestream: This poster met a very handsome little brother on the main road. Getting ready to summon the courage to go up and give it a go. Hope this poster will have good luck. Please wait for my followup!¡±

    ¡ª¡°Mom, the little brother is so nice, he agreed to take a photo with this poster! I¡¯ll post the pictureter! Wait for me!¡±

    ¡ª¡°Ahhhhhhh! He is so tall! A visual inspection determines that he¡¯s close to 1.9 meters! His figure is perfect! Below his neck are all legs! The little brother looks more handsome at close range! His skin is super good! His eyes are very beautiful, especially when he smiles, full of sunshine and warmth but with a little bit of wickedness~Ahhh, this old man¡¯s girlish heart~~~¡±

    ¡ª¡°Oh god! Oh god! I can¡¯t breathe. Guess what the little brother said!!! He said! He! Has! A! Boy! Friend!!!! Ahhh, so cute! So handsome! Only a man is worthy of this little brother!¡±

    ¡ª¡°The little brother is going into the art gallery, and so this poster and her friends have decided to quietly follow¡­Anyway, we¡¯re idle so why not watch the handsome guys have a date and fall in love. Forgot to mention that the little brother¡¯s boyfriend also entered the art gallery too. Just looking at his back, we can tell that he¡¯s also very handsome~¡±

    ¡ª¡°Here¡¯s the little brother¡¯s photo~Isn¡¯t he handsome? This poster has already made some progress with friends. If there are any [interesting] photos in the future, this poster will put it up. Wait for my good news!¡±

    Below this Weibo post was a photo of him. The background behind him was the door of the Square Box Art Gallery. He and a girl were standing in front of the door. The girl looked happy and lovely.

    The blogger ¡°The sun lusts after the vapours of dust¡± was Zhang Hanrui.

    Ke Xun¡¯s gaze lingered for a long time on herst Weibo post.

    After the ¡°Wait for my good news,¡± there were no more updates.

    Zhang Hanrui had more than 20,000 fans and was a certified beauty blogger on Weibo. The beauty blogger was probably self-styled, and the 20,000 might as well be ten thousands. Only a few hundred fans were responsive. Most of these people might just be paying attention due to her face, and some of them, like her, were probably fujoshis.

    Obviously, ¡°A mouthful of tenderness¡± was like this. She reposted a few Weibo posts and leftments with great interest.

    Ke Xun clicked on Zhang Hanrui¡¯s Weibo. The number ofments on her Weibo ranged from 80 to 90, with some climbing to 100. On the post with the picture of Ke Xun, there were more than 1000ments, and the number of forwards were 1023.

    Ke Xun looked at thements on this Weibo post. Most of thements praised him for being handsome, full of the wolf howls of fujoshis. The most likedment was made by ¡°Beautiful Men Locator.¡±

    ¡°The little brother¡¯s ID: Corgi is a stray dog. Take it, and don¡¯t mention it.¡±

    There were hundreds of replies below thisment, such as ¡°Thank you¡± and ¡°May good people live peaceful lives.¡±

    Ke Xun let out a ¡°Fuck¡± and clicked back to his own Weibo. The notification page showed that there were more than 400ments, and the number of new fans had reached 3,000 and still climbing.

    After switching back to his personal homepage, he saw that there were now dozens or even hundreds ofments on his previous posts, either praising him for being handsome or asking him to post a picture of himself¡­

    ¡°Fuck, fuck.¡± Ke Xun stared at the screen of the phone in his hand.

    What kind of disaster was this¡­How did that ¡°Beautiful Men Locator¡± know his ID?

    Ke Xun clicked on this person¡¯s homepage. It was full of images of handsome guys, beautiful men, and ambiguous images of two-dimensional characters. Ke Xun privately sent a message to this person: This expert, can I ask how you found my ID?

    ¡°Beautiful Men Locator¡± quickly responded back: Ahhhh! Handsome guy!!! How do you know me?! Ahhhh! The handsome guy talked to me!!! I¡¯m so happy, my head¡¯s going to fall off!!!

    <i>Corgi is a stray dog:</i>¡­Hold your head and answer my question first!

    <i>Beautiful Men Locator:</i> Coincidence, coincidence, no, it was luck! I was very lucky. I saw that the background of the photo was Square Box Art Gallery, and so I searched for the city where the art gallery was located. When I clicked on the city¡¯s Weibo page, and clicked on the name of the city, I saw that the city has a local official blog with posts from the locals themselves!

    <i>Corgi is a stray dog</i>: Wait¡­I¡¯m not a local. I just happened to be there that day.

    <i>Beautiful Men Locator</i>: But didn¡¯t you also post to Weibo that day? You took a photo of the Square Box Art Gallery and tagged the location. Handsome guy, you are so cute. Hahaha, so cute~

    <i>Corgi is a stray dog</i>:¡­

    <i>Corgi is a stray dog</i>: Goodbye.

    <i>Beautiful Men Locator</i>: Don¡¯t go, handsome guy! I love you. I¡¯m your face fan! Begging for milk and sugar.

    <i>Corgi is a stray dog</i>: You¡¯ve been cklisted and will never see me again.

    <i>Beautiful Men Locator</i>: Don¡¯t~~~~Tell me your boyfriend¡¯s Weibo ID! Are you the gong or the shou?

    Ke Xun ignored her. This person was probably a rotten idiot (female). Normal people wouldn¡¯t dive so deeply into other people¡¯s information just based on a single photo!

    As he thought so, he flicked his hand and cautiously opened up his own Weibo again. Sure enough, under some of his posts were messages from ¡°Beautiful Men Locator¡±¡­

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    He didn¡¯t know if this was the after effects of having spent too much time in the paintings, but this real-world painting style was making him a little ufortable.

    He clicked on the post with the picture of the Square Box Art Gallery, and not surprisingly, saw a few messages from ¡°Beautiful Men Locator¡±: Handsome guy, are you in the art industry? I found that you often hang out in art galleries in various cities?

    A picture was attached to thement.

    It was a digital map with the word ¡°art gallery¡± entered into the search bar. On the screen of the map were dense red marks representing the position of the galleries. Each red marks had blue lines that pointed to screenshots of various museums: the Eternal River Art Gallery, the Rhino Elephant Art Gallery, the Big Nose Art Gallery, the Great T Art Gallery, and the Square Box Art Gallery.

    Except for the first time, when he went to the Starry Sky Art Gallery, Ke Xun would take a picture of the gallery¡¯s front door and post it on Weibo before entering a painting.

    Maybe it was to leave onest mark on the world, or maybe it was to leave clues about the painting world that people didn¡¯t know about. Even if they couldn¡¯t decipher it, who knew whether there would be future geniuses who could crack the paintings and save theter generations?

    As a result, the savior he¡¯d waited for hadn¡¯te. Instead, what came was an idiotic fujoshi who dug into his information to this extent.

    Speechless, Ke Xun stared at this screenshot for a long time.

    He was about to close the picture and quit Weibo when he made a sudden discovery that may or may not be a coincidence¡ª

 Chapter 127: Corgi Has an Owner

    <h4>Chapter 127: Corgi Has an Owner</h4>

    If the coordinates of the selected art galleries were connected with a line, the Eternal River Art Gallery, the Rhino Elephant Art Gallery, and the Big Nose Art Gallery were located in a straight line, while the Great T Art Gallery and the Square Box Art Gallery, when viewed with the coordinate axis as the center, were also located at the two end points on a straight line segment.

    The coordinates of the five art galleries were connected into two straight lines, one long and one short,pletely perpendicr to the horizontal axis of the map.

    Was it a coincidence?

    Several art galleries distributed in different cities and different geographical locations were actually built on two straight lines from a macro perspective.

    Ke Xun got up and went to the study, turned on theputer, called up the web map, and typed in the words ¡°art gallery¡±.

    After finding the coordinates of the above five art galleries and marking them out, Ke Xun added the coordinates of the Starry Sky Art Gallery, where he¡¯d entered the first painting.

    After zooming out the map, he noticed that the Starry Sky Art Gallery wasn¡¯t on the same line as the other five art galleries.

    ¡­ As expected, it was just a coincidence. Ke Xun leaned back against the sofa, tilted his long legs on the edge of the table, mind preupied for a while. Atst, he raised his hand to close the page.

    When he stretched out his hand, he mistakenly grabbed the phone next to him instead of the mouse. So he picked it up and dialed a number.

    The other party was busy as expected. Ke Xun was about to hang up, but the call suddenly connected. It was clear that the other party had cut off an ongoing call to answer his phone call instead.

    ¡°Ahem.¡± Ke Xun cleared his throat, then said in a soft voice, ¡°Are you busy?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The voice on the other side was as cool as ever. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to ask, what are the names of the cities and art galleries of your first two paintings?¡± Ke Xun looked at his feet on the table and his big toe moved slightly.

    ¡°My first painting was in the Time Art Gallery in I City.¡± The sound of doors closing came from the other side of the phone. This was quickly followed by familiar footsteps and the sound of someone sitting on the sofa. ¡°The second painting was in the Azure Wave Art Gallery, located in F City. What¡¯s on your mind?¡±

    Ke Xun held the phone in one hand and the mouse in the other, looking for Time Art Gallery and Azure Wave Art Gallery on the map, ¡°I¡¯ll have to check before I know if my theory is useful¡­ Have you eaten?¡±

    ¡°Mmn, pasta.¡± The other person, who had always been busy with business, was very calm and patiently chatting with him about irrelevant things.

    ¡°Pasta. I¡¯ll make it next time youe. I¡¯ll make it for you,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°I¡¯ve made ck pepper beef pasta before and Dongzi could eat threerge tes of those in a single meal.¡±

    ¡°Mmn.¡± The deep voice on the other side paused and said something, but Ke Xun was no longer paying attention, because after the coordinates of the first and second art galleries were located, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

    The coordinates of the Time Art Gallery, Azure Wave Art Gallery, and the art gallery of the third painting, which was the Starry Sky Art Gallery that housed Ke Xun¡¯s first painting, also marked out the same straight line.

    The Time Art Gallery and the Starry Sky Art Gallery were at the two ends of the same horizontal line. In the middle was the Azure Wave Art Gallery, which was in line with the Eternal River Art Gallery, the Rhino Elephant Art Gallery and the Big Nose Art Gallery. All were on the same straight, vertical line.

    Therefore, after the coordinates of the six art galleries were connected, a straight horizontal line and a straight vertical line were formed. The intersection of the two lines was the Eternal River Art Gallery, which was located in the middle of the horizontal line. Once they were all connected, they created the shape of a capital T!

    Was it still a coincidence?

    Absolutely not. No matter how coincidental, it was impossible to form such a straight horizontal and vertical standard shape.

    ¡°Ke Xun?¡± The other side noticed that his attention had strayed and asked in a low voice.

    ¡°Go to the Wechat group message. I¡¯ll post a picture,¡± Ke Xun said. After they hung up, he immediately posted a picture to the ¡°Enter the Painting Discussion¡± group.

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Mang:</i> Forgive my useless eyes, but what picture is this? What does T mean?

    <i>Corgi:</i> @Mooney

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Mang:</i> [You only have eyes for your man. jpg]

    <i>Mooney:</i> The coordinates of all the art galleries we¡¯ve been to?

    <i>Corgi:</i> Yes.

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Mang:</i> Fuck! There¡¯s unexpectedly still this kind of profound mystery?! What¡¯s the small vertical joint of the two art galleries on the right? T to the 1st power?

    <i>Corgi:</i> ¡­The nth power your head! This should be the beginning of the next shape. We only went to two ces. We don¡¯t know where the next one will be yet¡­ Hey, that¡¯s not right. I forgot to mark out the coordinates of the gallery we¡¯ll be going to next. Hold on.

    Ke Xun hurriedly brought the map on the webpage back up. The next art gallery was located in E City, named Flower on Water Art Gallery. Its coordinates were aligned with the Great T Art Gallery and the Square Box Art Gallery, creating a straight line next to the ¡°T¡±.

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Mang:</i> T1! What does it mean?!

    <i>Corgi:</i> This 1 is the starting stroke of the next shape, it might be a 1 or it might be a vertical stroke.

    <i>Mooney:</i> Maybe the first stroke of a word or the first stroke of a letter.

    <i>Corgi:</i> Letters with a first vertical stroke are B, D, H, I, K, L, N, P, R. This doesn¡¯t even include EF, and M seems to have vertical and non-vertical strokes, making it the most likely. Not to mention that the first stroke of that letter is vertical, which makes it all the more possible.

    <i>ZHW:</i> You can try to connect to the coordinates of the other art galleries on the map.

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Mang:</i> Comrade Xiao Zhu, your suggestion is very good. This glorious task is left to you [Apuse]

    <i>ZHW:</i> ¡­OK, I¡¯ll test it out.

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Meng:</i> Where is Dr. Qin? Does he have surgery again? The girl named Li Yaqing also didn¡¯t join in?

    <i>ZHW:</i> There¡¯s no need to add her.

    <i>Corgi:</i> Haowen¡¯er is right. The girl is still young, and she probably has no ideas to add. Thinking about these terrible things on a daily basis might cause her to lose her mind instead.

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Mang:</i> Didn¡¯t you juste back from their city? Is she okay?

    <i>Corgi:</i> She went to see a psychiatrist. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll be helpful to her.

    The group fell silent.

    After a while, Ke Xun sent a message: Later. Whenever everyone has free time, y around with the map. If you find anything, send out a message at any time.

    <i>ZHW:</i> Alright.

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Mang:</i> ¡¾OJ8K.jpg¡¿

    <i>Mooney:</i> Okay.

    Ke Xun turned off his phone screen and searched for ¡°Flower on Water Art Gallery¡± on hisputer.

    This was a structure built on ake. The architectural lines were simple and majestic, and the interior was adorned with rocks and weed. People might call it ¡°crazy and elegant.¡±

    Most of the exhibits in the Flower on Water Art Gallery were contemporary art works, and they were also hosting touring exhibitions. For a while, Ke Xun searched for the names and pictures of the works disyed throughout the year, saved them one by one, and transferred them to his mobile phone.

    After studying the paintings in the gallery for a few hours, Ke Xun rubbed his face and searched for hotels around the Flower on Water Art Gallery.

    Crystal Swan Hotel.

    Ke Xun opened his phone and sent the address to Mu Yiran.

    <i>Corgi:</i> It¡¯s a five-star hotel. It¡¯s very close to the Flower on Water Art Gallery, just ten minutes on foot. How about staying here?

    It didn¡¯t take long for Mu Yiran to respond: Sounds good.

    <i>Corgi:</i> When will you arrive?

    <i>Mooney:</i> One day in advance, after about six in the afternoon.

    <i>Corgi:</i> Then let¡¯s eat together?

    <i>Mooney:</i> Yes.

    Ke Xun looked at the chat content on the screen, scratched the messy hair on his head, shook his feet on the edge of the table a few times, brought up the camera, switched to the selfie mode, and squeezed his big face into the screen. He looked at the screen and switched to the rear camera. Then he took a picture of the empty study and sent it.

    <i>Corgi:</i> [Photo]

    <i>Corgi:</i> You haven¡¯t been to my study yet, have you? Look, it looks like this.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t reply for a long time.

    Ke Xun was about to turn off the screen and continue to study those paintings when he suddenly heard a message prompt.

    <i>Mooney:</i> [Photo]

    Momentarily taken aback, Ke Xun clicked on the photo, only to see a whole wall of books on the screen.

    <i>Corgi:</i> ¡­

    <i>Corgi:</i> So, boss, do you mean that I should put more books in my study and read more?

    <i>Mooney:</i> This is my study.

    Huh? Ke Xun was stunned again, and heard his heart give a ¡°thud.¡±

    It was possible to exchange photos of their studies with each other?

    Thump thump thump.

    Ke Xun pressed a hand over his heart, brought up the camera, and took a photo of his two legs propped on the edge of the table.

    <i>Corgi:</i> [Photo]

    <i>Corgi:</i> These are my beautiful legs. Look, they look like this.

    Then he stared eagerly at the screen.

    This time, Mu Yiran¡¯s response came quickly.

    <i>Mooney:</i> [Photo]

    The photo showed two long legs in trousers, crossed leisurely, with feet wearing a pair of spotless leather shoes.

    Those legs could be yed with for a lifetime. Ke Xun curled up his own legs and sank into the sofa.

    If he sent a photo of his mermaid line, would he get one in return¡­?

    <i>Corgi:</i> [Photo]

    <i>Corgi:</i> Guess which part this is.

    <i>Mooney:</i> Biceps.

    <i>Corgi:</i> ¡Ì. And yours? Dare topare~

    <i>Mooney:</i> Haven¡¯t you seen it already?

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun thought that yes he had. In the painting <i>Animal World</i>, they had all seen each other naked.

    However, the painting <i>Animal World</i> was one of the paintings that Ke Xun wanted to recall the least, even to the point of subconsciously trying to forget it entirely. As far as the male god¡¯s body was concerned, it was mixed with those he dared not remember. As such, it was sphemy against his male god, and so he never tried to recall it.

    <i>Corgi:</i> I want to get a tattoo. Is that okay with you?

    <i>Mooney:</i> Get a tattoo if you want.

    <i>Corgi:</i> Then would you advise me, which part of the body is more provocative?

    <i>Mooney:</i> What kind of tattoos do you want?

    <i>Corgi:</i> I think¡­

    <i>Corgi:</i> I hope

    <i>Corgi:</i> the kind that would be

    <i>Corgi:</i> my male god¡¯s

    <i>Corgi:</i> lip print.

    It took a few minutes for Mu Yiran to respond.

    <i>Mooney:</i> The back of the neck.

    Ke Xun¡¯s entire body shivered, feeling electric. He tipped his head back and took two deep breaths. Then he abruptly stood up, turned his body horizontal, andid down on thergeputer table in front of him. The keyboard and mouse were pressed under his body but he didn¡¯t register them at all. Holding the phone to his forehead, he closed his eyes, and his mouth parted to whisper:

    ¡°Fuck¡­ fuck, fuck¡­ I¡¯m dead¡­ dead dead dead¡­¡±

    ¡­Damn, once the boss attacked, even ten little Corgis couldn¡¯t keep it together.

    ¡­Lip print¡­on the back of his neck.

    When thinking about this position, Ke Xun felt his head be disordered and his ten toes curled up together.

    People said that biting and kissing the neck was a kind of intimacyced with eroticism and primitive animalism.

    <i>¡­I didn¡¯t expect you to be this kind of big boss.</i>

    Ke Xun copsed on theputer desk for a long time, and finally lifted the phone to reopen the screen.

    The dialog with Mooney was still open. After poking the Corgi dog in a daze with the words ¡°back of the neck¡± like an understatement, the big boss said something else:

    <i>Mooney:</i> Have to work. Can¡¯t talk anymore.

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun threw the phone away and covered his face with his paws.

    Cultured beast¡­withdrawing after teasing him?!

    More than 3,000 fans who had just followed ¡°Corgi is a stray dog¡± suddenly discovered that the post owner had changed his name.

    His new ID was now called: Corgi has an owner.

 Chapter 128: I Really Like You

    <h4>Chapter 128: I Really Like You</h4>

    The owner was very busy. He was still in China the day before, but flew to Europe the very next night.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t contact him much, for fear that he would catch him at a moment of much-needed rest. Therefore, the consequences of this restraint was that the boss of Ke Da finally visited his own gym to inspect the ce and whittled away his idle time on fitness equipment.

    Wei Dong got off the treadmill and was so tired that he could only wheeze between pants. ¡°¡­This is like taking my own life¡­Running¡­isn¡¯t suitable for us¡­artists¡­¡±

    Ke Xun put down the barbell. ¡°I¡¯ll rmend a suitable exercise method for you artists. Celestial yoga.¡±

    ¡°I know yoga, but what¡¯s celestial yoga?¡± Wei Dong asked, leaning down and bracing himself with his hands on his knees.

    ¡°Practicing yoga naked,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°It¡¯s pursuing a high degree of unity between man and nature, aligning the human body aesthetics and natural aesthetics, thus satisfying your artistic sentiment as a senior artist.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Damn¡­ Then you tell me whether the trainer is male or female?¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°As you wish. I¡¯ll let our most feminine Sister Xin teach you.¡±

    After saying this, he beckoned and called to the person standing in the distance with an employee tag on his chest. ¡°Xiao Xin,e and guide this guest.¡±

    Wei Dong watched as a burly man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, chin dotted with the barely-there whiskers of youth, wearing tights hugging his sturdy waist and buttocks, turned his eyes to stare attentively at the boss¡¯ chest with a smile. He walked closer and reluctantly turned his gaze away to look at Wei Dong. He asked, ¡°Does this customer want to gain muscle or lose fat?¡±

    Fuck¡­

    Wei Dong¡¯s legs went soft, dangerously close to falling on his butt. What was up with this person¡¯s melodious anime-like voice?

    ¡°No, no, no, your boss is just joking.¡± Wei Dong waved his hand again and again, for fear of getting this stunner. ¡°I¡¯m not a local. I¡¯m leaving tomorrow, I¡¯m leaving tomorrow.¡±

    As soon as Xiao Xin heard this, he promptly ignored him and his gaze fluidly turned to look at Ke Xun. ¡°Boss, are you free tonight? Some of us neers want to treat you to a meal together.¡±

    Wei Dong shivered as he watched nearby.

    Ke Xun pointed to Wei Dong. ¡°I¡¯m seeing him off tonight so I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not free. Just ask Brother Liu, and Brother Liu will represent me.¡±

    Brother Liu was Ke Xun¡¯s buddy. When Ke Xun wasn¡¯t in the gym, Brother Liu was in charge.

    After Xiao Xin was finally dismissed, Wei Dong elbowed Ke Xun in the ribs. ¡°Fuck, what kind of devil are you recruiting here?! What¡¯s the situation with that guy?¡±

    ¡°A few old employees left for other gyms, so Old Liu recruited a few new ones,¡± Ke Xun said, taking exception to his words. He took a towel and wiped his sweat. ¡°Don¡¯t judge Xiao Xin by his femininity, his work ethic is awesome.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at him deeply. ¡°I¡¯m seeing this person¡¯s unkind intentions. The look in his eyes when looking at you is like looking at a human-shaped vibrator.¡±

    Ke Xun denied his words three times. ¡°Shut up. I¡¯m not. Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±

    Wei Dong circled him. ¡°By the way, your state isn¡¯t quite right these days. Have something happened that I don¡¯t know about?¡±

    Ke Xun walked toward the shower stall. ¡°What¡¯s my state?¡±

    Wei Dong squinted at him hesitantly. ¡°Just¡­ happy?¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Except for when I was in the painting, hadn¡¯t I always been happy?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the same.¡± Wei Dong gestured to Ke Xun¡¯s face. ¡°This current happiness is like¨CHave you seen those corgi videos on the Inte? The kind that, when they¡¯re happy, all their fats are shaking.¡±

    ¡°Get lost. Where are you going with this?¡± Ke Xun swatted at him. ¡°Hurry up, go to my house, and continue to study those paintings.¡±

    During this period, members of the ¡°Entering the Painting Discussion Group¡± had researched all the paintings disyed throughout the year in the Flower on Water Art Gallery and noted down the key points. The next thing they needed to study was the batch of paintings that would be on disy the day they¡¯re due to enter the painting.

    This batch of paintings came from the works of sixteen painters from the ¡°weird circle¡± of painting at home and from abroad. The ¡°weird circle¡± was a name given by ordinaryizens, primarily because their paintings were very bizarre and strange, extremely out there, and even full of absurdity.

    ¡°I have a bad premonition.¡± Wei Dong sighed at the bizarre painting on Ke Xun¡¯sputer. ¡°If we really entered such a painting, I don¡¯t know how we¡¯ll be killed by it.¡±

    ¡°Be prepared,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Tomorrow, on Sunday, you and I are going shopping.¡±

    ¡°To buy what?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°Mobile phones and power banks.¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°From the <i>Human Studies</i> painting, we discovered that although most of the functions on our mobile phones were locked, we could still use them as explosives at a critical time.¡±

    ¡°Even so¡­how many phones do you n to buy?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°Ten,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Damn! You have so much money that you need to burn it like this?! You¡¯re crazy. Sure enough, you¡¯ve been weird these days!¡± Wei Dong cried.

    ¡°You¡¯re being stupid. I¡¯m not buying the expensive ones. There are hundreds of cheap cell phones everywhere in Electronic City,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°My buddy sells them there. All cheap, domestic brands have the same basic functions as big brands. Besides, when entering the painting, all we need are those that have a shlight, a camera, and are longsting.¡±

    ¡°¡­You are awesome.¡± Wei Dong finally had nothing to say.

    His bro was the greatest¡­He not only came little shorings and great benefits, but he also had a special mentality that could deduce many things.

    Mu Yiran had said before that, even if guns and knives were brought into the painting from the outside world, they would lose their functions or be scrap iron¨Cexcept for the ones that were included in the painting, naturally.

    Although cell phones wouldn¡¯t degenerate into a waste product when entering the painting, it¡¯s only working functions were better than nothing. As a result, since thest painting, when they discovered that they could use cell phones as explosives, he immediately grasped this favorable benefit, or bug inside the painting, and wanted to prepare this as an extrayer of self-protection.

    Wei Dong suddenly felt that Ke Xun¡¯s growth and maturity during the course of entering paintings was simply stunning.

    No¡­It should be said that after Father Ke and Mother Ke left him, Ke Xun had to instantly grow up and mature. But in front of his friends, he would still use that same sloppy and silly teasing look to cover up the pain of growth. When he returned to his empty house where there was no one but him, he returned to his real self, that deeply detached, solitary him post-growth and transformation.

    <i>Yes, but¡­</i>Wei Dong thought to himself, <i>fortunately, this kid met Mu Yiran.</i>

    His current happiness was really from the heart. As a good friend and brother who grew up together with him, Wei Dong could see it.

    Wei Dong also hoped that his good brother coulde out of the negative state caused by losing his family as soon as possible, but Wei Dong dared not think about it. One day, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran would face life and death in a painting¡­What would happen to Ke Xun if¡­

    One rapid growth was enough.

    After growing to the limit, only decay and death await.

    When Ke Xun and Wei Dong arrived in E City, they were greeted with a heavy, endless rain.

    Ke Xun held a very eye-catching rainbow umbre with a shoulder bag slung over one shoulder. In addition to a change of clothes, the shoulder bag also contained ten cheap cell phones and several power banks.

    ¡°This hotel isn¡¯t bad,¡± Wei Dong said as he raised his arms and threw himself onto the big mattress in one of the high-end suites in Crystal Swan Hotel. ¡°You booked this room? It must be a lot of money, right?¡±

    ¡°Fuck, you¡¯re eating and living off of me for free and you¡¯re still talking so much shit.¡± Ke Xun kicked a foot over. ¡°Get out of here and go to your room next door. This is my room.¡±

    ¡°Nani?! Are you crazy?¡± Wei Dong sat up, shocked. ¡°You¡¯ve booked two rooms for us? Doesn¡¯t this room have two beds? Why do you need one room per person? Get a refund for the other room and give it to me. I¡¯m willing to sleep on your floor!¡±

    ¡°Go away. Stop talking nonsense. Go back to your room.¡± Ke Xun took out his phone. ¡°The other bed in your room is for Haowen¡¯er, and his train arrives at half past five.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the other bed in your room?¡± Wei Dong narrowed his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s for the boss¡­Fuck! No way?! You two¡­What¡¯s the situation?! What¡¯s the situation?!¡±

    ¡°Nothing. Don¡¯t talk nonsense. Go quickly.¡± Ke Xun sent a message in the ¡°Enter the Painting Discussion¡± group.

    <i>Corgi:</i> We¡¯ve arrived. @ZHW @With Courage and Wit, do you both remember the hotel address? The room numbers are 1503 and 1504. We¡¯ll wait for you toe and have dinner together.

    <i>ZHW:</i> I just got in the car.

    <i>With Courage and Wit:</i> All right.

    <i>With Courage and Wit:</i> Has anyone contacted Li Yaqing?

    <i>Corgi:</i> I called her and she¡¯s on a bus toward E City.

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Meng:</i> This girl is quite courageous. After everything that had happened in thest painting, she still dared toe to this painting.

    <i>Corgi:</i> ¡­Didn¡¯t I tell you? She¡¯s been calling me at least ten times a day, crying on the phone for half an hour each time, and then asking me what to do for another half an hour.

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Mang:</i> What else is there to do?¡­ Either die inside the painting, or die outside. If you don¡¯t go into the painting, you will definitely die. If you go into the painting, you might be able to live. You have to try whatever you can¡­

    <i>Corgi:</i> So that¡¯s why she¡¯sing. Can¡¯t the two of us put down our phones and talk with our mouths instead?

    <i>Wei Feng¡¤Mang:</i> ¡­I say, no wonder why this is so awkward.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Go to your room quickly.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Why? It¡¯s only three o¡¯clock in the afternoon, and it¡¯s not time for sleeping. What do you want to do by yourself in a closed room? Something dirty?¡±

    Ke Xun scoffed, ¡°¡­I¡¯m always alone at home, why can¡¯t I do it at home?! Go back to your room, or just stay with me in the same bed.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°¡­Damn! So that¡¯s it! You¡¯re afraid that I¡¯ll dirty your male god¡¯s bed! Fuck, I get it. You value your lover over your friend! From now on, you and I have broken all ties! I¡¯m going to my room! Call me when it¡¯s time for dinner!¡±

    Afterward, he went to his room next door.

    Zhu Haowen and Qin Ci arrived one after another. At about 6:30 in the afternoon, Ke Xun went downstairs to wait for Mu Yiran at the entrance of the hotel.

    It had only been ten days since he¡¯dst seen him, but waiting to see him again was like waiting through 10,000 years of vicissitudes.

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t prevent the corners of his lips from rising. The overwhelming curtain of rain seemed to reveal a beam of golden sunlight, causing several girls at the front desk to continuously peek at him. Some people even secretly took a photo with their cell phones.

    Mu Yiran was still dressed in business suits. The only difference was that his hair was longer than thest time Ke Xun saw him, and now it was gathered behind his head very stylishly, making him appear even more cold and solitary and extraordinary. The moment he entered the hotel lobby, he attracted a great deal of attention. Even the gazes of the opposite sex staff and guests contained a few light praises.

    Ke Xun took the ck umbre from him and wanted to take the business travel bag as well, but Mu Yiran pressed his arm down and said, ¡°No need.¡±

    They both walked into the elevator, which only had the elevatordy and no one else.

    ¡°15th floor,¡± Ke Xun told the elevatordy as he moved to stand next to Mu Yiran in the middle of the elevator.

    They had stood next to each other countless times in past paintings, but this time was different.

    Ke Xun heard the rapid pounding of his own heart. He raised his gaze and looked at the clean and smooth elevator door, clearly reflecting his and Mu Yiran¡¯s figure.

    Ke Xun raised a smile at the figure on the door. He lightly moved the hand hanging at his side, raised two fingers, and gently hooked them around Mu Yiran¡¯s fingers that were next to him.

    He really, truly liked him very much.

 Chapter 129: A Collective Con

    <h4>Chapter 129: A Collective Con</h4>

    They all ate dinner together and didn¡¯t talk much about the painting. After all, everything that could be said had already been said within the past ten days. The only thing they could do was eat, drink, and recharge since they had already made adequate preparations for entering the painting.

    Wei Dong watched Ke Xun and Mu Yiran exit the room with raised eyebrows. He asked the person next to him, ¡°Do you think the big boss would allow the kid Ke¡¯er to conquer him?¡±

    After waiting for a long time and hearing no response, he turned around to look and saw that Zhu Haowen had already left for some time.

    Ke Xun nested himself in the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching rain fall over the city, his figure illuminated by the neon lights outside.

    Mu Yiran sat opposite him, using his mobile phone to work.

    There were no lights in the room, and the neon lighting from outside and the light of the mobile phone were reflected on his face.

    So handsome, Ke Xun thought.

    He took out his cell phone, logged into his Weibo, and made a post.

    Corgi has an owner: Taking in that face is like taking drugs. Who takes, who knows.

    Three different types ofments appeared.

    <i>Crossing the ocean to you:</i> Your face fan hase to report, looking for medicine.

    <i>They both barked:</i> Fans don¡¯t fight for spring, they only report spring.

    <i>Did the idol marry me today:</i> When the chrysanthemums are blooming, the aunts smile.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Looking at the number of fans that had, at some unknown point in time, broken through 30,000, Ke Xun could only stare.

    After clicking on the hundreds of unread messages, it only took reading two dozens of them to discover the reason.

    Beautiful Man Locator, who he¡¯d blocked, had shared the photo of him that Zhang Hanrui had posted to her Weibo and promoted it everywhere. This was immediately forwarded by a big marketing ount handle, with the title ¡°Handsome Guys Photographed by Amateurs on the Street.¡± He was ced in the middle of nine grids.

    Below this post, Beautiful Men Locator¡¯s reply garnered the highest number of likes, and the content of the reply was: The ID of the handsome little brother in the fifth grid is @Corgihasanowner. The little brother is especially endearingly silly, especially adorable~~ [Handsome] [Licking Screen]

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Looking back at the Weibo post he¡¯d just made, the number ofments had already exceeded 100¡­.

    Thement with the highest number of likes was simple and rude: If there¡¯s no photo, you say J8.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    After working until 9 o¡¯clock, Mu Yiran finally put down his cell phone. When he looked up, he saw that Ke Xun had fallen asleep on the opposite sofa, and so he couldn¡¯t help but pick up the phone to check the time.

    ¡­He became sleepy just after nine o¡¯clock? Did he have the biological clock of a three-year-old child?

    ¡°Ke Xun, go sleep in bed.¡±

    Ke Xun opened his eyes with a dazed expression, like a child who couldn¡¯t find his home or his parents.

    Mu Yiran felt his heart soften.

    ¡°Did you not sleep wellst night?¡± he asked and got up to turn on the bedsidemp.

    The warm and yellow light suddenly gave this exquisitely decorated room an ambiguous atmosphere. Ke Xun recovered his senses, the thoughts in his mind startled into scattering like a flock of sparrows.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Ke Xun stood up from the sofa and scratched his head.

    ¡°Why?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    Ke Xun licked his lower lip and looked up at him. ¡°I thought I would see you today and I was so happy that I couldn¡¯t fall asleep all night.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him for a moment, and lifted his chin slightly. ¡°Come here.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s core jerked. Then he walked slowly toward him, thinking whether he would hug his waist or hold his shoulders, or maybe hold his face with both hands. He was about to fill in all the options when he saw the boss stretch out a hand and rubbed his dog¡¯s head. He said, ¡°Then go to bed early so you¡¯ll have enough energy.¡±

    Ke Xun mumbled, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡­At this rate, he might really be a corgi.

    The sound of the rain was shallow all night, and they slept as usual.

    It rained all the way into the next day. Everyone had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and then returned to Ke Xun and Mu Yiran¡¯s room to make the final preparations prior to entering the painting.

    This was nothing more than collecting more of the paintings from the sixteen painters that would be on disy today at the Flower on Water Art Gallery.

    Ke Xun answered Li Yaqing¡¯s call. The girl had also arrived in E City yesterday and told him that she¡¯d stayed at a youth hotel. Ke Xun told her the Crystal Swan Hotel¡¯s address and asked her toe and meet everyone so that they could all go to the gallery together in the afternoon.

    Half an hourter, Li Yaqing knocked on the door. Behind her stood a young man about her age, wearing ck-rimmed sses, very skinny and full of a student¡¯s vitality.

    ¡°This is?¡± Ke Xun raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°My boyfriend¡­¡± Li Yaqing¡¯s eyes were red. Every day, when the girl called Ke Xun, she would be crying, and she¡¯d cried again on the way here.

    As she said this, Li Yaqing made as if to enter the door, but Ke Xun stretched out his long leg to block her. He looked at her nkly and asked, ¡°What did you bring him for?¡±

    Lin Yaqing¡¯s tears came down again. ¡°He insists oning with me¡­¡±

    In a sudden burst of anger, Ke Xun pulled Li Yaqing into the room and mmed the door shut, shutting her boyfriend outside.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± Ke Xun frowned and stared at Li Yaqing. ¡°Once you enter the painting, unless you die in it, you have to continue entering more paintings¨CWe¡¯ve all told you this. Why would you pull your boyfriend in? Do you want to hurt him?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Li Yaqing cried. ¡°I thought¡­I might die this time¡­I just wanted to leave a suicide note with my family¡­But he found out and asked me what was going on¡­He, he¡¯s very smart¡­I lied and he didn¡¯t believe me¡­When I came to E City, he followed¡­He said that whatever I wanted to do, he¡¯ll do it with me¡­I tried to persuade him and couldn¡¯t stop him¡­¡±

    Wei Dong heard her words and was a little speechless. ¡°Your boyfriend didn¡¯t think you were tricked into a multi-level marketing den, right?¡±

    Ke Xun thought for a moment . Just now, when the kid was staring at him, his gaze was full of defensiveness and hostility. He couldn¡¯t help but sighed. ¡°It¡¯s almost impossible not to think so.¡±

    As he was talking, they heard the kid outside said very calmly, ¡°I¡¯m warning you, let her out immediately. I¡¯ve called the police and notified the hotel security.¡±

    Ke Xun opened the door, grabbed the boy by the cor, and pulled him into the room. Then he mmed the door shut and pushed him forward. ¡°Dr. Qin, I¡¯m leaving him to you.¡±

    Qin Ci stood up, took out his ID from his bag, and handed it to Li Yaqing¡¯s boyfriend. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m a doctor from the No.1 Hospital in X City. This is my ID card. This is my doctor¡¯s certificate. You can dial 114 to check the number of our hospital, then dial 0231 to my work department and ask the staff there to confirm my identity.¡±

    Li Yaqing¡¯s boyfriend didn¡¯t easily believe Qin Ci¡¯s remarks and took his ID. He checked it over carefully and even took his phone out to take a photo.

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t mind his actions. After the boyfriend was done taking a photo, he took his ID back and calmly nced at Li Yaqing. ¡°The reason why Xiao Li is hiding from you is that she didn¡¯t want you to be worried about her. The reason she came here was to treat her depression.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you understand depression, but I¡¯ll put it in simple terms. This disorder is very difficult to treat. At present, the internationalmunity has been trying various quick and effective methods. Thus, it could be said that the treatment of depression has always been constantly evolving.¡±

    ¡°So, this time, when a depression treatment program is scheduled to be held in E City, I brought Xiao Li and a few other patients to participate, hoping to get some help from colleagues in the industry. For these patients, this is a great thing, a good thing.¡±

    ¡°How is Xiao Li¡¯s state recently? As her boyfriend, you should be very clear. This is one of the symptoms of depression. We don¡¯t want her rtives and friends to be nervous or to react intensely after learning the truth. For the patient, this can aggravate her condition.¡±

    ¡°So, this is why Xiao Li¡¯s trip is rtively secretive. We don¡¯t want to impinge on our patient¡¯s privacy, so please understand and respect her and the other patients.¡±

    After saying this, he raised his hand and gestured to the other people in the room.

    Wei Dong was taken aback for a moment. Then he cooperatively pasted on a depressed expression. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to live anymore. What¡¯s the meaning of being alive? Xiao Zhu, why don¡¯t we say goodbye to this world together.¡±

    Speechless, Zhu Haowen turned a blind eye to his request for cooperation.

    ¡°Do you understand what Dr. Qin said?¡± Frowning, Ke Xun gazed steadily at Li Yaqing¡¯s boyfriend. ¡°Li Yaqing doesn¡¯t need you to be with her for the time being. You can go back to your hotel and wait there for her. She¡¯ll be back before night falls.¡±

    Li Yaqing¡¯s boyfriend also stared at Ke Xun for a moment, feeling that this person was more depressed than the person before. Still, he refused to believe it easily. ¡°Where¡¯s the seminar? I can send her to the door.¡±

    ¡°The business conference hall on the 23rd floor,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°It starts at 2 in the afternoon. Please deliver her on time. Now you can take her away.¡±

    Before Mu Yiran¡¯s words had evene to an end, Ke Xun had already opened the door and tilted his head toward Li Yaqing and her boyfriend.

    Li Yaqing¡¯s boyfriend was sensitive enough to realize that this depressed patient wouldn¡¯t be easy to provoke. He didn¡¯t say anything and pulled Li Yaqing out of the room. Of course, he was only bluffing about calling the police and the hotel security.

    The moment Ke Xun closed the door, Mu Yiran picked up his cell phone. ¡°Crystal Swan Hotel? I want to book a conference hall. Yes, I¡¯ll use it this afternoon. 40 to 50 people. Tea is fine. A projector and speakers. Regarding the particrs, in 10 minutes, our group will send someone surnamed Qin to meet with your relevant person in charge. Thank you.¡±

    Qin Ci: ¡°¡­¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡± The big boss was the big boss. If there was no meeting, he would arrange a meeting.

    Zhu Haowen looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°Where would you find so many people?¡±

    Mu Yiran wasn¡¯t concerned. ¡°There are four business conference rooms on the 23rd floor, and tworge business meetings were already scheduled to be held there this afternoon.¡±

    So there was no need to find others to act. No one would be able to tell which meeting the peopleing and going to the 23rd floor would be attending.

    In order to prevent an innocent person from getting involved, everyone had to work collectively to fool him.

    ¡°At that time, we can walk out through the back door,¡± Mu Yiran added.

    Ke Xun looked at him in wonderment. ¡°How did you know all these things? When did you inquire about the business meetings on the 23rd floor?¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him indifferently. ¡°I identally overheard the conversation from the neighbors at the next table when we were eating breakfast.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡± Yes, the usage of one¡¯s ears and eyes was also a kind of cleverness, and being able to make good use of these seemingly useless details was more than just cleverness.

    The man he liked was so awesome.

    At three in the afternoon, Li Yaqing appeared at the door of the Flower on Water Art Gallery under an umbre.

    The simple and majestic building was reflected by theke water underneath, which was blurred and dreamy under the rainfall. However, no one had the mind to appreciate it, and they walked heavily through the doors in silence.

    Due to the rain, there weren¡¯t many guests in the gallery. Wei Dong said, ¡°This time, maybe there won¡¯t be enough people to make up the 13 people requirement.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Qin Ci whispered. ¡°There are already six of us. And look over there.¡±

    Everyone looked in the direction he signaled and saw Qi Qiang standing outside Hall F with a sullen face. Huang Pi was heading there with some caution.

    ¡°That makes eight people. Only five more people needed to be gathered.¡± Qin Ci nced at the entire hall. No matter how few the guests were, five people would be enough.

    No one said anything as they all slowly walked toward the entrance of this painting¨CHall F.

    As soon as they stepped into the hall, they heard a string of footsteps running toward them, apanied by a shout. ¡°Yaqing!¡±

    Everyone turned their heads back and saw that it was Li Yaqing¡¯s boyfriend running through the doors of the hall with a vignt expression.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s gaze jerked toward Li Yaqing.

    The coverup with the business conference was perfect. When her boyfriend sent her up to the 23rd floor, he even seemed convinced.

    Li Yaqing was also uncertain. In that instant, the lights in the exhibition hall went out. Ke Xun heard her sobbing regretfully, ¡°I¨CI wrote him a suicide letter¡­It was set to be sent out at 12 tonight if I didn¡¯te back¡­He¨CHe must have logged into my mailbox¡­¡±

 Chapter 130: Thirteen Props

    <h4>Chapter 130: Thirteen Props</h4>

    Paintings from the weird school were extremely outrageous and unhindered by rules.

    After everyone entered the painting, they found themselves in a circr-shaped room with no doors or windows. The walls and roof were painted with strange wall paint. There was no furniture, except for a box in the center of the room.

    Li Yaqing¡¯s boyfriend was called Luo Wei. Since he was now inside the painting, there was no longer a need to hide anything from him, so Qin Ci told him about the painting¡¯s rules in a low voice.

    Luo Wei¡¯s ability to ept was unexpectedly different from that of ordinary people. He listened calmly from beginning to end, and finally asked, ¡°Is it impossible to reveal anything about the painting to the real world?¡±

    Qin Ci felt that he was quick thinking, and nodded with some appreciation and regret in his eyes.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be verbal or written?¡± Luo Wei further confirmed.

    ¡°Neither,¡± Qin Ci answered.

    ¡°So, have you tried using Morse code?¡± Luo Wei¡¯s calm and quick thinking eyes, the kind that belonged to a man of science and engineering, looked at everyone through the lens of his sses.

    Some of the others were so astounded by this sentence that they even forgot to blink.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Wei Dong came back to life first, staring at Luo Wei with a jaw-dropping look. ¡°We haven¡¯t tried it! We haven¡¯t tried it¨Cmaybe it¡¯ll work!¡± He turned his head and looked at Mu Yiran. It seemed that only the big boss¡¯ confirmation could affirm the feasibility of this idea.

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s useful, so what?¡± The big boss was more calm and indifferent than Luo Wei. ¡°Especially when considering people¡¯s mentality toward novelty.¡±

    ¡°And the kind of people who couldn¡¯t stay still if they didn¡¯t make trouble,¡± Ke Xun added.

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s difficult to guarantee that no one will actively want to enter the painting,¡± Mu Yiran said, his eyes cold. ¡°What¡¯s more, it¡¯s not impossible for one enemy to trick another into entering a painting. And the most important factor to consider is that, once the existence of the painting is leaked on arge scale, would it result in a bacsh from the powers behind the scenes? Therefore, we can only take a conservative approach and focus on entering the painting and relying on our own efforts to discover thews behind it.¡±

    Luo Wei nced emphatically at Mu Yiran¡¯s face, and calmly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t take those into considerations.¡±

    Li Yaqing cried next to him, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­I¡¯m sorry¡­I involved you¡­¡±

    Luo Wei didn¡¯tin, and patted her shoulder instead. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be sorry. Everything has contingency and inevitability.¡±

    ¡°This young man is nice, it¡¯s a pity¡­¡± Wei Dong whispered to Ke Xun.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity for any of us,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong sighed, walked to the center of the room, and circled the box twice. He didn¡¯t see anything special but didn¡¯t dare to move the box to check.

    The others were also looking around. They were in a closed room with no doors or windows. The roof and walls were painted with wall paint, showing a dark blue background printed with countless golden star and moon patterns. At first nce, it was full of childishness. There was even a star-shaped goldenmp that radiated a creamy yellow light.

    An airtight room could make it easier for people to be anxious. Qi Qiang was already short tempered enough as it was. After looking around for a while and still unable to find a way out, he couldn¡¯t help but sh with the box in the middle of the room.

    He wanted to open the lid, but no matter how much he pried, the lid remained stuck.

    When Wei Dong saw that he¡¯d taken a tool out of his pocket and was fiddling with the box, he couldn¡¯t help but elbow Ke Xun, saying, ¡°A professional.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that it would be useless here.¡± Ke Xun nced at Qi Qiang, who had be so irascible from failing to open the box that he began kicking the box angrily.

    Stuck in this closed room, everyone was either standing, squatting, or sitting, all silently waiting.

    Given that it was raining in the world outside the painting, causing the museum to have few visitors, it was estimated that this time, it would take a long time to gather the numbers needed.

    Ke Xun was standing next to Mu Yiran, shoulder to shoulder, leaning against the wall. The hand hanging by his side reached out and hooked around Mu Yiran¡¯s fingers.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t react, letting him make these small movements. It wasn¡¯t until his hands suddenly became itchy that he finally ced it in his pocket instead.

    Ke Xun bent down into a squat, lowering his head to stare at the ground in a daze.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyelids lowered, his gaze dropping to the V-shaped hair at the nape of the man¡¯s neck. The fingers in his pocket twitched slightly, and it took some effort to control himself.

    Nearly two hours passed, and still no one was ¡°captured¡± by the painting.

    ¡°Would we have less than 13 people this time?¡± Wei Dong¡¯s face was gloating at this rule being broken.

    ¡°Look at the time on your phone,¡± Zhu Haowen said lightly.

    Wei Dong took out his cell phone and was taken aback when he saw the time. ¡°Why is it still stuck at the time when we entered the painting?¡±

    ¡°It means that during this period, time in the painting is frozen,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that the time here won¡¯t pass until 13 people are gathered.¡±

    ¡°What about the time outside?¡± Wei Dong asked hastily. ¡°No matter how many days we stay in the painting, wouldn¡¯t the time outside remain on the day we enter the painting?¡±

    ¡°The time outside will also pass, but it should generally be limited to the period between the gallery¡¯s opening and closing time,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°As for how to get 13 people, that¡¯s up to the driving force behind the painting.¡±

    Wei Dong had to wait with everyone, and it was unknown how much more time had passed. The star-shapedmp above his head suddenly flickered brighter, the light stabbing people into opening their eyes. The bright light darkened, and suddenly there were four more people.

    No one moved. They all just looked at the four uninformed people. These four people consisted of two men and two women, all in their twenties and thirties, wearing work uniforms with badges on their chests. They all seemed to be together.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The curly-haired woman looked at everyone in surprise.

    Everyone tacitly didn¡¯t say anything and threw the job of exining to Dr. Qin.

    Qin Ci took the trouble of exining what was going to the four people. From the side, Wei Dong told Zhu Haowen, ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll ask Dr. Qin to record it on his cell phone. When neerse, he could just directly y his recording, saving him the cost of using his voice.¡±

    Zhu Haowen ignored him. His gaze fell on the box. Now that enough people had arrived, the plot would soon begin.

    The four neers obviously didn¡¯t have the same high degree of eptance as Luo Wei. No matter how Qin Ci exined, the four of them refused to believe it and instead began to argue with him. In the end, Qin Ci didn¡¯t want to waste his breath, shook his head, and walked away.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you talk?! Let¡¯s get to the bottom of this!¡± The curly-haired woman snapped, staring in shock and anger at the strange people standing and squatting in front of her. A handsome man in a suit was also standing there, and so she took a few steps toward him.

    ¡°Hey, can you tell us what¡¯s going on? Who are you? Why did you bring us here?!¡±

    The veterans: ???

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, our colleagues are all outside, 40-50 of them. We just need to give them a call and they¡¯ll certainlye!¡± the woman said. She seemed to have just remembered that she could use her phone, and so she took it out to call, only to see that there was no signal.

    ¡°You say something!¡± The woman became angry, and she stretched out her hand to try to grab the handsome man. The big human-shaped dog squatting beside him suddenly said, ¡°Big sister, say what you want to say, don¡¯t put your hands on people. You have no impression of how you got here?¡±

    The woman was startled. She took a step back, looked down, and saw the youth¡¯s ugly expression.

    ¡°We were looking at the painting! Then in the blink of an eye, we appeared here and saw you people. How can this have nothing to do with you?!¡± The woman stared at him.

    ¡°Look, you said that you came here in the blink of an eye. Then why don¡¯t you blink to leave? Who¡¯s stopping you from blinking?¡± the youth said.

    ¡°You¡¯re sick!¡± the woman shouted angrily.

    ¡°Then you stay away, this disease is contagious,¡± the youth said, unconcerned.

    ¡°You¨C¡± The woman continued to struggle but was pulled away by her threepanions.

    At this moment, they suddenly heard a ¡°pop,¡± and the lid of the box in the middle of the room opened by itself, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks. 13 pairs of eyes stared, disying all kinds of emotions. But there were no subsequent movements, and the box simply remained motionless, quietly sitting there with its lid open, like a monster waiting to swallow everyone into its stomach, its mouthying wide open in wait.

    ¡°Who did that with a remote control?¡± The curly hair woman scanned the crowd angrily, thinking that she was being pranked.

    But no one paid attention to her. The veteran members exchanged nces. Ke Xun got up, walked lightly and cautiously over to the box, stopping when he got just near enough to see the inside of the box. Craning his neck, he looked inside. Then his eyebrows shot up and he turned to look at the veteran members. His gaze finallynded on Mu Yiran¡¯s face and he said, ¡°A bunch of strange things, ced next to each other.¡±

    He turned his gaze back to the box and looked at it a few more times. ¡°There are 13 pieces in total here, and there were words written on the inner wall of the lid: ¡®Please choose an item ording to your personal preference.¡¯¡±

    ¡°It seems that this is the rule of this painting,¡± Qin Ci said.

    The veteran members didn¡¯t say any additional words, and instead they tacitly gathered around the box. Just as they were about to take a closer look at the props inside, they heard Wei Dong let out a ¡°Hey¡± as Qi Qiang pushed past him from behind, plowing toward the front. It seemed that he wanted to get ahead of the crowd and choose a prop that was most beneficial to him.

    Ke Xun squatted next to the box, holding his cheeks and watching Qi Qiang flip through the box with a smile.

    Wei Dong knew his best bro best. He knew that Ke Xun was angry and was purposefully positioned to guard him. Guarded like this, Wei Dong felt more courageous, thinking Comrade Qi Qiang, it¡¯s okay if you choose the right prop. If you don¡¯t choose the right prop, you might get beaten and have your prop snatched.

    It felt good to be protected.

    From the time they met when they were three to four years old, Wei Dong had often felt a sense of security, like having a protective guard.

    He couldn¡¯t help but look at Mu Yiran in frustration, only to be somewhat taken aback. The man stood behind Ke Xun as still as a mountain, his face cold and calm as usual, but Wei Dong could feel that there was a strange kind of aura emanating from him, an aura he¡¯d never seen from him before, an aura like¡­

    It was like every time when Ke Xun stood behind Wei Dong, he exuded exactly that same kind of aura.

    Wei Dong had a sudden realization.

    His iron-like best bro, his most deserving good brother, his patron saint since childhood, he finally one day had his own patron saint, a person who loved him the most.

    Wei Dong¡¯s eyes stung hotly, and he quickly turned his head away. He was about to pat his best bro on the shoulder infort when he noticed Mu Yiran shot him a nce, took two steps forward, and stood beside Ke Xun.

    Why, the overbearing president was amazing! Dering sovereignty without preamble! I¡¯ll get out of your way. Wei Dong turned his head and decided to hug another single dog, Zhu Haowen, to keep warm.

    Mu Yiran stood beside Ke Xun, looking down at him. He finally pulled his hand out of his pocket, cing it lightly on the back of the squatting human-shaped dog.

    Mmn¡­Finally, he couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and touched the tip of that hairy tail.

 Chapter 131: The Big Boss Likes Kittens

    <h4>Chapter 131: The Big Boss Likes Kittens</h4>

    The props in the box were indeed strange, as Ke Xun had said, and they were all different too.

    Everyone leaned forward and saw a writing brush, a fishing rod, a small copper basin, a red fruit from an unknown nt, a Confucian scarf worn on the head of an ancient literati, a sword, two longan cores, a round red stone, what appeared to be a cat¡¯s whisker, a cat ears headband, a rabbit ears headband, a dragon horn headband, and a set of clothes.

    They were all somewhat confused, but Qi Qiang was the first to quickly grab the sword.

    The sword was very sharp. When Qi Qiang took the sword out of the box, the tip swept across the arm of the girl with the curly hair. It was obviously still half an inch away from her clothes, but amazingly, it made a slit on her sleeve anyway.

    Having such a weapon could give people a psychological sense of security.

    The girl with the curly hair screamed in hindsight, clutching her arms and staring at Qi Qiang angrily. ¡°You¡¯re crazy! You almost scratched me. Are you blind?! What¡¯s the rush¡ªahhh!¡±

    Qi Qiang pped her hard across the face before the words could even finish spewing out of her mouth. She lurched to the side and fell to the ground in a pitiful heap.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Her threepanions shouted at Qi Qiang in shock and anger.

    Qi Qiang nced at them sullenly, and pointed the sword at them. ¡°I can do whatever I want. Who has a problem with it?¡±

    Seeing that these people were about to argue back, Ke Xun abruptly pped the box, startling everyone.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste time.¡± Ke Xun looked at the small group. ¡°Anyone in this painting can kill, and anyone can be killed. I advise that you use your brain before you act. Even if you don¡¯t believe what our Brother Qin had said before, it doesn¡¯t hurt to think twice before you act, especially before you know the situation.¡±

    Seeing that they were considering his words, Ke Xun nced at Qi Qiang and his lips curled into a smile. ¡°Brother Qiang, we have entered a few more paintings than you have, so we have a bit more experience¡ªIn this painting, you can indeed kill yourpanions, but without exception, those who killed theirpanions would be unable to sessfully leave the painting? and, in fact, died worse than anyone else. Of course, you don¡¯t have to take my words for it. You can try it casually. But brother, due to our friendship, I would like to remind you that you have only one life. Once you try it, there¡¯s no second chance. The best thing is to be cautious, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Qi Qiang had fought with this kid in thest painting. Of course, he knew for a fact that this kid¡¯s fist was by no means as harmless as his handsome face, not to mention that he¡¯d suffered from it before.

    In addition, there was still that cold-faced person standing next to him, whose depths he could not take measure of.

    Qi Qiang snorted coldly, carefully dropped the sword to his side, and walked to the side, looking at the crowd with a gloomy face.

    ¡°Hurry up and pick a prop. Hurry up,¡± Ke Xun said as he reached in to take the red stone. But Wei Dong grabbed it before he could.

    ¡°That nondescript thing doesn¡¯t suit you.¡± Wei Dong picked out the rabbit ears headband. He put the headband on Ke Xun¡¯s head and let out a whistle. ¡°Rabbit Boy, what do you say? Is it superior enough to ovee death?¡± As he said this, he turned to Mu Yiran.

    ¡°¡­I¡¯m a corgi, not a rabbit.¡± Ke Xun took off the headwear and threw it back into the box. Turning his head to look at Mu Yiran, he said, ¡°Yiran, help me pick something.¡±

    In the past, the boss would give him a cold nce and then turn and walk away mercilessly. But now, the boss lowered his head, nced into the box, stretched out a slender hand, and chose a prop for him.

    It¡¯s good to have a boyfriend, Ke Xun thought.

    Then his boyfriend put a cat ear headband on him.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Wei Dong: It turns out that the boss likes the sexy, aloof kittenish type.

    Wei Dong had on the face of someone being force fed dog food. Meanwhile, everyone else took a prop from the box. Qin Ci selected a fishing rod while Zhu Haowen picked up the inconspicuous cat whisker. Luo Wei chose the red stone and selected the small copper pot with delicately chiseled flowers for his girlfriend, Li Yaqing.

    The most unexpected one was Huang Pi. This man who obviously went against the heavenly ways and was more ¡°ckened¡± than Qi Qiang chose the Confucian head scarf worn by ancients. This was so different from his personal style that it seemed almost like a vition.

    The four neers, the two men and two women, chose the two longan cores, the rabbit ear headband, dragon horn headband, and the set of clothes.

    In the end, there was only a brush and an unknown fruit left in the box. Wei Dong looked at Mu Yiran and said, ¡°Big brother, which one do you want?¡±

    Mu Yiran bent over and picked up the fruit, leaving the brush to Wei Dong.

    When the box waspletely emptied, the handwriting on the bottom of the box was revealed: Please wear/take/hold onto your props. No exchanges are allowed halfway through.

    ¡°This is insane¡­¡± The girl with the curly hair groaned bitterly. She looked at the rabbit ear headband in her hand, saw that it was very cute, and quietly put the headband on her head.

    Those who didn¡¯t need to wear their props either put them in their pockets or held them in their hands. It was worth noting that, even after entering the painting, their clothes had not changed, giving no distinction of what was outside the painting and what was inside.

    The neer who chose the set of clothes as a prop hesitated again and again but ultimately decided to change into it. It had a red and white horizontal striped T-shirt, ck red pants, and a wide yellow belt in the middle. It fitted him quite well, but it also made him look ratherical.

    Ke Xun¡¯s attention was on the fruit in Mu Yiran¡¯s hand. Among the 13 items, it seemed that he had the only prop that needed to be taken. ¡°What will you do? Will you really eat it?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked down and thought for a moment. Then he said, ¡°Mmn¡± and put the fruit in his mouth without hesitation.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t stop him. Since this was the rule of the painting, there was only one path to take.

    Seeing Mu Yiran eating the fruit, Ke Xun quickly asked in concern, ¡°How do you feel?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s brows moved slightly, and he lowered his voice a little to say, ¡°For the time being, my body doesn¡¯t seem to feel anything unusual, except for some slight numbness in my ears just now, like a electric shock.¡±

    Ke Xun was taken aback. He quickly held Mu Yiran¡¯s cheeks and turned his head to the side. ¡°Let me check!¡±

    As he said this, he looked into Mu Yiran¡¯s ears and saw that it was clean and that nothing had changed.

    Mu Yiran turned his face slightly and looked at Ke Xun, who was standing very close. His disheveled but stylist hair had volume, moving slightly under his eyes. On both sides of his head was the cat ear headband. At this moment, the ears flickered back and forth like a pair of living cat ears, with the tips asionally shaking!

    ¡°Ke Xun!¡± Mu Yiran frowned, reaching out to pull the cat ears on his head.

    But then, he heard Ke Xun let out a hiss as he made an expression of pain. Even Ke Xun was surprised. ¡°What the fuck!¡±

    He quickly raised his hand to touch the ears. Unexpectedly, it was just like touching his own ears. Not only did his hand feel the tactile sense of touching a pair of living ears, even the cat ears also gave him the sensation of being touched.

    ¡ªIn other words, the pair of cat ears felt as if they had grown out of his body, blending with his body without any sense of disobedience!

    Several veteran members looked at him in shock and saw that the two pointed cat ears on his head were standing upright with great alertness¡­

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Wei Dong gaped, looking at Ke Xun with wide eyes. ¡°Are you turning into a real cat?!¡±

    Qin Ci asked, concerned, ¡°Do you feel anything wrong with your body?¡±

    ¡°Not yet¡­¡± Ke Xun said. His pupils dted suddenly and he pivoted around, cocked his head to the side, and asked Mu Yiran, ¡°Help me take a look, do I have a long tail?¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Mu Yiran pursed his lips.

    ¡°What about whiskers?¡± Ke Xun turned around again, pouting at Mu Yiran.

    ¡°¡­¡± Mu Yiran looked at him, took a half step forward to stand closer, and said, ¡°No.¡±

    Ke Xun thought to himself: Why does his voice sound a little dangerous?

    Wei Dong thought to himself: You¡¯re a repeated offender. Believe it or not, he will push you to the ground!

    Qin Ci thought to himself: The president of the Cat Whiskers Club is probably Haowen, and indeed he chose the cat whisker. Let¡¯s wait and observe.

    Zhu Haowen thought: Very cute.

    Suddenly, they heard several neers exim from the side. It turned out that the same had happened to the girl with the curly hair and the woman who chose the dragon horn headband. The headband seemed to have be a part of their body, so that tugging on the bunny ear hard would result in pain.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? What¡¯s going on?¡± The curly-haired girl ran over and grabbed Qin Ci¡¯s arm, looking at him beseechingly.

    ¡°As you can see,¡± Qin Ci told her in a deep voice, ¡°it¡¯s just like what I had told you at the beginning, this is the world of the painting.¡±

    With a ¡°bang¡±, the box¡¯s lid suddenly closed shut. Everyone looked over, only to see a line of writing on the lid: Choice determines fate.

    ¡°¡­Anything that rises to the level of destiny is not a good thing¡­¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡± Qin Ci said. But they suddenly heard a ¡°click¡± sound on the circr wall of this enclosed room. In a blink of an eye, a circr line was split at the position where these sounds came from. The shaped outline shrank toward both sides like a sliding door, and six circr doors opened on different positions on the circr wall.

    The neers finally realized the huge difference between the situation in front of them and the real world. They either panicked or screamed or shrank or shuddered and shivered beside the veteran members, for fear that something terrible would happen or someone would run out at them as soon as the door opened.

    After all the doors were opened and motionless, the veteran members walked over and separately looked at the situation outside the six doors.

    The weird style of the Weird School paintings finally emerged at this time, and every round door that appeared in front of everyone seemed to open a different world.

    Different from all the paintings they had entered before, where each of the paintings embodied only a single world, this weird and rebellious painting presented six worlds. So, which world would have the exit door?

    Choice determined fate.

    ¡°What¡­what should we do?¡± The neers looked at the veteran members for help.

    ¡°It seems that the rules of this painting are rted to choice,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°Whether it¡¯s everyone¡¯s choice of props just now, or the next selection of these six worlds, the wrong choice is likely to result in death.¡±

    Wei Dong was depressed. ¡°This difficulty is suddenly six times harder than before. Before, we only needed to find clues in one world. Now we have to find clues in six worlds. We only have seven days. This is too nerve-wracking.¡±

    ¡°Does the six doors still mean that we should act in groups?¡± Qin Ci nced at the panicked neers and sighed softly. ¡°Then, let¡¯s get to know each other first.¡±

 Chapter 132: The World of Strange Realism

    <h4>Chapter 132: The World of Strange Realism</h4>

    The four neers who came in together were colleagues. Theirpany had sent them for a business meeting at the Crystal Swan Hotel, and after the meeting, they went to the art gallery to pass the time, only to be met with this unlucky and bizarre thing.

    Zhao Haicui, the girl with the curly hair, was a long-time employee of thepany. The other female neer was Wei Miao, whose choice of props was the dragon horn headband. At this moment, with long rabbit ears and dragon horn, they were crying, looking both strange andical.

    The name of the other two males colleagues were Zhang Lifeng, who had the two longan cores, and Ge Lei, who was now wearing the red and white striped T shirt and ck bell bottoms.

    ¡°Thirteen people divided into six groups, with at least two in each group. Let¡¯s divide now,¡± Qin Ci said after the introductions.

    ¡°I want to ask, what basis are you nning to use for the grouping?¡± Luo Wei, who was also a neer, carefully watched Qin Ci from behind his sses.

    ¡°Usually,¡± Qin Ci said calmly, ¡°the basis is to form groups voluntarily.¡±

    There were many unexined meanings in this sentence. After Qin Ci finished speaking, he looked at Luo Wei and waited for him to speak.

    Luo Wei really did have something to say. Pushing up the sses on his face, expression calm, he said, ¡°For those of us who are new to the painting, I would rather you pair a veteran with a neer. But obviously, I don¡¯t think you people would agree to this request. What¡¯s more, I don¡¯t want to be separated from Yaqing.¡±

    After speaking, he nced at Qi Qiang and Huang Pi standing on the outermost periphery of the group. It was obvious that those two people would not be willing to bring a neer. Even if they do, who could guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t use those neers as scapegoats when they encounter danger.

    ¡°So, do you have any better suggestions?¡± Qin Ci asked him.

    ¡°In fact, in this kind of disorderly and socially constrained situation, no one has the obligation to think about others.¡± Luo Wei was so calm and rational that he was almost ruthless. ¡°You can form teams at will. We aren¡¯t qualified to interfere. But if, and only if, if you want, you can consider not dividing into six groups, where 5 groups would only have two people. This is an extremely unscientific grouping method. If the rules of the painting is the option to choose, then each group should have at least three talents. Once faced with the need to choose A or B when there is a disagreement, the minority can vote to achieve the majority decision.¡±

    ¡°If you have a group of three, why not have a group of four?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    Luo Wei nced at Wei Dong with a disdainful look. ¡°We¡¯re living people, not machines. If we have an even number of people in a group, then we would still be at a deadlock. We need someone to cooperatively make a final, deciding choice. So, do you agree with my proposal?¡±

    Thest sentence was for Qin Ci, but Luo Wei still subconsciously nced at Mu Yiran, who was standing a few steps away from Qin Ci. With the meticulous and careful observation of a man of science and engineering, he intuitively felt that this silent and cold man was the one who really had the final say in this group of veterans.

    If they were in groups of three, they would have to divide into four groups. However, there were six worlds in front of them. Finding the signature was a race against time. Leaving two worlds unexplored might mean decreasing their chance of escaping.

    Qin Ci looked at hispanions with questioning eyes, silently asking them for their opinions.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Then let¡¯s divide into four groups of three,¡± Ke Xun answered the most simply. ¡°Since we choose to determine our destiny, then we choose to divide into four groups and give up the entrance to the two worlds for the time being. That is also our fate. Maybe our ¡®choice¡¯ has already begun.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I agree to divide into four groups,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°I agree too,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°What¡¯s your opinion?¡± Qin Ci asked the other neers.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. But no matter how many groups we are divided into, I have to be with you, and you have to be responsible for me!¡± Zhao Haicui, the woman with the curly hair, pulled on Qin Ci¡¯s sleeve.

    Qin Ci tried but couldn¡¯t get rid of Zhao Haicui¡¯s hold. He shook his head helplessly and looked at hispanion. ¡°How to group?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be in a group with Yiran,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°No one asked you.¡± Wei Dong rolled his eyes, ¡°I also want to be in a group with Yiran.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun and I will be in a group,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°Wei Dong and Haowen will be together, and Dr. Qin can take Luo Wei and Li Yaqing. The rest can casually decide for themselves.¡±

    ¡°Please pay attention to the time. Before 11 o¡¯clock in the evening, if possible, try to return to this room. Since the rule of the painting is usually not to cause everyone to die on the same night, if we rush back here before midnight, we will definitely reduce the probability of death.¡±

    ¡°After entering your world of choice, everyone pay attention to leave a mark along the way to prevent getting lost on the way back, and at the same time, leaving tracks for others to find you.¡±

    ¡°I brought paper and pen, and I¡¯ll leave it in this room. When someone is able to return to this room, you can leave a message on the paper for the people who haven¡¯t returned yet. Be as detailed as possible about your group¡¯s experience and exin clearly what your group¡¯s future n is.¡±

    ¡°Time waits for no one. It¡¯s better to start now.¡±

    After speaking, he nced at Ke Xun, and Ke Xun immediately followed. The two of them walked toward one of the entrances.

    Mu Yiran allowed the other neers and Qi Qiang and Huang Pi to decide how to group themselves. Whoever wanted to follow them, it would be entirely voluntary.

    Surprisingly, it turned out to be Huang Pi.

    Qi Quang had originally moved his feet to follow after them, but when he saw Huang Pi move, he stopped. In the end, he chose to form a group with a male and a female neer.

    Ke Xun spected that Qi Qiang probably wanted to do the same thing he¡¯d done in thest painting. He wanted to pick a soft persimmon to pit. The neers knew nothing about the world of the painting, so they could be used as substitutes for scapegoating and pathfinding.

    However, Ke Xun didn¡¯t spare any effort to intervene in this. In the painting, no one could protect themselves. Therefore, how could he have the strength to continuously help others avoid calction and persecution?

    Ke Xun only told Wei Dong, Zhu Haowen, and Qin Ci to be more careful, and then together with Mu Yiran and Huang Pi, he stepped through the round door.

    Ke Xun followed at the rear, paying particr attention to the Confucian scarf Huang Pi was wearing. With the scarf on, his head looked like a shaved thumb. This, coupled with his ferocious face like abor prisoner, made him look almostical.

    Looking back at the room behind him, he saw that the round door was already closed. From the outside, the room looked like a rustic mud brick house with no windows and dry straw for a roof.

    Ke Xun spected that this room would have different appearances when viewed from different worlds.

    Turning back to look at the world that was in front of him, there was an indescribable sense of vition.

    There were mountains in the distance and trees nearby. The leftndscape was a block of farnd while the right was speckled with sparse cottages. The hue of this entire world was very strange. It looked faded and old, like something straight out of an old movie or an old pile of books.

    Whether it was mountains, trees, fields, or houses, all of them were old and gloomy, and when you looked closely, every line was quite odd. There were no absolute horizontal or vertical lines. Even the cross beams, the window frames, and the door frames had a kind of undtion, a curve that didn¡¯t conform to anything that made sense.

    ¡°I¡¯m a little scared.¡±

    When Mu Yiran heard Ke Xun suddenly say this, he couldn¡¯t help but look at him.

    Wasn¡¯t this kid always so brave and courageous during the course of entering and exiting paintings again and again? What was he afraid of now?

    ¡°When I was young, I was very afraid of old movies like this,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Those kinds of ck and white films, regardless of whether with or without sounds, have a dim yellowish color like this, and there¡¯s always something called¡­¡±

    ¡°Particle noise,¡± Mu Yiranpleted in understanding.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the kind of texture that keeps moving around on the screen.¡± Ke Xun touched his arm, as if ayer of goosebumps had formed there. ¡°The sounds of those movies were also loud and abrupt, and I know this sounds even more weird, but I always feel that the people in those movies aren¡¯t like living people at all.¡±

    So in this world like an old movie, would there be a group of strange ¡°living¡± people?

    ¡°Whatever it is, let¡¯s find someone to ask about the situation here first.¡± Ke Xun, who had just said that he was afraid, had already taken a step forward and was striding toward the distant ce where there were humans.

    Along the way, Ke Xun made very obvious marks on trees or on the side of the road every few distances. These marks were a set of special symbols that only those from the same groups would understand. The symbols not only indicate the direction the person making the mark was traveling in but also provide information on the current situation and directives on what to do.

    However, in order to make it easier for neers to understand, he also left behind some exnatory texts and signs.

    When they reached a field that was overgrown with dried cracks, they saw an elderly grandfather and his grandson ploughing the field with great effort. They were wearing the clothes of ancient civilians with their hairs wrapped up in a bun. Their clothes were shabby and worn nearly to strips, so old that there was almost no color left.

    Their skin was like the tones of the earth, yellow and dark, and they looked hungry, even though their fingers and waists were thick and round.

    ¡°May I ask¡­¡± Ke Xun stepped forward to inquire, affecting the tones of the ancients. He cupped his fist as a propriety and said, ¡°Uncle, this¡­er, where is this ce?¡±

    The old man slowly raised his head. His gray beard didn¡¯t have the texture of human hair. It was hard to describe what that texture was; it was a bit like strips of cloth coated in mud, not looking like a beard at all/

    With the experience gained from the previous paintings, even if Ke Xun felt that the old man in front of him was very strange, he dared not show it. Instead, he pretended to look at him in a very natural manner.

    ¡°You¡¯re outsiders,¡± the old man said slowly, his voice carrying the sound quality of very old movies. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but shift a few steps closer to Mu Yiran¡¯s side. ¡°This is White Flower Vige.¡±

    The name of the vige sounded nice, but Ke Xun nced around and didn¡¯t see any flowers at all. Or, even if he did see flowers, it was such a dark yellow that it was indistinguishable from everything else.

    Knowing the vige¡¯s name brought no additional clues at all. Ke Xun scratched his head, not knowing what else to ask. After all, up to now, he still had no clues about how to find the signature and no knowledge of the death condition in this painting.

    ¡°Uncle, the fields here are a bit dry. Will the harvest be affected?¡± Mu Yiran, who had been silent up until now, suddenly asked a question that had nothing to do with the painting.

 Chapter 133: Ke Xun said â€œMeow.â€

    <h4>Chapter 133: Ke Xun said ¡°Meow.¡±</h4>

    Ai¡­¡± the old man sighed. ¡°This year, there¡¯s a severe drought.? The water in the well has reached the bottom, and the vigers¡¯ fields are so dry they¡¯re about to go up in smoke. I¡¯m afraid there won¡¯t be any grains this year¡­And not only were taxes not reduced, it was raised¡­How will we live these days?¡­s.¡±

    Listening to this, it was simply a typical story from ancient times.

    Mu Yiran asked quietly, ¡°Which official is in charge of the local area?¡±

    The old man lowered his voice and replied, ¡°The county magistrate.¡±

    The county magistrate wasn¡¯t a name, but no matter how they asked, the old man¡¯s answer was only ¡°county magistrate¡±.

    Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, and Huang Pi walked around in this vige, but couldn¡¯t get any more seemingly useful clues, so they inquired where the county government was and rushed there.

    The county office was naturally in the county, and the buildings and scenery there were exactly like the vige, dark yellow everywhere.

    Ke Xun inquired about the exact location of the county magistrate¡¯s office. The three of them hurriedly shuttled between houses until they came to a house in the direction indicated by thest passerby. They were about to walk towards the door when they heard someone speaking from the open window next to them. ¡°My lord, look here.¡±

    Ke Xun was passing by the window, and when he heard these words, he turned his head and looked into the window, only to see a man with the appearance of a schr with a double-handlebar moustache on his lips, holding a piece of drawing paper for another person to see.

    The other person was wearing an official uniform and a ck gauze cap on his head. Although the color of this world was dull, Ke Xun could still recognize the red color of his official uniform.

    A government official?

    Could this be the magistrate whose name no one would say?

    Ke Xun looked in through the window.

    The schr raised the painting in his hand and said to the county magistrate, ¡°My lord, you are just like this pine tree that is evergreen and immortal!¡±

    The county magistrate stroked his beard with satisfaction andughed. ¡°Not deserving, not deserving.¡±

    Ke Xun turned to look at Mu Yiran. ¡°What the hell is this? The county magistrate¡¯s window is opened to the street. Anyone who passes by can look inside. Do you think this is a painting bug or is it a clue left for us?¡±

    Before Mu Yiran could answer, the people inside the room had already heard the movements from outside the window. The person who looked like a schr pointed at Ke Xun. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Ke Xun cautiously took half a step back and cupped his hand in greetings. ¡°I was just passing through and happened to hear the magistrate¡¯s voice and see the magistrate¡¯s smile.

    The schr walked to the window and looked out at Ke Xun. Stretching out his fingers, he stroked the two ends of the moustache on his upper lip. With a sneer, he said, ¡°Then be good and go herd your ox!¡±

    After he said this, he stretched out his hand and closed the window with a m, and then he and the magistrateughed from within.

    Ke Xun turned around and looked at Mu Yiran with a nk expression. ¡°Do I look like a cattle herd?¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at the two fluffy cat ears on his head, pursed his lips, and carefully looked away at the surrounding area before saying, ¡°Go herd your ox. I think this sentence should be a fixed line from the NPC. Of course, it might also be a clue. We can go find an ox and try it.¡±

    After the two of them said this, they strode away from this strange county office window. However, they didn¡¯t notice that Huang Pi wasgging behind and looking at the closed window nkly.

    However, oxes weren¡¯t easy to find. After returning to the vige, the three of them went around for a while. They didn¡¯t see any farmers plowing thend with oxen. Most of them were plowing the fields manually. But then again, oxen provided very importantbors in ancient times. Their value exceeded that of ves, and so ordinary poor people wouldn¡¯t be able to afford to raise oxen.

    Seeing that the sky was getting darker, the three of them decided to return to the room where they came from, following the signs they had made. On the way, they heard the cry of a young child, ¡°My sheep, my sheep, my sheep, ah¡­¡±

    They followed the sound and saw a man who looked like a gangster snatching a littlemb from the arms of amoner child. How could a little child hold up against such a strong opponent? Very quickly, he was kicked to the ground and his sheep carried off.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°¡­There are so many NPC scenes in this painting. Whether we could see it or not, they would act there all by themselves.¡±

    The three of them didn¡¯t stop just because of this. It was getting dark, and saving their own lives was more important.

    Following the tracking symbols, they returned to the mud brick house, pushed the closed door, and saw that it could still be opened. Ke Xun thought that, ording to the usual routine, the painting wouldn¡¯t allow them to return to the ce where they came from. But since they could go back to the room, did that mean that, once dawn arrived tomorrow, the three of them could still choose to go to another world to look for clues?¡±

    After pushing open the door and entering, they saw that Qin Ci, Luo Wei, and Li Yaqing had returned. The rest were still missing. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but worry about Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen, so he asked Qin Ci, ¡°Brother Qin, do you know which door Dongzi and his group chose?¡±

    Qin Ci shook his head. ¡°We were the second group to leave. Xiao Wei and the others should have left after us. But don¡¯t worry. Haowen is a dependable person. I think they should be on their way back.¡±

    Ke Xun took out his cell phone and looked at the time. Seeing that it was now past seven in the evening, he decided that if they hadn¡¯t returned by 8 o¡¯clock, they would enter the world they had selected to find them.

    ¡°Have you found any clues in your world?¡± Qin Ci asked Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Not for the time being.¡± Mu Yiran briefly told him about the world they had entered, and then he asked Qin Ci if they discovered anything.

    Qin Ci¡¯s expression turned weird. He hummed for a bit and slowly said, ¡°The world we went to¡­was too bizarre. It subverted any of the previous paintings I¡¯ve been to. In it¡­everything, whether it was buildings or trees, flowers or nts, even the people, were all¡­t.¡±

    The cat¡¯s ears on Ke Xun¡¯s head jerked upright. ¡°t? Describe it in more detail.¡±

    ¡°Two-dimensional,¡± Luo Wei said calmly. ¡°We likely entered a two-dimensional world, but this world wasn¡¯t two-dimensional in the truest sense. A true two-dimensionality has no thickness. However, the scenery and people still have a certain thickness that¡¯s about¡­the thickness of a piece of paper.¡±

    ¡°As an analogy,¡± Qin Ci continued, ¡°it¡¯s a bit like paper-cuts. All the people there were like paper people. The houses, the scenery, and even the water were all cut out of paper.¡±

    Ke Xun was dumbfounded, and the tips of his cat ears trembled. ¡°That is indeed quite bizarre, even stranger than the world we went to¡­Does the scenery and people have colors?¡±

    ¡°Yes, not only that, but the colors were also very bright,¡± Qin Ci said.. ¡°The people inside were dressed in ancient clothes, a bit like the clothing style of thete Qing Dynasty.¡±

    Ke Xun scratched his head and looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°The painting seems a bit messy. The two worlds that our two groups entered are not only different in style, but also in different historical periods. The one we entered should have been before the Qing Dynasty.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded in agreement, and Qin Ci continued to say, ¡°After we entered, we found ourselves in a fishing vige surrounded by fishermen. We went around the entire vige twice but found no clues, so we ended up searching house to house. We were only able to check seven to eight houses before we ran out of time, and most of the houses were left unchecked. We n to continue searching tomorrow.¡±

    As he was talking, they saw Wei Dong, Zhu Haowen, the curly-haired Zhao Haicui, and Zhang Lifeng, who had chosen the two longan kernels as his props, pushed the door open.

    ¡°How did it go?¡± Ke Xun was the first to ask.

    Zhu Haowen and Wei Dong both stared at him.

    ¡°¡­What are you doing?¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Why are you looking at me? Did the word ¡®handsome¡¯ just grow on my face?¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­I swear I heard you ¡®meow¡¯ just now!¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s face had the look of ck question mark. ¡°¡­Are you crazy? I only said four words, how, did, it, go, these four words.¡±

    ¡°Big brother,¡± Wei Dong turned his head to look at Mu Yiran, ¡°you¡¯re fair. Did Ke¡¯er just meow first and then asked his question?¡±

    Mu Yiran frowned slightly, confirming that Wei Dong¡¯s words were true. Ke Xun was even more confused. Wouldn¡¯t he himself know what words came out of his own mouth? He didn¡¯t think he meowed. What the hell was going on?

    Scratching his head, Ke Xun put this weird question aside and asked Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about other matters for now. Tell me if you¡¯ve found any clues.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Seeing Ke Xun¡¯s uncaring expression, no one insisted on continuing the topic. Zhu Haowen replied, ¡°The world we entered was very weird. All animals were like people.¡±

    Ke Xun was taken aback. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you went back to the painting Animal World again?!¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be the case. All animals were normal size. There were no animals as big as the giant cows in that painting. And¡­all animals spoke human words and wore the same clothes as humans. That¡¯s why I said they were like people.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s really strange¡­meow,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡± Aren¡¯t you the strangest one?¡±

    ¡°We searched for a while in this world, and found that there were no human beings and that these animals lived within a normal social order,¡± Zhu Haowen continued. ¡°But we weren¡¯t able to find any relevant clues¡­¡±

    Before he could finish speaking, Wei Dong took over and said, ¡°We were almost caught by a group of cats and taken to a detention center.¡±

    ¡°Then what happened, meow?¡± Ke Xun asked hurriedly.

    Wei Dong nced at Zhao Haicui, the ugly-faced woman with the curly hair who was standing next to him, and snorted. ¡°It was because this sister saw the talking animals and started screaming, severely disrupting public order. Several cats wearing police uniforms rushed out from the side and wanted to catch us, causing me to drag her to pretend to be a hillbilly who had just entered the city for the first time, and finally they let us go.¡±

    .

    Qin Ci frowned. ¡°Three doors, threepletely different worlds. What theme does this painting want to express? Will the worlds in the remaining three doors bepletely different from these three worlds?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the name of this painting?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    They all looked at one another. They had been watching Luo Wei right before they entered the painting, and so they failed to pay attention to the painting itself.

    Only Mu Yiran said, ¡°This work is called Pure Land, and the painter¡¯s name is Mi Lun.¡±

    ¡°Pure Land? Is this painting rted to religion?¡± Wei Dong shuddered. The psychological shadow left by the painting Faith still hadn¡¯t abated even now.

    ¡°The painting style of these three worlds are also very different, and there¡¯s no sense of religion at all,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Yiran, do you know much about Mi Lun?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°¡­Are you sure you didn¡¯t just deliberately called someone ¡°meow¡±? Wei Dong asked.

    Ke Xun shot him a nce. ¡°I¡¯m talking about a person.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s over¡­¡± Taking advantage of the fact that Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were engaged in a conversation, Wei Dong whispered to Zhu Haowen, ¡°Ke¡¯er is confused. It must be that weird world they had entered. What should we do? He doesn¡¯t even realize it himself! Do you think he¡¯ll deteriorate to only talking cat words in the end? Fuck, this is awful!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll think of a way.¡± Zhu Haowen¡¯s expression was cold and solemn. No longer caring about Wei Dong, he fell into deep thoughts.

 Chapter 134: Is He a Corgi Or a Cat?

    <h4>Chapter 134: Is He a Corgi Or a Cat?</h4>

    ¡°About Mi Lun,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°All I know is that he was only 38 years old when he died, and that he died abnormally.¡±

    ¡°An abnormal death?¡± Ke Xun looked at him with cat ears perked up.

    ¡°Suicide,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°He seemed to be unmarried and was living alone. He was found dead in his apartment, having overdosed on sleeping pills. There was no suicide note. He had just finished painting Pure Land, which may be thest work of his life.¡±

    ¡°In this way, it seems that we can understand the reason why this painting was named Pure Land,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°In painting this, he might be expressing his desire for death. For him, death may possibly be a kind of relief. Like many people, he might have believed that, after death, he would be at ease and blissfully carefree. Is it possible that he was suffering from some kind of incurable disease, and so he wanted to relieve himself of it through death?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way to verify at this time,¡± Mu Yiran nced at the six doors in the room. ¡°If this painting is his legacy, all we have to do is find out the world he created and understand how his life experience is connected to the cause of his death.¡±

    ¡°Now that we know the contents of three worlds, should we check the remaining three worlds tomorrow?¡± Luo Wei asked.

    ¡°We can only check tomorrow. Nights are the most dangerous times in the painting.¡± Qin Ci looked at one of the doors. ¡°Qi Qiang and the other two haven¡¯t returned yet. I wonder if something happened to them.¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and get them back!¡± Zhao Haicui suddenly shouted. ¡°Did they get lost? Has something happened?! Since you¡¯re familiar with this ce, go get them back!¡±

    Wei Dong had already been long provoked by this woman. He replied angrily, ¡°Are we obligated to do that?! Sister, if you have a makeup mirror, please take a look at how big your face is!¡±

    ¡°You¨C¡± Zhao Haicui argued back, but no one was willing to pay attention to her.

    ¡°Sister Zhao, why don¡¯t we go find them?¡± her colleague Zhang Lifeng said. ¡°Didn¡¯t we all agree to leave behind track marks? If we follow the marks they made, we should be able to find them.¡±

    Although Zhao Haicui was oundish, she also had a persistent attachment to herpanions. She red at the others fiercely and followed Zhang Lifeng through the door where their other two colleagues had entered.

    ¡°One final piece of advice,¡± Ke Xun said to them. ¡°Running around at night will really kill you so be careful, meow.¡±

    Zhao Haicui turned and scolded, ¡°Like hell I¡¯ll believe you! A big man who meows like a cat, trying to sell cuteness! Disgusting!¡±

    Having said her piece, Zhang Lifeng opened the door and left.

    Ke Xun: ¡°???¡±

    Wei Dong spread his hands. ¡°If a person wants to rush to her death, even the King of Hell wouldn¡¯t be able to stop her. Meow.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    It was already past eight, and everyone sat on the ground, waiting for dawn or death.

    Of course, they weren¡¯t passively waiting for death. They were all focused on analyzing the painting and trying to explore any clues they had, a behavior that they had tacitly formed after cooperating so many times in previous paintings.

    ¡°Now, it seems like there¡¯s ayer of fog in front of us, making this painting even more confusing than any I¡¯ve entered before,¡± Qin Ci said in a deep voice. ¡°There are two puzzles in front of us.¡±

    ¡°First, the three known worlds all have very different styles and time periods, and none of them bore any clues.¡±

    ¡°Second, what kind of effects do the props have?¡±

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s brainstorm some ideas and not let ourselves be limited by established cognition. Even if something sounds extremely unreasonable, you should still speak it for others to consider.¡±

    ¡°Xiao Mu, you¡­cough, do you want to start?¡±

    Qin Ci almost choked when he looked over and saw Ke Xun lying on Mu Yiran¡¯s thighs like a big andzy cat, his eyes narrowing into crescent arcs and his mouth opening in a big yawn.

    ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m going blind.¡± Wei Dong covered his face with his hand and said to Zhu Haowen, who was sitting next to him, ¡°They really think that us straight men are nonexistent, don¡¯t you agree Comrade Xiao Zhu?!¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked down, his face expressionless.

    .

    Mu Yiran raised his gaze from the face of thezy cat on hisp, looked at the people in front of him, and said quietly, ¡°Speaking of the different styles of the three worlds, the props we get are actually simr. They don¡¯t belong to the same style and period, and so I think they may be rted to these six worlds.¡±

    Like a dreamer awakening at these words, Zhu Haowen abruptly raised his head and looked at him. ¡°You mean, the props we have may correspond to these six worlds?¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded slightly. ¡°We can try to make a connection between them.¡±

    Put the 13 props they have and the three known worlds on opposite sides and try to find the corrtion between them.

    ¡°I have a pen and paper.¡± Luo Wei took out a palm-sized notebook and a pen from his jacket pocket.

    <strong>One the left side was the prop column:</strong>

    <i>Two longan cores</i>

    <i>Ancient schr Confucian scarf</i>

    <i>Ancient copper pot engraved with flowers</i>

    <i>Writing brush</i>

    <i>Fishing rod</i>

    <i>Cat whiskers</i>

    <i>Sword</i>

    <i>Fruit</i>

    <i>Red, round stone</i>

    <i>Bunny ear headband</i>

    <i>Cat ear headband</i>

    <i>Dragon horn headband</i>

    <i>ck red pants and red and white stripes T-shirt</i>

    <strong>The known world on the right:</strong>

    <i>Ancient world before the Qing Dynasty</i>

    <i>Paper-cut two-dimensional world inte Qing Dynasty</i>

    <i>Anthropomorphic animal world with a modern social background.</i>

    Everyone looked at the two columns on the paper and proceeded to explore the connections between these two ssifications.

    [Ancient world before the Qing Dynasty] Applicable props: two longan cores, ancient schr Confucian scarf, ancient bronze flower pot, writing brush, fishing rod, sword, fruit, red round stone;

    [Paper-cut two-dimensional world in thete Qing Dynasty] Applicable props: fishing rod.

    [Anthropomorphic animal world with a modern social background] Applicable props: fruits, red round stones, cat whiskers, rabbit ear headband, cat ear headband, dragon horn headband.

    ¡°None of the props we received are two-dimensional,¡± Luo Wei said, pointing to the items listed on the paper. ¡°But there are fishermen in this two-dimensional world. Mr. Qin¡¯s fishing rod can be temporarily connected to this world. In addition, a prop that is simr is the ck red pants and the red and white striped T shirt costume. Strictly speaking, this costume is actually suitable for an anthropomorphic animal world, but since we don¡¯t know the contents of the other three worlds yet, maybe this suit can be connected to the other three worlds instead.¡±

    ¡°There are 13 props in total for 13 of us, and there are only six worlds here,¡± Zhu Haowen continued. ¡°Utilizing some of the things we summarized earlier, we can specte that most of the props apply to the first ancient world. From another perspective, this is proof that the other three worlds must be existences simr to the first ancient world, making these props application to them.¡±

    ¡°Meow, do you think these props are equivalent to a kind of secret key?¡± Ke Xun leaned on Mu Yiran¡¯sp and folded his hands under him in a studious pose. ¡°These six worlds are like six locks. To really open the door and clear them, we have to connect the right keyhole with the right key.¡±

    ¡°In view of the rule that we¡¯re not allowed to change props,¡± Mu Yiran answered, ¡°we can only take the props we have already chosen and enter the world that corresponds to them. Perhaps, in this way, we can find more clues and locate Mi Lun¡¯s signature.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that we got nothing from the three worlds earlier,¡± Wei Dong suddenly said. ¡°Obviously, some of us entered the wrong world and the props we carried aren¡¯t consistent with the style of the world we entered. It¡¯s just like entering the wrong password. Of course, the corresponding program wouldn¡¯t open.¡±

    ¡°Then tomorrow, we can try to regroup by the style of our props and choose a corresponding world to enter,¡± Qin Ci said.

    Wei Dong took out the writing brush from inside his pocket and said, ¡°ording to my prop, I should have entered the world that Ke¡¯er and his group entered.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll enter the anthropomorphic animal world?¡± Ke Xun finally left Mu Yiran¡¯s thighs, sat upright, and turned to look at Mu Yiran. ¡°Yiran¡¯s prop is a fruit seed, which is applicable to the first ancient world. It also applies to the anthropomorphic animal world and may even apply to the other three unknown worlds as well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like drawing a lottery, trying to get the right numbers,¡± Luo Wei said. ¡°If you got three or more of the same numbers, you¡¯ll win the jackpot. Since the fruit might be applicable to multiple worlds, you might as well try different worlds and maybe you¡¯ll find the right one. The same goes for everyone else. We can enter these six worlds several times in differentbination to increase our chances of finding the right world.¡±

    Everyone nodded in agreement. They became quiet for a while. Each of them found a corner and rested, though alert in case something might happen after night fell.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran sat together, leaning against the wall and looking up at the wallpaper on the wall and ceiling. As night descended, the stars and moon patterns on the wallpaper gradually brightened with a starry, yellow light, seeming to flow slowly around with a kind of dreamy movement. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they were in a horror painting and could die tragically at any moment, this room would be as beautiful as a fairy tale.

    ¡°Yiran meow,¡± Mu Yiran listened as Ke Xun spoke in an unintentionally cute voice. ¡°Did you have any ufortable reactions after eating that weird fruit?¡±

    Mu Yiran did not answer, but instead nced at him. ¡°How do you feel now?¡±

    Ke Xun thought for a moment, and meowed. ¡°I¡¯m very energetic, and I can see things very clearly. You see, right now, the light in the room is very dark, but I¡¯m sitting here and I can see the little scruff that¡¯s growing on Dongzi¡¯s chin quite clearly.¡±

    Mu Yiran frowned imperceptibly. He suddenly raised his hand and gently hooked Ke Xun¡¯s chin, only to hear a purring sounding from Ke Xun¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Oh, meow¡­¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice was low and hoarse. He arched up, pulling close to Mu Yiran¡¯s face. ¡°Are you teasing me, boss?¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyes to look at him and said in a low voice, ¡°Feeling veryfortable?¡±

    ¡°Extremelyfortable, meow~~~¡± Ke Xun reached out and grabbed Mu Yiran¡¯s shoulders. Pressing his upper body to Mu Yiran¡¯s chest, he rubbed the tip of his nose against his cheek, ¡°Do it again, Yiran. y with me again, meow.¡±

    Mu Yiran raised his hand again, but instead of hooking his chin like before, he put his hand behind his neck and then squeezed. ¡°See if you can move.¡±

    However, Ke Xun was motionless, as if his soft points had been pinched. His eyes were wide, and he couldn¡¯t even speak.

    Mu Yiran let go of him, his voice still deep but very solemn and very serious. ¡°Ke Xun, you¡¯re turning into a cat.¡±

 Chapter 135: Body Changes

    <h4>Chapter 135: Body Changes</h4>

    Ke Xun realized that his body was getting more and more weird. He reached out and touched his tail bone. ¡°I haven¡¯t grown a tail yet. I still have time, meow.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Mu Yiran stretched out his hand to cover the back of Ke Xun¡¯s hand, trying tofort him. But Ke Xun withdrew his hand from underneath and ced it over Mu Yiran¡¯s hand.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­¡± Alright, the cat¡¯s paw must be on top.

    ¡°Meow, do you think my speech will gradually be iprehensible? Then I will grow fur and a tail like a real cat, and only little female cats¡­ or little male cats will be interested in me?¡± Ke Xun squatted down anxiously, his cat ears drooping.

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Mu Yiran didn¡¯t want to give him too much hope. ¡°It seems that our time will be very tight. This painting may be different from other previous paintings in that its killing method may not necessarily end our life directly, but¡­would destroy the part that makes us human.¡±

    ¡°Meow, this is as cruel as murder, meow!¡± Ke Xun was angry, and so the tip of his ears flipped back and forth. ¡°But out of all of us, I¡¯m the only one who has cat ears. Aside from the other two with the rabbit ears and the dragon horns, does this mean that the rest will be faced with different ways of having their human attributes destroyed?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Yiran answered without any hesitation, and his certainty and decisiveness made Ke Xun immediately suspicious.

    ¡°Yiran.¡± Ke Xun stared at him. ¡°Did you get meow too? Is there something wrong with you? Tell me meow! Meow!¡±

    Mu Yiran suddenly let out a small smile when he heard these meows. Seeing this, Ke Xun looked stunned. ¡°You¡­what are youughing at?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Mu Yiran returned to his usual calm expression. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help butugh a little.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran slightly bent one slender leg, and answered Ke Xun¡¯s series of follow-up questions from earlier. ¡°I do feel some differences, but I¡¯m not certain if it¡¯s rted to the fruit I swallowed. I need to gather more clues to confirm.¡±

    ¡°Where do you feel ufortable?¡± Ke Xun demanded.

    Mu Yiran stretched out his hand and gently pinched the back of Ke Xun¡¯s neck. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it now, lest your hair start to stand up.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t puff up his hair even if he wanted to. A cat¡¯s vulnerable spot was at the back of the neck, and now that the big boss was pinching there, he could no longer move.

    Wei Dong withdrew his gaze from them, turned his face ,and whispered to Zhu Haowen, who was sitting next to him. ¡°Yep, it seems like the two of them are an item now. In the future, do you think I¡¯ll be calling the big boss sister-inw or brother-inw?¡±

    ¡°If your mind is leisure enough to ponder this, it¡¯s better to use your brain to quickly find clues,¡± Zhu Haowen said coldly.

    ¡°The brains of us artists are used to think about creativity andposition, not to find clues in the painting¡­¡± Wei Dong sighed, took out the prop brush, and ran the snow white tip over his fingers. ¡°This is only a brush without paint. What¡¯s the difference between this brush and uselessness? If you give me an extra box of ink, I can also show you my basic skills in creating an ink and wash painting. At the very least, a small chick eating rice painting wouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    As he said this, he ran the dry brush head over his fingers a few times, then he said, ¡°Why does it seem like my hands have be ugly?¡±

    Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t want to talk to him anymore. At this time, this fool still cared about whether his hands were good looking or not?

    Wei Dong jumped up, seeming to regard this discovery as a major event. He rushed over to Ke Xun, eximing, ¡°Ke¡¯er! Look! Look at my hand! Do you see anything?¡±

    He stretched out his hand in front of Ke Xun, who promptly pped it away.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun coughed. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know why but I just subconsciously did that¡­Come, stretch it out and I¡¯ll look at your delicate hands.¡±

    It was no wonder that Wei Dong was so sensitive about his hands. After all, he was engaged in an industry that required his hands. Whether holding a brush or holding a mouse, his hands dangled under his eyes nearly all day. It could be said that, to Wei Dong, they were the most familiar parts of his body.

    Ke Xun looked at Wei Dong¡¯s hands thoughtfully for a moment. ¡°It does seem like there¡¯s been a change. They¡¯re a little¡­swollen.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡± Wei Dong rubbed his hands. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is it because they haven¡¯t limatized to the environment of the painting?¡±

    ¡°Ask Brother Qin,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong hurried to Qin Ci. ¡°Brother Qin, Brother Qin, what¡¯s wrong with me? Why are my hands swollen?¡±

    Qin Ci took his hands and squeezed tjem, then asked him, ¡°Is it only your hands? What about your feet?¡±

    Wei Dong quickly took off his shoes and socks, raised a foot, took a closer look, and was shocked. ¡°My feet are swollen too! What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    Qin Ci squeezed his foot, frowning slightly. ¡°This isn¡¯t swelling, since there aren¡¯t any pathological characteristics of swelling present. If I have to describe it, it¡¯s like you suddenly became fat in a short period of time, and it is not puffy either, since the flesh under the skin is very dense.¡±

    ¡°Fat¡­?¡± Wei Dong was stunned. ¡°Why did I suddenly get fat? Fuck¡ªOthers say they get fat by swallowing their own saliva, so howe I¡¯m get fatting even by breathing?¡±

    ¡°Is this the painting¡¯s effect on you?¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice suddenly rang out from behind him, startling him.

    ¡°Fuck, when did youe up behind me? Howe you didn¡¯t even make a sound when walking? You almost scared me to death!¡± Wei Dong clutched his hand over his heart.

    ¡°¡­I walked over normally, meow.¡± Ke Xun waved his hand, ¡°Right now, Yiran and I, and also Dongzi, our bodies are changing. This must be the rule of this painting. Brother Qin, has anything changed for you?¡±

    Qin Ci assessed his own state and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t seem to be changing right now.¡±

    ¡°Haowen¡¯er, what about you meow?¡± Ke Xun turned his head and asked.

    Zhu Haowen sat there, looked up at him, and after a long moment, calmly said, ¡°I can¡¯t see things clearly, and I seem to have bepletely colorblind. Everything in front of me is gray, white and ck.¡±

    Ke Xun strode over and squatted down in front of him, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. ¡°Can you see me from this distance?¡±

    Zhu Haowen lowered his lids, then raised his gaze. ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s still a bit blurry.¡±

    Ke Xun patted him on the shoulder, got up, and asked Luo Wei and Li Yaqing. ¡°What about you two?¡±

    Li Yaqing shook her head in horror. Luo Wei looked at her, his eyes hidden behind his sses. ¡°I¡¯m fine for the time being.¡±

    ¡°Brother Pi, what about you?¡± Ke Xun asked Huang Pi.

    ¡°¡­No change,¡± Huang Pi answered in a hoarse voice.

    ¡°This is getting more and more confusing.¡± Ke Xun scratched his cat ears. ¡°Not only is the style of painting in each world different, the props we each get are also different. And now even the rules of the painting are affecting our body. Our body changes are all different. Some will be cats, some will gain weight, some will be myopic and colorblind, some temporarily haven¡¯t changed, and some won¡¯t even tell me, meow.¡±

    After Ke Xun finished speaking, Mu Yiran nced at him, his expression extremely cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

    Before Mu Yiran could speak, he heard a door open. Everyone hurriedly looked over and saw Qi Qiang stepping in through that door. His two group members didn¡¯t appear behind him, nor did they see Zhao Haicui and Zhang Lifeng, both of whom had gone looking for theirpanions.

    ¡°Where are they meow?¡± Ke Xun asked him.

    Qi Qiang nced at him in disgust. Seemingly repulsed by Ke Xun¡¯s ¡°meow¡±, he replied in a nasty voice, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡±

    Before the door closed, Ke Xun nced at the world inside the door and saw that the world was dark. He could only vaguely see white mountains and woods covered with snow.

    Was it winter in that world?

    ¡°What did you see in the door meow?¡± Ke Xun continued to ask Qi Qiang.

    ¡°Fuck your meowing!¡± Qi Qiang yelled at Ke Xun. Losing his patience, he pointed the sword at Ke Xun, wishing he could stab it through Ke Xun¡¯s throat.

    ¡°¡­Yiran,e and ask him, meow¡­¡± Ke Xun ended with a cough.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s mouth didn¡¯t move, but when he looked over, Qi Qiang could feel his aura. Of course, Qi Qiang wasn¡¯t stupid. Only by cooperating with these people would he be able to find a way to leave the painting as soon as possible.

    ¡°There was snow everywhere,¡± Qi Qiang lowered the sword and said with a gloomy face. ¡°There are mountains as far as the eye could see, and there are forests, caves, and¡­¡± He hesitated at this part, his face taking on a bit of a pained expression. ¡°There are some fucking monkeys who can only speak human words¡­¡±

    After everyone took in his words, they stared at each other. Qin Ci asked, ¡°What did the monkey say to you?¡±

    ¡°It didn¡¯t fucking say anything!¡± Qi Qiang wasn¡¯t happy. ¡°The two SBs saw that the monkey could talk, and they were so scared, they screamed and ran off!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you killed the monkey meow.¡± Ke Xun looked at him nkly.

    With Qi Qiang¡¯s temperament, coupled with the advantage in his hand, he might actually be able to do such a reckless thing.

    Qi Qiang didn¡¯t say a word, which was obviously a tacit confirmation.

    ¡°¡­You¡¯re really not afraid of getting bacshed¡­¡± Wei Dong was dumbfounded.

    ¡°Then what happened meow?¡± Ke Xun continued to ask Qi Qiang.

    ¡°I followed the road back,¡± Qi Qiang replied coldly.

    ¡°Is there anything wrong with your body?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°No.¡± Qi Qiang red at Wei Dong, who had been staring at him. Then walking to a corner, he sat down to rest.

    ¡°I think he seems a little different¡­¡± Wei Dong whispered to Ke Xun.

    ¡°How so?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°I can¡¯t pinpoint it right now¡­¡± Wei Dong rubbed his face with his fat hands. ¡°I might just be overly suspicious because of what we had discussed earlier.¡±

    ¡°No, I believe in your professional skills,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Since you feel something is wrong, something must be wrong. Don¡¯t worry. Stay calm and keep a careful eye on him meow.¡±

    ¡°All right, meow, I¡¯ll watch him,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­If you imitate me one more time, I¡¯ll scratch you to death, meow!¡±

    Wei Dong went to a darker area and continued to quietly observe a now calm Qi Qiang, who had his eyes closed. Ke Xun returned to Mu Yiran and narrowed his eyes at him. ¡°You¡¯re still refusing to tell me what happened to you, right?¡±

    The veteran members heard his words and looked at him: He had the gall and the courage to speak like that to the Mr. Perfect that he was pursuing so persistently?! Only the word tsundere couldpare.

    Mu Yiran was sitting against the wall. His chin lifted, and he nced at him. Then, patting his thigh, he lightly said, ¡°Come here.¡±

    The veteran members looked at Ke Xun sullenly and watched as he fell onto the big boss¡¯ thigh with a ¡°meow,¡± his eyes narrowed into crescents, his chest making a very enjoyable and satisfying purr¡­

    As time gradually slipped into the darkness of night, the whole room plugged into a dark blue. Only the yellow stars and moon patterns on the walls and ceiling exuded a dreamlike fluorescence.

 Chapter 136: Cat, Mouse, and Paper Person

    <h4>Chapter 136: Cat, Mouse, and Paper Person</h4>

    ¡°This room is circr, and there are doors at intervals, meow.¡± Ke Xun had softened bonelessly on Mu Yiran¡¯s thighs,zily looking at the six doors on the wall, ¡°But why is it that the distance between each door is different, meow? The painting isn¡¯t very orderly or neat, meow. Fortunately, I¡¯m not obsessivepulsive. Or, do you think there¡¯s a mystery in this, meow?¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes fell on those doors, seemingly thoughtful, but before he could think much on it, he felt Ke Xun suddenly stretched out an arm and hooked it around his neck.

    ¡°Yiran meow~¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice was as soft as a cat. ¡°y with me for a bit, meow~¡±

    ¡°..¡­.¡± Mu Yiran looked down at him. ¡°What do you want to y?¡±

    Ke Xun turned over belly up and looked at him. ¡°Lick me, meow~¡±

    ¡°.¡­..¡±

    ¡°Then I will lick you, meow meow~¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    Ke Xun had be particrly yful due to his body¡¯s abnormal transformation into a cat. Mu Yiran raised head and swept his gaze over at the melon-eaters watching them from the shadows. They looked away very naturally, all of them with superb acting.

    ¡°Ke Xun,¡± Mu Yiran tilted his head slightly, and gently spoke in a deep voice into Ke Xun¡¯s ears. ¡°Honestly, I really don¡¯t want to train you in a painting.¡±

    At this moment, Ke Xun felt that his whole person was meowing. The word ¡°train¡± came out of the big boss¡¯ mouth. It was simply too momentous not to meow!

    Meow, he really wanted to leave the paint as quickly as possible.

    Ke Xun turned over and sat up, his eyes gleaming in the dark. He said, ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t sit down. Hurry up and think about the clues, and your mind will also stand up and start moving.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Why did this feel like receiving the devil¡¯s teachings in a concentration camp¡­?

    Ke Xun got up and walked around the room twice. Wei Dong noticed that he was still walking with a special catwalk. Ke Xun stopped in front of Zhu Haowen, and the cat ears on his head flicked. ¡°Haowen¡¯er, the props you got is a cat¡¯s whisker. Why didn¡¯t you put it on your face?¡±

    Zhu Haowen was expressionless. ¡°Why do I have to put it on my face?¡±

    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t a cat¡¯s whisker go on the face?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Which cat has only one whisker on its face?¡±

    Ke Xun paused. ¡°¡­You¡¯re right. Cough, so although you and I got cat-rted items, there is a difference. Meow, my item will gradually change me into a cat, and your prop doesn¡¯t require being worn but it will cause color blindness and your eyesight to decrease. Why do you think this is? How is this connected to a cat¡¯s whisker?¡±

    .

    Zhu Haowen took out the cat¡¯s whisker from his pocket. It wasn¡¯t because he was refusing to wear the whisker on his face, but because he couldn¡¯t put it on his face at all. It was clear that the painting wasn¡¯t requiring that he wear this whisker, only that he keep it on his body. So, what was the function of the whisker? What was the connection between him and cat whiskers?

    Cats weren¡¯t short-sighted, nor were they colorblind. He wasn¡¯t transforming into a cat like Ke Xun but was deprived of his five senses. If the rules of the painting was to, as Mu Yiran had spected, destroy the characteristics and attributes that made them human, then what was bad eyesight and color blindness?

    No, it wasn¡¯t a ¡°thing¡± but an animal. Only animals that had the attributes of ¡°short-sightedness¡± and ¡°color blindness.¡±

    In addition to humans, what animals have poor eyesight, are color blind, and have cat whiskers¡ªor were they even cats?

    ¡°Haowen.¡±

    While Zhu Haowen was thinking about it, he suddenly heard Mu Yiran calling him. He lifted his gaze and looked over. This person seemed to have some insight, because he raised his finger to Ke Xun. ¡°Are you afraid of him?¡±

    Zhu Haowen was startled. What kind of weird question was this? Why should he be afraid of Ke Xun? He feared that he would never be afraid of him. Even if Ke Xun hurt him or killed him one day, he wouldn¡¯t be afraid.

    Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t want to answer this question, but Mu Yiran didn¡¯t care. He turned to call Ke Xun over, and Ke Xun jumped up to him with a ¡°meow.¡± Squatting in front of Mu Yiran, he listened to his instructions spoken in a low voice. After a few words, Ke Xun said that he understood with a ¡°meow¡±, then got up and silently walked toward Zhu Haowen.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zhu Haowen looked up at Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t answer but continued to stare at Zhu Haowen coldly, approaching him slowly step by step.

    Zhu Haowen suddenly felt a chill uncontrobly rising from the bottom of his heart, making him almost subconsciously want to escape Ke Xun¡¯s stare.

    ¡ªWhat was going on?

    He firmly believed that he would never be afraid of him, so how could he suddenly have such an uncontroble sense of fear?!

    Ke Xun walked forward step by step and suddenly rushed towards Zhu Haowen. Zhu Haowen subconsciously screamed and scrambled to the side pitiably, but he couldn¡¯t escape at all. Ke Xun stretched out his hands and mmed them on the ground. Zhu Haowen was so petrified, he felt the strength drained out of him. He couldn¡¯t even make a single move, and a cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes.

    ¡°Why¡­¡± Zhu Haowen found that even his voice was trembling.

    This was impossible. He had never screamed so awkwardly before, let alone be frightened into copse by Ke Xun¡¯s actions. All these reactions were like instincts imnted in his bones, which he could not ovee at all.

    Ke Xun let go of Zhu Haowen and stood up, his face also incredulous. ¡°Am I so terrifying, meow? Haowen, you must have misunderstood me.¡±

    Zhu Haowen¡¯s voice still had a trace of a tremor, and he looked at Mu Yiran, who was looking back at him solemnly. He said, ¡°It seems that you have already thought of the reason.¡±

    Mu Yiran was silent for a moment before he slowly said, ¡°Mice usually have poor eyesights, and they are color blind.¡±

    After hearing this, everyone fell momentarily silent.

    A long momentter, Zhu Haowen was the first to restore his calm. He sat up and looked at Mu Yiran, and then he looked at Ke Xun, his gaze still wide-eyed with petrification. ¡°So, I am transforming into a mouse, which has a natural fear of their enemy, the cats.¡±

    He was truly a lucky person. Why did Ke Xun unexpectedly, unpleasantly be a cat, and why did he unexpectedly, unpleasantly became a mouse?

    Ke Xun stepped back and turned to look at Mu Yiran. ¡°Maybe there are other animals with poor eyesight and color blindness? Also, these days, fewer and fewer mice are afraid of cats. Some cats are even getting more and more squeamish, running in fright whenever they see a mouse¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked at the back of Ke Xun¡¯s head full of hair and suddenly smiled.

    Was this guy afraid of eating him once he¡¯d turned into a mouse?

    ¡°Myopia, color blindness, and a fear of cats. From the above three known traits, Haowen is most likely transforming into a mouse.¡± Mu Yiran was always calm and sensible. ¡°The painting is different from reality, after all. Rats are afraid of cats. This may be one of the absolute rules in the painting.¡±

    Hearing this, Ke Xun took a few steps back until he reached the wall across from Zhu Haowen. He said, ¡°Haowen¡¯er, stay away from me. Dongzi, meow, I¡¯ll leave Haowen¡¯er to you. If you find that I have bad intentions toward him, immediately take him away and don¡¯t let me see him, meow.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    Wei Dong eximed, ¡°You dare to have an errant thought right in front of the big boss¡¯ face?!¡±

    Ke Xun ignored this sentence and looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°Why does Haowen¡¯er have cat whiskers, but he¡¯s transforming into a mouse? What is the causal rtionship between these?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked down and fell into deep thoughts once more. Ke Xun didn¡¯t bother him, but also didn¡¯t dare to go to Zhu Haowen¡¯s side. Instead, he looked at Qin Ci and said, ¡°Speaking of which, meow, the three of you entered the two-dimensional paper-cut world. But there were no changes to your body. What could be the reason?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because Mr. Qin hit the world right,¡± Luo Wei said.

    Ke Xun gave a meow. ¡°ording to our previous ssification, the fishing rod and the two-dimensional paper-cut world are connected together. Dr. Qin¡¯s prop is the fishing rod, so maybe it¡¯s really because he entered the right world! But why haven¡¯t you and Xiao Li changed?¡±

    Luo Wei fell into silence, until he suddenly heard Mu Yiran say indifferently, ¡°You just said that Dr. Qin hit the right world, not that you three hit the right world. I hope you¡¯ll understand that any clues discovered may be crucial to sustaining our lives, including Li Yaqing¡¯s life. So it would serve you better not to conceal anything. When putting together a puzzle, a single missing piece can result in failure.¡±

    After listening to him, Luo Wei lowered his eyes. Then he lifted his gaze and said calmly, ¡°Sorry, I did hide something, but it was only because I didn¡¯t want Yaqing to worry about me. In fact, my body has also changed.¡±

    Li Yaqing was shocked, and she looked at him with teary eyes. ¡°Luo Wei¨CYou¨C¡±

    Luo Wei gently squeezed her trembling hand, and calmly told everyone, ¡°I discovered that my body¡­is bing paper-like.¡±

    The moment he said this, everyone was stunned into silence. They looked at him in shock as they quickly digested his words.

    ¡°Paper-like¡­¡± Wei Dong murmured these words and shivered involuntarily.

    Ke Xun took a closer look at Luo Wei, but didn¡¯t see any changes, so he asked him, ¡°What changed?¡±

    Luo Wei was silent for a moment, and then he slowly stood up.

    This time, no one spoke, because they all heard the sound of paper crinkling as Luo Wei stood up.

    Li Yaqing began to cry bitterly.

    Turning a flesh and blood person into a living paper person, what kind of cruel and inhumane killing method was this?

    While everyone became frightened by Luo Wei¡¯s future plight, Mu Yiran remained calm and sober. He asked the crying Li Yaqing, ¡°Are there any changes to your body?¡±

    Li Yaqing just shook her head, unable to say anything for a long time. Ke Xun walked over and patted her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t cry anymore. Luo Wei is now afraid of water. Aren¡¯t you worried about hurting him? To save him, quickly be strong and work with us to find a way. If We ask you, please try to answer, meow. Time doesn¡¯t wait for anyone.¡±

    After she heard these words, Li Yaqing desperately suppressed her tears. After thinking hard for a moment, she sobbed and said, ¡°Nothing has changed in me, just¡­I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s an illusion but I think that the copper pot engraved with flowers s-seem to be getting bigger and heavier.¡±

    Li Yaqing¡¯s copper pot was originally about the size of a small soup pot. When entering the world behind the door, Li Yaqing had put it in her small backpack, and when she put it in, there was still plenty of space left.

    Ke Xun asked her to take out the pot, only to find that it had grownrge enough to stretch the backpack.

 Chapter 137: The Blind Spot in Boss Muâ€™s Knowledge

    <h4>Chapter 137: The Blind Spot in Boss Mu¡¯s Knowledge</h4>

    The copper pot engraved with flowers was taken out and ced on the floor. Everyone came to observe carefully, and they found that, aside from getting bigger, there were no other changes to the pot. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help thinking out loud, ¡°This is a little strange. Why is it that our bodies are changing, but Xiao Li¡¯s pot is changing instead of her?¡±

    After saying this, he stopped in front of Mu Yiran and red at him with meows and crying sounds. ¡°You still won¡¯t tell me about how you are changing, meow? Did your body change or your¨CMeow fuck! You had to eat your prop, so your body must have changed. Where? Where is it? Tell meow!¡±

    Mu Yiran stretched out his hand to pinch the back of Ke Xun¡¯s neck. After paralyzing this barking big cat into immobility, he told the other people calmly, ¡°Now let¡¯s regroup. We¡¯ll enter our corresponding worlds once daybreak arrives. Time is urgent.¡±

    The crowd held their breath and listened to his arrangements.

    ¡°Wei Dong, Huang Pi, Qi Qiang will enter the pre-Qing Dynasty ancient world that we have entered today,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°Dr Qin will still enter the two-dimensional paper-cut world. Ke Xun will enter the anthropomorphic animal world, and Haowen will enter the world with the talking monkey that Qi Qiang had entered before. Luo Wei and Li Yaqing, follow me, and we¡¯ll choose one of the remaining two worlds to enter.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask what the basis is for your arrangement?¡± Luo Wei still had a strong student spirit, and always asks about the reasoning for everything.

    ¡°The current basis is only my personal spection.¡± Mu Yiran nced at the crowd calmly. ¡°Based on the result that came categorizing the props and the worlds and then drawing a connection between the two, only the two-dimensional paper world and the fishing rod have a clear connection. Dr. Qin¡¯s prop is the fishing rod, and among us, only Dr. Qin¡¯s body and prop haven¡¯t changed. Therefore, I temporarily think that Dr. Qin is the only one of us who has entered the right world.¡±

    Luo Wei pointed to Huang Pi and Qi Qiang. ¡°Aren¡¯t they the same?¡±

    Mu Yiran said coldly, ¡°They didn¡¯t tell the truth.¡±

    Not telling the truth? Everyone couldn¡¯t help but look at these two people. Wei Dong¡¯s eyes were the sharpest, and he gave a startled sound and pointed to Huang Pi. ¡°He¡¯s also swelling up! His facial lines are smoother than before!¡±

    Strictly speaking, Huang Pi¡¯s face hadn¡¯t be swollen and fat; however, the contours of his face had lost their sharp edges and corners. Qi Qiang was the same.

    ¡°So you put the three of them into the same world.¡± Luo Wei understood now. The changes in Wei Dong, Qi Qiang, and Huang Pi were the same, and the props they held were all ancient, so Mu Yiran arranged for them to enter an ancient world.

    As for Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen, who were also changing into animals, they couldn¡¯t be put into the same world, lest Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but swallow Zhu Haowen¡­

    No one objected to Mu Yiran¡¯s arrangement, and they all went back to their previous ce to sit and rest, replenishing their energy and preparing to enter the door at dawn. However, the four neers who had all left through the same door did not return all night.

    Dawn arrived, but no one had died.

    ording to painting¡¯s rule of night time killing, since all the people in this room were spared, it meant that one or a few of the four neers had more or less died.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes swept across the crowd and finally fell on Ke Xun¡¯s face. ¡°Those who are entering alone should pay attention to safety.¡±

    Ke Xun snorted. ¡°Those who refuse to tell others about their changes should also be careful, meow!¡±

    The corners of Mu Yiran¡¯s mouth lifted slightly, and he said in a gentle voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be a tsundere. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Taking Luo Wei and Li Yaqing with him, he chose one of the two worlds that had not yet been entered, opened the door, and walked through.

    Ke Xun¡¯s cat ears twitched twice, and he turned to look at Wei Dong. ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t get too close to them. We left marks on the road yesterday. If the situation goes bad, run back. Did you note down everything I told youst night?¡±

    ¡°I noted it down.¡± Wei Dong nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go and find the county magistrate first to see if his lines have changed.¡±

    ¡°Mmn.¡± Ke Xun was still not at ease. ¡°Even if you get a new clue, if you¡¯re not sure about it, don¡¯t act rashly. Come back and discuss it with us first.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I understand. You go quickly before your whiskers start growing out.¡± Wei Dong looked at him worriedly. ¡°If it¡¯s the wrong world again, you might grow a tail tonight.¡±

    Ke Xun nced at Zhu Haowen and waved his hand. No longer talking, he strode through the door of the anthropomorphic animal world.

    This world felt a little morefortable than the ancient world that he¡¯d entered yesterday. At least it was a colorful and vivid world with a modern human-like society. There were vehicles, buildings, shops, and animalsing and going. They also wore clothes like humans¡­

    Ke Xun still felt a little awkward seeing these anthropomorphic animals walking around in a serious way.

    Unable to put it off any longer, Ke Xun stopped a monkey wearing a red T-shirt and ck pants¨CHuh? This style of dress¡­

    ¡°Brother, let me ask, meow, what is this ce?¡± This was Ke Xun¡¯s first timemunicating with animals in humannguage. It felt quite¡­weird.

    ¡°This is the Big Forest.¡± The monkey looked at him strangely.

    ¡­The Big Forest¡­Ke Xun looked around and saw that there were indeed many trees. There were simple small bungalows with spires built everywhere in the thicket of trees, and all kinds of animals roamed about in human clothes, creating a scene that was peaceful and idyllic.

    Ke Xun really didn¡¯t know where to ask for clues about this painting. He scratched his head and was about to ask the monkey if there were any cats like him nearby, when he heard the sounds of motorcyclesing from a distance. Like him, the monkey also turned to look in the direction of the sound. They saw a group of cats in police uniform riding motorcycles quickly entering the depths of the forest.

    .

    ¡°¡­..¡± This world fucking makes him speechless¡­Ke Xun pulled the corners of his mouth and asked the monkey, ¡°Those¡­uh, cats, where did theye from?¡±

    The monkey looked at him even more strangely. ¡°Forest Public Security Bureau!¡±

    ¡°Where is the Forest Public Security Bureau?¡± Ke Xun asked quickly.

    When the monkey pointed out the direction to him, Ke Xun thanked him and quickly walked in that direction.

    When he reached the door of the Forest Public Security Bureau, Ke Xun saw a poster on the bulletin board. There were words on the poster, followed by a photo of a mouse underneath the words.

    A turbulent sh of memory sandwiched the shock of suddenprehension that instantly swept through him. Countless thoughts about the various situations they had encountered since entering the painting yesterday shed like lightning through his mind¨Cthat¡¯s it! That¡¯s it! The painting they entered this time turned out to have such a theme!

    Ke Xun uttered a big meow, turned his head and ran back, following the marks all the way to the door that opened to this world.

    When he entered the room, he saw that none of the others had returned yet. He turned around twice, picked up the pen and paper that Mu Yiran had left behind, and scribbled a few lines on it. Then he stepped through thest unentered door.

    This world was also brightly colored, with mountains and trees, rivers and rocks. It seemed to be a forest, but there were no buildings in sight.

    While making marks, Ke Xun carefully followed along the river flowing through the mountain forest, carefully observing the painting style of this world, and at the same time, rummaging through his mind for memories that ovepped with this ce.

    Even after walking for nearly two hours, he still hadn¡¯t encountered any humans or anthropomorphic animals. Judging from the mountain forests, this ce was sorge that even if there were animals or people, they would be sparsely distributed throughout the ce.

    Ke Xun hesitated, trying to decide if he should continue walking forward to look for clues or to go back and see if Mu Yiran had returned. He was about to turn around when he suddenly heard caterwauling from animals in the depths of the forest. In the blink of an eye, a monkey, a goat, a rabbits, a squirrel, and even a panda rushed out from within the cover of the forest.

    ¡°¡­..¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t bother to wonder how these animals got together. Instead, he hurriedly took a closer look and saw that these animals weren¡¯t wearing human clothes. They were all in their original state and those who could jump jumped and those who could climb climbed. This ce was more like a normal natural world than the world he¡¯d just entered earlier.

    Before Ke Xun could continue to search his memory for this world¡­he suddenly heard a crow-like crying from the sky. ¡°Ahhh¨CAwu is such a bully¨C¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± Ke Xun immediately broke into a fast run, because he now knew which world he had entered. This was such a pity¨CIt was simply cheating¨C

    A fishy wind blew across the mountain forest, and behind him came the roar of a tiger, so loud that it could shake rocks. Among that flying dirt and rocks, a colorful tiger shot out after him, as if it was about to swallow him into its stomach!

    Extremely rmed, Ke Xun dodged and rushed forward with all his strength. But how could one out-run a tiger? After almost being caught by the tiger again did Ke Xun suddenly realize what the death rule of this painting was.

    The props.

    The props that they each chose would bring about their own way of death.

    What determined the rules and the method of death was the story being told by the world behind each door.

    These stories were not unfamiliar to many people, because they were once people¡¯s best memories. They were like a piece of purend living deep within people¡¯s hearts.

    ¡°¨CYiran¨C¡± Ke Xun, while his life was at stake, suddenly understood what terrible physical abnormality Mu Yiran was experiencing that he was reluctant to tell him.

    Mu Yiran, he¨Che was¨Cpetrifying¨CHe would eventually be a stone man¨CHe¨C

    ¡­¡­

    After returning to the room with Luo Wei and Li Yaqing, Mu Yiran saw the note Ke Xun had left behind. At first, he was a little surprised, then he became silent. Finally, he gave the note to Luo Wei and waited for him to finish reading the contents of the paper. Afterward, he asked, ¡°Have you seen everything that Ke Xun wrote about?¡±

    Luo Wei pointed to a spot on the paper. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this,¡± he said, suddenly raising his eyes to Mu Yiran. ¡°You¡¯re older than me. You should have seen more.¡±

    ¡°¡­..¡± Mu Yiran was silent for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen any of these before.¡±

    Luo Wei also became silent. ¡°Should I sympathize with you?¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Mu Yiran said unenthusiastically.

    Not long after, Qin Ci, Wei Dong and the others also came back one after another. After reading Ke Xun¡¯s note, Qin Ci said ¡°oh¡± and added, ¡°No wonder. I didn¡¯t expect this painting to have such a theme. Now I can understand why it¡¯s called <i>Pure Land</i>. It¡¯s really nostalgic.¡±

    ¡°I think we have to rely on Brother Qin in this painting,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°After all, these were the products of your age.¡±

    Qin Ci: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He was only 30 years old, why these words¡­

    ¡°In that case,¡± Qin Ci looked at everyone, ¡°let¡¯s reorganize the rtionship between each of our props and these worlds. This time, everything should be quite clear, just as Ke Xun had spected in his message. Every world behind these doors are childhood cartoons that myself or people around the artist¡¯s Mi Lun¡¯s age had seen.¡±

 Chapter 138: Auntie Cat, Fish Child, and Ma Liang

    <h4>Chapter 138: Auntie Cat, Fish Child, and Ma Liang</h4>

    Ke Xun¡¯s message on the paper told everyone what he had seen in that anthropomorphic animal world.

    On the bulletin board of the Forest Public Security Bureau, there was a wanted notice. The photo on the wanted notice was of a mouse with a missing ear.

    One Ear.

    Ke Xun understood the moment he saw this photo. After all, the image of that missing ear was too deeply rooted in the hearts of many people. Even if he had just looked at the photo and couldn¡¯t remember who the mouse was, the notice had also said ¡°One Ear Arrested and Brought to Justice.¡±

    Ke Xun also mentioned in the note that the red and white striped T-shirt and the ck bell bottoms prop should also correspond to this world. This was because the animal¡¯s clothing in the world of <i>ck Cat Sheriff</i> was exactly the same.

    ¡°So, as Xiao Ke said, the props we get may all correspond to the world behind these doors,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°The two-dimensional paper-cut world I entered was a fishing vige and the prop I have is a fishing rod. This reminds me of an old paper-cut cartoon called The Fish Child. I wonder if you young people have seen it.¡±

    The others looked at each other. Some had seen it and some hadn¡¯t. Mu Yiran was one of those people who hadn¡¯t seen it.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be¡­¡± Wei Dong looked at the big boss with a look of disbelief. The big boss in his mind was omniscient. He didn¡¯t expect that the boss would have a blind spot in his knowledge.

    Mu Yiran ignored him and asked Qin Ci, ¡°Can you infer which old animated cartoons are rted to the other props?¡±

    Qin Ci took out the paper with the list of props and worlds. After looking at it for a while, he gave his head a slight shake. ¡°Just looking at these props, it¡¯s difficult to guess which old cartoon belongs to which prop. For example, the cat ears and the rabbit ears. There are a lot of cats and rabbits in cartoons. I¡¯ll have to take a look at the other worlds andbine all the settings of these worlds to make more urate guesses.¡±

    ¡°But if you go to the wrong world, your body will change.¡± Zhu Haowen looked at him. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who has entered the right world from the very beginning, so now you¡¯re safe. I don¡¯t think you should enter another world. I suspect that once the body starts to change, it will be irreversible.¡±

    ¡°So, what should I do?¡± Li Yaqing cried. ¡°I can¡¯t hold onto this copper pot¡­¡±

    Her copper pot was now bigger than it had beenst night, and since she could no longer fit it in her backpack, she had to hug it in her arms.

    ¡°Hey! Tell me¨C¡± Qi Qiang suddenly pointed his sword at Qin Ci¡¯s throat, ¡°which cartoon has a sword?! Hurry up and tell me!¡±

    ¡°There are many cartoons with swords.¡± Qin Ci looked at him calmly. ¡°We need to calm down and think carefully. Please calm down. Anxiety won¡¯t solve the problem; it would only waste precious time.¡±

    Qi Qiang pulled his sword back angrily and kicked the door closest to him fiercely. No one had time to pay him any mind and were all looking at Qin Ci eagerly.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t blindly wait. He informed Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen, and entered the world that Ke Xun was in.

    He found himself in a mountain forest filled with gurgling water, birdsongs, and fragrant flowers. The scene everywhere was full of peace, and there seemed to be something whispering somewhere. He walked along the flow of water toward the depths of the mountain forest and carefully looked for the marks Ke Xun must have left behind.

    Ke Xun¡¯s marks were clearly made, and so he followed the path of these marks. But suddenly, he stopped. There were no more markings.

    Mu Yiran calmly studied the scene around him and saw that there was no trace of any man-made changes. There were no people anywhere, but for some reason, he always seemed to hear someone talking in the darkness.

    He stood unmoving for a long time, listening carefully to the sound. Then, having discovered the direction where it wasing from, he quietly walked over toward it.

    It wasn¡¯t until he was nearly upon it that he realized it was a monkey and squirrel talking from the branch of a tree!

    ¡°It¡¯s terrible. Awu is such a bully!¡± said the monkey.

    ¡°I was scared to death just now. Will Awu eat Auntie Cat?¡± the squirrel said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and go take a look!¡± the monkey said.

    The monkey and the squirrel quickly scampered through the branches and ran deep into the forest.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyebrows rose slightly. He thought: Cat¡­Could it be Ke Xun?

    But what was with the ¡°Auntie¡±¡­?

    Regardless, Mu Yiran quickly followed in the direction where the monkey and the squirrel had run off to.

    It was unknown how long he¡¯d been walking through the woods, but as he was looking around for signs that Ke Xun might have left behind, he heard a familiar voice say above his head, ¡°Meow! What a surprise! Why are you here, meow? Hurry! There are tigers here, meow!¡±

    Mu Yiran looked up and saw Ke Xun climbing a tree like a big cat, his face that was full of happiness and surprise looked a bit worse for the wear.

    Mu Yiran walked over and slowly climbed up the tree. But Ke Xun couldn¡¯t wait, and so he stretched out a hand to grip his arm and forcefully pull him between the branches.

    ¡°Yiran, you¨CHow are you? Is your body breaking down yet?¡± Ke Xun looked at him worriedly, pinching his face with his thumb and forefinger.

    Mu Yiran let him squeeze and asked in a deep voice, ¡°How are you?¡±

    Ke Xun meowed with a bitter face, ¡°I was almost eaten by a tiger. Fortunately, I remembered the plot of this cartoon; otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape.¡±

    ¡°Which cartoon is this?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°Tiger Learns a Skill,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°I nearly forgot the specific plot, meow. I remember that the cat and the tiger had a race. In the end, the tiger couldn¡¯t climb trees, and the cat was able to climb a tree and escape catastrophe. I remember a line from this film very clearly. Meow, just the line that the crow shouted, ¡®Awu is a bully.¡¯ When I was a kid, I learned this line while beating up a kid, meow.¡±

    ¡°So your prop belongs to this Tiger Learns a Skill world.¡± Mu Yiran looked at the cat ears on his head.

    ¡°Have you found a world that fits you yet,¡± Ke Xun asked in a hurry.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know which old cartoon my prop came from,¡± Mu Yiran said calmly.

    ¡°<i>Hailibu</i>!¡± Ke Xun meowed. ¡°Remember, meow?¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyes. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen it.¡±

    ¡°Meow?¡± Ke Xun scratched his cat¡¯s ears. ¡°After eating a fruit given by the gods, Hailibu can understand the words of animals, but he is forbidden to tell others what the animals are saying; otherwise, he will turn into a rock, meow. Yiran¡­are you petrifying, meow?¡±

    Mu Yiran gave a slight nod. Ke Xun scratched his head anxiously. ¡°We need to hurry up and find the signature! But how to find it? How to find it? Even if you enter the world that matches your prop, what will happen afterwards?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not urgent. Let¡¯s go back to the room first. It¡¯s gettingte,¡± Mu Yiran answered.

    When they both came down from the tree, Ke Xun was about to carry Mu Yiran but he shook his head and said, ¡°My joints are just a bit stiff. Right now, it has no effect on my movements.¡±

    Ke Xun had to give up. After carefully observing their surroundings, listening with his cat ears erect, and sniffing with his nose to confirm that the tiger was not nearby for the time being, he pulled Mu Yiran and they quickly rushed back.

    When they returned to the room, they found that Zhao Haicui and the other three neers still had note back. Everyone was quietly watching Qin Ci listed the names of the old cartoons he remembered one by one on a sheet of paper. Ke Xun went over and looked at it. Pointing to one of the names, he said, ¡°Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush. I think this is Dongzi¡¯s world.¡±

    Wei Dong hurriedly said, ¡°I know this cartoon! It¡¯s a ssic! Wait, then, my brush is a magical brush?¡±

    After speaking, he rushed to the wall and drew an egg on the wall with the brush.

    However, they had no use for an egg, and there was no real egg on the wall.

    ¡°Maybe only in the world of Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush will your brush work,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°Which one is Ma Liang¡¯s world?¡± Wei Dong asked hurriedly.

    ¡°The first world we entered, meow!¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Ma Liang is a cattle herd child so the county magistrate would say that line that told me to go home and herd cattle honestly!¡±

    Wei Dong pped his hands. ¡°Very good. We now know four corresponding worlds, The Fish Child, Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush, Tiger Learns a Skill, and ck Cat Sheriff, and there¡¯s still the speaking monkey in that snow world, and the world that the big boss entered today.¡±

    After he said this, everyone looked toward Mu Yiran.

    ¡°The world we entered today is also an ancient world,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°But unlike the world of Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush, this ancient world is in apletely different hue and style. The world has an ocean, and there seems to be a city far in the distance. We only had time to look for clues in the vige near the ocean and hadn¡¯t gone to the city in the distance.¡±

    In fact, it was because the copper pot engraved with flowers in Li Yaqing¡¯s arms was getting heavier and heavier, and it became difficult for her to travel long distances. Therefore, they had to temporarily turn back.

    ¡°An ancient period cartoon with an ocean¡­¡± Everyone looked at the paper Qin Ci was writing on, trying to think of the right cartoon but couldn¡¯t determine what it was.

    ¡°Now we are faced with three problems.¡± Although Mu Yiran didn¡¯t know anything about these cartoons, it didn¡¯t prevent him from making analysis and judgements. ¡°Dr. Qin is the one who knows these cartoons the best, and Ke Xun can also be regarded as the same¡­But the two of them have already found the worlds that match their props. Entering other worlds to confirm which cartoon these worlds belong to will only aggravate their physical changes. This is the first problem.¡±

    ¡°The second problem is that there are currently six worlds, and we have 13 people with 13 props. We need to determine whether props can belong to the same world.¡±

    ¡°The third problem is the most critical one. Even if all 13 of us found the right world, what do we do next? What role will our props y? And which world will have the signature?¡±

    ¡°Another thing to note is that, ording to the rules of the painting, someone will die each night. It¡¯s very likely that someone had already encountered an identst night. What is the effect of losing the prop owned by this person? Can this prop be transferred to someone else? These are things we need to verify.¡±

    ¡°There are also the neers who have disappeared. We still need to find them. Time is very tight.¡±

    After Mu Yiran said this, they all felt as if the pressure had suddenly doubled. Qi Qiang said anxiously, ¡°Then what the fuck are we still waiting for?! Hurry up¨C¡±

    He didn¡¯t know what to do, so he stared at Mu Yiran, waiting for him to point out a clear path for everyone as usual.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t disappoint him. ¡°Since these worlds are stories from old cartoons, Dr. Qin, Ke Xun, and Wei Dong will enter their worlds again. In their respective worlds, they will try toplete the story being told. Even if it¡¯s only a cartoon, the story being told should have a beginning and an end. Try to advance the story and see if you can get any clues.¡±

    ¡°What about you, meow?¡± Ke Xun asked hurriedly.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to find the four missing people,¡± Mu Yiran said calmly.

    ¡°No.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s cat ears were flipping back and forth, expressing his anger. ¡°If you don¡¯t hurry and find Hailibu¡¯s world, you¡¯ll turn into stone. I don¡¯t agree¨CMeow! Wait, in these six worlds, there¡¯s none that matches Hailibu¡¯s world.

 Chapter 139: Devilish Mouse

    <h4>Chapter 139: Devilish Mouse</h4>

    Qin Ci was also surprised. ¡°Indeed! Hailibu¡¯s story happened on the prairie. There is no prairie in these six worlds!¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyes. He really didn¡¯t know much about cartoons, so he was passive when it came toing up with clues.

    ¡°Does Mr. Mu¡¯s prop really belong to Hailibu¡¯s story?¡± Luo Wei questioned.

    They were young and so it was umon for them to have watched old cartoons from the 70s and 80s. Moreover, Luo Wei had been a top student since he was child, and so he spent most of his spare time studying and participating in various tutoring sessions as a hobby. Therefore, he didn¡¯t have much time to watch cartoons, and so he could not provide much assistance.

    ¡°No, his prop must belong to Hailibu¡¯s story.¡± Although Ke Xun wasn¡¯t much older than him, as a cker, his home life had been very rich since he was a child, and his memory was reserved for quite a few cartoons. ¡°He ate the fruit and his body is slowly petrifying. This is proof, meow! The problem here is why isn¡¯t Helibu¡¯s world among these six worlds?!¡±

    Everyone looked at each other, but Mu Yiran was still calm. He nced at Ke Xun¡¯s cat head, with hair bristling in anxiety. He ced his hand on the back of Ke Xun¡¯s head and calmed him down quietly, ¡°The exnation for this might be that there may be hidden worlds we haven¡¯t noticed inside these six worlds.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like a hidden map in a game?!¡± Wei Dong had an epiphany.

    ¡°Then what are we going to do?¡± Luo Wei stared at Mu Yiran from behind his sses.

    ¡°Every next choice may determine your life or death,¡± Mu Yiran nced lightly at Luo Wei, Li Yaqing, Qi Qiang, and Huangpi. ¡°I can only provide options. The final choice is yours to make.¡±

    ¡°The rule of the painting is that someone will die every night. The fact that all of us survivedst night means that someone of the four neers had died. But since none of them returnedst night, we can¡¯t be sure that all of them have died.¡±

    ¡°Last night, if a person was randomly chosen for death, then it might not be safe to stay in this room. Perhaps only those who have found their corresponding world wouldn¡¯t be selected by death. If this is the case, we should hurry up and find our corresponding world.¡±

    ¡°So, whether to stay in this room, or to find your own world before night falls, you decide for yourself after some consideration.¡±

    After discussing it with Li Yaqing, Luo Wei and Li Yaqing decided that she would stay in the initial room while he would go and look for the worlds that correspond to them. Li Yaqing¡¯s copper pot with the flower engravings was bing bigger and bigger, and it would be difficult for her to hold it while traveling long distances.

    Both Qi Qiang and Huang Pi decided to find their corresponding world. Qi Qiang chose the ancient world with the ocean and the faraway city. Since his prop was a sword, this world might correspond to him.

    Huang Pi still chose the world of Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush. His prop was a Confucian scarf, and any of the ancient worlds could be his.

    ¡°What about Haowen¡¯er, meow?¡± Ke Xun looked at Zhu Haowen.

    ¡°Tell me, Hao Wen¡¯er shouldn¡¯t be¡­¡± Wei Dong coughed dryly, ¡°That One Ear, right?¡±

    ¡°Then his cat whisker prop, does it belong to the ck Cat Sheriff, meow?¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°No¡­No, it¡¯s not the ck Cat Sheriff!¡± Wei Dong thought about it for a moment, and decisively denied it. ¡°I know ck Cat Sheriff. I had watched it several times when I was a child. I even taught us how to draw it. I remember it very clearly. ck Cat Sheriff has two whiskers, one on the left and the other on the right. If someone pulls one out, can you still see it? Not even One Ear would have this great ability!¡±

    ¡°Meow? ck Cat Sheriff only has two whiskers?¡± Ke Xun was surprised, ¡°Fuck, meow, I finally know that truth today.¡±

    ¡°So this whisker isn¡¯t from ck Cat Sheriff.¡± Wei Dong was confident. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s Tom?¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°The cat¡¯s Tom, so Haowen¡¯er is Jerry?¡± Ke Xun wondered.

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Wei Dong scratched his head. ¡°It¡¯s not Jerry either. Jerry¡¯s eyes are good and he¡¯s not colorblind.¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°Moreover, this painting doesn¡¯t seem to have old foreign cartoons.¡±

    Wei Dong smacked his lips. ¡°Which old Chinese cartoon is rted to mice and cats? Since ck Cat Sheriff is ruled out, then¡­ Shuke and Beita?¡±

    Ke Xun shook his head. ¡°These two mice flew a ne and a tank, can they be myopic?¡±

    Wei Dong thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. ¡°Cbash Baby! Isn¡¯t the snake demon¡¯s subordinate a mouse?¡±

    Ke Xun also pondered for a moment. ¡°I can¡¯t remember it clearly, meow. Besides, even if there¡¯s a mouse, there are no cats. So where did the cat whiskere from, meow?¡±

    ¡°This cat whisker is really troublesome¡­¡± Wei Dong looked at Zhu Haowen. ¡°But when ites to mice, I remembered an old cartoon. There was a mouse that was carrying an eggshell while singing a wacky song. How did that song go?¡±

    After saying this, he looked at Ke Xun. Ke Xun tried to recall, and so did Wei Dong. The two of them sang in unison, ¡°You little eggshell, don¡¯t you cry, be good and follow me, follow me home!¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun eximed, ¡°There are no cats in there!¡±

    Wei Dong spread his hands. ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything else. The only cartoons I know with cats and rats are these. It¡¯s just that in the cartoon with the eggshell, I vaguely remembered the plot due to the singing rat¡­¡±

    ¡°Meow!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Mouse sings a song! Devilish, meow! Dongzi, don¡¯t you remember that there was a cartoon with a devilish mouse? I remember, meow¡­Meow! Something like ¡®Mouse is afraid of cats, that¡¯s just a rumor. What¡¯s so scary about a kitten? Be brave and defeat the cat. The stereotype of the ages must be overthrown¡¯¨CIs this it?¡±

    Wei Dong and Qin Ci, who had been listening for a while, immediately said in unison, ¡°That¡¯s it!¡±

    Qin Ci continued in an affirmative tone, ¡°I remember that this cartoon is called Good Kitty. It should be Haowen¡¯er¡¯s corresponding world. It has a plot where a mouse pulls off one of the kitty¡¯s whiskers¨CYes.¡±

    ¡°This once again proves the possibility of hidden worlds, meow,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°There¡¯s no Good Kitty¡¯s world among the six known worlds.

    ¡°It¡¯s not toote yet. While there¡¯s still some time left before 11 o¡¯clock arrives, we can hurriedly enter the doors to find clues,¡± Qin Ci said.

    There were no longer any dys. Everyone pushed open a door and entered the worlds they wanted to enter.

    Ke Xun re-entered the mountain forest of Tiger Learns a Skill, and as he ran, he tried to recall the cartoon¡¯splete plot. He remembered that the tiger lost the game because he didn¡¯t learn how to climb trees, and so the tiger fell into the water and the cat won.

    Since he needed to advance the plot in order to get clues, did that mean that he had to lead the tiger out and then get it into the river?

    Ke Xun looked around but couldn¡¯t find any traces of the tiger. So, he raised his head and meowed a few times. Not long after, he heard someone yelling from the treetop, ¡°Auntie Cat! Auntie Cat!¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Monkey,e down. This auntie won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    The monkey jumped down recklessly and asked Ke Xun, ¡°Auntie Cat, are you looking for the child?¡±

    ¡­Child? Ke Xun really couldn¡¯t remember this plot in the cartoon, so he asked the monkey tentatively, ¡°Do you know who my child is?¡±

    ¡°I know. It¡¯s Kitty,¡± said the monkey.

    ¡°¡­Oh, do you know where it is?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said the monkey.

    ¡°¡­Then you just said XX.¡± Ke Xun was speechless.

    Unexpectedly, the cat in this cartoon was a mother cat, and the mother cat had a child¡­The old cartoon was really well-made, and every detail brimmed with warmth and humanity. He just didn¡¯t know how the painter Mi Lun had used his own memory of the cartoon to express his own thoughts and feelings. What kind of psychology did the man behind this painting have, ying with and turning the beautiful things in this cartoon cruel?

    Ke Xun no longer wasted time with the monkey. He continued to run toward the depths of the forest. He asked all the animals he encountered along the way whether they had seen the tiger. When he met a panda, he took the opportunity to go up and pat the panda¡¯s head¨CThis special bear was a national treasure in the real world and could only be viewed from a distance, not yed with. It was satisfying to pat its head at least once, even if it was just in the painting.

    The giant panda watched Ke Xun run away with a sullen expression. Suddenly, he saw the tiger Awu sneaking out of the forest, stalking closely after Ke Xun toward the upper reaches of the river.

    Ke Xun scrambled up the tree in a terrified manner, and managed to climb only half an inch out of reach before the tiger swiped at his legs. But, hiding would not advance the plot; he had to get the tiger into the river.

    He took a deep breath and looked down at the tiger stalking the foot of the tree.

    This tiger did not look like a cartoon at all. From the perspective of the world in this painting, it looked no different from a tiger in reality. It was huge and fierce, and from its mouth and nose came the fishy rotten stench of an upromising carnivore.

    If he wasn¡¯t careful, he would be torn apart and eaten by this tiger.

    This was the preparations the painting had made for Ke Xun¡¯s death.

    Ke Xun suddenly thought that if he didn¡¯t return to the room by 11 o¡¯clock, or if he failed to get the tiger into the river, maybe the painting would pull him down from the tree so that the tiger could tear into him and devour him anyway.

    No more dy!

    He took a deep breath, summoned his courage, gathered all the strength in his entire body, grabbed the branch in his hands, and allowed his body to hang in mid-air.

    Upon seeing this, the tiger under the tree leaped up, stretching out its giant w to p at Ke Xun. Using the muscle strength of his waist and abdomen, Ke Xun lifted himself up so that he was back on the branch again. The tiger continued to growl under the tree, trying to climb up.

    Ke Xun visually inspected the distance between the tree and the river. It was a little bit far away. Even if the tiger pounced at him from underneath the tree, it would be difficult to make the tiger fall into the river.

    So¡­he would have to change trees.

    Ke Xun scanned the area and spotted a tree in the perfect location. This tree was hanging over the river. It was just that it would be a big risk to run from one tree to another. Since the tiger was guarding the foot of the tree, if he climbed down, he would be caught at once.

    Ke Xun gritted his teeth. This was the only way. He could either die now, wait until 11 and still die anyway, or¡­desperately try to survive. He must take this chance, even if it might result in death.

    Ke Xun returned to the trunk of the tree and carved a few words into the trunk with the stone he¡¯d been using to mark trees: Yiran, meow love you.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Fuck. He obviously wanted to write the word ¡°I¡± but why did it say ¡°Meow¡± instead?! Meow!

    Ke Xun made up his mind and no longer hesitated. Taking another deep breath, he watched the tiger carefully for signs of distractions. Then, he made a desperate jump from the tall tree. Uponnding, he rolled to minimize the impact and sprung up, rushing toward the other tree.

 Chapter 140: Corgi Fights the Tiger

    <h4>Chapter 140: Corgi Fights the Tiger</h4>

    An earth-shaking roar chased after him, followed by the stench of fishy rotten meat. Ke Xun instinctively dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the tiger¡¯s pounce. He continued to charge toward the tree without stopping.

    Whether he was a human or a cat, how could he outrun a tiger? The second tiger pounce came in an instant, and Ke Xun almost couldn¡¯t escape in time.

    He didn¡¯t expect that, one day, he would have topete with a real tiger. When a blood-red maw suddenly yawned wide in front of him, he understood, atst, the true fear of impending death.

    His arms instinctively snapped up, hands gripping the tiger¡¯s throat to hold the maw back. There was only one instinct left in his mind, and that was to do anything possible to prevent the tiger from biting his throat. This was the mostmon way for beasts to hunt and bring down their prey.

    While holding the tiger¡¯s throat with one hand, he clenched his other hand into a fist and ferociously mmed it down with all his strength into the tiger¡¯s eyes and nose. He didn¡¯t know where the tiger¡¯s weakness was, so he made a guess and punched these two ces.

    Perhaps, it was because he was in the process of transforming into a cat, but Ke Xun not only retained the strength of a human but also had the flexibility and speed of a cat. His punches were amazingly fast, and so the tiger could not avoid them in time. When a punchnded fiercely into the tiger¡¯s open eye, the sudden sh of pain made it turn its head to the side.

    This sh of pain gave Ke Xun the chance he needed to escape from the tiger¡¯s w. Even so, he still could notpletely avoid being scratched bloody by those sharp ws.

    But at that moment, Ke Xun did not care about anything else. He scrabbled quickly along the ground and rushed into the tree. The tiger let out its terrifying nature and leaped after him with a roar, trying to catch him with its paws as he scrambled up the tree.

    When Ke Xun saw this, he adjusted his path at random. He jumped onto the branches in front of him, hands gripping the branch so that his body swung upward in mid-air. The tiger followed his body and leaped up. Having missed, it sailed toward the sky and then dropped into the river with a loud ssh.

    Ke Xun climbed toward the tree trunk, panting heavily. The struggle of escaping death had left his mindpletely nk and his body in a cold sweat. Lingering fear shuddered through him for over ten minutes.

    Finally, other sensations slowly crawled back, and Ke Xun let out a trembling meow. ¡°From now on, I¡¯ve also beaten a tiger, meow¡­¡±

    When the tiger fell into the river, there were no more movements. Ke Xun waited for a while in the tree, but the forest was quiet as usual and there was no new clue to be had.

    He got down from the tree and decided to walk deeper into the mountain forest to see if he could locate a hidden world. He was very worried about Mi Yiran and was eager to find Hailibu¡¯s world as soon as possible.

    Although the battle with the tiger just moments ago had made him really weak, Ke Xun still gritted his teeth and ran onward, swiftly shuttling through the forest.

    The sky gradually darkened and various birds and beasts hurried back to their nests.

    Ke Xun raised his head unintentionally and saw the monkey prancing quickly among the overhead branches. He suddenly remembered what the monkey had said to him.

    He also had a kitten named Kitty¡­

    Why hadn¡¯t he seen this kitten since entering this world up to now?

    Ke Xun¡¯s heart lurched. As he ran, he yelled ¡°Kitty¡± loudly. Seeing the crow flying in the sky, Ke Xun called out to it, ¡°I just cleaned up Awu and took revenge for you. Now you have to help me look for my child!¡±

    He remembered the tiger in the cartoon had once bullied the crow.

    ¡°Oh! I¡¯ll go search, I¡¯ll go search!¡± The crow called this line from the cartoon and flew quickly into the sky.

    ¡°Ah! Over there, over there!¡± The crow¡¯s cry echoed out.

    Ke Xun followed the direction the crow was pointing to. He saw a small cat squatting in the distance. He couldn¡¯t help but yell out, ¡°Cat¨CCough, kid¡­¡±

    ¡­Suddenly having a child made him feel a bitplicated¡­

    The kitten turned its head and nced at him. But instead of waiting for him to catch up, it raised its paws and ran deeper into the forest.

    Ke Xun chased after it wildly, but the moment he was about to catch up to the kitten, the kitten rose into the sky and transformed into a light. When the light fell, a round door appeared in the void. At exactly the same time, another door appeared in the wall of the initial room.

    ¡°A hidden world, meow!¡± Ke Xun shouted. ¡°Good!¡±

    Right after speaking, he pushed open the door and stepped in without hesitation.

    Once he hadpletely walked through the door, he found himself in an old-fashioned brick house. Next to the window was arge brick bed, and there were all kinds of old furniture pushed up against the wall. The house was neat and clean.

    The most striking thing was that there was a beautiful ck and white cat nestling on the bed stove by the window, sleeping soundly.

    Ke Xun was startled. Why were there cats everywhere?

    Then he had a sudden realization¨CThis was the world of Good Kitty!

    He had an impression of the carp cat litter. When he was a child, he had cats at home for several years. At that time, he made such a ruckus about it that his mother finally gave in and bought him a cat litter of the same style.

    This was the world that corresponded to Zhu Haowen¡¯s prop. Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anything and immediately returned to the door, rushing back to the initial room.

    He had to find Zhu Haowen as soon as possible so that he could enter the world of Good Kitty, which would not only allow him to temporarily stop mutating into a mouse but also give him the chance to unlock more hidden worlds.

    When he returned to the initial room, he found only Wei Dong and Li Yaqing in the room. Li Yaqing had remained in the room at all times, but Wei Dong had just returned from the world of Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush.

    ¡°Fuck, why are you hurt like this?¡± Wei Dong saw the wound on Ke Xun and asked in shock.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡± Ke Xun waved his hand. ¡°How are you?¡±

    Seeing that he was in good spirits, Wei Dong settled his mind and waved the big brush in his hand. ¡°Once I knew the plot, I opened it right away! After I went in, I found the county magistrate, and drew the sea and golden mountain on the wall without saying anything. The county magistrate and his men died directly in a boat on the sea. I know why I became fat. It¡¯s because Ma Liang was chubby in the cartoon, remember?¡±

    Ke Xun thought for a moment. ¡°If you want me to remember what the specific character looks like, I don¡¯t remember it. But I do remember that the picture was very dim, and because it¡¯s a very old cartoon, the sound quality wasn¡¯t very good either. Meow. It¡¯s a bit like The Deer¡¯s Bell andpletely different from the style of the Nine-Color Deer cartoon. I remember that The Deer¡¯s Bell is done in an ink painting style, while Nine-Color Deer is in an art fresco style, meow. Simr to Tiger Learns a Skill and Good Kitty, they¡¯re all ¡°painting.¡± However, the style in Ma Liang¡¯s Devine Brush is a bit like puppetry.¡±

    Wei Dong nodded, ¡°Yes, like cartoon marites meow.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­..I¡¯ll scratch you meow!¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. All your meows turned me a little crooked.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Stop talking nonsense. What happened after you dealt with the county magistrate? Did you get any clues or trigger the door to a hidden world?¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°The door to a hidden world? No, I searched around but couldn¡¯t find a single clue, so I came back. Did you find a hidden world?¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s mind was running quickly, and he suddenly pped his hands. ¡°Dongzi, meow! Do you remember that there¡¯s a plot in Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush where he was imprisoned by the county magistrate, meow? He painted a door on the prison wall, opened the door, and escaped, meow?¡±

    Wei Dong pped his hands excitedly. ¡°Yes! I have a magic brush in my hand. If I draw a door on the wall, it might be the door to a hidden world! I¡¯ll return to Ma Liang¡¯s world and test it.¡±

    ¡°Remember, draw a round door, meow,¡± Ke Xun reminded him. ¡°But regardless of whether a hidden world is triggered or not, you have to return to this room when you¡¯re supposed to, just in case.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡±

    Ke Xun no longer dyed. The moment Wei Dong entered the world of Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush, he also entered the snowy mountain and forest where Mu Yiran had gone.

    Zhu Haowen and Mu Yiran left together, intending to not only locate the four missing neers but also to see if they could find a hidden world.

    Ke Xun followed the marks Mu Yiran had left behind and trudged hard through the snow-covered mountain. Perhaps because cats are afraid of the cold, in this mountain covered in knee-deep snow, the thinly dressed Ke Xun felt as if he was near to frozen.

    He wanted to run to speed up his blood cirction, but after running for a while, he still couldn¡¯t resist the severe cold in the mountains.

    His limbs and body became stiffer and stiffer, and he kept yawning. He repeatedly reminded himself that he must not fall asleep. Once he falls asleep, he will never wake up again. Even so, his eyelids became uncontrobly heavier and heavier.

    In the end, Ke Xun copsed stiffly into the snow, his eyes closed.

    It was so cold¡­There was still a trace of consciousness in his mind, still shivering from the cold. In the final stage of life, this too would still shatter.

    It was so cold¡­so cold¡­cold¡­Oh¡­Warm¡­.A bit warmer¡­.Comfortably warm¡­.It felt good¡­A good deal warmer now¡­Hold me tight¡­Hold me tight¡­It¡¯s so warm¡­

    ¡°Meow¡­¡± Ke Xun regained consciousness and slowly opened his eyes.

    Above him was the face of the person he liked. At this moment, he was looking at Ke Xun with his head tilted slightly downward. Although his expression was still so cold it could be seen from a distance and wasn¡¯t yful at all, it¡¯s pair of perfectly shaped eyes contained perceptible concern.

    Ke Xun stretched out his arms and hugged that person tightly, rubbing his head and face desperately against that person¡¯s chest, his cat tail flicking coquettishly.

    ¨CCat tail?!

    Ke Xun rolled out of Mu Yiran¡¯s arms and reached behind to touch his butt. He was instantly shocked¨CFuck! It really was a tail!

    ¨CHe had a long tail.

    ¨CFuck!!

    He had been unconscious for so long in that world that he didn¡¯t belong to that he actually grew a tail!

    Ke Xun wanted to cry without tears, and he looked at Mu Yiran, his two cat ears drooping.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go to other worlds anymore.¡± Mu Yiran stretched out his hand and rubbed Ke Xun¡¯s head. ¡°How does your injury feel? Dr. Qin had already done a simple treatment on it.¡±

    Ke Xun shook his head. No matter how painful his body was, his long tail was more concerning¡­

    Mu Yiran changed the topic. ¡°Wei Dong told me that you discovered a hidden world?¡±

    Ke Xun noticed that he had already been taken to the initial room. Everyone was in the room, except for Zhao Haicui. Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen must have found the other three neers, and they were on their way back when they discovered him half-dead. They all brought him back together.

    Ke Xun recounted the process of discovering the hidden world, and then he asked Mu Yiran what happened to Zhao Haicui.

    Mu Yiran nced at the three neers, all of whom were still in shock, and said lightly, ¡°They lost their way in the mountainst night. They saw a fire at the top of the mountain and followed its light into a cave. There was an old man dressed in ancient clothes who had created the fire to keep warm.¡±

    Since the four neers were already near-frozen from the cold, when they saw the fire, they had no fear of the old man at all and sat around the fire to keep warm.

    Unexpectedly, at about midnight, Zhao Haicui suddenly stood up without a word and, after looking at the old man, jumped into the fire.

 Chapter 141: Common Characteristics

    <h4>Chapter 141: Common Characteristics</h4>

    ¡°This happened so suddenly that we couldn¡¯t hold her back at all¡­¡± the neer named Zhang Lifeng recounted with lingering fear. ¡°After she jumped into the fire, the fire suddenly soared andpletely enveloped her body. We couldn¡¯t even try to pull her out¡­She, she just¡­like this, she just¡­just burned to death¡­¡±

    ¡°This really is too sudden,¡± Wei Dong sighed. ¡°There were no warning signs at all?¡±

    The three neers looked at each other and shook their heads. ¡°She was normal before and evenined to us about how weird the world in this painting is. She didn¡¯t seem like she was affected by anything.¡±

    The veteran members also looked at each other, and Mu Yiran asked Qin Ci, ¡°Which cartoon has a plot about someone throwing themselves into a fire?¡±

    Qin Ci pondered for a long time, and finally shook his head. ¡°I really can¡¯t think of a cartoon like this.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun again. Ke Xun met his boyfriend¡¯s gaze and thought that he couldn¡¯t let his boyfriend down. It was rare for his boyfriend to be helpless because he didn¡¯t know anything about cartoons. He was his boyfriend¡¯s boyfriend so he must take charge and assume part of his boyfriend¡¯s role in the team.

    Ignoring the cat¡¯s tail that grew out of the back of his ass, Ke Xun mobilized all his brain cells, trying to remember the cartoons he had watched as a child.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t interrupt his thinking, and only took out his phone to check the time.

    It was already more than nine o¡¯clock in the evening. Except for the dead Zhao Haicui, all the members had returned to this initial room.

    ording to the rule stipting a death per night in the painting, it was unclear who among these people would die tonight and in what way.

    ¡°Currently, we have identified four of the six worlds,¡± Mu Yiran said, lowering his voice slightly so as not to disturb Ke Xun¡¯s thinking. ¡°Among them, Dr. Qin corresponds to the world of The Fish Child, Ke Xun corresponds to Tiger Learns a Skill, Wei Dong corresponds to Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush, and Ge Lei corresponds to ck Cat Sheriff.¡±

    ¡°In addition, Ke Xun also discovered a hidden world, Good Kitty, which corresponds to Haowen.¡±

    ¡°As for the remaining two doors, one leads to the world with the sea and the faraway city, while the other leads to the world where Zhao Haicui threw herself into the fire.¡±

    ¡°Our next task is to find out as soon as possible what cartoons those two worlds belong to, and our other task is to continue to find ways to open up hidden worlds.¡±

    ¡°Regarding the first task, we¡¯ll have to wait until daylight tomorrow toplete it. Therefore, the focus now is on the second task.¡±

    ¡°Based on Ke Xun¡¯s description, triggering a hidden world can be roughly rted to the characters or clues in the cartoon. On the surface, the character or clue may not seem to be directly rted to the ending. But it is also very likely that once the plot has ended, the characters or clues in it can open a hidden world.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s sort out what important characters or clues in these cartoons may be the conditions for triggering a hidden world.

    ¡°Wei Dong had already finished the plot for Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush, so let¡¯s sort out the clues for this world first.¡±

    After speaking, Mu Yiran looked at Wei Dong.

    Wei Dong quickly said, ¡°Ke¡¯er and I originally thought that by drawing a door with the magic brush, I would be able to open up a hidden world. But after I returned to that world and tried it, it didn¡¯t lead to anything at all.¡±

    Mu Yiran asked, ¡°Are there any important characters in the story of Ma Liang¡¯s Devine Brush besides the protagonist and the viin?¡±

    Wei Dong thought for a moment. ¡°Would the old god that gave Ma Liang the magic brush count?¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°The old god only appeared once at the beginning. Even when Ma Liang encountered difficultiester on, he never appeared again. Since you have already advanced the storyline to the end, I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s no way to find this old god.¡±

    ¡°This¡­so advancing the story to the end is a mistake?¡± Wei Dong asked, depressed.

    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Qin Ciforted him. ¡°Ke Xun also discovered the conditions to trigger the hidden world after he pushed the story to the end. Just think about it carefully, without disregarding any possibilities.¡±

    ¡°What about The Fish Child?¡± Zhu Haowen asked Qin Ci.

    ¡°I punished the evil officials and foreigners ording to the plot of the cartoon,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°I searched for a while but didn¡¯t find any clues. Of course, at the time, I didn¡¯t know about the method Ke Xun used to trigger a hidden world. Now that I think about it, the more important role or clue may be the fish child¡¯s basin. The ending in the cartoon was that the fish child returned to the bottom of the basin. Maybe I should¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Wei Dong waved his hand hurriedly. ¡°If you go back to the bottom of the basin, what if you can¡¯t change back again?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s likely,¡± Zhu Haowen said expressionlessly.

    ¡°This is indeed a dilemma.¡± Qin Ci frowned slightly.

    ¡°ording to the process Ke Xun used in triggering his hidden world,¡± Mu Yiran, who had been quiet for a while, suddenly said, ¡°Tiger Learns a Skill and Good Kitty both have cat characters, and in Tiger Learns a Skill, a cat was precisely the condition that triggered a hidden world. Then, we can consider using the same method to trigger other hidden worlds.¡±

    After hearing this wless reasoning, Zhu Haowen said, ¡°So what we need to find may be the characters in each cartoon, such as the mouse in Good Kitty and One Ear in ck Cat Sheriff.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Wei Dong pped his hands. ¡°Then, thinking about the animals in Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush, Ma Liang drew a chicken, a sheep, and an ox. A chicken, a sheep, and an ox! Think about it, which cartoon has chickens, sheep, ox?¡±

    As everyone was thinking about this, Ke Xun suddenly pped his hands, having found something from his memory. ¡°Fire Boy meow! I remember that the main character in this Fire Boy cartoon turned into a big fireball, like Zhao Haicui. Could this be a corresponding cartoon, meow?¡±

    All this time, he had been thinking about this question that Mu Yiran had directed at him.

    Qin Ci eximed ¡°Oh¡± as understanding dawn. ¡°It¡¯s very likely. It¡¯s good that you still remember such an old cartoon. I almost have no impression of it.¡±

    Ke Xun pulled on his cat ears. ¡°The reason why I still remember this cartoon is really meow because this cartoon left a ck shadow on my childhood meow! The protagonist turning into a fireball has such a weird painting style meow.¡±

    ¡°So it seems that Zhao Haicui¡¯s corresponding world is Fire Boy.¡± Qin Ci looked at Ke Xun and then at Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran also looked at Ke Xun. ¡°What kind of protagonist is the fire child?¡±

    ¡°What kind?¡­Meow, of course he¡¯s a human.¡± Ke Xun tilted his head and looked at him curiously, his cat tail flicking behind him.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s fingers, which were tucked into his pants pockets, twitched slightly. However, his face was still calm. ¡°Zhao Haocui has a rabbit headband. If we were to look at your example, after wearing the cat headband, you began to change into a cat. Then, Zhao Haicui should be changing into a rabbit.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that makes sense, meow!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes widened and he tilted his head. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure that the protagonist in Fire Boy is human, meow. This cartoon seems to be about ethnic minorities, meow.¡±

    Mu Yiran turned his head to ask the three neers, ¡°Did Zhao Haicui¡¯s posture ornguage changed in any way when she was with you?¡±

    The three people looked at each other and then shook their heads. Zhang Lifeng said with a bad expression, ¡°We were all in a panic when we were separated. Once we found each other, we were very anxious to find our way back. The weather was too cold and so we panicked, fearing that we had gotten lost. We didn¡¯t feel calm until we had entered the cave with the fire. But because there was a strange old man in the cave, we were a little scared and didn¡¯t carefully pay attention to one another¡­¡±

    Wei Miao, the owner of the dragon horn headband, suddenly said hesitantly, ¡°I don¡¯t know if I was just imagining it, but the moment when Zhao Haicui jumped into the fire, I saw her shadow cast on the cave wall, and it looked like a¡­rabbit¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s more,¡± Qin Ci added, ¡°the protagonist in Fire Boy didn¡¯t jump into the fire. It was after swallowing fire that he turned into a fireball.¡±

    ¡°Meow, so Zhao Haicui¡¯s corresponding world isn¡¯t Fire Boy meow.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s tail swished.

    ¡°What is the fire called in Fire Boy?¡± Mu Yiran asked Ke Xun.

    ¡°Just¡­it¡¯s called tinder or fireball? I don¡¯t know exactly, meow meow.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s tail swished again.

    Thest ¡°meow meow¡± was really cute. Mu Yiran took his hand out from his pocket and gently mped the tip of Ke Xun¡¯s tail between two fingers.

    Ke Xun looked at him with wide, wet eyes.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t look at him anymore. He fiddled imperceptibly with the furry tail between his fingertips. On the surface, he still looked like a cold, solitary and handsome boss. His eyes fell on Qin Ci. ¡°What kind of animation style does Fire Boy have?¡±

    Qin Ci thought for a moment. ¡°It seems to be a paper-cut animation style.¡±

    ¡°What about Hailibu?¡± Mu Yiran continued to ask quietly.

    ¡°Hailibu is the mostmon kind of animation,¡± Qin Ci said.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s quiet eyes swept across everyone¡¯s faces, and then he said in a deep voice, ¡°Now I have roughly determined a problem: Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush is puppet-style animation, The Fish Child and Fire Boy are paper-cut animations, and Tiger Learns a Skill, Good Kitty, ck Cat Sheriff, and Hailibu are done inmon animation styles.¡±

    ¡°Wei Dong corresponds to Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush and so when he didn¡¯t enter his corresponding world, his body changed by slowly transforming into a puppet simr to the style of Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush.¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun, Haowen, Zhao Haicui, and I correspond to cartoons with amon animation style. Therefore, we didn¡¯t change to reflect the style of animation, like Wei Dong, but instead, we are directly changing into the characters in the cartoon. For animal characters, we will gradually be an animal, and for human characters, we will gradually take on the fate of that character.¡±

    ¡°So we can infer from this that, since Qi Qiang and Huang Pi are changing into puppets, the worlds that correspond to them are puppet-style cartoons?¡±

    ¡°And, with Luo Wei¡¯s changes into paper, could it be because the world he corresponds to is a paper-cut cartoon? For example¡­Fire Boy?¡±

    Everyone was shocked and were thinking about Mu Yiran¡¯s inferences, when Ke Xun gave a meow, tail twisting in Mu Yiran¡¯s hand. ¡°Yes! It¡¯s Fire Boy meow! It¡¯s Luo Wei¡¯s. Doesn¡¯t he have a red round stone, meow? Maybe this is the so-called fireball in the cartoon, meow!¡±

    ¡°Guys¡­¡± Wei Dong¡¯s trembling voice suddenly sounded. ¡°It will be eleven in five minutes¡­¡±

    Eleven o¡¯clock. This time, would deathe to randomly select people in the room, or would¡­they enter the cruel process of voting to put someone to death once more?

 Chapter 142: Trusting Intuition to Live

    <h4>Chapter 142: Trusting Intuition to Live</h4>

    New members who had already been informed of the death rules couldn¡¯t help but gather together in a panic, looking at Mu Yiran witlessly, as if waiting to be told what to do.

    Mu Yiran pondered for a moment, and raised his eyes to look at the crowd. ¡°At present, we don¡¯t know the conditions of the death selection in this painting. We can only take preventive measures as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°Those who have already determined the world they correspond to, stand in front of that world and act ording to the situation. If the situation isn¡¯t good, you can choose to make a narrow escape through the door.¡±

    ¡°Haowen corresponds to a hidden world. Since it was triggered by the world corresponding to Ke Xun, you can stand in front of the Tiger Learns a Skill door with Ke Xun.¡±

    ¡°Luo Wei¡¯s corresponding Fire Boy world hasn¡¯t been triggered yet, so you should first stand in front of Dr. Qin¡¯s door, whose world is also a paper-cut world.¡±

    ¡°For those who aren¡¯t sure about the world they correspond to¡ªQi Qiang,? Huang Pi, stand in front of Wei Dong¡¯s world, which is also a puppet style animation.¡±

    ¡°Li Yaqing and Wei Miao, your props are more ancient. Maybe one of you will correspond to the world with the sea and the ancient city. You can choose to stand behind this world or choose to be with yourpanions.¡±

    ¡°Zhang Lifeng, your prop style is the most difficult to define. Longan cores may be ancient or modern. I can¡¯t make a decision for you. You can choose to stand in front of the world where Zhao Haicui died, or you can choose to be with yourpanions.¡±

    Perhaps it was because Mu Yiran had always given everyone the feeling that he was always very reliable and credible, that no one had any objections to his arrangements. Li Yaqing and Wei Miao stood in front of the ancient world with the sea and the city, and Zhang Lifeng stood in front of the door where Zhao Haicui had died.

    ¡°Meow! What about you?¡± Ke Xun asked hurriedly.

    Mu Yiran corresponded to Hailibu, which was an unopened hidden world. Therefore, he could only choose to stand in front of the door that might lead to his world.

    With almost no clues, all choices were simply based on luck.

    Mu Yiran quietly nced at Ke Xun. Suddenly the corners of his mouth hooked up slightly, and he said in a gentle voice, ¡°Since you said your instincts have always been urate, then this time, you will choose a door for me.¡±

    In this way, his life was handed over to him.

    Ke Xun stared at him with a gleam in his eyes, and he suddenly smiled with his lips curled up.? ¡°Meow, I intuitively feel that you can walk out of the painting alive no matter which door you stand in front of. In that case, it¡¯s better to stand together with me.¡±

    Mu Yiran quietly strode toward him with long legs, raised his hand, and gently covered his soft, fluffy, and fur-like head. ¡°Good.¡±

    Everyone had chosen their door. But without knowing what the rule of death selection was, there was still a chance everyone might die tonight.

    The veteran members who had lived on the edge of life and death were already calm, sitting by their respective doors.

    Wei Dong even took out his mobile phone and started taking selfies, saying that he wanted to take a handsome photo of himself prior to death. Ke Xun said that you¡¯re turning into a fat puppet, so what handsome? Wei Dong said that at least he¡¯s not going around trying to imitate cat sounds, so now say meow like a cat for brother¡­

    As these two people went back and forth with each other, the few neers who were on the verge of copse gradually rxed. Ge Lei asked about their experience in the first few paintings.

    The veteran members were silent for a moment. Ke Xun finally smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s not much to say about our experiences. From your perspective, we look like five old cats, but to be the longest living cats, those who are cowardly, selfish, unlucky, timid, who aren¡¯t good at thinking under pressure, none of them will survive. I hope this will give you some inspiration, meow.¡±

    Ge Lei looked at those five veteran members. Indeed, Qin Ci was mature, Zhu Haowen was calm, Wei Dong had a professional arts background, Mu Yiran had a high IQ and profound knowledge, and this Ke Xun, although his face alternative between cool and naughty and silly, he seemed to carry a kind of warmth and strength in his body that made others couldn¡¯t help but be infected by him, making them willing to follow him with courage and hope.

    Ge Lei also smiled and clenched his fists to cheer himself up. ¡°From the movies, only people who are bold live to the end. The more timid someone is, the faster they¡¯ll die, and the more selfish people are, the more terrible their death will be. Even if you don¡¯t have the protagonist¡¯s halo, at least strive to be an important secondary lead to survive by your own efforts.¡±

    Ke Xun waved his paw. ¡°Believe in yourself, you can do it! Who isn¡¯t the protagonist of his own life, meow!¡±

    Right after he said this, the lid of the prop box in the middle of the room suddenly opened with a snap. Everyone instantly quieted, and they all cast nervous gazes at the box.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran got up almost at the same time and walked to the box. Qin Ci, Zhu Haowen, and Wei Dong followed close behind. Luo Wei took a step slower, and Ge Lei thought for a while and soon followed.

    Inside the box was a paper and a pen, and on the paper was a sentence: Please write down the name of the cartoon that corresponds to your prop.

    They all looked at one another, each filled with a mix of emotions. Qin Ci said in a deep voice, ¡°Could this be the rule of death selection?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m more inclined to believe that the death rule is triggered ording to our circumstances,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°Last night, we weren¡¯t asked to write down the title of the cartoon that corresponds to us. Instead, Zhao Haicui was killed. Perhaps, the first death condition is for people who don¡¯t return to this room before 11 o¡¯clock. If everyone has returned to this room as required, then this second death condition will be triggered.¡±

    ¡°But Zhao Haicui isn¡¯t the only one who hasn¡¯t returned to this roomst night,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°Does this mean that the people who meet the conditions for death will be killed at random?¡±

    Suddenly, Qi Qiang pulled out his sword and pointed it at Qin Ci. In a panicked, sullen voice, he demanded, ¡°You¨Cyou should think about it for me, which cartoon does my sword belong to?! Hurry up and think about it; otherwise, I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    Li Yaqing also tugged on Luo Wei¡¯s sleeve and choked out, ¡°What should I do? What should I do? I don¡¯t know which cartoon my prop belongs to. Am I going to die?!¡±

    Zhang Lifeng and Wei Miao were also panicked. They looked at Qin Ci and Ke Xun, and then finally transfixed their desperate gazes on Mu Yiran.

    The profound and wise Mu Yiran, the prefix of whom¡¯s name could now only be changed to who-has-never-watched-a-cartoon-Mu Yiran¡­

    Ke Xun felt very sorry for his boyfriend. How could a childhood beplete without having watched cartoons? What kind of childhood did he have?

    Taking a step forward to stop the two of them from looking at Mu Yiran so beseeching, he said, ¡°Meow, if you want something done well, then do it yourself. Don¡¯t tell me that you two also haven¡¯t watched cartoons when you were young?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The word ¡°also¡±¡­.Was this kid really protecting him?

    Wei Miao mumbled, ¡°I¡¯ve seen The Blue Mouse and the Big Faced Cat, and I also liked Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf. I¡¯ve also seen a little bit of Shuke and Beta, but I¡¯ve watched Tom and Jerry the most¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Dare I ask if you only like cartoons with couples, meow?¡± Ke Xun asked. ¡°You only choose cartoons with couples in the title¡­¡±

    After saying this, he looked at Zhang Lifeng, who hesitated. ¡°I watched more Japanese cartoons, like Captain Tsubasa, Baseball Hero, Prince of Tennis, m Dunk¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± Ke Xun handed them the paper that listed all the old cartoons Qin Ci could remember. ¡°There¡¯s no way. Choose one from below, meow.¡±

    Zhang Lifeng and Wei Miao knew that they couldn¡¯t be difficult and force others, and so their eyes fell nkly onto the paper.

    Ke Xun looked at the two trembling dragon horns on Wei Miao¡¯s head, and then looked at the paper with the list of cartoon names written on it. Suddenly, he said, ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be too many dragons in old cartoons. But because it¡¯s been too long, Brother Qin and I can¡¯t remember the contents of these cartoons clearly, so we can¡¯t be sure whether there¡¯s a dragon in them or not. But I have a way that¡¯s not really a way. Give your life over to me, meow, and I¡¯ll help you choose.¡±

    Wei Miao hesitated for a long time and finally nodded with difficulty. After all, if she had to choose for herself, she would really have no idea.

    Ke Xun looked for Luo Wei and asked for a piece of paper. He then divided the paper into several smaller pieces and wrote down a cartoon name on each piece. ¡°These cartoons are all cartoons that might have dragons, but I can¡¯t guarantee this. Nor can I guarantee that any of these titles will be the one that you actually correspond to. Right now, I can only rely on something that has kept me alive¨Cmy intuition has always been urate and my luck has always been good. Now, I¡¯ll mark these, meow, and use intuition to draw one. You use whichever is chosen. Do you dare to use this method, meow?¡±

    Wei Miao said with a bitter face, ¡°You take one first, let me see.¡±

    Ke Xun stared at these signed notes for a while, and finally took one out. He unfolded it and read, ¡°Nezha Roils the Sea.¡±

    ¡°How about this, meow?¡± Ke Xun looked at Wei Miao.

    Wei Miao hesitated and didn¡¯t speak for a long time.

    Ke Xun ignored him and took the lead in writing his own corresponding cartoon title on the paper in the box.

    Mu Yiran, Wei Dong, and Zhu Haowen followed right after him, but Qi Qiang was still pointing his sword at Qin Ci, forcing him toe up with a title for him.

    ¡°There are many cartoons with swords.¡± Qin Ci looked at him helplessly. ¡°Even there are swords in Nezha Roils the Sea. I vaguely remember that Cbash Baby¡¯s serpent spirit also uses a sword. Ancient period cartoons like The Wondrous Child of Mount Hua and Monkey Wrecks Havoc in Heaven may have such props, but I can¡¯t really remember the details. There¡¯s no way to give you an exact answer. Even if I can, because you¡¯re threatening me to give you a title, how can you trust my answer?¡±

    Qi Qiang knew that Qin Ci was right.? He wasn¡¯t sure whether Qin Ci would deliberately tell him the wrong answer under this kind of threatening circumstances.

    Qi Qiang¡¯s face twitched, and sweat gradually broke out on his forehead. He put the sword away and turned to look at Ke Xun. ¡°Use your intuition to give me a title.¡±

    Ke Xun shook his tail sharply. ¡°Meow, do you think I have a supernatural power? My intuition isn¡¯t always urate.¡±

    ¡°Cut the bullshit! Hurry up and give it to me!¡± Qi Qiang was on the threshold of death and was in a hurry to find anyone or anything that might help make him feel less helpless.

    Ke Xun picked out a title from the pieces of paper he¡¯d marked and Monkey Wrecks Havoc in Heaven was written on it.

    In the end, only Li Yaqing and Huang Pi were left. Luo Wei took the paper with the list of titles and looked at it for a while. Pushing up his sses, he raised his eyes to look at Mu Yiran. ¡°I have an idea. Let me know if it¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡± Mu Yiran looked at him quietly.

 Chapter 143: The Adult World is Truly Terrifying

    <h4>Chapter 143: The Adult World is Truly Terrifying</h4>

    ¡°From the cartoons that have already been determined and from the corresponding props that were obtained, the props corresponding to paper-cut cartoons are important markers in the film.¡± Luo Wei pointed to the red, round stone in his hand, then to Qin Ci¡¯s fishing rod, and then continued to speak.

    ¡°People who correspond to cartoons with ordinary animation style are divided into three categories. One category is that people will get body parts, such as cat ears, rabbit ears, and dragon horns. People holding these props represent these animal characters in the cartoon.¡±

    ¡°The second category are people who get things rted to the body, such as cat whiskers and clothes. The person holding this kind of prop isn¡¯t the main character in the cartoon but instead has an important rtionship with the protagonist.¡±

    ¡°For example, Mr. Zhu is the mouse in Good Kitty, and although I don¡¯t know which role Mr. Ge ys in ck Cat Sheriff, he must be an important character in the cartoon.¡±

    ¡°The third category is for people who have obtained certain items and props. For example, Yaqing has a flower engraved copper pot, and Mr. Zhang Lifeng got two longan cores. Right now, we can¡¯t be sure what cartoon their props correspond to.¡±

    ¡°But, if we look at the role the props yed in the first two categories, can we conclude that these two props yed a vital role in the main plot of their corresponding cartoon? Or, they might have a close rtionship with the main character, to the point where they definitely aren¡¯t background objects but are instead critical to the character.¡±

    ¡°If we use this as a prerequisite, will we be able to narrow the range of options to the greatest extent possible by searching in these listed cartoons? Does Mr. Mu agree with my spection?¡±

    A rare trace of appreciation appeared in Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes, but his voice was as cold as ever. ¡°I agree with your point of view.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s worthy of being a top student.¡± Ke Xun shook his tail, intentionally or unconsciously curling the tip around Mu Yiran¡¯s legs. ¡°Your ability to analyze and summarize problems isn¡¯t bad. ording to your guess, we can try to eliminate the cartoons that obviously don¡¯t meet these requirements, and the rest we can discuss.¡±

    ¡°You had better be quick. Time won¡¯t wait for anyone,¡± Zhu Haowen lightly reminded them.

    After Qin Ci wrote down his title on the piece of paper in the box, he rushed over to help Li Yaqing and Zhang Lifeng study their corresponding cartoon with Ke Xun.

    Since the two longan cores in Zhang Lifeng¡¯s prop were more vague, they started with Li Yaqing¡¯s prop, which was fairly easy.

    Ke Xun and Qin Ci first narrowed the list down to all the cartoons with ancient backgrounds. Then they crossed out the cartoons that they knew didn¡¯t contain things like copper pots. Of the titles that remained, they carefully went over the plot step by step.

    Time was very tight. ording to past practices, at 11 o¡¯clock at night, all entrants could no longer leave the restricted area. Once they leave the area or don¡¯t return to the area, they would either all die or be randomly selected to die.

    Twelve o¡¯clock was when death officially arrived.

    Since there wasn¡¯t much time left, everyone was nervous. All eyes were focused on Ke Xun and Qin Ci, both of whom were concentrating on thinking, as if they were performing a rescue surgery.

    ¡°I think it should be this cartoon, meow.¡± Ke Xun raised his head and pointed to a line on the paper to show Luo Wei and Li Yaqing. ¡°Legends of the Book of Heaven is more likely than other cartoons, meow.¡±

    ¡°Are there any copper pots with engraved flowers in Legends of the Book of Heaven?¡± Wei Dong tried hard to remember.

    Almost everyone present also made the same expression of being lost in memory. This cartoon was such a ssic that many of them had seen it.

    ¡°There¡¯s a treasure bowl in there, meow,¡± Ke Xun reminded everyone. ¡°Meow, I have a deep impression of when the county magistrate¡¯s father fell into the basin and a bunch of old men jumped out, yelling that I¡¯m his father, no I¡¯m his father. That plot made meowugh to death.¡±

    ¡°Just write this,¡± Luo Wei told his girlfriend.

    Li Yaqin was out of her wits, and did what her boyfriend said. With trembling hands, she wrote the words Legends of the Book of Heaven on the paper.

    The next step was to help Zhang Lifeng screen his cartoon. However, the two longan cores were just too vague. Even if they used the method of elimination as proposed by Luo Wei, they still couldn¡¯t narrow the list down.

    Time passed, and seeing that there were only three minutes left before midnight, Qin Ci shook his head gently, as if announcing that rescue had failed.

    On the verge of copse, Zhang Lifeng pushed away from the crowd around him, rushed to the box, and wrote a name on the paper: Nine-Colored Deer.

    Ke Xun looked at him. ¡°Why did you write this name?¡±

    Zhang Lifeng rubbed a hand over his face and said with a wry smile, ¡°This is one of the few old domestic cartoons I¡¯d seen as a child. I can hardly remember much about it, but I just remember that it has a deer spirit that could satisfy people¡¯s wishes. I hope this deer can bring me luck¡­¡±

    Ke Xun no longer spoke. He really didn¡¯t think that the two longan cores belonged to the Nine-Colored Deer cartoon, but the name had already been written on the paper and it was useless to say anything more.

    The time on their phone finally jumped to 12:00.

    Everyone stood in front of their corresponding door, nerves tight, waiting for the imminent moment of death.

    Ke Xun held Mu Yiran¡¯s hand tightly, feeling calmer than ever.

    They¡¯ll be together in life and in death. Since this belief was nted in his heart, he no longer had any fear.

    The yellow stars and moon patterns on the dark blue wall suddenly began to flicker, growing hazier and more distorted, as if a blurred dream had suddenly begun.

    In the dream, the stars and moon lost their warmth and their lovely shapes, and gradually turned to adult faces. These faces had different expressions, ranging from anger, sorrow, despair, numbness, greed, and treachery. There were also lust, insidiousness, coldness, viciousness, hatefulness, hostility, gloating, groveling, and smiles that were bitter, grim, artificial, and insincere¡­

    Everyplex emotion that humans had were unabashedly disyed on these faces.

    Li Yaqing screamed in terror and buried her head in Luo Wei¡¯s arms. Wei Miao squatted down and hugged her head with trembling hands, not daring to look up again.

    The men also looked at these faces on the wall with horror. Although these faces were unmoving, although they all disyed the truest expressions in people¡¯s heart, it was these same stark truths that made them all the more terrifying.

    Perhaps, no one had realized how terrifying it was to be presented so straightforwardly and so nakedly with so much negative emotions.

    Humans were terrible.

    No, rather, one should say that adults were truly terrifying.

    When all the stars and moon had turned into human faces, a yful, childlike music burst out from the box in the middle of the room, like the opening song of a cartoon.

    <strong><<<Warning (sorry to interrupt): Descriptive gore below. If you don¡¯t like gore, scroll to the end of the chapter for a quick summary.>>></strong>

    Within this lively and sweet music, Zhang Lifeng suddenly let out a scream, quickly drawing everyone¡¯s eyes. They then saw that Zhang Lifeng was melting.

    Yes, he was melting.

    His skin slowly melted and flowed down like liquid toward the ground. As a result, his facial features became distorted, gradually blurring together. Only the ck hole of his mouth was barely left, making a terrible cry.

    After his skin had melted came his flesh and bones. Blood oozed bright red and thick, dripping like wax, slippingyer byyer down his body, staining the floor under his feet red and quickly spreading out.

    Li Yaqing and Wei Miao were terrified.They screamed and cried, crawling on the ground, trying to get away. Wei Dong and Luo Wei¡¯s faces turned pale.Ge Lei was shocked motionless, as if possessed. He watched nkly as Zhang Lifeng¡¯s blood soaked the soles and sides of his shoes.

    Zhang Lifeng¡¯s screams gradually died out as his body melted to such an extent that no human shape could be seen. He was like an ice cream under the sun.

    A person of flesh and blood had melted alive right in front of their eyes. Most of the floor in the room was covered with red, ring blood, with not a single hair, a tooth, or even a nail left behind.

    Wei Dong vomited into a corner of the room, and the two girls fainted from fright. Luo Wei bit his lip as hard as he could, for fear that he would be unable to control them.

    Even Qin Ci, who was a doctor ustomed to seeing various methods of death, turned his face away, unable to bear looking.

    Ke Xun lowered his head and put his forehead on Mu Yiran¡¯s shoulder. Next to him, Zhu Haowen was the calmest. Now that he was colorblind, Zhang Lifeng¡¯s blood was just a gray mass to him.

    Everyone was shocked by the tragic state of Zhang Lifeng¡¯s death. Suddenly, they heard a choking sound, followed by a loud and then a quiet thud, as if something had fallen to the floor one after another.

    Mu Yiran, Ke Xun, Zhu Haowen, and Qin Ci, all of whom were still able to maintain theirposure, turned to look in the direction of these sounds. They saw Qi Qiang¡¯s body, whose head was no longer connected, suddenly fall.

    His prop sword fell beside his body. However, even after falling to the ground, his head was still rolling, his severed neck dragging a thick, bloody trail on the floor.

    Blood spurted from the severed arteries of Qi Qiang¡¯s neck, spraying all over the walls and floors, adding to therge pool of blood that came from Zhang Lifeng¡¯s melting. This room that was originally full of dreamlike childishness had suddenly turned into purgatory on earth.

    For a long time, no one made a sound, and there were no movements. The room fell into a dead silence.

    Although they were psychologically prepared to face death, the way these two people had died was so sudden and so cruel that it was difficult for them all to ept and think calmly.

    What¡¯s more, the death period had just begun, and no one knew if there would be a third person that would die so tragically in front of them.

    The room plunged into an atmosphere of fear, tension, and total copse. Everyone¡¯s nerves were tense as they waited silently for an inescapable death blow.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    <strong>Summary of gory part:</strong> Zhang Lifeng (dude with the two longan cores) slowly melted into a pool of blood and Qi Qiang (violent dude with the sword) was decapitated.

 Chapter 144: Even If We Are Powerless To Resist, We Refuse To Admit Defeat

    <h4>Chapter 144: Even If We Are Powerless To Resist, We Refuse To Admit Defeat</h4>

    This was the first time since entering the painting that they had personally witnessed the process of death.

    What an extremely cold and cruel way to die, directly making everyone realize their own weaknesses and helplessness and making them fear being manipted by a force they were powerless to resist.

    This method not only deprived the dead of their lives, but also destroyed the survivors of their faith.

    Ge Lei was destroyed. He suddenly emitted a hysterical scream and rushed toward the door closest to him. Ke Xun reacted quickly, sprinting after him and attempting to hold him back. But a suddenly crazed person could sometimes create enough adrenaline to make them several times stronger than ordinary people. Ge Lei stubbornly broke free from Ke Xun¡¯s grasp and rushed through the door.

    ¡°Ke Xun! Don¡¯t go after him. You can¡¯t leave this room,¡± Zhu Haowen called out to him.

    Stopping, Ke Xun mmed his fist into the door.

    Mu Yiran walked up to him and silently ced a hand on his shoulder. Ke Xun turned his head to look at him and said in a low voice, ¡°He obviously mustered up the courage and said that he would rely on his own efforts to survive¡­meow¡­¡±

    Unfortunately, these cruel worlds in paintings weren¡¯t like the movies. Here, viins would die, supporting leads would die, and the protagonists would, perhaps, also die.

    ¡°But I believe that,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice sounded softly as he gently ran his fingers through Ke Xun¡¯s fluffy hair, ¡°even if we die in a painting, we would never admit defeat and would never lose our identity in the face of death.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Ke Xun tilted his head slightly into the heat of Mu Yiran¡¯s palm at the back of his head. His unstable emotions gradually settled.

    Ke Xun took a deep breath and asked the people in the room who were still conscious, ¡°Who saw how Qi Qiang died?¡±

    Qin Ci looked at Zhu Haowen, who shook his head in response.

    At that time, everyone¡¯s attention was focused on the melting Zhang Lifeng, and no one had noticed what was happening to Qi Qiang.

    Ke Xun was hesitating whether he ought to go and check Qi Qiang¡¯s corpse when he suddenly heard Huang Pi say in a dull voice, ¡°He cut off own head with the sword.¡±

    Everyone looked at him. If this person didn¡¯t speak, it was very easy to ignore his existence. No one even noticed what cartoon title he¡¯d written for himself on that piece of paper in the box.

    Just like now, after answering Ke Xun¡¯s question, he went back to being silent once more. Sitting in the corner, he stared sullenly at the box in the middle of the room.

    Li Yaqing gradually woke up, but after opening her eyes and seeing Qi Qiang¡¯s body in separate ces, she became frightened and copsed once more, screaming and crying.

    Luo Wei had tofort her for a long time. During this time period, Wei Miao also woke up. Of course, his reaction after seeing the corpse also wasn¡¯t calm. Therefore, in the middle of the night, to the sobbing of the girl and the silence of the men, he slowly lost consciousness and passed out.

    When the room lit back up, the human faces on the walls, ceilings, and ground had changed back to the stars and moons once more, as if everything that had happenedst night was nothing but a nightmare. Yet, therge pool of bright red blood on the ground remained. Qi Qiang¡¯s corpse and decapitated head, both stained with blood, did not disappear and remained disyed for everyone to see.

    No one wanted to look at these things anymore. Ke Xun and Mu Yiran moved at the same time. One person walked toward the dead body and the thick pool of blood, while the other headed straight for the box in the middle of the room. Within two steps, they discovered each other¡¯s movements and were taken aback. They looked at each other and then resumed their respective actions.

    It was Ke Xun who walked to the pool of blood that was the melted Zhang Lifeng. His eyesight was always good, and although he couldn¡¯t bear to look too closely, he still saw the two ck, round balls within the pool of blood.

    It was the two longan cores.

    Ke Xun stared at the two longan cores, and something shed across his mind. Frowning, he simply stood there, desperately trying to catch that sh of something. Suddenly, he heard Wei Dong, who had already finished vomiting, groaned angrily from the corner, ¡°A¡­big, living person¡­he just fucking melted alive¡­¡±

    ¨CMelted!

    ¨CTwo dark longan cores!

    Ke Xun meowed and turned his head sharply to look at Mu Yiran, who was holding the paper with the names of the cartoon in the box. He said, ¡°Yiran, meow! Zhang Lifeng¡¯s corresponding cartoon is The Snow Child!¡±

    His boyfriend looked at him with an expression that said ¡°I haven¡¯t watched cartoons, so what kind of cheese was The Snow Child, was it atte coffee or an ice cream, I haven¡¯t watched cartoons.¡±

    ¡°The protagonist of The Snow Child is a snowman,¡± Qin Ci suddenly realized. ¡°Are these two longan cores used to make snowman eyes?¡±

    ¡°That should be it,¡± Ke Xun said with a nod. ¡°Although I don¡¯t remember whether it was mentioned in the cartoon that the snowman¡¯s eyes were made up of two longan cores. But Zhang Lifeng died in exactly the same way the snowman did!¡±

    ¡°So Zhang Lifeng wrote down the wrong name,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°Since he died because of this, then Qi Qiang also died because he also wrote down the wrong name. Does this prove that we all survived because we wrote down the right names?¡±

    ¡°If this is the case,¡± Mu Yiran said, putting down the paper in his hand and looking at everyone, ¡°the rules of death selection will change tonight.¡±

    Since everyone had written the title of their cartoons correctly, if they were still required to continue writing down the name of their cartoons, then no one would die again. Therefore, based on the rule that there would be a death per night, it was obvious that the rules of death selection would change.

    Everyone¡¯s mood became heavier. However, Mu Yiran didn¡¯t give anyone time toe to terms with this, and he quickly made arrangements. ¡°Ke Xun and Dr. Qin will sort out the plots of the cartoons that correspond to us. Try to recall as much detail as possible and find out what characters or items have inmon.¡±

    ¡°Haowen will enter the hidden world triggered by Ke Xun yesterday, advance the plot of Good Kitty to the end, and try to find ways to trigger other hidden worlds.¡±

    ¡°Everyone else will stay here temporarily to assist Ke Xun and Dr. Qin. Meanwhile, I¡¯ll look for Ge Lei and bring him back.¡±

    ¡°Yiran!¡± Ke Xun grabbed him by the arm. ¡°You can¡¯t go to other people¡¯s worlds, otherwise your body will change¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯lle back quickly.¡± Mu Yiran gently squeezed the back of Ke Xun¡¯s neck, took advantage of his momentaryck of strength, and strode through the door that Ge Lei had disappeared in.

    ¨C¡±He had obviously mustered up the courage and said he would rely on his own efforts to survive¡­¡±

    The words Ke Xun had said still shed across Mu Yiran¡¯s mind. Although Ke Xun¡¯s mood had quickly picked up, Mu Yiran knew that, in that moment, Ke Xun¡¯s persistence and beliefs were almost defeated.

    If, no matter how hard they worked and no matter how brave they were, they still couldn¡¯t defeat this terrible and evil force, then what was the meaning of their current determination to resist?

    Mu Yiran decided to find Ge Lei and bring him back so that his cat-shaped Corgi could re-wag his tail with vitality.

    Ke Xun¡¯s tail dragged limply behind him as he and Qin Ci faced the titles on the paper, carefully recalling the plot of each cartoon.

    ¡°Theposition of characters in The Snow Child is very simple. Except for the snowman, there are only two rabbits,¡± Qin Ci analyzed. ¡°So it should be fairly easy to trigger this hidden world so long as we look for rabbits in the plots of other cartoons.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me, I have something to say that might not sound too pleasant,¡± Luo Wei suddenly said. ¡°Zhang Lifeng, who corresponded to the cartoon The Snow Child, had already been killed. Do we still need him to find this hidden world?¡±

    ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what the result will be in going through a dead person¡¯s world,¡± Qin Ci said, ¡°I think that, in terms of finding the signature, we can¡¯t let go of any possible clues. Although the sentence ¡°existence is rational¡± doesn¡¯t seem very appropriate when applied to this ce, in the paintings, any existing clues may be the key to finding the signature, and so we can¡¯t let it go.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Luo Wei nodded. ¡°I have no further questions.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of rabbits,¡± Wei Dong continued the topic from earlier, ¡°isn¡¯t Zhao Haicui a rabbit¡­?¡±

    ¡°But she had already thrown herself into the fire,¡± Luo Wei said. ¡°So, the two rabbits in the cartoon couldn¡¯t be her. There should be rabbits in other cartoons, right?¡±

    Thest sentence was directed at Ke Xun.

    ¡°There are, meow.¡± Ke Xun nodded. ¡°There are rabbits in ck Cat Sheriff, and there are also rabbits in Good Kitty.¡±

    ¡°Ge Lei corresponded to ck Cat Sheriff, but we don¡¯t know if he can¡­be recovered. Meanwhile, Haowen is now in the world of Good Kitty, and we¡¯ll have to wait for him to return,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°Then let¡¯s put the world of The Snow Child aside and move on to analyzing other hidden worlds¡­¡±

    ¡°Hailibu!¡± Ke Xun eximed. ¡°Hailibu is also a hidden world. There are also many animals, squirrels, deer, crows, foxes, sheep, cows, ants, horses, meow! Meow meow meow!¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Qin Ci hurriedly tried to calm the cat. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, take your time. Let¡¯s first list the important animals and props involved in each cartoon, and then try to findmon characters. We¡¯ll let everyone test it one by one, okay?¡±

    Ke Xun agreed, ¡°Meow!¡±

    With Ke Xun and Qin Ci as the main brain and everyone else as supplementary help, they listed all the important characters, animals, or objects in each cartoon that they could recall.

    The Snow Child ¨C rabbit, radish, fire

    Legends of the Book of Heaven ¨C fox, book of heaven, egg, county magistrate, gods

    Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush: old god, county magistrate, old master, cattle, sheep, chicken

    The Fish Child: the fish child¡¯s porcin basin, lotus, pearl, county magistrate, foreigner, boat,

    Good Kitty: mice, rabbit, squirrel, tiger, chicken, fish

    Hailibu: arrow, mountain god, squirrel, deer, sheep, cow, crow, ant, horse, bear, wild goose

    Fire Boy: arrow, monkey, sheep, tiger, gourd, stream, fire

    ck Cat Sheriff: cat, rat, monkey, rabbit, dove

    Nezha Roils the Sea: Yin and Yang circle, huntian silk, magic wheels, fire-tip spear, sword, deer, lotus, god, dragon

    Tiger Learns a Skill: Cat (hidden world has been triggered)

    Aside from Zhao Haicui and Qi Qiang¡¯s worlds, which they had yet to determine, there was still the cartoon that corresponded to Huang Pi. They looked at the title that he¡¯d written for himself.

    ¡°Laoshan Taoist¡±

    Qin Ci nced at Huang Pi thoughtfully. This man took the initiative to choose the ancient Confucian scarf of a schr for himself from the very beginning, which was really quite contrary to his own character and temperament. The fact that he even knew cartoons like Laoshan Taoist ?was even more surprising.

    The most surprising thing was that since he survived the death selectionst night, it meant that he wrote down the correct answer.

    People could¡­really hide themselves.

    No matter how bad of an adult people be, even they may have good childhood memories.

 Chapter 145: Huang Pi and Ke Xun

    <h4>Chapter 145: Huang Pi and Ke Xun</h4>

    Laoshan Taoist ¡ª god, book, moon, Chang¡¯e, dog

    After sorting these out, Qin Ci asked everyone to make a copy to keep for themselves and told them, ¡°Wei Dong, Wei Miao, and I will each enter our own world. We¡¯ll try to use each item listed next to our world on the paper and see if we can trigger a hidden world. For those of you who correspond to a hidden world, if you¡¯re willing to enter these primary worlds to try and trigger your own hidden world, you can also try it. Remember toe back before 11 o¡¯clock at night.¡±

    Thest sentence was for the neers. After he spoke, there were no more dys, and he and the others entered their corresponding worlds.

    Ke Xun stared at the content listed on the piece of paper in his hand and carefully surveyed the string of words behind Hailibu.

    There were too many animals in Hailibu. Because the focus of the story was that Hailibu could understand animals, he surmised that it must be an animal who will trigger this hidden world.

    But with so many animals, which one was the key?

    There wasn¡¯t time for him to try each out one by one. Mu Yiran¡¯s movements this morning were no longer as flexible, meaning that the abnormal changes in his body were still ongoing. Therefore, Ke Xun must find the critical trigger point for Mu Yiran¡¯s hidden world as soon as possible, all in one fell swoop.

    Calm down, be calm, and think carefully about the details of Hailibu¡¯s story.

    He remembered that, at the beginning of the cartoon, Hailibu rescued a squirrel from a wolf¡¯s jaw, only to find out that the squirrel was the daughter of a god. In order to thank Hailibu for saving his daughter, the god decided to give him a gift.

    So, would the squirrel be the key?

    Which cartoon in the known world had squirrels?

    After thinking about the worlds behind these six doors, it seemed that only the Tiger Learns a Skill world had squirrels, but the Tiger Learns a Skill world had already triggered the world of Good Kitty. Could one world trigger multiple hidden worlds?

    Ke Xun thought so, and entered the world of Tiger Learns a Skill without hesitation.

    ¡°Hello Auntie Cat!¡± a group of animals,rge and small, called out to him in unison.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡± Meow, he hated rigid NPCs. Couldn¡¯t they be flexible and change his name to Uncle Cat?!

    Ke Xun nced at the squirrel in the group of animals. He was about to call out to it when he suddenly saw a huge tiger within the group.

    What was going on? Hadn¡¯t this tiger already fallen into the river? Why was it here again? And from the look of it, it didn¡¯t seem to have any conflict with the cat and was instead watching the excitement with a simple face.

    ¡ªThe plot had been reset?!

    Ke Xun thought for a moment, and then realized that the backstory of this world would be reset every night. In fact, it was equivalent to letting the yer repeatedly swipe a copy in the game, and with every swipe it was possible to discover new equipment or new hidden bosses.

    So even if he advanced the story to the end, he might not level up, but in the process of repeatedly viewing the story, he might gain key information.

    The ending wasn¡¯t important; what was important was the process.

    After figuring this out, Ke Xun ignored the big tiger. Since the ending wasn¡¯t important, there was no need to get this guy into the river again.

    Ke Xun pointed to the squirrel. ¡°Meow, let me ask you, can you take meow to the door of the new world?¡±

    Squirrel¡¯s expression became dumbfounded, and it looked at him in confusion.

    Ke Xun refused to give up and cross-examined every animal present, but found nothing.

    He decisively left and returned to the initial room.

    Since this path was temporarily unavable, he must change to another path and no longer waste time in this fight to the death.

    Right now, Huang Pi was the only one left in the room. Ke Xun looked at him in surprise and said, ¡°Meow, where did the others go? Why don¡¯t you go into your own world, meow?¡±

    Huang Pu ignored him and continued sitting against the wall. It seemed as if he had no intention of doing anything at all, as if he had given up struggling and had admitted his fate. However, from the look on his face, there was no sign of pessimistic despair or copse.

    Ke Xun wanted to pick another world to enter so he could look for clues about triggering Hailibu. He had just taken a step forward when he had a sudden thought, and so he withdrew his foot. He walked over to Huang Pi instead and squatted down, tail swaying behind him. Looking at him, he said, ¡°Brother Pi, since we¡¯ve been through two paintings together, we can be considered as acquaintances. Although we still don¡¯t have much friendship with each other, as long as we don¡¯t die in the painting, it¡¯s possible that we¡¯ll bepanions in this battle through the paintings, perhaps even for the rest of our lives.¡±

    ¡°Meow, in a situation like this, it¡¯s impossible for people to fight alone. Even while traversing a muddy path, you still have brothers that you¡¯re good friends with, am I right, meow ?¡±

    ¡°In the end, everyone will eventually die. There is only today and no tomorrow, and so it¡¯s still important to have some care whetherpatible or not. If you have any thoughts, don¡¯t just hold it in and instead say it out. If you hold it in, you¡¯ll feel ufortable. Do you agree, meow?¡±

    Huang Pi finally nced at him and said in a dull voice, ¡°I heard that your instinct is very urate.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not always urate. You also saw, meow, that I wasn¡¯t able to help Qi Qiang guess correctly yesterday,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Then guess what I do for a living?¡± Huang Pi gave Ke Xun a dark look.

    ¡°I think that what you do involves money, and the money that you take in isn¡¯t small either. The things you do aren¡¯t trivial. There should be, meow, at least a few lives in your hands.¡± Ke Xun curled his lips faintly, looking at him calmly and confidently.

    Having failed to frighten Ke Xun, the muscles on Huang Pi¡¯s face twitched, and it was unknown whether he wasughing or making some other expressions.

    ¡°Why are you talking nonsense with me?¡± Huang Pi asked him.

    ¡°Meow, I think that you may know some clues that people like us don¡¯t know,¡± Ke Xun said bluntly.

    ¡°What makes you think so?¡± Huang Pi was nomittal.

    ¡°Just by relying on two very vague clues, the scarf of an ancient schr and the body¡¯s transformation into a puppet, you can guess that the world you correspond to is Laoshan Taoist, meow. This gives meow the idea that you might have a bashfully irascible intuition,¡± Ke Xun said. A naughty expression appeared on his face and he added, ¡°Brother Pi, you must have been a cartoonist when you were a kid, right, meow?¡±

    ¡°Fuck your meow XX,¡± Huang Pi cursed in a hoarse voice. Although he had a fierce look on his face, he didn¡¯t n on killing Ke Xun at once.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve guessed the world you correspond to, why don¡¯t you think of a way to trigger it?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    The world of the Laoshan Taoist, which corresponded to Huang Pi, was a hidden world, which needed to be triggered through one of the worlds behind the six doors.

    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business,¡± Huang Pi said harshly.

    ¡°My guess is that you don¡¯t want to go back to the real world, you want to die here.¡± Ke Xun looked into his eyes.

    ¡°Scram, dickhead. Don¡¯t talk drivel in front of me.¡± Huang Pi was expressionless, but he looked at him with a cold gaze.

    However, Ke Xun didn¡¯t retreat. Instead, he hunkered down in front of Huang Pi, his tail smoothly wrapped around his hip and thigh.

    ¡°I¡¯m very familiar with this kind of state, so don¡¯t pretend,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Meow, in the first few months when I became an orphan, my daily mentality was just like yours now. I had no desire for food or water. Meow, on the surface, my emotions seemed stable, but there was one sentence that kept repeating in my heart: Just die like this. What¡¯s the use of living? It¡¯s better to just die.¡±

    ¡°Meow, in those first few months, the thing that I did the most was to look at old photos. I looked at every photo I¡¯d taken with my family since I was a child. I studied every one of them, meow, or I just watched old cartoons and old TV shows on the inte, because¡­¡±

    ¡°I was pretending to be a little child again, meow. Old photos, old cartoons, old TV shows, all of them represented the most carefree and the best memories I had with my family as a child, meow.¡±

    ¡°Meow, when I was suffering the most, when I was the most desperate, the most depressed, meow, I always thought that it was better in my childhood. Every day, when I was happily watching cartoons, my whole family was around me, neat and tidy. How nice it was.¡±

    ¡°Your state now was the same as me at that time, meow. My guess is that you¡¯re bored with life, meow. Is it easy to be bored after having spent such a long time on the path you¡¯re on?¡±

    ¡°So there¡¯s nothing wrong with dying while surrounded by your best childhood memory, right, meow?¡±

    Huang Pi didn¡¯t respond, only lowered his eyelids, revealing a shallow scar. He stared down at his hands that were covered with the dirtiest things in the world.

    Many years ago, he¡¯d been a little boy who¡¯d sat on his own chair and watched cartoons on TV, happily and unblinkingly. Never would he have imagined that, when he grew up, he would be a scum who was like a cancerous tumor.

    But who would have imagined this for themselves?

    All happy childhoods were simr, butplicated and hard lives were all different.

    No wonder the author of this painting set up such a theme.

    Maybe he also had a life of failure, and so he missed his carefree childhood.

    ¡°Brother Pi, in your opinion, which cartoon behind these six doors is more likely to trigger the hidden world of Hailibu?¡±

    The man in front of Huang Pi brazenly asked him this, as if he wasn¡¯t an outsider at all. What gave him the gall to think that he would tell him?

    ¡°You go to Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush,¡± With a frown, Huang Pi threw out these words in disgust.

    Yes, he ought to hate this kid. As a man, he wanted to engage in rtionship with another man, so fucking nausiating.

    ¡°Meow? Why Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush?¡± The disgusting kid continued to ask shamelessly.

    ¨CWhy the fuck would I tell you?!

    ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Huang Pi red at him fiercely. ¡°ck Cat Sheriff, Tiger Learns a Skill, and The Snow Child are all animal worlds, and Nezha and the fish child aren¡¯t even ordinary mortals. Ma Liang¡¯s divine brush was given by the gods, and the fruit that Hailibu ate to allow him to understand animals was also given by the gods. These two films are simr!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun¡¯s tail swayed lightly. ¡°Big Brother, you analyzed these cartoons so fiercely. You must get along well with your subordinates, meow?¡±

    ¡°¡­You fucking want to die,¡± Huang Pi said harsely between gritted teeth and made as if to get up.

    Ke Xun jumped up from the ground, tails flicking, and rushed to the door of Ma Liang¡¯s world. He let out a meow and, without looking back, said, ¡°Thank you! I¡¯ll keep your cute performance just now a secret!¡±

    ¡°¡­Fuck,¡± Huang Pi cussed, veins popping along his neck.

    Ke Xun ran into Ma Liang¡¯s world and thought about the simrities this world shared with Hailibu¡¯s world.

    Ma Liang¡¯s cartoon had cattle, sheep, chickens and rabbits that looked as if they were painted on stone.

    Could it be an ox? Ma Liang was a cattle-herding baby and didn¡¯t the old master tell Ma Liang, who was watching him from outside the window, to go home and herd the cattle?

    Ke Xun rushed to the location of the county government seat, and he saw Wei Dong being mocked by the old master.

    Since the plot would reset every night, Wei Dong had to start the script all over again.

    ¡°Dongzi, don¡¯t bother about him!¡± Ke Xun stepped forward and pulled Wei Dong into a run.

    Wei Dong was shocked. ¡°What are you doing here?! Aren¡¯t you afraid of changing even more?!¡±

    Ke Xun dragged him toward Ma Liang¡¯s residence and said, ¡°Hurry up! We need to go back to search your house, meow!¡±

    ¡°Look for what?¡± Wei Dong asked hurriedly.

    ¡°For meow meow!¡± Ke Xun yelled angrily.

    ¡°Why the fuck do you keep saying ¡®meow¡¯? I have no idea what you¡¯re even saying!¡± Wei Dong was also startled and anxious.

    ¡°Meow¨C¡± Ke Xun wanted to learn how to emte the sound of an ox, but what came out was the sound of a cat.

    Shit, Ke Xun thought to himself. Because he entered a world that wasn¡¯t his own, his anomalies were intensifying, and he was now almost¡­unable to speak.

 Chapter 146: Ke Xun: #@&%ï¿¥â€¦.

    <h4>Chapter 146: Ke Xun: #@&%£¤¡­.</h4>

    Ke Xun crouched down and wrote the word ¡°ox¡± on the ground with his fingers. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t a lot of strokes in this character; anything else would have been more difficult for him. However, due to his body changes, the character he¡¯d written into the dirt was crooked and didn¡¯t look like it ought to.

    Fortunately, Wei Dong understood, and hurriedly rushed to Ma Liang¡¯s residence to lead the ox out. He smacked the ox¡¯s behind with the whip, wanting it to run so he could follow it to the hidden world.

    However, the oxpletely ignored Wei Dong and lowered its head in search of grass.

    Wei Dong was in a hurry. He whipped and kicked the ox again, but instead of moving, the ox knocked him to the ground instead.

    ¡°It¡¯s not working!¡± Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun in panic. ¡°Don¡¯t fucking stay in this world anymore; go back to the initial room!¡±

    Ke Xun ignored him and frowned. Wei Dong watched as several cat whiskers popped out from the corners of Ke Xun¡¯s mouth. He became so anxious that he was on the brink of tears. He hurriedly thought of Mu Yiran¡¯s tricks and stepped forward to pinch the back of Ke Xun¡¯s neck.

    But Ke Xun jumped to the side, avoiding him. Staring at him, he said, ¡°Do you think meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow?¡±

    Although a series of meows only came out from Ke Xun¡¯s mouth, Wei Dong understood him enough to guess what he was saying. Anyway, he was sting him for trying to handle him like his boyfriend¡¯s.

    Wei Dong frantically pulled at his hair. ¡°Leave quickly. I¡¯m begging you. I¡¯ll help you find the hidden world Hailibu!¡±

    Even if Ke Xun didn¡¯t say it, Wei Dong knew for whom and why he came to this world.

    Ke Xun shook his cat face slightly, his expression firm. Then, he ran toward the county magistrate¡¯s seat again.

    Wei Dong followed desperately behind him. As they ran toward the entrance of the vige, they heard the cry of a child, ¡°My sheep, my sheep, my sheep, my sheep¨C¡±

    This was the story of the government officer robbing a kid¡¯s sheep. Later, Ma Liang painted a sheep for the child, and the child was happy once more.

    Ke Xun skidded to a halt when he heard this cry. His cat ears stood straight up as he suddenly thought of something. He pointed to the direction of the cry and called for Wei Dong.

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t even have to think about his requests. He immediately rushed over with his paintbrush. The officer had just snatched the kid¡¯s sheep, but Wei Dong ignored him. With his brush, he directly drew a sheep on the wall.

    The sheep bounced off the wall, and the child hugged it happily.

    Wei Dong turned his head to look at Ke Xun in confusion. ¡°It didn¡¯t trigger anything?¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s cat ears stood up again, his round eyes fixed on the child and the sheep in front of him. He suddenly turned and rushed toward the officer that had stolen the previous sheep. Wei Dong watched as he leaped into the air like a cat, paws outstretched. With a swipe, he directly scratched the officer bloody.

    The officer screamed in pain and unconsciously released the sheep he was holding. The sheep jumped to the ground, spread all four hooves, and ran forward. Ke Xun chased after it and saw when the sheep turned into a streak of light. A round door suddenly appeared in front of them.

    ¡°Meow, meow, meow!¡± Ke Xun said. When he¡¯d watched this cartoon as a child, he¡¯d hated the officer to death. Moreover, the NPC in this painting had also reminded them in a very obvious way¨C¡°My sheep, my sheep, my sheep,¡± indicating this as an NPC mission. So naturally, this was an important sheep.

    When he ran through the round door, what appeared in front of him was a grasnd scattered with white sheep. A group of men dressed like Mongolians were dancing and singing in the distance.

    ¡°Meow meow tell! Meow meow meow ha! Meow found!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s pair of cat eyes were bent into crescents.

    When Wei Dong dragged him back to the initial room, Mu Yiran was also there. Ke Xun rushed over to squeeze his arms and legs and discovered that he was stiffer than yesterday. Letting out a meow of distress, he directly carried him on his back and ran into Ma Liang¡¯s world.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s didn¡¯t refuse Ke Xun this time. He quietly leaned on his back and spoke to him softly, ¡°Ge Lei was so scared that he went crazy. I knocked him out by the door of ck Cat Sheriff and will bring him inside the room before 11.¡±

    ¡°Meow,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°After putting me in Hailibu¡¯s world, you have to go back to the initial room,¡± Mu Yiran said in a deep voice, looking at his sideburns that were turning into cat hair.

    ¡°Meow-meow.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will pay attention to safety.¡±

    ¡°Meow wu, wuwu, meow?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I want to try to trigger a hidden world. Maybe once all the hidden worlds are triggered will the artist¡¯s signature appear. So this is something that must be done. I¡¯lle back before 11. Even if, for whatever reason, I can¡¯t rush back in time, don¡¯te to find me, do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Ao.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stubborn.¡±

    ¡°Wuuu¡­¡±

    ¡°Be obedient.¡±

    ¡°Mi woo.¡±

    When Ke Xun finally returned to the initial room, Qin Ci and the others had also returned. Upon seeing Ke Xun¡¯s half-human, half-cat appearance, they were all shocked.

    ¡°This fucker was running around!¡± Wei Dongined to everyone with red eyes.

    ¡°Xiao Ke, you can¡¯t continue going to other worlds,¡± Qin Ci admonished, frowning. ¡°If there¡¯s something that needs to be done, I can do it. My body hasn¡¯t undergone any changes. Even if I go to other worlds from time to time, my transformation will take longer than yours.¡±

    .

    ¡°Meow.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s ears drooped.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up.¡± Zhu Haowen looked away from his furry cat ears and said in a deep voice, ¡°Let me talk about my discovery first. I tracked one of the mice in Good Kitty, which triggered a hidden world. This One Ear mouse was really the same mouse as the one in ck Cat Sheriff.¡±

    ¡°Meow?¡± Ke Xun looked at him in surprise.

    Zhu Haowen looked at him. ¡°So I didn¡¯t discover a new hidden world. What was triggered was an existing world, Good Kitty.¡±

    Qin Ci added, ¡°I thought about all the important plots and things in the story of the fish boy, and finally discovered that one of the main characters in this story, a white-haired old man, actually took out a good boat to catch more fish. I followed him and triggered a hidden world. Unfortunately, what was triggered was another existing world, the one where Zhao Haicui had died.¡±

    At that point, Luo Wei and Li Yaqing had returned from the world of Nezha with Wei Miao.

    Luo Wei¡¯s Fire Boy and Li Yaqing¡¯s Legends of the Book of Heaven were both hidden worlds. Luo Wei believed that Legends of the Book of Heaven was simr to Nezha Roils the Sea and so he decided to help his girlfriend find her hidden world first. In addition to this, Wei Miao didn¡¯t dare to go to her world alone, and so the three of three of them entered Nezha Roils the Sea together.

    ¡°The story of Nezha Roils the Sea is very long,¡± Luo Wei frowned slightly. ¡°We managed to advance the story for a short period of time. But, in the story, Nezha pulled out the dragon crown prince¡¯s tendons, and Wei Miao¡¯s prop is a dragon horn headband. We were worried that his role is that of the Dragon Prince so we didn¡¯t care to continue pushing the plot. We had toe back temporarily. As a result, we weren¡¯t able to trigger a hidden world.¡±

    ¡°This is indeed a problem¡­¡± Qin Ci pondered. ¡°We can¡¯t advance the plot on the premise of sacrificing one of our lives. Are there anything else we haven¡¯t thought of yet?¡±

    ¡°Ao wuwuwu meow meow can also do it meow!¡± Ke Xun said quickly.

    Everyone looked at him with a slightly stiff expression.

    Ke Xun was stunned. ¡°Meow, wuwuwu, don¡¯t understand ao ao meow?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t understand¡­¡± Everyone shook their heads together.

    ¡°Meow fuck!¡± Ke Xun became aggravated.

    ¡°¡­I understand that,¡± Wei Dong said, and then looked at him anxiously, ¡°What should we do?! How about you try to write it down?¡±

    Ke Xun took the pen and paper that Luo Wei had handed over and drew on the paper with great effort. Zhu Haowen took it and saw that it was all messy squiggles.

    ¡°Probably only Mu Yiran can understand what you¡¯re saying.¡±? Zhu Haowen looked at him nkly. ¡°I¡¯ll bring him back.¡±

    Ke Xun scratched his sleeve and shook his head. ¡°Meow!¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that it¡¯s too dangerous?¡± Qin Ci guessed from the cat¡¯s words. ¡°Indeed, it isn¡¯t Haowen¡¯s own world, and so his body changes will elerate. Let me go. I¡¯m probably the most normal of the people here, the one closest to a pure human, which will allow me to go to other worlds at will.¡±

    After speaking, he didn¡¯t dy and immediately stepped into the world of Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush.

    Seeing that Ke Xun was so upset that he was biting his cat tail, Wei Dong quickly found another topic to distract him. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys find it surprising that we haven¡¯t eaten in nearly two days but we aren¡¯t the least bit hungry?¡±

    ¡°Probably because this is the world of cartoons,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°Many cartoons deliberately obscured the plot of eating because it involves the animal food chain. For example, in Tiger Learns a Skill, the tiger learns how to climb from the cat. The tiger also gathers with a group of monkeys and squirrels to talk. This being the case, if eating is involved, that world will be very contradictory and chaotic.¡±

    ¡°¡­Yes, does the tiger eat small animals or is it a vegetarian? It¡¯s unclear.¡± Wei Dong nodded. ¡°So this problem is blocked out in the cartoon, which means that our need for sustenance will also be blocked.¡±

    Moreover, Wei Dong thought to himself, when facing the corpses in this room, no one would have the appetite to eat anything.

    Thinking this in his heart, he involuntarily nced in the direction of Qi Qiang¡¯s separated corpse. When his gaze met Qi Qiang¡¯s severed head, a full-body shudder went through him, followed by a wave of nausea that poured up from his stomach, scaring him. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, but Qi Qiang¡¯s face, which no longer looked human, was etched into his retina.

    ¡­Ahh?

    Wei Dong felt as if something seemed a little strange. He wanted to open his eyes and look again, but he felt that it was too disgusting. After thinking about it, he opened his eyes and looked at Ke Xun. ¡°Ke¡¯er, can you still understand human words?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun spit the tail from his mouth. ¡°Meow.¡±

    ¡°Then look at Qi Qiang¡¯s face. Was it like that before his death?¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t hesitate to throw his best buddy into the pit.

    Ke Xun nced at Qi Qiang and was so disgusted that the hair all over his body stood on end. He looked back at Wei Dong in irritation, ¡°Ao ao meow meow fuck ao! Meow meow don¡¯t understand meow meow nonsense?¡±

    Wei Dong could guess what this guy was saying, something like. ¡°Fuck, so disgusting. Why did you want me to look at it? Even if I look at it, you won¡¯t even understand what I¡¯m saying. But you still want me to look at it, what nonsense.¡±

    He pointed a finger at his own face and told him, ¡°I¡¯ll talk. Just nod your head. Did you see that Qi Qiang¡¯s eyebrows are particrly weird? I remember that his two eyebrows were very close together, which made him look really malicious, but I just nced at him earlier and his eyebrows seemed to have moved further apart.¡±

    Hearing this, Ke Xun looked at Qi Qiang¡¯s face again. Then he nodded and marked the distance with both hands. ¡°Meow meow far apart.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°I noticed that his eyebrows were different on the first night. Now that he is dead, it¡¯s even more obvious. His eyebrows are too wide. Even in cartoons, isn¡¯t this kind of face too exaggerated?¡±

    ¡°Meow?!¡± Ke Xun suddenly seemed to have thought of something. His eyes widened and he thought hard for a while. Then he yelled at everyone, ¡°Meow know! Ao meow, meow!¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Uh, what are you talking about?¡± Wei Dong finally said.

    Ke Xun shouted, ¡°Meow meow meow!¡±

    Wei Dong:¡­The title of the cartoon can¡¯t save you now¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    <b>Xida: </b>Don¡¯t forget that Mu Yiran swallowed the fruit from the Hailibu cartoon, which allowed him to understand animals. So that¡¯s why he could understand Ke Xun. By the way, all your meows in thements are just too amusing.

 Chapter 147: Mi Lunâ€™s Signature

    <h4>Chapter 147: Mi Lun¡¯s Signature</h4>

    When Qin Ci and Mu Yiran returned to the initial room, Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran as if he was looking at his savior. He rushed at Mu Yiran, wishing that his entire body could cling to him.

    He meowed, and Mu Yiran stretched out his hand to squeeze the back of his neck to soothe him as he tranted to everyone, ¡°Ke Xun said that Qi Qiang¡¯s corresponding cartoon was Meijian Chi.¡±

    ¡°Meijian Chi?¡± Qin Ci¡¯s eyebrows drew together but found nothing in his memory about the cartoon. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of or seen this cartoon before.¡±

    ¡°I remember that Mr. Lu Xun wrote a novel called Forging the Swords, which seemed to have a story about Meijian Chi.¡± Fromst night to now, Wei Miao did not dare to touch the pool of blood and Qi Qiang¡¯s corpse. Right now, as she said this, her face was covered with her hands and her trembling body was facing the wall.

    ¡°Meijian Chi is said to be the son of General Mo Xie,¡± Mu Yiran said thoughtfully. ¡°This capable person forged a sword for the King of Chu and waster killed by the King of Chu. Before he died, the general told his wife to have his son avenge him in the future. When Meijian Chi grew up and learned about this, he took another sword that the general had forged to find the King of Chu with the intent of beheading him. He delivered the sword to a brave hero and asked him to kill the King of Chu on his behalf. The reason why his name was Meijain Chi was because his eyebrows were set wide apart.¡±

    ¡°Meow wuwu meow meow wu.¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun said that artistic licenses were often taken with the cartoon, but that this general outline is correct,¡± Mu Yiran tranted.

    ¡°Then Qi Qiang corresponded to the cartoon Meijian Chi.¡± Qin Chi nodded.

    Wei Dong was speechless. ¡°Is it really good for cartoons to show children such horrible materials?¡±

    ¡°Meow ao ao wu wu meow meow meow.¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun said that because the cartoon is too dark and strange, and the content is more appropriate for an adult audience, it caused a lot of controversy.¡± Mu Yiran nced at Ke Xun and added, ¡°He even had nightmares about it after watching it once as a child, and so it had left an impression on him.¡±

    ¡°So now, out of 13 worlds, we¡¯ve determined the titles for 12. Only the world where Zhao Haicui died is left, and we still have no clues about that world,¡± Zhu Haowen summarized.

    ¡°The hidden worlds that we were only able to trigger was Good Kitty and Hailibu,¡± Luo Wei said.

    ¡°There¡¯s also Fire Boy.¡± Mu Yiran nced at him. ¡°When I was in Hailibu¡¯s world, I used his bow and arrow to trigger the hidden world of Fire Boy. You can enter it now.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Qin Ci suddenly said. ¡°The Fire Boy¡¯s bow and arrows are very important props.¡±

    Luo Wei did not dy. He only stopped long enough to instruct Li Yaqing to stay in the initial room since her pot was already sorge that two people were needed to carry it. Then he strode through the door and raced against time to find the Fire Boy world.

    Everyone else was also in a hurry. Mu Yiran nced at Qi Qiang lying amidst the pool of blood. ¡°Since it¡¯s determined that his world is Meijian Chi, then I think another sword in one of the cartoons is the key to triggering his hidden world.¡±

    The general in Meijian Chi had forged two swords in total.

    ¡°Oh lu lu lu!¡± Ke Xun made a gesture of raising a sword to y himself.

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun said that Nezha had cut his own throat with a sword,¡± Mu Yiran tranted.

    Wei Dong quickly looked at Wei Miao. ¡°Youngdy, hurry up. Go back to Nezha Roils the Sea and get that sword!¡±

    Wei Miao ran through the door, trembling.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go into the world of ck Cat Sheriff to find a hidden world,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°Ao wu!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s hair suddenly bristled.

    ¡°You stay as his interpreter.¡± Zhu Haowen pointed at Ke Xun expressionlessly. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the world of ck Cat Sheriff.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go. After all, Haowen, you¡­¡± The more you stay in other worlds, the more you¡¯ll look like a mouse¡­Qin Ci finished in his heart.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go into the world of Zhao Haicui,¡± Wei Dong volunteered.

    Who would have imagined that the moment he walked through the door, the taciturn Huang Pi, who had been sitting against the wall, would stand up and follow after him.

    Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, Zhu Haowen, and Li Yaqing were left in the room. They didn¡¯t wait idly and continued to analyze the clues at hand.

    ¡°We now know that several worlds are connected in this way,¡± Zhu Haowen said as he drew on a piece of paper, ¡°Tiger Learns a Skill¡ú Good Kitty¡ú ck Cat Sheriff.¡±

    ¡°Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush¡ú Hailibu ¡ú Fire Boy.¡±

    ¡°The Fish Child ¡ú Zhao Haicui¡¯s corresponding world.¡±

    ¡°There seems to be no rules to how these are linked together. From the perspective of cartoon style or the nature of the story itself, some seem to have things inmon and some seem to have none at all.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Mu Yiran thought out loud, ¡°each world could trigger a hidden world, and it can also be triggered by another world at the same time. The trigger is one-way. In short, each world has two points of connection, where it can trigger and can be triggered.¡±

    ¡°So, if we use a line to connect the worlds, these 13 worlds are actually very tightly strung together, and with this room as the center, they form together as a whole,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°Meow ao meow meow¨C¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun said that maybe the shape of the worlds connected by these lines is Mi Lun¡¯s signature,¡± Mu Yiran tranted. Then he added, ¡°The process of finding hidden worlds and triggering them one by one is probably each stroke of the signature. When all the worlds are triggered, it¡¯s like a line of words connected by electric lights, and with the lights connected, the word will light up.¡±

    ¡°Mi Lun¡¯s signature¡­perhaps there¡¯s only one ¡°Mi (Ã×)¡± character?¡± Zhu Haowen suddenly raised his eyes to look at Mu Yiran and Ke Xun.

    ¡°Ao!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very likely.¡± Mu Yiran looked around the room. ¡°If the room we are in is located in the center point of this Mi(Ã×) character, then these six doors are equivalent to the intersection of all the strokes passing through the center point. One point is the wood(Ä¾) character in Mi(Ã×), and the other two points are the left and right strokes that aren¡¯t connected to the center point of this room.¡±

    ¡°So, in fact, we are in his signature.¡± Zhu Haowen¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.

    ¡°I think his signature is a certain type of swash font, and there are six points that are connected to the center.¡± Mu Yiran wrote several Mi(Ã×) characters in different flourishing fonts. ¡°Depending on the font, the ce where the strokes of the Mi(Ã×) character intersect is also different.¡±

    ¡°For example, if it¡¯s an electronic version of boldface, the left and right points of the Mi(Ã×) wouldn¡¯t touch the center.¡±

    ¡°If it is the Yao font, the upper right point would be horizontally connected to the middle, and the lower right sh would have hardly any intersection with the main stroke.¡±

    ¡°In the semi-cursive script of the Xingkai font, the left and right points at the top would be connected to the vertical stroke.¡±

    ¡°If every intersection is a door, then Mi Lun¡¯s signature should, in addition to the six points that meet at the center, also have seven other points where the strokes meet, creating aplex and gorgeous swash.¡±

    ¡°From this, it can be proven that as long as we trigger all the doors of the hidden worlds, it would be equivalent to connecting the strokes in his Mi(Ã×) signature, thus allowing us to leave this painting.¡±

    ¡°Meow wu¡ªmeow wu¡ªmeow wu¡ª¡±

    ¡°What you said is indeed a problem.¡± Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun thoughtfully. ¡°Zhao Haicui, Zhang Lifeng, and Qi Qiang, these three people are already dead. There seems to be no way to trigger the hidden worlds through them. But I think there must be a way. Otherwise as long as one of the 13 people dies, the others will have no way to survive, and the painting rules will not be set like this.¡±

    ¡°Even though these two people are dead, their props are still here.¡± Zhu Haowen pointed to the floor. ¡°Although the rules stipted that exchanging props are not allowed, now that the owners of the props are dead, these props could be considered ownerless. Can we use them?¡±

    Mu Yiran walked over and picked up the sword that Qi Qiang had left behind. ¡°I¡¯ll try it.¡±

    Ke Xun also walked over and picked up the two longan cores that were once Zhang Lifeng¡¯s.

    Meijian Chi and The Snow Child were both hidden worlds, and now they had to wait for news from Qin Ci.

    When darkness descended, Qin Ci took the lead in returning from the world of ck Cat Sheriff. On the way back, he also brought Ge Lei, who had been knocked out by Mu Yiran and left behind the door.

    ¡°I thought about several episodes of ck Cat Sheriff.¡± Qin Ci frowned and shook his head. ¡°There are so many characters and important items, and I tried them one by one, but I couldn¡¯t find any hidden worlds.¡±

    As he raised his leg, everyone heard the crinkle of papering from his body.

    After staying in another person¡¯s world for so long, his body had begun to change.

    When Wei Dong and Huang Pi returned, it was close to 10:30 at night.

    Holding a rabbit ears headband in his hand, Wei Dong shook his head at the group. ¡°We couldn¡¯t find the hidden world. The monkey that Qi Qiang had ughtered is alive again, and I followed it everywhere, but there was no clue to be found. Huang Pi also followed an otter, but still couldn¡¯t find a hidden world.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Huang Pi and said, ¡°Meow meow meow?¡±

    Mu Yiran tranted, ¡°Even you don¡¯t know which cartoon Zhao Haicui corresponded to?¡±

    Huang Pi¡¯s two short and thin eyebrows furrowed. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never seen it before.¡±

    Ke Xun felt that Huang Pi should be quite confident in his own familiarity with old cartoons, even¡­to the point of ridiculousness and arrogance. As a result, because he wasn¡¯t familiar with this cartoon, it made him rather unhappy.

    It was like looking back at the beautiful childhood that he¡¯d cherished in the depths of his heart and suddenly discovering that there was a w. It made him feel that it was unbearable, that his only purend was actually iplete, so much so that he could no longer maintain his underworld character and had to take up this issue.

    Everyone was thinking about the clues of this cartoon when they saw that Luo Wei had finally returned. He seemed to be tired of running around looking for clues. Even after having entered through the door, he was still panting, his face somewhat pale.

    He, who had always been more sensible than anyone his own age, could hardly hide his anxiety at this moment. ¡°I triggered a hidden world. Fire Boy has a magical gourd, and the triggered point was Nezha Roils the Sea, when a spiritual master used Nezha¡¯s gourd to make a lotus incarnation¨CExcuse me, have any of you triggered Yaqing¡¯s corresponding hidden world?¡±

    Everyone was silent. Luo Wei frowned, turned his head, and tried to re-enter the world of Nezha. But Li Yaqing hugged him back, crying, ¡°Don¡¯t go. It¡¯s already toote. It¡¯ll be 11 soon. Just forget about me¡­¡±

    Qin Ci and Wei Dong also hurried over to stop Luo Wei. They wanted to tell him, but couldn¡¯t find a way to say it well¨CIf Luo Wei didn¡¯te back before 11 o¡¯clock, both he and Li Yaqing would die. But if he stayed here, the only one who might die¡­would just be Li Yaqing.

    Although it was cruel to think so, it was good to have one more person survive.

    ¡°Yaqing¨C¡± Luo Wei¡¯s sses were fogging up as he firmly gripped Li Yaqing¡¯s shoulders.

    With a cry, Li Yaqing dropped to a sitting position on the ground, ¡°I don¡¯t want to die¨CI don¡¯t want to die¨CLuo Wei¨CLuo Wei¨CI doomed you, I shouldn¡¯t have allowed you to follow me¨CDon¡¯t tell my parents¨CJust tell them¨CI eloped with some other boy¨CWuuwuwu¨CI don¡¯t want to die¨C¡±

    Li Yaqing¡¯s thinking was chaotic and disorganized, and she could hardly catch her breath from crying so hard.

    Luo Wei turned around, pushed Qin Ci and Wei Dong away from him hard, and hurried into the world of Nezha Roils the Sea.

 Chapter 148: Flag Raised, Set Sail

    <h4>Chapter 148: g Raised, Set Sail</h4>

    Wei Miao, who was rushing back in a hurry, collided with Luo Wei, who had just stepped through the door. This gave Qin Ci and Wei Dong the chance to grab hold of Luo Wei and drag him back to the initial room. Much as he tried, Luo Wei could not push away Wei Dong, who had a firm grip on him. From behind his sses, red eyes stared at Wei Miao. ¡°Did you trigger the hidden world?¡±

    Wei Miao cried and shook her head, ¡°I was too scared¡­ I was afraid that Nezha would kill me, I¡­ I didn¡¯t dare ask him where the sword was¡­¡±

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Luo Wei turned to Wei Dong and shouted, ¡°Let me go, I¡¯ll go to Nezha and ask¡ª¡°

    ¡°The world that Nezha Roils the Sea can trigger is most likely the world of Meijian Chi rather than Legends of the Book of Heaven,¡± Mu Yiran calmly said to him. In a few words, he summarized their analysis and so far, there was no obviousmonality between Nezha Roils the Sea and Legends of the Book of Heaven.

    ¡°Then¡ªwhat other world is possible?!¡± Luo Wei asked, his eyes fixed on Mu Yiran, Ke Xun, and Qin Ci¡¯s faces.

    ¡°That¡¯s really hard to determine¡­¡± Qin Ci¡¯s tone was heavy and awkward, and his eyes disyed the pity of a doctor for patients with no cure.

    Luo Wei didn¡¯t wait for him to finish speaking. He rushed to Ke Xun, eagerly stuffing a paper and pen into his hands. ¡°Since your instincts are urate, please draw another lottery for Yaqing, please!¡±

    Ke Xun meowed a few times. Mu Yiran took the pen and paper and tranted his words while writing on the paper. ¡°He can¡¯t write Chinese characters now. I will do it for him, but Ke Xun says that his instincts aren¡¯t infallible, just like with Qi Qiangst night. So I hope you don¡¯t put all your hopes on this, and you can say farewell to her while there is still a little time left.¡±

    These words that came out of Mu Yiran¡¯s indifferent mouth seemed extremely cold, but everyone knew that this was actually the only thing Luo Wei and Li Yaqing could do now.

    Li Yaqing cried until she almost fainted, and Luo Wei frowned tightly and hugged her in his arms, his lips shaking uncontrobly.

    What these two people said to each other, no one listened carefully, or rather, no one had the heart to listen. Wei Miao also sat down and wept bitterly. Qin Ci walked over and asked her softly if she needed to leave something for her family.

    Ke Xun drew a paper lottery for Li Yaqing and saw that Laoshan Taoist was written on it.

    Luo Wei¡¯s pale face showed his despair at that moment.

    If Ke Xun¡¯s intuition was correct, then it was the world of Laoshan Taoist that could trigger the hidden world of Legends of the Book of Heaven. However, Laoshan Taoist was also a hidden world and hadn¡¯t even been triggered yet.

    Not to mention that there wasn¡¯t much time left. Even if there was enough time, they would still need to figure out the world that would trigger the hidden world of Laoshan Taoist¡­

    Luo Wei didn¡¯t want to give up. He stepped forward to hold Li Yaqing¡¯s treasure bowl prop, and wanted to take it with her and search at thest minute. However, the treasure bowl had be extremely heavy, and even with both their strengths, they could no longer move it. Not to mention, Li Yaqing had copsed on the ground, unable to even stand up.

    Luo Wei looked at the others in the room but didn¡¯t ask them for help.

    Who would help? Asking someone to help was equivalent to asking them to die for Li Yaqing.

    Luo Wei sullenly released the bowl, walked to Li Yaqing¡¯s side, and took her into his arms. His voice was now strangely calm, having returned to the rationality and calmness of a top student. He calmly told Li Yaqing, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will take care of Aunt and Uncle, and I will alsopletely crack the secret behind the world in this painting. I will avenge you. In this life, I will never forget you.¡±

    Li Yaqing gripped the front of his shirt tightly, sobbing.

    The box in the center of the room opened its lid with a pop.

    Mu Yiran walked over and saw another piece of paper in the box, which read: Write the title of another cartoon you started.

    Unsurprisingly, this was asking for the title of the hidden world they had each triggered.

    Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, Zhu Haowen, and Wei Dong stepped forward and wrote on the paper in turn. Wei Miao, who had been crying bitterly, suddenly got up, struggled toe over, and also wrote a name: Meijian Chi.

    This was indeed a hidden world that her world could trigger, but whether it would be useful now¡­was unknown.

    Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran a few words in a low voice. He said that if he wrote the name for Ge Lei, would he suffer a bacsh?

    Mu Yiran pondered for a moment, then gently shook his head. ¡°I will wake him up. If he can recover his mind, let him write by himself. After all, he is still alive and I don¡¯t think you should write for him.¡±

    Ke Xun nodded and watched Mu Yiran wake up Ge Lei, who had been unconscious. However, Ge Lei seemed to be really frightened and hadpletely lost his sanity. Even though he no longer screamed and ran around likest time, at this moment, he could only sit on the ground in a daze, as if he¡¯d lost his soul. No matter who talked to him, it seemed that he couldn¡¯t hear them at all.

    ¡°Go and write,¡± Qin Ci told Luo Wei, who was still holding Li Yaqing and refusing to move, ¡°Don¡¯t let Xiao Li regret it.¡±

    After all, it was only because of Li Yaqing that Luo Wei was involved in this endless world of paintings.

    Li Yaqing nodded repeatedly in Luo Wei¡¯s arms, pushing him to write the name on the paper.

    Luo Wei calmly got up and helped Li Yaqing stand. They both wrote the name of the cartoons on the paper, and then sat back down against the wall without saying a word.

    Ke Xun looked at the silent Huang Pi. ¡°Meow meow?¡±

    Mu Yiran tranted, ¡°You really don¡¯t want to live anymore?¡±

    Huang Pi nced at the two and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°I¡¯m tired of life. It¡¯s not bad to die here.¡±

    Ke Xun thought for a moment, then he suddenly took out his mobile phone, and turned on the music stored in the device. He flicked through the screen for a long time until he finally found the right tune. He clicked y, turned down the volume, and then handed the phone to Huang Pi.

    Huang Pi took it, put it to his ear, and heard a distant but very familiar melody:

    Sound the horn, choo choo. We spread out little wings and raise our white sail, swish swish, to greet the colorful sunshine.

    La¡­La¡­Fly bravely, sing happily, raise the g and set sail.

    The seagulls ahead, choo choo, showing us the way. The waves rushed under our feet, swish swish, singing to us.

    La¡­La¡­Fly bravely, sing happily, raise the g and set sail.

    Huang Pi listened and let out a lowugh, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth that had long been eroded by tobo and alcohol.

    ¡°gship Cruiser,¡± he said hoarsely. With a smile, he suddenly closed his eyes. He leaned his head on the wall behind him and hummed to the music on the phone, even though his voice sounded awful and out of tune.

    The stars and moon patterns on the walls and roof became hazy and dreamy, swaying, gleaming, twisting, slowly turning into adult faces.

    In the box in the middle of the room came a yful and childlike music, like the opening song of a cartoon.

    Wei Miao let out a heartrending scream.

    She crawled on the ground, her whole body twitching, and the skin on her back wrinkled, as if she was a waistband and the stic was being pulled out.

    There seemed to be an invisible hand pulling her tendons out of her skin and flesh.

    Wei Miao¡¯s screams were so distorted that they didn¡¯t seem human at all, and they went on unstopping. Ge Lei, who¡¯d lost his sanity, also began to scream.

    Even if you have gone crazy, you would still recognize pain. He rolled all over the floor, all the while his body was disappearing piece by piece, revealing his internal organs and bones, as if something invisible was gnawing at him bit by bit.

    Wei Dong was so terrified that his body grew soft and he fell against the foot of the wall. He dared not look at this terrible, wretched sight. But his entire body was already petrified with terror and so he could only sit unmoving, unable to remove his gaze from this blood-filled scene.

    Zhu Haowen turned his head away and focused his gaze on a certain door next to him. Even if he was now color-blind and couldn¡¯t see the blood, he didn¡¯t want to look at the deformed and mutted bodies of these two men being tortured.

    The third person to yell was Li Yaqing. Her yelling was not a scream, nor was it a cry of pain. Instead, it was one of terror.

    An irresistible force was emerging from the treasure bowl, dragging her into the basin.

    Luo Wei desperately hugged her, but he was nothing in the face of that power. Ke Xun ran over to help, even though he knew it was impossible to resist.

    In the end, Luo Wei could only watch as Li Yaqing was dragged into the basin. It was unclear what space the dark hole-like mouth of the basin led to, but it swallowed herpletely, yet rejected him and excluded him no matter how he tried to jump in after her.

    Ke Xun pulled Luo Wei away and held his shoulders to give him uselessfort. Luo Wei was panting hard, trying to make himself ept this reality as soon as possible.

    The mood had just calmed down a bit when they suddenly heard noises from the treasure bowl. They both stared at it, only to see a person suddenly and vigorously being spit out. That person flew in the air andnded heavily on the ground.

    Looking closely, it was the dead Li Yaqing.

    Luo Wei was about to go and pick her up, when he suddenly heard another sound from the treasure bowl. He watched as another person was violently spat out and fell heavily to the ground, as if it was a torn sack of garbage being thrown.

    His gaze fell to the body, and unexpectedly, it was another Li Yaqing.

    A dead Li Yaqing.

    Luo Wei stood frozen on the spot.

    Inside the treasure bowl, there were repeated noises, and Li Yaqing¡¯s corpses spewed out from the mouth of the basin again, again, and again, one, two, three, a dozen.

    ¡°Stop ¡ª You bastard¡ª stop ¡ª¡° Luo Wei copsed suddenly, tugging at his hair with both hands, and screaming at the treasure bowl as if his heart was breaking.

    Ke Xun stepped forward to hold him, wrapping his head in his arms, preventing him from watching this extremely cruel and vicious scene.

    Seeing the corpse of a lover had already brought unbearable pain, but the cruel and vicious power had to make a dozen of them and throw them out like garbage before his eyes.

    Ke Xun was so angry that the blood vessels on his forehead protruded.

    But he couldn¡¯t do anything, so he could only hold the crazed Luo Wei in his arms.

    Mu Yiran stepped forward, bent over to hold one of the legs of the bowl, and lifted it upward. The big copper basin abruptly mmed down, but Mu Yiran lifted it again and managed to turn the basin over and upside down.

    The mouth of the basin was blocked by the ground and finally stopped spraying out corpses.

    Ke Xun turned his face to look at the entire room. Wei Miao was also dead, the flesh on his back bunched up. Ge Lei¡¯s upper body had already been ¡°eaten¡± and his lower body was still being consumed by that invisible mouth.

    But at this moment, Huang Pi, who was still alive, was being embedded into the wall.

    The protagonist of Laoshan Taoist had learned the technique of walking through walls in a dream.

    Only half of Huang Pi¡¯s face and one hand were still exposed outside the wall. This hand still held Ke Xun¡¯s phone unwillingly.

    ¡°¡­Raise¡­g¡­set¡­sail¡­¡± Huang Pi continued to hum with difficulty, until atst, his entire face was embedded into the wall. The only things left out was the Confucian scarf and the one hand that was once stained with the sins of the world but now held tightly onto Ke Xun¡¯s phone, clinging to the song he¡¯d sang as a child in Kindergarten.

    <b>Xida: </b>I feel sad for Huang Pi. Maybe I am romanticizing, but I imagine him as an innocent, hopeful boy once. Because he loved cartoons, he wanted to be a cartoonist when he grew up. But the harshness of his life twisted him unwillingly into what he is today. The author did a great job using the reticent Huang Pi and the unapologetically abusive Qi Qiang as foils to one another.

    Also, I wonder if the author forgot that Ke Xun couldn¡¯t write Chinese legibly, or maybe the painting could understand squiggles?

 Chapter 149: Letâ€™s Continue

    <h4>Chapter 149: Let¡¯s Continue</h4>

    When Ge Lei¡¯s body waspletely eaten up by that invisible mouth, the faces on the walls and ceiling finally began to slowly change back to the stars and the moon patterns.

    This was a horrible night that they would never forget for a lifetime, and these bloody, cruel and sadistic killings had happened right in front of them

    The six people who had survived watched the massacre from start to finish, and there was no way to help, no way to resist.

    The feeling of despair and powerlessness once again pressed over, and Wei Dong covered his face and sat with his forehead against the corner, weeping bitterly.

    Zhu Haowen finally lost his usual strength. His hair was chaotic, and he didn¡¯t say a word, as if his body had been cursed to remain unmoving.

    Qin Ci leaned against the wall, his eyes squeezed tight and his face tipped up. His rock-solid hand that was used to holding the scalpel trembled slightly and imperceptibly.

    Mu Yiran had knocked Luo Wei unconscious and so he¡¯d fallen at Ke Xun¡¯s feet, but Ke Xun was focused on staring nkly at the bloodied inferno before him, his eyes reflecting the blood and corpse.

    ¡°Ke Xun.¡± Mu Yiran stood beside him and tilted his head slightly to look at him, his eyes revealing unconcealed concern.

    Ke Xun turned his head to look at him and gave a soft ¡°meow.¡±

    He said: Let¡¯s continue.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes shone warm light, and he raised his hand and stroked the soft hair on the back of Ke Xun¡¯s head. ¡°Mmn, let¡¯s continue.¡±

    Although everyone was very tired and their spirits were on the verge of copse, they must not rx and give up at this moment. Ke Xun ran over to cheer Wei Dong, Qin Ci, and Zhu Haowen up¨CWhile in school, he had been the captain of the school team, and his job was to encourage teammates and cheer them up.

    Wei Dong wiped his tears on his pants and asked Mu Yiran dully, ¡°What should we do next?¡±

    ¡°To activate all the hidden worlds and ¡®write¡¯ the artist¡¯s signature,¡± Mu Yiran answered in a deep voice. ¡°Since we all have different degrees of abnormal changes in our bodies, please don¡¯t enter the wrong world unless you¡¯re certain. We will now narrow down the key that will trigger the hidden worlds, try our best to reduce it to two possible trigger points, and then try again.¡±

    ¡°It now appears that the sword in Nezha Roils the Sea can trigger the world of Meijian Chi, this is very probable.¡± Qin Ci pinched his eyebrows wearily. ¡°Wei Miao, who was the dragon prince, was now dead. I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll be able to advance the plot of this story.¡±

    ¡°Meow, meow.¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun said to go in with the dragon horns and try,¡± Mu Yiran said. He nced at Wei Miao¡¯s body and saw that the pair of dragon horns on her head had fallen onto the floor next to her.

    ¡°Now we have connected three lines.¡± Zhu Haowen wrote on the paper. ¡°The first one is: Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush ¡ú Hailibu ¡ú Fire Boy ¡ú Nezha Roils the Sea? ¡ú Meijian Chi (presumably).¡±

    ¡°The second is Tiger Learns a Skill ¡ú Good Kitty ¡ú ck Cat Sheriff.¡±

    ¡°The third is The Fish Child ¡ú The world where Zhao Haicui died.¡±

    ¡°If, ording to our previous spection, each world needs to trigger a hidden world, but also needs to be triggered by another world, then we can consider each of these three lines as a positive and negative direction from the starting point.¡±

    ¡°In other words, which world can trigger the worlds of Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush, Tiger Learns a Skill, and The Fish Child? Which world can be triggered by Meijian Chi, the ck Cat Sheriff, and the world in which Zhao Haicui died?¡±

    ¡°We can integrate the key roles and objects that Ke Xun and Dr. Qin had shorted out for each world and then try to connect them again.¡±

    Together, they rearranged and listed the key roles, objects, and locations of each world. Next, at Mu Yiran¡¯s suggestion, they highlighted the roles, objects, and locations that either led the plot, promoted the plot, or resulted in ending the plot.

    ¡°First, let¡¯s re-evaluate whether these highlighted points are indeed key trigger points, and then consider anything else we may have missed.¡± Mu Yiran stretched out a slender finger and pointed to the string of words that followed after Tiger Learns a Skill on the paper. ¡°What does the fox do in this cartoon?¡±

    ¡°Meow ao ao¨CMeow wu wu.¡±

    ¡°With the encouragement of the fox, the tiger begins to enjoy bullying animals and disobeying Master Cat,¡± Mu Yiran said thoughtfully. ¡°Then it can indeed be regarded as another important role that promotes the transformation and turning point of the plot. I also highlighted the fox in Legends of the Book of Heaven. What does the fox in this cartoon do?¡±

    The others nced at each other, and Qin Ci said, ¡°I think it¡¯s very possible that the fox in Legends of the Book of Heaven is the key to triggering Tiger Learns a Skill.¡±

    After saying this, he briefly described the role the fox yed in Legends of the Book of Heaven.

    ¡°Then once we have triggered Legends of the Book of Heaven, we can use it to trigger Tiger Learns a Skill.¡± Zhu Haowen wrote Legends of the Book of Heaven in front of Tiger Learns a Skill.

    ¡°Which cartoon can trigger Legends of the Book of Heaven?¡± Wei Dong asked, looking at Luo Wei, who was still unconscious. ¡°Didn¡¯t Ke¡¯er use his intuition to draw Laoshan Taoist for sister Xiao List night? I¡¯ll put this cartoon in front of Legends of the Book of Heaven, then.¡±

    ¡°Meow wu wu wu.¡±

    Mu Yiran tranted, ¡°Intuition cannot be a life-saving straw.¡±

    After that, he nced at Luo Wei and went over to wake him.

    ¡°Are you willing to work with us to study the method of breaking the painting?¡± Mu Yiran looked at him calmly. ¡°If you¡¯re still suffering, I can knock you out again so you won¡¯t feel so bad.¡±

    ¡°¡­No, no need.¡± Luo Wei took off his sses, lowered his head, and used the corner of his clothes to slowly wipe it clean. ¡°I promised Yaqing that I¡¯ll crack this painting. I will join you.¡±

    Qin Ci told him the results of their discussion and analysis. Luo Wei put his sses back on, and when he fixed his gaze on them, his eyes were calm and steady. ¡°While you continue to analyze, I want to enter the world of Nezha Roils the Sea.¡±

    They didn¡¯t stop him and watched as he picked up Wei Miao¡¯s dragon horns that had fallen on the ground and stepped through the round door.

    Qin Ci thought for a moment and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll also go to the world where Zhao Haicui died. This is the world that we know least about, and so it¡¯s difficult to list important characters and objects. I¡¯ll go collect some more information ande back.¡±

    Among the people present, Qin Ci¡¯s degree of change was still the smallest, so everyone didn¡¯t try to be polite with him and watched as he entered the door with the rabbit ears headband.

    ¡°Meow wu wu wu meow meow.¡± Ke Xun wanted to try his luck in the world of ck Cat Sheriff.

    Mu Yiran gave him a faint look. ¡°ording to Dr. Qin, ck Cat Sheriff has five episodes. There are many characters in it that can take on important roles based on each episode. It¡¯ll be difficult to narrow the focus, so you can¡¯t go in.¡±

    Ke Xun pointed to Ge Lei¡¯s prop on the ground. His body had been gnawed away by that invisible power, leaving only the suit and a skull behind. ¡°Meow wu, meow wu, meow meow meow, wu meow.¡±

    ¡°He said in an episode of ck Cat Sheriff, there was a female praying mantis eating a male praying mantis,¡± Mu Yiran tranted to Zhu Haowern and Wei Dong. ¡°Ge Lei¡¯s role should be the male praying mantis, so we can narrow our focus down to this specific episode.¡±

    Wei Dong hurriedly said, ¡°I also have an impression of this episode. At that time, I felt that the male praying mantis was very miserable. The characters in it seemed to be mantises except for the ck Cat Sheriff. Oh, there are also locusts. The male and female praying mantises met when they killed locusts together¨CLocusts are the trigger point!¡±

    ¡°But it seems that there aren¡¯t any locusts in other cartoons,¡± Zhu Haowen said nkly.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Meow wu ao.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°There are also a group of various insects congratting the male and female praying mantises.¡±

    Zhu Haowen continued expressionlessly, ¡°I don¡¯t think other cartoons have various different types of bugs.¡±

    ¡°Mi wu¡­¡± Ke Xun scratched his head. ¡°Mi mi meow meow ao ao wu meow¡­wi meow meow mi¡­meow meow ao.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at Mu Yiran and said, ¡°Is he¡­is he singing?¡±

    Ke Xun stretched out his paw and pped him on the head.

    Mu Yiran sighed, ¡°He said that if all the insects and cats in it are excluded, then there won¡¯t be many things left. Even if you try them one by one, it won¡¯t take long¨CI think so too, so I¡¯ll go to this world now and give it a try.¡±

    ¡°Ao wu!¡± Ke Xun wrapped his paws firmly around Mu Yiran¡¯s arm, not allowing him to go.

    Mu Yiran arms were a bit harder thanst night.

    ¡°Let me go.¡± Wei Dong took a deep breath. ¡°I still have some impressions of that episode, and my degree of change is still a little bit smaller than the three of you. So, you can stay here and analyze other cartoons. I¡¯ll go ande back quickly. If nothing else, I¡¯ll just do like Brother Qin and collect information.¡±

    Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t get rid of the big cat¡¯s hold on him and so he nodded his head slightly. Wei Dong ran through the door.

    The three remaining people continued to study the other cartoons. At about ten o¡¯clock in the morning, Luo Wei returned. The expression on his face was still wooden, and while Wei Miao¡¯s dragon horn prop was missing, he held an ancient sword simr to Qi Qiang¡¯s sword.

    ¡°I returned the dragon horns to the crown prince inside Nezha Roils the Sea. Nezha¡¯s sword triggered Meijian Chi.¡± Luo Wei¡¯s tone was like a waveless ancient well. ¡°I¡¯m justing back to tell you and will return to Meijian Chi to try and trigger the next world.¡±

    ¡°Then do you know which world Meijian Chi will trigger?¡± Zhu Haowen looked at him calmly. ¡°What about the important roles, the objects, and the scenes in Meijian Chi?¡±

    Luo Wei took out the paper with all the written clues from his pocket. ¡°I¡¯ll try them one by one ording to this.¡±

    ¡°The paper-based mutation on your body is already quite serious,¡± Zhu Haowen said coldly. ¡°Foolishness and rashness won¡¯t help you achieve vengeance. But if you want to die with Li Yaqing for love, then we won¡¯t stop you from doing such a meaningless thing.¡±

    Luo Wei looked at him silently. After a moment, he calmly said, ¡°Then, please help me analyze the important trigger points for Meijian Chi.¡±

    While Ke Xun was in charge of recalling the plot and everyone else analyzed the key points, Qin Ci and Wei Dong returned one after another. Neither of them were able to trigger the hidden world, but they both gained a rough understanding of the plot and environment.

    ¡°I found that the male praying mantis had a face¡­that especially looked like Ge Lei¡­¡± Wei Dong said with an ugly expression. ¡°Looking at him ying the guitar and singing to the female praying mantis, I just¡­¡± He shook his head and no longer spoke.

    ¡°Meow?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun. ¡°Is there anything wrong with singing?¡±

    Ke Xun meowed several times.

    ¡°Old cartoons are particrly well-made,¡± Mu Yiran ryed to the others. ¡°Musical or song elements are often added. Perhaps the key to triggering the hidden world isn¡¯t limited to animated characters or objects. As an important part of old cartoons, maybe music can also be used as the key to trigger hidden worlds.¡±

 Chapter 150: Academic Tyrant Ke Xun

    <h4>Chapter 150: Academic Tyrant Ke Xun</h4>

    ¡°Then how can it be used as a trigger?¡± Wei Dong asked hurriedly.

    ¡°Perhaps sing along with the mantis?¡± Qin Ci suggested.

    ¡°Uh¡­Well, let me try.¡± Wei Dong was a little embarrassed. ¡°I just tend to sing out of tune. This won¡¯t affect my ability to open the hidden world, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯lle with you,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°Ah, Haowen¡¯er, you can sing?¡± Wei Dong asked with relief.

    Zhu Haowen looked at him expressionlessly. ¡°I can y the guitar.¡±

    Wei Dong:¡­His out of tune singing won¡¯t be saved by musical instruments¡­

    Without dy, they quickly rushed into ck Cat Sheriff.

    ¡°Then Luo Wei and I will enter Meijian Chi.¡± Qin Ci took the paper that had the clues that Ke Xun and Mu Yiran had analyzed. ¡°We¡¯ll just follow the key points listed on this paper. With two people, we¡¯ll work faster than if there¡¯s just one person.¡±

    This left only Ke Xun and Mu Yiran in the room. Avoiding the blood and the pile of corpses, they sat in a clean corner with Mu Yiran holding the paper full of clues. Ke Xun leaned his body against him and continued to study with him.

    His cat tail swept across Mu Yiran¡¯s thighs, and he opened his mouth wide to let out a yawn.

    ¡°Are you sleepy?¡± Mu Yiran tilted his head to look at him.

    ¡°Extremely sleepy,¡± Ke Xun whispered in catnguage. ¡°Maybe my cat¡¯s physique is making me tired in the daytime. It¡¯s a miracle I can survive this long¡­ha¡­yawn¡­¡±

    ¡°Then take a nap. I¡¯ll be here,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Ke Xun rubbed Mu Yiran¡¯s shoulder with his cheek. ¡°Time waits for no one. I¡¯ll stay awake¡­ha¡­yawn¡­Yiran¡­think of something to stimte me, wake my¡­ha¡­yawn¡­brain up.¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyes slightly and was silent for a moment. Then a cold, maic voice said, ¡°I¡¯ll give myself a three-day holiday. Ke Xun, I heard that you make very good pasta?¡±

    Ke Xun blinked, then his eyes grew round, his ears shot straight up, and his tail rose as his entire body instantly entered into a state of extreme excitement¨C¡±Let¡¯s quickly beat this painting and leave!¡±

    He sat up, grabbed the paper in Mu Yiran¡¯s hand, and stared at it with unprecedented concentration.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush ¡ú Hailibu ¡ú Fire Boy ¡ú Nezha Roils the Sea ¡ú Meijian Chi

    Legends of the Book of Heaven ¡ú Tiger Learns a Skill ¡ú Good Kitty ¡ú ck Cat Sheriff

    The Fish Child ¡ú The world where Zhao Haicui died

    Laoshan Taoist

    The Snow Child

    Ke Xun pointed to the contents listed on the paper. ¡°Brother Qin and Luo Wei entered Meijian Chi, while Dongzi and Haowen entered ck Cat Sheriff. Considering that none of us are familiar with the cartoon in which Zhao Haicui died, we can set it aside for the time being. Then, let¡¯s think about the hidden worlds that Laoshan Taoist and The Snow Child can trigger.¡±

    Mu Yiran, who had never watched any cartoon before, said, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°The plot of The Snow Child should be the simplest. The characters in it are only the mother rabbit, the child rabbit, and the snow child. The only settings are the rabbit¡¯s home and the forest. The scene of the forest is also very simple. Because it¡¯s winter, there are only dead branches and snow.¡±

    ¡°I thought that this snowy scene may be something that could trigger a hidden world, such as the snowy one where Zhao Haicui died. But you and the other neers had been in that world a few times. However, if it is a trigger point then the neers, who had lost their ways in the snow, would have triggered it a long time ago. So, I think the forest and snow shouldn¡¯t be trigger points.¡±

    ¡°Then, removing the snowy scene, the key points should be the rabbits, the rabbits home, and the snow child. The character of the snow child is too special, and it¡¯s also not in other cartoons, so the snow child can be excluded from consideration.¡±

    ¡°I remember that the rabbit¡¯s home has a bed, a firece, and maybe chairs, tables, etc. Very simple furnishings. But after a quick consideration, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re trigger points either. They¡¯re too simple. If they could trigger a hidden world, then we would have done it long ago.¡±

    ¡°Excluding the rabbit¡¯s home, this left the pair of rabbits. Rabbits could be found in several cartoons, such as the hidden world Good Kitty, ck Cat Sheriff, Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush, and the world where Zhao Haicui died.¡±

    ¡°But ck Cat Sheriff only tells the story of the praying mantises. There are no rabbits in that mantises story, so we can exclude ck Cat Sheriff.¡±

    ¡°Although there are rabbits in the world where Zhao Haicui died, such as Zhao Haicui¡¯s character, the character itself shouldn¡¯t be a trigger point, so we can also exclude this world.¡±

    ¡°Good Kitty was triggered by Tiger Learns a Skill, and at the same time, it also triggered ck Cat Sheriff. A certain world can only be associated if it is triggered by a world and can trigger another world. Since this holds true for Good Kitty, it is impossible for it to trigger another world and so we can exclude Good Kitty.¡±

    ¡°This leaves only Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush. In order to trick a hunter, Ma Liang once drew a rabbit on a stone and passed it off as an original. Even though this painting style is more realisticpared to the rabbits in The Snow Child, since we had already excluded the other cartoons, this is the only rabbit left. I think this is the only rabbit that can trigger a hidden world.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, I think that the rabbits in The Snow Child can trigger Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush.¡±

    ¡°In this case, there needs to be another world that will trigger The Snow Child. When considering all the characters, items, and scenes in The Snow Child, we would need to exclude the rabbit since two worlds would not have the same trigger point.¡±

    ¡°But, if we exclude the rabbits, there¡¯s nothing else in The Snow Child that could be trigger points¡­Except for a carrot, which is used as the snowman¡¯s nose, but there¡¯s no such thing as carrots in other cartoons¡­Let me think¡­This cartoon The Snow Child is actually very literary and artistic. Its content is primarilyposed of the Snow Child and the rabbits ying in circles in ice and snow, dancing lightly to beautiful music¡­Hey! Music!¡±

    ¡°Yiran! Music! The music in The Snow Child is the most important element of this cartoon. In ck Cat Sheriff, where Dongzi and the others had entered, the praying mantis is also singing¨CThe Snow Child can be triggered by ck Cat Sheriff!¡±

    Ke Xun repeated the connecting worlds that were written on the piece of paper to himself, then he turned his head to look at Mu Yiran with shining eyes, only to see that the big boss was looking at him deeply.

    ¡°Yiran?¡± He opened his cat eyes wide, and his ears moved lightly.

    The boss¡¯s gaze shifted slightly and a small smile hooked the corners of his mouth. ¡°You are actually very smart, Ke Xun.¡±

    ¡°Love makes me be an academic tyrant in seconds,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Then do you know how you can turn me into an academic tyrant in seconds, Yiran?¡±

    Before Mu Yiran could answer, Ke Xun leaned forward and gently pressed a kiss to his lips.

    ¡°Aiyo¨CI¡¯m sorry! Excuse me! Leaving!¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice came from a certain door. Ke Xun turned his head to look over and saw that Wei Dong was covering his eyes with one hand and dragging Zhu Haowen with the other hand back out the door.

    ¡°¡­Meow!¡± Ke Xun called out.

    Mu Yiran calmly said, ¡°Come back.¡±

    ¡°If you say so!¡± Wei Dong came back, clutching Zhu Haowen, who promptly pried himself from his grip.

    Ke Xun asked, ¡°Meow?¡±

    Mu Yiran tranted, ¡°How did it go?¡±

    ¡°We triggered The Snow Child,¡± Zhu Haowen said with a cold face.

    ¡°Sure enough, singing with the male praying mantis triggered it!¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°Ke¡¯er, do you remember that background music they were skating to in The Snow Child? It¡¯s that¡­¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°Meow, meow¨C¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°¡­What are you doing, suddenly acting so cute?¡±

    ¡°Yes, your analysis is correct,¡± Mu Yiran said, lightly patting Ke Xun¡¯s cat head. ¡°Then the rabbit in The Snow Child should trigger Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush.¡±

    Zhu Haowen turned his head to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll trigger it.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at Zhu Haowen¡¯s back in surprise. ¡°Haowen¡¯er is so motivated. Have you been stimted by something?¡± Suddenly, he shouted in surprise, ¡°Fuck! Haowen¡¯er¨C¡±

    Before he couldplete the rest of the sentence, Ke Xun took a few steps over and pped his paw over his mouth, blocking the words in his throat.

    Wei Dong nodded quickly, saying that he wouldn¡¯t say¨CAt least, he¡¯ll wait until Zhu Haowen hadpletely left.

    Once he saw that he was gone, Wei Dong looked anxiously at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran. ¡°Haowen¡¯er also grew a tail. We must hurry up¨CWhat¡¯s the next problem?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°Meow meow?¡±

    Mu Yi nodded. ¡°Yes, Laoshan Taoist.¡±

    Wei Dong picked up the paper. ¡°The important figures in Laoshan Taoist are probably the protagonist¡¯s master, the master¡¯s two friends, and the master¡¯s wife. As for important props¡­the axe for chopping wood? The mirror used for learning the method of walking through walls? Oh yes, there¡¯s also the chopsticks that changed into Chang¡¯e! There¡¯s a hip sk that can pour wine by itself. The protagonist also has a dog¡­¡±

    ¡°Of all of these, which one ys an important role?¡± Mu Yiran looked at him. ¡°What is the story? What drives the story? What marks the turning point of the story? What ends the story?¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s thinking was anxious and chaotic, but under Mu Yiran¡¯s guidance, he gradually began to calm down and be more clear-headed. While recalling the plot, he said, ¡°The entire story is about the protagonist¡¯s dream. He wanted to go up the mountain and study the Tao. Later, he had no patience and wanted to leave secretly at night. As a result, when he peeked outside the door, he saw that his master and his master¡¯s two closest friends had gathered together to drink. This stopped him in his tracks, and then¡­¡±

    ¡°Why stopped him?¡± Mu Yiran keenly grasped the crux of the problem. ¡°Just by seeing his Master drinking, he suddenly no longer wanted to secretly leave right away?¡±

    ¡°Let me think about it, I can¡¯t remember¡­¡± Wei Dong tried to recall.

    Ke Xun said in catnguage, ¡°I remember that the master cut a circle out of a piece of paper, which turned into a moon and was hung high on the wall. This stopped the protagonist in his tracks.¡±

    ¡°So, cutting out the moon is the turning point of the plot,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°If there is no such moon, the protagonist would have left as soon as possible, and the story would have ended there.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Meow!¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°The moon!¡±

    ¡°But the problem is¡­¡± Wei Dong scratched his head. ¡°Which cartoon has a moon? It¡¯s too hard to tell. When watching cartoons, who would pay attention to whether there is a moon in it, and whether the moon is round or crescent?¡±

    ¡°The moon in Laoshan Taoist is part of the main plot, which made it a key point,¡± Mu Yiran said calmly. ¡°The moon in other cartoons won¡¯t be trigger points unless they¡¯re part of the main plot. So, just highlight cartoons where the moon ys an important role.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong tried to remember.

    Seeing them trying to think so hard, Mu Yiran said, ¡°If you can¡¯t remember right now, just let it go. The moon is just a spection. There may be other critical things. For example, the protagonist saw the master¡¯s immortal power, which changed his mind and so he no longer wanted to leave. This is also a turning point. Then, how did the protagonist learn to walk through walls?¡±

    ¡°Just¡­ orally,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°The master taught him to recite a mantra, and when he did it, he was able to pass through walls.¡±

    Ke Xun eximed, ¡°Meow!¡±

    Mu Yiran thoughtfully said, ¡°An incantation. Since music can be a trigger point, spells aren¡¯t necessarily impossible. Are there any spells in other cartoons?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡ª Meow Ao Ao!¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡ªLegends of the Book of Heaven!¡±

 Chapter 151: Regrets of the Classics

    <h4>Chapter 151: Regrets of the ssics</h4>

    Mu Yiran wrote ¡°moon, incantation¡± on the paper and then raised his eyes to gaze at them. ¡°Then continue to advance the plot and learn how to walk through walls¡­¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong, under Mu Yiran¡¯s guidance, dissected the plot of Laoshan Taoist.

    Since they were working hard, time flew by very quickly. When Qin Ci and Luo Wei returned, it was already more than 8 in the evening.

    The paper-like changes on these two people¡¯s bodies had also be quite serious, and their every movement would result in the sound of paper crinkling.

    ¡°We almost couldn¡¯te back.¡± Qin Ci looked at his t hands. ¡°¡­Paper people walk really slow.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°How did it go?¡±

    ¡°Meijian Chi triggered The Fish Boy,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°There was a character in Meijian Chi called Heizi, who was Gan Jiang¡¯s disciple. After Gan Jiang was imprisoned by the King of Chu, Heizi took Meijian Chi and escaped on a boat. The treacherous officials next to the King of Chu shot him into the water. Luo Wei and I managed to advance the story to here when we realized that the boat they took was simr to the fisherman¡¯s boat in The Fish Boy. Fortunately, we were right.¡±

    ¡°If this is the case, then most of the worlds are now linked together!¡± Wei Dong quickly wrote on the paper.

    Laoshan Taoist (presumed) ¡ú Legends of the Book of Heaven (presumed) ¡ú Tiger Learns a Skill ¡ú Good Kitty ¡ú ck Cat Sheriff ¡ú The Snow Child (presumed) ¡ú Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush ¡ú Hailibu ¡ú Fire Boy ¡ú Nezha Roils the Sea ¡ú Meijian Chi ¡ú The Fish Child ¡ú The world where Zhao Haicui died.

    ¡°That¡¯s it¨C¡± Wei Dong looked at everyone excitedly.

    Qin Ci continued, ¡°The world where Zhao Haicui died could trigger¡­¡±

    Ke Xun added, ¡°Ao Meow!¡±

    ¡°¡­Laoshan Taoist,¡± Wei Dong said.

    It was past 9 o¡¯clock when Zhu Haowen returned. He didn¡¯t say a word, and when everyone asked him, he merely pointed to the paper, indicating that The Snow Child connects to Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush.

    Ke Xun spected that he could no longer speak humannguages, and since he was too embarrassed to speak ratnguage, he would rather not speak at all.

    Quite proud.

    He really wanted to rush over and y with him.

    y until he was half-dead, then bite his throat¡­ha, just thinking about it made him happy.

    Ke Xun stared at Zhu Haowen, subconsciously licking his lips.

    ¡°After confirming that The Snow Child triggers Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush, the line is basicallypletely connected.¡± Mu Yiran nced at Ke Xun, raised his hand, and squeezed the back of Ke Xun¡¯s neck until he became dazed. Afterward, he continued to say, ¡°But now we¡¯vee across a problem. The worlds Laoshan Taoist and Legends of the Book of Heaven are both hidden worlds and both still need to be triggered. However, the one that triggers Laoshan Taoist is the world where Zhao Haicui died. No one has seen this cartoon, and there¡¯s no way to specte on the cartoon¡¯s key points, which means that we¡¯re stuck on this specific world.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look at the world where Zhao Haicui died,¡± Luo Wei said calmly.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that your transformation can no longer withstand it.¡± Mu Yiran gave him a light nce. ¡°We¡¯re running out of time. It¡¯s almost 11, and we have only one chance.¡±

    ¡°The six of us will work together.¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun and Haowen can no longer speak humannguages. If an incantation is the trigger point in Laoshan Taoist, then we¡¯ll need someone who can speak humannguages. However, Dr. Qin and Luo Wei have be paper-like and they cannot move quickly. Therefore, Ke Xun and Dr. Qin will work together, and Haowen and Luo Wei will work together. Ke Xun and Haowen will carry the other two on their backs.¡±

    ¡°Wei Dong and I will work together. My legs are now petrified, and I can¡¯t walk, so I¡¯ll bother Wei Dong to carry me.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll all enter the world of Zhao Haicui¡¯s death. Together, all six of us will look for the trigger to the hidden world. If we¡¯re lucky, this won¡¯t take too long.¡±

    ¡°As soon as the hidden world Laoshan Taoist is opened, everyone will enter it immediately. Wei Dong and I will try the moon, Haowen and Luo Wei will try the incantation, and Ke Xun will hurriedly return Dr. Qin to the initial room, and then meet with us.¡±

    ¡°Once we trigger Legends of the Book of Heaven through Laoshan Taoist, Ke Xun would immediately go and find the fox in that world. You¡¯re fast, you¡¯re simr to the fox, and so it would be easier for you to find the fox than one of us. Meanwhile, Wei Dong will carry me and Haowen will carry Luo Wei, and we will return to the initial room as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°After Ke Xun triggers Tiger Learns a Skill, he wille straight back to the room through that door.¡±

    ¡°The reason for these actions is to ensure that we use as many hands as possible to find the trigger point and evacuate with the fastest speed.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any other questions?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± everyone said.

    ¡°It¡¯s already 10 in the evening, and we only have 1 hour left. When we leave through that door, either we¡¯ll all die inside or we¡¯ll all survive together.¡± Mu Yiran looked at hispanions, all of whom were ready to work hard to the very end. ¡°If you have anyst words to say, please say it now.¡±

    ¡°Meow meow meow,¡± Ke Xun said to him as he carried Qin Ci, who now weighed half as much as he did before.

    ¡°Mmn.¡± Mu Yiran smiled. ¡°I trust your instinct.¡±

    When everyone was ready, Mu Yiran stretched out his hand and pushed open the door of the world where Zhao Haicui had died.

    And thus, a race against death quietly began. Six people rushed into the boundless snow-covered forest, rushing toward the cave with the burning fire. In that cave, there was a monkey, an otter, a fox, a¡­rabbit that looked exactly like Zhao Haicui, and they were all sitting around the fire with the old man.

    What was the trigger point?

    Was it the monkey? The otter? The fox? The old man? The fire?

    Or was it the fruit the monkey carried, the fish the otter carried, or the lizard the fox carried?

    .

    And why was the rabbit empty-handed?

    Why did the rabbit jump into the fire on its own ord? Why did itmit suicide?

    The scene in front of them was so strange, and everything the rabbit did was strange and iprehensible.

    Luo Wei, who was being carried on Zhu Haowen¡¯s back, wanted to jump down and get the fruit from the monkey¡¯s hand. He didn¡¯t know what the trigger point was, and he didn¡¯t want to miss any possibility.

    However, Zhu Haowent took a few steps back. Luo Wei was already half-paper, and if he went too close to the fire, he might catch on fire.

    Ke Xun also backed up with Qin Cin on his back. He was about to put Qin Ci on the ground, intending to go question each animal one by one, when he saw the rabbit suddenly jump up and run toward the fire.

    At this critical moment, everyone watched as Mu Yiran, who was being carried on Wei Dong¡¯s back, suddenly stretched one long arm and grabbed the rabbit in mid-air.

    The mes caught his sleeve, but he didn¡¯t let go. Instead, he moved the rabbit away from the mes.

    Wei Dong wasn¡¯t able to react at all. He was still shocked by the big boss¡¯ action. They were trying to advance the plot to the end, but why did the big boss do theplete opposite? He-he stopped the human rabbit!

    Was it that the rabbit character itself wasn¡¯t the trigger point?

    However, the old man by the fire suddenly stood up. He took the rabbit from Mu Yiran¡¯s hand, and with the rabbit in his arms, rose up into the sky. Above the sky, the moon was bright and round. When the old man put the rabbit on the moon, the rabbit turned into a clear shadow in the middle of the moon.¡±

    ¡°¨CThe Moon!¡± Wei Dong roared. Zhu Haowen¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t slower than his. He¡¯d already jumped up with Luo Wei on his back. Wei Dong followed with Mu Yiran on his back. The moonlight sucked their bodies, and in a sh, they appeared in Laoshan Taoist!

    Since the moon was the trigger point for this world, the trigger point for the next world was most likely the incantation!

    Four people waited for the story to advance until the protagonist learned the art of walking through walls from his master. Looking at the protagonist with Huang Pi¡¯s face, everyone¡¯s mood turned heavy and mncholic.

    Luo Wei deserved to be a top student. He only had to listen to the master¡¯s incantation once and remembered exactly what he¡¯d said. He chanted the spell, and Zhu Haowen rushed toward the stone wall with him on his back. When they opened their eyes, they had traveled from the world of Laoshan Taoist to Legends of the Book of Heaven.

    Here, Luo Wei¡¯s dull face was stained with sadness.

    If they had gotten here earlier, if¡­

    By this time, Wei Dong had already returned to the initial room with Mu Yiran on his back. Ke Xun put Qin Ci down and hurried over to Legends of the Book of Heaven. He waved for Zhu Haowen to quickly take Luo Wei back, not only in an effort to hurry them up, but because he was afraid that if he saw more of Zhu Haowen, he wouldn¡¯t be able to control his impulse to pounce on him and¡­torture him.

    Zhu Haowen frowned tightly and watched him run away. He saw that Ke Xun¡¯s body had grown a denseyer of cat fur and that his eyes had turned into the shape of a cat¡¯s eyes. As he watched him run on all fours, he feared that his husky would be a cat from then on.

    Ke Xun ran swiftly, using his newly gained cat¡¯s vision, smell, hearing, and intuition to navigate the mountain and ins and through the lively markets, desperately looking for the whereabouts of the three foxes in Legends of the Book of Heaven.

    But¡­cats were not animals that were good at running long distances.

    The pads of Ke Xun¡¯s paws were growing more and more painful. He wanted to stop and sleep on the ground and be boneless soft. Everything around him aroused his curiosity, and he wanted to figure out what they were. He wanted to y, wanted to find a tree to sharpen his ws, wanted to lick his fur, wanted to tease himself with his own tail, wanted to be bitten on the back of his neck¡­

    And so he exhausted his energy and stamina to restrain these animal instincts caused by his transformation into a cat. Even so, he couldn¡¯t control the rapid decline in his physical strength. His cat paws were too soft, and he ran and ran until they became bloodied.

    The five people who had returned to the initial room waited anxiously for Ke Xun to sessfully rush through the door of Tiger Learns a Skill, which should be triggered through the foxes of Legends of the Book of Heaven.

    But time ticked on, and still Ke Xun remained missing, even as 11 was fast approaching.

    Seeing that Wei Dong was waiting in front of Tiger Learns a Skill with red eyes and choked breath, Qin Ci found a topic to relieve this¡­this tension and depression. He asked Mu Yiran, ¡°How did Xiao Mu know that, in the world where Zhao Haicui had died, preventing the rabbit from throwing itself into the fire would trigger the hidden world?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was still calm as usual, but his gazed was fixed on Tiger Learns a Skill.

    ¡°Although I haven¡¯t watched any cartoons,¡± he said, ¡°the contents of each cartoon that you¡¯ve all told me about had, more or less, regretful oues.¡±

    ¡°For example, the snow child fails to apany the little rabbit in the end and so it melts into water in order to save it. Another example is the male praying mantis, who bravely fights against the locusts, beats One Ear, ys the guitar, and sings love songs. But in the end, its loving bride swallows it into its stomach.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also the Fire Boy and Hailibu, both of whom also ended in the protagonist sacrificing themselves.¡±

    ¡°Ma Liang¡¯s Divine Brush has hateful government officials and officers, and The Fish Child has foreigners who bullies the Chinese.¡±

    ¡°Good Kitty¡¯s grievances in being bullied by a mouse, Nezha¡¯s helplessness in raising a sword, and Meijian Chi¡¯s tragic decapitation¡­All of these are for children, but they aren¡¯t beautiful and pure.¡±

    ¡°I thought, if it were me, when I saw such things as a child, would I feel regretful about the unjustness of these things? Would I want to help them or change things if I could? Would I want to change it to a perfect ending?¡±

    ¡°Since the name of this painting is called Pure Land, I think that the author may not have consciously thought of these small shorings when recalling these beautiful memories as he painted. But a purend should have no ws, and as he painted, he might have projected these emotions into the painting.¡±

    ¡°So, those trigger points may not just be the key plot points, but they may also be the scenes that cause the most tumultuousness in emotions and the heaviest regret when watching these cartoons as a child.¡±

    ¡°In the world where Zhao Haicui had died, rabbits were the most harmless creatures. Why did it jump into the fire by itself andmit suicide? For children audiences, this was a very negative plotline.¡±

    ¡°So I thought that, if Mi Lun were here, maybe he would have thought about saving this rabbit, and so I tried to reach out and save it.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded with feeling.

    ¡°How is Ke¡¯er¡ªHow is Ke¡¯er¡ª¡± Wei Dong held his head in one hand and tremblingly held his cell phone in the other. The time on the cell phone was one minute short of 11 o¡¯clock.

    After eleven, those who do not return will die.

 Chapter 152: Goodbye

    <h4>Chapter 152: Goodbye</h4>

    In a voice choked with emotions and while tightly curled up into himself, Wei Dong cried at the door of Tiger Learns a Skill. ¡°Ke¡¯er¨CKe¡¯ere back right now! Come back to me! Ke¡¯er¨C¡±

    A big cat crashed through the door and mmed into Wei Dong, knocking him to the ground and smacking the back of his head. When he looked up, he saw the big cat leaped over and jumped into Mu Yiran¡¯s embrace.

    ¡°Ke¡¯er¨C¡± Wei Dong scrambled up, horrified. ¡°Has hepletely turned into a cat?! What should we do?! What should we do?! Can he still leave the painting? Big Boss! Big Boss! What should we do?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Mu Yiran said in a calm voice, hugging the big cat in his arms. ¡°He hasn¡¯tpletely changed yet. His pupils are still human. There¡¯s still time¨C¡±

    It was now exactly 11 o¡¯clock.

    The lid on the box in the middle of the room popped open.

    A stack of brightly colored cards were arranged at the bottom of the box. Printed on the cards were the posters of the 13 cartoons,cking their titles. Next to the cards was a pen.

    There were no instructions, only these cards and this pen.

    ¡°Is it asking us to write the corresponding film title on the card?¡± Wei Dong wondered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this seem too simple?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not simple at all.¡± Qin Ci pointed to one of the cards. ¡°We don¡¯t know the name of the cartoon in which Zhao Haicui died.¡±

    Wei Dong was stunned, and it took a long time for him to murmur, ¡°So¡­ we will die in this painting¡­¡±

    ¡°Xiao Ke also didn¡¯t know the title of this film?¡± Qin Ci was also a little worried.

    Ke Xun only licked his paw, as if he didn¡¯t understand what Qin Ci was saying at all.

    ¡°I believe that there aren¡¯t many old cartoons that I haven¡¯t seen, but I¡¯ve never heard of this one before.¡± Qin Ci frowned, thinking hard.

    ¡°So thest problem is this, something unexpected,¡± Luo Wei, who had been silent all this time, finally said.

    ¡°No, this is a logical question,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°If every door of the hidden worlds is symbolic of the beginning and the ending of each stroke in the Mi(Ã×) character signed by Mi Lun, then the title of each cartoon would signify either the starting point or the ending point of a stroke. Now we have to ¡°write¡± the Mi(Ã×) character and connect the starting point and the ending point in each stroke.¡±

    ¡°But what can we do? None of us have ever seen this cartoon before!¡± Wei Dong sadly watched as his closest friend, while resting in Mu Yiran¡¯s embrace, scratched his own chin with his hind leg.

    ¡°No matter what, let¡¯s write down the other titles first,¡± Qin Ci said.

    Time always flies at the critical bnce of life and death. In the end, everyone stared desperately at thest card.

    Once it reached 12 o¡¯clock and they still hadn¡¯te up with the name of the cartoon, would everyone die here together?

    ¡°How is it possible for us to guess the title of the film¡­¡± Wei Dong murmured. ¡°This is different from guessing right or wrong, guessing the pros and cons, or even guessing from a multiple choice of one to nine. There are so many Chinese characters, how can we make up a cartoon title? Who even knows how many words there are in the title¡­¡±

    ¡°This is no different from finding a needle in a haystack¡­¡± Qin Ci also muttered.

    ¡°Perhaps we can still use the ssification method, the elimination method, or various methods to narrow down the scope of the guess,¡± Luo Wei said in a cold voice, his gaze falling on Li Yaqing¡¯s corpses that were scattered around the room.

    Everyone knew that Luo Wei had fallen into hatred and grief once more, because even as a top student, he still couldn¡¯t think of a more useful, scientific method.

    ¡°Meow¨C¡± Ke Xun let out a long cry, then raised his head and looked at Mu Yiran with a cute expression.

    His meow didn¡¯t have any meaning; it was just a sound to signify his happiness and sense of intimacy. He was very close to the edge ofpletely turning into a cat, and so he¡¯d forgotten his human emotions and thoughts.

    Mu Yiran looked down at him, saw the pure animal-like expression on his face, and his heart tightened.

    Once Ke Xunpletely became a cat, he would forget all the emotions he had when he was a human, losing his memories of the happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy of humanity, and even forgetting the carefree childhood memories of watching cartoons.

    This can¡¯t happen.

    He won¡¯t allow Ke Xun to lose all of those things.

    Mu Yiran lifted his gaze and quietly looked at the card in front of him. Then he said, ¡°All cartoons have a blueprint behind them. Somee from fairy tales, somee from myths and legends, and somee from various historical points.¡±

    ¡°The story of the rabbit throwing itself into the fire has such a bizarre setting, a strange plotline, an obscure metaphor, a cruel style, and a mythical ending. So, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s blueprintes from fairy tales.¡±

    ¡°If ites from myths, legends, or various other historical records, there should be traces that we can follow.¡±

    ¡°The old man in the story was dressed in rags and hisplexion was wan. What if it was us living in such a cave in a snowy, deserted mountain ridge?¡±

    ¡°We may be cold and starving to death,¡± Qin Ci replied.

    ¡°If this story wasn¡¯t a fairy tale, then why was there a monkey, a fox, an otter, and a rabbit in the cave next to the human? Did they see the fire in the cave so they came to keep warm?¡± Mu Yiran calmly analyzed. ¡°There were many animals that cane to keep warm, so why only these four animals? The setting here was too powerful, and so I think the purpose had nothing to do with keeping warm.¡±

    ¡°Among them, the monkey, the fox, and the otter were holding things in their hands.The monkey was holding a fruit, the otter was holding a fish, and the fox was holding a lizard.¡±

    ¡°We all know that monkeys mostly eat fruits, and it¡¯s reasonable for otters to eat fish. If it doesn¡¯t matter whether foxes eat lizards or not, then on the surface, the food all three animals held in their hands were things that they eat on a daily basis.¡±

    ¡°They came to this cave with their own food in hand but didn¡¯t eat it themselves. What was the purpose?¡±

    ¡°The rabbit was obviously the same as them. It came to this cave for a certain purpose, but if the other three animals brought their own food, then why didn¡¯t the rabbit do the same?

    ¡°If the rabbit also brought its own food, what would it hold? It could only be grass. The saying that little rabbits eat white radishes is only in children¡¯s fairy tales. Of course, the rabbits fed by humans can eat radishes, while it is more convenient for wild rabbits to eat the grass all over the mountain, it¡¯s? not realistic for it to go to the fields and pull radishes.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s take a look at the nature of the food held in the hands of the three animals¨Cfruit, fish, and lizard. When the rabbit arrived, it could only bring grass, so why didn¡¯t it?

    ¡°If we consider that the ragged old man was so cold and hungry that he was about to die, is it possible to specte this: the food that the monkey, the otter, and the fox were holding was for the old man?¡±

    Qin Ci, Wei Dong, Zhu Haowen, and even Luo Wei, all stared at his face, as if they had been enlightened.

    ¡°Although lizards are notmon human food, they also have edible meat,¡± Mu Yiran continued calmly. ¡°Fruit, fish, and meat can all be used as food for the elderly, but grass can¡¯t, so that was why the rabbit had nothing in its hands.¡±

    ¡°Just because of this, the rabbit wanted tomit suicide? If so, this rabbit¡¯s pride was too strong.

    ¡°And why were these animals even offering their food to the old man?¡±

    ¡°If we consider what happened when we followed the plot previously, the old man took the rabbit into the sky and ced it in the moon. This shows that the old man isn¡¯t an ordinary person but a god.¡±

    ¡°Do gods need animal foods? Will gods go hungry and hide in caves?

    ¡°Obviously, this ismon in myths and legends. Gods turn into mortals to test human nature, but there are no mortals in this story, only animals.¡±

    ¡°ording to the usual routine, most of the people who could pass the test of the gods and ascend, be immortals, and gain the Dao, or those who achieve their happy endings, most are personally guided by the gods.¡±

    ¡°Then, in this story, it was this rabbit who was personally guided by the god. It was this same rabbit who came with nothing in hand who got to ascend, while the other three animals who brought food did not.¡±

    ¡°The fundamental reason for this, I think, can only be rted to the rabbit¡¯s behavior of throwing itself into the fire. And, if the reason why the rabbit threw itself into the fire was because it felt ashamed for not bringing food, then why would the god guide him? Therefore, I think there can be only one reason as to why it was able to pass the trial set by the god and ascend.¡±

    ¡°The rabbit threw itself into the fire, not because it was ashamed, but because it had no food for the old man to eat, so it treated itself as food and threw itself into the fire for the old man to eat.¡±

    ¡°Fuck¨C¡± Wei Dong was shocked.¡±This story is simply¨Chas one¨CI don¡¯t even know what to say¨C¡±

    ¡°Cruel kindness, tragic and humble,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Wei Dong frowned and nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t like this story.¡±

    ¡°This kind of plot can be seen in specific stories,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°This story has a strong sense of enlightenment,prehension, and martyrdom, so I think the blueprint of this story lies not in fairy tales nor in folklores but in doctrinal fables.¡±

    ¡°Although I haven¡¯t watched cartoons, I do vaguely remember seeing a popr science program on TV. I don¡¯t know the themes of this program, but it talked about doctrinal fables.¡±

    ¡°I havepletely forgotten the content of the story, but I remembered the name of the fable that was quoted by the narrator. I thought that the name was strange and interesting, so it left an impression on me.¡±

    ¡°The name of that fable is called Buddhist Birth Tales: Rabbit Birth Tales, and it specifically mentioned that fable, which has been adapted into a handed-down story. The name of the story is¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran picked up the pen and wrote down a name on the card:

    ¡°The Rabbit in the Moon.¡±

    At the moment when the time on their phone showed zero, the box in the center of the room emitted thousands of bright lights, apanied by a burst of sweet, childlike music. A picture frame faintly emerged within the lights, and in the center of the frame were two words full of fairy tale, just like the two most unfinished and reluctant words shown to children at the end of each old cartoon:

    Goodbye.

 Chapter 153: Date Night With the Male God

    <h4>Chapter 153: Date Night With the Male God</h4>

    ¡°Do you need us to go back with you?¡± Ke Xun looked at Luo Wei.

    ¡°No need, thank you.¡± Luo Wei¡¯s face was still deadly calm, without any signs of lingering fears or of having gained a new lease on life.

    ¡°Then, take care.¡± Ke Xun patted Luo Wei on the shoulder and sent him to the train.

    Wei Dong added the Wechat of a psychiatrist that Qin Ci had rmended, and as they got on the train toward home, he told Ke Xun sadly, ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have nightmares for half a month this time.¡±

    After waiting for a long time but not receiving Ke Xun¡¯s response, he raised his eyes to look intently at the other seat and saw that this guy was diligently pouring tea and peeling bananas for his male god.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡± What an anger-inducing nightmare!

    ¡°You don¡¯t often take the train?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°I have sat in a few.¡± The male god was impably attired, holding an iced green tea and looking down at Master Kong.

    ¡°Good, good, the noodle¡¯s ready.¡± Ke Xun enthusiastically helped him uncover the lid of the bucket of noodles. ¡°These braised instant noodles are great, just ask Dongzi.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Dongzi has left the live broadcast room.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    The male god also looked elegant and charming even when eating instant noodles. Ke Xun tilted his body, resting his elbows on the small table, and watched him with his chin in his hand. Finally, he graciously handed over a napkin. ¡°Just make do. I¡¯ll make something delicious for you when we get home.¡±

    Mu Yiran nced at him and smiled lightly. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Dazzled by the smile, Ke Xun straightened up and looked toward the front of the car. ¡°Why does this train move so slowly? Is the track condition bad?¡±

    Wei Dong, who was peeling ham on the opposite side: ¡°¡­.¡±

    ¡°By the way, how did this Mi Lunmit suicide¡­¡± Ke Xun took out his phone. ¡°I¡¯ll do a search.¡±

    ¡°No, I already called my assistant earlier and asked him to look into it.¡± Mu Yiran checked the time on his phone. ¡°We¡¯ll get detailed results in half an hour.¡±

    Ke Xun quietly put away his phone and asked tentatively, ¡°Is your assistant a male or a woman?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him with a smile that didn¡¯t look like a smile. ¡°Male, married, with a three year old and a one year old child. He and his wife are childhood sweethearts. They met when they were three years old and got together when they were 14. They were each other¡¯s first love and first rtionship. Any other questions?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Ke Xun shifted his focus and pointed to the person sitting opposite. ¡°Why is other people¡¯s childhood sweetheart the right person for them, but mine is like that?¡±

    Wei Dong, who was in the middle of peeling his tea-vored egg: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s assistant¡¯s efficiency was faster than expected. Not long after, he sent the information he¡¯d gathered to Mu Yiran¡¯s phone. Mu Yiran took a nce and said indifferently. ¡°There are a kind of people in this world who are headstrong, innocent, idealist, extremely sensitive, and very persistent. To put it nicely, a childish person. To put it more sinctly, someone who resists reality, fears pressure, and refuses to ept responsibility.¡±

    ¡°Mi Lun was very unfortunate, because he had the misfortune to be such a person. Although he had some talent for painting, his strength and his luck were somewhatcking. He was obsessed with the delusion that his art was like the Garden of Eden, but in reality, he wasn¡¯t talented enough, and it came as a blow when it didn¡¯t gain the recognition that he thought he deserved.¡±

    ¡°He was originally at the golden age of life, but he chose to escape hardship bymitting suicide by overdosing on pills.¡±

    ¡°Before, the police had imed that he did not leave a suicide note. In fact, this wasn¡¯t true. The police found a suicide note at the home where he¡¯d died. However, because it involved sensitive factors, its content was not disclosed to the public. Yet, many people in the industry knew something about it.¡±

    ¡°Before Mi Lun died, in his suicide note, he vented about his dissatisfaction with the world, disliking and denouncing the social environment and interpersonal rtionships, and he harshly criticized the shadiness of the industry, and so on.¡±

    ¡°There seemed to be a few sentences in his suicide note that implied that it is better to be a naive and carefree child. The child would not care about your artistic concept, your style of painting, yourpositional ideas, whether you have talent, whether you are talented, whether you used bright or unbright means to achieve what you want, and whether you have attained the fame and fortune you wanted.¡±

    ¡°Children¡¯s worlds are the simplest and purest. They like cartoons of any style, and anything you draw will create a dreamy childhood for them.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, this sensitivity made him seek to escape theplex world of adulthood, so that he could still remember the carefree beauty of his childhood before he died. Pure Land was thest work hepleted before his death, and even then, the industry¡¯s evaluation of it wasn¡¯t high.¡±

    ¡°The more venomous critic said, instead of spending time looking at this painting, it is better to watch the Deer Bell cartoon. At least through that cartoon, even children could feel what is called ¡®art.¡¯¡±

    ¡°¡­That¡¯s a bit too harsh,¡± Ke Xun said with a sigh. ¡°The man is already dead, and he should have more propriety when speaking about him. Although, through that cartoon, I did feel the charm of Chinese ink painting and was able to watch my buddy grow sessfully into an excellent art designer whose rate of balding is only second to the programmer industry.

    Wei Dong, tearing the wrapper of a hot, pickled mustard: ¡°¡­.¡±

    When they arrived in City Z, the setting sun was reddening the western sky, and the evening breeze had already revealed the breath of early autumn.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to be alive.¡± Wei Dong sighed under the light of the golden sunset.

    Those who ran away just because of all the unsatisfactory things in life, would they regret it when they reached the underworld?

    After all, as long as you hold on long enough, perhaps your life could change for the better?

    After being conflicted over it for five minutes, Wei Dong secretly sent a Wechat message to Ke Xun.

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Don¡¯t forget to take safety precautions. Have you bought a set yet? [The caring smile of an old mother.jpg]

    Corgi:¡­

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: You should have also bought a bottle of wine to liven things up, ah. [Give me a bottle of Lafite from the Qin Shihuang Qin Shihuang period. jpg]

    Corgi:¡­

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Then I¡¯ll wait for your good news. Jiayou! Don¡¯t be scared! Just do it! [Sun.gif]

    Corgi:¡­

    At 7 o¡¯clock in the evening, news from Wei Dong arrived once more.

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Has it started yet?

    Corgi:¡­

    Corgi: You creep.

    Corgi: You¡¯re too enthusiastic about this! Did you forget that you¡¯re straight?!

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: You¡¯re my person. If I don¡¯t care about you, who will I care about? Hurry up and report your progress!

    Corgi:¡­

    Corgi: Just finished cooking, ready to eat

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: You didn¡¯t light a few candles to create a romantic atmosphere?

    Corgi: Candle uncle, there are only a few crooked white candle stubs left in the house. Have you lit them to y pen fairy with the boss?!

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: ¡­You have some misunderstanding about ying pen fairy. Pen fairies won¡¯t even spare candle stubs, okay?

    Corgi: Don¡¯t talk nonsense, we¡¯re ready to eat. No more chatting.

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Ok ok ok. Continue jiayou, work hard! Go, go!

    Corgi: ¡­Scram

    Nine p.m.

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Progress report! Progress report! Did you take a bubble bath together? Are you lying in bed?

    Corgi: ¡­I¡¯m fucking

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Ah! So fast! Are you the one above?! [Eyes opened wide in disbelief. jpg]

    Corgi: You¡¯re so idle that you¡¯re being a pain in the ass, right? Can you stop bothering me?

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: I¡¯m sorry to bother you! I didn¡¯t disturb anything intense, did I? I can¡¯t sleep and need a distraction so I came here to check on your progress. Once I know, I¡¯ll go away and have a beautiful nightmare at night.¡±

    Corgi:¡­

    Corgi: We¡¯re going to watch a movie

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Fuck! You¡¯re awesome! That¡¯s more fun than drinking Lafite and lighting candles¡­ Your over a dozen G calcium tablets finally came in handy.

    Corgi: ¡­the big boss said to find it from the Inte¡­

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: The boss suggested it?!?!

    Corgi:¡­Um¡­

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Fuck! Holy Shit! I didn¡¯t expect him to be this type of big boss¡­Ke¡¯er, I¡¯m a little worried about you.

    Corgi: ¡­ [?]

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to bear theing storm of love¡­you¡­take care¡­

    Corgi: ¡­Fuck off

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Don¡¯t say anything, I¡¯m going away, I wish you much joy and happiness. Savor it well, okay? [Xiao Yueyue''s face.jpg]

    Corgi: ¡­Sleep well. If you can¡¯t sleep, drink a little by yourself. If you¡¯re drunk, you won¡¯t think about anything anymore.

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Okay, don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯ll stay upte to work on some pictures. This is the most lulling time. If I¡¯m sleepy, I¡¯ll fall asleep. You go back. Hurry up and get it on with the big boss and¡­watch that movie. Good night!

    Corgi: ¡­Good night

    ¡­¡­¡­.

    At half past nine in the morning.

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: How did it go? Report the oue!!! [Look with curious little eyes. jpg]

    Corgi:¡­

    Corgi: I¡¯m going to bed. I¡¯ll talkter.

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Hotdamn! Last night seemed to be pretty intense! You ¡°yed¡± sote? When did you sleep (cease fire)?

    Corgi: ¡­I have not slept all night. Am just lying down now.

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: Holy¡ªShit¡ª-!!!!!

    Corgi: We watched movies all night.

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: [ck question mark face.jpg] You guys spent¡­

    Corgi: I spent the whole night apanying the big boss in making up for hisck of knowledge about cartoons.

    Corgi: Ha ha. (-_-)

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang:¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: WTF¡­¡­¡­¡­

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: ¡­I don¡¯t know what to say¡­

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: ¡­Your first night was really¡­out of the ordinary¡­two well-developed gay men who are passionate about each other, after sharing a romantic dinner and getting fragrant, they locked themselves in a room and watched cartoons all night together¡­

    Corgi: ¡­Not talking anymore. I¡¯ll sleep for a while and respondter.

    Wei Feng¡¤Mang: I feel bad for you. Go to sleep. I wish that there would be no cartoons in your dreams, Amen.

    Ke Xunpletely knocked out.

    In the past few days inside the painting, he¡¯d barely closed his eyes. Of course, it was different in that environment, where people¡¯s bodily functions were modified.

    He didn¡¯t know how long he¡¯d passed out. Even when Mu Yiran woke him up, he still couldn¡¯t recover for a while. He sat on the bed, hugging hisforter, his hair in a mess, confused.

    In a daze, he sensed that the person standing by the bed was bending down gracefully. A cold and handsome face came into view, and he raised his face subconsciously, wanting to see this person clearly with eyes he had to struggle to open. Suddenly, he felt a gentle grip on his jaw and a kiss fell on his lips, like a dream.

    After stirring up his emotions and quickly leaving, the man¡¯s voice floated lightly from above his head. ¡°Ke Xun, get up and eat.¡±

    Ke Xun closed his eyes, tossed back theforter, and suddenly sprung up. He stretched out his arms to embrace this intoxicating man. Then he twisted his waist and pushed him back onto the soft, stic mattress.

    Throwing over one long leg, he imprisoned the man underneath himself. Like a golden retriever, he rubbed his face into Mu Yiran¡¯s neck and gave it a lick.

    ¡°Yiran¡­¡± Ke Xun breathed hotly into the male god¡¯s ear. ¡°Today¡­I want to¡­get a tattoo¡­¡±

    The male god curled his lips. ¡°As you wish.¡±

    After speaking, Mu Yiran flipped their positions, instantly suppressing the dog¡¯s offensiveness. He pressed the man down underneath himself, all the while still dressed in a crisp dress shirt and straight pants. Burying his head into the back of Ke Xun¡¯s neck, he imprinted a kiss that was like a brand.

    The author has something to say:

    Ke Xun: Meow, take off your pants and let meow have a look.

 Chapter 154: Self Is Invisible

    <h4>Chapter 154: Self Is Invisible</h4>

    The weather turned cold, and after a few autumn rains, in the blink of an eye, it was time to wear sweaters.

    Benxin Art Gallery was located in an old, third-tier city. It was rare that there was a street with a strong academic presence, and even more rare that the shops here were all privately owned.

    Benxin Art Gallery was located between the Benxin Library and the Benxin Movie Theater. Judging from the name, the owner of all three should be the same person.

    The boss seemed to be very capricious. The art gallery¡¯s business hours were actually from 9pm to 9am the next morning, and the ticket was 30 yuan each.

    This was also the first art gallery they¡¯d been to that required an entrance fee.

    Wei Dong nced at the business hours posted on the door of the gallery and said, ¡°I¡¯ve learned something new. This is the first time I saw a nightclub-style art gallery.¡±

    More people¡¯s eyes were attracted by the eye-catching poster at the door: This weekend¡¯s art exhibition theme: Late Autumn, Mature Love.

    There was also another line of small print next to it: The art gallery¡¯ste-night cafe will also be open at the same time.

    Mu Yiran and Ke Xun, both wearing the same kind of pullover sweaters, stood together, as if they were pursuing the middle-ss sentiment of lovers. They had already passed the tension of sounding their feelings out and were about to ¡°talk about mature love.¡± The color of their sweaters also matched thete autumn, with Mu Yiran wearing a dark caramel color, and Ke Xun wearing a warm beige color.

    ¡°The weekend is the day when we enter the gallery,¡± Zhu Haowen said expressionlessly, hinting at the painting¡¯s cunning. ¡°That means we won¡¯t be able to see the paintings in advance.¡±

    ¡°Unless we contact the owner of this art gallery in advance.¡± This suggestion came from Qin Ci.

    ¡°Actually, I have already contacted the owner, who is a young girl named Su Benxin.¡± Mu Yiran revealed the ¡°research clues¡± that he¡¯d gained in the past few days.

    ¡°What did the girl say?¡± This was the first time Ke Xun had heard about this.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was a little helpless. ¡°She said that everyone is wee to offer their own painting for disy. This art gallery is based on free creation, and as long as it feels appropriate, anyone can add their artwork to it and then price it as they see fit.¡±

    ¡°This would make the art exhibition more fluid, and it¡¯s likely that new works may be hung up at any time during the exhibition.¡± Qin Ci wanted to frown, but when he looked up at the crescent moon in the sky, he could not help but bend his eyebrows. ¡°Leave it up to fate, so be it.¡±

    Dr. Qin¡¯s rare sanguine optimism was infectious, and Ke Xun even proposed to go to the movie theater next door and take a look. Besides, they were just waiting, anyway.

    Therefore, six men entered the small, simple movie theater next to the gallery. Luo Wei walked at the end of the group, silent.

    The movie tickets were very cheap at 15 yuan each, and the food offered were not the usual coke and popcorn, but hot coffee, date cake, and small packets of sugared orange peels.

    There were three movies in total, all of which were being yed on a loop. These movies were: Baraka , Song of Exile, and Sissi

    Wei Dong said frankly, ¡°I just watched thest one. My mother loved this movie.¡±

    ¡°Me too.¡± Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°This is the first time we¡¯re watching a movie together, but I didn¡¯t expect them to be so unconventional.¡±

    ¡°This is very good.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s smile was like the spring breeze inte autumn.

    Ke Xun floated over to buy tickets, and from time to time, he would turn around and ask everyone, ¡°There are homemade bean popsicles here. Does anyone want to eat them?¡±

    So everyone walked into the theater with their own hot coffee, each choosing a seat ording to their eyesight and preferences. Mu Yiran and Ke Xun sat in the penultimate row, Luo Wei sat in the front row closest to the door, and the other three sat in the middle of the middle row and rear row, where the viewing angles were the mostfortable.

    They were the only people in the entire theater, and Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but criticize, ¡°This feels like being inside a painting.¡±

    ¡°The number isn¡¯t right,¡± Zhu Haowen said expressionlessly.

    Qin Ci smiled silently and ate the sugared orange peels. The sugar had the taste of licorice, and the dried orange peel slowly softened in his mouth, like the taste of his childhood.

    The theater lights dimmed, and the title of the film appeared on the big screen: Baraka.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the wrong film? Isn¡¯t the first film called The One Who Loves You?¡± Wei Dong was very puzzled.

    Zhu Haowen said with a nk expression: ¡°It¡¯s Baraka.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s almost the same thing. This string of letters is too ridiculous. Although my English isn¡¯t very good, this string of letters has nothing to do with The Colors of Heaven and Earth,¡± Wei Dong paused, took a long, silent look at the title on the screen, and still didn¡¯t understand what was going on. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the wrong film.¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t English. It¡¯s an ancient Imguage. Baraka means blessing.¡±

    Wei Dong stared nkly at the confusing scene in front of him. He thought hard but was still confused. ¡°An old Imguage? I don¡¯t get it. Haowen¡¯er, do you understand this? But what does Blessing have to do with The Colors of Heaven and Earth?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know thenguage, but I read about it from a film review. Once you¡¯ve finished watching the whole film, you¡¯ll find that the trantion, The Colors of Heaven and Earth, is actually quite appropriate.¡±

    Wei Dong watched for a while in ignorance. ¡°I really can¡¯t understand this kind of silent film. This makes it more like a documentary.¡±

    ¡°This is a documentary.¡±

    ¡°¡­Right.¡± Wei Dong still had many questions, such as why this documentary had no narration, but he swallowed it back. There were many confusing things in this world, such as the paintings. Could there be anything more confusing than the paintings?

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t pay too much attention to the movie, feeling that it was dry and dull. The things expressed in the movie could not be silently conveyed. Perhaps, it could only be experienced more deeply by going in and out of the paintings.

    Life and death are impermanent, and reincarnation is wise and just.

    In the second half of the film, Zhu Haowen stood up and quietly left. He opened the side door and discovered that the wind was cold. He covered his head with the hood of his windbreaker, tucked his hands into his pockets, and gently closed the door with one foot.

    The lobby was small and shabby. Zhu Haowen simply walked to the entrance of the theater, lit a cigarette in the night breeze, and looked at the night sky calmly, still expressionless.

    After a while, another figure came out of the theater. It was Luo Wei.

    ¡°What do you think the painting will have in store for us this time?¡± Unexpectedly, Luo Wei was the first to speak.

    Zhu Haowen looked at the cold star in the night sky. ¡°None of us can figure out its intentions.¡±

    ¡°I thought you would be the one most willing to take a guess.¡±

    ¡°When faced with this cmitous game, each of us will not hesitate to fight back. We do our best because each of us cherishes our lives.¡±

    ¡°You cherish your life, but you also enjoy this game.¡±

    Zhu Haowen smiled. ¡°Perhaps.¡±

    ¡°Because of this, your opinions may be different from the others.¡± In Luo Wei¡¯s calm eyes, there was a desire to win that transcended his nature. This unlucky ¡°passive cmity¡± could be interpreted as ¡°active revenge.¡±

    Zhu Haowen gave Luo Wei a serious look. However, he knew in his heart that all the warnings right now would not be heard by the person in front of him. He turned his head and took a few puffs of the cigarette. Changing the subject, he said in what seemed to be in a joking tone, ¡°Do you know about Yohji Yamamoto?¡±

    Luo Wei clearly didn¡¯t expect the other party to suddenly veer off topic. He thought about it and said, ¡°Is it a Japanese person? He writes spective novels?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a Japanese designer, whose style is called the anti-fashion style.¡± Zhu Haowen felt a little nonsensical every time he thought of this ¡°anti-fashion style,¡± the ¡°anti-fashion style¡± that is talked about by the fashion industry.

    As a top academic student, Luo Wei didn¡¯t know much about designers and simr fields, and he wasn¡¯t interested in it. At this moment, he said in a straightforward manner, ¡°What are you trying to say? Will knowing about this Japanese person help us in our next painting?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it might not be helpful, or maybe it might be very helpful.¡± Zhu Haowen wanted the other party to think about it himself, so he wasn¡¯t in a hurry to reveal the answer.

    Luo Wei was clearly in a bad mood, which had begun the moment his girlfriend had died in the painting. The painting they¡¯ll be entering was in the art gallery. If they really wanted to, there were hundreds of ways to enter right now! There was no need to wait until 9pm.

    Zhu Haowen wasn¡¯t in a hurry. He looked at Luo Wei and said, ¡°I think we still have to talk about Yohji Yamamoto.¡±

    Luo Wei clenched his fists. ¡°How would this Japanese help us?¡±

    ¡°He helped us recognize ourselves.¡± Zhu Haowen¡¯s tone was still calm, but his gaze was fixed on Luo Wei as he continued, ¡°I never thought that we¡¯re entering the paintings for other people, not anyone else.¡±

    Luo Wei¡¯s frown did not loosen, but his tone did soften a little. ¡°For myself, this scope is too broad. Sometimes, this definition can include others, and sometimes even the whole world.¡±

    Zhu Haowen smiled slightly but didn¡¯t follow the topic. Instead, he calmly said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to Yohji Yamamoto. This person once said, ¡®Self is invisible. Only when knocking into something powerful and bouncing back will the concept of ¡®self¡¯ be understood. So, in colliding with something strong, something terrible, and something high-level, will one know what ¡®self¡¯ is.¡¯¡±

    For a long time, Luo Wei didn¡¯t say anything, and neither did Zhu Haowen.

    In the dark of night, two men stood at the entrance of the old movie theater in an old city, like a sketch that had been shelved for a long time, causing the dark ink to grow sallow with age. Like darkness stained with tea, unerasable. Like a brand pressed under ss, preserved for many years toe.

    The night devoured everything, but Zhu Haowen still heard the other person say, ¡°Thank you.¡±

 Chapter 155: Strange City

    <h4>Chapter 155: Strange City</h4>

    ¡°I have a ticket worth 30 yuan, and unexpectedly, I feel like I¡¯ve made a profit.¡± Wei Dong found that he¡¯d fallen in the painting¡¯s trap and couldn¡¯t extricate himself¨Cjust like someone starting to get Stockholm Syndrome.

    The design on the ticket was very simple and looked more like a ready-made greeting card that was just branded with the seal of Benxin Art Gallery and a digital date stamp.

    Qin Ci looked at the art gallery, which was getting busier and busier as the day went on. Today was the weekend, and there were twice as many visitors as usual.

    Ke Xun had already walked to the door. Looking at hispanions behind him, he tilted his head, as if to say, Come on, let¡¯s go in and practice marimba.

    Zhu Haowen was infected by Ke Xun, and a subconscious smile stretched across his face. It wasn¡¯t clear how many times he¡¯d smiled like this, with the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrobly. Before he knew Ke Xun, this had always been something that was rare.

    He secretly cleared his throat, pasted on his usual expressionless face, and followed Wei Dong into the art gallery.

    The art gallery was decorated in the popr ¡°impoverished style,¡± with terrazzo walls, unmodified log tables and chairs, and naked light tubes hanging from the high ceiling. It looked like a factory workshop from the 1980s. The ¡°workshop¡± was decorated everywhere with wilderness-like withered vines, giving it a certain air of artistic originality.

    ¡°Good wabi-sabi style, ah!¡± a girl wearing a Mori shawl eximed in admiration.

    Wei Dong looked at the simplistic walls and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s pretty bad (wabi-sabi), ah.¡±

    Zhu Haowen¡¯s mouth parted slightly when he heard his words, but in the end, he didn¡¯t say anything.

    The Mori girl¡¯spanion, a tall, young man wearing a slim-fit shirt, pushed up his thin sses and said, ¡°in and quiet, with a little Zen.¡±

    Wei Dong walked past him and was shocked to realize that this ¡°young man¡± was actually a girl, and then he heard the teenage girl say, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that there would be so many avant-garde artworks.¡±

    Today¡¯s artworks were indeed very avant-garde.

    They stepped over a pile of distorted root carvings on the ground, only to find abel stating that the work was named ¡°Connected¡± and that the price was ¡°12,000 yuan.¡±

    In front of it was another pile of wool balls with a few peculiarly shaped light bulbs inside and abel that read ¡°Cat¡¯s Love¡±, priced at ¡°9,4000 yuan.¡±

    The money was also very good.

    In the end, Wei Dong didn¡¯t say these words out loud. After all, he was still inside the territory of this group of avant-garde artists.

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but pat Ke Xun, who was in front of him, on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we didn¡¯t bring a few works along with us. If we could earn a bit, maybe it would pay for our travel expenses.¡±

    ¡°I think we can nail a bunch ofrge and small picture frames together, just like a perspective drawing.¡± Ke Xun looked at the various artworks in the museum and couldn¡¯t help but open his mind.

    ¡°That¡¯s considered a work of art, right?¡± Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran beside him.

    ¡°It could be.¡± Mu Yiran let out a small smile.

    ¡°I think the name of an artwork is very important. What should we call a bunch of picture frames?¡± Ke Xun looked at the piece of leather disyed on the wall with two weird tattoo-like patterns on it. The name of this work was ¡°Old Huan.¡±

    Ke Xun looked away from these ufortable artworks and was about to tell Mu Yiran that the artwork he¡¯d just conceived would be called Encounter,¡± when Zhu Haowen grabbed it first. ¡°Call it Nirvana.¡±

    ¡°What is Nirvana?¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°I think it should be called Misfortune.¡±

    Qin Ci, who was walking behind them, had already spoken to the two young girls, and the Mori girl pointed to the exhibition hall around the corner. ¡°Thatrge room is mainly for the exhibition of paintings and is worth checking out.¡±

    Qin Ci thanked her and looked at the pale white light streaming out from the corner of the concrete wall. ¡°It turns out that the exhibition is over there.¡±

    The others looked in that direction. The forced levity just moments ago sank under the start to a new life-threatening journey.

    The exhibition hall where the paintings were disyed was still depressing and barren, with various paintings hanging on the mottled concrete walls. In the center was a long birch bark table withrge thick Porcin teapots and a tall stack of blue-rimmed thick porcin cups.

    Although the guests were immersed in this depressive and destitute style, many of them preferred drinking tea in disposable paper cups, and so those thick china cups remained mostly untouched.

    This group of 6 men weren¡¯t in the mood to drink tea. They had entered many paintings, which had sharpened their eyes. At this moment, 6 pairs of eyes were scanning the paintings on the wall cautiously and sharply.

    But, although the ¡°novice¡± Luo Wei was the least experienced, his eyes were the sharpest.

    There were many paintings in the room, and mixed in among these was a lead-color painting. The youthful brush strokes outlined a woman wearing a wedding dress. The words next to it read: Xiao Qinxian, Painting at 7 years old, year 2002.

    ¡°It¡¯s still priced at 600 yuan?¡± Wei Dong frowned and studied it. ¡°My paintings as a 7 year old are much better than this.¡±

    Nearby, a girl with a mushroom hair-cut gave him a cold look and then stubbornly stuck her chin out away from him.

    Wei Dong shrugged and followed hispanions to the ce where the crowd had gathered.

    There weren¡¯t many people in this exhibition hall, but there were about six to seven people gathered in front of a painting, discussing it.

    The painting was veryrge and was nearly one person tall. It wasn¡¯t like an oil painting but was more like a gouache style painting. The colors were very simple, with only deep and light red on the white paper background. The patterns formed were very abstract, rendered with ps and messy lines.

    ¡°Is this a close-up of a pink leaf?¡± the Mori girl asked.

    ¡°I think it looks like a cross section of a building?¡± said the young man with curly hair standing next to her.

    No one in the group of 6 men said a word, but they all stopped at this spot, as if a unified sixth sense had been formed.

    The unfriendly girl with the mushroom hairstyle also said, ¡°I feel like it¡¯s a piece of internal organ dripping blood.¡±

    It did really seem a bit like that.

    The ¡°teen girl¡± added, ¡°It¡¯s probably a beating heart.¡±

    Wei Dong tilted his head and looked at the painting, feeling that these people were too dramatic. The painting was too abstract, so much so that it was even possible to say it was a thermo.

    Thebel below the painting read: The Scarlet Beast, Not for sale, Author: Yu Beiguo.

    Perhaps it was the words ¡°Not for sale¡± that was very eye-catching, making people linger around it even longer.

    There were more people in the exhibition hall now, and three to four elderly guests walked in, dressed for the asion and looking like artists.

    The 6-member group exchanged slightly pitying looks, and even thought of trying to persuade them to leave.

    Fortunately, they only made a short stop and went out again.

    A few people dressed like students entered. Mu Yiran looked at the time that seemed to have passed without them realizing it and felt that the painting was taking a long time.

    ¡°What¡¯s the time?¡± Ke Xun asked next to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s been 47 minutes.¡± Mu Yiran sidestepped the question, but his answer was still relevant.

    It¡¯d been 47 minutes since everyone entered this exhibition hall. Guests entered and left, changing wave after wave, but the room never entered the usual darkness.

    The few people guarding the painting in front had not moved. Luo Wei couldn¡¯t help pacing back and forth in the open space of the exhibition hall. Although everyone was reluctant to enter the painting, the wait was even more difficult.

    Luo Wei counted and saw that the number of people in the exhibition hall was currently 11. They still need two more people.

    The rusty copper pointer on the log clock hung on the wall was already pointing to 10 o¡¯clock at night. The door to the exhibition hall pushed open again. This time, a tall and strong-looking man with mixed-race features entered. Next to him was a woman with long, messy hair draped over one shoulder, holding a bouquet of flowers in her arms.

    The lights went out.

    Only the lingering, pale white light above the painting was on, clearly illuminating the irregr redposition of the painting and turning the name on thebel even more striking: Scarlet Beast.

    This piece that looked like foliage, like an internal organ, and even like the pattern of a section of a building, suddenly had an exnation¨CThis was a beast, an irregr body with a blurred face and hidden ws and teeth, a beast.

    What would the world of beasts be like? The veteran members who had experienced the painting Animal World were reluctant to think too much.

    After a period of suffocating darkness, everyone saw a different world.

    There was clearly a city in front of them, a fashionable city overcast and drenched in rain.

    Well-dressed men and women walked the city streets, looking indifferent and holding ck, red, or transparent umbres.

    The 13 people stood on the side of the street in the rain at dusk. The silver needle-like rain fell lightly on their faces, as if to remind them all that this wasn¡¯t a dream.

    This was probably the most receptive team they¡¯ve ever had. When Qin Ci exined the matter of ¡°entering the painting,¡± a look of surprise shed across the neers¡¯ faces, but they quickly epted this magical fact.

    The curly-haired youth was the first to speak. ¡°So, what next?¡±

    ¡°There should be an NPC who will pick us up. If you don¡¯t want to wait for that person, you can only try to find clues yourself,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get to know each other first,¡± the woman holding the bouquet said. She tied her long, messy hair into a bun and smoothed down her long, bohemian-style sackcloth dress so she wouldn¡¯t feel too cold. Then she bowed to everyone and said, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry that the art exhibition brought so much trouble to everyone. I¡¯m Su Benxin.¡±

    Su Benxin, the owner of Benxin Art Museum.

    Everyone looked at the attractive woman whose age was hard to determine and nodded slightly to her. No one med her for ¡°this disaster.¡±

    Su Benxin pointed to the mixed-race man beside her and said, ¡°This is Lion,¡± then she apologized softly to Lion.

    Lion smiled lightly. ¡°Perhaps this will be an interesting trip.¡±

    Even though everyone was trying to stay calm, it was impossible to return his knowing smile. Many people turned their attention to Mu Yiran. This ¡°veteran¡± seemed to be the most reliable.

    Mu Yiran briefly introduced himself, and several of the veteran members followed by also reporting their names.

    Before the neers could say more, a man in a police uniform suddenly appeared on the street. ¡°Please show your documents.¡±

    Just as the neers were searching for documents in their pockets, Mu Yiran smiled at the NPC and said, ¡°Mr. Police Officer, we are new here.¡±

 Chapter 156: Ke Xun and Mu Yiran in Police Uniforms

    <h4>Chapter 156: Ke Xun and Mu Yiran in Police Uniforms</h4>

    A group of thirteen people followed the police officer back to the police station.

    Wei Dong looked at the door of the police station and felt that ¡°Mr. Painting was finally serious.¡±

    ¡°New arrivals have to register here before they can apply for a temporary residence permit.¡± The policeman brought them to a room with a female police officer. ¡°Xiao Zhang, I¡¯ll hand these people to you. They want to apply for a permit.¡±

    Police Officer Xiao Zhang seemed to be busy with something on theputer in front of her. With her eyes still fixed on the screen, she mmed down a stack of forms with one hand. ¡°Fill out the forms first! The pens are on the table, and there are reading sses on the windowsill!¡±

    So 13 people had to look for a ce to fill out their forms. Ke Xun pushed the only chair by the table to Mu Yiran and simply used to the side of the window sill to write, guarding a container of stic reading sses and a pot of malnourished cacti.

    Ke Xun had never applied for a temporary residence permit in the real world before. He looked at the contents of the form and found that they all contained basic items, such as gender and nationality ID number. What¡¯s more, he didn¡¯t even need to provide proof.

    The girl with the very short hair that looked like a young man came over and said, ¡°Can I borrow a pen for a quick moment? This one ran out of ink.¡±

    Ke Xun quickly finished, but when he handed the pen over, he saw that the other person¡¯s paper was mostly filled out. The one thing left to be filled out was the first line. The girl smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m used to writing my namest.¡±

    Ke Xun suddenly felt that this was a good habit. This way, even if someone had to abandon their paperwork, at least they wouldn¡¯t leave their names behind.

    The girl also nced at Ke Xun¡¯s form. ¡°It turns out to be these two words.¡±

    ¡°Otherwise?¡±

    ¡°I was just thinking, why would this guy be called ¡®Science¡¯?¡±

    Ke Xun remembered that when he was a child, someone had called him ¡°Scientist¡± as a nickname. The name itself wasn¡¯t malicious, but when pinned on a cker in science like himself, it was really malicious.

    Ke Xun watched as the girl picked up the pen and wrote the name: Zhao Yanbao. The writing was actually very strong, calm and happy. It really didn¡¯t look like a young woman¡¯s handwriting.

    ¡°Yanbao, are you finished?¡± the girl with the Mori shawl came over. ¡°Which ¡®Ya¡¯ was my previous name? Should I add a female character to it?¡±

    Zhao Yanbao said, ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    It turned out this was also a pair of close childhood friends, just like Ke Xun and Wei Dong.

    ¡°Are you all done?¡± The policewoman finally looked at them politely. Her face didn¡¯t change even when she saw a ¡°rare treasure¡± like Mu Yiran. ¡°Hurry up and hand it in when you¡¯re done!¡±

    After checking the forms one by one, she thenpared them to the information on theputer.

    Wei Dong thought, can yourputer here find our information?

    ¡°There seems to be no issues, so I¡¯ll give you each a certificate first.¡± The policewoman took out a thick stack of temporary resident permits that looked like business cards out from the drawer. She untied the rubber bands and began to issue the permit. ¡°Fill in your name. Afterward, go to the next room to have it checked and stamped.¡±

    In the next room, an elderly policeman was on duty. With reading sses on, he scanned through their forms and marked some. In between, he asked, ¡°Qin Ci, are you a doctor?¡±

    Upon being called, Qin Ci nodded. ¡°Yes, a surgeon.¡±

    ¡°How many years have you done surgery?¡±

    ¡°Almost ten years.¡±

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll need your talent here!¡± As if the elderly policeman had found a treasure, he wrote Qin Ci¡¯s upation on his ¡°business card¡± and then stamped it. As he handed it to Qin Ci, he added, ¡°You¡¯ll need to report to the central hospital in a while.¡±

    The certificate in Qin Ci¡¯s hand was like a work permit, which read: Qin Ci, Male, Department of Surgery, Heart City Central Hospital.

    This ce even arrange work? Ke Xun and hispanions shot each other a brief look but also didn¡¯t bother with analyzing this too much.

    The old policeman looked at the curly-haired young man and said, ¡°Your name is Zhi Chun?¡±

    The curly-haired young man nodded hurriedly, and it was then that everyone realized there was a photo of each of them on their respective forms. It was a photo taken with a camera, the quality of which was like something from a driving school test.

    When was this photo taken? Their faces were captured so clearly. Everyone couldn¡¯t help but look around the room, not knowing whether there was one or more hidden cameras.

    The old policeman continued to ask Zhi Chun, ¡°Do you also do surgery?¡±

    Zhi Chun nodded. ¡°I just graduated from medical school, and now I¡¯m just a surgical intern. The scalpel¡­I haven¡¯t had a chance to use it yet.¡±

    ¡°Did I ask you for so much? Don¡¯t answer without me asking.¡± The old policeman suddenly turned cold.

    Zhi Chun stuck out his tongue secretly but maintained a smile on the surface. ¡°Okay, got it.¡±

    The old policeman¡¯s tone softened. ¡°Just follow Dr. Qin and work with him.¡±

    Zhi Chun carefully took the work permit that the old policeman had handed over and went to stand beside ¡°teacher¡± Qin Ci.

    The old policeman continued to look at the form. Perhaps he wasn¡¯t satisfied with it, so he became annoyed. ¡°What is this? Artist Designer? What kind of work is this?¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s name was indirectly called and so he stepped forward. After clearing his throat, he decided to introduce his profession to the elderly. ¡°Art Designers refer to technical talents who process and create print media, coloring, tuning, creative processing and production. They can be divided into print media artists, web artists, and 3D artists. Generally, it is necessary to be proficient in Photoshop and other web design software.¡±

    Wei Dong had already memorized this answer from Baidu Encyclopedia, thinking that as an art designer, he would be asked by various aunties every New year, and so he simply gave the most standard answer, which would be immediately followed by:¡±Hey, technical talents! How much do you earn a month? Do you even earn an annual sry?¡±

    ¡­Wei Dong scratched his head, looked innocently at the old police in front of him, and listened as the old man said, ¡°We don¡¯t need this kind of talent here.¡±

    Whether it was out of the professional habit of an artist, or out of the habit of being forced to ¡°enter paintings,¡± Wei Dong had observed the city earlier. With a smile, he retorted, ¡°There are many designpanies on the street just now, and some LED boards shing job advertisements calling for art designers.¡±

    The old policeman raised his gaze from the mirror and looked sharply at Wei Dong. ¡°You can¡¯tplete the mission this way.¡±

    This was the first time they heard the word ¡°mission,¡± and so everyone was nervous, especially the veteran members¨CMission? It was brought up so straightforwardly?

    Wei Dong boldly asked, ¡°Officer Chu, what is our mission?¡±

    Chu Zhiyong was written on the nametag pinned to the old policeman¡¯s chest.

    Chu Zhiyong didn¡¯t seem to hear him. His eyes were fixed on the form in his hand, and then he looked up from the photo to find Zhao Yanbao in the crowd. ¡°Are you Zhao Yanbao? A psychiatrist?¡±

    Zhao Yanbao stepped forward to stand next to Chu Zhiyong¡¯s desk. Her thin, short hair was like the color of pine needles in the twilight. ¡°I¡¯m only a graduate student from the Department of Psychology, not a psychiatrist.¡±

    Chu Zhiyong looked at the heroic girl in front of him, pondered for a moment, and wrote her work unit on the certificate: Choujian Detective Agency.

    Zhao Yanbao took her permit nomittally and imitated Qin Ci by pinning it on her chest.

    The room was very quiet as everyone waited for the old police officer¡¯s assignment, or rather, for him to deal with them.

    ¡°Why are so many of you people engaged in the arts?!¡± Chu Zhiyong scratched his messy gray hair. ¡°A renowned art appraiser? A wedding dress designer? A photographer? A painter? An art gallery owner?¡±

    Several ¡°artists¡± were a little embarrassed and didn¡¯t answer. Only the ¡°renowned art appraiser¡± Mu Yiran still had an indifferent expression. His gaze slightly shifted to the window, as if he was admiring the sunset outside.

    ¡°Two cane work at the police station.¡± Chu Zhiyong lit a cigarette and took a few slow breaths.

    Ke Xun secretlypared his height with Lion, and as he was hesitating, the old policeman¡¯s voice sounded in his ears. ¡°Ke Xun, since you¡¯ve practiced sports,e to our Criminal Investigation Department, and the one over 1.9 meters tall, you can alsoe to the Criminal Investigation Department.

    In this way, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were happily assigned to work together, and the two of them also got their certificate together¡­er, work permit¡­

    Lion, a photographer, and Xiao Qinxian, a wedding dress designer, were assigned to the police station¡¯s forensic department. Xiao Qinxian was very puzzled about this, and she asked a lot of questions, but the old policeman acted as if he didn¡¯t hear her.

    Wei Dong was also assigned to the Household Registration Department in the police station. In Chu Zhiyong¡¯s own words, he was ¡°in charge of registration.¡±

    The remaining people stood in ce without embarrassment and waited to be allocated. Chu Zhiyong told Qin Chi and Zhao Yanbao, ¡°There are four people left. You each can choose two to work with you.¡±

    Therefore, Zhao Yanbao chose the Mori girl Chi Lei and Zhu Haowen.

    Since Qin Ci gave the selection opportunity to Zhao Yanbao¨Cfor him, people with no medical experience were all the same¨Cthe two who fell to him in the central hospital were Su Benxin and the painter Yu Ji.

    ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, and your dormitories have been arranged ording to your unit.¡± Chu Zhiyong looked at his watch and prepared to get off work.

    It was getting dark, but right now, they still didn¡¯t know anything about the death conditions. Going back like this would be a gamble.

    As a ¡°neer¡± at the police station, Ke Xun took a step forward and gave the old policeman a salute. ¡°Uncle Chu, what is our central mission?¡±

    Chu Zhiyong revealed a smile that wasn¡¯t quite a smile. ¡°The young people who came to Heart City, most of them are here to fall in love. I don¡¯t know much about you young people.¡±

    When he was walking on the streets earlier, Ke Xun remembered that there were billboards everywhere that read ¡°City of Romance,¡± perhaps as a way to highlight the charms of the city, like Paris, the romance capital?

    Su Benxin had just pinned her work permit with the words ¡°Surgery of Heart City Central Hospital¡± on her chest when she suddenly recalled the theme of her art exhibit, Mature Love, which fitted perfectly with this. Was it a coincidence or¡­.

    Those who had not experienced death inside the world of a painting would always guess that the painter had good intentions.

    However, Mu Yiran studied the work permit in his hand and finally asked his own question, ¡°Officer Chu can only do things under orders. The sooner we understand the core of the task, the sooner we canplete it. This permit is only valid for 13 days. I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t have much time.¡±

    When everyone heard this, they hurriedly looked at their work permit, only to see a line in small font at the bottom: Permit Validity: October 17th ¡ª October 30th.

    The year wasn¡¯t indicated but no one cared much about it.

    ¡°13 days? What do we need to do in 13 days?¡± Xiao Qinxian was the first to ask this question.

    ¡°Find enough beasts,¡± Chu Zhiyong said, as if thinking out loud.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Find enough scarlet beasts.¡± Chu Zhiyong looked at everyone with gray eyes.

    ¡°How much would be enough?¡± Mu Yiran grasped the secondary point. There would definitely be more information about the scarlet beast in the future, and so there was no need to ask about it now.

    ¡°13 kilograms.¡±

 Chapter 157: Gun

    <h4>Chapter 157: Gun</h4>

    13 kg.

    13000 grams.

    They didn¡¯t know what weight, what size, or even what form the so-called scarlet beast existed in.

    Chu Zhiyong refused to say anything more about this, and instead, changed into civilian clothes and left the work unit.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to each work unit to see our working environment and amodation first, and then we can gather together for dinner?¡± Everyone approved Qin Ci¡¯s suggestion, and they unanimously set the dinner ce to the family buffet next to the police station.

    So Qin Ci took his new ¡°apprentices¡± Zhi Chun, Su Benxin, and Yu Ji to the central hospital.

    Zhao Yanbao took Chi Lei and Zhu Haowen to the Choujian Detective Agency.

    The remaining police officers were Ke Xun and Mu Yiran from the Criminal Investigation Department, Lion and Xiao Qinxian from the Forensic Department, and Wei Dong from the Household Registration Department.

    At this moment, these five people looked at the ¡°homeless¡± Luo Wei nkly.

    ¡°He forgot about you? Why didn¡¯t you speak up earlier?¡± Wei Dong even began to think about using his position in the Household Registration Department to get his partner a temporary job.

    Luo Wei took out his permit and saw the words in the job column: Frencer.

    Different from the circr red stamp of everyone¡¯s ¡®Central Police Station in Xincheng District,¡¯ Luo Wei¡¯s work permit was stamped with an eye-catching, elongated rectangr stamp and had red letters that read: Outside the Xincheng Area.

    ¡°What does this mean? Why didn¡¯t you ask earlier?¡± Wei Dong was a little anxious.

    Ke Xun also found it quite strange that when the old policeman was assigning work for them earlier, he had counted their numbers with his fingers, and even though he had counted to 13, he still left Luo Wei out.

    Mi Yiran pondered for a moment and said, ¡°It seems that, in this game, Luo Wei is a special character.¡±

    What this specialness signified, no one could specte at this moment. Luo Wei himself also said that it wasn¡¯t good, but what he saidter turned everyone¡¯s mood a bit heavy, ¡°Chu Zhiyong didn¡¯t tell us whether the so-called scarlet beast is in the city or outside the city.¡±

    ¡°Since our work is arranged in the city, the scarlet beast should naturally be within our scope of work.¡± Ke Xun looked at hispanions. ¡°Even if the beast ran out of the city, it¡¯s not like you are frencing outside the city, right?¡±

    Xiao Qinxian stood to the side, holding her arm. ¡°If this is really an unlimited flow game, the prey is likely to be hidden among us, and it would have hidden characteristics that are different from everyone else.¡±

    These words seemed to be hinting at something.

    ¡°Suspicion is not conducive to teamwork,¡± Mu Yiran didn¡¯t look at Xiao Qinxian, but his serious tone had already silenced the other party. ¡°Let¡¯s all go to the dormitory first.¡±

    There were three dormitories all together, divided ording to departments. Each dormitory had two single beds.

    ¡°Bro, do you mind having three people in a room?¡± Wei Dong asked Lion, nning to move in a bed to make it a three-person room.

    Lion said with a slight foreign ent, ¡°It¡¯s all good. I once slept in an ice field with a group of snow-horned deer. Compared to that, this is heaven.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian pursed her lips, since just moments ago, she¡¯d just beenining that these rooms were too shabby and smelled of smoke.

    So, Mu Yiran and Ke Xun, both from the Criminal Investigation Department, lived in one room, while Xiao Qinxian lived in one room, and the other three men lived in one room.

    Ke Xun looked at the police uniform hanging on the wall of the dorm. At some point in time, a bronze work medal with his name and a string of code had been pinned on it. He tried on the uniform and the size was just right.

    Unfortunately, there was no full-length mirror in the room, so Ke Xun fastened his buttons and looked at himself. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve worn a police uniform. It¡¯s a dream I¡¯ve had since I was a child, ya¡¯know.¡±

    When Mu Yiran didn¡¯t say anything, Ke Xun turned around and saw that he was staring at him.

    ¡°You also put yours on and show me.¡± Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but drape the other uniform on the wall over Mu Yiran¡¯s body. Even though he wasn¡¯t neatly dressed, it instantly added a rare heroic spirit that made Ke Xun¡¯s heart skip a beat.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s hand stopped Ke Xun from continuing to dress himself, and he said in a slightly hoarse voice, ¡°There will be business in a while.¡±

    Self-restraint had always been one of the qualities that attracted Ke Xun to Mu Yiran. Now that Ke Xun was wearing a police uniform, Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes were clearly full of desire, but he spoke forbidding words in an unquestionable tone.

    Ke Xun touched his waist, wanting to ¡°coerce¡± the other party with the action of pulling out a gun, but who knew that he would actually pull out a pistol. The cold and hard touch was a wake-up call.

    Mu Yiran also pulled out a gun and took a closer look. ¡°The gun even has live ammunition.¡±

    ¡°Is it more exciting with a gun?¡± Ke Xun touched the gun, softening the slightly tense atmosphere.

    There was a knock on the door, and then Wei Dong entered, covering his eyes as he walked in. ¡°Whatever the two bad policemen are doing, I didn¡¯t see anything.¡±

    Ke Xun stood up and said, ¡°We have guns. Put your hands up.¡±

    Wei Dong looked through his widely-syed fingers. ¡°It¡¯s so fucking unfair. Why do you have a gun while I only have a ballpoint pen! And even the ink is almost out.¡±

    Only then did Ke Xun find out that Wei Dong was also wearing a police uniform. ¡°You have the temperament of Xiao Zhang.¡±

    ¡°Which Xiao Zhang?¡± As Wei Dong was thinking about whether he meant Zhang Dongjian or Zhang Yixian, he heard the other party say, ¡°That policewoman from the Household Registration Department, her surname is Zhang.¡±

    Alright. He¡¯d managed to put on a police uniform with great difficulty and actually ended up wearing the temperament of a police woman of the Household Registration Department. No one could beat that.

    Lion, who was standing at the door, interjected, ¡°Compared to you both, I¡¯m just wearing a white robe. All ¡°I¡± need is just a pair of powderlesstex gloves.¡±

    Wei Dong nodded. ¡°The ¡°girls¡± have earned it.¡±

    Afterward, everyone changed back to their previous casual clothes and went to the family buffet next to the police station.

    ¡°After some careful analysis, many things here aren¡¯t set up properly,¡± Luo Wei said. ¡°For example, in this police station, the institutional settings inside are very chaotic. The emblem isn¡¯t quite right either.¡±

    ¡°This is Heart City, which cannot be measured by normal standards,¡± Ke Xun said.

    This was inside a painting, and that was enough to exin any unreasonable things.

    Luo Wei recalled the unrestrained cartoon setting in the previous painting, but at this moment, the sense of being in a real city made it difficult to focus in a specific direction.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m still in China,¡± Lion looked at the restaurant¡¯s Chinese-style decor. ¡°I want to eat snail noodles with soy milk.¡±

    ¡°You have heavy tastes.¡± Wei Dong patted his international friend on the shoulder.

    A few minutester, the other two groups of people arrived. Qin Ci looked at the cash register and said, ¡°We have no cash and only have a card in our pockets.¡±

    It was the same for everyone, so they took out their cards to spend.

    The waiter took Qin Ci¡¯s card and swiped it. ¡°Your card has 40 consumption limits, and now there are 39 left.¡±

    39. Starting from tomorrow morning, if they each ate three meals a day, they could eat for a total of 13 days.

    ¡°Have you discovered it? There¡¯s no price tag here, it¡¯s all consumed by card,¡± the Mori girl Chi Lei whispered. ¡°That is to say, after 13 days, our consumption limit will be exhausted, and it will be impossible to do anything.¡±

    Mu Yiran waited at the cash register, and it wasn¡¯t after he¡¯d heard that Luo Wei¡¯s consumption limit was the same as everyone else did he finally walked to the tables.

    Now that it was past meal times, there were very few people dining, so everyone found thergest table, sat down, and talked while eating.

    Although the current situation was a bit bizarre, these neers had not experienced real danger after all, so everyone was still quite hungry after working hard.

    When Xiao Qinxian heard that the hospital¡¯s dormitory was a high-end apartment, and the detective¡¯s dormitory was located on the second floor of a garden vi, she sighed a little. ¡°Our ce is small and overcast, and it smells bad.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯d better stay here and find some clues before it gets dark, even if it is a tiny clue.¡± Qin Ci went straight to the topic.

    Although it was often the newbies who died on the first night, the veteran members also didn¡¯t want to specte on the rules using actual deaths.

    ¡°At present, our upational scope is very concentrated: police station, hospital, detective office,¡± Luo Wei said. ¡°Obviously there would be cases there, and these criminal cases would involve criminal investigation and forensics.¡±

    His words made sense, and so Xiao Qinxian was the only one who smiled lightly and said, ¡°Those are just guesses. The task we must aplish is quite clear, and that is to find the scarlet beast.¡± She unceremoniously turned her gaze to Luo Wei. ¡°I didn¡¯t understand why the police spoke to one of us in secret until I understood that a certain someone isn¡¯t local, and with this person present, some words can not be said clearly.¡±

    The people not assigned to the police station were stunned by this revtion. Zhao Yanbao said, ¡°I went back to check and only 12 people were assigned to work. What about the other one?¡±

    Xiao Qinxian sneered. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I do know that these people are hiding it for him. His document showed that he is an outsider, and I really don¡¯t know which organization he belongs to, or why an outsider is present in our conversation today.¡±

    Luo Wei wasn¡¯t annoyed. Instead, he generously put his certificate on the table for the others to see.

    Zhao Yanbao carefully looked it over. ¡°Outside the Xincheng area? A frencer? Does this mean that once the beast leave Xincheng, we can still go out to hunt them down? Luo Wei is this person with a special identity.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian interrupted Zhao Yanbao¡¯s words. ¡°Do you really think that the scarlet beast is a physical beast like a tiger or a leopard? I think this is a game simr to Xman, and we need to figure out the one that is out of ce.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong felt unhappy after hearing this, and they were about to fight back, but Zhu Haowen said slowly, ¡°At present, we do know for certain that the scarlet beast is 13 kilograms. That is, 26 catty. If what thisdy said is true and this beast is really among us, its weight shouldn¡¯t be too heavy. In fact, it should be the lightest one among us.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian looked down at her thin body, stunned with anger.

    Everyone¡¯s expressions were mixed for a while. They no longer spoke and focused on burying their heads in their own meals.

    Mu Yiran turned his attention to Su Benxin, who was sitting opposite him, and finally broke the silence. ¡°Is Boss Su familiar with the painter Yu Beiguo? There should be a reason why the painting The Scarlet Beast isn¡¯t for sale, right?¡±

    Su Benxin didn¡¯t answer immediately. Her eyes dimmed slightly. ¡°This painter has already passed away, and so?The Scarlet Beast was hisst work.¡±

    ¡°Dead?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Yu Beiguomitted suicide two months ago.¡±

 Chapter 158: Thirst For Love

    <h4>Chapter 158: Thirst For Love</h4>

    Everyone obviously didn¡¯t expect the author of this painting to havemitted suicide. Another painter here, Yu Ji, asked, ¡°This Yu Beiguo should be very young, right?¡±

    ¡°Mr. Yu, as a painter in the same city, do you know Yu Beiguo?¡± Su Benxin asked.

    Yu Ji said, ¡°I only returned from abroadst year. I¡¯ve heard about Yu Beiguo in this city a long time ago, but I¡¯ve never met him. I heard about his death not long ago. It¡¯s a pity.¡±

    Su Benxin sighed softly. ¡°It is said that his depression was getting worse, and that¡¯s why¡­I don¡¯t know much about it. Our small town is very small, and the works of many local painters are often put on consignment in the art gallery.¡±

    ¡°So because of the painter¡¯s death, the painting he¡¯d painted before his death became unseble?¡± Chi Lei spected on the side.

    Su Benxin nodded and grew quiet.

    Zhao Yanbao looked at the clock on the wall of the restaurant. ¡°It¡¯s half past eight. I don¡¯t know when night will begin in the painting?¡±

    This sentence was clearly directed toward the veteran members present. Qin Ci replied, ¡°It is usually after 11 o¡¯clock.¡±

    ¡°But we all aren¡¯t sleeping in the same ce. If danger urs at night, how do we notify the others?¡± Zhao Yanbao considered it practically.

    ¡°Our dorms are all equipped with telephones. What about yours?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    Zhao Yanbao nodded. ¡°We also have a phone. I¡¯ve already copied down all the phone numbers.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if the old, lousy phones at our ces could be used.¡±

    Lion said, ¡°It should work.¡±

    Luo Wei got up and went to the front desk, probably to borrow a pen and paper. When he returned, he turned on more lights, and the table suddenly became much brighter.

    ¡°Write down the phone number of each dorm and make a simple address book.¡± Luo Wei gave everyone a piece of paper.

    This proposal was very good. Everyone started to fill in the phone number on each piece of paper. In fact, every work unit had a fixed phone number; the only difference was the extension number for each room.

    ¡°There seems to be no cell phone in this world,¡± the young, curly-haired Zhi Chun who had been following Qin Ci in silence finally said.

    ¡°Actually, I like to read mystery novels set before the era of cell phones. The times long ago are a little better, even fingerprints and DNAs couldn¡¯t be verified.¡± After Chi Lei said this, she felt that she was a little out of date, and so she let out a small cough and lowered her head to take a sip of cold lemonade.

    Wei Dong watched Luo Wei, who was staying in the same room as him, finished writing down their phone number, and suddenly gave himself a knock on the head. ¡°I just remember that the phone in our room seems to be an old rotary dial phone. Thest time I used this kind of phone was when I was a kid. I wouldn¡¯t know which direction to turn.¡±

    ¡°Toward the center,¡± Lion said. ¡°Turn to the fixed number and there will be some resistance there.¡±

    ¡°You, international friend, knows better than me.¡±

    ¡°Phone knows no borders.¡± Lion shrugged.

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about rolling, do you know rolling¡­?¡±

    After they finished writing their phone numbers, everyone now had a simple address book with a series of phone numbers in their hands.

    Su Benxin whispered to Xiao Qinxian, ¡°¡­So, you also live in a room by yourself?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the only woman in our ce.¡± Xiao Qinxian didn¡¯t bother to look at the few ¡°colleagues¡± in the dormitory, always feeling that these guys were deliberately opposing herself.

    ¡°Can we two bepanions?¡± Although Su Benxin was asking Xiao Qinxian, she had turned her attention to the veteran members instead.

    Qin Ci was the first to shake his head. ¡°The division of workces is a clear ssification. If the premises are messed up, I¡¯m afraid it will be regarded as disrupting the rules.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Su Benxin said no more.

    Xiao Qinxian sneered. ¡°Locking the door at night is the most important thing. Let¡¯s ask for more blessings.¡±

    Chi Lei said on the side, ¡°Our detective agency also has a room for each person, and because the three bedrooms are already divided, we dare not mess with the rules.¡±

    ¡°I think living alone isn¡¯t terrible. The most important thing is to find the rules of the world.¡± This time it was Zhao Yanbao who spoke. She looked in the direction of Mu Yiran and Ke Xun.

    Chu Zhiyong said, ¡°Our task is to look for the scarlet beast in this world. As far as tonight is concerned, we haven¡¯t even started work yet. Since this might not be considered an iplete task, will we be punished tonight?¡±

    ¡°Every world has different rules. We have even experienced a world where the rules change every night,¡± Ke Xun said this time. ¡°It¡¯s off work time now, and Old Chu didn¡¯t mention working overtime. I don¡¯t think we will be punished for not finding the beast, at least not tonight.¡±

    Everyone temporarily felt relieved.

    But the veteran members found this matter more difficult. Sometimes, ¡°unknown tasks¡± are more terrifying than ¡°impossible tasks.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not yet nine o¡¯clock, so everyone can use an hour to speak freely.¡± Qin Ci folded the paper of phone numbers in his hand. ¡°Since it isn¡¯t easy to start with this world, we can start with the, painting first.¡±

    .

    ¡°This is a good idea.¡± Zhao Yanbao nodded. ¡°At the art gallery, we were looking at the painting carefully and even had a discussion about it. Now, we might as well talk about what we think of the painting. This might prove useful.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao turned her gaze to Su Benxin, looking forward to the art gallery owner¡¯s remarks the most.

    Su Benxin pursed her lips slightly and took the initiative to speak. ¡°If you put aside the content of the picture, what do you think of the words scarlet beast?¡±

    No one spoke because no one understood the special meaning of these words.

    Wei Dong was the first to start. ¡°If we say these words alone, my first thought is a red horse.¡±

    Lion said, ¡°I think it¡¯s a red lion.¡±

    Zhi Chun said, ¡°I think it¡¯s a huge red rhino hippopotamus or something like that.¡±

    Other people ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°The Japanese writer Yukio Mishima has a famous novel called Thirst For Love. I don¡¯t know if anyone has read it?¡± Su Benxin asked.

    Very few people have read this book. Only a few people had heard of it, and Chi Lei was one of the few who had actually read it.

    Chi Lei asked, ¡°What does this book have to do with the painting?¡±

    Su Benxin¡¯s skin still looked white and wless under the bright light. ¡°It is said that Thirst For Love had another name before it was published. The editorial department wasn¡¯t satisfied with the original name and so it was changed to Thirst For Love.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What was it called before?¡±

    ¡°The Scarlet Beast.¡±

    Because the name of the painting was too simr, it was impossible to tell whether it was idental or nned.

    ¡°What¡¯s the book about?¡± someone asked.

    Chi Lei also didn¡¯t know how to summarize the book. ¡°Probably, a woman¡¯s life experience with love.¡±

    ¡°Or rather, abnormal love.¡± It was Xiao Qinxian who spoke this time.

    ¡°Have you all read the book?¡± Lion asked.

    Xiao Qinxian said, ¡°I¡¯m just curious about how a woman would be portrayed in Yukio Mashima¡¯s work. I have only read this single book of his.¡±

    Ke Xun whispered to Mu Yiran in a low voice, ¡°I remember this Japanese writer is¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Yiran nodded his head.

    I haven¡¯t finished yet¡­Yes, this Japanese writer seems to be gay.

    ¡°Why do you say abnormal love?¡± Qin Ci asked. It appeared that he¡¯d never read any of this writer¡¯s work before. ¡°The more detailed the content, the more it might help us.¡±

    The three women who had read this book¨CSu Benxin, Chi Lei, and Xiao Qinxian¨Cnced at each other and reached an agreement. Su Benxin would tell everyone.

    ¡°The heroine in the book is called Etsuko. She personally killed the two men she loved due to her desperation for love.¡± Su Benxin¡¯s voice became clearer as the light gradually dimmed.

    The restaurant was about to close. Everyone cherished thest light and felt a sense of collective warmth.

    ¡°Etsuko really loved her husband, Ryosuke, but due to his fickleness, she soon fell into jealousy after their marriage and was full of suffering. Later, her husband suffered from severe typhoid fever, and he was relegated to bedrest, living on a respirator. She was left to take care of him, and that kind of care could be said to have made her both ecstatic and greedy. Because, Etsuko felt that only at this time did she really have a husband. The original text emphasized this by saying ¡®Etsuko could not deny how insatiable, how senseless, the extent of her happiness was. Unexpectedly, this miserable happiness had returned to her.¡±

    ¡°But a word from the doctor shattered Etsuko¡¯s happiness-¡®The patient may be saved.¡¯ Her? husband was soon regaining health and vitality, but this was not the result that Etsuko wanted. So, she unplugged her husband¡¯s respirator and watched as he died a painful death.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help asking. ¡°Since she loved him and was willing to take care of him, why would she kill him in the end?¡±

    Su Benxin¡¯s gaze became a bit misty and her expression also turned somewhat peculiar. ¡°This is indeed very puzzling. I can only use Etsuko¡¯s exnation in the book: ¡®Rather than have that kind of unreliable happiness, I would rather have attained a moment of true happiness. At this moment, I feel that, instead of waiting for my husband¡¯s unreliable nature, I would rather see him dead. However, my husband¡¯s body is still alive, in the process of betraying me¡­The memories of jealousy have resuscitated.¡±

    Everyone chewed on these words, as if they could understand, but they didn¡¯t understand at all.

    ¡°This woman is terrible.¡± Wei Dong took a sip of cold lemonade, feeling it washed cold and sour over his teeth.

    ¡°How did she kill the second man?¡± someone asked.

    ¡°The second man was Saburo, a country worker. This time, Etsuko¡¯s feelings were a little more hidden. It could even be said that it was just her wishful thinking, but she was very serious about it. The book spent a lot of time describing this feeling, this kind of indulgence brimming from the heart.¡± Su Benxin¡¯s voice was like a radio host from a night talk program, very empathetic. ¡°This exploration of the psyche of human nature, perhaps only Mashima Yukio would have the extraordinary talent to do it so well.¡±

    Just as someone was about to ask a question, Su Benxin suddenly said, ¡°I remember a paragraph that describes Etsuko¡¯s obsession with Saburo. It says¨C¡¯To her, his back was like a deep ocean, making her long to throw herself into it.¡¯ Although this is simr to people wanting tomit suicide by throwing themselves into the sea, what those people who threw themselves into the sea long for may not necessarily be death.¡±

    When Ke Xun heard this, the fingers he¡¯d ced on his legs moved a little. This description was indeed very attractive, both cruel and decisive, having the courage to throw caution to the wind.

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help himself; he cast a quick nce in Mu Yiran¡¯s direction, only to find that the other party was looking at Luo Wei, eyes half-lidded, before suddenly raising his lids and turning his gaze to the clock on the wall.

 Chapter 159: Red Tear Mole

    <h4>Chapter 159: Red Tear Mole</h4>

    Su Benxin¡¯s voice continued, ¡°¡­When Etsuko killed Saburo with a hoe, she said: He tormented me, and this end is the inevitable retribution for his torment of me. No one is allowed to torment me; no one can torment me.¡±

    With Su Benxin¡¯s words, two more lights went out in the dining room, giving the atmosphere the effect of being lit by candlelight.

    It was an unpleasant story.

    Wei Dong said, ¡°After talking for so long, we haven¡¯t even discussed the painting. What does this novel have to do with the painting?¡±

    ¡°What does the scarlet beast in the book refer to? If it is representative of Etsuko¡¯s heart, then there seems to be an exnation for that huge red mass on the canvas, looking like an internal organ,¡± Zhao Yanbao said.

    ¡°But where do we find such a heart? A heart that¡¯s 13,000 grams.¡± Zhi Chun looked at Qin Ci. ¡°A normal person¡¯s heart is only 250 grams.¡±

    Everyone grew quiet, until Luo Wei slowly got up. ¡°It¡¯s 10 o¡¯clock. It¡¯s bedtime.¡±

    Since matter had already been discussed to this stage, relying solely on imagination and spection made out of thin air would lead to nothing.

    Everyone stood up reluctantly, as if the dim dining table in front of them was the safest ce in the city.

    ¡°If there is a real danger, how should we handle it?¡± Yu Ji, the painter, asked with some hesitation.

    ¡°We¡¯ll wait for the right moment to beat it at its own game,¡± Qin Ci responded.

    These words might seem effective at any dangerous moments, but in a city being slowly swallowed by night, any advice seemed like scripted, empty words.

    They all reluctantly walked out of the restaurant one after another and went to their own residences.

    The street in the middle of the night was filled with the faint fragrance of flowers. Ke Xun looked at the snow-white flowered tree on the side of the street and said, ¡°The temperature here is simr to that outside the painting so I always thought that it was still autumn, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be spring in the painting.¡±

    Looking at the snow-white flowers on the tree, it looked like spring magnolia. The blossoming white flowers were particrly gorgeous in the dark night.

    This blossoming tree was a surprise in the painting.

    Ke Xun stood under the tree, not moving. However, Mu Yiran didn¡¯t insist on going forward either; it seemed that he wanted to stay and enjoy the flowers together.

    The hospital and the detective office were a little bit further away, and so two groups of people walked out along the street, the staggered streetmps turning their shadows messy.

    Wei Dong, Luo Wei, and Lion weren¡¯t in the mood to enjoy flowers, and so they went back to the police dormitory first. However, Xiao Qinxian did not rush back; instead, she lit up a cigarette in front of the police station.

    It was said that women who smoke often had stories to tell, but the story of Etsuko they¡¯d heard about earlier had made the stories of the woman next to them seem warm and ordinary inparison.

    Mu Yiran and Ke Xun stood under the magnolia tree, not caring if this woman had anything to say.

    ¡°This time is different from the past,¡± Mu Yiran opened his hand and caught arge snow-white petal in his palm. ¡°Before, whether it was a vige, a farm, or a bungalow, there was a clear range. But this time, there was no focus.¡±

    13 people were scattered into three residences, which was something that had never happened before.

    ¡°The characters in the whole city all seemed very real, whether it is the policeman in the police station or the waiter in the restaurant earlier.¡± Ke Xun thought back carefully to the paintings he¡¯d experienced in the past. ¡°If you consider it deeply, only those people in the Spring Bamboo Apartment have this same kind of realism.¡±

    ¡°Like this, there are probably only two possibilities. One is that the painting has jumped a rank, thus gradually increasing inplexity and difficulty. This unusualness might possibly be concerning.¡±

    Ke Xun listened to Mu Yiran¡¯s words and thought for a moment. ¡°In the Spring Bamboo Apartment, the Elephant Art Museum was built directly on the ruins of the tube building. Under the influence of the painting, it was possible that some kind of ¡®field¡¯ was created. But this time, the city in front of us is obviously different from the third-tier old city where the Benxin Art Gallery is located.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Xiao Qinxian standing nearby, her thin figure looking a little lonely with the cigarettes at her fingertips lingering in the backlight of the streetmp.

    ¡°The difficulty of the painting is increasing,¡± Ke Xun concluded.

    ¡°As soon as I entered Benxin Art Gallery, I felt that something was a little off.¡± This was something that Mu Yiran wasn¡¯t entirely certain about, and before meeting Ke Xun, admitting such things was absolutely impossible. ¡°In previous art museums, people were drawn in batches, all with strong randomness.¡±

    Indeed, at the beginning, it was this unfortunate randomness that resulted in Ke Xun and Wei Dong being chosen. Since there were two people missing in the painting, the two people who happened to walk into the hall were immediately added.

    ¡°Yiran, do you mean that this time, the painting is selecting people?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Except for Su Benxin and Lion, both of whom camest, the remaining 11 people were already in front of the painting The Scarlet Beast for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that the painting was only looking for people interested in it?¡± Ke Xun felt as if the painting¡¯s ability was improving. This time, its behavior was undoubtedly that of a predator selecting its prey.

    ¡°Or perhaps there is a certain type of people that it is more interested in.¡± Mu Yiran looked at Xiao Qinxian¡¯s solitary figure and watched as she stamped out the cigarette butt and walked back into the police station by herself.

    Although there were street lights, the street still revealed a boundless darkness that was like a cosmic void.

    The detective office and the central hospital weren¡¯t far from the police station, a mere 10-minute walk.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go in as well. After 11 o¡¯clock, things can be hard to handle.¡± Ke Xun brushed off therge petals that had fallen on his head and tilted his head to look at Mu Yiran. ¡°It¡¯s not like our dormitory offers hot water 24 hours.¡±

    Mu Yiran narrowed his eyes and walked back side by side with Ke Xun.

    ¡°What did you observe from Luo Wei?¡± Ke Xun suddenly asked.

    Mu Yiran was silent for a moment, and then slowly said, ¡°Luo Wei has done some things that aren¡¯t normal.¡±

    Ke Xun recalled carefully. ¡°You mean, taking the initiative to borrow a pen and paper from the restaurant¡¯s service desk? And taking the initiative to help everyone turn on a lot of lights for illumination? He¡¯s being too proactive and thoughtful?¡±

    Now that he thought about it, it was true.

    Before Li Yaqing¡¯s death, Luo Wei wasn¡¯t the kind of person that would try to handle everything. Although he had the meticulous logic unique to top students, he wasn¡¯t good at these detailed considerations. After Li Yaqing¡¯s death, he was more quiet. This kind of Luo Wei would be even less likely to serve everyone soprehensively.

    Mu Yiran affirmed Ke Xun¡¯s statement. ¡°In addition to this, he was also carefully observing everyone¡¯s expressions, which was really uncharacteristic of him.¡±

    Ke Xun felt that this didn¡¯t seem to bode well at all, but he didn¡¯t know where to start in trying to understand the whole thing. ¡°Do you think that Luo Wei¡¯s abnormality is passive or active?

    Although everyone¡¯s lives were equal, Ke Xun didn¡¯t want anything to happen to a veteran member¨CLuo Wei and the others had already experienced near-death once, and so they were already brothers.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was light, but he patted Ke Xun¡¯s shoulder lightly and said, ¡°Dr. Qin said to wait for the right moment to beat it at its own game.¡±

    ¡°Mmn.¡±

    No one was using the bathroom at the moment, so Ke Xun told Mu Yiran to wash first and went to Wei Dong¡¯s room next door.

    Luo Wei was sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping his hair with a towel. Meanwhile, Wei Dong had pulled Lion into a conversation¨C ¡°¡­Don¡¯t go into art design¡­Really, no matter how I searched on Baidu, I was pigeon headed so many times. That raptor¡¯s eyes, the grip. At that time, I bit the corner of the towel and endured it for three hours¡­In the end, the client chose to use Adolf Hitler¡¯s painting on the signboard¡­Don¡¯t be an art designer. Listen, buddy, open a gym instead and stay home. Don¡¯t do art design!¡±

    Ke Xun stepped forward, crossed the broad body of his international friend, and directly touched Wei Dong¡¯s forehead. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Seems like he¡¯s just drunk.¡±

    Lion smiled kindly. ¡°Dongzi is really drunk this time¡­He tasted half a ss of cocktail in the restaurant.¡±

    ¡°Not that much. Although Dongzi¡¯s tolerance for alcohol isn¡¯t toorge, it¡¯s not a problem for him to drink 42 to 52 percent white wine.¡±

    ¡°I called the hospital apartment just now. That painter named Yu Ji drank a beer and is now drunk.¡± Luo Wei stood up shirtless and closed the window. Because he had no change of clothes, such as work clothes, he could only wrap a white bath towel around his waist.

    .

    ¡°When you guys are done, I¡¯lle over for a bit,¡± Luo Wei told Ke Xun.

    ¡°Sure, but put on pants first.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Although the dormitory was simple, it was still clean and tidy.

    After bathing, there were no pajamas to change into, so Ke Xun and Mu Yiran ended up putting on their police uniform pants for the time being. Meanwhile, Luo Wei had to pitifully change back to his daytime clothes.

    ¡°Is everyone asleep?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°The two in my room are asleep. The light in the girl¡¯s room next door is still on.¡± As Luo Wei spoke, his eyes were fixed on the twopanions in front of him. ¡°Can you see the tear mole at the corner of her eye?¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Ke Xun asked rhetorically.

    ¡°The girl next door, Xiao Qinxian,¡± Luo Wei raised his voice.

    ¡°Tear mole? I didn¡¯t notice it, did you?¡± Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran, who was sitting across from the bed and saw the denial in his expression.

    Luo Wei gestured toward his own face with his hand. ¡°Just under the corner of the right eye. It¡¯s about the size of a red soybean.¡±

    Mu Yiran said with certainty. ¡°I didn¡¯t see it.¡±

    A tear mole the size of a soybean ought to be quite obvious.

    Luo Wei sat on the edge of Ke Xun¡¯s bed with his elbows on his knees. He gently touched his forehead with his hand. ¡°Not only Xiao Qinxian, many people have it.¡±

    This sentence, when said in the middle of the night, made people feel a little creepy. Ke Xun¡¯s heart tightened. ¡°You mean tear mole? Who has it? Did you see it?¡±

    ¡°Not only tear mole, but some people have other red marks on their faces, like birthmarks, and most of them are on the forehead.¡± Luo Wei¡¯s hand moved to a spot on his forehead above his right eyebrow. ¡°For example, in this position, there is a red birthmark the size of a bean.¡±

    ¡°You saw this?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°Yes, in the dining room earlier.¡±

    ¡°You turned on all the lights as an excuse to see these clearly?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Luo Wei wasn¡¯t surprised that Mu Yiran saw through him. ¡°When I turned on the lights, I was able to see more clearly that there were all kinds of red marks on those people¡¯s faces.¡±

    At this moment, Ke Xun, who was close to Luo Wei, couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Is there also something on my face?¡±

    <strong>Xida:?</strong>I¡¯ve been pretty busytely and will be even more so this weekend and for most of next week. Therefore, I¡¯ll be taking a week-long break. Hopefully, I¡¯ll be back to posting normally again by next weekend.

 Chapter 160: Mark

    <h4>Chapter 160: Mark</h4>

    Ke Xun felt Luo Wei¡¯s eyes observing him like a high-precision scanner, until finally, Luo Wei concluded, ¡°No, you don¡¯t have it on your face.¡±

    ¡°Then, what about Yiran?¡±

    ¡°Neither did he.¡± His eyes swept across Mu Yiran lightly, and it seemed that he had carefully observed the other party.

    Although he still couldn¡¯t figure out what those red marks were, Ke Xun was still relieved. At least in the face of unknown danger, Mu Yiran was the same as himself.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran became silent, waiting quietly for Luo Wei to reveal what he saw.

    ¡°Some people were like the two of you. Their faces were the same. But the others¡­¡± Luo Wei¡¯s voice became slightly hoarse.

    ¡°Xiao Qinxian was the first person I saw bearing red marks. Just after we went back to our dorm in the afternoon, I found that there was an obvious red mole under her eye. Although I hadn¡¯t been paying careful attention to her before, it seems that this red mole appeared all of a sudden, and it was a red that could swallow all surrounding colors.¡±

    Although Ke Xun didn¡¯t see this red with his own eyes, he could imagine that this red was the same color as the red dress of the little girl in ¡°Schindler¡¯s List.¡±

    Luo Wei said with a sneer, ¡°Probably Xiao Qinxian noticed that I was looking too inquisitively at her, so she began to be suspicious and disgusted towards me.¡±

    ¡°What about the others?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°In the restaurant, I discovered that Chi Lei and Zhi Chun had red marks of different sizes on their foreheads. At that time, it wasn¡¯t until I saw Dr. Qin¡¯s forehead that I realized something was wrong.¡±

    ¡°Qin Ci?¡± Ke Xunpletely didn¡¯t expect Qin Ci to also be included.

    ¡°Yes, half of Dr. Qin¡¯s forehead was covered by something like a dark red birthmark. It looked very old and it was a deep, heavy red, different from the other people¡¯s red.¡± Luo Wei touched his own forehead subconsciously. ¡°Most of the other people¡¯s marks were bright red, attached to their forehead, but only Xiao Qinxian is under the eyes.¡±

    It took a long time for Ke Xun to regain his senses, all because he heard Qin Ci¡¯s name.

    ¡°Who else?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°Zhu Haowen¡¯s eyebrows had a bright red spot like a red bean, Yu Ji¡¯s was above his forehead. It looked like a willow leaf, and the color was darker,¡± Luo Wei recalled carefully. ¡°If I have paper and a pen, I should be able to sketch a rough copy of these marks.¡±

    Mu Yiran wasn¡¯t in a hurry to take out a pen and papers, and seemed to want to straighten things out first. ¡°ording to what you just said, the order is Xiao Qinxian, Zhi Chun, Chi Lei, Qin Ci, Zhu Haowen, Yu Ji, these six people?¡±

    Luo Wei¡¯s voice was a little low as he said, ¡°There¡¯s one more.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Me.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes showed a bit of surprises.

    Luo Wei¡¯s fingers never left their position on his right forehead. ¡°It¡¯s here. It¡¯s about the size of arge bean, and it¡¯s darker than the others but slightly brighter than Dr. Qin¡¯s.¡±

    Ke Xun approached Luo Wei and studied the ce he was pointing to for a long time. However, he couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°Why is it that only you can see them?¡± His eyes seemed to have been covered by a red screen.

    ¡°Probably because I¡¯m the only outsider in the city,¡± Luo Wei answered.

    ¡°But why would people outside the city also have red marks on their foreheads?¡± Ke Xun said. Then he asked, ¡°When did you discover it?¡±

    ¡°When I looked in the bathroom mirror, I saw it. I was taken aback because I didn¡¯t expect that I would have it too.¡± Luo Wei slowly got up, walked over to the window, stuck his head out, and found that Xiao Qinxian¡¯s window was still lit. Then he turned around and leaned against the window. Under the light, his face was bright and clean¨Cat least to the eyes of the ¡°city people.¡±

    ¡°If I have to guess, it should have started from the moment I got the outsider certificate. Unfortunately, my mood waspletely wrapped up in my special identity and I wasn¡¯t paying attention to the faces of the people around me,¡± Luo Wei spected. ¡°The red marks on our faces shouldn¡¯t havee on suddenly. They should have been on our faces since entering the painting. It was just that only outsiders stamped with the seal of ¡°Outsider of Heart City¡± could see them.¡±

    The three of them couldn¡¯t analyze the existence of the red marks. However, it was certain that these red marks were rted to the scarlet beast.

    ¡°There are 13 people in total. Seven of them have red marks, and there are three workces.¡± Mu Yiran took out a pen and paper and made a simple record. After that, he handed the pen and paper over to Luo Wei and asked him to draw from memory the shape and location of each person¡¯s red marks. They could not be certain whether these red marks would change tomorrow or whether those with clean faces tonight would suddenly grow suspicious red marks tomorrow.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t expect Luo Wei to have some basic skills in painting, such that he could even grasp the facial proportions and features of the person he was drawing. Thus, he was startled to find traces of Qin Ci¡¯s face gradually appearing on the paper. Although he was using a pen, the color red itself could be envisioned by human imagination. As such, Qin Ci¡¯s red mark had spread all over thest half of his forehead and had even encroached to the area around the left eye.

    ¡°His color was the darkest, almost a ck red. Yu Ji¡¯s color was also dark, and so was mine.¡± Luo Wei drew thest face, which was his own. ¡°It could be said that we three belonged to the dark red category while the remaining four belonged to the bright red category.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s mood was veryplicated at this time, due to seeing the most serious red marks on Qin Ci¡¯s face. He constantly felt like something was blocking his heart, feeling worried and distressed. Then looking at Luo Wei, who was drawing with focus, he also felt distress. But at the same time, he also couldn¡¯t help but admire his calmness.

    When they were assigned work in the afternoon, Luo Wei,beled as a foreigner ¡°outside the Heart City district¡± must have felt a sense of loneliness simr to being abandoned by the world. Even when he asked the old policeman and everyone questions, no one could hear him.

    Those red marks were like a conspiracy he¡¯d discovered, and only he could see them. However, while spying on these secrets, he also saw the red marks on his own face in the mirror.

    It was like a satirical painting. As an outsider clearly relegated to a ¡°bystander¡±, he was unavoidably contaminated by the red dust of Heart City.

    Ke Xun felt a little depressed. He stretched out his hand and touched Luo Wei¡¯s forehead based on the mapping on the paper. The cryptic red mark felt no different from skin. ¡°Does it feel any different here?¡±

    ¡°No difference.¡± Luo Wei smiled lightly. ¡°But now that I¡¯ve seen it, I always felt as if that small piece of skin is no longer my own.¡±

    This kind of psychological change was normal.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°I still can¡¯t figure out what the criteria are, and whether the difference between those with red marks and those without were chosen by the painting or were predestined.¡±

    ¡°I think it must have something to do with the heart.¡± Luo Wei used the pen to lightly shade in the marks. ¡°These traces may lead to the heart.¡±

    Both Ke Xun and Mu Yiran agreed with this statement, but they couldn¡¯t figure out the internal rtionships and so they couldn¡¯t say it too thoroughly.

    The clock on the table was pointing to 12 o¡¯clock, and Luo Wei got ready to leave. ¡°I¡¯ve only told you both about these things. Although I shouldn¡¯t hide it from everyone, I¡¯m afraid it will cause unnecessary panic.¡±

    There definitely would be panic, and perhaps some people might use it as a reason to turn on each other. After all, everyone¡¯s task was to find enough crimson beasts and these people with red marks may be mistaken for crimson beasts.

    Just because Luo Wei had looked at Xiao Qinxian a few times, he was rejected by her by all means, not to mention this kind of serious differences. If these suspicions caused internal division, it would be difficult to leave the painting.

    ¡°No, I have to tell Qin Ci and Haowen¡¯er about this. Even though we don¡¯t know how they can take precautions, at least they can be more careful tonight.¡± Ke Xun scratched his head. ¡°Especially Qin Ci.¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t speak, but he cooperatively took out the piece of paper with phone numbers on it.

    Luo Wei had already stood up and was ready to leave. ¡°You can consider the rest. It¡¯s gettingte.¡±

    When Luo Wei opened the door and came out, he found Xiao Qinxian¡¯s figure in the hallway. She was wearing a white forensicb coat and was leaning against the wall, smoking.

    Luo Wei looked at her, not nning to speak.

    Xiao Qinxian took the initiative to speak. ¡°I answered a call just now.¡±

    Luo Wei stopped and looked at her questioningly.

    ¡°The other party was silent.¡± Xiao Qinxian was a little annoyed, and she ran one hand through her hair, messing up the mushroom style, ¡°I unplugged the phone line. Howe we don¡¯t even have caller ID on the phones here? I can only pull it out and try to calm down.¡±

    ¡°Have you calmed down?¡± Luo Wei asked. ¡°If you¡¯re afraid, just squeeze in with us.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian lit a cigarette. ¡°No, I¡¯ve been lucky since I was a child.¡±

    Luo Wei squinted at the ¡°lucky one¡± holding her cigarette. The eye-catching red mole was like a drop of blood on her face.

    ¡­¡­¡­

    Ke Xun dialed Qin Ci¡¯s number and heard a familiar voice on the other end of the phone. ¡°You haven¡¯t slept yet?¡±

    Suddenly, he felt very cordial. He didn¡¯t know when these friends who he¡¯d experienced paintings with had be like family.

    ¡°Can¡¯t sleep. You¡¯re the only one in your room?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a special treatment for the chief physician.¡± Qin Ci smiled bitterly.

    ¡°Luo Wei came over just now, and he saw some strange things¡­¡± Ke Xun briefly exined the red marks.

    There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Qin Ci¡¯s voice sounded after a while, ¡°We can talk about it in the morning and use a pen to draw along the edges of the red mark, so that it would be easier to observe any subtle changes.¡±

    ¡°¡­Let¡¯s not talk about changes now. I just want to remind you to be careful.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Judging from the tone of the old policeman, a surgeon is needed here, and so a doctor¡¯s life shouldn¡¯t be sought out so early.¡± Like a big brother, Qin Ciforted Ke Xun in response.

    ¡°Take a scalpel with you when you go to bed, just in case you need it.¡±

    ¡°Mmn, that¡¯s a good idea.¡±

    Ke Xun put down the phone and was absentminded for a while before dialing Zhu Haowen.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± The other party seemed to have fallen asleep.

    Ke Xun briefly exined his purpose, and the other party asked the exact location. ¡°There¡¯s a red spot between the eyebrows? The location is too terrible.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so be careful.¡±

    ¡°I happen to have a small medicine box here.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­Okay.¡±

    Ke Xun hung up the phone and looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°They¡¯re both pretty optimistic.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    <b>Xida: </b>I¡¯ve changed Xincheng to its literal trantion, which is Heart City.

 Chapter 161: Jadeite Stone

    <h4>Chapter 161: Jadeite Stone</h4>

    The night seemed extraordinarily long.

    ¡°It¡¯s weird that Dongzi got drunk. If Yu Ji wasn¡¯t drinking, he probably wouldn¡¯t have taken the initiative to drink alcohol either.¡± Ke Xun and Mu Yiran had already turned off the lights andid down in bed. They had both lost interest in wearing uniforms and ¡°sleeping well,¡± and now they were each lying in their own single bed.

    ¡°At least alcohol doesn¡¯t differentiate between those with the red marks and those without.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice sounded particrly good in the dark night, reminding Ke Xun of the snow-white magnolia tree in the middle of the night.

    ¡°Mmn. Dongzi doesn¡¯t have red marks and Yu Ji does. They both got drunk after drinking alcohol.¡± Still, Ke Xun wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s not drink alcohol in the future, just in case.¡±

    ¡°These neers, there¡¯s something elusive about them.¡± Mu Yiran looked at the faint moonlight outside the window. ¡°Such as Xiao Qinxian and Su Benxin. I thought Su Benxin would have red marks.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°No reason, just intuition.¡±

    ¡°That woman should have a story.¡± Ke Xun turned over. ¡°If there¡¯s a chance, we can ask Lion.¡±

    ¡°Mmn.¡±

    ¡°Have you read that book? <i>The Scarlet Beast</i>.¡± Ke Xun realized that they had never talked about their reading experiences or anything like that.

    ¡°No,¡± Mu Yiran confessed frankly. ¡°But I have read the author¡¯s The Golden Pavilion and Confessions of a Mask.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Ke Xun gave a momentary pause. ¡°So Yiran also read that book, the book of awakening.¡±

    Confessions of a Mask was about Yukio Mishima¡¯s sexual awakening, and Ke Xun had heard many insiders talk about it.

    ¡°Actually, The Golden Pavilion is better.¡± Mu Yiran paused after he said this, and then suddenly realized that he couldn¡¯t say how good this work was. It seemed that the things he had affirmed before had changed: the ultimate beauty, the ultimate goodness, the extreme of extremes were no longer so attractive.

    In his heart, that once insignificant dust-like thing, it was unknown when it had be full and rich, its existence as simple as oxygen.

    The best thing in the world was to have a ce where you could rest your body and mind. Even in a painting.

    Night in the painting passed by quietly, like a huge hourss filled with ck sand.

    ¡­¡­¡­

    In the early morning, the harsh sound of a telephone ringing woke everyone up. The old-fashioned telephone rang with the courage to tear up the sky.

    On the other end of the phone was Qin Ci¡¯s voice, which was short and low, ¡°Something¡¯s happened to Zhi Chun.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°We¡¯ll rush over immediately.¡±

    People from the other two rooms also rushed into their room, apparently all woken up and attracted by the ringing of the telephone. Ke Xun put down the receiver and was about to say ¡®Let¡¯s head to the central hospital immediately¡¯, when the phone made a deafening ring again, startling them. The caller was as expressionless as usual: ¡°Chi Lei is dead.¡±

    It was Zhu Haowen who called. Ke Xun replied, ¡°Got it. Zhi Chun at the hospital also had an ident.¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Zhao Yanbao called the police immediately, and the other party said that the criminal police and the forensic doctor will be here soon.¡±

    .¡­¡­.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were the criminal police officers, Xiao Qinxian and Lion were forensic doctors, and Wei Dong was temporarily transferred from the household registration department.

    When Chu Zhiyong arranged these tasks, Luo Wei stood to the side. Since the old policeman didn¡¯t mention him, he simply listened.

    Chu Zhiyong had turned a blind eye to Luo Wei, and this kind of blindness was not the kind that regarded people as air. Luo Wei, an outsider, would likely not surprise Chu Zhiyong no matter where he appeared.

    Leading the new police officers was actually a forensic doctor in his 40s, surnamed Zhao.

    Forensic Dr. Zhao was thin and quiet. More often than not, he would walk silently behind everyone.

    The group of seven quickly arrived at the Choujian Detective Office. In front of them was a uniquely designed garden vi with bedrooms on the second floor.

    Zhu Haowen was already waiting in front of the vi. He wasn¡¯t surprised by the arrival of several of hispanions in police uniforms. ¡°This morning, Zhao Yanbao knocked on the door and asked Chi Lei to have breakfast, but no one responded, so she pushed the door open, went in, and discovered her.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian was the first to ask, ¡°How did she die?¡±

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s face was pale. Since she had heard that people had died in the morning, her face had been as pale as a wall.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell from the surface. Zhao Yanbao said that her heart had been bad since she was a child. Maybe she fell illst night.¡± Zhu Haowen led everyone to the second floor.

    The office decorations were very exquisite. The colors used were very refined and elegant Morandi colors, full of all kinds of pure white khaki and high-grade gray.

    There were exactly three rooms, as if they had been arranged in advance for three ¡°workers¡± to stay in.

    Zhao Yanbao stood in front of the door of the middle bedroom, her eyes red-rimmed, as if she had just cried. ¡°When I found her, she was already cold.¡±

    Forensic Dr. Zhao had already put on his forensic gloves and mask, and he led the two ¡°apprentices¡± into the room.

    Meanwhile, Ke Xun and the others avoided the door for a while and sat on the cold lotus gray couch.

    .

    It was unknown if it was due to the ident or theyout of the room, but everyone felt a slight chill, the kind of chill that was even worse than a spring chill.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you get cold at night?¡± Wei Dong fastened the top button of his police uniform and looked at Zhao Yanbao, who was standing on the side. He felt that it was rude toin about the temperature at this moment, and so he added, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that people with bad hearts tend to be very afraid of the cold.¡±

    Zhu Haowen turned on the central air conditioner with the remote control. ¡°Last night, Chi Lei had the heater on all night, and it was still warm this morning.¡±

    Everyone became silent.

    Mu Yiran asked Zhao Yanbao. ¡°Has her heart problem always been serious?¡±

    Zhao Yanbao lowered her eyes and didn¡¯t look at Mu Yiran. ¡°She had congenital heart disease and so she had been in poor health since she was a child. Once, emergency rescue had to be carried out and they were able to pull her back from the hands of death.¡±

    This was the first time the veteran members had encountered such a thing as a natural death in the painting.

    After a while, Dr. Zhao came out of the room and took off his mask and gloves. ¡°The cause of death was due to heart failure. It is estimated that the time of death was about 1:00-3:00 in the early morning.¡±

    ¡°Did she die in pain?¡± Zhao Yanbao asked.

    Dr. Zhao didn¡¯t answer. It was uncertain if he didn¡¯t know or if he just didn¡¯t want to say it. Instead, he just said, ¡°My condolences.¡±

    Everyone remained silent, not knowing what to say, much less how tofort Zhao Yanbao.

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯splexion was a little rosier than before, probably because she understood and was reassured by the cause of Chi Lei¡¯s death. To be born, to grow old, to get sick and die, these were natural aspects of life. At least, it wasn¡¯t due to some evil ident.

    Dr. Zhao took out a stack of documents from his briefcase. ¡°As the rtives and friends of the deceased, you need to sign the Corpse Handling Determination form.

    Zhao Yanbao took the documents with some doubts. She looked at the dense text but wasn¡¯t in the mood to read them. ¡°What does this mean? Can you briefly exin it please?¡±

    ¡°This requires that the 11 of you reach a final consensus on whether to remove the beast or not, with the majority ruling over the minority.¡± Dr. Zhao¡¯s expression was calm, as if he was exining something very ordinary.

    ¡°Remove the beast?¡± Zhao Yanbao thought that she¡¯d heard it wrong. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°She has a beast in her body, which can either be taken out or be buried with the body. We will respect your choice,¡± Dr. Zhao said.

    ¡°In her body? There is a beast in her body?¡± This time, it was Xiao Qinxian who expressed horror. ¡°How do you know there¡¯s a beast in her body?¡±

    ¡°Her corpse had marks of the beast on her forehead. You haven¡¯t gone in to look at her yet?¡±

    Xiao Qinxian murmured, ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to take a closer look¡­¡±

    As everyone fell into a state of collective panic, Mu Yiran picked up the Corpse Handling Determination Book. ¡°It is mentioned here that beasts canst forever. It could be kept in the body, taken out for the family to keep as a souvenir, or donated to the public. I want to know, what exactly is the status of a beast from a legal perspective? Simr to organs?¡±

    ¡°Are you new to Heart City?¡±

    Wei Dong whispered, ¡°We just got here yesterday.¡±

    Forensic Dr. Zhao nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Beasts are unique to our Heart City. If you find it difficult to understand, you might as well think of it like¡­a centa. After a pregnant woman gives birth, the family can either take the centa away or leave it to the hospital. It¡¯s not difficult to understand; it¡¯s as simple as that.¡±

    ¡°This matter isn¡¯t so simple, especially the fact that there¡¯s a ¡°beast¡± in one¡¯s body. This in itself is uneptable.¡±

    Dr. Zhao seemed to have felt that his job was over. As he was about to leave, he looked at his two ¡°colleagues¡± wearing white coats like himself and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t your task to collect beasts? There¡¯s one readily avable right here.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Xiao Qinxian opened her mouth for a long time but didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The scar from the removal of the beast is barely noticeable and won¡¯t affect her appearance.¡± Dr. Zhao¡¯s focus never seemed to be on the same frequency as everyone else. He patted Lion on the shoulder. ¡°There is still a lot of work for you in the future. You can do it.¡±

    Lion¡¯s expression was a little nk. ¡°Oh¡­what work?¡±

    ¡°What can you two do?¡±

    ¡°What can I do?¡± Lion shrugged. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just a photographer. What can I do?¡±

    ¡°Take pictures of the deceased.¡± Dr. Zhao looked calmly at Xiao Qinxian. ¡°You can design her clothes. Unmarried girls must be dressed beautifully.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s face turned pale once again. ¡°I, I¡¯m a wedding dress designer.¡±

    Dr. Zhao took it for granted. ¡°This is also an old rule in our Heart City. Unmarried people will have to wear wedding dresses when they die and are buried. You can design a wedding dress for her.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    After exining this, Dr. Zhao picked up his briefcase and left in a hurry.

    No one went to see him off. But Xiao Qinxian suddenly thought of something and chased after him with a pale face. ¡°Wait, wait a minute!¡±

    Dr. Zhao stopped in the living room on the first floor and saw the thin girling to a stop in front of him, her eyes shing with a light that wasn¡¯t there moments ago. ¡°How much does the beast in the deceased weigh? How many kilograms? How many grams?¡±

    ¡°This is something I don¡¯t know. Even the gods may not be able to predict this.¡± Dr. Zhao smiled and shook his head. ¡°To use an inappropriate analogy, it is like gambling on stones. No one can know how many jadeites it contains.¡±

 Chapter 162: Suicide

    <h4>Chapter 162: Suicide</h4>

    Zhao Yanbao looked at the Corpse Handling Determination documents on the table and was silent for a long time. Her entire figure was like a relief made out of a piece of bluestone. Half of her thoughts were hidden within the depths of the stone, while the other half protruded coldly. She seemed to have a kind of paradoxical loss of soul in a state of lucidity.

    Everyone had their own thoughts, but with the dead Chi Lei¡¯s cold body still upstairs, they were all too embarrassed to immediately express their opinions.

    As Chi Lei¡¯s closest person, Zhao Yanbao had the most moral grounds to speak.

    Wei Dong felt ufortable. Although he had experienced many deaths in his previous paintings, every time he saw fresh life disappear in an instant, he still felt a sense of despair.

    What made it even more confusing was that the crimson beast that everyone needed to find was actually in the body of the deceased. ording to Chinese traditions, this was a great disrespect to the deceased. ¡ªIf it were me, I would definitely not want others to do anything to the remains of close rtives and friends.

    Mu Yiran broke the silence. ¡°Although the cause of death has been determined to be a heart attack, we as the criminal police still have to investigate the scene. This is also the task given to us by the police station.¡±

    The tense and awkward atmosphere seemed to have been buffered. Zhao Yanbao whispered, ¡°Go on.¡±

    Mu Yiran and Ke Xun entered Chi Lei¡¯s dormitory, and the people waiting outside rxed a little. Zhu Haowen whispered to hispanions, ¡°What would you like something to drink? Maybe there¡¯s coffee downstairs?¡±

    Several people stood up almost at the same time, only Zhao Yanbao was still standing there, lost in thoughts. It would be inconvenient if they disturbed her, and so they all went downstairs with light steps.

    No one was in the mood to drink at this time, so Zhu Haowen immediately called Qin Ci. He asked what was going on over there on Qin Ci¡¯s end and then briefly exined what was going on at his end before hanging up the phone.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was on Zhu Haowen, and Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but ask first, ¡°You said that Zhi Chunmitted suicide?¡±

    ¡°Qin Ci said that he cut his wrist with a scalpel, and the time of death was between 1:00 and 3:00 in the morning.¡± Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t think this simr time of death was a coincidence.

    ¡°How was it determined a suicide? I remember that Zhi Chun and the painter lived in the same dormitory?¡± Luo Wei suddenly said.

    ¡°The forensic doctor and the criminal police had already been to the hospital, and the cause of death was confirmed to be a suicide.¡± Zhu Haowen poured a ss of water for everyone present. ¡°He said that this person¡¯s mood was normal before going to bed. Although he panicked about the unknown night, he did not show any feelings of despair or world-weariness.¡±

    Zhi Chun and Chi Lei, onemitted suicide with a scalpel while the other died of a heart attack, and they both died at about the same time.

    Whether suicide or death from illness, these seemed to have nothing to do with external forces¡ªthe veteran members had never experienced such ¡°natural¡± deaths in their previous paintings.

    ¡°There must be something going on here, and it¡¯s just that we can¡¯t guess it.¡± Wei Dong put his elbows on his knees and interlocked his fingers. ¡°At dinnerst night, these two people seemed quite normal.¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you drunkst night?¡± Luo Wei asked.

    ¡°It would be strange if I got drunk. When I was in the restaurant, I didn¡¯t feel anything. But the moment I came out, I started to feel dizzy. I guess it must be because it¡¯s spring. I have pollen allergies.¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t think he was drunk.

    ¡°Qin Ci said on the phone just now that Yu Ji was also drunk and fell asleep earlyst night, so he didn¡¯t notice anything unusual at night,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s useless to analyze these now,¡± Xiao Qinxian finally couldn¡¯t help but say. She looked at Zhu Haowen with inquiring eyes. ¡°Did Dr. Qin mention beasts on the phone just now? Did a red mark appear on Zhi Chun¡¯s face? A beast spot like Chi Lei? Has the forensic doctor issued Corpse Handling Determination documents?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gaze was fixed on Zhu Haowen, as if Xiao Qinxian had just asked what they were all too embarrassed to say out loud.

    Zhu Haowen was still expressionless as always. ¡°Zhi Chun¡¯s situation was simr to Chi Lei. Qin Ci and the others are waiting for all of us to meet so we can all discuss the solution.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s eyes shed again. ¡°In other words, he also has a beast in his body. This Zhi Chun came alone, right? He shouldn¡¯t have anypanions.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s naked expression was like a beast ready to snatch the corpses of herpanions at any time.

    She then said, ¡°Forensic Dr. Zhao also said earlier that we only need to follow the principle of the minority obeying the majority. Since we are in this city, we should abide by the rules of this city. Everyone can temporarily forget the social norms of our world.¡±

    Lion also expressed his position. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s disrespectful to the dead. The beast in the body should be removed. I don¡¯t think leaving it is a good thing.¡±

    No one said anything, and to Lion, it seemed as if they were silently affirming his statement.

    Lion continued, ¡°If this kind of thing happened to me, I would donate the beast without hesitation. I believe you will do the same, right?¡±

    Lion looked at Xiao Qinxian beside him.

    Xiao Qinxian didn¡¯t know what expression to use for a while. After all, this kind of assumption itself was very unlucky.

    A strange noise suddenly sounded from upstairs, and everyone carefully identified it, only to realize that it was actually Zhao Yanbao crying.

    Zhu Haowen was the first to get up and make his way to second floor, and everyone followed suit. Zhao Yanbao was someone who could bear things. Something must have happened just now to cause her to lose control so much.

    Only Xiao Qinxian sat still, her expression a little irritable.

    In the living room on the second floor, Zhao Yanbao was leaning on the sofa, still whimpering in a low voice. Ke Xun took a look around before taking out a tissue from under the coffee table and handing it to her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that she would havemitted suicide. There must be a conspiracy in it! This must be a conspiracy of the painting! It¡¯s the painting that killed her!¡± Zhao Yanbao¡¯s eyes were red with hatred.

    Luo Wei frowned and looked at Zhao Yanbao, but did not speak.

    Ke Xun exined to everyone, ¡°We found Chi Lei¡¯s suicide note in the drawer when we checked the dormitory.¡¯

    ¡°Suicide note?¡± Everyone was startled. ¡°So it wasn¡¯t due to Chi Lei¡¯s heart disease¡­?¡±

    Ke Xun nodded slowly. ¡°From the content of the suicide note, the deceased seemed to havemited suicide.¡±

    The suicide note had originally been ced in the table, but the entire paper was now in a transparent istion bag, presumably to protect against fingerprints.

    .

    There were only a few lines on the suicide note, and it was written in a very delicate style.

    Yanbao, please forgive my willfulness. I just wanted to seal myself in the most beautiful and in the best of times, just like amber.

    It was signed with four words: Chi Lei,st words.

    ¡°Was this her handwriting?¡± Mu Yiran also sat down on the sofa beside Zhao Yanbao.

    Zhao Yanbao nodded. ¡°That was her handwriting. She had struggled out from within the grasps of deaths several times and had never given up easily. I don¡¯t believe she would end her life hastily like this, and in such a ce, in such an unfamiliar world.¡±

    ¡°If this really is the doing of the painting, could it be by bewitching the soul?¡± Wei Dong was d that he¡¯d be drunkst night. With such a weak will like his, he would have been easily bewitched.

    ¡°But why choose these two people? There should be some death conditions. As the difficulty increases, it is unlikely that the painting would arbitrarily arrange deaths like this,¡± said Zhu Haowen, who paid the most attention to the rules. ¡°If it is the rule of bewitching the soul as you said, then the ones chosen to die would have weak willpower. But this itself is difficult to determine.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao wiped away her tears with a tissue. Raising her head, she said in a very firm tone, ¡°I have never thought that Chi Lei is a person with a weak will. She had been fighting against her disease for a long time. At the very least, her willpower was much stronger than mine.¡±

    Mu Yiran took out a pen and paper to record her words. After waiting a bit for Zhao Yanbao¡¯s mood to stabilize, he continued to ask, ¡°How was Chi Lei¡¯s condition before going to bedst night? Did she say anything that left an impression on you?¡±

    Zhao Yanbao thought back carefully. ¡°When the three of us walked back herest night, Chi Lei was the one who spoke the most. She said that, although this world is weird, she liked spring here very much.¡±

    Zhu Haowen nodded as a witness.

    ¡°After returning here, the three of us had a brief chat on the sofa, mainly to express our opinions on the crimson beast.¡± Zhao Yanbao wiped her eyes with a tissue. ¡°Chi Lei also said that although she was a little scared, she was very curious about the uing mystery of the game, and she really wanted tost all the way to the end, so that she could see the entire chessboard.¡±

    In other words, Chi Lei had no reason tomit suicide.

    Since Mu Yiran was silently taking notes, Ke Xun frowned slightly and continued to ask in a non-professional detective manner, ¡°What did Chi Lei talk about specifically when mentioning the crimson beast?¡±

    ¡°At the time, we weren¡¯t paying attention. I just remember Chi Lei saying that she could sometimes understand what the heroine Etsuko did¡­After that, we went off topic a little and talked about women¡¯s rights,¡± Zhao Yanbao said.

    Ke Xun looked at Zhu Haowen.

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Yes, I believe in women¡¯s rights and have always advocated for gender equality¡­¡±

    ¡°How did you go from Etsuko to women¡¯s rights? What brought on this change of topic?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    Zhao Yaobao and Zhu Haowen thought for a moment in silence, then Zhao Yanbao bit her lip and said, ¡°I remember we were talking about how The Crimson Beast was simr to A¡¯Ying, and we were saying that if these protagonists had changed from women to men, the story would have been very different.¡±

    As Ke Xun was wondering how A¡¯Ying came about, he heard Mu Yiran ask, ¡°Why did you suddenly think of A¡¯Ying? How did you make that connection?¡±

    ¡°Chi Lei said that the opening parts of these two works were very simr, depicting women¡¯s humiliation due to their gender.¡± Zhao Yanbao looked at Zhu Haowen. ¡°It seems that the title page of The Scarlet Beast also mentioned something simr?¡±

    Zhu Haowen recalled, ¡°Yes. Chi Lei said that there were some strange words on the title page of that book. She said there was a woman riding on a red beast, and she thought it was an abstract description of the heroine¡¯s lifetime of love, but itter morphed more and more into a symbol of female humiliation.¡±

    ¡°Is there such a beast in the book A¡¯Ying?¡± Wei Dong interjected with a question.

    ¡°A¡¯Ying is a movie. At the beginning of the movie, A¡¯Ying¡¯s mother was executed by being made to ride a wooden donkey as punishment for the crime of adultery. The executioner was A¡¯Ying¡¯s father,¡± Zhu Haowen exined.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­..¡±

    ¡°This was just an association we madest night, because both of these works showed women¡¯s deep sense of powerlessness, and so their resistance became fanciful and unreal,¡± Zhao Yanbao added. ¡°Whether it is the crimson beast or the punishment of riding a wooden donkey, it seems to be alluding to torturing women for the sin of sexuality.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s put aside this other work and focus on The Scarlet Beast. Only the people who had read this book knew what was originally written in the title page,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Therefore, when Xiao Qinxian slowly walked upstairs, everyone turned their gaze to stare at her.

 Chapter 163: Living Beast

    <h4>Chapter 163: Living Beast</h4>

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a waste of time.¡± Xiao Qinxian didn¡¯t have the heart to recall everything about the book and the title page. Her expression at this time seemed to disy some kind of bitter anguish. ¡°Our mission has already been rified, which is to find the scarlet beast! Now the answer has been revealed and those beasts are in the body of the deceased. I think we should hold a meeting to vote as soon as possible! Maybe¡­¡±

    Xiao Qinxian couldn¡¯t say the following words in front of Zhao Yanbao: Maybe Chi Lei and Zhi Chun¡¯s beasts would add up to 13 kilograms.

    Lion also said, ¡°I agree with Xiao¡¯s suggestion. We should gather to discuss this matter.¡±

    Mu Yiran drew a circle around the word ¡°title page¡± on the paper, and then said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for the police officers to arrive first. Someone needs to guard the body here.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian opened her mouth but said nothing in the end.

    Lion said, ¡°When they arrive, let¡¯s rush to the hospital to discuss this matter.¡±

    Ke Xun patted Luo Wei¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I have to go down to meet the two policemen and drink a ss of water.¡±

    When they went downstairs, Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen followed.

    The first floor had huge floor-to-ceiling windows and ss doors, showing the eucalyptus trees with gray-green leaves outside.

    Ke Xun pulled up a chair and sat in front of the ss window. ¡°I discussed it with Yiran just now, and we think everything should be disclosed to everyone. Although it¡¯s a bit risky, at least it¡¯s fair to all those who entered the painting.¡±

    Luo Wei said, ¡°I¡¯ve already saidst night that you can decide on this matter.¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Okay, we can talk about it at the meetingter. Anyway, everyone will know sooner orter.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°You can announce it to me first¡­¡±

    So Luo Wei told Wei Dong in simple terms that he could see the red marks on everyone¡¯s faces. When he heard this, Wei Dong¡¯s eyes reddened.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that you could see the red marks that would only appear after people die? Haowen¡¯er and Old Qin have it, and Old Qin has thergest and most obvious mark? The forensic doctor said that this mark indicates that there is a beast in the body, does this mean that there are beasts in their bodies?¡±

    Zhu Haowen nodded: ¡°I think that should be the case.¡±

    Wei Dong stared at Zhu Haowen¡¯s forehead carefully. ¡°Haowen, why is your heart so big? Luo Wei has seen your beast with his yang and yin eyes, just by looking at the red mark right there!¡±

    Zhu Haowen said that he knew this. Then he turned to Ke Xun and said, ¡°Is the mark on Chi Lei¡¯s body the same as Luo Wei described?¡±

    ¡°Go in and see for yourself.¡±

    Luo Wei said, ¡°I just recently discovered something new.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The others asked in unison.

    Luo Wei lowered his voice. ¡°The mark has also appeared on Zhao Yanbao¡¯s forehead, just earlier.¡±

    ¡°When?¡±

    ¡°When she discovered that Chi Lei hadmitted suicide, she let out a cry. When we rushed upstairs, I saw that there is now arge red mark on her forehead.¡±

    Everyone was a little horrified. How could these terrifying red marks still appear?

    ¡°Zhao Yanbao¡¯s change must have something to do with her emotions. The death of her friend was a big shock to her. After all, suicide is very different from dying from illness. Zhao Yanbao seems to be very concerned about this,¡± Ke Xun analyzed.

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that when Mu Yiran asked a question just now, he observed Zhao Yanbao so seriously.¡±

    As they were talking, two police officers came to the courtyard.

    With these two legal ¡°body guards,¡± everyone left the detective office more at ease.

    ¡°It¡¯s really strange. This is a suicide case, not a criminal case. Why do we still need to call the police to guard?¡± Wei Dong was puzzled.

    Ke Xun exined, ¡°When we called the police station earlier to ask for instructions, Old Chu said that all bodies with beasts should be strictly guarded to prevent them from being stolen by criminals.¡±

    Wei Dong heard this, and from his heart surfaced an inappropriate analogy: In this city, the beasts in people¡¯s bodies were as valuable as bezoars¡­

    The central hospital was very close. After walking out of this small street, the hospital could be seen at the intersection of the street ahead.

    Everyone walked forward in twos and threes. Xiao Qinxian walked the fastest. Probably afraid that the others would think she was too eager, she pulled Lion and walked with him as herpanion.

    Zhao Yanbao still looked lost, and so Zhu Haowen walked with her as her ¡°colleague¡±.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran walked at the back of the group. There was a horse chestnut tree with new leaves on the side of the road, like a newly sprouted Chinese toon.

    Mu Yiran asked, ¡°Has Luo Wei made a new discovery?¡±

    Ke Xun was no longer surprised by his lover¡¯s logical thinking. ¡°Did you realize it?¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°Mmn, I discovered that he has been observing Zhao Yanbao since then. But in my opinion, beasts are not only rted to human emotions. It¡¯s not that simple.¡±

    After entering the hospital, all 11 members were able to see Zhi Chun¡¯s body.

    The body was ced behind a ss wall, and everyone looked at Zhi Chun through the ss. The blood stains seemed to have been cleaned up, but the white sheets and the red mark of the beast on the deceased¡¯s forehead still formed a striking contrast.

    Through the cold ss, everyone stared at theirpanion¡¯s corpse for a moment.

    They used to think that only hospital visits to babies would be separated by a ss-wall, but they didn¡¯t expect this would be the case with visiting the deceased as well.

    Two young nurses passed by, and they couldn¡¯t help but stop to watch curiously. ¡°Look, it might be something valuable. The pattern is a bit like a fish, and the fish¡¯s tail is violet, a rare violet.¡±

    Another nurse ridiculed, ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard the phrase ¡®Evil purple seized vermillion¡¯, because red is more valuable.¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s arrival caused the two nurses to leave in a huff. It seemed that the chief physician still had a certain deterrent force.

    The veteran members had yet to see Qin Ci wearing a white doctor¡¯s coat, which made him look more rigorous and majestic than usual.

    ¡°Those two nurses are new here, and they don¡¯t understand the situation of the mark of the beast.¡± Qin Ci took everyone to his office, convinced that they shouldn¡¯t remain cloistered in front of the ss room. ¡°I found some medical books from the shelvesst night, and they had information about the mark of the beast. The ¡®evil purple seizing red¡¯ they mentioned is just a rumor. The color purple is the inevitable change that the mark goes through after death, wherein it will gradually be purple as time goes on.¡±

    When Xiao Qinxian heard this, she became anxious: ¡°If it turns purple, will¡­will the beast in the body die?¡±

    This sentence shocked everyone. They had not even imagined that the beast was alive.

    Qin Ci affirmed this statement. ¡°That¡¯s pretty much what it means, if it remains too long in the dead body. However, Zhi Chun¡¯s remains are ced in the freezer, and so it will be kept fresh for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s quickly move Chi Lei¡¯s body over. If it can¡¯t be used, it¡¯ll be ruined,¡± Xiao Qinxian suggested.

    Zhao Yanbao nced at Xiao Qinxian coldly, but said nothing.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The people in this city won¡¯t let that beast be stale. The two police officers guarding the corpse just now must have some measures to keep the corpse fresh.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian was relieved and chose a bright ce to sit down.

    Qin Ci¡¯s office was very big, and even with 11 people sitting in a circle, they weren¡¯t cramped at all.

    ¡°Everyone already knows what happened today.¡± Qin Ci nced at them. ¡°The main content of our meeting is to make a decision on the Corpse Handling Determination forms. But first, before you all can express your opinions, I have something to tell you.¡±

    First, Qin Ci announced that Luo Wei could see red marks on the faces of some members, which promptly made them panic, especially those identified to have marks on their face.

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s reaction was the strongest. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us this at first?! Now that some people are dead, the beasts on their faces have appeared. Suddenly some person could see those beasts on our faces?!¡± She added a sentence that was obviously alluding to Luo Wei. ¡°Who knows if some outsiders are deliberately messing with us!¡±

    Meanwhile, when Zhao Yanbao heard that there was a mark on her face and that it had recently just appeared, she remained silent and lowered her head, seemingly thinking of something.

    Qin Ci exined to Xiao Qinxian, ¡°I only found this outtest night. Because we couldn¡¯te up with any countermeasures at the time and to avoid unnecessary panic, we opted to wait until the morning to tell everyone. Who would have thought that ourrades wouldmit suicide.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian, frightened and irritated, asked Luo Wei, ¡°Can you really see the mark of the beast on my face? Then where is it?¡±

    Luo Wei¡¯s voice was cold. ¡°Everyone has red marks on their forehead, and only yours is under the eye.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian rolled her eyes. ¡°I guess I am just different from everyone else. Some person sure treat me especially well.¡±

    Luo Wei sneered, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Yu Ji touched his forehead, tried his best to push down his uneasiness, and said, ¡°We have limited time, so let¡¯s discuss the major issue at hand first. What are your opinions on the Corpse Handling Determination?¡±

    Xiao Qinxian took the lead. Leaning on Lion¡¯s side, she said, ¡°We are of the same opinion. Right now, we should focus objectively on the situation, and so we advocate taking the beasts out.¡±

    Yu Ji seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and he added, ¡°I also advocate taking the beasts out. If we can collect 13 kilograms, we can go back home as soon as possible.¡±

    Su Benxin hadn¡¯t spoken for a long time. But at this moment, she nced at everyone and finally focused her attention on Zhao Yanbao. ¡°In the end, Chi Lei is your friend. What is your opinion, Yanbao?¡±

    It appeared that she knew them before, since they were regrs at the Benxin Art Gallery.

    Zhao Yanbao hadn¡¯t sat. Instead, she stood to the side with a straight posture. ¡°For Zhi Chun, I have no right to speak, so I abstain. As for Chi Lei, I don¡¯t agree to remove the beast.¡±

    Su Benxin said, ¡°Whether it is suitable to let the beast stay or not, none of us can tell.¡±

    ¡°But Chi Lei said in herst words that she wanted to seal herself in the most beautiful and best time, just like amber.¡± Zhao Yanbao¡¯s voice was slightly choked. ¡°I want her topletely retain her appearance before death.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian wanted to refute her with a few words, but she suddenly felt that it would be a waste of time. She said, ¡°Okay, so there¡¯s one no and three yeses. What about the rest of you?¡±

    With a nk face, Zhu Haowen said, ¡°I have no right to make such a decision for the deceased, so I abstain.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Xiao Qinxian was trembling with anger. She looked at the others for help. ¡°What are your opinions?¡±

 Chapter 164: Removing the Beast

    <h4>Chapter 164: Removing the Beast</h4>

    Qin Ci looked at Zhu Haowen somewhat inquiringly. At this moment, he was in the middle of the office, and the other ten members were sitting around him.

    Qin Ci cleared his throat and raised his voice slightly, ¡°About the beast, I have a few points to tell you: First, the beast is a living entity, and it¡¯s rtionship with the human host is as a semi-resident. It doesn¡¯t rely on the host for nutrition or survival. There is typically no interference between the beast and the host, and even the beast has no effect on the host¡¯s body weight. In thest century in Heart City, there was a girl weighing less than 45 kg. After her death, the beast that was removed from her body weighed 31 kgs.¡±

    Everyone listened quietly. The people who already knew that they had a beast woreplicated expressions.

    Only Xiao Qinxian¡¯s eyes glowed, as if she could foresee that Zhi Chun and Chi Lei would have such a big ¡°surprise¡± in their bodies.

    Right then, Qin Ci poured cold water on Xiao Qinxian. ¡°That is an extremely rare and special case, and so that was why it was recorded in history.¡±

    Su Benxin wanted to ask what the girl with the giant beast had experienced during her lifetime, but it wasn¡¯t suitable to interrupt, so she waited patiently for Qin Ci to finish.

    Sure enough, the next information Qin Ci revealed was extremely explosive, ¡°At present, the approximate location of the beast in Zhi Chun¡¯s body has been found using certain testing equipment.¡±

    ¡°There is such a detector? Wouldn¡¯t it be possible to see the beast in everyone¡¯s body?¡± Yu Ji couldn¡¯t help but say.

    ¡°The detector can only detect the beast inside the corpse, and it can only measure the approximate location, not the size,¡± Qin Ci said sharply. ¡°Zhi Chun¡¯s beast is located on his left wrist. I cannot infer that this is a coincidence but still¡­¡­¡±

    Lion eximed, ¡°He had cut his left wrist, right?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, that is correct.¡± Qin Ci nodded. ¡°We can¡¯t determine whether he truly intended tomit suicide or had just wanted to kill the beast hidden in his wrist.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao¡¯s eyes became blurred. ¡°I have always been suspicious of Chi Lei¡¯s suicide, even with the motive. I just had a discussion with Mu Yiran about how difficult this suicide must be to implement. Without external force, no one can purposefully stop the beating of their own heart. It was like she¡¯d died while in a deep sleep, and even the forensic doctor could not find signs of trauma and suffocation.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°A good guess is that Chi Lei¡¯s beast is in her heart.¡±

    ¡°You mean that they didn¡¯tmit suicide, but was killed by the beast in their own body?!¡± Yu Ji¡¯s expression was extremely frightened.

    Zhu Haowen¡¯s voice is low and clear, ¡°This is in line with the style of the painting.¡±

    Yu Ji looked at Zhu Haowen like he was a monster. The more he thought about the possibility of the beast attacking the host, the more he became afraid.

    At this time, an urgent knock suddenly sounded at the door, and a nurse pushed in anxiously. ¡°Dr. Qin! Zhi Chun¡¯s body has changed¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qin Ci asked hurriedly.

    ¡°The wound on his left wrist seems¡­something is overflowing from it¡­¡±

    No one could remain calm. Qin Ci had already stood up and was rushing towards the door. ¡°Immediately prepare for the Beast Removal Surgery!¡±

    ¡­

    If it weren¡¯t for the bizarre circumstances, the operating room that everyone was waiting in would be perfectly normal¡ªbrightly corridors, closed operating room doors, and a striking Happy Surprise on the wall.

    About an hourter, a nurse came out of the operating room, and several of the members flocked to her with the expectant expressions of ¡®maternal family members¡¯ on their faces. ¡°How is it? What¡¯s the situation now?! Has ite out yet?!¡±

    It seemed that the ¡°joy of life¡± was being yed in the operating room, even though the ¡°dead¡± who had been stiff for nearly seven hours was the one being operated on.

    The nurse frowned. ¡°The main beast has been stripped, and the connecting branches are now being separated.¡±

    It sounded like the severing of an umbilical cord.

    Xiao Qinxian asked with joy, ¡°How many catties? How many catties?!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, it hasn¡¯t been weighed yet.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s smile did not fade. ¡°Then let¡¯s wait a little longer. It¡¯s not urgent, it¡¯s not urgent.¡±

    The nurse looked at the work badge on Xiao Qinxian¡¯s chest. ¡°Are you the forensic staff member that dresses up the corpse for burial?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a forensic doctor.¡± Xiao Qinxian felt that her profession was quite good in Heart City.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll trouble you to start preparing the costume for the funeral. The burial period of the deceased should not exceed three days, especially the remains that have experienced beast stripping, which are especially prone to decay,¡± the nurse said seriously.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Xiao Qinxian¡¯s face paled a little. She hoped that more than 13 kilograms of beasts would be stripped from the bodies of these two people, so that she would not have to engage in this terrible ¡°costume¡± work.

    Upon closer inspection, making wedding dresses for the dead was scary and full of the unknowns.

    Half an hourter, Dr. Qin walked out of the operating room. He held a small ss bottle in his hand. There seemed to be a bloodstain in it, and it seemed to be moving.

    Everyone was a little scared, but their eyes were involuntarily attracted to that red mass.

    But only Ke Xun walked over to take a closer look. He saw what appeared to be a slug-like red flesh in the ss bottle, slowly squirming. When Ke Xun looked at it up close, the ¡°slug¡± seemed to notice his gaze and stretched out a few soft tentacles out over its head.

    Ke Xun hurried away, feeling very ufortable.

    ¡°I have processed it, and the next step is to hand it over to the police station.¡± Qin Ci is wearing a medical mask, making people feel that he was as cold and ruthless as a medical device. ¡°After weighing it, this beast is 26 grams.¡±

    The others were silent, with a bit of hatred in their eyes.

    Xiao Qinxian gasped and leaned softly on the rest seat next to her.

    ¡°Is the incident of the beast overflowing just now amon phenomenon?¡± Mu Yiran asked Qin Ci.

    ¡°No. The beast inside probably felt the air in the wound and so it came out along the ¡®vent¡¯,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°The beast left its shell in the blood vessel of the deceased. It took a lot of effort just to get it out.¡±

    ¡°Shell?¡± Wei Dong interrupted. ¡°The beast has a shell?¡±

    ¡°This beast has a shell and its shape is very strange. It¡¯s not like the others. It is said that in instances when the beasts have very good appearances, their weight would not be considered at all.¡± Qin Ci lowered his gaze and looked at the soft insect-like beast in the bottle. ¡°The shell has been taken for testing. This kind of beast with a shell is very rare.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian stood up from her seat again. ¡°Can the weight of the shell also be counted? Is that shell big? Is it heavy? Will something this rare count more?!¡±

    Hearing this, Mu Yiran raised his eyes thoughtfully.

    ¡°The shell isn¡¯t big. It¡¯s simr to a snail shell,¡± Qin Ci replied.

    ¡°¡­¡± Xiao Qinxian turned to look at Zhao Yanbao. ¡°Can you bear to see Chi Lei¡¯s body filled with this disgusting slug-like thing? This kind of dirty thing should be taken out quickly, or she would not rest in peace.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao didn¡¯t want to talk to Xiao Qinxian.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already expressed my opinion, you can discuss it slowly.¡± Zhu Haowen turned and walked to the bathroom.

    ¡°I agree to take the beast, and so I have also expressed my opinion.¡± Wei Dong followed Zhu Haowen into the bathroom.

    Xiao Qinxian regained her spirit. ¡°Me, Lion, Yu Ji, plus that Dongzi, there are already four affirmative votes! It is four to one now! What about you?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking here and go back to the office first.¡± Qin Ci walked to his office while taking off his mask.

    Xiao Qinxian followed everyone. ¡°Isn¡¯t it that you¡¯re too embarrassed to agree to take the beast, but are just waiting for the beast to overflow by itself? Isn¡¯t this simply like guarding a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits? If you are all too embarrassed, then just abstain from voting!¡±

    After entering the office, Xiao Qinxian began to look at the people who hadn¡¯t expressed their opinions one by one. ¡°Boss Su, Doctor Qin, two criminal policemen, and this outsider, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°I want to ask Mr. Yu a few questions before expressing my position.¡± It was Mu Yiran who spoke.

    Yu Ji listened respectfully. ¡°Please, please.¡±

    ¡°What actions did Zhi Chun dost night? What had he told you? Tell me even if you only remembered a few words.¡±

    Yu Ji scratched his head. ¡°I don¡¯t really remember what happened after we got back to the dormitory. I seemed to have lost my mind after drinking too much, and so Zhi Chun apanied me to sing.¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°I was checking some information in the office at first, and you were all asleep by the time I came back to the dorms.¡±

    Su Benxin said, ¡°I seemed to have heard singing, like a children¡¯s song. I used to hear my little nephew¡¯s daughter sing it. It seems that there are lyrics about snail running.¡±

    Yu Ji himself couldn¡¯t remember. ¡°I really can¡¯t remember what happened after I went back to the bedroom. I remember when I was walking back from the restaurant, Zhi Chun stopped at the door of a real estate agency and asked the staff about the housing prices in the city.¡±

    ¡°Why? Does he still want to settle in this ghost ce?!¡± Xiao Qinxian felt a little horrified after speaking¡ªZhi Chun really did ¡°settle¡± here.

    Yu Ji nodded. ¡°Heined to me about the housing prices in the previous world. He said that he waited and waited for the price to go down. Even when his girlfriend eventually left him, he still couldn¡¯t afford a house.¡±

    Everyone sighed for a moment, feeling as if they finally understood someone¡¯s life after his death.

    ¡°If the beast is shelled, will it look like a snail?¡± Mu Yiran asked Qin Ci.

    Qin Ci nodded. ¡°It should look like a snail with a shell, but unfortunately I couldn¡¯t see the state of the beast and the shell when they are connected.¡±

    Mu Yiran turned his gaze to Zhao Yanbao. ¡°Maybe the beast is a kind of visualization of the person¡¯s mental knot. If you want to understand Chi Lei¡¯s mind, you¡¯ll have to take out her beast.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao looked thoughtful.

    In the bathroom at this moment, Wei Dong looked at Zhu Haowen through the mirror on top of the sink. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t see the red mark on your forehead. You¡¯re not afraid at all?¡±

    Zhu Haowen smiled. ¡°If I die, you can tell Qin Ci to dissect me right away. I also want to know what kind of beast is in my body.¡±

    ¡°I think you have changed from before.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°When I first met you, it was in the tube-shaped Spring Bamboo Apartment. At the time, when you ran for your life, you were the first to rush out without care. It was human instinct.¡± Wei Dong turned to look at Zhu Haowen beside him. ¡°Why are you not so instinctive today?¡±

    ¡°You mean when I abstained?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re sympathizing with Zhao Yanbao and Chi Lei.¡±

    ¡°Impossible.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, your heart is softened. Don¡¯t tell me that the three of you are in love together.¡±

    ¡°They are lovers,¡± Zhu Haowen replied. ¡°Because that third-tier city is very repulsive, they can only hide it from everyone.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I understand.¡± Wei Dong seemed to understand.

 Chapter 165: Looking For the Conditions

    <h4>Chapter 165: Looking For the Conditions</h4>

    Xiao Qinxian had no patience for Zhao Yanbao¡¯s indecisive attitude at all.

    ¡°The beast will gradually lose activity over time, so we need everyone¡¯s opinions now!¡± Xiao Qinxian didn¡¯t know that her own voice could be so high. ¡°If you want to be the Holy Father or the Holy Mother, then pleasepletely abstain like that person just now!¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, but hepletely suppressed Xiao Qinxian with his aura. ¡°We are waiting for the opinion of the deceased¡¯s family member, and so her attitude is very important.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that if something bad happenster, you would all still dawdle like this?!¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°It is quite simple for the rest of us. We can sign our own Corpse Disposal Determination form in advance and decide how we want to deal with the beast in our bodies. Everyone will be responsible for their own bodies, and no matter what decision they make, everyone must respect it.¡±

    ¡°You mean pre-signing?¡± Yu Ji asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian was silent for a moment, avoiding this question in his heart! This kind of mentality was like when some people saw the news that someone else had won the lottery, they thought that they too might win the lottery. But when they heard the news that someone was struck by lightning, they didn¡¯t want it to be them at all. As everyone knew, ording to scientific data, the odds of being struck by lightning was higher than the odds of winning the lottery.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve said before, if something happened to me, you guys can remove the beast from me!¡± Lion said first.

    ¡°Me too,¡± Yu Ji said.

    Xiao Qinxian rolled her eyes at them and muttered in a low voice, ¡°Some people don¡¯t have beast marks at all so, of course, it¡¯s easy for them to say.¡±

    Mu Yiran turned his attention back to Zhao Yanbao. Thetter had her head lowered, seeming to be thinking. Finally, she slowly raised her head and said, ¡°Mmn, I agree to remove the beast from Chi Lei¡¯s body.¡± Then she added. ¡°I hope that Dr. Qin will handle the scalpel himself; I won¡¯t trust anyone else.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded, and the tense atmosphere finally eased significantly.

    Qin Ci immediately picked up the phone and called the bodyguards of the Choujian Detective Agency. He asked them to transport Chi Lei¡¯s body properly to the hospital. Next, he called the hospital office. ¡°Please print out ten copies of the Corpse Handling Determination for me.¡±

    Hearing this, some people still felt ufortable. Although they had already decided, when they thought of living people signing how their corpses will be handled, they felt it was like inviting misfortune.

    Wei Dong¡¯s first words when he returned to the office was, ¡°It¡¯s 12 o¡¯clock.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat in the hospital cafeteria,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°It¡¯s toote for surgery, so Chi Lei¡¯s body can go into the cold room first. I¡¯ll rest for a bit and then perform the operation at 2 in the afternoon.¡±

    ¡°Everyone,e with me.¡± As a staff of the hospital, Su Benxin led everyone out. ¡°There are also private rooms in the cafeteria so we can chat while we eat.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao had no appetite, so she decided to go to the hospital door to wait for the car that was transporting Chi Lei¡¯s body. This way, she could personally escort her to the cold room.

    No one tried to politely offer to apany her. After all, they didn¡¯t want to see a corpse right before eating, and today¡¯s stimtion was already quiterge.

    ¡°There are enough nurses in the hospital. They will take care of these things.¡± Su Benxin tried tofort the other members.

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°At this time, Zhao Yanbao may want to stay alone with Chi Lei for a while longer.¡±

    Qin Ci looked at Zhu Haowen. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Haowen¡¯er today?¡±

    Zhu Haowen answered, ¡°Does your hospital also have a buffet?¡±

    ¡°Mmn, a very rich buffet.¡± Qin Ci didn¡¯t say any more.

    When they ate, they also had to swipe their cards. The cafeteria service staff told them, ¡°Your card can be used 37 more times.¡±

    Wei Dong put away his card and thought, it¡¯s like a life progress bar. There¡¯s one less now.

    After everyone selected their meals, they gathered together in a rtively quiet single room to eat.

    At first, no one spoke, as if afraid the content of their conversation would ruin their appetite.

    When he was done eating, Luo Wei wiped his mouth with a tissue. ¡°I think we need to urgently find out the real cause of death for these people with beasts. Suicide may just be a coverup, and the beasts should y a key role in their deaths. What kind of power did they use to make these people¡¯s mentality copse?¡±

    ¡°Zhi Chun died by cutting his wrist. Maybe he wanted to get the beast inside his wrist out,¡± Ke Xun made a bold guess. ¡°If what Yiran said is true, then the beast might be the embodiment of the knot in their heart, so it could be that Zhi Chun was getting rid of his knot and seeking liberation.¡±

    ¡°But the beast is located in a fatal position like the artery. To get rid of it, the price is to sacrifice his life,¡± Su Benxin said.

    ¡°What is the knot in Zhi Chun¡¯s heart? Just an inability to afford a house? Can people really seek death because of this?¡± Yu Ji also joined the discussion.

    Lion nodded. ¡°Owning a home is very important. The Chinese people especially value this.¡±

    ¡°Mothers say that having a house is like having a family. The elderly in the family are especially concerned about the issue of having a house.¡± Wei Dong took a sip of the soup. ¡°What kind of soup is this? It¡¯s delicious.¡±

    ¡°dic lobster soup is better with bread.¡± Qin Ci shared the bread on his te with Wei Dong.

    Xiao Qinxian sneered softly. ¡°This should be a pre-dinner soup.¡±

    Everyone was toozy to pay attention to her. Wei Dong took a sip of the tea next to him. ¡°Thebel of this tea is d Pu¡¯er tea. Is today an dic meal special?¡±

    Xiao Qinxianughed. ¡°You¡¯re too cute. dic Pu¡¯er tea is from Yunnan! How could there be green tea trees in d, which is a Nordic country!¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Wei Dong looked at Qin Ci. ¡°Is this true? This person is too vicious, so I don¡¯t particrly trust her.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian: ¡°¡­¡±

    Qin Ci nodded and said, ¡°d teaes from the vige of Mengku, Yunnan, where therge-leaf tea is produced, which is Yunan¡¯s best Pu¡¯er tea.¡±

    ¡°Old Qin, you have been to many ces.¡± Wei Dong sighed.

    Qin Ci said, ¡°I was keen on self-guided tours during my college days. After I started working, I also attended medical conferences in various ces, so I have visited a few more ces.¡±

    Wei Dong wanted to ask more questions, but felt that it was out of ce. Such as, Old Qin, did you have a travelingpanion at the time? How can you remain single all this time? But in front of everyone, he couldn¡¯t ask.

    Lion wasn¡¯t in the mood to discuss this. He was still struggling with the cause of Zhi Chun¡¯s death. ¡°So, Zhi Chun¡¯s heart knot is buying a house? Is it really just a house?¡±

    ¡°Judging from the shape of the beast, the snail is probably rted to the house,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°But when ites to a house, it¡¯s not just as simple as a ce to live. Maybe it¡¯s also mixed in with family and love. Mr. Yu said before that Zhi Chun¡¯s girlfriend broke up with him because he didn¡¯t have a house, which probably dealt him quite arge blow.¡±

    Qin Ci agreed with this statement. ¡°In the world we are familiar with, these may not be life-threatening matters, but once a beast has formed in Heart City, it may prove to be a fatal danger at any time.¡±

    This theory seemed to have made sense, but they still couldn¡¯t imagine the scene of the beast making trouble in the body.

    ¡°Chi Lei¡¯s situation is different from Zhi Chun¡¯s. Her heart suddenly failed, which was beyond her control. Unless the beast was in it¡­¡± Qin Ci didn¡¯t know what else to say? How could the beast be in it? Before the host died, what form did the beast exist in?

    Mu Yiran seemed to perceive what Qin Ci was thinking. ¡°Since it couldn¡¯t be detected with technology, then the beast should exist in abstract form in the body of the living host. Maybe it¡¯s a piece of mind, a resentment, or a maic field.¡±

    Luo Wei also joined the discussion. ¡°As ofst night, there were seven people with the mark of the beast. Why did the painting choose Chi Lei and Zhi Chun first? What order is this based on? Chi Lei and Zhi Chun, what do these people have inmonpared to the rest?¡±

    Wei Dong had a sudden realization. ¡°Both of them seemed to be rtively young. Chi Lei is about 23 years old, and Zhi Chun had just graduated from medical school and is 25 years old at most.¡±

    The people who were found to have the mark of the beastst night were Qin Ci, Zhu Haowen, Yu Ji, Xiao Qinxian, Luo Wei, Zhi Chun, and Chi Lei.

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°I¡¯m also 25 years old.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re younger than him¡­¡± Wei Dong turned his head away and asked Xiao Qinxian, ¡°What about you? Are you over 25?¡±

    Xiao Qinxian looked at Wei Dong with slightly angry eyes, but she still responded cooperatively, ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Qin Ci was a few years older than them, and Yu Ji was about the same age as Qin Ci. Luo Wei¡¯s age¡­Luo Wei found himself being ignored by everyone again.

    ¡°Is it really based on age though? Will the number of people ¡®killed¡¯ every night be two? Is there a limit to this number?¡± Luo Wei continued to analyze.

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Oh, if you count it like this, it will be Haowen¡¯er¡¯s turn next, followed by the mushroom head.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian of the mushroom head said angrily, ¡°And Zhao Yanbao, she should be younger than me.¡±

    Luo Wei asked again, ¡°Zhao Yanbao¡¯s beast just appeared today. Should this kind of thing be counted separately orbined with everyone?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m confused. This is too much. It¡¯s soplicated,¡± Yu Jiined.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s notplicated. On the contrary, it¡¯s too simple and too mechanical to infer based on age and time,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°This doesn¡¯t fit the beast¡¯s ¡®criminal style¡¯, nor does it fit the city¡¯s theme of romance.¡±

    Everyone thought about it. Regardless of whether it could be embodied or not, it was a kind of existence that could only be understood and was difficult to describe. If they wanted to analyze it, it would be even more unlikely.

    Mu Yiran continued, ¡°This order may be rted to the severity of the existence of the beast. Some beasts may berger and have a stronger sense of presence. In other words, the beast and their hosts would be in sync.¡±

    This statement was chilling.

    ¡°The order may be from strong to weak, or from weak to strong,¡± Qin Ci analyzed. ¡°Perhaps, the answer will be clearer once Chi Lei¡¯s beast is removedter in the afternoon.¡±

 Chapter 166: Thirteen

    <h4>Chapter 166: Thirteen</h4>

    Reminded of the operation that Qin Ci was going to perform in the afternoon, everyone asked him to go back and take a nap to refresh himself.

    Luo Wei wasn¡¯t good at saying such kind words, so he simply drank lemonade. Su Benxin, who was sitting on the side, turned her head to look at the work card on Luo Wei¡¯s chest. ¡°It¡¯s strange. You¡¯re just pinning it to your chest like that, but the locals here didn¡¯t seem to see it. Through observations, I don¡¯t think ¡°outsiders¡± are verymon. At least, you¡¯re the only one I¡¯ve seen with this status so far.¡±

    ¡°Right. It¡¯s just not the locals. It¡¯s you guys too.¡± Luo Wei wasn¡¯t joking. ¡°When I say some things, you don¡¯t seem to hear me.¡±

    Su Benxin didn¡¯t seem to have heard him, and she continued to ask, ¡°Can you take it off and show it to me? I¡¯m a little curious.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Luo Wei took it off and showed it to her. The square stamp ¡°Outside of Heart City District¡± was very eye-catching. Su Benxin looked at the front and the back, and then returned it to Luo Wei with both hands. ¡°I always feel that your status has a purpose. Maybe you would help everyone escape from Heart City in the end.¡±

    ¡°I hope so.¡± Luo Wei smiled lightly. There was a bit of loneliness between his eyebrows. Some of the words he¡¯d said seemed to dissipate in the air, making his ownpanions turn a deaf ear to him. This matter was no less terrifying than having a beast.

    Su Benxin seemed to have more to say. She brushed her curly hair and bangs behind her head with a little bit of embarrassment.

    After carefully looking at her forehead, Luo Wei did not find any red marks. ¡°Rx. Your forehead is clear. But¡­¡±

    Luo Wei looked at the ck mole on her forehead near her hairline. ¡°Is that a mole?¡±

    Su Benxin was relieved and nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s natural.¡±

    ¡°Then you don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    Su Benxin restored her bangs to its original cement. ¡°Who knows what will happen today with this beast? This thing itself is a kind of impermanence, and if you¡¯re not careful, you will be caught by it.¡±

    It was rare for this woman toin in such an open-minded tone.

    Xiao Qinxian, who was sitting farther away, suddenly came over and looked at Luo Wei angrily. ¡°Sure enough, you have been deceiving us!¡±

    Luo Wei was toozy to answer and so he just raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°I have a mushroom haircut, and you can¡¯t see my forehead at all! Why did you say I have a beast mark?!¡± Xiao Qinxian made sure to amplify her voice, wanting everyone to judge.

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Yours is under your eye, not on your forehead!¡±

    The beasts raised by people were also strange, and so even their positions were different.

    ¡°He couldn¡¯t see my forehead at all, so he¡¯s just lying that it¡¯s under my eye!¡±

    ¡°I have seen your forehead, and there¡¯s nothing on it,¡± Luo Wei said suddenly.

    Xiao Qinxian was stunned. ¡°I have not changed my hairstyle sinceing here, and my bangs are really thick. There¡¯s no way you can see my forehead.¡±

    ¡°Last night, in the hallway, you messed up your hair and all of your bangs got pushed back.¡±

    As if she hadn¡¯t heard, Xiao Qinxian was still babbling, ¡°I knew you were just deliberately trying to scare everyone.¡±

    Luo Wei: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­

    At four in the afternoon, Qin Ci walked out of the operating room wearily.

    Everyone¡¯s expectations weren¡¯t as obvious as in the morning, but most of them still looked at the chief surgeon with expectant eyes.

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t have time to change out of his surgeon¡¯s uniform. His voice came through the mask, as if from another world, ¡°The beast is on the edge of the deceased¡¯s heart, weighing 1974 grams. Because the beast¡¯s body is too stiff and can easily shattered, it needs to be softened first.¡±

    Everyone watched as Qin Ci walked to the locker room, and then slowly retracted their eyes so they could no longer see him.

    Right now, Xiao Qinxian was the most excited. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that, since Chi Lei is so thin, she would actually give birth to a beast that weighs nearly 4 pound!¡±

    Since Zhao Yanbao was in front of her, she didn¡¯t dare to be too loud and only whispered to the few people around her to express her joy.

    Zhao Yanbao stood dumbfounded in the hallway. Qin Ci¡¯s words had reached her ears, and she had understood the literal meaning of each word, but could not seem to make meaning out of them.

    She took two quick steps and hurried toward the locker room at the corner.

    The door of the locker room was locked, and so Zhao Yanbao knocked on the door. ¡°Dr. Qin, why does she have such a big beast?¡±

    The person inside didn¡¯t seem to hear her.

    Zhao Yanbao continued to ask through the door, ¡°You said that the beast is stiff. Why? Zhi Chun¡¯s beast was very soft¡­why is hers so hard? That¡­beast, what shape is it?¡±

    ¡°Dr. Qin performed two operations today and is very tired. He will have to announce the answerter.¡± Su Benxin came behind Zhao Yanbao.

    Zhao Yanbao turned to look at Su Benxin. Then, without saying anything, she turned her eyes to the ss window in the hallway. Since noon, the city had been covered with dark clouds. It seemed that a heavy rain was brewing.

    She bit her lip and whipped around to knock on Qin Ci¡¯s door once more. ¡°How could such a big beast be removed? I just want to know how much burden Chi Lei had been carrying in her heart these years. What is the beast like?¡±

    The door suddenly opened, and Qin Ci, who had changed back into his white doctor¡¯s uniform, stood at the door. ¡°It¡¯s a female body.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Yanbao was surprised.

    ¡°The shape of the beast is a female body, with more realistic female features. But the entire thing itself is very rigid. When I took it out, the surgical forceps identally caused a crack in it.¡± Qin Ci pinched the area between his eyebrows. He was exhausted. Although he was an experienced surgeon, it was impossible not to be nervous or afraid when peeling those strangely-shaped beasts from the body of the deceased.

    Zhao Yanbao and Su Benxin were both stunned.

    ¡°A female body? That¡­is it a person?¡± Su Benxin covered her surprised mouth with her hand. ¡°That, is it really a beast?¡±

    ¡°It should have been properly stored now. Let¡¯s go and see it together.¡± Qin Ci¡¯s voice was a little low.

    The three of them walked towards the specimen processing room next to the operating room. Zhao Yanbao was almost unable to stand up and had to depend on Su Benxin to support her.

    As soon as they saw Qin Ci, Xiao Qinxian and the others rushed over anxiously. ¡°The big ss bottle is covered with a cloth, so we couldn¡¯t see it!¡±

    Qin Ci opened the door of the specimen room himself. ¡°Come in. Be sure to keep quiet.¡±

    There were only some instruments in the specimen processing room, and no specimens were disyed.

    The ss bottle was ced on a table, and when ab technician saw Qin Ci, he stood up and said, ¡°Doctor Qin, the specimen is very difficult to soften. This is the first time I have seen such a rigid beast body, so I can only let it soak in the nutrient water first.¡±

    ¡°Okay, we need to take a look at it.¡±

    ¡°Please.¡±

    Soon, everyone was finally able to see the true face of the beast. In a ss bottle the size of an electric kettle, filled with transparent liquid, there was an upright object.

    ¡°Is this ginseng?¡± Wei Dong squinted his eyes hard to see clearly.

    Wei Dong¡¯s description was quite apt. This beast had a human-shaped body, with a head and limbs. However, the limbs were rounded like radishes in the middle and pointed at the tip. No hands or feet could be seen.

    The people standing at a certain angle around the ss bottle did not speak, for they could see more clearly than the others. They saw the front of the beast, and the outlines of its face. With eyebrows, eyes, nose, but no mouth, it¡¯s body was obviously a woman with full breasts and a clear female lower body.

    Su Benxin kept supporting Zhao Yanbao andforted her in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯s not what we believe. It¡¯s just pictographic¡­¡±

    ¡°A woman, this is obviously a woman.¡± After Zhao Yanbao nced twice at it, she stopped and asked Qin Ci, ¡°How is Chi Lei?¡±

    It was as if Chi Lei was a living person who had just undergone surgery.

    ¡°The incision wound is stitched up. The scarless surgery in this city is very advanced. Once the ointment was used, there was no scar at all visible to the naked eye.¡± Qin Ci didn¡¯t know how tofort her. Maybe because he had been a doctor for a long time, he was numbed to death.

    But this stripping after death, what could be it?

    Ke Xun looked at the beast in the shape of a woman in the bottle. After watching it for a long time, his heart felt ufortable, and he couldn¡¯t help but have many questions. ¡°Why is it so stiff? What¡¯s more, its limbs are tight and straight, as if it was being bound by¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°Do you see the thin red line at the bottom of the bottle?¡±

    ¡°What is that? Is it the line connecting the host and the beast?¡± Ke Xun said, feeling his scalp going numb.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s the ¡®rope¡¯ that binds the beast,¡± Qin Ci said.

    Hearing this unexpected answer, everyone was speechless for a moment.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression slowly turned cold. ¡°This must be rted to the host¡¯s life experience.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao was already supported by Su Benxin out of the specimen processing room when she gently pushed Su Benxin¡¯s hand away and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m stronger than you think.¡±

    ¡°The knot in her heart needs to be resolved. If she can¡¯t say it in her life, if she can¡¯t get rid of it herself, as her best friend¡­you can do it for her,¡± Su Benxin said.

    Zhao Yanbao looked at the lightning from the dark clouds outside the window, and there seemed to be a strange light in her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to induce you.¡± Su Benxin loosened her messy hair and twisted it back into a bun. ¡°Since she had cocooned herself in her heart, she had to open her heart and reshape her belt-bone, so as to truly open the rope of bondage.¡±

    ¡°If you really want to say something, it¡¯s best to apany the beast.¡± At some point, Mu Yiran had came out to the hallway. By then, the sky waspletely covered by heavy, dark clouds, as if night had descended early.

    Zhao Yanbao lowered her eyes and said, ¡°Alright then, you two should stay here. Maybe what I have to say will help in analyzing the case.¡± Zhao Yanbao looked at Zhu Haowen, who was standing at the door. ¡°And Haowen, youe too.¡±

    When the group returned to the specimen room, they heard Yu Ji eximing, ¡°The weight of this beast is 1974 grams! Zhi Chun¡¯s beast was 26 grams, and the total is exactly 2000 grams!¡±

    ¡°Maybe this is just a coincidence?¡± Lion said.

    ¡°No, how could there be such a coincidence? Two people have died, adding up to exactly 2,000 grams? If it is evenly distributed, each person will have 1,000 grams! Thirteen people, the total is 13,000 grams! Thirteen kilograms!¡± Yu Ji¡¯s words trembled afterward, as if he had discovered a most insidious secret.

 Chapter 167: Women

    <h4>Chapter 167: Women</h4>

    13 kilograms of beasts seemed to be the total amount of beasts in 13 people.

    When some people thought of it like this, they could no longer remain calm. Yu Ji even said, ¡°We all have beasts in our bodies. It¡¯s just that they¡¯ll appear at different times! Sooner orter, they will alle out. There are 13 days, and they will alle out in the end!¡±

    ¡°Please keep quiet.¡± It was the staff in the specimen processing room who spoke.

    Qin Ci stood at the door and made a gesture of invitation. ¡°We have something to talk about. Everyone else, please wait outside for a while.¡±

    Yu Ji was still in the middle of saying something resentfully when he was pulled out by Wei Dong and Lion.

    For the first time in history, Xiao Qinxian did notin about being excluded. Right now, she was incredibly silent, perhaps because she saw the depressing state of the female body beast, or perhaps because she believed what Yu Ji had said about them having equal share of the 13 kgs of beasts. For this kind of strange thing that no one could crack, even the ¡°lucky ones¡± may not escape bad luck.

    Ke Xun was still standing at the door. Zhao Yanbao, who was about to close the door, looked at Ke Xun outside. Just as she was about to say something, Ke Xun said, ¡°Go and talk about it. I don¡¯t have to hear it.¡± After saying this, he took the initiative to close the door.

    Some people went to Qin Ci¡¯s office to wait, while the others sat on the chairs in the hallway and looked out the window.

    It was still dark outside, and the sound of muffled thunder boomed across the sky.

    Xiao Qinxian asked the nurse for a pen and paper to design a ¡°wedding costume¡± for the two deceased.

    The atmosphere in the specimen processing room was even more depressing. Zhao Yanbao sat in the ce closest to the ss bottle that contained the female beast, and told a story with a gloomy gaze¡ª

    ¡°When Chi Lei and I were young, in our small hometown, the idea of the ????priority of sons over daughters was very serious, and our two families were no exception. However, my family was rtively better. Although my parents preferred my younger brother, at least they were willing to let me study. As for Chi Lei¡¯s home¡­ Chi Lei was the most undignified one at home. Whether it was her elder brother or two younger brothers, they were always yelling at her, pushing and shoving her, and her parents turned a blind eye to all of it. Once someone gets into trouble, the one who was beaten would always be her. Her father used to beat her mother, and then her mother would beat her. There was still a deep scar on her scalp. It was done by her father with a shovel when he was drunk. In order to heal the injury, she had to shave her head. At the time, she was only 15 years old. Her mother didn¡¯t take it seriously either.¡±

    ¡°She was admitted to a key high school with me, but her family refused to pay, so she ended up going to a technical school instead. In order to save amodation costs, she had to live in a local aunt¡¯s house. In those two years, we rarely saw each other. She graduated from technical school and started to work. She even got a boyfriend.¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked at Zhao Yanbao with a little doubt, but it wasn¡¯t easy to interrupt the other party.

    Zhao Yanbao took the initiative to exin, ¡°Chi Lei wasn¡¯t born a lesbian, not even the acquired one. In terms of sexual orientation, she had always liked men.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, she had never met a decent man. Neither her family nor her boyfriend regard her as a person, nor do they regard women as people, including her mother.¡±

    ¡°Her boyfriend actually proposed to exchange girlfriends with his buddy one day to y, and she left, and never returned to that sinful town.¡±

    ¡°I had already been admitted to the university in B City, and she came to join me. At that time, we rented a house and lived together. We just depended on each other, like rtives. She knew my secret, but we couldn¡¯t possibly have that kind of rtionship. Some innate things couldn¡¯t be changed, and she couldn¡¯t use her mental will to change her body¡¯s preference. Also, I had someone I liked back then.¡±

    ¡°People like me aren¡¯t recognized by the majority of society, and so I studied psychology due to my own internal confusions. Sometimes, I feel very good about my sexual orientation, sometimes I feel that my feelings are more pure. My sexual orientation won¡¯t allow me toply with blind dates and getting married for the sake of continuing the family line.¡±

    ¡°My values ??and Chi Lei¡¯s values ??werepletely the same, and so our living habits were very integrated. We were a rare soulmate. We were better than friends and rtives, but neither were we lovers.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao paused a little when she said this. For a while, she seemed to be gathering up her words.

    Qin Ci couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Chi Lei had given up hope on the opposite sex at that time?¡±

    Zhao Yanbao smiled lightly. ¡°We found that it¡¯s the same everywhere. Although people¡¯s thoughts in cities like S City and B City are also different, they¡¯re not much better than our backward town.¡±

    ¡°At that time, I was an assistant in a psychological counseling center, assisting a reputable psychologist. Because Chi Lei often came to see me, she would asionally ask the psychologist about some psychological problems and often got very helpful advice. We all respected him back then.¡±

    ¡°After working part-time there for two years, I decided toe out for the sake of my girlfriend at the time. Who knew that my girlfriend would then flee. She also studied psychology. After I came out, she went abroad and broke up with me with no contact. Coming out of the closet was a disaster in our industry. In the eyes of ordinary people, homosexuals themselves were mentally unsound, and they weren¡¯t qualified to be psychologists to treat others. And indeed, it seemed that most people really thought so.¡±

    ¡°After I came out of the closet, Chi Lei suddenly stoppeding to our counseling center, and the prestigious psychologist also went abroad for further studies. Iter learned that the psychologist had sexually assaulted Chi Lei for two years. Because he had some evidence that I am a lesbian, if Chi Lei didn¡¯t satisfy him, these materials would be spread out, making me ¡®unable to move in the psychology world for a lifetime¡¯¡­¡±

    A thick darkness was surging outside the window. The sound of thunder split the sky, and a torrential rain suddenly fell.

    ¡°That night, we both hugged each other and cried bitterly in the dark. She said that she had some evidence that the beast had sexually assaulted her, but the other party had immigrated to another country already, and she didn¡¯t want to worry about awsuit. When it got out, she feared it would just end up hurting herself. I didn¡¯t understand it at the time. I thought we should stop everything we were doing to win thewsuit. The one who really shouldn¡¯t be able to move in the field of psychology should be that beast.¡±

    ¡°Chi Lei told me to calm down and even said that her life wasn¡¯t good. Later, she talked about living in her aunt¡¯s house while studying in technical school. She had been sexually assaulted by her uncle and cousin one after another¡­She told her mother and aunt, but those two people didn¡¯t believe her. Or maybe it wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t believe her but that they were just pretending to be deaf instead.¡±

    The rain was pouring down outside, and the wind had ravaged the half-bright world into a crumpled ck-and-white photo, as if attempting to shred it.

    ¡°We decided to be together as partners and to spend the rest of our lives together.¡±

    ¡°Even though we took harbor in one another, Chi Lei had never been able to release the bondage on her body, a bondage of the male-dominated world on women. The pain caused by her original family had continued to escte in adulthood and she could not escape it.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao gently stroked the ss bottle in front of her, and softly looked at the female beast. ¡°Women don¡¯t have much voice in this unjust world. They are told ¡®keep your hair long and your knowledge short¡¯, and they said ¡®women pondering over God isughable¡¯. They are told this is normal, this isn¡¯t malicious, and it even has a hint of doting in it¡­In fact, the truth is the women are being excluded from the social ss, both explicitly and implicitly. In the past, every year during the Spring Festival G, there would be a few sketches about henpecked husbands, but I have never seen such a thing in real life. The people I¡¯ve met in my profession are many, and I have never seen it. I don¡¯t know if this is something that society had created to deceive unmarried women?¡±

    Several men in the room were silent, and they didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Su Benxin was a little moved. She seemed to feel the same way.

    Now, Zhao Yanbao seemed to be talking to the female beast, ¡°Look at you, you have beautiful eyebrows and eyes, but no mouth. Is it because you have no right to speak? Look at you, such a good person, but you have to be naked. Is it because you had no choice but to expose yourself to be exhrated and flogged by those who coveted you? Look at you, you have obviously strong limbs, but you have no hands or feet. No hands to grasp anything nor feet to travel the world. You are so stiff and are standing upright, as if alert to the dangers around you. Or is it because of the rope that binds you? If that damn rope is broken, you will get better. You will be better.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao¡¯s tears fell on the outside of the ss bottle. ¡°I know you can¡¯t love me. Have I ever med you? For us, love was the least thing worth mentioning.¡±

    Su Benxin lowered her head, unable to bear looking at those tears.

    Qin Ci seemed to have discovered something suddenly. He hurried over to observe the ss bottle. ¡°The beast has changed! It is slowly softening!¡±

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t look over. He slowly got up and prepared to leave. ¡°Let them be alone for a while.¡±

    ¡­¡­.

    The beast from Chi Lei¡¯s body finally softened into a round thing. Zhao Yanbao said that this may be a different kind of relief.

    The weight of the beast had not changed. It was still 1974 grams. Combined with Zhi Chun¡¯s beast that was 26 grams, the final total came to 2000 grams.

    Yu Ji was still panicking, but Wei Dong was relieved. ¡°This painting we entered can be panic-inducing, but it¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re a painter.¡±

    Meanwhile, Ke Xun tried to use Qin Ci¡¯sputer to conduct some research, only to find out that this city had no inte. When he asked the nurse, the nurse doubtfully said, ¡°Sir, do you want to send a fax?¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°No, I just wanted to order takeout¡­¡±

    ¡°Then you can call for takeout.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    In this world without inte, the painting must be trying to hide something. What was it so afraid that might be discovered on the inte?

    ¡°What do you want to check?¡± Mu Yiran came to Ke Xun at one pointter.

    ¡°In the book The Crimson Beast, what exactly is written on the title page.¡± Ke Xun sorted out the questions in his mind one by one, and this was the first thing he wanted to solve.

    ¡°Su Benxin and Xiao Qinxian, these two people who have read this book, there must be someone who can remember.¡± Mu Yiran looked at Su Benxin who also entered the room.

    Su Benxin was pulling back the curtains in the office, and revealing an outside world the color of zed ss.

    ¡°There is indeed a sentence on the title page: I saw a woman riding on a crimson beast: Chapter 17 of the Book of Revtion.¡± Su Benxin turned back from the window.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    <b>Xida: </b>I find it ironic that the author is talking about the suppression of women and women equality, and yet there is no representation of strong, intelligent, and likeable female characters in our protagonist¡¯s main group.

 Chapter 168: Helpless Point In Time

    <h4>Chapter 168: Helpless Point In Time</h4>

    The sky gradually returned from darkness to light, but by then, it was already approaching dusk.

    Xiao Qinxian looked at the wedding dress she had just drawn and frowned. ¡°I must be really absentminded just now. How could I design such an old-fashioned and conservative wedding dress? I hate this style the most.¡±

    But Zhao Yanbao looked at it seriously and said, ¡°This is exactly the style Chi Lei likes.¡±

    ¡°Really, then¡­¡±

    ¡°I thank you on Chi Lei¡¯s behalf.¡±

    ¡°No need.¡± Xiao Qinxian was a little embarrassed and suspicious. The wedding dress didn¡¯t really look like her style at all, and she couldn¡¯t believe that she had just designed it.

    Could it be that the dead really had spirits in the sky? Taking advantage of the darkness of the thunderstorm just now, it drew itself a wedding dress with the help of the costume designer?

    Thinking of this, Xiao Qinxian shuddered.

    At this time, all 11 members were gathered in the hallway. Qin Ci said, ¡°The two kilograms of beasts collected have been locked in a special refrigerator, please rest assured.¡±

    Qin Ci looked at the dusky sky outside and added, ¡°Do you want to eat dinner in the hospital cafeteria again today, or go to another ce?¡±

    No one wanted to continue to stay in the hospital, but they also didn¡¯t have any appetite.

    Lion suggested, ¡°How about we all go to the buffet restaurant fromst time?¡±

    Everyone approved of this suggestion, and so they all left the hospital and walked along the familiar street toward the restaurant.

    Su Benxin wrapped her big bohemian shawl tightly around herself. As she walked with Mu Yiran and Ke Xun, she subconsciously sighed. ¡°s, if you put aside other factors, it would be easy to enjoy such a beautiful spring in this painting. It¡¯s unexpectedly like a gift given to us by the painter.¡±

    Ke Xun looked up at the branch of the peach blossoms he saw in the corner. ¡°In the previous painting, there were very few distinct seasons and most of the people in the painting would ignore the existence of the seasons. This is the painting¡¯s arrangement. It¡¯s clear that it did this with a purpose.¡±

    ¡°The season of Spring is always connected with things like romance.¡± Su Benxin smiled lightly. ¡°Perhaps this is more in line with the setting of the romance of Heart City.¡±

    ¡°In view of the situation of the two beasts today, I always feel that it would be a little too perfunctory to simply attribute it to the meaning of love.¡± After Ke Xun said this, he didn¡¯t feel like talking more about this topic. He walked beside the rose stone fence, his warm beige sweater adding color to his entire person. Even with the police uniform on his arm, it didn¡¯t vite the harmony of it.

    Su Benxin raised her head and looked up at the green branches that belonged to spring. ¡°Love is supposed to be heavy, and it is destined not to be too overly simple. No matter how simple a person¡¯s background is, as long as they have thoughts, love will haveyers. On the contrary, those beasts, they are the real simplicity and that¡¯s why they are so stubborn.¡±

    Hearing these words, Ke Xun didn¡¯t fully agree. ¡°Those beasts are the product of negative emotions, they can never be pure.¡±

    Su Benxin turned to look at Ke Xun. After thinking about it seriously, she nodded slowly in agreement.

    Qin Ci, who was walking in front, was telling everyone, ¡°Those who have a beast, after their deaths, the police station will be in charge of arranging their funeral and other rted tasks.¡±

    ¡°What arrangements do most people make for the beasts?¡± Yu Ji asked.

    ¡°It is said that most people will choose to donate it to the city. This kind of donation isn¡¯t free, and the person who donated will get a very general reward in return.¡±

    ¡°How ridiculous. It is obviously a sale, but it must be said to be a donation!¡± Xiao Qinxian gradually returned to normal. She added more words. ¡°In terms of the value of the beast itself, no matter how much reward the Heart City government gives back, it is probably notparable to the beast itself.¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°Of course, this is only a one-sided reasoning. What are the uses of these beasts? I¡¯m afraid my office cannot answer this question.¡±

    Su Benxin took two quick steps and happened to be side by side with Luo Wei, who was walking in the middle. ¡°Why are you so silent?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t speak much.¡±

    ¡°We are a group, so you must not exclude yourself.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Luo Wei looked at Xiao Qinxian, who was chattering in front of him. ¡°Have you seen her smoking today?¡±

    Su Benxin looked at Luo Wei with a smile. ¡°I think the early spring at this time is the best, even more attractive than thete spring when the flowers are in full bloom.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Luo Wei smiled bitterly.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran gradually fell behind.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been observing Dr. Qin.¡± Ke Xun looked at their long shadows. The sunset behind them made this world seem so realistic.

    ¡°Actually, the rtionship between light and shadow is the most miraculous. It¡¯s like this sunset right now. It is obviously stretching our shadows out, but the sun is exerting force in the opposite direction.¡± Mu Yiran showed a rare smile, which put Ke Xun in a trance. He felt that all the white fragrant flowers in this world were blooming one after another.

    Their two broad shoulders were pressed together, making him feel at ease. ¡°I haven¡¯t really thought of this matter. But now that you have said it, this kind of power is different from all the powers in the world. The more westward, the more our shadows face eastward, as if our shadows are stretched in the opposite direction.¡±

    ¡°Heart City also seemed to have such an indescribable power.¡± Mu Yiran squinted to see the nine members walking ahead. ¡°These beasts are the deepest parts of people¡¯s hearts, so we can¡¯t make advance analysis. If my guess is correct, those who have red marks should already understand what is in their hearts.¡±

    ¡°This is it.¡± Ke Xun had been about to say that the veteran members couldmunicate first to see if the people with red marks could guess the characteristics of the beast in their own bodies. In doing so, they may be able to avoid it by brainstorming. ¡°So, what do you think is wrong with Dr. Qin?¡±

    Mu Yiran smiled lightly. ¡°It¡¯s not just Dr. Qin. Now, you have something too.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think your title is a bit strange?¡± Mu Yiran raised his arm. ¡°You haven¡¯t called Qin Ci Dr. Qin in a long time.¡±

    Indeed, Ke Xun usually referred to Qin Ci as Brother Qin, and he would asionally call him Old Qin. The title of Dr. Qin¡ªexcept for Mu Yiran, no one else called him that formally.

    However, Ke Xun thought it was easy to exin: ¡°After all, only in this painting does Qin Ci really exist as a doctor. I have never seen him as a doctor in the real world before. It is only in this painting did he truly show his side as a surgeon.¡±

    ¡°It seems that Qin Ci feels the same way,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°He has integrated into this world quite naturally.¡±

    Ke Xun seemed to understand. ¡°Could it be because of the beast?¡±

    Ke Xun remembered what Luo Wei had said about the shocking red mark on Qin Ci¡¯s forehead. What kind of existence was it? Was it fierce? Forbearing? Or like an invisible elephant?

    ¡°It is due to Qin Ci¡¯s change that I feel the horror of this city.¡± Mu Yiran took Ke Xun¡¯s hand. Both of their fingers were cold so they tried to use the warmth in their palms to warm each other¡¯s fingertips. They aplished it without having to try too hard, as their two palms formed a subtle kind of inter-embedding.

    If the light and shadow could also behave in this way, with such frank easiness, perhaps it may be easier to solve the puzzle of Heart City.

    ¡°I have to talk to Dr. Qin tonight¡­Have a good talk with Qin Ci.¡± Ke Xun became more and more worried about Qin Ci. ¡°The beast is too scary, it holds the host¡¯s life.¡±

    Sometimes, face-to-face confrontation wasn¡¯t as scary. Even if there was a huge disparity in strength, bravery might still win out in the end. He also wasn¡¯t afraid of enemies hiding in the darkness. As long as he remained calm, he could always force the other side to reveal clues. The most terrible, the most fearful thing, was to have one¡¯s own body used as a mountain. Caught up in this mountain, it only made it all the harder to see the forest for the trees.

    ¡°Yes, there must be a meeting tonight.¡± Mu Yiran looked at Luo Wei, who was walking in front. His deep frown slowly unfolded, and he took two steps to catch up with him. ¡°I have something I wanted to ask you today, but it was dyed by other things. We all saw a lot of people today, whether on the street or in the hospital. What percentage of people have red marks on their foreheads?¡±

    Luo Wei slowed down and showed a wry smile. ¡°Mr. Mu, you finally remembered to ask me this question.¡±

    ¡°Have you reminded me?¡± Mu Yiran took out a piece of paper from his pocket, with some strange time notations on it. ¡°During lunch in the cafeteria? Twice? Or this afternoon while waiting for surgery? Three times? Of course, it may also be during the morning surgery, but I haven¡¯t thought of recording it at that time yet.¡±

    Luo Wei let out a sigh and showed a relieved expression. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve been shouting in a lonely vige all day and finally, I¡¯m getting a response at dusk.¡±

    ¡°Sorry. I was just having lunch and found that there always seemed to be a short gap in mymunications with you, but I didn¡¯t know what it was. So, I began to secretly record these points of time on a piece of paper.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your wisdom.¡± Luo Wei couldn¡¯t helpughing. ¡°What you said just now, I have already mentioned it to you twice, but you all seemed indifferent. Regarding other people in this city, people with red marks ount for about 30% of the total number of people. I don¡¯t think they know it themselves.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded. ¡°After all, in this city, only the beast inside dead people can be detected by professional instruments.¡±

    Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t help but looked at Luo Wei for a while. ¡°Letting you bear this alone, it really is a bit cruel.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m a very quiet person anyway.¡± Luo Wei soothed himself.

    Mu Yiran continued, ¡°I have listed a total of 5 points in time on this paper. That is to say, there have been 5 times that we could notmunicate. If you propose it unterally, we won¡¯t hear it. Unless we have an epiphany and ask you, only then will we hear your answer.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I mean, I¡¯m like a supernatural entity¡­¡± Luo Wei made a rare joke.

    ¡°Apart from the question just now, what do you want to say at the other three points in time?¡± Mu Yiran asked again, somewhat unresigned.

    Luo Wei didn¡¯t know which one to start with, and his eyes fell on Xiao Qinxian in front of him. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about that woman. She smoked a lotst night, but she didn¡¯t have a single cigarette today. I think it¡¯s unreasonable. People who are addicted to smoking wouldn¡¯t be able to bear it for so long.¡±

    Mu Yiran seemed to be lost in thought, and he looked into the distance of the long street. ¡°I think we should have a good chat about the title page next. We have to at least figure this out tonight.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Luo Wei wanted to cry without tears. ¡°Then don¡¯t mention smoking.¡±

    ¡°Only two of the women have read this book so far. I think Su Benxin is more reliable.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I also don¡¯t think women who love smoking are reliable.¡± Luo Wei tried his best to bring the topic up.

    Mu Yiran suddenly looked at Luo Wei, took out a pen from the pocket of the police uniform, and wrote down on the paper: 18:39.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    <b>Xida: </b>This painting is really insidious. People are slowly integrating into the painting without even realizing it. It¡¯s also making it so that Luo Wei, as the outsider who can see these beast marks, is unable to share his ideas unsolicited. I¡¯m worried about Qin Ci and Luo Wei, not gonna lie.

 Chapter 169: Double

    <h4>Chapter 169: Double</h4>

    Luo Wei couldn¡¯t imagine how the fact of Xiao Qinxian¡¯s smoking would be a clue.

    Why would the painting try to conceal this?

    As he was mulling over this question, they arrived in front of the restaurant.

    Qin Ci stopped and looked at Luo Wei. ¡°While the sky is still bright now, let¡¯s show him the beast marks on our faces to see whether they have changed sincest night.¡±

    In fact, he didn¡¯t have to look closely at all. Everyone¡¯s face had been right in front of Luo Wei all this time. He had already remembered all the nuances in his heart. ¡°Nothing has changed. It is almost the same asst night, except that Zhao Yanbao¡¯s red mark that suddenly appeared today is now gradually darkening.¡±

    ¡°What shape is it?¡± Zhao Yanbao couldn¡¯t help asking.

    ¡°It is less like a shape and more like a touch. It¡¯s like a brush dipped in cinnabar and then smeared on,¡± Luo Wei described.

    Zhao Yanbao nodded and didn¡¯t say anything else. As night fell, it would be false to say that there was no fear in her heart. Although the person most important to her had left, it did not mean that the living would be the undead. There were many ways to miss the dead, but it didn¡¯t necessarily have to mean following them into death.

    Therefore, Zhao Yanbao was also afraid of death.

    Zhao Yanbao was already like this, but the others¡¯ panic was even deeper.

    Xiao Qinxian began to sneer to cover up her nervousness. ¡°You¡¯re still in the mood to eat. Right now, it¡¯s better for everyone to find a way to live together. When dangeres, we can resist together!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, I think their detective ce is quiterge. We can move in!¡± Yu Ji nodded desperately when he heard this. His face was already pale, but as night fell, his face became even paler. ¡°I¡¯m really scared. The roommate who slept with mest night¡­I can still see him when I close my eyes now.¡±

    Lion also said. ¡°If I can live with Dr. Qin, I think I will feel more secure! If the beast in someone¡¯s body really does something wrong, maybe Dr. Qin can find a way to help.¡±

    Qin Ci smiled bitterly after hearing this. ¡°I¡¯m just an ordinary surgeon. I¡¯m not a god. I can¡¯t do anything with the beast. Moreover, the arrangement of the residence is established. This is one of the rules of this game. If someone vites it, you don¡¯t have to wait for the beast¡¯s bacsh. I¡¯m afraid you will die from other unfavorable idents first.¡±

    ¡°Bacsh?¡± Ke Xun grasped the word sensitively.

    Qin Ci further exined, ¡°The beast is originally produced in the hearts of humans. At first, it may be just a thought, but as the thought lingers over and over, it will slowly take root in the body and grow into a beast. Killing the things in your heart, it isn¡¯t too much to call it bacsh.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just wondering whether this same idea can be used to make the beast smaller or disappear altogether by dispelling it.¡±? Ke Xun looked at Qin Ci and still could not hide his worry about this old partner. ¡°Take Chi Lei as an example. Death had relieved her of her lingering obsession, but if she could have relieved it before she died, wouldn¡¯t it have diluted the beast?¡±

    ¡°There are no simr cases in the materials I have seen. After all, no one in this city could see the red marks on the faces of the living, so it is impossible to prevent these in advance. Even if the beasts are diluted, there¡¯s no proof to that effect.¡± Qin Ci¡¯s expression was very apologetic.

    Zhu Haowen had already smoked a cigarette in front of the restaurant. He extinguished the cigarette butt, and put it in the ce allocated for it in the city trash can. ¡°Let¡¯s not stand here and block people. Let¡¯s go in, eat, and discuss it.¡±

    Although everyone had their own thoughts, they must eat. Only when they are full can they resist all kinds of dangers¡ªalthough these foods may only feed the beasts in their bodies.

    Luo Wei walked beside Zhu Haowen. ¡°Did you hear what I just said?¡±

    Zhu Haowen was a little puzzled. ¡°Isn¡¯t it about smoking?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Luo Wei nodded. ¡°Many public ces have a smoking area, such as hospitals. Unfortunately, even though there are a few smokers among us, you¡¯re the only one smoking in the smoking area.¡±

    Luo Wei had to say everything carefully, for fear that Zhu Haowen would push back with apletely unrted sentence.

    However, Zhu Haowen heard him very clearly. ¡°First, among those of us who do smoke, it seems like I¡¯m the only one who is smoking. Second, I don¡¯t like to go to the smoking area with people, especially those I¡¯m not familiar with.¡±

    A secret joy burst in Luo Wei¡¯s heart. It was like using code words to cipher codes. Some key terms could not be said, but other words could be used cleverly and circuitously to convey meaning. ¡°Are those smoking areas divided by men and women? Just asking out of pure curiosity.¡±

    Zhu Haowen felt even more weird out. He felt that these questions were not in line with Luo Wei¡¯s personality at all, but he still replied, ¡°It¡¯s reasonable. But people tend to stay with the same sex. Especially those women. They seem to like to stick together. The hospital here doesn¡¯t have a smoking area set up specifically for women.¡±

    Luo Wei became agitated, and his thoughts about what to say also became chaotic. When he looked back, he saw Mu Yiran, who was observing himself, as if he had seen a life-saving straw.

    Mu Yiran moved his long legs and approached the two of them. His gaze swept over Xiao Qinxian, who was in front of him, and he said, ¡°I saw her smokingst night, and she also smoked a lot. But looking at her performance during the day, there seems to be a problem that warrants closer scrutiny.¡±

    Perhaps because there was too much going on during the day, and Xiao Qinxian wasn¡¯t someone that Mu Yiran was interested in observing, he had ignored this problem for the time being.

    Luo Wei felt so moved that tears were almost falling. ¡°So, what we spoke about just now¡­you won¡¯t forget it in a few minutes.¡±

    Mu Yiran let out a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. This should also be a rule. Anything discovered and mentioned by the people in the city should not disappear out of thin air.¡±

    Zhu Haowen, who was confused, looked at Luo Wei. This buddy¡¯s rhythm of bending¡­

    Luo Wei decided to say his thoughts in one breath. ¡°Actually, when I came out of your roomst night, I saw her in the hallway. She was in a strange state at the time, and she mentioned that someone had called her room¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran suddenly turned his gaze to the front. ¡°I hope that the seat yesterday won¡¯t be upied by others. It¡¯s the most quiet and most hidden ce.¡±

    Luo Wei:..This is like bringing a pot of instant noodles to a boil, and then suddenly, someone poured in a bottle of iced water.

    Something seemed to be happening at the cashier counter. Several members were talking loudly to the cashier. Among them, Xiao Qinxian¡¯s voice was the loudest. ¡°There are 33 more purchases?! How is that possible? We obviously have only used it twice!¡±

    The cashier smiled and exined patiently. ¡°Your card has a limit of 39. So far, you have spent twice, and now there are 33 left.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± Xiao Qinxian couldn¡¯t help but explode. ¡°Can you do math? 39 minus two is obviously 37! How could it be 33?! Your shop is really good at tricking customers. Use the first purchase as a free gimmick, attracting a lot of returning customers, and then making a fuss with their cards! But your approach is too clumsy, putting your IQ and EQ into doubt!¡±

    Ke Xun made a gesture for Xiao Qinxian to shut up, and then he handed his card to the cashier, who looked equally unhappy. ¡°Sister, can you help check my card?¡±

    The cashier sister looked at this sunny and handsome athletic brother, and she felt a little better. She checked his card and said, ¡°Sir, your situation is the same as her¡¯s. There are still 37 purchases at this time. There will be 33 times remaining after swiping the card.¡±

    ¡°Why is this, Sister?¡± Ke Xun continued to maintain his bright smile. ¡°We have just arrived here, and we still don¡¯t understand some rules very well.¡±

    ¡°This is Heart City, and so the dates are even in number,¡± the cashier said in a sweet voice. ¡°Yesterday was April 6, today is April 8, and tomorrow will be April 10.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Ke Xun was speechless for a while. This was simply an unusual rule, more unusual than some kind of back country rule.

    The other members were also dumbfounded. Lion even burst out into a series of Englishints. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, ¡°You mean that every day here is counted as two days? Even if my body only experienced 24 hours, in this city, it would be counted at 48 hours? Therefore, even though we¡¯ve only eaten three meals, in this city, it is counted as six meals?¡±

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but interject, ¡°In other words, a 40-year-old person in this city is actually 20 years old.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re all confused me!¡± the cashier couldn¡¯t helpughing. ¡°That¡¯s roughly the idea. I was born in this city, and so I¡¯m ustomed to this time count. People who are born here don¡¯t think much about it philosophically. I just think that since this is the city of romance, everything should go in pairs.¡±

    ¡°Got it. Since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s just go and grab a seat.¡± Wei Dong pulled his closest childhood buddy and walked to the same table they had upied yesterday. ¡°Ke¡¯er, you have to take care of me, I want to drink again¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran walked behind, and stopped at the cashier to ask, ¡°I¡¯m just curious, are there many out-of-town people in this city?¡±

    The cashier sister felt that she was particrly blessed today, and her mood also became better. ¡°Many people have moved to our Heart City from other ces. After all, the scenery here is beautiful and the city nning is also very good.¡±

    Mu Yiran further asked, ¡°Do foreigners need to apply for temporary residence permits when theye here? In this situation, would they be regarded as locals or still regarded as foreigners?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this. Our city is never exclusive. If you have our city¡¯s stamp on your ID card, you¡¯re considered a brother or sister in the same city!¡± the cashier said. Her face blushed slightly, and she added, ¡°Moreover, intermarriages between people in the same city will result in a lot of welfare support.¡±

    ¡°What if people from the same city marry with people outside the Heart City area?¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes deepened as he considered this.

    The cashier became more talkative because of this look. ¡°I have never seen people outside the Heart City area. The security here is so good that they can¡¯t enter illegally. If people in the city want to go out, they can never return, and simrly, if outsiders want to settle in, they can never leave again.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s impossible to leave again?¡± Mu Yiran asked again in a heavier tone.

    ¡°Our city is so good, why would anyone want to leave?¡± The cashier asked with a smile.

    Mu Yiran also smiled faintly. ¡°Yes, this is indeed a magical and beautiful city, which makes many people linger.¡±

 Chapter 170: Exchanging The Beast

    <h4>Chapter 170: Exchanging The Beast</h4>

    When everyone heard about the city¡¯s bizarre even-numbered dates, they all said it was unreasonable. However, Xiao Qinxian responded the fastest, ¡°If we count it like this, then we don¡¯t have 13 days at all! Now it¡¯s two daysbined into one day!¡±

    Yu Ji also eximed in surprise, ¡°If 13 days are to be divided into two halves, that¡¯s 6 and a half days! Throwing away today, we only have 5 and a half days left!¡±

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°If we consider the rate of two people dying a day, 12 of us can be killed in 6 days, and thest half day¡­¡± She looked at Luo Wei, who was sitting in the corner and added, ¡°It¡¯s probably reserved for outsiders.¡±

    Luo Wei sneered. Even at this juncture, this woman still hadn¡¯t forgotten to release her malice.

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat first and leave the rest of the discussion to after dinner.¡± Qin Ci had already started to eat, but he didn¡¯t forget to remind everyone, ¡°Don¡¯t drink the alcohol here. I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s a problem with the alcohol, or if this city is changing people. Now, even a little bit of alcohol is very likely to make you drunk.¡±

    ¡°This city is really intoxicating.¡± Wei Dong was eating a rolled spring cake, his hand shaking slightly. No one could guess who would be left after tonight.

    Maybe it was because there was something on their mind, but everyone ate hastily.

    Qin Ci looked at Mu Yiran, and then said to everyone, ¡°I think the question that everyone is most concerned about right now is how to get 13 kilograms of scarlet beasts within the specified amount of time. Tonight, if the beast in someone¡¯s body produces murderous intentions, what are some precautions they may take to avoid being killed?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expression was in favor of this topic, including the picky Xiao Qinxian.

    Mu Yiran then said, ¡°If you change it to a more understanding way of speaking, the first question is, everyone must try their best to get 13 kilograms of beast from outside of our group, and the second question is¡­¡±

    Before Mu Yiran could finish talking, everyone was already surprised by his words. But after thinking about it carefully, this was the only feasible way.

    No one was willing to sacrifice themselves for the beast in their body, and what¡¯s more, not everyone in the group carried a beast.

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran next to him, unable to believe that such a fierce truth woulde out of his mouth.

    Yu Ji subconsciously scanned the restaurant guests all around him, but fortunately no one noticed. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that we have Luo Wei. It would be simpler since he can see the beast marks on other people¡¯s faces. Howe we didn¡¯t think of this earlier?! Why do we have to wait for the beast to tear our body apart? We have Luo Wei and Dr. Qin, and we have arge number of people, so we canpletely choose which character to start with.¡±

    As Yu Ji talked, he became frightened by his own ruthlessness. Even so, he couldn¡¯t help shivering excitedly because of the thought. ¡°The big boss is really the big boss, steady and ruthless when a task needspleting!¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t want others to interpret his boss like this, and so he said to the big boss, ¡°Ah Ran, what are your thoughts? How can we legally get the beasts from the people around us?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that point of legality? Our lives are at stake!¡± Ju Yi anxiously looked at the darkening sky outside the window, and the fear of death gradually consumed his heart.

    ¡°We are in a city ofw and order, evident by the fact that the police station is just across from this restaurant. No one will condone our misbehavior,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Mu Yiran looked at Qin Ci. ¡°I read some information in your office this afternoon. Beasts, as a resource of wealth, are allowed to be bought and sold, and there are still some families who refuse to sell the beasts of the deceased to the government. A small portion of them wanted to keep these beasts in their own collection, while most of them wanted to wait for the peak season to sell them at a good price.¡±

    Qin Ci frowned. ¡°Which book is this written in?¡±

    Mu Yiran smiled lightly. ¡°It¡¯s not in a book. This information can be gleaned from the advertisements on the back cover of some magazines, which were trying to promote the various auctions of crimson beats. All of these advertisements also exined that special-looking beasts can be bought and sold at sky-high prices.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god, this is simply like the market for famous antique paintings in our world!¡± Su Benxin couldn¡¯t help but eximed. ¡°Mr. Mu, you mean we can sell the two beasts in our hands¡­?¡±

    Everyone gasped when they heard this, but their hearts couldn¡¯t help but sighed that their excitement was somewhat evil.

    Mu Yiran looked at Zhao Yanbao. ¡°I hope this conversation won¡¯t make you unhappy.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao said, ¡°Chi Lei has left already, and her beast is like a container full of her negative emotions. We are limited to only 5 days here, and so it doesn¡¯t make sense to keep it¡­If it can really save more people, Chi Lei¡¯s spirit would naturally agree to it.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°Is it written in those documents what the values of these beasts are, causing people to pursue them like this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not written clearly, but some people only said that these scarlet beasts symbolize Heart City, and so they are precious.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was somewhat mocking. ¡°Even in our world, are the things that people spend high prices on really worth the money?¡±

    ¡°What do you think we should do?¡± This time, it was Ke Xun who asked this. ¡°Sell the two beasts we have at a high price, and then use the money to purchase heavier beasts?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty much my thought process. Or, we can find a more direct beast-trading market and directly exchange beasts for beasts.¡± Mu Yiran also thought that this wasn¡¯t afortable topic, but he had to continue regardless.

    ¡°You mean the value of the beasts here aren¡¯t determined by weight?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Yes, the heavier ones are more precious, but not whenpared to strangely shaped beasts.¡± Mu Yiran was reluctant to show Ke Xun hismercial side, and only did this because it was ast resort. ¡°In short, beasts with essories are very rare, and I believe they have more value.¡±

    ¡°What is a beast with essories?¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t understand.

    Mu Yiran exined, ¡°For example, Zhi Chun¡¯s beast¡¯s snail shell, or the rope that binds Chi Lei¡¯s beast. If such beasts with essories are auctioned, they will have more worth.¡±

    Everyone gradually understood. Yu Ji was so excited that he broke out into a sweat. ¡°Yes! That old policeman asked us to find 13-kilograms of beasts. He only had asked for the weight and nothing else! We can use a strange beast that is both umon and heavy! If we do business well, maybe we can exchange it for 13 kilograms!¡±

    ¡°If everyone agrees that this is feasible, then we will go make the relevant exchange tomorrow,¡± Qin Ci told everyone.

    No one had objections.

    ¡°But what should we do tonight?¡± Wei Dong was afraid, not only for himself, but mostly for his friends. ¡°You guys with red marks on your forehead, in case something happens again tonight¡­ording to the painting¡¯s rule, every night there will be¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, this is the second question mentioned just now. The question that is currently the most difficult to solve is how to guard against the beast tonight. We know that these beasts are our own inner demons, and so they would be harder to defeat.¡± Qin Ci turned his attention to Mu Yiran. ¡°I wonder if Xiao Mu has a strategy?¡±

    ¡°What we can do at the moment is try our best to understand how these beasts are formed and what their weaknesses are.¡± Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t think of a better solution than this. ¡°I thought of a clue today that¡¯s rted to Chi Lei. Yukio Mishima¡¯s The Scarlet Beast mentioned during his lifetime that the name scarlet beast came from the 17th chapter of The Book of Revtion of St. John the Divine. I don¡¯t know if this can provide us with any clues.¡±

    Ke Xun asked, ¡°Who knows what the 17th chapter of The Book of Revtion says?¡±

    Sun Benxin answered, ¡°The Great Prostitute.¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡±

    ¡°The Great Prostitute is likened to a scarlet beast,¡± Su Benxin added.

    Ke Xun gripped the ss of cold lemonade with both hands. ¡°Does it have any symbolic meaning?¡±

    ¡°At the time, there were some European religious and political meanings. I don¡¯t know what specifically, but it should have nothing to do with this. It¡¯s about this woman that has the words ¡®Mystery, Babylon the Great¡¯ on her forehead, which refers to Satan¡¯s ¡®The Great City of Babylon¡¯.¡± Su Benxin knew that saying too much would make people confused, and so she tried to keep it as short and simple as possible.

    ¡°Babylon? As in Babylon, one of the four ancient civilizations?¡± Yu Ji interjected.

    ¡°No, the Great City of Babylon is a city of devils built by Satan himself. It has nothing to do with that ancient civilization.¡±

    Ke Xun suddenly asked. ¡°You said just now that it was written on that woman¡¯s forehead?¡±

    ¡°Right, those words were written on the woman¡¯s forehead.¡± Su Benxin suddenly understood Ke Xun¡¯s meaning. ¡°You mean, the words on the woman¡¯s forehead and the red marks on the forehead of the people in this city¡­¡±

    This simrity could not be mere coincidences.

    ¡°Besides the woman, you also mentioned the scarlet beast? What does that beast look like? Does it have anything to do with the beasts we¡¯re looking for?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°The beast has seven heads and ten horns.¡± Mu Yiran was the one who answered.

    ¡°Oh, Boss Mu also knows about it.¡± Wei Dong turned his gaze to Mu Yiran, feeling more at easemunicating with his own people.

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°The appearance of the beast is rted to several kings and religious groups in western European empires a long time ago, but I don¡¯t think these specific histories have anything to do with the present. The important thing to focus on is the origin and the movements of the beast.¡±

    Su Benxin looked at Mu Yiran with interest, expecting him to continue.

    The others were also staring at Mu Yiran, as if staring engrossed at a lecturing academic professor¡­This was something that Ke Xun was familiar with doing.

    ¡°Regarding the beast, I can only repeat the words in the Book of Revtion: The beast you saw was before, and now is not, and wille out of the abyss and enter perdition. All who dwell on earth and whose names are from the creation of the world but not written in the Book of Life, will be astonished when they see the beast that was there before, and now is not, and will be in the future.¡± Mu Yiran spoke at a much slower rate than before, so that everyone could hear clearly.

    Ke Xun, Wei Dong, Qin Ci, Zhu Haowen, and Luo Wei:¡­..

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    <b>Xida: </b>Well, it is now clear that, by ç³ (f¨¥i, which could mean scarlet, red, dark red, crimson) the author meant scarlet. In the Book of Revtion, the Great Prostitute, aka The Whore of Babylon, is described as a scarlet beast. As an aside, this also made me realize where the term ¡°scarlet woman¡± might have originated from. Anyway, henceforth, crimson will be changed to scarlet. Past chapters will be updated once I have more time.

 Chapter 171: Communications From Different Dimensions

    <h4>Chapter 171: Communications From Different Dimensions</h4>

    Luo Wei¡¯s gaze swept over everyone¡¯s faces and finally stopped on Mu Yiran¡¯s. ¡°In other words, this beast has existed before, but doesn¡¯t exist now, and will exist again in the future?¡±

    ¡°Then, right now, does it exist or not?¡± Wei Dong asked very seriously, finding it difficult to get rid of the suspicion of ¡®talking cross talk to spoil the situation.¡¯

    Xiao Qinxian seemed to be deliberately trying to create a terrifying atmosphere. ¡°Not now, but maybe tomorrow, or even tonight.¡±

    ¡°Climb out of the abyss.¡± Lion was afraid, and so he clearly remembered Mu Yiran¡¯s words just now. He murmured in a low voice, ¡°In the end, it will sink again.¡±

    .

    Abstract concepts that were too sectarian could sometimes make people subconsciously avoid them, finding them too obscure and iprehensible.

    In the silence, Zhao Yanbao said, ¡°I think the religious lense of The Book of Revtion is too overwhelming, and so it might have nothing to do with the setting of Heart City. However, the marking of the forehead that Ke Xun mentioned earlier shouldn¡¯t be a coincidence. In other words, those of us who have the mark of the beast fit more closely with the image of the woman riding the beast. The words on the woman¡¯s forehead embodied evilnguage, or it could be said to be posting a red g. Then what about our beasts? Judging by the shape of the red marks on Chi Lei and Zhi Chun¡¯s forehead, these marks don¡¯t seem to have any resemnce to the shape of the beast in their bodies¡­¡±

    Zhao Yanbao felt that concentrating on thinking seemed to offer her some small measure of relief from her inner pain.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to analyze this for now.¡± Qin Ci felt that his thoughts were repeatedly being interrupted by the others, and now he finally had the chance to smooth it out. ¡°I think that the most important thing right now is what Xiao Mu said, which is the rtionship between the woman and the beast. We won¡¯t mix in our previous analysis for now. For example, regardless of whether the beast is a heart demon or not, we will only focus on this woman and the scarlet beast. She and it seems to be in amunity of interest, and of these two, which one is the stronger? Is it the woman who dominates the beast or the beast who dominates the woman?¡±

    The topics seemed to be careening toward an iprehensible philosophical category. Wei Dong sighed and said, ¡°Such mystery¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran no longer quoted the words in the book but gave a more simplistic answer in his own words, ¡°The beast was originally a woman¡¯s mount andrade-in-arms, but in the end, it will bite back at the woman.¡±

    ¡°The beast is born in our hearts, but it makes sense that we will have to fight back against it in the end,¡± Zhao Yanbao said.

    The others listened, and in the end, had the feeling of ¡®the truth is obviously very simple but it is being discussed at length¡± and ¡°taking off your pants just to fart.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this beast refers to the beast in each of us.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s words seemed to have a kind of magic power, his words loosening everyone¡¯s tight nerves. ¡°Or, the beast in each of us is just a single particle scattered by this beast.¡±

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t get it. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just an artwork? Why has it be a particle?¡±

    ¡°No matter which world you are in, whether it is in ancient or modern China or abroad, everything in society serves a centralized power,¡± Zhao Yanbao said. ¡°Including the values of works of art. Those so-called auctions actually rely on the breath of the upper echelon of society to survive.¡±

    Zhu Haowen, who had remained mostly silent all this time, also said, ¡°We went around in a circle and returned back to the original point. What is the symbolic meaning of this beast? Is it a heart demon birthed by this city or world?¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°This so-called beast must have an inseparable connection with the city. We have to figure out why Chu Zhiyong wants us to collect these beasts, and what benefits these ¡®beast resources¡¯ bring to the police station and to the entire city. If we can grasp this essential point, many of our confusions can be easily resolved.¡±

    ¡°Heart City seems to be a city of romance on the surface, but the two beasts that have been removed aren¡¯t only rted to the love between men and women, but also seems to be based on the point of love as a reflection of the person¡¯s inner psychological state,¡± Su Benxin chimed in.

    Xiao Qinxian looked restlessly at thepletely dark night outside the window. ¡°I think talking like this is useless! Night ising, and people will die tonight! What should we do?!¡±

    Su Benxin said, word by word, ¡°I haven¡¯t finished what I¡¯m saying. We can¡¯t grasp the purpose of the centralized power in this city at present. We can only start from the individual itself and use the most stupid method to solve it.¡± She looked at Zhao Yanbao and added, ¡°Can talking to a psychologist offer some relief? Will this make the beast temporarily retract its minions?¡±

    Because Su Benxin¡¯s description was too vivid, Yu Ji even felt that his stomach had begun to feel ufortable, as if the beast inside was trying to use its ws to break away from its bondage.

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran beside him, and couldn¡¯t helpforting, ¡°Everyone¡¯s reaction is a little slow, and so they can¡¯t make big turns all of a sudden.¡±

    Mu Yiran gave him a light smile. ¡°It¡¯s me who is going too fast. But sooner orter, we¡¯ll have to figure out the beasts¡¯ meaning to the city.¡±

    ¡°Maybe we can go to the beast-trading market tomorrow to see if we can make some discoveries.¡± Ke Xun patted the boss on the back. ¡°Right now, I¡¯m thinking about putting Dr. Qin and Haowen¡¯er first¡­Oh yes, I mean Old Qin, Brother Qin.¡±

    Mu Yiran seemed to realize something, and he suddenly looked at Luo Wei, who was seated on the other side of him. It seemed that this person hadn¡¯t made a sound in a long time, and he had that strange feeling again. ¡°You have been silent all this time?¡±

    Luo Wei sighed and answered the question. ¡°You didn¡¯t forget about the cigarette, right?¡±

    That was the secret code that they had managed to agree upon.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t forget,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°Actually, your way of solving this matter is quite good. It seems that you can deceive the painting by making some deep detours.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but I seemed to have failed to detour three times.¡± Luo Wei looked down at himself. His ss was filled to the brim with lemonade. ¡°Every time, during the ¡®space,¡¯ you would pour me lemonade, and it has been filled up three times in session.

    Mu Yiran raised his eyebrows. He really didn¡¯t have the habit of taking care of people by refilling their ss.

    Zhu Haowen, who was sitting only a little further away:¡­.

    ¡°Haowen¡¯er, just talk about it.¡± Wei Dong continued to lobby Zhu Haowen. ¡°Tell us what¡¯s in your heart. Maybe it¡¯ll save your life. Or, do you want to just tell me alone?¡±

    ¡°I have nothing to say.¡± Zhu Haowen was expressionless.

    ¡°Look, what¡¯s the crux of the matter? You already know why you have a red mark on your forehead, right?¡± Wei Dong said, worried again. ¡°I hope your beast is hidden in your feet. You¡¯ll be disabled, but at least it won¡¯t be fatal.¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡±

    At Qin Ci¡¯s request, Luo Wei had to observe everyone¡¯s faces. ¡°No change. In order of the size of the beast mark: Qin Ci, Yu Ji, me, Zhao Yanbao, Xiao Qinxian, Zhu Haowen. My mark also hasn¡¯t changed.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Luo Wei, you also have a beast!¡± Wei Dong seemed to remember. ¡°What¡¯s going on today? Howe I don¡¯t seem to have noticed you at all today¡­?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been here all this time.¡± Luo Wei put away his innocent expression, stood up, and took the mealment card the waiter had handed over. This restaurant will give customers a satisfaction survey at the end of the meal. Last night, Ke Xun had signed thement card, and this time, Luo Wei took the initiative to undertake this job.

    The others were discussing freely in hope of slowing down their beast¡¯s intrusion, but no one was willing to speak their inner secret thoughts in public.

    Luo Wei lowered his head and carefully checked the options on the opinion card. From time to time, he would ask for Mu Yiran¡¯s opinion, such as, ¡°Is the temperature here very good or great?¡±

    Mu Yiran paused for a moment and said, ¡°I think it¡¯s very good.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡­..

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Luo Wei ticked the ¡®very good¡¯ option, asked a question or two, and then handed the opinion card and pen to Mu Yiran, ¡°Since you also participated, this time you sign it.¡±

    Frowning, Mu Yiran took the pencil the restaurant had prepared, somewhat puzzled for a while. His head seemed to be hurting a little after thinking so deeply.

    Ke Xun said from the side, ¡°Why don¡¯t I do it? It doesn¡¯t matter who¡¯s signature it is.¡±

    Mu Yiran was about to give Ke Xun the pen when he heard Luo Wei say in an unquestionable tone, ¡°It¡¯s different, it¡¯s very different. He has to sign it.¡±

    As Mu Yiran was lost in a state of confusion, Luo Wei suddenly took the pencil from Mu Yiran and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it. After all, I chose most of these options, so I¡¯ll sign.¡±

    Afterward, he wrote his name, leaving thest stroke very long, as if being artistic.

    Mu Yiran looked at the signature carefully, not knowing what thest stroke was trying to emphasize. Seeing that the degree of curvature seemed to look like the letter L, he asked directly, ¡°Is it rted to the abbreviation of this letter.¡±

    Luo Wei, who had nothing to live for, ¡°No¡­¡±

    Puzzled, Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun and he heard him say, ¡°I have made an appointment with Dr. Qin so I won¡¯t be in our dorm for a while. We¡¯ll just talk under the big tree at the entrance of the police station.¡±

    To talk about Qin Ci¡¯s secret..? Mu Yiran didn¡¯t want to hear anyone¡¯s secrets. It was best for everyone tomunicate with their current level of understanding, and although they had experienced life and death together, this didn¡¯t mean that they had to bear each other¡¯s secrets. Even if Ke Xun had a secret that he wanted to keep to himself, Mu Yiran would never pry into it.

    There was a slightly irritated sound of fingers tapping on the table. The sound came from Luo Wei. Mu Yiran looked at Luo Wei¡¯s empty ss and filled it with the jar of lemonade.

    After filling it up, the hand holding the pot froze in midair. ¡°Actually, you can try to be more roundabout.¡±

    Luo Wei folded his arms and watched as Mu Yiran opened his book and wrote on it: 21:38, L.

    Mu Yiran had a sudden realization. ¡°Did you try to write it out just now?¡±

    Luo Wei said, ¡°I had tried to write it a long time ago, but either I couldn¡¯t write it or no one would be able to read it.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°Then¡­use allusions? Riddles?¡±

    Mu Yiran felt tortured by the fact that he seemed to be ¡®unable tomunicate.¡¯

    ¡°We don¡¯t seem to be on the same dimension.¡± Luo Wei felt like the lonely wreckage of the universe in a three-body world.

    Mu Yiran put the jug of lemonade in front of Ke Xun and said, ¡°Don¡¯t let me touch it again.¡±

 Chapter 172: A Sudden Realization

    <h4>Chapter 172: A Sudden Realization</h4>

    Not everyone with red marks were willing to air out their thoughts, and even if they did, they were very selective in what they revealed.

    Zhu Haowen was expressionless and didn¡¯t say a word. He refused to listen to other people¡¯s stories and left the restaurant, opting to go back to his residence instead.

    Xiao Qinxian firmly believed that she had no beast marks, and so with an indifferent expression, she too returned to the police dormitory by herself.

    Zhao Yanbao said, ¡°I¡¯m going to try to self-counsel myself. If anyone else needs psychological counseling, I can help.¡±

    Qin Ci, Yu Ji, and Luo Wei also left.

    Luo Wei said he was mentally and physically exhausted today and wanted to go back to rest. As a result, Mu Yiran walked back to the dorm with him since he was still able to momentarily pay attention to this partner.

    Ju Yi always followed Qin Ci, refusing to leave him alone, as if he regarded Dr. Qin as his only life-saving straw.

    Although their hospital colleague, Su Benxin, did not feel unsettled¨Cafter all, she belonged to the group of people with no beast marks¨Cat this moment, she was chatting with her friend Lion under the streetlight. From time to time, they would pat each other on the shoulder, as ifforting one another.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong didn¡¯t leave and stood under the tall magnolia tree with Qin Ci.

    Yu Ji stood beside Qin Ci like a tail, with an embarrassed expression. ¡°I know I¡¯m a little redundant, but I don¡¯t want to leave Dr. Qin. If I suddenly start to feel pain somewhere, maybe Dr. Qin can quickly use the scalpel to clear that thing out and save my life.¡±

    Qin Ci wanted to say that he doesn¡¯t carry a scalpel with him, but seeing Yu Ji¡¯s incredibly nervous expression, he didn¡¯t say anything.

    Wei Dong looked at Qin Ci¡¯s forehead and remembered with some difort therge beast mark that Luo Wei had described, which had supposedly covered half of his forehead and spread to his eyes. ¡°Haowen¡¯er doesn¡¯t want to talk and you don¡¯t want to talk, as if talking is shameful. If it was Chi Lei and Zhao Yanbao, she would have exined her anxiety. If you both¡­I won¡¯t even know why you¡¯re both gone.¡±

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t mind at all. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t have any secrets. When Luo Wei said that he saw a dark red mark on my forehead, I probably knew the reason for it.¡±

    Wei Dong became a little anxious when he heard this. ¡°Then why are you still so calm? Hurry up and find a way to get rid of that evil demon!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a heart demon either. It¡¯s just an unforgettable memory.¡±

    ¡°Dr. Qin, I, I¡­Should I leave for a moment?¡± Yu Ji looked at Su Benxin, who was not far away talking to Lion, and didn¡¯t seem to be willing to go that way.

    Qin Ci was nomittal. ¡°It¡¯s not a secret. There¡¯s nothing to hide. It¡¯s been five years since my lover passed away.¡±

    When he heard this, Ke Xun was stunned, not knowing how to continue. A person like Qin Ci was kind, thoughtful, patient, and moderate. In his dictionary, such a person belonged to the bright category of ¡°a highly educated and sessful person¡±, and so he had never even imagined that this person would have this kind of story. For this person with a kind of bustling worklife, was this the result of a blind date with a ¡°very decent¡±dy, like a teacher, a nurse, or a civil servant?

    Qin Ci actually had a lover who had passed away.

    ¡°The lover that you¡¯re talking, were you both already married?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°We got a marriage certificate, but haven¡¯t had the wedding yet.¡± Qin Ci¡¯s voice gradually softened. ¡°She died in an air ident when she flew over from another city to find me and celebrate my birthday.¡±

    Ke Xun silently came forward and patted his old friend on the shoulder.

    Yu Ji also added, ¡°My lover also passed away¡­Could it be that people like us have dark marks because our lover died? Was that the same situation with the outsider guy?¡±

    Ke Xun thought of Luo Wei¡¯s situation and nodded. Suddenly, a thought shed in his mind, but it went out again, and his attention shifted to the present moment.

    Qin Ci showed his usual kind smile. ¡°Although I have never been able to forget this person, I haven¡¯t been entangled in it, especially recently. I..It seems that I have returned to the past, and I have no burden and ampletely at ease. In thest five years, I wasn¡¯t living so easily like this.¡±

    Ke Xun looked into Qin Ci¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°The rxed state you¡¯re talking about refers to these past two days in Heart City, right?¡±

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t have to think deeply about this matter. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s these two days.¡±

    The thick white magnolia petals fell down like snow umting in winter.

    Ke Xun seemed to hear his own voice echo, ¡°You, you don¡¯t want to go back?¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°I¡¯m someone who usually just goes with the flow. Besides, isn¡¯t it good for us to be here?¡±

    It was probably after Ke Xun came to Heart City that he felt this most frightened, even though it was only Qin Ci¡¯s calm face in front of him.

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t seem to be thinking so deeply, or maybe he had already been partly assimted into the painting and was just trying to dissuade him at the moment, ¡°Don¡¯t, ah. We have left our home, and our temporary resident permit is only valid for 13 days, or six and a half days to be exact. If we don¡¯t find the beast, we might have to fold it here! Besides, you have such a big beast mark, if something goes wrong, it would be a big deal.¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°I don¡¯t think the beast represents evil. After all, my beast is just my memory. In the past, this fusion with the beast seems to help one find one¡¯s original self. I don¡¯t believe it will hurt me. From the data I¡¯ve seen, there were cases where the beast and the host were able to live peacefully together for decades.¡±

    ¡°The year the beast came into existence can be calcted?¡± Ke Xun grabbed onto this sentence and asked.

    ¡°The result maye out tomorrow. Through the invisible texture on the beast¡¯s body, we can measure how long the beast has existed in the host¡¯s body.¡± Qin Ci seemed to be acting as if he was talking about some other person¡¯s affair. ¡°My beast is probably about five years.¡±

    The more peaceful andfortable Qin Ci was at this moment, the more ufortable and panicked Ke Xun felt.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    Xiao Qinxian put out the cigarette and went back to her room.

    The phone let out a thunderous ring, like a beggar frantically showing off the scrap metal he¡¯d picked up.

    Xiao Qinxian picked up the phone angrily and said, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    On the other side of the phone was a familiar voice, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m just testing the phone.¡±

    If it was someone else, it would have been fine, but it was the outsider most disliked by herself! That non-local Luo Wei had actually called herself from next door!

    Xiao Qinxian shouted directly into the phone, ¡°You¡¯re sick!¡±

    After shouting, she didn¡¯t feel relieved at all and so she ran next door. ¡°You¡¯re harassing me!¡±

    In the next room, Luo Wei was still holding the receiver and Mu Yiran was standing not far from him.

    Luo Wei¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all despite Xiao Qinxian¡¯s anger. At this moment, he faced that person and said, ¡°I¡¯m doing a lie detector test.¡±

    ¡°Why are you examining me like I¡¯m a criminal?!¡± Xiao Qinxian let out a screech, not knowing why she was so angry.

    Luo Wei was calm like a robot. ¡°Last night, when you said that you received a call, it was a lie.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian was stunned for a moment. Then she red angrily at Luo Wei again. ¡°1000! Truth! 10000! Truth! Last night, a psycho did call me!¡±

    ¡°The ringing is so deafening, there¡¯s no way we wouldn¡¯t be able to hear it,¡± Luo Wei said, neither hurried nor slow.

    ¡°You sleep like a dead pig, of course, you couldn¡¯t hear.¡±

    Luo Wei passed Xiao Qinxian at the door and pointed to a ce in the hallway outside. ¡°Last night, when I came out of Mu Yiran and Ke Xun¡¯s room, you were right there, smoking. You told me that you had answered a phone call, but the other party didn¡¯t speak, so you simply unplugged the phone line. At the time of the call, the three of us were in the room, and it was impossible for us not to hear the phone ringing so harshly.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian was a little dazed, and she even lit another cigarette, as if to reenact that scene. ¡°Yes, I alsoined that there was no Caller ID on that garbage phone¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran, who had been silent, finally spoke, ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with what you said just now. You said that the person who called youst night didn¡¯t speak, but just now, you also said that the other party was a psycho.¡±

    Luo Wei¡¯s cold and silent eyes finally lit up. He looked at Mu Yiran gratefully. He hadn¡¯t really dared to hope that this conversation with Xiao Qinxian could be sessfully heard and correctly understood by Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran, who had lived up to his expectations, continued, ¡°Did someone really call? Did the caller speak? What did they say?¡±

    With a cigarette in her mouth, Xiao Qinxian messed up her mushroom hairstyle, so that it looked exactly the same as what Luo Wei had seen that night. ¡°I don¡¯t know if there was anyone on the other end of the phone. It sounded vaguely like a radio with a faulty signal. It seemed to be a man and he said something that I couldn¡¯t understand clearly. I suspect that the phone lines had gotten mixed up.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t understand? If you can hear even a single word, that would be great, ¡° Mu Yiran said.

    Xiao Qinxian calmed down and then said, ¡°It seems that there were two words that I could vaguely hear¡ªthe left hand, it should be these two words.¡±

    After saying this, Xiao Qinxian went out the door. ¡°I¡¯m about to cospe. I¡¯m going to take a shower. You guys had better not ask me anymore.¡±

    Mu Yiran was silent for a moment, watching as Luo Wei wrote something again and again on a piece of paper. But when he walked over to take a look, there were no traces of anything that made sense, like a child making horizontal and vertical marks on a paper pad when doing homework.

    Frowning, Mu Yiran took the paper and looked at it for a long time. He couldn¡¯t make out a single word, but he folded it up and put it in his pocket anyway.

    Luo Wei smiled bitterly. ¡°I probably won¡¯tst until the end and will probably copse first.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Mu Yiran tried to soften his tone. ¡°I already heard what Xiao Qinxian said about the mysterious phone call that we couldn¡¯t hear, and the ¡®left hand¡¯ that was said on the phone. This is a clue that we can somewhatmunicate on, right?¡±

    Luo Wei sighed and shook his head. His eyes became shiny and teary, but he quickly blinked it away. ¡°I¡¯ve already guessed what my beast looks like. It¡¯s probably a treasure pot. Haha, it should be a treasure pot. That scene is etched in my heart and will never leave for the rest of my life.¡±

    Mu Yiran sighed, not knowing how tofort him.

    ¡°I¡¯m really tired.¡± Luo Wei leaned against his bed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s rest first. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible that the situation will not progress.¡±

    ¡°Okay, good night.¡± Luo Wei smiled tiredly.

    ¡°Good night.¡± Mu Yiran walked out of the room, thinking about Luo Wei¡¯s words. The beast as a treasure pot, his girlfriend who¡¯d died in a terrible way¡­

    Mu Yiran¡¯s heart tensed little by little, and the memories were like the sound of drums from afar, gradually spreading through his mind, jumping out of the heart, out of the painting, painting, painting¡­

    He suddenly took out the piece of paper in his pocket and was shocked to find a string of names written so clearly on that paper: Mi Lun, Kang Lai, Rong Rang, LEX, Luo Bin, Qiu Jian, Li Jinghao.

    They were signatures. They were the signatures of the painters.

    To get out of the painting, they have to find the signature!

    Luo Wei had been racking his brain to remind him again and again that this was the most fundamental problem!

    They, who had walked into Heart City, had forgotten the way they came and the key to leaving in the end.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    <b>Xida: </b>Oh my god, I was so caught up in what was going on with the beast that Ipletely forgot that they have to find the signature in order to leave. Very sly, author, very sly. Did you guys forget the signature too, or was it just me?

 Chapter 173: A Phone Call

    <h4>Chapter 173: A Phone Call</h4>

    <strong>Trigger Warning:?</strong>This chapter has a scene where a character expressed biphobia (dislike of or prejudice against bisexual people). Please read with caution. Or otherwise, skip to the second half of the chapter.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    In the city at night, the spring breeze gave out a feeling of intoxication, and the smell of flowers seemed more fragrant than those from the outside world, as sweet as honey.

    Qin Ci and Ju Yi were on their way back to the hospital. The more frightened Yu Ji was in his heart, the more words he said, as if doing so would relieve the tension.

    ¡°¡­I really didn¡¯t expect you to go through so much, Dr. Qin. My lover also died, and my heart seemed to have also died with him.¡± Yu Ji sighed. ¡°Although my situation isn¡¯t exactly the same as yours, both of our other half have passed away.¡±

    ¡°asionally, I would imagine that, if she isn¡¯t dead and is living in this city, maybe one day, we would meet each other on the road and instantly recognize one another. Then, it would be like nothing had happened and we would continue living our lives together.¡± Qin Ci¡¯s eyes were filled with longing.

    Yu Ji smiled awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m not as lucky as you. My lover left me before he died, but I still regarded him as my only one. He was truly my first love, and I feel like I would love him my whole life.¡±

    Qin Ci was embarrassed to ask more, so he just listened quietly.

    ¡°My conditions aren¡¯t as good as yours, and so I don¡¯t have very many opportunities. Therefore, to have a suitable person appear and to fall in love with him, I think that is the greatest gift heaven had given me,¡± Yu Ji continued.

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t understand for a while what these good conditions meant. ¡°You have studied oil painting abroad, so it stood to reason¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about material conditions. In fact, I¡¯m simr to your friends.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gay. I always thought that it was a bad thing, and even now, my family still doesn¡¯t know about it.¡± Yu Ji scratched his head in embarrassment. ¡°When I met him abroad, and he was studying art too, I really felt like I could wake upughing from a dream. I couldn¡¯t quite believe that such a good thing would fall into my path, and sure enough¡­¡±

    Yu Ji¡¯s pain was different from Qin Ci¡¯s. His was more of a kind of selfishness that came from worrying about gains and losses.

    ¡°My lover was swept away by a two-mixed, so much so that he was willing to die for him. In the end, he became too depressed and jumped off a building.¡± Yu Ji scolded a few words, but he didn¡¯t know what he was scolding.

    Qin Ci paused for a while and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Two-mixed?¡±

    Wasn¡¯t that like mixing two foods together, like fresh potato flower on knife-cut noodles? In order to cater to people¡¯s requirements for different tastes, the Chinese snack industry was never short of new inventions.

    ¡°It¡¯s bisexuality,¡± Yu Ji poprized this new concept for Qin Ci.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like two-mixed, where men and women are both eptable. I¡¯ve never really believed that such people can have any real romantic feelings; it¡¯s purely to satisfy their perverted curiosity!¡± After Yu Ji finished cursing, he raised his eyes and looked up at the tall tree at the entrance of the hospital. He suddenly lowered his voice and said, ¡°Actually, I have known Su Benxin for a long time.¡±

    ¡°What? Su Benxin?¡± Qin Ci couldn¡¯t adapt to this kind of abrupt change of topic.

    ¡°Yes, she was the one who stole that person from my lover! Or, it could be said that that person loves the new and hates the old andter got together with Su Benxin.¡± Yu Ji felt his head starting hurt. ¡°Obviously, I haven¡¯t been drinking, but why do I feel like I¡¯ve drunk too much and my head hurts¡­Anyway, because of this, my lovermitted suicide. Even though we¡¯d been broken up for two years when it happened, I still felt pained. I couldn¡¯t help but think that if I had returned back to the country, we might have reconciled.¡±

    Qin Ci felt as if he couldn¡¯t grasp so much information at once. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have such a tortuous andplicated rtionship.¡±

    ¡°The reason I went to the art gallery to look at paintings that day was just to see them. I wanted to see how great this Boss Su is!¡± Yu Ji¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t hide his hatred.

    Qin Ci couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°I don¡¯t think Boss Su has a direct conflict with you. If you want someone to be upset with, you should be upset with the potato powder¡­Oh no, I mean the two-mixed.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already found out all about him. He had curly hair and looked quite handsome.¡± Yu Ji sneered slightly. ¡°He¡¯s very artistic, and when he smiled, he looked very devilish, which made him seem very sexy.¡±

    ¡°¡­..¡±

    ¡°The reason why I¡¯m curious about this Su Benxin was because she has seriously upended the quiet life of gay men in our small town!¡± Yu Ji¡¯s voice became slightly louder. ¡°In my opinion, that woman is a pervert. She likes to have sex with gay men, and turning someone bent straight is like a great honor to her! What a reckless waste! Wanton destroyer of beautiful things! Terrible female pervert!¡±

    This was the first time Qin Ci heard about people like this. ¡°But I think that if it¡¯s a firm gay man, a woman shouldn¡¯t be able to¡­¡±

    ¡°Regardless, she has a way of turning a bowl of pure potato into a two-mix, like a witch brewing soup!¡± Yu Ji scolded a few words, then softened his tone. ¡°What¡¯s even more annoying is that seeing her in person makes me so angry.¡±

    On the contrary, Qin Ci thought that Su Benxin had a way of making people feelfortable.

    He was reluctant to talk more about other members and so he said, ¡°You¡¯ve already paid for your curiosity. If you hadn¡¯t gone to look at her art exhibition, you wouldn¡¯t have ended up here.¡±

    Yu Ji sighed, unable to help but be afraid. ¡°Although this city is pretty good, I still see Zhi Chun the moment I close my eyes. After all, I shared a dorm with himst night, and I don¡¯t dare sleep in that room tonight¡­Dr. Qin, can I sleep in your room with you?¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°¡­.Fortunately, there¡¯s a spare bed.¡± If it weren¡¯t for Yu Ji¡¯s confession right now, he would have answered more happily.

    After they returned to the dorm room, Su Benxin came over to say night night and prayed that everyone would be safe tonight.

    After she left, Yu Ji muttered, ¡°I was very unhappy with this woman, but when I see her, I just couldn¡¯t hate her¡­Well, she was right. I hope everyone will be safe tonight.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible¡­¡± Qin Ci smiled bitterly. ¡°If there is no death tonight, everyone will have to vote to determine who will die the next morning.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Yi Ji patted his head. ¡°Mmn, when we first came, you told us all the rules¡­My memory is really bad, and my head still hurts a little, like I have a cold. I¡¯ll go to bed early; I¡¯m too tired to wash up.¡±

    As Qin Ci looked at Yu Ji, who was lying down still wearing the same clothes, those old rules shed intermittently in his mind, such that he even wondered ¡°whether those rules work in this city, after all, the city has its own order.¡±

    Suddenly, the phone rang. When Qin Ci picked up, he heard Ke Xun¡¯s voice, ¡°Brother Qin, do you remember? We are currently in a painting called <i>The Scarlet Beast.</i> Our purpose is to find the painter¡¯s signature or seal! If we stay in this city for too long, we¡¯ll start to assimte into the painting, forgetting our original intentions! Brother Qin, wake up! The task of finding the beast is the task given to us by the painting, and our purpose is to get out of this city! Get out of this painting!¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s voice became louder and clearer, the sound like an rm waking up a slumbering person. Qin Ci suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, such that his back soon became soaked.

    It was toote to analyze the sense of loss he felt, and so Qin Ci tried to adjust his mood. ¡°What¡¯s the next step? Have you discussed it?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have a specific n yet, but our primary goal is to look for a signature! Now we¡¯re calling all members to notify them. The sooner everyone knows, the better!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice gradually lost the movie-like mellowness unique in this city, and became very real, even broken in desperation.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll inform all of our members immediately. We¡¯ll have a meeting tomorrow morning.¡± As Qin Ci said this, his heart seemed to separate into two trains heading in different directions. This behavior was like experiencing a long inertia after a train had stopped.

    When Qin Ci hung up the phone, there was a soft knock on the door.

    It was Su Benxin who came in. ¡°I heard the phone ringing just now. What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Qin Ci wanted to wake up Yu Ji so they could all talk about it, but unfortunately this man was sleeping soundly and couldn¡¯t be woken up at all. So he had no choice but to talk to Su Benxin first about Ke Xun¡¯s phone call.

    It took a long time for Su Benxin toe back to her senses. Finally, she ced a hand over her heart and said, ¡°Oh my god, this world is really scary, trying to deceive us all.¡±

    ¡°Mmn, I have never experienced a painting like this before.¡±

    ¡°Although¡­I think this painting is very cute and even a little nostalgic¡­In the end, it¡¯s not a ce I should stay in.¡± Su Bencin shrugged her shoulders, her voice unable to hide her regret.

    ¡°¡­.¡± In his mind, Qin Ci had been deliberately avoiding this topic. ¡°Tonight, we need to pay attention to safety and focus on looking for beasts tomorrow¡­No, look for the signature.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Good night then.¡±

    ¡­¡­.

    Luo Wei was suddenly awakened by the ringing of the telephone, and it was like being forcibly dragged from one world into another.

    He jerked up in bed in a cold sweat. He was still on the single bed in the dorm, and Wei Dong was on the other bed, sleeping soundly, seemingly unaffected by the ringing at all. Lion, who was on the other side, seemed to be dreaming, for there was a pained expression on his face.

    The phone was still ringing, and so Luo Wei got up and answered the phone.

    The receiver emitted the sound of heavy breathing, apanied by the static sound of damaged film. It seemed as if someone was speaking, but the audio was extremely vague and nearly indistinguishable.

    Luo Wei listened for a while, then asked, ¡°Who are you? Who are you looking for?¡±

    The voice in the receiver was still full of rough graininess. In the static, a man seemed to be saying, ¡°¡­Come out.¡±

    ¡°What? What came out?¡± Luo Wei asked again.

    ¡°¡­It came out of his trachea.¡± The vague voice seemed to be a little closer and a little clearer.

    Luo Wei was about to listen carefully again, when suddenly he heard an abnormal sounding from the room.

    He looked over and saw Lion tightly clutching his Adam¡¯s apple, making a choking sound.

    Luo Wei rushed over to Lion¡¯s side, all the while shouting for Wei Dong to help.

    Soon, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran also rushed in, but they were all powerless in the face of Lion¡¯s situation.

    The position of Lion¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple suddenly spurted arge amount of blood, almost like a fountain.

    No one knew how to help. Unfortunately the doctor wasn¡¯t around.

    In a panic, Ke Xun rushed forward and pressed down on Lion¡¯s torn and bloody wound. He seemed to feel something in there. ¡°I think there¡¯s a broken artery. I¡¯m blocking it now¡­Call an ambnce! Hurry!¡±

    By this time, Ke Xun was sttered with blood, but his hands were firmly fixed on this deadly injury on hispanion, not daring to make a single mistake.

 Chapter 174: Anger

    <h4>Chapter 174: Anger</h4>

    The hospital¡¯s emergency number was called, though it was unknown how long the ambnce would take to arrive.

    Mu Yiran called Qin Ci again and briefly exined the situation to him.

    At this moment, the room looked appalling. Lion¡¯s blood was sttered on the sheets, the walls, and even on the ceiling.

    Ke Xun squeezed the two ends of the broken blood artery in Lion¡¯s throat together, and this seemed to have stopped the blood from gushing out. However, Lion was still in critical condition.

    Ke Xun felt as if his entire body was trembling, and only the hand holding the blood vessel was able to maintain a sense of stillness. Perhaps, this single stability was because a life was on the line.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?!¡± Xiao Qinxian suddenly shrieked. ¡°What¡¯s that on his neck?!¡±

    Ke Xun tried his best not to look, for fear of being affected. Even so, he still felt it. At first, he thought it was the inhtion and exhtion of breaths, or maybe the throbbing of a blood vessel. But the movement seemed to be more and more extreme, making it seemed as if Lion was like a bullfrog, his throat expanding and retracting.

    Everyone was stunned by the sight of Lion¡¯s neck changing so drastically. Mu Yiran walked over and checked the other man¡¯s breath with his hands. His gaze lingered on his forehead for a moment, and then his expression sank.

    ¡°He¡¯s already dead.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t remove his hand. He recalled hearing many years ago about someone whose throat had been maliciously slit in an elevator. That person¡¯s friend had pinched his arteries with his own hands until medics arrived and rescued him.

    ¡°Ke Xun, he¡¯s already dead.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze remained locked on Lion¡¯s neck, which had bulged almost to the size of a football, turning the stretched skin almost transparent.

    Wei Dong grabbed Ke Xin¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Ke¡¯er, Lion is dead! Don¡¯t try to save him anymore! It won¡¯t matter anymore!¡±

    Wei Dong was so anxious that he added, ¡°Ke¡¯er! Let go! His neck is too abnormal. What if something happens to you?! Ke¡¯er, we¡¯ve done our best!¡±

    During all that time, Luo Wei never spoke, obviously shocked by this scene. Coupled with the weird phone call just now, the entire thing was beyond terrifying and confusing. He took a few deep breaths and said, ¡°It¡¯s the beast. The beast ising out of his trachea!¡±

    Mu Yiran soundlessly moved behind Ke Xun and grabbed his shoulders so hard that he had no choice but to let go. ¡°Everyone move back! Stay away.¡±

    At this point, Lion¡¯s neck was the size of his head, appearing as if it might explode like a bomb at any time.

    Xiao Qinxian gazed in horror at this strange sight. From her vantage point, the inexplicable bulge under Lion¡¯s head seemed to suddenly grow big, then small, big, then small. She was so frightened that she nearly fainted. She backed away until her body was pressed tightly against the cold wall in the hallway.

    Mu Yiran and Wei Dong pulled Ke Xun and retreated to the door. Luo Wei was standing the closest to Lion, his face covered in a cold sweat.

    Ke Xun grabbed Mu Yiran¡¯s hand. ¡°When I was trying to save him just now, I felt as if something like a hand was gripping me, desperately asking for help.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°Lion ispletely dead. He had nothing to do with the thing that was holding you. Stop thinking about it, Ke Xun.¡±

    Perhaps it was because he was thinking about it too much just now, but Ke Xun felt as if he¡¯d copsed a little.

    Mu Yiran held Ke Xun¡¯s hand tightly, and his voice was softer than ever before as he said, ¡°We¡¯ve done our best.¡±

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡±

    With a loud noise, nearly the entire ceiling was dyed red.

    Lion¡¯s appearance waspletely horrific, and the flesh between his head and shoulders was just a blurred mangleness¡­

    Everyone present had forgotten to close their eyes, forgotten to step back, and had even forgotten to think about the reason for the explosion just now.

    ¡°Hu¨Chu¨C¡± The strange noise sounded in the room. It had always been there, but after the loud noise, it was now more clearly discernible.

    ¡°Ahh!¨CThere¨C!¡± Xiao Qinxian¡¯s voice resounded through the floor. ¡°It¡¯s at his feet! What is that?!¡±

    Luo Wei subconsciously looked at his feet, and saw a blood-red body on the ground. Like a pufferfish, it stretched and swelled with a ¡°hu¨Chu¨C¡± panting sound. Like a magic trick, its body swelled asrge as a football in one instance, and then shrunk as small as a fish in the next.

    Luo Wei swallowed and retreated away from the ¡°pufferfish¡± step by step. ¡°This is¡­his beast.¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s legs had softened, but he didn¡¯t forget to grab Luo Wei¡¯s arm and pull him out of the door. ¡°Lion¡­Lion obviously doesn¡¯t have a beast. Why did this happen?¡±

    ¡°He did.¡± It was Mu Yiran who spoke.

    ¡°What¡­¡±

    ¡°When I looked at him earlier, I saw the red beast mark on his forehead,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Although Mu Yiran said this, no one dared look in Lion¡¯s direction to verify.

    Luo Wei frowned, carefully recalling the scene before Lion¡¯s ident. ¡°When I was answering the phone, I saw that something seemed to be wrong with him. I thought he was dreaming¡­Now that I think about it, at the time, his forehead was already a little red¡­¡±

    By this time, everyone had already retreated to the door. Mu Yiran asked, ¡°What call?¡±

    ¡°Just before the ident, I answered a call and it was a very unclear male voice on the other end. He said¡­¡± Luo Wei paused, and then repeated what the man said with some difficulties. ¡°It came out of his trachea.¡±

    Hearing this sentence, Xiao Qinxian slumped to the ground. ¡°The devil! This is the ce of the devil! I want to leave! I¡¯m not ying anymore! I want to go back!¡±

    When the paramedic arrived, two people were pulled into the ambnce. One was Lion and the other was Xiao Qinxian.

    Several medical staff were carefully cleaning up the bloody ¡°pufferfish¡± on the ground, and one of the nurses said, ¡°Let¡¯s all go back to the hospital together. Dr. Qin is waiting for you there.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t Dr. Qine over?¡± Wei Dong felt that this was unusual for Qin Ci.

    The nurse couldn¡¯t hide her sadness. ¡°Something happened to our colleague Yu Ji just now. Dr. Qin only found out after answering your call.¡±

    It turned out that something had happened to Yu Ji too.

    Two yesterday, and two more tonight. In this city, was the number of deaths even in pairs?

    Ke Xun suddenly remembered something. ¡°We have to quickly call Haowen¡¯er and the others.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll call.¡± Mu Yiran walked to his room next door. ¡°You all get ready. Let¡¯s go with them to the hospital right away.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    When they arrived at the hospital, Qin Ci was already in the operating room, performing a beast stripping procedure on Yu Ji.

    ¡°How did Yu Ji die?¡± After hearing about Lion¡¯s situation, Zhu Haowen couldn¡¯t help asking about Yu Ji.

    Pale-faced, Su Benxin said with lingering fear, ¡°After a diagnosis, it was said that his internal organ was ruptured by something sharp. When Dr. Qin checked, he found blood in his abdominal cavity.¡±

    ¡°Something sharp?¡±

    ¡°It was¡­it was said that it was something that extended form within his body¡­¡± Su Benxin¡¯s voice became weaker, as if just saying this was enough to terrify her.

    ¡°Today, these two things happened too suddenly, especially Lion, whichpletely took us by surprise,¡± said Zhao Yanbao, who was currently one of the more calmer members of the group. ¡°He had no red marks, so he should have been the safer one among us.¡±

    ¡°At dinner, which was thest time I checked everyone for beast marks, his forehead was still clean.¡± Luo Wei had already recollected what happenedst night. ¡°After he returned to the dormitory, I quickly turned off the lights and went to sleep, so I didn¡¯t pay much attention to him.¡±

    Suddenly, another operating room opened and a nurse came out. The ss bottle in her hand contained the pufferfish-like beast. It was still agitating, as if it would explode at any moment.

    The nurse said, ¡°This beast is veryplete. The deceased has been examined with equipment and there is no beast left in his body.¡±

    ¡°The beast¡­Why is it like this? Is it still alive?¡± Wei Don stammered.

    The nurse said in a soothing tone, ¡°Please rest assured. Once the beast body is separated from the host, it will no longer have any lethality. We have stripped out simr beasts like pufferfish or balloons before. It is said that this kind of beast is caused by the host¡¯s anger¡­¡±

    After speaking, the nurse carefully sent the pufferfish to the room dedicated to refrigerating beasts.

    ¡°Angry? Why is Lion suddenly angry? His mood seemed rtively stablest night.¡± Zhao Yanbao couldn¡¯t make sense of the reason at all. ¡°And this beast appeared so suddenly, it must have a direct connection to his anger.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Su Benxin. ¡°Are you his friend? I remember that you two came in together right before we entered the painting.¡±

    Su Benxin¡¯s eyes were red from tears that she must have shed at some point in time. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re friends. Lion is the photographer I specifically invited for the art exhibition. I killed him. If I hadn¡¯t invited him, what happened today wouldn¡¯t have happened¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you know him?¡±

    ¡°Not very well. I only know that his photography works were widely praised in the industry. He was a very optimistic and sunny person. I¡¯ve never seen him lose his temper before. How could he¡­¡± Su Benxin shrugged and then cried. ¡°Angry? Why would he be so angry to this point¡­I¡¯m such a useless friend¡­¡±

    Su Benxin¡¯s heart felt so painful that she couldn¡¯t help herself. She curled up in the corner of the hallway, trembling and crying.

    No one spoke in the hallway. Except for the sound of Su Benxin crying, the soundsing from the pufferfish seemed to echo.

    ¡°Hu¨CHu¨C¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    <b>Xida: </b>Su Benxin is sus. The night before, Lion seemed fine, except Su Benxin was thest person to talk to him. I wondered if she said something to him.

 Chapter 175: Rain

    <h4>Chapter 175: Rain</h4>

    The pufferfish was still alive, still constantly emitting deep panting sounds.

    But the story of its host, Lion, hade to a dead end.

    No one knew about the issue that had umted into the beast, and no one knew exactly what Lion was so angry about.

    The cruel reality was that what people wanted to know most was how Lion, who previously had a clean forehead, could grow such a bright red beast mark overnight, allowing this pufferfish to quickly mature and break out of its cocoon.

    Wei Dong subconsciously touched his neck. ¡°In the case of the sudden growth of a beast, whether it would have the ability to suddenly attack the host¡­¡±

    The previous assumption was that people who didn¡¯t have beast marks were rtively safe, but now, their existence had suddenly be like ticking time bombs¡­

    At present, except for Qin Ci, who was performing surgery, and Xiao Qinxian, who was undergoing treatment, the rest of the group were all concentrated in the hallway outside the operating room.

    ¡°The call that Luo Wei received was very important,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Luo Wei had just briefly told everyone about the phone callst night, and they all agreed that this strange ¡°telephone spoiler¡± was terrifying.

    Luo Wei obviously hadn¡¯t slept well, for there wererge, dark circles on his thin face. ¡°The call Xiao Qinxian received the night before was also an unclear male voice, and it mentioned a key word: left hand. It should be alluding to Zhi Chun¡¯s incident, specifically about that snail-like beast that was parasitizing Zhi Chun¡¯s left wrist.¡±

    Everyone thought about it and couldn¡¯t guess who could be calling. Zhu Haowen had the most imagination. ¡°Could it be that this call was from the beast itself?¡±

    Su Benxin heard this and her face turned pale with fright. ¡°How is that possible? The beast should be in the body of the deceased, how is it possible for it to make a call?¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°This is the painting. Anything can happen as long as it meets the author¡¯s creative inspiration.¡±

    Su Benxin nodded thoughtfully. ¡°I was just thinking, it was Xiao Qinxian who received the call the night before yesterday, and Luo Wei who received the callst night. Is it possible that each of us will receive such a call?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but from the moment the phone rang, except for the person who answered the phone, everyone else was blocked,¡± Luo Wei said with a cold expression. ¡°In the call to Xiao Qinxian the night before yesterday, none of us heard the phone ring. Last night, I was the only who could hear the phone call.¡±

    ¡°But, what is the caller¡¯s purpose?¡± Zhao Yanbao also joined in the discussion. ¡°Regardless of whether the caller is a man or a beast, there has to be a purpose. Why did he take the initiative to notify us? Since he decided to notify us, why did he block it from others? Is it only for the person who answered the phone, and only that person can hear and no one else?¡±

    ¡°There is really no reason to keep secrets among us members.¡± Zhao Yanbao continued to think, and looking at the other members, said, ¡°I am thinking now that this phone call is so secretive and vague, could it be that the person called on his own initiative?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s like an information leak,¡± Zhao Yanbao expressed her thoughts.

    Su Benxin thought for a while, then frowned and said, ¡°It seems that it can only be exined like this. Otherwise, it¡¯s impossible to exin the other party¡¯s purpose.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao continued to specte, ¡°But it¡¯s really difficult to guess who this person is exactly? Is it the painting itself or someone in this world?¡±

    ¡°Maybe all of this is a loophole.¡± Su Benxin shrugged. ¡°Because this matter is too random and irregr, I can¡¯t help but make this kind of spection.¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so,¡± Ke Xun said abruptly. ¡°This kind of phone whistleblowing behavior is too simr to Luo Wei¡¯s ability to see red marks. And what you mentioned just now regarding the shielding, the rest of us also can¡¯t see red marks. So, isn¡¯t this also equivalent to a kind of shielding as well?¡±

    These two things were indeed surprisingly simr, very much like the deliberate actions of some behind-the-scenes figure.

    Zhu Haowen nodded. ¡°That is the most reasonable exnation.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Su Benxin wanted to say something, but couldn¡¯t think of what to say after a while.

    However, Mu Yiran followed Su Benxin¡¯s words and continued, ¡°However, why is only a part of this information leaked? Two people died the night beforest, but the phone call to Xiao Qinxian only mentioned the left hand. Of course, this doesn¡¯t rule out the possibility that Xian Qinxian might not have heard the entire thing because she hung up too early. Butst night, Luo Wei was on the phone and he urately heard the statement about the trachea, then something happened to Lion.¡±

    ¡°I think that if the person continues to listen to these two calls, there may be other contents.¡± Su Benxin thought seriously and said, ¡°Maybe the next message would be about the other person that would be killed, but we can¡¯t hear all of the contents due to various reasons.¡±

    This exnation was also reasonable.

    Su Benxin added, ¡°There¡¯s still my original question. From this perspective, will each of us have the opportunity to receive such a call? What preparations should we make for the next time one of us receives this call?¡±

    Zhao Yanbao was more stubborn. ¡°This question has returned to the original point. If everyone may receive such a call, then there is no need to set up a shield. Why not just disclose the information to all of us?¡±

    ¡°¡­..¡± Su Benxin bit her lip and nodded slowly. ¡°Yanbao is right.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao continued, ¡°If this spection is rejected, then the person selected for this call must be someone within a certain range. Currently, Xiao Qinxian and Luo Wei were the only two who had received the call. What do they have inmon? If we could figure this out, maybe we can infer who would answer the phone next?¡±

    The others nodded secretly, thinking that this statement was on point.

    ¡°These two people really have nothing inmon.¡± Wei Dong racked his brains to think. ¡°Xiao Qinxian, even the position of her beast mark is different from everyone else¡­Also, Xiao Qinxian doesn¡¯t even like Luo Wei. So maybe it¡¯s based on opposites instead?¡±

    Luo Wei smiled bitterly and said, ¡°I have a very obvious characteristic, and that is my status as an outsider, which sets me apart from everyone else. Because I¡¯m an outsider, I can see the red marks on everyone¡¯s forehead, and because I¡¯m an outsider, I received such a call. If we exin it like this, it makes sense. But with Xiao Qinxian mixed in, it makes it much harder to figure out.¡±

    ¡°Also, the location of Xiao Qinxian¡¯s beast mark is a mystery,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°I have already looked through the relevant information yesterday, and of all the beast marks recorded in the history of Heart City, there has never been one that is not on the forehead.¡±

    ¡°What is Xiao Qinxian¡¯s mark? Could it be that it¡¯s not actually a beast mark?¡± Wei Dong felt that this was beyond the scope of his IQ.

    Mu Yiran listened to him but didn¡¯t say anything more.

    ¡°I think we can consider it from another angle. At present, this spection has reached a dead end,¡± Su Benxin said. ¡°We need to guess who might be the person to answer the phone next. Then maybe we can prevent problems before they happen.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me. You can go ahead and talk first.¡± Mu Yiran seemed to be going to the bathroom.

    Ke Xun thought about it and decided to follow.

    In the bathroom, Ke Xun asked, ¡°When we first arrived at the hospital, I saw that you were whispering to the nurse?¡±

    ¡°I asked the nurse to pass a message to Dr. Qin. Xiao Qinxian needs a more detailed examination,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°About that red tear mole?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly that. ording to Luo Wei¡¯s remarks and what we saw previously, there seems to be a problem with Xiao Qinxian. I don¡¯t know if she has a split personality or what.¡±

    It was a strange phenomenon in itself that a woman who could smoke a whole pack of cigarettes at night would not smoke at all during the day.

    ¡°Furthermore, this woman¡¯s eyes and personality are also inconsistent with the daytime.¡± Mu Yiran recalled Xiao Qinxian¡¯s behavior fromst night. ¡°Although Xiao Qinxian in the daytime is not likeable, she is not indifferent nor is she hysterical.¡±

    Hearing Mu Yiran put it this way, Ke Xun also felt that this was true. ¡°Is she schizophrenic?¡±

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be that simple,¡± Mu Yiran said. He took out a key from his pocket and added, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Qin Ci¡¯s room first and take a look around.¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t know what expression to make for a while. ¡°Damn big boss, when did you get a hold of Dr. Qin¡¯s key? When did you get this ability¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran said, with ck lines on his face, ¡°The nurse gave it to me earlier, saying that before entering the operating room, Dr. Qin told her to give us the key so that we can take a look at the scene of the incident.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. We¡¯re still part of the Criminal Investigation Department, and that makes us criminal investigators. We need to take a look.¡±

    Once they left the bathroom, they turned a corner. Following the information the nurse had provided, they took the elevator directly to Qin Ci¡¯s bedroom.

    After opening the door, Ke Xun subconsciously felt the wall for the light switch, because the room was really dark.

    ¡°Since things happened so suddenly, the room is probably in the same state it was inst night.¡± Mu Yiran walked to the window and opened the heavy curtains.

    Under the morning light, they were able to see the entirety of the dormitory. There were two beds in the room, with the bedding unfolded, as if its upants had just abruptly left.

    ¡°This should be Qin Ci¡¯s bed.¡± Ke Xun looked at the medical books beside the bed and then looked at the slippers beside the other bed. These two slippers wouldn¡¯t never again see their owner in this lifetime. ¡°That should be Ju Yi¡¯s bed.¡±

    Looking at the room now, they could see what happenedst night. Yu Ji suddenly fell ill with pain. After waking up, Qin Ci hurriedly tried to give first aid, only to find that he was unable to do anything at all, and so he immediately called for someone.

    Mu Yiran gently lifted Yu Ji¡¯sforter. ¡°There¡¯s some blood on the pillow. Su Benxin said that Yu Ji¡¯s internal organs were bleeding, so Ju Yi may have vomited out blood.¡±

    Ke Xun frowned and walked over. He picked up the corner of the pillow and moved it aside. Then, as if he¡¯d found something, he moved his body closer to the bed and pulled theforter to the side.

    Mu Yiran also frowned and stepped forward to help Ke Xun move the bedding out of the way, exposing the entire wall.

    There was a blood-red word written on the wall: Rain.

 Chapter 176: Frame

    <h4>Chapter 176: Frame</h4>

    This red word ¡®rain¡¯ was written with great difficulty, especially thest stroke, where the second point on the right side seemed to be in a state of trailing down.

    It was conceivable that this was the state Yu Ji was in when he was writing the word, and by the time he¡¯d barely managed to finish, he was probably already dead.

    ¡°Yu Ji¡¯s internal organs had ruptured, but he still insisted on writing the word ¡®rain¡¯.¡± Ke Xun checked around for more words but there were no other marks, only this solitary ¡°rain¡±. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is hisst words. It should be a kind of signal. Yu Ji was in so much pain that he couldn¡¯t wake Qin Ci, and so he could only use his own blood to write this word on the wall?¡±

    ¡°They were in the same roomst night. If Yu Ji had wanted to say something, he would have already said itst night.¡± Mu Yiran looked at the word ¡°rain¡± from multiple angles, but shook his head slightly. ¡°Yu Ji tried his best to write down what happened at thest moment of his life.¡±

    ¡°You mean, what Yu Ji saw before he died, or maybe he also received a call before he died?¡± Ke Xun¡¯s train of thought followed closely with Mu Yiran¡¯s.

    Mu Yiran walked over and looked at the phone in the room. This phone was much more advanced than the one at the police dormitory, and it would at least allow them to check the caller ID. There was no fingerprint DNA testing in this painting, but Mu Yiran still put on gloves before he pressed the query button. ¡°This phone only received two callsst night, both from our dormitory numbers. You called at 11:00, and the other was called out to Qin Ci at 4:00 am, when we called the hospital for help.¡±

    Indeed, Ke Xun had called Qin Cist night and told him about looking for the signature. Thinking of this, Ke Xun¡¯s brows gradually stretched, and he ran to Yu Ji¡¯s bed to study the word ¡°rain¡± once more.

    ¡°Hey, look, the way the word ¡®rain¡¯ is written is different from how we usually write it. We usually write the four dots in it as short diagonal shes, but the dots here are all horizontal. I just thought that it was his unique writing style as a painter, but actually¡­¡± Ke Xun wrote the word repeatedly on his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t you think the word is a little short as a whole?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun with appreciative eyes. ¡°It seems that this isn¡¯t a single character but a prefix.¡±

    This word for rain was actually the prefix of the painter¡¯s signature, Yu Beiguo.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t dare imagine that he had actually made an important suggestion¡­¡±If this name could be added to the long list of painter¡¯s signatures that Luo Wei had writtenst night, we might have been able to guess it faster.¡±

    ¡°Actually, Luo Wei had written the names, but I don¡¯t know if it was because the pen was running out of ink or the words were being blocked, I could only vaguely see the strokes and scratches of each word, and there was no color,¡± Mu Yiran spected. ¡°This name is very important, and so the people behind the scenes are trying their best to block it.¡±

    ¡°If Yu Ji was able to write this wordpletely before he died, he might have also been blocked.¡± Ke Xun still couldn¡¯t understand why Yu Ji would write this name. ¡°I already called Qin Ci to remind himst night, and he said he would notify all members at the hospital. Yu Ji should already know it, so there¡¯s no need to write this name out to remind everyone again.¡±

    ¡°Unless the name Yu Beiguo had other important meanings to Yu Ji,¡± Mu Yiran added, lost in thought.

    ¡°The night when we first entered the painting, both Yu Ji and Su Benxin mentioned the person Yu Beiguo. However, both of them said that they were not familiar with this person. I remember that Yu Ji seemed to have said that he had just returned to China and didn¡¯t know Yu Beiguo at all.¡± Ke Xun remembered very clearly that when they were talking about this, they had said that Yu Beiguo hadmitted suicide due to depression.

    ¡°Maybe at the time, Heart City had slowly begun to y its role, and so some people were beginning to forget, just like we all ignored Luo Wei¡¯s existence when we first got the temporary residence permit.¡±

    Letting people gradually integrate into the city and slowly recognize it as their own town, this may be the most terrifying part of this painting.

    ¡°Maybe Qin Ci could provide us with more answers,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Qin Ci must have seen this word, and maybe he realized something, causing him to secretly give Mu Yiran the key and tell him and Ke Xun toe to his dorms.

    ¡°Who is Qin Ci guarding against?¡± This was Ke Xun¡¯s first thought.

    ¡°We¡¯ll keep it a secret for the time being, and we can talk about it when Qin Cies back.¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­.

    After a long 4-hour operation, Qin Ci finally emerged from the operating room. Because he looked exhausted, everyone was too embarrassed to ask about the beast right away.

    After Qin Ci showered and changed clothes, he met everyone in his office.

    ¡°The nurse said that the operation would take a long time, so we simply divided the work and went downstairs to look around,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Qin Ci rubbed his temple. His voice was exhausted as he said, ¡°Did you find anything?¡±

    ¡°We just looked around, but it¡¯s impossible to find the signature on the street.¡± Wei Dong looked over at Zhao Yanbao. ¡°Xiao Zhao seemed to have seen something unusual.¡±

    Apparently, Zhao Yanbao hadn¡¯t had time to tell everyone about her experience, and so she picked up the conversation, ¡°I went a little further out and entered the university on the other side of the city, thinking that since this is a rtively closed city without inte connection, perhaps more information could be found in universities.¡±

    The others couldn¡¯t help but admire this psychologist.

    ¡°I happened to arrive in the middle of a gathering at the entrance of the university. It may be that the students¡¯ movements were restricted, and so they could only limit their activities to the entrance of the school.¡±

    ¡°What activity is it?¡± Qin Ci was curious.

    ¡°Protesting against the sale of beasts and the killing of souls,¡± Zhao Yanbao said this slogan word by word. ¡°These students believed that beasts are part of human souls, and if they are stripped away, the souls of the dead would no longer beplete.¡±

    ¡°Then what do they want done with the beasts? Some beasts¡­came out of their own,¡± Su Benxin said.

    ¡°Perform a ceremony to help the beast gain peace and put it back into the body of the deceased to make the body intact once more.¡±

    Su Benin shook her head slowly. ¡°These college students are simply too superstitious.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao ignored Su Benxin¡¯s words and continued, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s insightful. The medical books and government newspapers that we had seen before were publications of a rtively one-sided argument. At present, a considerable number of people in this city are advocating that ¡®the beast be returned to its original body to leave the soul intact.¡¯ Some phnthropists even collect beasts, and they would ask some masters to find the burial ce of the hosts of these beasts and burn the beasts in front of their tomb, thus returning them to their origins.¡±

    After hearing these words, everyone had different expressions.

    Ke Xun felt that, sincest night¡¯s ¡®breakthrough,¡¯ the city¡¯s true colors were slowly being revealed, as if everything was awakening.

    Su Benxin sighed softly. ¡°The world presents us with problems. Should we look for the beasts or the signature first? Those college students can¡¯t be trusted, and sometimes behaviors that are new and unusual doesn¡¯t necessarily mean progress. It¡¯s best if we temporarily store the beasts of our group members and then deal with them when we find the real answer.¡±

    She seemed to have thought of something again and said, ¡°Sost night¡¯s proposal of ¡®exchanging beasts for beasts¡¯ can end now. Once the beasts of our friends are traded out, we can never get them back.¡±

    Zhu Haowen seemed impatient and he asked Qin Ci directly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Yu Ji? What about Lion? What we need to do now is avoid death and look for the signature.¡±

    Qin Ci put down the ss of water he¡¯d just finished drinking, his expression somewhat heavy. ¡°Because Yu Ji¡¯s beast is still being repaired, I can¡¯t show it to everyone for the time being. The condition of this beast is unprecedented, and its shape haspletely detached from the creature itself.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Qin Ci¡¯s face. They all wanted to know about the detachment and what kind of state the beast was in.

    ¡°It was a huge picture frame, arge square frame made up of four hard horizontal sides. It rushed straight through his body, the four corners puncturing his internal organs, resulting in his death.¡±

    This incident had refreshed everyone¡¯s word view once more, so that they didn¡¯t know what to say even if they wanted to express their thoughts.

    After a while, Ke Xun said, ¡°Perhaps this has something to do with Yu Ji¡¯s career. He was a painter himself, so maybe he had some attachment to painting in his heart.¡±

    ¡°This is too terrifying!¡± Wei Dong¡¯s face seemed to have the word ¡°fuck¡± written on it. ¡°There¡¯s actually such a big frame in his body¡­Will I also have a big monitor, disying the graphic design software I often use¡­?¡±

    Zhu Haowen asked, ¡°So is there any content in therge picture frame? Or is it empty?¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s expression was a littleplicated. ¡°It¡¯s just a big picture frame with nothing in the middle and no picture.¡±

    ¡°This is terrible. This is too scary.¡± Su Benxin felt as if her own internal organs were also being stabbed by some sharp weapon. ¡°This picture frame must havee into being suddenly, or maybe it suddenly erged. Just like Lion¡¯s¡­pufferfish beast, it appeared all of a sudden and took it¡¯s owner¡¯s life.¡±

    Qin Ci continued. ¡°The sum of Yu Ji¡¯s beast and Lion¡¯s beast were exactly 2000 grams, no more and no less.¡±

    This figure reminded everyone once again that all the beasts inside each person¡¯s body would equate to 13 kilograms.

    Zhu Haowen looked at Luo Wei, who was sitting next to him, and said to everyone, ¡°We need to look for the signature. Don¡¯t forget that our purpose is to find the signature. This time, the task is different from the task of making paints in Shadow. At that time, the requirement was that we mustplete the task quantitatively each day. But this time, we are being given 6 and a half days. As long as we leave the painting before the cut-off date, we don¡¯t need to struggle to find 13 kilograms of beasts.¡±

    .

    Everyone nodded, and the weight on their heart seemed to have lightened slightly.

    ¡°By the way, how is Xiao Qinxian doing?¡± Luo Wei asked Qin Ci.

    ¡°She¡­is too frightened and needs to rest,¡± Qin Ci replied.

    Luo Wei looked thoughtful, but didn¡¯t insist on continuing the topic. ¡°Then let¡¯s group up as soon as possible. Time is waiting for no one; we have to hurry up and find the signature.¡±

 Chapter 177: Replicating the Painting

    <h4>Chapter 177: Replicating the Painting</h4>

    Without further ado, everyone decided to temporarily divide into 4 groups. With the hospital as the center, they spread out in four directions¨Cnorth, south, east, and west¨Cto look for the signature.

    Qin Ci was the first to say with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll go with my old partner, Dongzi. I hope we can have a good result this time.¡±

    Although Wei Dong didn¡¯t understand why Qin Ci chose him directly, he still smiled and went to Qin Ci¡¯s side. ¡°Brother Qin had done more than 4 hours of surgery. I¡¯m just afraid that you would have a hard time bearing it.¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go south. If I get tired, we can just read. There are many newspapers and magazines in cafes, and if we read the news there, maybe we can gain valuable information.¡±

    Ke Xun immediately said, ¡°Then Yiran and I will go east. Yesterday, we had nned on going to the beast trading market over there. Maybe we can discover something new.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao looked at Su Benxin, the only woman present besides herself, and was about to invite her to join her, when she saw Su Benxin tilt her head and looked at Luo Wei. Su Benxin said, ¡°If you don¡¯t speak, everyone will forget you again. How about this, let¡¯s partner up?¡±

    Luo Wei nodded. ¡°Haowen and Xiao Zhao can continue to go to the university in the west and we can head north.¡±

    Su Benxin readily agreed. As they prepared to leave, she asked Qin Ci, ¡°How is the situation with Xiao Qinxian? Do we need to go and check in on her?¡±

    ¡°She just needs rest and is sleeping right now,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°I think that even if we look for the signature now, she wouldn¡¯t me us for being rude.¡±

    ¡°Mmn, looking for the signature is the most important thing at the moment,¡± Su Benxin said with a smile.

    As a result, the four groups went out the hospital door and headed off in different directions.

    Wei Dong and Qin Ci walked all the way south. After two stops, Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Old Qin, are you holding back?¡±

    Qin Ci smiled lightly and pointed to one of the shops on the side. ¡°Come on. Reading Time Cafe.¡±

    After saying this, he dragged Wei Dong into the cafe.

    ¡°It¡¯s not good for us to bezy like this¡­¡± Before Wei Dong could finish his words, he suddenly saw two familiar figures sitting in an inconspicuous corner. It was Ke Xun and Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Damn, when did the three of you make an appointment with me behind my back?¡±

    Wei Dong and Qin Ci went to Ke Xin¡¯s side and put down the istion curtain, so that the people outside would have a hard time seeing inside.

    Qin Ci sat down and went straight to the point. ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business first, and we¡¯ll inform Haowen and Luo Weiter.¡±

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but look serious when he heard this.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about Yu Ji first.¡± Although Qin Ci was a little tired, his eyes were very bright. These kinds of eyes werepletely different from the calm andfortable look of the previous days. It was as if he¡¯d just recovered something he¡¯d lost in the painting and had now just woken up.

    As the other three listened to Qin Ci¡¯s narration, they felt more and more that Yu Ji¡¯ story was not that simple.

    ¡°¡­The above was everything Yu Ji told mest night.¡± Qin Ci ended the long narration and took a sip of coffee.

    ¡°You spoke with great detail, and this is very helpful for analysis.¡± Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t help but give Qin Ci a big affirmation. ¡°If I guess correctly, Yu Beiguo should be very important to Yu Ji.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck? Yu Beiguo?¡± Wei Dong made a strange expression. ¡°Beiguo, Beiguo. Why does it sound so familiar?¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but p Wei Dong on the forehead. Snapping his fingers, he said, ¡°He¡¯s the painter whose signature we¡¯re looking for.¡±

    ¡°Fuck¡­Is it the character for fish?¡± Wei Dong scratched his head in embarrassment. ¡°I always thought it was the character for deficiency¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­There is a character for rain at the top, so of course it is fish.¡±

    ¡°Then there is a character for deficiency at the bottom¡­¡±

    Ke Xun took a sip of iced water and began to exin his point of view. ¡°I think this Yu Ji¡¯s description of his lover is very vague. Regarding this lover, we only know that he studied art abroad and then returned to China. Hemitted suicide due to love, and other than that, we don¡¯t know anything about him. Yu Ji¡¯s description of him isn¡¯t as good as his description of Su Benxin.¡±

    ¡°And from his description, I don¡¯t think he hated that two-mixed too much. There seemed to be a mixture of love and hatred for that person.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded thoughtfully, recalling Yu Ji¡¯s appearancest night as he was talking about the two-mixed. He had let out a kind of bewildered chuckle, saying ¡®I¡¯ve seen that person before. He has curly hair, and he¡¯s quite handsome¡­He¡¯s very artistic, and when he smiled, he looked very devilish, which made him seem very sexy.¡¯

    Ke Xun continued, ¡°From Yu Ji¡¯s tone, it seemed as if all his hatred were aimed at Su Benxin. It stood to reason that Su Benxin had absolutely no direct rtionship with Yu Ji in thisplex four love rtionship. If he wanted to hate someone, he should have hated the two-mixed who stole his lover.¡±

    ¡°Even Yu Ji¡¯s visit to Benxin Art Gallery was to see what Su Benxin was like. If there were no direct personal grievances, I don¡¯t think he would behave so unnecessarily.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded slightly. ¡°Yu Ji himself studied oil painting abroad. Judging from his description, his lover also studied art abroad, and he also mentioned that this two-mixed has a high artistic talent. We may boldly infer that this so-called lover and this so-called two-mixed are actually the same person, and that person is Yu Beiguo.¡±

    ¡°However, because this painting has strict confidentiality measures for the name Yu Beiguo, Yu Ji forgot the name of his lover that died, until he suddenly rememberedst night.¡±

    Ke Xun felt very ufortable when he heard this. This was probably the cruelest part of this painting. It could make you ignore and forget your most important person, causing you to react toward them with the most dismissive attitude.

    Qin Ci nodded slightly. It seemed that he also agreed with Mu Yiran¡¯s statement.

    Only Wei Dong was unable to understand. ¡°Then why can¡¯t he just say it directly? Even if the name Yu Beiguo was blocked by the painting, he only needed to say that he had a lover, so why should one person be divided into two?!¡±

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t pretending to be mysterious,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°He just subconsciously didn¡¯t want his lover to get too close to Su Benxin. Although his lover was, in fact, indeed taken away by this woman, Su Benxin, he couldn¡¯t ept it psychologically, so he made up a so-called two-mixed to separate Yu Beiguo and Su Benxin.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this self-deception¡­?¡± Wei Dong said no more. He already understood in his heart that this incident had dealt a great deal of damage to Yu Ji.

    ¡°When we were in the hospital earlier, Haowen¡¯er told me something,¡± Ke Xun said, recalling. ¡°ording to Zhao Yanbao¡¯s observation, Yu Ji seemed to be someone with mild to moderate depression.¡±

    ¡°How did she find out?¡±

    ¡°Professionals probably have their own observation methods.¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°I remember that Yu Beiguo hadmitted suicide due to depression. Could it be that Yu Ji and Yu Beiguo both had depression?¡±

    Qin Ci couldn¡¯t help but intensify his tone, ¡°About that beast, I actually wasn¡¯t finished talking about it. From a strict point of view, there wasn¡¯t a direct picture inside the frame.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Ke Xun and Wei Dong asked in unison.

    ¡°The center of that empty picture frame is Yu Ji¡¯s heart.¡±

    Everyone became quiet as they listened to Qin Ci¡¯s words.

    ¡°The heart actually didn¡¯t look like what it should. On the surface, it seemed to be covered by some wisps from the titr beast, connecting the heart to the picture frame. If I remember correctly, the picture in Yu Ji¡¯s body is exactly like what we saw at the beginning, which was Yu Beiguo¡¯s painting The Scarlet Beast.¡±

    Because this was too strange, the other three didn¡¯t know what to say for a while.

    Wei Dong took a long time to settle himself, and he kept gasping for breath. ¡°Fuck¡­that¡­Is there a signature in that picture frame?¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but admire Wei Dong¡¯s pragmatism to even think of the signature.

    Qin Ci shook his head and sighed, ¡°The reason why the surgery took so long was that I was looking for the signature, but unfortunately, there was none. There was only one painting, a three-dimensional painting with Yu Ji¡¯s heart as the specimen.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°Yu Ji actually wanted to add the painter¡¯s signature, but he couldn¡¯t do it in the end, so he only wrote the prefix of his surname on the wall before his death.¡±

    Although the topic was very heavy, no one had time to express their feelings. They could only grit their teeth and be pragmatic.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°ording to our previous spection, Yu Ji¡¯s story should be like this. Yu Ji and Yu Beiguo were lovers when they studied painting abroad together. When Yu Beiguo returned home, he fell in love with Su Benxin. The Scarlet Beast was something Yu Beiguo had painted before his death. Maybe Yu Ji had seen this painting before, or maybe the art gallery was the first time he¡¯d seen it. Regardless, it was very meaningful to him, and it could even be said that it punched him directly in the heart, such that an unshakeable knot was formed over his heart.¡±

    ¡°But why would they lie? The night we first arrived, both of them said that they weren¡¯t familiar with Yu Beiguo,¡± Wei Dong asked.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°That¡¯s where my doubt lies. Even if the painting made them forget their lover¡¯s name, they couldn¡¯t have forgotten everything. Since Yu Ji was able to remember it so clearly, I think it¡¯s also impossible for Su Benxin to forget. After we reveal the signature, Su Benxin should have remembered more things.¡±

    Su Benxin, like Xiao Qinxian, had be a mystery.

    ¡°Speaking of which, I am ashamed to say that the reason why I called everyone out alone was to guard against Su Benxin. I just couldn¡¯t figure out her bottom line,¡± Qin Ci said.

    Mu Yiran nodded. ¡°Su Benxin couldn¡¯t have forgotten this matter. When she recited the content of the title page of the book The Scarlet Beast word for word, I guessed that she had something to do with the origin of everything.¡±

    <strong>Xida:?</strong>What Mu Yiran said in thest paragraph is valid, because Su Benxin¡¯s name has xin (heart) in it, and the name of the city is called Heart City. I¡¯ve gotten to the point in the book where I am reading along as I trante, and I can honestly say that I am worried about Luo Wei, because Su Benxin seems to be paying him a lot of attention.

 Chapter 178: Outsiders

    <h4>Chapter 178: Outsiders</h4>

    It was a little hot in the cafe. Ke Xun rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing his strong forearms. There were some bruised pinch marks on one of his arms, and it was toote for him to cover it up so he had to exin, ¡°Everytime I begin to think about spending the rest of my life in this city, I will pinch myself really hard.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at the marks on Ke Xun¡¯s forearm and couldn¡¯t help cursing. ¡°This city is a trap, a trap that wants to trick us all in. Ke¡¯er, you also know to remind yourself. I waspletely unaware before the ¡®secret¡¯ was revealed, and all I could think about was to look for a beast. Even now, I have to force myself to let the word ¡®signature¡¯e into my head. It¡¯s like having to turn on a lightbulb.¡±

    Ke Xun pulled down the sleeve of his left arm, not wanting everyone¡¯s attention to be focused on himself. ¡°Actually, the most ufortable person must be Luo Wei. He¡¯s the only person that¡¯s awake, and that makes him suffer more. We talked about Su Benxin just now, and now I¡¯m a little worried about Luo Wei being with her. I always felt that Lion¡¯s death was suspicious. When we came out of the restaurantst night, he talked for a long time with Su Benxin.¡±

    Although Su Benxinter exined this, saying ¡®When night fell, I became really scared and so I wanted to chat with an old friend. We were kind-offorting each other at the time, because although we both don¡¯t have any beast marks, we were still afraid.¡¯

    ¡°I was a little worried about Luo Wei before, but themunication of sensitive contents between people outside and inside the city would be blocked, which may provide Luo Wei with a kind of protection. Moreover, I talked to Luo Wei while we were grouping. He¡¯s a very smart person and he will take precautions against Su Benxin.¡± Mu Yiran put his right hand on Ke Xun¡¯s left arm, seeming to be gently stroking the bruises.

    Qin Ci finished drinking his coffee and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about Xiao Qinxian again. The results of her examination surprised me.¡±

    Wei Dong choked on the water in his mouth, but he managed to hold it back and didn¡¯t fire it like a cannon at Qin Ci. ¡°Pff-cough. What happened to Xiao Qinxian?¡±

    ¡°Xiao Qinxian was sent to the examination room at 4 in the morning. She was simply panicked at first, but she became extremely uncooperative, and could even be considered manic. The medical staff had to give her tranquilizer. At the time, she was undergoing a schizophrenic episode,¡± Qin Ci said.

    Wei Dong¡¯s face was serious. ¡°I believe this. That woman doesn¡¯t seem normal during the day.¡±

    Mu Yiran wrote down some things in his notebook and then asked, ¡°Is there anything else?¡±

    ¡°Her physical examination is also surprising. Xiao Qinxian had a history of smoking for at least ten years, as well as a history of drug abuse,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°There are many scars on her body that point to drug abuse.¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s eyes widened. Although Xiao Qinxian was quite unpopr, he would never imagine that she was this kind of woman with a history of drug addiction. ¡°Isn¡¯t she a wedding dress designer? I remember that she was still doing design in a famous wedding dress shop in S City. At lunch yesterday, she said that she came back to her hometown to visit rtives¡­Such bad luck.¡±

    Qin Ci shook his head. ¡°But there¡¯s nothing wrong with her medical examination, and there¡¯s nothing wrong with those physical wounds. If it¡¯s not self-harm, then it¡¯s long-term abuse.¡±

    Ke Xun refilled everyone¡¯s cup with cold water and took a drink to refresh himself. ¡°It¡¯s really messy. I feel like this entire thing is like eating a snack with severalyers, like cakes, biscuits, and wafers with a lot of cream, and so on.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°It¡¯s called Napoleon¡­¡±

    But he didn¡¯t continue his ridiculed dpression. Because, when the word ¡®outsider¡¯ was mentioned, he couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of Lion, the foreign photographer with the sunny smile, who would pay special attention to his words every time and mispronounce I and you, and who would talk about his adventures in photography¡­

    Mu Yiran took a sip of iced water. After these two nights, there were already some slight stubbles on his face. They didn¡¯t make him look bad, but instead added a little extravagance. ¡°The same goal will be achieved through different means. Although the situations with Su Benxin and Xiao Qinxian seem difficult, they will fall in line.¡±

    Wei Dong nodded. Ever since he was reminded of the signature, he no longer forgot this central thought, which was to leave the painting. ¡°Looking for the signature on the street is like looking for a needle in a haystack. The only clue the painting gave us is ¡®beast.¡¯ I think the signature must have something to do with the beasts!¡±

    Everyone agreed with this point. Qin Ci said, ¡°Just now, when Xiao Mu mentioned Su Benxin¡¯s recitation of the title page of The Scarlet Beast, I recall that The Revtions of St. John the Divine had mentioned the woman with the mark on her forehead. I was wondering, could the characters on the woman¡¯s forehead be rted to the characters in the signature?¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s analysis caused both Ke Xun and Wei Dong to raise their eyebrows and give thumbs up. Afterward, everyone waited for Mu Yiran to analyze.

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°I also made this assumption, and even imagined who this woman might be¡­But, after all, the woman in Revtions is the incarnation of a cult, and the words on her forehead are also very evil. If these words can be equated with the author¡¯s name¡­¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s eyes lit up, and the others seemed to have thought of the same thing. ¡°The painter actually did the opposite. He didn¡¯t paint this to condemn the scarlet beast but to praise it! That¡¯s why, in his Heart City, the beasts in people¡¯s bodies will be enshrined on the altar!¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded. ¡°However, this morning, Zhao Yanbao brought back a voice from the university, and this voice had grown to a certain scale in this city, making the original intentions of the painter more and more difficult to guess.¡±

    Return the beast to its original body andplete the soul.

    This progressive slogan was printed on the walls of the cafe.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­

    At lunchtime, everyone went back to the hospital and gathered in the cafeteria to eat like yesterday.

    It was the same single room as yesterday, but there were three fewer people, which was depressing.

    ¡°By the way, how¡¯s Xiao Qinxian? How will her lunch be resolved?¡± Zhao Yanbao asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s being fed nutritious meals. Her mood is still unstable, but we can go see her after lunch.¡± Qin Ci said.

    Zhao Yanbao looked at the food on the table but had no appetite. She only drank some orange juice and said, ¡°The people in the university town are against the beast stripping operation and the exchanging of beasts. From them, I found out that some people in society who specialized in beast husbandry are buying mentally ill patients at a high price, raising them, and even feeding them medicines to make their conditions worse, so as to increase the chance of them developing a beast in their bodies. Feeding them appropriately can make their beasts more rare.¡±

    Zhao Yanbao looked at the ss cup filled with bright orange juice. ¡°It¡¯s really inhumane.¡±

    Everyone gradually felt the rot hiding under the city¡¯s golden jade exterior. The more they saw this, the more they wanted to escape.

    ¡°We are now able to see this painting more and more clearly. The painter himself is probably full of contradictions,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Regarding their analysis of Yu Beiguo, the veteran members still hadn¡¯t had time to talk to Zhu Haowen and Luo Wei yet, and it was inconvenient to say more at this time.

    Wei Dong was half full. Raising his head, he said, ¡°We don¡¯t have any valuable clues here, only that in this city, surgeons are very respected. Today, in the coffee shop, because of Dr. Qin¡¯s work card, he didn¡¯t have to pay his bill.¡±

    Su Benxin looked at her ¡®colleague¡¯ Qin Ci and smiled. ¡°It seemed that Dr. Qin is really suitable for this ce. Many of the colleagues in the hospital are full of praises for Dr. Qin.¡±

    Qin Ci let out a faint smile but didn¡¯t speak.

    ¡°Today¡¯s sweet and sour pork wasn¡¯t very good; it was too sweet.¡± Ke Xun naturally changed the subject and looked at Luo Wei. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard you speak today. How was your trip?¡±

    Luo Wei¡¯s expression was calm, not as pained as it was yesterday. He took a sip of his soup and said, ¡°We went north today and saw a train station there. It was full of all kinds of people.¡±

    ¡°The train station?¡± In his impression, trains are often means of transportation connecting cities. If there was a train in Heart City, it should lead outside.

    ¡°Yes, the train goes out of the city,¡± Luo Wei said. ¡°The train tickets also need a special stamp. Some people n to leave the city forever, while others are just nning to go on business. If it¡¯s for business, these people wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the city boundary, and can only talk to the people there and make deals with them.¡±

    Su Benxin also added, ¡°Yes, those who left Heart City can nevere back, and outsiders who want to settle in this city will need to undergo a special treatment. I think it¡¯s to erase their memory or something.¡±

    Luo Wei smiled bitterly. ¡°So, I¡¯ve been trying to figure it out. What is the painter¡¯s meaning of cing an outsider inside the city limits?¡±

    The whole city was full of contradictions, contradictions inside and outside the city, contradictions between opposing views about the beast.

    Luo Wei continued, ¡°However, we met an oracle at the train station today.¡±

    ¡°An oracle?¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s an olddy who runs a stall at the train station, a fortune telling stall.¡± When Luo Wei talked about this person, there was a rare energetic look in his eyes. ¡°This olddy can tell at a nce that the two of us are outsiders.¡±

    ¡°Both of you?¡± Wei Dong looked at Su Benxin. ¡°What does this mean?¡±

    Luo Wei said, ¡°I also found it very strange. When she saw me for the first time, she said in a strange dialect: How did an outsidere here? I thought that maybe she saw that I am an outsider of Heart City, but after seeing Su Benxin, she said: The outsider also brought an outsider woman.¡±

    Everyone thought that it was strange. Su Benxin said, ¡°That olddy is very mysterious. She looked very strange, even a little weird. Her eyes are different colors, but she has such good eyesight that she could actually see that Luo Wei and I are from outside the painting.¡±

    ¡°Did she mention the painting?¡± Mu Yiran asked suddenly.

    ¡°No, but she said that both of us are outsiders. Isn¡¯t that strange? ording to how we were divided, only Luo Wei is an outsider,¡± Su Benxin said.

    Luo Wei added, ¡°So she is an oracle. She seems to be able to see things we can¡¯t see, including this painting and maybe the signature.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    Xida: Interesting. I wonder if Su Benxin is a different kind of outsider than Luo Wei and she¡¯s trying to hide it by suggesting that the oracle meant outsider of the painting?

 Chapter 179: Two Souls

    <h4>Chapter 179: Two Souls</h4>

    ¡°Let¡¯s go see this woman in the afternoon,¡± Qin Ci suggested.

    Su Benxin said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it separately. It would be a waste of time for everyone to go see the olddy.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s move freely in the afternoon, and gather at the cafeteria before dinner time.¡± Mu Yiran had already finished his lunch.

    The crowd nodded in agreement.

    Qin Ci was really tired and decided to take a nap after lunch.

    However, this precious lunch break was still disturbed by Xiao Qinxian. Qin Ci opened the door and looked at Xiao Qinxian, who was standing on the other side. The nurse on the side hurriedly exined, ¡°After a few hours of observation, Miss Xiao has recovered, so we agree that she can move freely for a while.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, she¡¯s my friend.¡± Qin Ci waved his hand and asked the nurse to leave first.

    Xiao Qinxian had returned to her former uncongenial demeanor, and even her mushroom hairstyle was returned to order. ¡°I think this is a game.¡±

    ¡°Come in and sit down.¡± Qin Ci let Xiao Qinxian into the room, but his seemingly peaceful expression implied that he was scrutinizing this woman.

    ¡°We seem to be following the rules of the city step by step. For example, you¡¯re the doctor, Ke Xun is the policeman, Luo Wei is an outsider, and my character is actually a damn patient.¡± Xiao Qinxian stood by the corner of the room, her arms crossed.

    ¡°Your situationst night was indeed scary. First you fainted, then you became hysterical and made a scene,¡± Qin Ci reminded Xiao Qinxian.

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s eyes became a little dazed. ¡°I don¡¯t remember doing those things¡­Lion scared everyonest night, and I don¡¯t believe that the others aren¡¯t afraid.¡±

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t say anything but directly grabbed the stack of medical records on the table and handed them to her. ¡°Take a look first and see whether these things are true.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian picked up the medical records and nced down at her name written on the file. Her expression was a little nervous, but as her eyes scanned over the things written on the file, her expression lightened and she let out a small chuckle. ¡°I thought you made a mistake and I was right. This isn¡¯t my medical record at all.¡±

    Qin Ci¡¯s expression was full of doubts.

    ¡°My blood type is type B, but what¡¯s written here is type O. The blood type is wrong. How can people believe anything written after this?!¡± Xiao Qinxian threw the medical records back onto the table.

    ¡°Is your blood type really B?¡± Qin Ci asked in a serious tone. This wasn¡¯t something that could be ignored. The hospital couldn¡¯t have made such a low-level mistake.

    Xiao Qinxian shrugged her shoulders and sneered. ¡°Blood type isn¡¯t something that can be changed at will. It¡¯s set at birth and cannot be changed, just like fingerprints.¡±

    ¡°Would you mind doing another blood test?¡±

    She wanted to be unreasonable to make trouble, but in order to prove herself, she nodded. ¡°If you want to test, then test. I don¡¯t want you to treat me like a patient, or someone with a mental illness.¡±

    Qin Ci had already opened the door with the medical record in hand and walked into the hallway. Xiao Qinxian followed him. ¡°This world is really insidious. It¡¯s probably trying to turn each of us into a lunatic.¡±

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t seem to hear Xiao Qinxian¡¯sints and simply asked the question he wanted to ask, ¡°Do you smoke?¡±

    ¡°I smoke asionally, but it¡¯s not anything close to an addiction.¡±

    ¡°Have you done drugs before?¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± Xiao Qinxian rolled her eyes and sneered. ¡°Ha!¡­This ck-hearted hospital really put untruebels on people. Drug addiction? My God¡­!¡±

    Like this, Xiao Qinxian once again took a blood test. However, the medical staff in charge of blood analysis said that it would take three hours for the result.

    Qin Ci frowned. ¡°It¡¯s just a blood type test, how long does it take?¡±

    The medical staff smiled with embarrassment. ¡°Sorry, Dr. Qin. There are too many blood samples today. We have to do them in order.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then. Let¡¯s go.¡± Qin Ci also didn¡¯t want to demand special privileges due to his status as a doctor, so he and Xiao Qinxian waited in the lobby for a while before meeting Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, Wei Dong, and Luo Wei, all were veteran members.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Haowen¡¯er?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t believe in that kind of spiritual nonsense, but he and Zhao Yanbao had gone to observe the beast¡¯s soul reposement ceremony, and Su Benxin also followed them,¡± Luo Wei said.

    Qin Ci showed aplicated smile. He didn¡¯t believe in that kind of spiritual nonsense, yet he still went to observe the soul reposement ceremony? This¡­

    Zhu Haowen was actually worried about Su Benxin. Zhao Yanbao and Su Benxin could be regarded as nodding acquaintances. They were both also familiar to some degree with Lion. Therefore, Zhu Haowen wasn¡¯tfortable with leaving them both to their own device.

    ¡°What the hell is going on? What are we going to do?¡± Xiao Qinxian asked. Ever since she was mistaken for a mental case, she always felt that these people were plotting against her.

    Ke Xun said sinctly, ¡°There is an olddy at the train station who probably has yin and yang eyes, so maybe she can see the signature.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s statement was indeed very tempting. Xiao Qinxian nodded and decided to go with them.

    They walked out of the hospital and directly called a taxi. Ke Xun got into the passenger seat, while Wei Dong, Qin Ci, and Xiao Qinxian sat in the back.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t theying?¡± Xiao Qinxian asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re acting separately. The two of them wanted to know more about the rules of the station.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t exin too much.

    After lunch, they had a meeting and they all agreed that the information at the train station was incredibly valuable. Since this city ced great emphasis on the inside and outside of the city, there might be clues at the city boundary. Maybe they might even find the signature there.

    ¡°If Luo Wei isn¡¯t going with us, what if we couldn¡¯t find the olddy?¡± Qin Ci looked at the street scene outside the car window, a little worried.

    ¡°He gave me the location very clearly, so there won¡¯t be any mistakes.¡± Soon after, Ke Xun called the car to a stop. ¡°I just saw her.¡±

    Right next to the flower bed at the entrance of the ticket window was a simple fortune telling stall. A blood-red cloth was spread out on the ground, indicating that the stall was open for business.

    The fortune telling stall mostly went ignored, and so it was far less prosperous than the stalls selling snacks, toys, and small jewelries.

    Ke Xun, Qin Ci, and Wei Dong walked forward slowly, followed by Xiao Qinxian.

    Behind the blood-red cloth, sitting cross-legged, was a silver-haired old woman. Looking at the wrinkles on her face, she seemed to be 120 years old.

    The old woman¡¯s eyes were closed, seeming to meditate, as she muttered in an iprehensiblenguage.

    Hearing footsteps, she slowly opened her eyes. Although they had heard beforehand that her eyes were different colors, everyone could not help but be surprised. This old face had a pair of extremely clear eyes, like the eyes of a young child. This pair of bright eyes were strangely colored, with the left eye gray and the right eye red.

    Of those eyes, only the gray eye moved, while the red seemed to be dead.

    With that gray eye, she nced at Ke Xun, who was closest to her. ¡°Need your fortune told? 10 yuan for palm reading, 30 yuan for fortune-telling.¡±

    Fortunately, Qin Ci¡¯s sry advance from the hospital was quite generous, and it was more than enough to spend.

    Ke Xun squatted down. He locked gaze with the gray eye of the old woman in front of him and said nothing.

    The old woman¡¯s gray eye rolled. ¡°Maps are 5 yuan a piece. I can sell them cheaper here than at the station.¡±

    Ke Xun still didn¡¯t speak.

    The old woman opened the shabby bag in front of her and pulled out a few city maps and a few small ss jars.

    She approached Ke Xun and said with a mysterious hiss, ¡°I have some treasures here. Sir, would you like to see them?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the ss jar clutched in between the woman¡¯s two hands.

    He? subconsciously shot Qin Ci a look. Could this old woman really see through people at a nce? Why won¡¯t she say anything about outsiders now? Did she regret revealing too many secrets that morning?

    Xiao Qinxian found that the old woman had beasts for sale, and so she squatted down and looked at them with some interest. ¡°How many beasts do you have? How much are they? Can they be exchanged for other beasts?¡±

    The old woman shifted all of her attention to Xiao Qinxian, and what was even more frightening was that her red eye suddenly turned, as if it was looking at Xiao Qinxian up and down.

    Xiao Qinxian was naturally terrified. She nearly fell to the ground and subconsciously clutched Ke Xun, who was next to her, for support. She hurriedly took two steps back, wanting to stay far away from the old woman.

    The old woman¡¯s blood-red eyes kept following Xiao Qinxian. A few minutester, the old woman suddenlyughed like an old owl, ¡°Hehehe¡­If you are willing to exchange your beast, I can introduce a client with a more advanced beast to you.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian broke out in a cold sweat and hid behind Ke Xun¡¯s tall figure.

    Ke Xun hid hispanion behind him and asked the old woman, ¡°Ma¡¯am, can you see anything? Can you see the beast in her body?¡±

    The old woman didn¡¯t say anything, but her blood-red eye continued to move, seeming to be following Xiao Qinxian in a protruding manner.

    Wei Dong¡¯s mouth dropped open in shock. This was just an old chameleon in human skin. Only a chameleon¡¯s eyes could turn like this¡­

    ¡°It stands to reason that the beast only appears when a person dies. At this time, the hospital has instruments that can also detect the beast in the body of the deceased,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°What I can see are also beasts of the deceased. I¡¯m a person of this city, so naturally, I cannot open my heavenly eye,¡± the old woman said.

    ¡°The beasts of the deceased? But¡­¡± Qin Ci felt that this statement was really scary.

    ¡°You made a profit.¡± The old woman giggled. She lit a homemade cigarette and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°You¡¯ve made a profit with an extra beast from the deceased. What¡¯s more, it¡¯s still the best one yet.¡±

    ¡°Can you speak clearly?¡± Ke Xun asked directly.

    The old woman tilted her head, her red eyes still focused on Xiao Qinxian behind Ke Xun. ¡°She¡¯s not alone. She has two souls in her body. That woman looks a bit like her, and has been following her for several years now. I¡¯m confident in my uracy. I¡¯ve helped many people drive away evil spirits.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian trembled behind Ke Xun.

    ¡°It¡¯s not her that you should be afraid of now, it¡¯s the other woman in her body.¡± The olddy held the cigarette, her expression a little arrogant. ¡°I¡¯ve subdued a lot of such lonely and wild ghosts in my youth.¡±

    Qin Ci understood her and asked, ¡°That is to say, if I use the hospital¡¯s special equipment for examining beasts, I can find the exact location of the beast in her body?¡±

    The old woman took out a rusty little dagger from her shabby pocket and said, ¡°That would be too troublesome, and the medical bill would be too expensive. I can cut it out for you here, but you¡¯ll need to give me half of the beast¡­Hehe¡­¡±

 Chapter 180: Yu Beiguo

    <h4>Chapter 180: Yu Beiguo</h4>

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s entire figure looked like she¡¯d just came out of the deep sea. Her body was soaked with sweat, and her mushroom hairstyle had lost its fluffiness and was clinging wetly to her head.

    Although they had already left the old woman, she could not shake the feeling that the woman¡¯s terrifying red-eye was still fixed on her body.

    The taxi drove slowly on the way back, and Xiao Qinxian was sitting in the back row by the window, leaning in a copsed state against Wei Dong.

    Wei Dong could only help her by allowing her to lean on his body.

    ¡°I was born weak, and I was often followed by things when I was a child. My family had to invite a priestess practically every day to see me, and she said that my bones are just too light and that makes it easy for me to be caught.¡± Xiao Qinxian stared nkly at the unfamiliar street outside the window. ¡°Once I got older, I became much better, and nothing happened anymore. But because I am still afraid, I would often wear something to ward off evil spirits.¡±

    Sitting in the passenger seat, Ke Xun stuffed the map into his bag. The old woman had seen that it was impossible to divide the beast, and so she had insisted on telling their fortunes instead. She had even said that she wanted to exorcize Xiao Qinxian. In the end, Ke Xun spent 10 yuan to purchase a map, and so the old woman reluctantly gave up.

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s eyelids drooped silently, but she wasn¡¯t blinking, making people wonder what she was focusing on. ¡°My father thinks my birth characters are unlucky and always wanted to give me away, but my mother had insisted on keeping me.¡±

    ¡°How is it reasonable to give away one¡¯s own flesh and blood simply because of bad birth characters?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t understand.

    Xiao Qinxian squinted and smiled. ¡°I have a sister. My sister was very lucky. The year she was born, my father¡¯s business made a fortune, my mother was promoted in her unit, and we received a lot of money for the demolition of our old house. But I was different. The year I was born, my father¡¯s business went down. My uncle sued my father in court for the inheritance my grandfather left them. Yes, my father directly called me the death star.¡±

    ¡°On the other hand, not only was my sister lucky, she was an academic genius. She was very good at sports. She was good everywhere. She also looked very good. Although people had said that we sisters looked alike, not everyone with simr facial features would have the same beauty. Sometimes, the subtle differences were like heaven and earth. My sister was a big beauty, and I am just an ordinary person.¡±

    ¡°My grandfather was an artist, so our family had genes in this regard, especially my sister. She was admitted to the best art academy in the country, and she was mentored by many well-known painters. She had a very good personality, was sunny and enthusiastic, and had very high emotional intelligence. No one could imagine that she suffered from depression, and that it was so serious. Shemitted suicide at the age of 25 by jumping off a building.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that her soul is in my body. How could her soul with such a high IQ and EQ choose an ordinary body like mine?¡± Xiao Qinxian let out an ufortableugh.

    The car was unusually quiet, including the taxi driver who was staring with raised eyebrows.

    After a long while, Qin Ci broke the silence. ¡°How do you know it¡¯s her? What if it¡¯s someone else?¡±

    ¡°She has Type O blood, and there¡¯s a red tear mole under her eye.¡± Xiao Qinxian touched the underside of her eye, where there appeared to be a tear mole. ¡°The person Luo Wei saw was her, not me.¡±

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°But Luo Wei¡¯s eyes could only see the beast, right? Then what¡¯s with the red tear mole? Shouldn¡¯t the beast be on the forehead?¡±

    No one could provide the correct answer to this question, and Qin Ci could only make a guess. ¡°Maybe Luo Wei can not only see the mark of the beast, but also the soul of the beast. We can hypothesize that there are two souls in Xiao Qinxian¡¯s body, and when one is awake, the other is asleep. During the day, Xiao Qinxian is awake, and at night, the sister is awake. Whenever a soul is awake, the body will show a state that corresponds to that of the soul.¡±

    If this was the case, it would exin Xiao Qinxian¡¯s night smoking addiction as well as the various marks on her body in the early morning.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just day and night. As long as there is no sun, she wille out to move. I am notpletely unaware. It¡¯s like a shallow dream, with some impressions and memories, but it is not profound and cannot be dominated.¡± Xiao Qinxian looked at her hands and used her right index finger to draw an invisible pigeon on the car window. ¡°This is the current me. My aura is different from her¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Do you still remember the wedding dress I designed for Chi Lei? At the time, I thought Chi Lei had appeared and used my hands to design a style of wedding dresspletely different from something I myself would create. Now that I think about it, it was my sister who drew it.¡±

    ¡°But it was afternoon, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°It was indeed in the afternoon, but there was no sun at the time.¡±

    They all suddenly recalled that, at the time, a storm had struck and turned day to night in an instant. In that darkness, Xiao Qinxian and her sister must have reced each other, and so her sister became the master of her body.

    However, once the light returned, Xiao Qinxian regained her body once again.

    ¡°Does your sister know Yu Beiguo?¡± Ke Xun turned his head and asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Xiao Qinxian¡¯s voice was low. ¡°I went to that art gallery because I knew that my sister¡¯s painting would be exhibited that day. Since it was dark, maybe it was she who wanted to see that painting.¡±

    ¡°Have you seen her painting?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    Xiao Qinxian was still leaning on Wei Dong, not feeling a sense of inappropriateness at all. ¡°You saw it and you even said that you drew better than her.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Did that really happen?¡±

    ¡°You were pointing to a wedding dress my sister had painted when she was 7 years old, and you said that when you were 7 years old, you could paint much better than that.¡±

    Wei Dong thought about it. ¡°I remembered. It was a pencil drawing¡­No, the name of the painter is Xiao Qinxian, right? That¡¯s obviously you.¡±

    Xiao Qinxian silently smiled. ¡°Xiao Qinxian is my sister¡¯s name. I wasn¡¯t called this when I was a child.¡±

    Everyone was a little surprised.

    ¡°Before my sister died, she worked as a wedding dress designer in the most famous international wedding dress shop in S City. Her death was so sudden that it took everyone by surprise. Of course, it would also bring a lot of unpredictable losses to the wedding dress shop. Therefore, the person in charge of the wedding dress shop asked me to rece my sister. I had also studied wedding dress design, and although I could notpare to a genius like my sister, my grades weren¡¯t bad. Therefore, I reced Xiao Qinxian and worked there. We both worked in the wedding shop, we looked a bit alike, and my sister disliked taking pictures, so this incident didn¡¯t arouse any suspicion at all.¡±

    ¡°In order to settle this matter, I even changed the name on my ID card to match.¡±

    When everyone heard this, they didn¡¯t know what to say.

    The taxi driver suddenly said, ¡°Some ghosts only recognize names. You¡¯re even using her name, so she naturally thinks your body is hers. But, if you can make a lot of money working in that international wedding dress shop, then being surrounded by ghosts is nothing.¡±

    ¡°Your sister really doesn¡¯t know Yu Beiguo?¡±

    Then she must know Su Benxin. Otherwise, how could Su Benxin get ahold of the painting she¡¯d done when she was 7 years old? Ke Xun always felt that going around in such a big circle would not be in vain. This matter must have something to do with Yu Beiguo.

    The taxi driver suddenly spoke again, ¡°What did you say about Yu Beiguo? Why does this name sound so familiar? Which Yu is that surname you speak of?¡±

    Wei Dong answered first, ¡°The top part is rain and the bottom part is deficiency.¡±

    The driver became distracted and nearly collided with the car next to him, so he mmed on the brakes and then slowly turned to the roadside safety zone.

    After parking, the driver felt everyone¡¯s look of anticipation.

    ¡°Master driver, do you know Yu Beiguo?¡± Qin Ci asked seriously.

    The driver scratched his head. ¡°I just think the name sounds very familiar, especially the character Yu¡­I have definitely seen this name somewhere..Where is it?¡­These three big characters are quite eye-catching, especially the Yu character. The writing is also particrly artistic.¡±

    The others seemed to hear the sound of their own blood flowing, and they couldn¡¯t believe that the answer was right in front of them.

    ¡°Master, think about it carefully. This Yu Beiguo is very important to us! Please help and think about it!¡± Wei Dong wanted to hug the driver across the seat at that very moment.

    The driver also had some difficulties. ¡°This name is so familiar, I must have seen these three characters somewhere. But I just can¡¯t recall where. I really can¡¯t remember.¡±

    Ke Xun was also anxious. ¡°Since you feel it¡¯s familiar, think about it. If you can¡¯t recall, it¡¯s certainly not someone who is your rtive or your friend¡­Is this Yu Beiguo a celebrity in this city? Is that why you find the name familiar?¡±

    ¡°Actually, it could be regarded as me not being too familiar with it. It¡¯s just that I have seen these three characters somewhere.¡± The more the driver said, the more the other people¡¯s eyes brightened. Therefore, he could only anxiously try to recall.

    Qin Ci searched for something that might trigger his memory. ¡°Since you¡¯ve read these characters somewhere, maybe you¡¯ve seen them in the newspaper, in a book, or on TV? Is it possible that it¡¯s on a billboard? Or¡­¡±

    ¡°Not those ces. I¡¯m not familiar with this name, but I¡¯ve definitely seen it somewhere before, and it¡¯s in a very conspicuous ce¡­¡± The driver thought for a while, frowning. Finally, he could only give up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really can¡¯t remember.¡±

    Qin Ci looked at the time and could only say to the driver, ¡°Master, let¡¯s exchange contact info. You can call if you remember something, and we will check with you if we have clues.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll think about it and tell you if I remember.¡±

    The police and the doctor badges on some of their chests were still very useful, allowing them to be easily trusted.

    Since the car wasn¡¯t far from the hospital, they got out of the car and opted to walk the rest of the way on foot.

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s legs were still soft, so Qin Ci took the initiative to support her. ¡°Have you really thought about it? I¡¯m not sure about actually removing a beast from a living person.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve figured it out.¡± Xiao Qinxian¡¯s eyes were filled with desperation. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t known about this, it would have been fine. But now that I know, I realize that it won¡¯t be long before the beast wants toe out. Maybe, it might evene out tonight. It¡¯s better to believe in your medical skills than to believe in luck.¡±

 Chapter 181: Beast Blocks

    <h4>Chapter 181: Beast Blocks</h4>

    Xiao Qinxian signed a voluntary application for beast removal from a living body, and was finally pushed into the operating room under general anesthesia.

    It was now past 5 in the afternoon, and Qin Ci had to finish the operation before night fell.

    No one was in the mood for dinner, and so they all gathered in the hallway of the operating room. Everyone had waited here too many times since they¡¯de to this city.

    This operation was a real operation, because the patient¡¯s life must be prioritized. Therefore, they waited in front of the operating room, hoping to see a living Xiao Qinxian in a few hours.

    ¡°This operation is so nerve-wrecking.¡± Su Benxin slowly paced the hallway and finally stopped by Luo Wei¡¯s side. ¡°I¡¯m curious. Since you can see everyone¡¯s beast marks, why can¡¯t you see Xiao Qinxian¡¯s?¡±

    Luo Wei¡¯s state was more rxed today than yesterday, but there was no expression on his face. ¡°ording to the fortune teller, the beast does not belong to Xiao Qinxian.¡±

    ¡°Do you believe this? I think that this statement is more like fantasy.¡± Su Benxin¡¯s expression was incredulous.¡±

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but interject. ¡°It¡¯s already the biggest fantasy in the world that we can enter the painting. Compared with this incident, what the fortune teller said is more like an incident of scientificmon sense¡­¡±

    Zhao Yanbao couldn¡¯t bear it anymore, and so she smiled and joined the discussion. ¡°At first, I also thought that what the fortune teller said was a bit bizarre, until I saw Xiao Qinxian¡¯s test results. In the second test, her blood type was type B, and this morning, it was type O. I don¡¯t think this is the hospital¡¯s mistake.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I can¡¯t wrap my head around. Her sister¡¯s soul resides in her body, resulting in a physical manifestation. This is just outrageous.¡± Su Benxin still expressed her doubts.

    ¡°I think that this should be a phenomenon unique to Heart City. It¡¯s impossible for this kind of thing to happen in the real world,¡± Zhao Yanbao said.

    Luo Wei looked over at Mu Yiran, who was sitting nearby. Ever since he¡¯d heard Ke Xun¡¯s reiteration of today¡¯s events, he had been silent, including on the matter of Xiao Qinxian¡¯s surgery to remove the beast, opting to respect her choice.

    Earlier, Luo Wei and Mu Yiran had taken the train to the border of Heart City, where the checkpoints were strictly managed and everyone who entered and exited the city had solemn expressions. It wasn¡¯t like going out of the city or going abroad at all. To exaggerate, it was more crossing the Naihe Bridge to drink Meng Po¡¯s soup.

    Ke Xun sat next to Mu Yiran and asked in a low voice, ¡°Yiran, what are you thinking?¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve figured it out,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°What did you figure out?¡±

    ¡°Why Xiao Qinxian received a strange phone call on the first night, what she and Luo Wei have inmon, and why they only received this phone call?¡±

    ¡°Do you think this matter is rted to Xiao Qinxian? Does it have anything to do with the two souls in her body?¡±

    ¡°Xiao Qinxian at night is already another person. That is to say, her sister was actually the person who answered the phone.¡± Mu Yiran knew that it was a little confusing, but he was certain that Ke Xun would definitely understand.

    ¡°You mean, Xiao Qinxian¡¯s sister and Luo Wei have something inmon¡­¡± Ke Xun seemed to understand. ¡°If you add Xiao Qinxian¡¯s sister, in fact, there are 14 people in our group. Among us, Luo Wei is designated as the outsider. But there¡¯s another outsider, and that is Xian Qinxian¡¯s sister, right?¡±

    Mu Yiran silently nodded. This was the result of his inner analysis just now.

    ¡°How exactly are outsiders differentiated? Shouldn¡¯t they all have square badges?¡± Ke Xun was trying to prove the reliability of this conclusion.

    Mu Yiran asked back, ¡°How are the people in the city differentiated? Shouldn¡¯t they all have round badges?¡±

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s sister, who had neither a round badge nor a square badge, was she considered a local or an outsider?

    ¡°Today, what Luo Wei and I saw at the city border was that all those who can¡¯t show a city residence permit will be forcibly expelled from the city.¡±

    This time, Ke Xun understood. ¡°In other words, people with ambiguous identities are all ssified as outsiders of the city.¡±

    If this was the case, then in principle, everyone inside the city borders should haveplied with this requirement. Those with no proof of identity, or those whose identities were unclear, would then be excluded.

    Therefore, even as a ghost, Xiao Qinxian¡¯s sister was an outsider and so her identity was simr to that of Luo Wei.

    That would fully exin why only these two people were able to receive that mysterious call.

    ¡°But I still don¡¯t understand. What is the purpose of the call? Is it a reminder? Is it leaking information? Or is it a technical loophole, the kind that can only be heard by outsiders?¡± Ke Xun stated a lot of conjectures, but they all feltcking in weight.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t make assumptions about the real reason, but those calls must have their purpose.¡± Mu Yiran looked at Luo Wei, who was sitting. ¡°I have already agreed with Luo Wei. No matter what happens tonight, if possible, he needs to find a way to get more clues from the caller.¡±

    Ke Xun nodded slowly, but his thoughts diverged. ¡°If this operation is sessful, the beast will be taken out. Will Xiao Qinxian¡¯s sister receive a call tonight? Would she still be considered a normal outsider?¡±

    Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t provide an answer to this question. ¡°She had never been a normal outsider. Besides, if she left her younger sister¡¯s body, it would be impossible for her to leave the city.¡±

    ¡°Out of the city?¡± Ke Xun frowned. ¡°Can Luo Wei leave the city with the square badge?¡±

    ¡°We dare not take the risk, for fear that Luo Wei would be forced out of the city. However, one thing is certain, the ID of the people leaving the city don¡¯t have a square stamp. The square stamp is only applied once they have determined to leave the city.¡±

    ¡°So, if that¡¯s the case, then Luo Wei is aplete outsider,¡± Ke Xun said, feeling a very ominous premonition in his heart. He didn¡¯t know how to exin this feeling.

    Luo Wei was a person who was never supposed to be within the city walls, but yet he appeared here.

    In the past, Ke Xun had believed that Luo Wei¡¯s identity was more like a ¡°puzzle solver¡± who could see more clearly from the sidelines, but now it seemed that this wasn¡¯t entirely the case.

    The operating room¡¯s door suddenly opened, and two nurses hurried out into the beast researchb next to it.

    After a while, the two pushed out a rtivelyrge ss jar, filled with nutrient solution, and returned to the operating room again.

    It wasn¡¯t easy for everyone to interrupt the nurse, so they all stood up and gathered at the door of the operating room to wait.

    A quarter of an hourter, Qin Ci came out. In fact, the operation time wasn¡¯t long, just over an hour.

    For the first time, Qin Ci was smiling after the beast stripping operation. ¡°The operation is aplete sess and the patient is in good condition.¡±

    Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°The situation of the beast is a bit strange. You will know once ites out.¡±? Qin Ci¡¯s words aroused everyone¡¯s curiosity.

    After a while, two nurses came out with a cart, pushing a ss jar with something soaking in it.

    Wei Dong dared not look at it directly. He merely squinted from a distance and tried to make it out. ¡°Why are there so many pieces? How many beasts are there?¡±

    Qin Ci also had a hard time exining. ¡°In the medical history of this city, there has never been a beast shaped like bricks¡­Some bricks are wide and some are narrow. Among them, there are four small pieces of the same size, and there is one that is much longer than the rest.¡±

    There was no need for Qin Ci to speak more. The people standing next to him could clearly see that this brick-like beast was arranged neatly. The beast was suspended in the upper part of the ss water tank, and it was made up of four small bricks at the top and one long strip at the bottom.

    No one can understand this strange neatness.

    The ss water tank was temporarily pushed into the beast researchb, and then Xiao Qinxian was pushed out of the operating room.

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t bad, and although the general anesthesia hadn¡¯t worn off yet, herplexion looked healthy.

    ¡°She exined before the anesthesia that she didn¡¯t want to see the beast, and she didn¡¯t want to hear anything at all about the beast,¡± Qin Ci told everyone.

    They all nodded and noted it down. They could empathize with this matter.

    Luo Wei watched Xiao Qinxian being wheeled away with aplicated expression.

    Mu Yiran stepped forward and asked in a low voice, ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±

    ¡°She has a beast mark,¡± Luo Wei said. ¡°It¡¯s right in the middle of her forehead, and it¡¯s quite big.¡±

    The beast that was just removed wasn¡¯t hers. She and her sister had their own beasts.

    Mu Yiran turned his face away from the window. ¡°This result isn¡¯t what she wanted. It¡¯s better not to tell her.¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­..

    Special circumstances required special treatment. Xiao Qinxian must stay in the hospital tonight, so it shouldn¡¯t be a vition of the rules.

    The other eight returned to their residences after dinner.

    No one mentioned Xiao Qinxian¡¯s sister¡¯s beast, and no one seemed to care about her inner world. Right now, nearly half of the time allotted by the time had been used, and every hour was like suffering. If it had nothing to do with the signature, then no one cared.

    Ke Xun and a few people returned to the police dormitory. Now there are only four left: Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, Wei Dong, and Luo Wei.

    Tonight, they decided that all of them should stay in the same room. In the event that Luo Wei received another mysterious phone call tonight, maybe through the ¡°leaks¡± provided by the caller, they could rescue theirpanions as soon as possible.

    ¡°I also got a clue today, but I haven¡¯t had a chance to say it.¡± Finding that he could speak freely now, Luo Wei¡¯s mood became much more rxed.

    ¡°What clue?¡± the others asked.

    ¡°When Su Benxin met the old woman for the first time this morning, perhaps because the old woman¡¯s red eye was too scary, she tried to avoid her. At the time, I asked the old woman a question that particrly concerned me, which was ¡®Would a beast¡¯s official value still remain the same after it was put to rest¡¯?¡±

    No one expected that Luo Wei would actually be concerned about such a question.

    ¡°Although we are now focusing on finding the signature, the 13-kilogram beast is also a task given to us, after all. Maybe afterpleting this task, we will be closer to the truth. Therefore, I hope that if the beast could be put to rest, then at least it would be better for the deceased.¡± Luo Wei didn¡¯t understand why he became so hypocritical. It was probably because he felt a little empathy when faced with the death of hispanions. He couldn¡¯t help but think of his girlfriend in thest painting, and what a painful experience that was.

    ¡°Can a beast that has undergone the Soul Appeasement Ceremony still be used?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°The old woman said that it doesn¡¯t affect the value of the beast at all, as long as it doesn¡¯t damage the beast¡¯s body,¡± Luo Wei said, his brows stretching a little. ¡°The old woman also gave me another piece of information. Every weekend, an expert with a higher spiritual understanding will appear at the hospital door. This person has a lot of beasts on hand so he could only give them away and not sell them.¡±

 Chapter 182: Guimei Hexagram

    <h4>Chapter 182: Guimei Hexagram</h4>

    No one slept well that night.

    Several times, Ke Xun even imagined he heard the harsh ringing of the telephone.

    They endured until dawn.

    When Wei Dong opened the curtains and saw the sunlight outside, he asked Luo Wei, ¡°Did you get a phone callst night?¡±

    No one had asked him at night, for fear that the question would prevent the mysterious call froming through.

    Luo Wei said with certainty, ¡°There was no call.¡±

    The moment his voice fell, the phone rang harshly, as if in retribution. The four men looked at each other for a second, and finally Luo Wei stepped forward and answered the phone. ¡°¡­Okay. Understood. We¡¯lle right now.¡±

    It was Qin Ci who had called and brought news that something had happened to Xiao Qinxian in the hospitalst night.

    Maybe everyone was already mentally prepared, because they weren¡¯t very surprised at all. The more sudden a beast mark appeared, the stronger the danger would be.

    Just like Lion that night, and now, Xiao Qinxianst night.

    The four people rushed to the hospital, but no one could understand why they didn¡¯t receive a callst night. ording to the usual practice, they should have received a mysterious call to inform them of the location of the beast.

    Wei Dong began to make a terrifying guess. ¡°Could it be Xiao Qinxian who answered the phone? I mean, Xiao Qinxian¡¯s sister? She was also an outsider.¡±

    In other words, Xiao Qinxian¡¯s sister may have received a call that told her what part of her body the beast woulde out of.

    Don¡¯t think about it. This was already terrifying as it was.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not very logical.¡± It was Mu Yiran who spoke. ¡°First of all, we¡¯re not sure whether the sister¡¯s soul had disappeared once her beast was stripped outst night. Secondly, we have ¡®missed¡¯ a few calls before, such as the one about Chi Lei and Yu Ji. Therefore,st night¡¯s call may also be the same.¡±

    Wei Dong: What to do¡­ My brain has been overdrawn.

    They rushed to the hospital and saw Zhao Yanbao and Zhu Haowen, both of whom also arrived at the same time. They all nodded to each other and didn¡¯t have much time to rejoice at being ¡®alive¡¯ before rushing to the beast researchb.

    Qin Ci and Su Benxin were waiting there.

    ¡°Last night, in order to deal with any emergencies that may have arised, a special medical staff apanied Xiao Qinxian all night. However, the beast still came out from the position of her left rib¡­¡± Qin Ci¡¯s expression was heavy. ¡°Everyone,e in with me first and take a look at the beast.¡±

    When everyone walked into the research room and saw the beast, they couldn¡¯t help but let out an exmation of surprise.

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s beast was very simr to her sister¡¯s. It was also ced in a ss water jar, and it was arranged neatly like bricks. There were four pieces in total, two long and two short.

    The two shorter pieces were ced side by side on top, and the two longer pieces were ced one after the other underneath, forming three rows. Different from her sister¡¯s beast, Xiao Qinxian¡¯s beast seemed to be floating at the bottom of the water tank.

    ¡°What the hell are these things? Why do I feel more panicked the longer I look at them¡­¡± Wei Dong really didn¡¯t understand what these crimson bricks represented.

    ¡°This¡­isn¡¯t it the blocks in their hearts?¡± Zhao Yanbao exerted her greatest imagination.

    ¡°The elder sister had 5 pieces, and the younger sister had 4. Why did the elder sister have one more block than the younger sister?¡± Su Benxin didn¡¯t dare to look too close. ¡°But the arrangements are so neat. It¡¯s really weird.¡±

    Mu Yiran remained silent, observing from all angles around the two ss jars. After ten minutes, he suddenly said, ¡°Can you put the two sisters¡¯ beasts in the same ss jar?¡±

    Qin Ci nodded and instructed theb researcher to do so.

    The researcher said, ¡°Are you sure? The two beasts are likely to reject one another.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°Please do it.¡±

    The two sisters¡¯ beasts were soon ced in the same ss jar. Immediately, the elder sister¡¯s 5 pieces were still suspended above, while the younger sister¡¯s pieces were suspended below, forming a neat 6 rows.

    Mu Yiran found an angle and carefully observed it for a long time. ¡°Look. What does this look like?¡±

    Everyone went to Mu Yiran¡¯s angle to look at the beasts, and then they all felt as if their brain was no longer their own. Although the long and short rows looked familiar, they couldn¡¯t tell what it looked like.

    Zhao Yanbao guessed, ¡°These things remind me of 6 trigrams and the like.¡±

    Mu Yi nodded. ¡°Yes, this is a hexagram.¡±

    Everyone: ( )/

    ¡°The Guimei hexagram with the Zhen trigram on top and the Gua trigram at the bottom,¡± Mu Yiran said. <Note: Gui means return and mei means sister>

    Everyone was once again shocked by the Big Boss¡¯s depth of knowledge.

    ¡°What does this Guimei hexagram mean?¡± Su Benxin asked.

    ¡°It has the meaning of a woman getting married.¡± Mu Yiran thought for a moment and added, ¡°The Guimei hexagram says: contending for supremacy, no advantages.¡±

    It was originally an inauspicious hexagram, havinge out of the depths of both sister¡¯s ribs. How could it be considered lucky?

    Xiao Qinxian¡¯s older sister¡¯s beast came out from Xiao Qinxian¡¯s right ribs, while her own beast coincidentally came out of her own left ribs, creating a kind of left-right symmetry.

    Su Benxin couldn¡¯t help but say again, ¡°Why do they say women are returning to their sisters when they get married? Obviously it is ¡®leaving¡¯, but why do they say ¡®returning¡¯?¡±

    Zhao Yanbao exined on the side, ¡°In ancient times, a woman¡¯s marriage was the real return. Even in modern times, the marriage of a daughter is often referred to as finding a home.¡±

    It was unavoidable that the topic would identally shift to the status of women.

    But a thought shed through Ke Xun¡¯s mind. ¡°I think this is very simr to our current situation. Obviously we entered the painting and left our original real world, yet many people felt a sense of returning home.¡±

    Everyone thought that this made sense.

    Mu Yiran further exined the hexagram, ¡°The elder sister¡¯s floating above is the guest trigram, while the younger sister¡¯s sinking below is the main trigram. The elder sister is sleeping on the younger sister¡¯s body, so that makes her a guest.¡±

    Zhu Haowen stood the farthest away, and only nced at the hexagram. ¡°This is just the inner world of Xiao Qinxian and her sister. I think the most important thing for us now is to find the signature.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded, but still said, ¡°Xiao Qinxian¡¯s situation is different from ours. She is abination of two people, one a local while the other an outsider. Her death may provide us with some clues.¡±

    Zhu Haowen said nothing more, as if in agreement.

    Zhao Yanbao exined, ¡°Since yesterday, when Ke Xun spoke to the driver, we both thought that it was very important and so, on the way back, we also asked passersby on the streets about Yu Beiguo. These people all thought that the name was familiar, but they couldn¡¯t remember where they had heard it. This thing is really confusing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really important.¡± Su Benxin walked to Luo Wei¡¯s side. ¡°I want to go to the train station with Luo Wei again today. I have already chatted with a few staff members at the station yesterday. Maybe today, I can learn more about Yu Beiguo within the city boundary.¡±

    Luo Wei nodded. ¡°Although they don¡¯t have inte there, there is aputer that lists all the people leaving and entering the city. We¡¯ll try to find a way to see if we can find anything about Yu Beiguo.¡±

    They all felt that this was very important and so Qin Ci said, ¡°Since it¡¯s not toote yet, we should act immediately.¡±

    ¡°Yesterday, the person in charge of the station said that he has always wanted to buy a special asthma medicine made by our hospital. I wanted to bring him a few from the pharmacy, which can be regarded as establishing a rtionship,¡± Su Benxin said.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll call the pharmacy.¡± Qin Ci nodded.

    Su Benxin told the researcher, ¡°Please refrigerate our beast in time. Don¡¯t keep them at room temperature.¡±

    The researcher nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll put them in the refrigerator.¡±

    The group followed Qin Ci to his office, where he called the pharmacy, only to be told that the asthma medicine had been sold out and the earliest batch won¡¯t be delivered until 3 in the afternoon.

    It seemed that the matter of Luo Wei and Su Benxin going to the train station could only be postponed until the afternoon.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start assigning today¡¯s tasks.¡± Qin Ci looked at the people in front of him. ¡°The most important thing now is to find Yu Beiguo¡¯s signature. After asking around, the people in this city are familiar with the name Yu Beiguo, so he should be in the city. It¡¯s only that the painting had put up a shield so that people can¡¯t remember where or how.¡±

    At this time, a nurse happened toe in to make a report on some patients in the ward.

    Qin Ci nodded to show he understood and then he asked the nurse, ¡°Xiao Li, are you familiar with the name Yu Beiguo?¡±

    ¡°What Yu Beiguo?¡± the nurse asked. ¡°I don¡¯t remember knowing anyone with the surname Yu.¡±

    Qin Ci wrote the three words on a piece of paper. ¡°It¡¯s these three words.¡±

    The nurse had a sudden realization. ¡°Oh, so it turns out to be these three words! Why, are these three words someone¡¯s name?¡±

    ¡°Otherwise? What do you think it should be?¡± Qin Ci asked rhetorically.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it should be. I probably thought it was a country at first, such as a country name or the era of a reign. I don¡¯t know much about history.¡± The nurse smiled apologetically.

    Zhu Haowen couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Where have you seen these three words?¡±

    The nurse thought about it carefully. ¡°I really can¡¯t remember them, but these three words left a deep impression on me, so I must have seen them somewhere. I just forgot, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Zhu Haowen wanted to ask if there was any medicine that could help people restore memories, because it was really maddening to see that people knew but just couldn¡¯t remember.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that this was a smoke-free office, Zhu Haowen really wanted to light a cigarette and take a few puffs. In a hurry, he took two steps closer to the nurse. ¡°What are these three characters that you have seen? What font is it? What color?¡±

    These questions were very crucial, and everyone¡¯s attention was on the nurse¡¯s face.

    The nurse thought about it for a long time. ¡°I can¡¯t remember the color. The font is very artistic. Since you said it¡¯s a person¡¯s name, then it seems like it might be a signature.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Everyone present seemed to hear their own cheering heartbeats.

    Someone couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Where did you see it? Can you think hard about where it is?!¡±

 Chapter 183: Expert

    <h4>Chapter 183: Expert</h4>

    <strong>Trigger warning:?</strong>This chapter, towards the end, mentioned abortion. Depending on the reader, thest paragraph might be interpreted as a negativementary on the nature of the mother. If this bothers you, especially with abortion being such hot topics in the current political sphere here in America, please read with caution and/or skip thest paragraph.

    ¡°¡­I really can¡¯t remember. Anyway, I must have seen it in Heart City. I was born here and have never left¡­¡± The nurse felt everyone¡¯s expectations and was very sorry for not being able to help them.

    Looking at the disappointed crowd, Ke Xun could only p his hands to cheer everyone up. ¡°Actually, this is also a clue. At least we know that the three characters Yu Beiguo appeared in the form of an artistic signature. I don¡¯t think this signature would appear on a painting. The people we asked, such as drivers, passersby, and nurses, are not from the art world, and so it would be impossible for them to pay attention to the signatures on paintings, even well-known famous paintings.¡±

    Indeed, there were many famous paintings from ancient and modern China, both nationally and abroad. However, the general public would only pay attention to the images and not the signatures or the seals of the painter.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not on a painting, then it¡¯s in a ce that the people in this city are familiar with, such as the iconic buildings in the city center, or a famous square¡­¡± Mu Yiran spected.

    Ke Xun took the map out from the inner pocket of his clothes. ¡°It seems like I didn¡¯t buy this for nothing. Maybe it can help us.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun, feeling as if the other party was like a timely rain. When they needed it the most, he pulled out the map of Heart City, just like magic.

    Qin Ci felt that there were too many branching leads in this painting, and his brain was already tired. But right now, he had to fight hard, and so he said, ¡°Well, let¡¯s assign today¡¯s task. Some people can go to the city¡¯sndmark buildings and look for the signature. Others can go to the door of the hospital to wait for the expert. If we can really get the beasts she¡¯s giving away for free, maybe we can gather enough to make 13 kilograms of beasts. Maybe it would be helpful in leading us to the next step.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask how much Xiao Qinxian and her sister¡¯s beasts weigh? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s another two full kilograms.¡± It was Wei Dong who spoke.

    Qin Ci nodded helplessly. ¡°You guessed it right.¡±

    Wei Dong scratched his head. ¡°Xiao Qinxian¡¯s sister isn¡¯t counted as one of us, so we have an extra kilogram of beasts?¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Calcted like this, if all the beastse from our bodies, then we will have only one survivor left in the end.¡±

    ¡°Pei, pei. Hurry and spit pei pei. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be ominous.¡± Wei Dong hurriedly grabbed Zhu Haowen¡¯s hand and tried to get him to touch the wooden door. ¡°Hurry up and touch wood. Hurry and pei pei.¡±

    Zhu Haowen was expressionless. ¡°Pei pei.¡±

    Meanwhile Su Benxin had been thinking about something, and it was at this moment that she suddenly said, ¡°I think one person should stay behind. The ward of this hospital has real-time surveince cameras, which should have captured what happened to Xiao Qinxianst night. Maybe we can gain some clues from looking through the surveince video. Besides, we can check whether she received a phone call. Didn¡¯t you all suspect that she might have answered a call?¡±

    Qin Ci thought it was reasonable. ¡°Then¡­¡±

    Su Benxin said, ¡°I¡¯ll stay. After all, Xiao Qinxian is a woman, and it would be more appropriate if I watch her video recording.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I hope you won¡¯t have a psychological shadow from watching what happened to Xiao Qinxian.¡±

    ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to care about something like that. I¡¯ll watch on fast-forward, so that the n with Luo Wei and I in the afternoon wouldn¡¯t be dyed.¡±

    Therefore, the n was decided as such: Su Benxin would stay in the hospital to watch the surveince video of Xiao Qinxian. Zhu Haowen, Qin Ci, Wei Dong, and Zhao Yanbao would look for the signature near severalndmark buildings in the city. Luo Wei, Ke Xun, and Mu Yiran would wait for that expert at the door of the hospital.

    ¡­¡­..

    The hospital¡¯s back door waspletely different from the front door. The back door was small, and it faced a small street, not looking at all like it was the backdoor of arge hospital.

    Ke Xun looked at the sparse pedestrians outside, but no one stopped here, much less the imaginary expert with peculiar bones.

    Luo Wei¡¯s face seemed to have looked thinner and paler, but this didn¡¯t prevent him from looking for that person with sharp eyes. ¡°The old woman said that the expert would be at the back door of the hospital every weekend and would stay all day. I don¡¯t think she would be a pedestrian.¡±

    If she wasn¡¯t a pedestrian, she could only be someone who would stop here for a long period of time.

    At present, there was only a fruit stand at the entrance, a maternity and baby clinic opposite, and two restaurants.

    Ke Xun nced at the owner of the fruit stand. It was a young man who looked like a rodent, looking quite shrewd. ¡°My fruits are much cheaper than those at the main door! Hey, look at these strawberries. They¡¯re very sweet! I¡¯ll give you 6 for one yuan! I¡¯ll give you 2 and a half pounds for 10 yuan! Let¡¯s be friends!¡±

    As Ke Xun was thinking about whether to buy some fruits or not, Mu Yiran pulled his sleeves and said, ¡°It¡¯s her.¡±

    There was an old woman in ragged clothes, guarding a pile of junk and sitting at the base of the wall on the street.

    When Ke Xun and the others walked over, the old woman was excitedly matching bottle caps with the beverage bottles she¡¯d picked up, ¡°assembling¡± aplete bottle, and shaking them next to her ear. It was unclear what she was listening to.

    Sensing their approach, she waved her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t block my light.¡±

    Ke Xun leaned his body to the side. ¡°Grandma, I want to ask you something.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask me.¡± The old woman¡¯s voice was elderly, but her words were clear. She didn¡¯t want to stop her work at this time. ¡°Ie here on Saturday.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s heart moved. Maybe he¡¯d found the right person.

    No longer asking questions, Ke Xun simply crouched down and helped the old woman put the stic water bottles that were tied in arge bundle into the woven bag on the side.

    It wasn¡¯t until the work was finished did the old woman raise her head to look at Ke Xun. Because she was facing the sun, her elderly gray eyes were lighter in color, resembling some kind of ss balls.

    ¡°You guys, are you looking for beasts?¡± the old woman asked directly.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t expect to be seen through right away, so he told the truth, ¡°We heard people say that there is an expert who donates beasts here.¡±

    When the old woman heard the word ¡°expert¡±, sheughed and said with some ridicule, ¡°What do you want beasts for?¡±

    Ke Xun and hispanions looked at each other, and so he told the truth, ¡°We want to get out of here, but we have to gather 13 kilograms of beasts.¡±

    The old woman looked directly at the sun with some kind of enjoyment and asked Ke Xun after a while, ¡°You still don¡¯t have enough?¡±

    ¡°Currently there are 6 kilograms,¡± Ke Xun replied.

    The old woman scrutinized the three of them with her gray eyes, and she said slowly, ¡°Once you leave, you can nevere back. Won¡¯t you regret it?¡±

    After this question was asked, there was a long silence.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t know what he was hesitating about. He knew that he should stay in this ce, and that this world wasn¡¯t innocent. But he seemed to have a hard time letting it go. It wasn¡¯t like in previous paintings, which made people unwilling to stay even for a second.

    What would happen if they collected enough beasts? What if there were no more nightly deaths in this world?

    ¡°We¡¯ll have no regrets.¡± The sound of Mu Yiran¡¯s voice brought Ke Xun back. ¡°We want to go back to our real world.¡±

    Luo Wei¡¯s voice soon followed, ¡°We want to go back.¡±

    The old woman no longer asked. From her ragged pocket, she took out threerge bottles and nced at the logo on the bottles. ¡°This bottle has two liters, still one liter short.¡±

    The bottle contained a red liquid that looked like tomato juice.

    ¡°But add these two bottles with 500 milliliters each, and it totals 7 kilograms.¡± The old woman pushed the pile ofrge and small bottles to Ke Xun.

    ¡°These¡­these bottles contain beasts?¡± This was the first time Ke Xun knew that there were such things as liquid beasts.

    .

    ¡°They can¡¯tpare to those rare treasures, but the weight is enough.¡± The old woman sighed softly, with a hint ofpassion. ¡°The hospital is a ce with the most beasts¡­Don¡¯t worry. The souls of these beasts have been put to peace. You can use it.¡±

    The three of them had never thought that the old woman would give away 7 kilograms of beasts so happily. Moreover, she was someone who didn¡¯t know anything about their situation.

    Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Old woman, when you pick up waste near the hospital, you only pickmon stic water bottles. Generally speaking, people who pick up waste in hospitals tend to focus more on the medical waste there. Although some of these collections may not be legal, the profits are huge.¡±

    ¡°You are very observant.¡± The old woman looked up at Mu Yiran.

    This was indeed the case. If she was only collecting ordinary household garbage, then there was no need to go to the hospital door, and still even using it as a fixed point every Saturday. This, in itself, was very puzzling.

    ¡°I came here to collect beasts,¡± the old woman said slowly. ¡°I said just now that the hospital is the ce with the most beast. Do you know what that building closest to the back door is?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at the building and vaguely remembered that the sign at the door seemed to have said Maternal and Child Healthcare, or something of that nature.

    ¡°That is the ce where children are born,¡± the old woman said. ¡°It¡¯s also the ce where fetuses are aborted. There is a floor dedicated to abortion and to inducingbor.¡±

    The three remained silent, vaguely understanding the source of these liquid beasts.

    ¡°As long as there¡¯s life, then there¡¯s death.¡± The old woman looked up at the three young men. ¡°How old are you? I see that you¡¯re not even thirty years old yet, but you must be at least 25. When I was young, I liked to read books, and I read such a sentence in a book: At 20, you know the benefits of life; at 25, you know where there is light, there will be darkness; and at 30, you know that there are many ces where the more the light, the more the darkness, and where the more the joy, the heavier the sorrow.¡±

    This was the first time they¡¯d ever heard this, and even Mu Yiran, who had read a lot of books, had never seen such a sentence. But now, having encountered it, he would remember for the rest of his life.

    The old woman shook the empty bottle in her hand and put it up to her ear to listen. It was unknown if she heard anything. She continued to say, ¡°Not everyone has a beast in their bodies, but these fetuses whose lives were interrupted is like a beast in every mother¡¯s womb, the beast in their heart, the beast they cannot get rid of in their lifetime. These beasts can be big or small, depending on the magnitude of the pain and hatred in the mother¡¯s heart. I have seen a four-month-old fetus, whose soul was so heavy that the mother could not move. When I finally took the beast out, I couldn¡¯t lift it at all. It weighed dozens of pounds.¡±

 Chapter 184: Su Benxin

    <h4>Chapter 184: Su Benxin</h4>

    At noon, everyone gathered inside the hospital cafeteria for lunch.

    Qin Ci and his party went to severalndmark buildings in the city to look for the signature, but they all returned without sess.

    Ke Xun briefly described how his group had managed to obtain 7 kilograms of beasts and everyone sighed.

    Zhao Yanbao listened very seriously. ¡°Should we also ask someone to perform a soul appeasement ceremony for the beasts of ourpanions too?¡±

    ¡°Chu Zhiyong said that once we have collected 13 kilograms of beasts, we can ask someone to perform a soul appeasement ceremony for them,¡± Qin Ci said.

    .

    ¡°Now that we have enough, how will we hand it in?¡± Su Benxin asked.

    ¡°We have spoken to Chu Zhiyong on the phone. He said¡­ Before night falls, there will be specialistsing to the police station to inspect the beasts,¡± Qin Ci said.

    When everyone heard this sentence, they couldn¡¯t help cursing. This was just deliberately forcing people to death. Because of this, they would have to stay an extra night, and so someone was bound to die at night. If they were lucky and no one died, they would still have to face a cruel vote the next day!

    ¡°The most important thing for us is to find the signature! Only then can we get rid of all this!¡± Wei Dong alway put the signature first as a means of alerting himself.

    Everyone nodded, and Qin Ci said, ¡°Let¡¯s study the map after dinner to see if there are any ces where the signature can hide. Boss Su and Luo Wei go to the train station in the afternoon to find the signature. Are just the two of you enough?¡±

    Su Benxin thought about it and said, ¡°There was only the both of us when we talked to them yesterday. It¡¯s not good to suddenly have someone else appear with us.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded and asked again, ¡°By the way, did you gain anything from watching the video today?¡±

    At the mention of this, Su Benxin¡¯s expression turned somewhat ugly. ¡°I was watching it fast-forwarded¡­When the beast came out, I started watching it at normal speed. It was very ufortable to see¡­However, I couldn¡¯t find anything abnormal. Xiao Qinxian didn¡¯t answer a phone call, so at least this doubt can be put to rest.¡±

    This sentence brought the life of Xiao Qinxian and her sister to a final conclusion. No one could determine or guess what kind of past they shared and what demons were entangled in their hearts. How the strange Guimei Hexagram came into being, no one would ever know why, regardless of whether inside or outside the painting.

    It was a bit ironic that Xiao Qinxian, such a mean and prickly person, would leave behind such a mystery.

    ¡­¡­..

    After dinner, Wei Dong went to the newstand downstairs to buy a few more maps. They decided to check the maps first before moving on to the next course of action.

    The asthma medicine from the pharmacy finally arrived, and so Su Benxin and Luo Wei could finally leave.

    They both took a taxi and went straight to the train station.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget the trolley case,¡± Luo Wei said.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten and have already made a deposit yesterday,¡± Su Benxin said. ¡°What¡¯s more, that Sister Lin is clearly an opportunist. She might not be impressed with just a few asthma medicines.¡±

    Sister Lin was in charge of passenger information at the station. Yesterday, Su Benxin had gotten close to Sister Lin and had promised to bring her some asthma medicines and a nice bag.

    Sister Lin said that there was no need for a bag. However, her daughter will start university soon, and she had always wanted a good-looking and sturdy trolley case.

    Su Benxin agreed and said that she had a good sister who sells trolley cases and so she could get them at a good price.

    Luo Wei wasn¡¯t good at establishing rtionships, particrly when it involved women talking about bags and the like. Therefore, he was distracted, thinking about other things.

    In the end, Sister Lin had smiled with some embarrassment and said that she will sort out all the information today and will let them look at it tomorrow.

    Opting to proceed with caution, they didn¡¯t mention the name Yu Beiguo to her, and in fact, Su Benxin only said that her cousin had left Heart City a few years ago and the family misses him very much.

    The taxi stopped at the high-end luggage store next to the train station. They paid the fee and got out of the car. Su Benxin went directly to the store to pay the final bnce. When she came out, she was pulling a very feminine trolley case.

    Luo Wei wanted to help, but Su Benxin smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s empty and so it¡¯s not heavy. Besides, it¡¯s a feminine model, so it¡¯s not suitable for you to hold it.¡±

    They both entered the office building inside the station. Su Benxin knocked on the door of an office and entered with the trolley case. When she came out again, she said, ¡°The data archive room is actually at the city boundary. We have to take a train to get there.¡±

    Therefore, they took a train and finally got off the stop in front of Heart City Checkpoint Station.

    The reason why it was called Heart City Checkpoint Station was because it belonged to Heart City¡¯s Border Station, and once you go beyond, you will be leaving the city.

    All passengers must be strictly screened at the Border Station. Fearing that Luo Wei¡¯s square badge would be recognized, they got off the car in advance and walked toward the border on foot.

    The front gate also had a very strict inspection. Su Benxin looked at it for a while and finally stopped moving.

    Luo Wei was confused at first, but Su Benxin grabbed his arm tightly and said, ¡°Luo Wei, we¡¯re leaving.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Su Benxin let out a brief smile. ¡°Haven¡¯t your body been feeling bad recently? Especially at the position of your heart?¡±

    Luo Wei was surprised. ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°Because I feel it too.¡± Su Benxin ced her hand over the area of her heart and took a few deep breaths. ¡°It feels ufortable because we don¡¯t belong here.¡±

    ¡°We?¡±

    Su Benxin took the Central Hospital work card off her chest and showed the back of the card to Luo Wei. There was a striking rectangr stamp on it, and inside were the words: Outsider of Heart City.

    Luo Wei had never been so surprised since entering this painting. ¡°You are also an outsider? Why are the work cards so inconsistent?¡±

    Su Benxin seemed a little tired and so she simply sat on therge trolley case. ¡°I thought it was very strange at first, and I still don¡¯t understand it even now. Maybe, it¡¯s because I¡¯m a chess piece arranged by the people outside of the city, so my identity is a bit like yin and yang.¡±

    ¡°How did you find out about your identity?¡± Although Luo Wei was a little disgusted with Su Benxin¡¯s act of hiding her identity, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a somewhat strange sense of sympathy that they were both outsiders.

    ¡°After I received the first call,¡± Su Benxin said.

    ¡°You got a call too?!¡± Luo Wei? was surprised.

    ¡°Yes, when I received the first call, I felt terrified. The unclear voice told me, ¡®There¡¯s a beast tied up inside a person¡¯s heart and it cannot get out.¡¯¡± Su Benxin seemed to be trying hard to make herself calm down. ¡°The second day after that, Chi Lei died and the beast in her heart was a tied-up female body.¡±

    Luo Wei looked at Su Benxin, thinking about how unfamiliar she was. He didn¡¯t understand this woman at all. It was difficult to imagine how a person could digest such a strange and terrifying phone call by herself without asking for any help at all from herpanions.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust anyone, and so I pondered this matter in my mind until I found the clue on my ID work card. Later, during lunch, I took the opportunity to look at your card to see whether they were both the same.¡±

    Luo Wei remembered that scene. Su Benxin¡¯s performance was so natural, carrying only the worry and sadness that an ordinary woman would have, making it really difficult to doubt her at all.

    Luo Wei tried his best to calm down. ¡°I remember that you let me see your forehead. Since you couldn¡¯t trust anyone, why did you let me check your forehead?¡±

    ¡°What did you see then?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. There was no hint of red.¡± Luo Wei recalled the scene at the time. ¡°Just that, in the position of the hairline, there was a ck spot. But you said that you were born with it.¡±

    Su Benxin pulled her hair back. ¡°It¡¯s here. It¡¯s not a ck spot, and I wasn¡¯t born with it.¡±

    Luo Wei came closer to look at the spot. It was indeed not a ck spot. It wasn¡¯t a ck spot at all. On the skin was¡­a tiny ck hole.

    ¡°This is¡­¡±

    ¡°This is a hole. I have always wondered why I suddenly have a small hole here.¡± Su Benxin smiled and looked at the city borders in the distance. The profile of her face disyed no undtions, no internal conflicts. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize until today that my beast had left a long time ago, probably from this ce on my forehead, leaving only a small hole.¡±

    Luo Wei frowned. It was difficult to digest what was happening right now, and at the same time, his face became even more pale due to the difort in his heart.

    ¡°The reason why I was defined as someone outside of Heart City is probably because I have never walked into this city, if this city represented the heart of the painter Yu Beiguo,¡± Su Benxin said.

    ¡°You know Yu Beiguo?¡±

    ¡°We used to be lovers. He wanted to keep the best moments in the best moments of love. He said that this kind of thought was like a beast slowly eating at his heart. He felt as if every step he took was leading him downhill, and so he dared not go any further. He could only find a way to stop.¡±

    ¡°What about your beast?¡± Luo Wei asked. ¡°Why did it leave and left you unscathed?¡±

    ¡°Because I have a way to release it.¡± Su Benxin¡¯s expression suddenly became fierce. But within moments, she regained her calmness. ¡°I helped him locate the beast that was bothering him, and it was I who taught him how to get rid of his beast. That¡¯s the only way I could resolve my own beast.¡±

    Luo Wei silently thought about her words and finally said, ¡°You taught him everything, including how tomit suicide. Just like Etsuko in the story of The Scarlet Beast. Only by killing and getting rid of the thing that bothers her, can she live in peace.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty much it.¡± The wind blew at Su Benxin¡¯s messy, curly hair. ¡°I received a second call on the second night, and the person told me that a painting was going to be exhibited from someone¡¯s body. I was frightened, but I still dared to ask who this person was and why he told me this. Was this simply a dull pastime for him, or was it a kind reminder?¡±

    ¡°In the end, the other person said that this was an order, an order to us outsiders. These beasts are very precious to us and we need to transfer them.¡±

    Hearing this, Luo Wei¡¯s eyes suddenly turned to look at therge, trolley case Su Benxin was sitting on.

    Su Benxin didn¡¯t seem to notice the direction of Luo Wei¡¯s gaze. She continued, ¡°That person told me that when the Guimei Hexagram appears, that will be the day that we¡¯ll need to return.¡±

    <strong>Xida:?</strong>It¡¯s very disappointing how the team knew to suspect Su Benxin, know she wasn¡¯t forting with information, and yet put up no guards against her at all. Smh. I hope Luo Wei will be okay.

 Chapter 185: Luo Wei ahâ€™ Luo Wei

    <h4>Chapter 185: Luo Wei ah¡¯ Luo Wei</h4>

    The Checkpoint Border was like a boundary, where the inside of Heart City was full of lush green while the outside was full of weed.

    Luo Wei¡¯s gaze was still locked on therge trolley case. He couldn¡¯t quite believe it. ¡°You have already moved the beasts? When did you do it?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve been hiding from you. You¡¯re friends with those people, so it might not be a good thing to tell you the truth early on.¡± Su Benxin continued to sit on the trolley case. ¡°When the Guimei Hexagram appeared, I began to n this. Fortunately, everyone left this morning, giving me a chance to work on my own and do this.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t watch Xiao Qinxian¡¯s video today?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have the time. I secretly assigned myself the key to the refrigeration room yesterday, and when I entered it, no one doubted me at all. After all, my current identity is as a staff at the hospital. Secondly, I was one of the owners of these beasts, and so no one suspected me at all.¡± Although Su Benxin was a little anxious, she still patiently exined it to Luo Wei. She hoped that Luo Wei wouldpletely understand everything and then leave with her.

    ¡°How did you transport them out?¡±

    ¡°I dressed up as a cleaning staff collecting medical waste and I put them in arge bag. Six kilograms isn¡¯t heavy at all and so I can still lift it.¡± Su Benxin smiled.

    ¡°And then you put these things directly into the trolley case and store the case in the store?¡± Luo Wei felt that if these things were done by himself, it probably wouldn¡¯t have gone so perfectly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not hard to get close to people. The girls in the luggage store were already familiar with me from yesterday, and I was able to buy all their help with a few boxes of super moisturizing cream from the hospital pharmacy.¡± Su Benxin disagreed with his words.

    Luo Wei looked at the woman in front of him and pressed his hand to the painful part of his heart, which seemed to have relieved the pain somewhat. ¡°You seem very smart, but you¡¯re actually confused. Whether it¡¯s inside or outside Heart City, it¡¯s not our destination at all. Our purpose is to find the signature and leave the painting.¡±

    ¡°Yesterday, that Sister Lin had already checked the list of people on theputer for me, and there was no Yu Beiguo on it. With only the map, they¡¯re just looking for a needle in a haystack. Chu Zhiyong ordered the check-up at night, which means that someone will die tonight. Who knows if the person who dies would be you or me?¡± Su Benxin¡¯s tone was a little unhappy.

    ¡°¡­¡­.¡±

    ¡°Besides, who knows if Yu Beiguo is inside or outside of Heart City! Anyway, this ce belongs to the world of the painting!¡± Su Benxin gently put her hand over Luo Wei¡¯s heart. ¡°My heart is already hurting so much. No, we can¡¯t wait any longer. Even if the beast doesn¡¯te out, we¡¯ll die from the pain of heartbreak.¡±

    ¡°The pain of heartbreak? Why does our heart hurt?¡± Luo Wei couldn¡¯t understand at all.

    Su Benxin¡¯s bright eyes were fixed on Luo Wei¡¯s. ¡°Because we¡¯re people outside of Heart City. We don¡¯t belong here. Why could we see everything? Why aren¡¯t we confined here? Why did we not indulge to the point where we¡¯re unable to extricate ourselves?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because our hearts aren¡¯t in this city at all.¡±

    These words were heavier and heavier, like a bell tolling in Luo Wei¡¯s heart. Luo Wei muttered to himself, ¡°Our hearts aren¡¯t here?¡±

    ¡°Yes. This is the difference between locals and outsiders. The reason why Qin Ci and the others will linger in Heart City is because their hearts are trapped here. It takes a lot of willpower to leave. They will be blinded and even confused. If it wasn¡¯t because of your reminder, they wouldn¡¯t have even remembered to look for the signature.¡±

    Su Benxin, she had always been sober, even more so than Luo Wei.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to find the signature, but we really can¡¯t wait any longer. I¡¯ve had two heart attacks in the middle of the night, and the third time wille soon.¡± Su Benxin looked at her rade-in-arms.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think your situation is any better.¡±

    Luo Wei didn¡¯t answer. He¡¯d always thought that the beast was in his heart, and that was why he¡¯d felt such difort. The pain was getting stronger and stronger, causing him to conclude that the beast would pierce through his heart when it came out.

    He didn¡¯t tell anyone, because it wouldn¡¯t have mattered. The beast couldn¡¯t be surgically stripped from his heart in advance, and so, no matter what, he could only die.

    ¡°But we can¡¯te back after we leave here,¡± Luo Wei said.

    ¡°Why do you want toe back here? Maybe the signature is outside the city. We can call Ke Xun and tell them to leave the city.¡± Su Benxin added, ¡°Life or death are ruled by fate. We don¡¯t need to depend on them to find the signature.¡±

    ¡°I keep thinking that doing this is wrong.¡± Luo Wei was so confused. ¡°At least we should tell them first.¡±

    ¡°Then we won¡¯t be able to leave at all. They will not agree to let us take 6 kilograms of the beasts away. This kind of behavior is akin to stealing. They¡¯re also waiting to strike a deal with Chu Zhiyong with 13 kilograms of beasts. These beasts are their lives, and we¡¯re taking away their lives. They will definitely not agree.¡±

    As Luo Wei was thinking, his heart pounded harder and harder, and with every beat, it was like an awl was digging into his heart. ¡°Forget about everything else. These beasts hadn¡¯t even been appeased yet and their masters were once our partners.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to be the Holy Father! Our lives are not guaranteed. What did we have to do with these dead ghosts?! We aren¡¯t the ones who killed them!¡± Su Benxin¡¯s patience was wearing thin. ¡°Luo Wei, once the Guimei Hexagram appears, our lives will be lost if we stay. The countdown is ticking. Even if you don¡¯t leave with me now, you won¡¯t be able to make it back to the hospital.¡±

    Luo Wei squeezed the trolley case. ¡°No, I have to call Ke Xun and the others first!¡±

    The wind tossed Su Benxin¡¯s hair into wild disarray, setting them to dancing like a mass of ck seaweed. Her face was as pale as water. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. You won¡¯t be able to take the trolley case from me, and I won¡¯t give you the chance to call them.¡±

    At this time, severalrge men with sturdy bodies approached from the distance, and one of them called out a greeting to Su Benxin.

    ¡°They¡¯re responsible for receiving the goods and for our extradition,¡± Su Benxin said. ¡°It¡¯s toote now to say anything. They¡¯re already here for the goods. Even if we both changed our minds, we won¡¯t be able to beat thoserge men.¡±

    Su Benxin added, ¡°I originally thought that you¡¯re a straightforward man. How could you be so muddled-headed? If it¡¯s anyone else, they would have been more decisive than you, regardless of whether it¡¯s Wei Dong, Mu Yiran, Zhu Haowen, or Ke Xun! How can you be so stupid?!¡±

    Luo Wei was still confused, but when he suddenly heard Ke Xun¡¯s name, his thoughts suddenly stabilized. ¡°Just give me 10 minutes. There¡¯s a phone booth over there. I¡¯ll give them a call first!¡±

    Su Benxin shouted after him, but it was as if Luo Wei didn¡¯t hear her at all. He just wanted to tell hisrade about this as soon as possible. He couldn¡¯t leave them in such a secretive way.

    ¡­¡­..

    In the hospital, in Qin Ci¡¯s office.

    Everyone was studying the map.

    Zhao Yanbao was watching Xiao Qinxian¡¯s video fromst night on theputer, thinking that since she¡¯d learned a bit about recognizing mouth shapes, she might be able to mouthread if Xiao Qinxian said anythingst night. This information might prove helpful to everyone.

    Suddenly, the phone rang. Ke Xun was the person closest to the phone, and thinking that there might be progress on Luo Wei¡¯s side, he answered the phone casually. ¡°Hello? Hello? Who are you looking for? Is this Luo Wei? Luo Wei!¡±

    The others turned their attention to Ke Xun, who held the receiver. ¡°How strange. The other person didn¡¯t speak at all. He only said hello, and he sounded like Luo Wei.¡±

    Zhu Haowen immediately took the receiver from Ke Xun and listened to it. But there was no sound at all. Although the other person did not hang up, neither did he speak.

    When Wei Dong listened to the receiver, he suddenly heardmotioning from it. ¡°Someone got killed! Someone just got killed in the phone booth!¡­It¡¯s murder.¡±

    Just as everyone was listening anxiously, Zhao Yanbao, who had been staring at theputer screen the entire time, suddenly said, ¡°Xiao Qinxian said something! Although she was in a state of madness, she said it very clearly! She said, ¡®The words are on her forehead¡¯!¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­.

    As night was ushered in, everyone felt that this evening had turned darker than ever.

    Luo Wei¡¯s body was sent to the cold room, where hey next to Lion.

    Su Benxin had disappeared.

    The first person to react with Mu Yiran. ¡°Are the beasts still there?¡±

    Naturally, they were gone, and everything could be seen through the monitors in the hallway. Even so, it was no longer necessary.

    ¡°Let¡¯s focus on looking for the signature. There¡¯s no need to go to Chu Zhiyong anymore. Right now, we need to focus on finding the signature,¡± Zhu Haowen said with his head slightly lowered.

    There was a rhythmic pounding from the hallway. It was Ke Xun punching clenched fists into the wall. With red eyes, Wei Dong went over to pull Ke Xun back. ¡°Ke¡¯er, Luo Wei has left. Ke¡¯er, we¡¯d promised him that if he couldn¡¯t get out, we¡¯ll help him take care of his mother. The olddy isn¡¯t in good health¡­¡±

    Ke Xun lowered his head and looked at the floor of the hallway. Luo Wei was a friend, arade-in-arms, and their friendship was one experienced through life-and-death. Even though he¡¯d thought about having to part with his friends many times before, when faced with the reality of this truth, he couldn¡¯t help but fall into pieces.

    ¡°I just can¡¯t bear Luo Wei dying so iprehensibly! We don¡¯t even have a clue about how it happened! We don¡¯t even know how he died!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s expression was twisted in a way that it¡¯d never been before, but he couldn¡¯t help but remember the scenes of Luo Weiing to see him before entering the painting.

    Luo Wei had, cautiously and with lingering mncholy, walked into Ke Xun¡¯s house and said, ¡°Tell me about the first few paintings you¡¯d experienced. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to know more. I¡¯m new, and I don¡¯t want to hold you back.¡±

    Luo Wei, you didn¡¯t hold us back.

    Luo Wei¡­

    Just when Ke Xun felt that everyone around him was cold and bitter, he felt a burst of warmth surrounding him. Mu Yiran held Ke Xun tightly in his arms with amazing strength,and his voice was very low and very soft when he said, ¡°What we can do now is get out as soon as possible. We¡¯ll help Luo Wei take care of his mother, and we¡¯ll handle Luo Wei¡¯s funeral for her. Luo Wei said that if something went wrong, he wants a ce next to Li Yaqing, so that he can keep herpany.¡±

    <strong>Xida:?</strong>Yep, I got teary-eyed.

 Chapter 186: The Cave

    <h4>Chapter 186: The Cave</h4>

    Although everyone¡¯s mood was heavy, with the situation so urgent, they could dy nothing.

    Zhao Yanbao found a clue from Xiao Qinxian¡¯s mouth: the words are on her forehead.

    ¡°Is this really a clue? How can Xiao Qinxian know?¡± Many people wondered.

    ¡°Xiao Qinxian has a special status. She was insane when she said those words, so it¡¯s hard to say who those words came from.¡± Zhao Yanbao thought for a while, and finally forced herself to go against science. ¡°That kind of madness may be the product of two soulspeting for one body. It could even be considered as a collision between someone who belongs to the city and one who isn¡¯t.¡±

    No matter what, this logic was not groundless.

    ¡°The words are on her forehead,¡± this phrase reminded them of the woman riding the crimson beast in ¡°The Revtion of St. John, the Divine.¡± She too had words written on her forehead.

    This sentence wasn¡¯t so much a clue as it was an entuated reiteration.

    ¡°However, the three words Yu Beiguo can¡¯t be on a person¡¯s forehead!¡± Wei Dong blinked his red and swollen eyes as he thought out loud. ¡°So many people in this city had seen these three words. It¡¯s impossible for these same people to have seen these words on someone¡¯s forehead, unless he¡¯s the Major of Heart City¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s an abstract expression, such as on a sculpture of a person or a beast with an inscription on its forehead.¡±

    ¡°Even so, this sculpture must be iconic. Otherwise, it would be impossible for so many people to have seen it.¡± Qin Ci looked at the map in his hand, but despite having looked at it for so long, he couldn¡¯t even read the small prints written on it.

    ¡°Everyone can calm down for a bit and rest their eyes,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°I¡¯ll read out the names of ces on the map. Each time I read one, I¡¯ll circle the names and then have Ke Xun read. The only thing I can think of is to change the perspective. If you can¡¯t see something, you might be able to hear it.¡±

    With no better alternative, they all closed their eyes and listened as Mu Yiran read the names on the map.

    ¡°Glorious Mansion, Heart Lake Park, Bici Street, Admiration Hotel, Hovering Stand¡­¡± Mu Yiran read slowly, drawing circles with a pencil as he read.

    This moment was probably the quietest, slowest time everyone had experienced since entering the painting. Qin Ci closed his eyes and felt like he was listening to an afternoon announcement on the radio.

    More than half an hourter, it was Ke Xun¡¯s turn to read. The sudden change of voice awoke everyone from their near-drowsy state, infusing them with a regained sense of energy.

    Ke Xun was reading when he suddenly heard hispanions called out for him to stop.

    ¡°Read the name of that ce again,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Ke Xun himself was a little sleepy, and so he looked down at the circle he¡¯d just drawn. ¡°Honey Ind.¡±

    ¡°Not that one. The one before it!¡± Zhao Yanbao said.

    Ke Xun focused his eyes on the words and said, ¡°Goose Mountain.¡±

    Everyone stopped talking and simply looked at Ke Xun.

    ¡°Goose Mountain. This is a mountain on the outskirts of Heart City. Is there a problem?¡± Ke Xun was confused.

    Zhu Haowen directly wrote two words on a paper. ¡°Are these the two words?¡±

    Seeing these two words, Ke Xun finally understood. Zhu Haowen had written ¡°Forehead Mountain.¡±

    Ke Xun slowly shook his head. ¡°The word is goose, like a big, white goose.¡±

    Mu Yiran came over and took the map from Ke Xun. He carefully looked at the description of scenic spots about Goose Mountain on the side of the map. ¡°Goose Mountain was originally called Forehead Mountain because the whole shape of the mountain resembles the forehead of a beauty, hence the name. It thenter became known as Goose Mountain.¡±

    No one could stand still, and so Wei Dong came over to take a look as well. ¡°This mountain is in the southern suburbs! Let¡¯s go now!¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need to take any tools with us?¡± Qin Ci stood up, not knowing what to bring.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost 6 right now. We don¡¯t have time to go rock climbing or digging. We¡¯ll have to return to our residence before night falls.¡± Mu Yiran was calmer. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and go.¡±

    So they went outside, stopped two taxis, and went straight toward Goose Mountain.

    An hourter, they arrived at the foot of Goose Mountain.

    This mountain wasn¡¯t high, but it was solitary and its shape did indeed resemble a forehead.

    It was almost dusk, but the sky was still bright. They looked up at the mountain, not knowing where to start.

    ¡°I asked the driver just now and he said that the most famous cave in Good Mountain is be Cave. He also said that it contained a wonderful sight.¡± Ke Xun had already found the location of the cave at the bottom of the mountain.

    Everyone walked along the mountain road and soon arrived at the cave. There was a que outside the entrance that read be Cave.

    ¡°Howe there are stone doors on this cave? How do we get in there? Can such heavy stone doors be pushed open?¡± Wei Dong looked at the pair of stone doors in front of the cave and felt as if it was a scene straight out of Journey to the West.

    There was a stone tablet next to the cave, on which was engraved the introduction of the mountain. Everyone read it word by word.

    ¡°This monument was actually built by people from inside the city and those from outside the city.¡± Zhao Yanbao felt that this was a little strange and she continued to read the contents that followed. ¡°So it turns out to be like this. There¡¯s a mechanism that will allow entrance into the cave, and this was even praised as a distinguished feature of Goose Mountain¡¯s best scenic area¡­¡±

    Based on the introduction on the stone tablet, everyone finally located arge cobblestone a little bit uphill toward the back of the mountain that could only be stepped on by one person.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try it.¡± Qin Ci put his feet together and stood on the big cobblestone.

    A loud bang sounded and Wei Dong, who had been watching at the cave entrance, rushed over to report that the stone door had slowly opened.

    No one could hide their excitement.

    Wei Dong pulled Qin Ci and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s enter the cave and take a look. Maybe the signature is inside!¡±

    A loud noise sounded, as if the stone door slowly closed.

    ¡°No, someone has to step on the cobblestone all the time.¡±

    Ke Xun visually measured the distance from the cobblestone to be Cave. It would be almost impossible to run from the back of the mountain to the entrance of the cave before the stone door closed shut.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back and call someone. Or we can stop a passerby on the side of the road and ask them to help step on the cobblestone,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Qin Ci looked up at the night sky. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll encounter any passers-by at this time. Don¡¯t bother, I¡¯ll step on it.¡±

    ¡°This distance is something that even Ke¡¯er can¡¯t run.¡± Wei Dong gave Qin Ci a little self-knowledge.

    Qin Ci smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave. It¡¯s okay to stay here.¡±

    Everyone was stunned. No one thought that Qin Ci would give such an answer.

    Wei Dong patted Qin Ci¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Old Qin, wake up! Brother Qin, this is a painting! We¡¯re looking for the artist¡¯s signature. We must leave the painting!¡±

    Qin Ci let out a bitter smile. ¡°It¡¯s better to find a painting that I like the most and live a peaceful life.¡±

    Mu Yiran obviously didn¡¯t expect this. He looked at Qin Ci with a cold gaze. ¡°Our efforts these days are to be able to go out and live a peaceful life. You think so too.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve actually been thinking about it for a long time. The reason why I have worked so hard these days is so you all could go out,¡± Qin Ci said with a smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a bastard,¡± Zhu Haowen said suddenly. ¡°You¡¯ll only die in the painting. What about your parents? How can they live without you?¡±

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t say anything. It was unknown whether he disagreed or if he simply didn¡¯t want to think too much about it.

    Ke Xun stepped forward and picked off the leaf that was blown onto Qin Ci¡¯s head. ¡°Brother Qin, we¡¯ve braved through fire and water together, and we¡¯ve even just lost one of ours. Luo Wei had already left us, and we promised him that we would take care of his mother. In the next painting, I don¡¯t know who will continue to walk with us and how many of us will be left. But no matter how many, the living are always the ones carrying the weight of these deaths on their shoulders. Now that you suddenly want to stop, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s like throwing your sworn brothers away at the half-way mark?¡±

    Qin Ci looked at Ke Xun, his eyes slightly red.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually quite simple. Why are you making it like someone has to sacrifice their life?¡± Zhao Yanbao, who was standing outside the circumference of the crowd, said. The mountain wind had blown her short hair into disarray, revealing an unusual beauty. ¡°If we all want to leave, we¡¯ll just need to go down the mountain. It won¡¯t be easy to find someone, but we can stop a taxi and pay for the driver to help us. Even if we can¡¯t find anyone, we can also try to find a big rock and put it on cobblestone.¡±

    No one spoke. The matter wasn¡¯t as simple as she thought. The ball seemed to be on Qin Ci¡¯s court.

    Zhao Yanbao smiled. ¡°I think that, as long as you still have a trace of concern in the outside world, it¡¯s better not to stay here. It¡¯s boring having to live a life inside a painting.¡±

    These words were for Qin Ci. Qin Ci lowered his head and said nothing.

    Zhao Yanbao continued. ¡°You and I are considered friends in adversity, so I can¡¯t talk about how deep our friendship is and I will never sacrifice myself for any of you. So, my following decision will have nothing to do with you. You all mustn¡¯t put this hat on me, because I can¡¯t afford to wear a hat of sacrificing oneself for justice.

    Everyone seemed to guess what Zhao Yanbao was going to say. With a gesture, she interrupted Wei Dong, who was about to speak. She said, ¡°I really have nothing noteworthy in the world outside the painting. I only have one Chi Lei, who is here, and I want to be with her. If we all seeded in leaving the painting, I would have to experience Chi Lei¡¯s death again in our world, and I can¡¯t stand it. I really can¡¯t stand it.¡±

    .

    When Qin Ci tried to speak, Zhao Yanbao interrupted, ¡°You still have parents and friends, but I only have a pair of parents who only wanted money and never contacted me. I don¡¯t want to pay attention to them. I am by no means being impulsive. I have thought about it since Chi Lei died and even in these past two nights, I was hoping that the beast woulde out of my body and kill me. But this did not happen.¡±

    No one knew what to say or whether they should say something.

    Zhao Yanbao¡¯s long, slim-fitting shirt made her look like a developing young boy, a boy with a pure smile. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of the night here, and if I die, I will be with Chi Lei. If I live, I will go outside the city to find Chi Lei and ourpanions¡¯ beasts, and I will ask someone to put these beasts at peace. Look, I still have so many things to do here.¡±

    Wei Dong had cried so many times today that his swollen eyes could barely open.

    Zhao Yanbao smiled and looked at every person in front of her. Then she finally walked over to her former roommate, Zhu Haowen. Before he could react, she stepped forward and gave him a hug, whispering, ¡°Life is too short. Just do whatever you want.¡±

    Zhu Haowen smiled a rare smile.

    She then walked to therge cobblestone. ¡°Get your phones¡¯ shlight ready. It¡¯s dark in the cave and you won¡¯t find the signature otherwise!¡±

    She walked like a primary school student on her first spring outing.

    Hearing the sound of the cave door opening, Zhao Yanbao turned around slowly on the cobblestone, only to see Mu Yiran still standing not far from her. She said, ¡°If you don¡¯t leave, your boyfriend will run away with Haowen¡¯er.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Zhao Yanbao and said word by word, ¡°I just want to ask you, what is the name of that scumbag psychologist who went abroad?¡±

 Chapter 187: A City

    <h4>Chapter 187: A City</h4>

    By the time Mu Yiran walked through the entrance of the cave, hispanions were already inside with their phone¡¯s shlight turned on for illumination.

    Only Qin Ci walked the slowest. He didn¡¯t turn on his phone and instead stood alone in the darkness, seeming a little hesitant.

    Mu Yiran coughed lightly. He stepped forward and patted Qin Ci on the shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s getting dark outside.¡±

    ¡°I want to listen to the radio onest time in this world,¡± Qin Ci said as he pulled out a small, retro-looking radio.

    Mu Yiran obviously didn¡¯t expect Qin Ci to be carrying a radio with him. While slightly surprised, he made a gesture for him to do as he pleased.

    Qin Ci held the smooth, wood-colored radio and turned the retro switch on one side.

    When Qin Ci entered his office in Heart City Central Hospital for the first time, he was surprised to find that the furnishings were very simr to his office five years ago. This retro-styled radio was sitting on the desk, looking exactly like the one his girlfriend had given him as a birthday present.

    Back then, because he was in too much grief, he had put the radio away and no longer listened to it. As a result, when a robber broke into his house, that abominable thief had also stolen the radio too¨CIt was practically the only remembrance she¡¯d left him.

    He turned on the radio in the cave and an old English song came on. The woman¡¯s slightly hoarse, maic voice rang out, as if embedding soul into the whole cave.

    When thepanions walking ahead heard the music, they stopped and turned to silently look back at Qin Ci.

    The cave was dark, and an old English song actually fostered a rxing effect.

    Just as Wei Dong was thinking about asking Qin Ci to turn up the volume, the singing abruptly stopped.

    The sudden disappearance of the singing seemed to have turned the cave even darker, giving their human sense the sensation that they had fallen into a dark hole, so dark that they¡¯re unable to extricate themselves.

    ¡°Listeners and friends of Heart City, urgent news is inserted below.¡±

    The radio host¡¯s voice seemed rather anxious as he spoke this sentence.

    Everyone stood in ce, listening with their ears perked.

    ¡°The city¡¯s special police force had just cracked a huge smuggling case on the city¡¯s boundary. All the smuggling criminals from outside the city who tried to resist were shot dead on the spot. There were five smugglers, one of whom was a woman.¡±

    Everyone listened carefully in confusion, thinking that this piece of news had nothing to do with them.

    ¡°At 3 o¡¯clock in the afternoon, the man who was shot at the telephone booth at the city boundary has been identified as Luo Wei, 24 years old this year. It was this young man who, after discovering the smuggling attempt, ignored his own safety and promptly called the police. The police quickly blocked the border checkpoint, sessfully killed the outsider criminals, and intercepted a batch of beast resources most important to the city.¡±

    Everyone listened quietly, feeling as if they could feel the speed of blood flowing through their veins.

    It turned out that Luo Wei¡¯s first call was to the police, and the second call was to them at the hospital.

    ¡°Luo Wei is Heart City¡¯s sincere hero! ording to the instructions of our city mayor, Luo Wei will be ratified as an outstanding contributor to the city¡­¡±

    They felt ufortable, not knowing what the point of being an outstanding contributor to the city meant.

    ¡°The city government had just held an emergency meeting regarding the interception of the beast resources. It was decided that spiritual masters would be invited to supervise and cremate the body of the deceased together with its beast, so as to truly achieve the ¡®return the beast to the original body andplete the soul¡¯ proposal of themon people. A rare Guimei Hexagram was involved in the batch of beast resources, and it is also a nutritious beast desperately needed by the secret Beast outside the city. If the criminal seeded this time, the consequences would have been disastrous and Heart City would likely fall to it once more¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran frowned. The news contained huge amounts of information, and the many doubts in his heart were slowly being resolved.

    Was there a mysterious Beast outside the city? Was it as he¡¯d guessed that the beasts in everyone¡¯s body provided much-needed nutrition for this secret giant Beast? Once the secret Beast had absorbed enough, it would grow, attack, and overtake Heart City.

    As the Book of Revtion said: The beast you saw was before, and now is not, and wille out of the abyss and enter perdition.

    This mysterious Beast outside the city once made Heart City fall, but now it was recuperating so that it could be ready to strike again.

    ¡°Thisndmark decision will rewrite the history of Heart City! From now on, the exchange of beasts will be listed as illegal, and all the beasts on the market will be returned to the deceased. In addition, the profession of psychologist, which had been banned for a long time, would be reinstated. I believe this profession will prove to be a great significance in eliminating the beast in the human body¡­For these beasts, it is better to destroy them in the cradle than to save them¡­¡±

    Everyone was silent, their heartache brimming with a strange excitement: Luo Wei had changed the history of Heart City.

    He had indirectly prevented the attack of the mysterious Beast outside the city and had single-handedly saved an entire city.

    Luo Wei had saved a city.

    He had saved a city inside the painting.

    They had no longer bothered to analyze the meaning of the city. Just like the boundaries outside Heart City, there were some things you must give up in order to let go, and some things you might want to keep but could not.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Luo Wei, we wouldn¡¯t even remember to look for the signature right now,¡± Wei Dong said.

    Yes, if it wasn¡¯t for Luo Wei, no one would be able to leave today.

    After the news was broadcasted, the English song sounded again, but the people were no longer in the mood to listen.

    A song can change people¡¯s heart. But in fact, some people will try their best to seal their heart, and slowly they nourish the bacteria there, giving it a chance to be a beast.

    In this Heart City, famous for its romance, the beasts in people¡¯s hearts were said to be rted to love, but love was just a point, and this point could reflect many things.

    Human sentiments could grow to contain the entire universe.

    .

    A faint light suddenly appeared in the cave. Could this be the so-called wonders of the cave?

    Countless firefly-like flying insects had gathered into arge cloud of light and mist, which gathered and dispersed before falling slowly onto the wall of the cave, forming the three bright and shining characters: Yu Beiguo.

    Facing these three familiar and yet unfamiliar words, everyone sighed. This mountain was a famous scenic spot in the city, and this cave was an important attraction. There were glowing flying insects inside, and everyone living for a long time in the city must have seen it.

    Although the three characters Yu Beiguo were extremely bright inside the dark cave, they appeared fragile and delicate, flickering timidly as if a gentle cough could scare them away at any moment. This name would no longer exist.

    In the darkness, Ke Xun firmly held Mu Yiran¡¯s hand. When the glowing insects form a doorway of light under the name Yu Beiguo, everyone¡¯s mood calmed.

    They had found the signature within seven days and opened the exit door.

    The design of this door was so offbeat and unique.

    But what was the use?

    They couldn¡¯t take Luo Wei home with them.

    ¡­¡­..

    The difference between the real world and the world in the painting was getting thinner and thinner, so that when they returned to Benxin Art Gallery, they still thought that they were still in Heart City.

    It had the same temperature, the same humidity. The wind was cool, yet sometimes mixed with a trace of indescribable warmth.

    The wind in the painting was scented with flowers, but the wind at this time carried the smell of rotten leaves unique tote autumns.

    It had been ten days since everyone packed up their moods and finished up the unfinished business of their friends who had stayed in the painting.

    At this point, there was only less than a week to go before they had to enter the next painting. Yes, it was still necessary to enter the painting, and everyone had the damned art gallery ticket in their pockets.

    The Bronze Art Gallery was the next stop.

    The veteran members were preparing for this entry in the ¡°Entering the Painting Discussion Group.¡±

    Wei Feng¡¤Meng: Is Dr. Qinpletely awake? [Wake up from a full sleep and forget about He Xi today.jpg]

    With Courage and Wit: Mmn.

    Wei Feng¡¤Meng: Is Mama Luo any better?

    With Courage and Wit: After a few more days, she will be discharged from the hospital.

    Wei Feng¡¤Meng: Oh, I didn¡¯t expect Mama Luo to have that disease.

    With Courage and Wit: This disease has be her psychological protection. She always thought that each of us was Luo Wei, just like her son had never left.

    ZHW: [A veryplicated picture of capital letters connected by the locations of eleven art galleries]

    With Courage and Wit: The letter after the T is still unrecognizable. It looks like a half-written M, it may also be an N .

    Wei Feng¡¤Meng: TMD. The painting ispletely TMD.

    ZHW: These letters are probably the key to aplete picture.

    Wei Feng¡¤Meng: I had a nightmare a few days ago, such as, in this life, I have toplete the 26 letters ording to the traces of art galleries all over the world.

    Corgi: [screenshot of a news picture.jpg]

    Wei Feng¡¤Meng: When did you start reading news websites? [Don¡¯t say I don¡¯t believe you, I don¡¯t believe you.jpg]

    ZHW: Su Benxin finally had an ident.

    Wei Feng¡¤Meng: Fuck, I can¡¯t understand what¡¯s written on it. What is suicide by appointment?

    With Courage and Wit: The court determined that this case was intentional homicide, and the painter Yu Ji provided a lot of strong direct evidence for this case. Su Benxin¡¯s behavior was determined as temptation tomit suicide. Before this, Su Benxin also had two simr experiences. Both ex-boyfriendsmitted suicide, but there was currently not enough evidence to prove her involvement.

    Wei Feng¡¤Meng: [Look at this perverted bitch.jpg]

    Wei Feng¡¤Meng: Anyway, they all died in the painting, and those people¡¯s lives could notst for 10 days outside. I don¡¯t care what happens to Su Benxin.

    With Courage and Wit: That¡¯s different, and it means different things to living family and friends. The saying ¡°Don¡¯t pass judgment on a person¡¯s life until the lid is on their coffin¡± also isn¡¯t the same.

    Wei Feng¡¤Meng: But for Su Benxin, it doesn¡¯t make any difference. As soon as she closes her eyes, she won¡¯t know anything.

    With Courage and Wit: After death, you enter another world, which is probably like entering another painting. It is impossible to treat all the deceased equally. I still believe in good and evil.

 Chapter 188: Ship at Sea

    <h4>Chapter 188: Ship at Sea</h4>

    The decoration style of the Bronze Art Gallery was very consistent with its name.

    The exterior walls of the entire venue were decorated with bronze texture and color.

    However, the group were not in any mood to appreciate this simple and atmospheric building. A cold autumn rain had encroached upon the entire city, and the temperature plummeted three times within a week. The freezing temperature caught these outsiders off guard. Even Qin Ci, after getting off the ne, had to put on the thin down jacket he¡¯d brought along with him.

    Ke Xun wore a baseball cap and a baseball-themed outfit. As he stood at the door of the art gallery, the young girls passing by couldn¡¯t help but look at him.

    The Bronze Art Gallery opened at nine in the morning and now it was 8:40am. Mu Yiran was the only one in their group of five who hadn¡¯t yet arrived.

    ¡°Will the boss make it in time?¡± Wei Dong¡¯s teeth were chattering despite his thick sweater.

    Mu Yiran had gone to the Italian Penins. When Ke Xun had called him at threest night, he had just gotten off the ne.

    Ke Xun put his hands in his pockets and looked at the rain falling on the street. ¡°Why so anxious? We have until 8pm. Let him sleep a little longer.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, tsk. It¡¯s obvious that you¡¯re in love with him.¡± Wei Dong turned his head. ¡°Come on, Haowen¡¯er. Brother will love you. You can put your hands in my pocket, my pocket is warm.¡±

    Zhu Haowen raised his hands nkly, showing him his thin gloves.

    ¡°You know how to take care of yourself.¡± Wei Dong shivered. ¡°I regret not listening to my mother. I should have worn one moreyer. At this point, even my pee will freeze in trajectory¡­Ke¡¯er, did you bring extra clothes?¡±

    Ke Xun took off his shoulder bag and threw it at him. ¡°Just a coat. You can wear it first, but don¡¯t get it dirty.¡±

    ¡°Damn, you¡¯re starting to disdain me. Now that you have a wife, you¡¯re starting to forget your mother, you unfilial son!¡± Wei Dong pulled out the clothes, only to see a short, ck woolen trench coat.

    ¡°Huh? You usually don¡¯t wear such formal clothes.¡± Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun curiously and saw that he was still standing there with his back to him. Wei Dong was shocked. ¡°Yo, I get it now. This is specially prepared for the big boss. You¡¯re afraid that he might freeze. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now that you have a family, you¡¯ve be more careful than us rough guys.¡±

    Wei Dong, who was now wearing a trench coat and jeans, looked up at the sky. ¡°It¡¯s still very cloudy. Since it¡¯s raining like this, I don¡¯t know how many people are willing toe to the art gallery today.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about others. Have you reviewed the paintings in this art gallery?¡± Ke Xun turned to face him.

    ¡°I have,¡± Wei Dong answered. ¡°All the works on disy in the art gallery are Chinese paintings by modern and contemporary artists. I took down all the information we¡¯ve searched on the inte about the collections disyed in this gallery and also backed up the documents and the images of the paintings on my phone, so don¡¯t worry!¡±

    ¡°I feel that this time we¡¯ll have it easier than in thest painting.¡± Qin Ci wanted to pass his optimism along to everyone. Smiling, he looked back at the closed doors of the art gallery and added, ¡°We did quite a bit of preparation this time.¡±

    ¡°Only if we can do things step by step, and there are no emergencies.¡± Zhu Haowen was always calm.

    At exactly 9 o¡¯clock, the door of the art gallery opened from the inside and two staff members came out to disy a poster on the outside of the door.

    The group members looked at the content of the poster, and then looked at each other.

    They all saw that it said: New paintings now on disy at the Bronze Art Gallery today. All is wee.

    ¡°¡­What the fuck¡­¡± Wei Dong looked at hispanions with a nk face. ¡°It¡¯s deliberately making it hard on us! I bet the painting we¡¯re going to enter today is one of these new paintings! I¡¯ve made all this preparation for nothing!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s resisting.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s mood did not fluctuate. ¡°You go in first and warm up. I¡¯ll wait out here for Yiran.¡±

    The other three did not try to be polite to him, and entered the hall.

    Ke Xun¡¯s cell phone rang just then. When he saw the caller ID, the corners of his mouth curved up involuntarily. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you sleep longer?¡­Mmn, we haven¡¯t arrived yet. We¡¯re just about to leave. I guess we¡¯re a step behind you¡­There¡¯s no hurry. Go and buy something to eat first so you won¡¯t be hungry¡­Oh, what did you eat?¡­Mmn, drink more hot water. Are you dressed warmly? It¡¯s raining and it¡¯s freezing¡­What about me? So warmly dressed that I¡¯m sweating all over¡­Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you¡­Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t stand outside. I¡¯ll go in as soon as I get here, okay?¡­Okay, see youter. Be safe on your way.¡±

    Looking at his phone, Ke Xun saw that it was almost 9:40. Turning his head, he entered the art gallery. Less than five minutester, he saw Mu Yiran step through the door holding a ck umbre.

    ¡°Am I good?¡± Ke Xun greeted him, wrapping his arms around him.

    ¡°You neglect the raindrops still on your body.¡± Mu Yiran pursed his lips and wrapped his free arm around Ke Xun¡¯s back.

    They hadn¡¯t seen each other for ten day. Mu Yiran had been busy flying around at home and abroad.

    ¡°How many days are you staying in the country this time?¡± Ke Xun retracted his arms and brushed his lips across Mu Yiran¡¯s cheek.

    Mu Yiran looked at the moisture on his eyebrows and eyshes and raised his hand to wipe it off for him. In a somewhat calm voice, he said, ¡°This time, I¡¯ll stay as long as you want me to stay.¡±

    Ke Xun was taken aback at first, but soon, the corners of his lips slowly rose. ¡°Darling, I won¡¯t be polite. Since you¡¯re letting me say, then I hope that from today onwards, you will always stay by my side. Won¡¯t you regret it?¡±

    Mu Yiran pulled off the cap on Ke Xun¡¯s head and lightly rubbed his hair. He quietly said, ¡°This issue you raised, it seemed like you¡¯re not trying to settle the score.¡±

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t leave for more than ten days and will settle me when you return, I will dly endure any hardship.¡± Ke Xun held his hand.

    Mu Yiran nced at him, started walking inside, and said in a low voice, ¡°As you wish.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Did the boss mean that he would only leave for ten days, or that he was ready to ¡°settle¡± him to death?¡­

    How exciting.

    The other three who had entered the art gallery in advance weren¡¯t idle. They asked the gallery staff for information regarding the new batch of paintings. Unfortunately, the staff didn¡¯t know much about it either. They only said that the paintings were shipped in by airst night. This morning, the staff were told toe in at 7 to hang up the art pieces.

    The three group members walked around the hall and saw that these new paintings were all Chinese paintings. Some of them werepleted by modern, contemporary artists, and among these paintings, there were even imitations of ancient paintings.

    They could glean no clues. Chinese civilization was thousands of years old, and there were paintings from ancient times to the present. There was no way for them to guess which was the right painting in the exhibition hall.

    ¡°Should we go in now?¡± Standing at the door of the target exhibition hall, Wei Dong asked Mu Yiran and Ke Xun.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go in now. Maybe we can find out more clues if we go in earlier.¡± Ke Xun had never hesitated due to fear, and holding Mu Yiran¡¯s hand, he took the lead in entering the exhibition hall.

    When the lights went out and a sh of light from the void fell across the painting, Ke Xun saw that it was a faded ancient painting.

    Colored ink; thin, durable silk; dull tone; indistinct patterns.

    There were thin, gray stripes outlining the ocean and the ship. The sky was smeared with damp patches of primal chaos. Underneath the vast sea, there was a denseyer of creatures.

    Before he could take a closer look, the white light had already brightened, and when he opened his eyes, he was already inside the painting.

    ¡°Crash, crash.¡±

    A vast sea of ??ck ink suddenly appeared in front of everyone.

    ¡°Holy shit¡­ this is¡­a ship?¡± Wei Dong turned around in a circle, looking at their surroundings in shock.

    This was clearly therge ship that was inside the painting. Between the wooden hull and upper deck, there were two floors. Each floor had about a dozen rooms with primitive doors and windows. The tall masts had arge ck g with ancient characters written in gold.

    ¡°This painting is¡­¡± Qin Ci looked at everyone.

    ¡°Burning Rhinoceros at Sea,¡± Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen responded.

    They had both seen the name of the painting before entering the painting.

    ¡°Is this painting famous?¡± Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes moved slightly, and his voice was low, ¡°This is from a private collection of paintings. It has never been made public, and I only heard one friend in the industry mention it asionally. I didn¡¯t expect its imitations to appear in this ce.¡±

    ¡°Friend?¡± Ke Xun tilted his head and looked at him.

    ¡°A connoisseur of painting and calligraphy and a lover of Chinese culture who is over 60 years old,¡± Mu Yiran nced at him. ¡°He¡¯s Japanese.¡±

    ¡°Our Yiran have friends from all over the world,¡± Ke Xun boasted.

    ¡°Your expression just now tells us that this is not what you want to say,¡± Wei Dong squinted his eyes. ¡°I smell the sour rot of love.¡±

    ¡°How much do you know about this painting?¡± Zhu Haowen asked Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Not much.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was also a little solemn. ¡°The owner of this painting refuses to disclose the content of the painting to anyone. He only said a few words when he was drunk and chatting with a friend. His friend is the man I previously mentioned, who is a connoisseur of calligraphy and painting. Simr to him, the owner of the painting is also from Japan.¡±

    ¡°Then which country is this painting from?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°This ancient painting is from our country, but it has not been recorded in any literature,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°How did our country¡¯s painting get into the hands of a Japanese person? Could it be that it was looted?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°I also have a question,¡± Qin Ci added. ¡°Since this painting has never been made public before, how can we be sure that it is a Chinese painting?¡±

    Mu Yiran answered unhurriedly, ¡°The owner of the painting is a man named Fukuoka, and his family has lived on the coast of Japan for generations. His ancestors lived by fishing and so they possessed superb underwater skills.¡±

    ¡°Hundreds of years ago, a generation of Fukuoka¡¯s ancestors was fishing at sea and identally discovered a sunken ship.¡±

    ¡°The Fukuoka family gathered all the children who were good underwater and they went to the sea to salvage it. However, the shipwreck was too old, and most of the items on the ship had been soaked out of value. The Fukuoka family only picked up a few remaining valuables. This silk painting in a water-proof container was one of them.¡±

    ¡°The Fukuoka family sold a few salvaged items, and gradually moved from a fishermen¡¯s family to the ranks of the rich. And this silk painting and other salvaged collectables were left at home, unsold, and was passed down from generation to generation.¡±

    ¡°The reason why I can determine that this painting is a Chinese work is that the other objects that they fished out on the same boat were produced in our country, and some of them are now in the National Museum.¡±

    ¡°And¡­¡±

    At this point, Mu Yiran pointed to the big g hanging on the mast. ¡°The ship on the painting came from our country, and the font on the g is Qin calligraphy.

    Understanding dawned on everyone¡¯s faces.

    Ke Xun asked again, ¡°Then who is the artist of this Burning Rhinoceros At Sea?¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze was a littleplicated as he solemnly replied, ¡°Unknown.¡±

 Chapter 189: Burning Rhinoceros at Bull Islet

    <h4>Chapter 189: Burning Rhinoceros at Bull Islet</h4>

    Everyone was stunned.

    Wei Dong looked at Mu Yiran hesitantly. ¡°Unknown means¡­¡±

    ¡°Meaning that the original work has no seal and no name,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Everyone was stunned again.

    ¡°No seal, no name, then what do we look for in the painting?¡± Wei Dong felt a little panicked, and he looked at Mu Yiran, Ke Xun, and finally at Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen.

    ¡°So, has the level of difficulty increased?¡± Zhu Haowen remained calm.

    ¡°The rate of increase is a bit big.¡± Qin Ci smiled helplessly. ¡°It directly gave us a dead end. We have to find the signature inside the painting, but this painting doesn¡¯t have a signature.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a dead end, but it¡¯s definitely increasing in difficulty,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°Even if there is no signature, it might be like ¡°Human Studies¡± or ¡°Shadow,¡± whereby the characters are directly corrted to the signature and are then able to lead us to it.¡±

    ¡°Haowen¡¯er is right.¡± Ke Xun patted Zhu Haowen on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be discouraged. I think we still have a long time before darkness arrives. Let¡¯s hurry up and take this opportunity to search the ship inside out. Yiran and I will search the second floor, and the three of you will search the first floor and the deck. Does that sound good?¡±

    ¡°No problem, let¡¯s do it!¡± Wei Dong shook his fist.

    Zhu Haowen watched as Ke Xun¡¯s hand retracted from his shoulder, and he said in a low voice, ¡°You¡­ be careful.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Ke Xun looked at him a few times. ¡°I must say, you look pretty handsome dressed in a Hanfu.¡±

    After entering the painting, their clothes had changed to ancient costumes of white robes withrgepels and narrow sleeves.

    Zhu Haowen also looked at him and saw that, while dressed in a rough, white robe, he had a kind of unruly air about him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Mu Yiran said indifferently, not far from behind Ke Xun.

    They were all wearing white robes made out of coarse cloth, but when worn on his body, he looked pure and refined, like a gentleman of jade.

    When Ke Xun turned and strode toward Mu Yiran, Zhu Haowen withdrew his gaze from Ke Xun¡¯s messy hair and turned to walk away.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran walked up the wooden stairs to the second floor and opened the doors one by one to check each cabin.

    The cabins were very small, each containing only a simple wooden bed. The beds were also very short and only had a few toiletries next to it.

    There was nothing else. This was the case for all the rooms on the second floor.

    They quickly came down from the second floor and saw that Zhu Haowen and the others were also returning from checking the first floor.

    ¡°How did it go? Did you find anything?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s a kitchen over there.¡± Wei Dong pointed to a door at the end of the first floor. ¡°The big room in the middle is a hall, and the other rooms only contain beds. We don¡¯t see anyone else, and nothing looks suspicious.¡±

    In fact, there wasn¡¯t anything suspicious on the deck; it waspletely empty.

    ¡°There should be a lower building under the deck. Let¡¯s find the entrance,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°Here!¡± Qin Ci beckoned at the stern, pointing to arge open lid on the deck that exposed a staircase leading to the bottom.

    Everyone walked down the stairs. The cabin underneath waspletely dark, so they all took out their mobile phones for illumination. The rooms underneath the deck contained food, clothing, medicine, farming tools, and othermon things, but there were no other people.

    ¡°There are a lot of things here. It may take a few days to look through them one by one.¡± Qin Ci looked at everyone. ¡°Shall we start now?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s start. We mustn¡¯t waste time.¡± Ke Xun looked around. ¡°We need to look for things likemp oil first so we can turn on the lights and save our phone batteries.¡±

    They were about to start searching the room when Mu Yiran stopped them. ¡°Let¡¯s divide the work. Ke Xun, you and Wei Dong go and look for light. Dr. Qin and Haowen can start looking for clues in the room with the stacked books and scrolls. Meanwhile, I¡¯ll stay in the upper deck to monitor the movement of the ship and bring in the other people who have entered the painting.¡±

    Hearing his words, they no longer dyed and immediately split up.

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong searched for a long time in the room with daily necessities and finally found seven to eight bronzempstands. However, despite having searched through all the boxes, they could not find candles ormp oil. They had no choice but to take thempstand to the room where Qin Ci and Zhu Howen were.

    There were more than a dozen boxes stacked in this room, and all of the boxes were filled with bamboo writing slips, t wooden pieces, and silk scrolls, all written in the Qin script.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Qin Ci shook his head and put down the scroll of bamboo slips. ¡°These boxes have all these things, but there are no paper books. I suspect that the age of this ship is at least before the Han Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Qin Dynasty,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice rang out from the door. There were four to five people behind him, and judging from the bewilderment and confusion on their faces, they were all new.

    ¡°The big g hanging on the mast has the character ¡°Qin¡± and it¡¯s written in Qin script.¡± Mu Yiran stepped into the room, picked up a roll of bamboo slips and nced at it. ¡°At that time, text was recorded on bamboo slips, wood chips, or silk. Even this Burning Rhinoceros at Sea is painted on silk.¡±

    ¡°In other words, this Burning Rhinoceros at Sea was probably painted during the Qin Dynasty?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± said one of the neers behind Mu Yiran. He wasn¡¯t short and was, in fact, nearly as tall as Mu Yiran. His ck hair was brushed meticulously behind his head, revealing cold brows, icy eyes, and a pale, yet unexpectedly calm, face.

    ¡°Colored ink silk paintings existed in every dynasty after the Qin Dynasty,¡± the person continued coldly. ¡°In fact, paintings from the Qin Dynasty are rarely ever circted. The details within the painting seems to point to the Qin Dynasty, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean the painter lived during the Qin Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°Before I entered the painting, I took a nce at it. Although it¡¯s an imitation, it seemed to havepletely captured the quality of the original painting, so much so that it even replicated the damaged details.¡±

    ¡°Based on the extent of the damage and the rity of the painting, it should have been painted between the Qin Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty.¡±

    After saying this, the man noticed that everyone in the room was looking at him, and so he nodded slightly and calmly said, ¡°My name is Shao Ling.¡±

    ¡°From the Qin Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, this range is a bitrge.¡± Wei Don scratched his head. <Note: The Qin Dynasty was from 221 to 206 BC, and the Yuan Dynasty was from 1271 to 1368.>

    ¡°Moreover, if this painting is based on the Qin Dynasty, everything on the ship can only reflect the materials and products of the Qin Dynasty. If the painter isn¡¯t from the Qin Dynasty, I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to find any clues about his signature from these written words,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not too troublesome, can you tell me more about your experience in the first few paintings?¡± Shao Ling asked, looking at the veteran members.

    ¡°Brother Qin, we¡¯ll leave this task to you,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Among them, only Qin Ci would have such patience.

    Qin Ci simply changed tasks with Mu Yiran and took the few neers up to the deck, all the while telling them about the experience and rules in the painting.

    Mu Yiran stayed in the room below, and seeing that Ke Xun and Wei Dong were still using their mobile phones as shlights, he asked Ke Xun, ¡°You didn¡¯t find any light?¡±

    ¡°We found themps, but no candles ormp oil.¡± Ke Xun handed thempstand in his hand to Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran took thempstand from him and studied it. He said, ¡°This is the goosefootmp and it¡¯s quite a poprmp in the Qin and Han Dynasty. It was usually used to decorate the pce hall in court, and candles were ced on the three tes. However, the candles in the early Qin Dynasty weren¡¯t the kind of candles we used now. They were made out of mmable reed grass or twigs of pine and bamboo with a high oil content. These were then bunched into small torches and wrapped in strips of cloth soaked in animal fat.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll look for it again,¡± Ke Xun said as he walked out with Mu Yiran.

    However, even with Mu Yiran¡¯s help, he still failed to find these candles.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too weird?¡± Ke Xun turned off his mobile phone to save power, and stood in front of Mu Yiran in the darkness. ¡°There are clothes, medicine, food, and books on this ship. Obviously, there are people intending to sail at sea, and yet, there¡¯s nothing that can be used for lighting. You can¡¯t live a life like a blind person at night, right?¡±

    Mu Yiran was silent, and Ke Xun knew that he was thinking. He didn¡¯t disturb him and stood silently in front of him for a long time, until Mu Yiran quietly said, ¡°Perhaps this is a hint from the painting.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What are you suggesting?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°The name of this painting is called Burning Rhinoceros at Sea,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s clear, maic voice became more textured in the dark. ¡°There are no candles that can be used to illuminate and burn in this painting, but yet part of the painting¡¯s name is Burning Rhinoceros. I think the painting is reminding us to focus on the Burning Rhinoceros part.¡±

    ¡°Yes, in removing things traditionally used for burning, we will naturally wonder why the painting is called Burning Rhinoceros.¡± Ke Xun reached out and easily found Mu Yiran¡¯s hand in the darkness. He held his hand and shook it, as if to praise his boyfriend.

    His boyfriend¡¯s slender fingers moved lightly to hold Ke Xu¡¯s hand, but the words in his mouth were still calm and steady. ¡°Rhino horns can be burned for illumination, but there¡¯s a strange story behind this.¡±

    ¡°Talk about it.¡± Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but move closer to wrap his arms around Mu Yiran¡¯s waist and put his chin on his shoulder.

    Falling in love didn¡¯t have to affect practical matters.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice rang shallowly in his ears. ¡°It is said that a person named Wen Qiao arrived at a ce called Bull Islet Rock. He heard the sound of musicing from underwater, but when he looked down, he could not see into the unfathomable depths.¡±

    ¡°He had heard rumors that there were many ghosts in the water, so he lit rhino horns for illumination and looked underwater.¡±

    ¡°Not long afterwards, many strange ghosts poured in, and there were even those wearing red clothes in marriage carriages. They were all trying to put out the mes of the rhino horns.¡±

    ¡°That night, Wen Qiao dreamed that someone was very angry and was fiercely ming him, saying that the two worlds of Yin and Yang should be separated, with no interference with one another. Why did he have to shine a light on the other?¡±

    ¡°The next day, Wen Qiao suffered a stroke due to a tooth extraction, and died less than ten dayster.¡±

    ¡°¡­Damn.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s arms tensed. ¡°So this Burning Rhinoceros at Sea might be simr¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran raised his hand and patted his back lightly. ¡°ording to legends, burning rhino horns can shine light onto another world. Some people use this method tomunicate with the ¡®people¡¯ or ¡®spirits¡¯ of the other world, while some people use this method to avoid evil and disasters. Both achieve different purposes. The burning rhinoceros part in Burning Rhinoceros at Sea may be the key to finding the seal and leaving the painting.¡±

    <strong>Xida: </strong>(Excited.) Will there be legit ghosts in this painting?

 Chapter 190: Various Newcomers

    <h4>Chapter 190: Various Neers</h4>

    At 11 o¡¯clock that morning, all the 13 participants gathered together.

    Those who were willing toe to the art gallery on a weekend of continuous autumn rains, apart from true art lovers, were probably only men and women who were in love with seeking romance and style.

    Among the eight neers, there were two pairs of lovers, a middle-aged person who came in to shelter from the rain, an idle rich second generation, a young female painter, and the person named Shao Ling.

    By this time, all eight neers had already learned from Qin Ci about the ins and outs of the horrible world in the painting. What surprised the veteran members was that, this time, the neers¡¯ eptance of this strange incident was unexpectedly high. No one loudly acted out, and there was no anger. They were silent and self-sustaining, carefully looking at the veteran members and then at their surrounding environment.

    ¡°Let me introduce us.¡± Qin Ci introduced each veteran member.

    The middle-aged man, who was carrying a bag that had been a briefcase prior to entering the painting, pushed his thick sses up his nose bridge. ¡°My name is Li Yi. My electric car broke down and so I went into the art gallery to hide from the rain and ended up stumbling into this kind of ce. Please take care of me.¡±

    ¡°My name is Yu Long, and this is my girlfriend, Fang Fei.¡± The young man in his early twenties had a dull green linen-textured perm, and he was pointing to the girl standing next to him, who also had long permed hair dyed the same color. The girl was silent as she looked at everyone.

    Another couple, both of whom appeared to be in their thirties, also reported their names. The man appeared very decisive, and his name was Liu Yanlei. His girlfriend had a bob haircut and looked quite shrewd. Her name was Chen Xinai.

    The young female painter was thin and pale, herplexion wan. It was unknown whether this was due to her art. Her expression was a little cold and disaffected, and her eyes sometimes appeared somewhat blurred and vacuous. She indifferently reported her name, ¡°Xue Ge.¡±

    Presumably a pseudonym or a stage name.

    Thest one who spoke was the rich second generation with hair dyed a tinum blonde. The reason why they could tell that this was a rich second generation was really because he was too young, and hisrge diamond stud earrings were simply too eye-catching.

    This youth rolled up his sleeves and showed the veteran members what appeared to be a bronze bracelet on his wrist. He asked, ¡°Elder brothers, let me ask you. Once I get out of the painting, will the watch on my wrist change back?¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡­,¡±

    It turned out that this bracelet was the manifestation of the deterioration of a watch¡­

    Wei Dong looked at him speechlessly. ¡°Buddy, shouldn¡¯t you worry more about whether you can get out of the painting?¡±

    ¡°Fuck, my watch is a Patek Philippe. It¡¯s more valuable than my life!¡± said this rich second generation.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­Patek Philippe?¡±

    Rich second generation: ¡°Patek Philippe!¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°How much is it worth?¡±

    Rich second generation: ¡°More than 2.9 million.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­The Patek Philippe?¡±

    Rich second generation: If this watch is gone, Uncle Zhang will be unemployed.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°What does Uncle Zhang have to do with it?¡±

    Rich second generation: ¡°He¡¯s a servant who specializes in maintaining watches for me.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­Poverty limits my imagination¡­¡±

    The rich second generation finally said, ¡°By the way, my name is Luo Bu. You can call me Radish or Rorobu.¡±

    Wei Dong asked, ¡°What do you mean by Bu?¡±

    The rich second generation answered, ¡°It just means exert force.¡±

    Wei Dong said pitifully, ¡°¡­This name¡­seems a little wretched¡­¡±

    The rich second generation exined, ¡°Probably when my dad named me, he hoped that I would not have trouble with being unrestrained in the future.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡­¡± You are already very unrestrained now.

    Ke Xun was toozy to listen to these two silly but amusing people continue to talk, and so he began to talk about the cause and effect of Burning Rhinoceros that Mu Yiran had mentioned.

    ¡°Since it¡¯s rted to the title of the painting,¡± Qin Ci said, ¡°then let¡¯s search for rhino horns on this ship.¡±

    No one objected. They all went to the lower deck, and with no prior arrangements, everyone naturally separated into two groups. The neers formed one group by themselves, while Luo Bu mixed in with the veteran members.

    Two groups searched the cabin separately. One group searched from beginning to end, and the other group searched from end to beginning.

    ¡°Let me ask.¡± Luo Bu held his mobile phone to illuminate everyone. ¡°The first few paintings you entered, there were only 13 people in total? There was no one else in the painting? I¡¯m talking about people inside the painting.¡±

    ¡°There are,¡± Wei Dong replied. ¡°Depending on the content of the paintings, some paintings will have only 13 of us outsiders, and some paintings will have many insiders.¡±

    ¡°Then why are there no insiders in this painting?¡± Luo Bu said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a big ship? Isn¡¯t it on the vast ocean? Without insiders, how did this ship sail here?¡±

    ¡°This is a reasonable question¡­¡± Wei Dong looked at hispanions. ¡°What about the captain? What about the crew? Is it possible that among us, there¡¯s the captain? Who will sail?¡±

    ¡°Even paintings should be logical and reasonable,¡± Qin Ci nodded. ¡°Unless this is a weird kind of painting with exaggerated cartoons, simr to Pure Land. Judging by the scale of this ship, if you want it to sail long-distance, you must use wind power and manpower. The manpower required should be quiterge, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be able to properly control such arge ship.¡±

    ¡°I have observed the rooms on the upper deck,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°Many of the beds and toiletries in the rooms have been used by people. This shows that there should be a lot of people on the ship before this, and so we should have entered the painting at a certain stage in the progression of events. Therefore, although there used to be a captain and many crew members on this ship, due to certain developments, there are now only 13 crew members left in the end. Our roles are these people.¡±

    ¡°In this way, the disappearance of the captain and other crew members may have a direct corrtion with burning rhino horns,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°Then why do they want to burn rhino horns when they are idle?¡± Luo Bu asked.

    ¡°In order to see ghosts?¡± Ke Xun thought out loud. ¡°Then, just like Wen Qiao in the story of Burning Rhino at Bull Islet Rock, they died in less than ten days?¡±

    Luo Bu turned his phone¡¯s shlight to Ke Xun. ¡°Then why are we looking for rhino horns? To look at ghosts and then die?¡±

    Ke Xun squinted. ¡°Your light is blinding me, cousin ssmate. Looking for rhino horns may not necessarily mean burning it. This thing is obviously an important prop in this painting. Maybe it¡¯s rted to the seal, so we must find it.¡±

    ¡°Cousin ssmate¡± Luo Bu said ¡°Oh¡± and then switched the shlight over to illuminate Mu Yiran again. ¡°This brother, I seem to have seen you somewhere.¡±

    ¡°Talk less and keep looking, okay?¡± Ke Xun nced at him.

    ¡°Yes, you are so handsome, you have the final say.¡± Luo Bu didn¡¯t have the arrogance of a rich second generation at all. As soon as he removed the light of his mobile phone, he suddenly remembered something. With a ¡°Fuck!¡± he pointed to Mu Yiran and said, ¡°I remember now! You¡¯re my dad¡¯s idol! He has your picture inside the drawer of his desk!¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun put his hands on his hip. ¡°What are you saying?¡±

    Luo Bu looked hard at Mu Yiran¡¯s face. ¡°My dad envied you for earning wealth at a young age while he was only able to earn wealth after fighting for half a lifetime. Isn¡¯t there a saying in the circle like this: The poor y with cars, the rich y with watches, while the real tyrant ys with art galleries. Rich tyrant, this little brother pays his respect!¡±

    After he said this, he sped his hands and arched them towards Mu Yiran.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Wei Dong whispered to Ke Xun, ¡°This kid is twice as extra as you.¡±

    ¡°Do you remember what we were like when we first entered the painting?¡± Ke Xun couldn¡¯t ignore how Luo Bu¡¯s hand had been shaking earlier as he was holding his phone. Therefore, he couldn¡¯tugh at him, ¡°I had so many questions to so many problems. When I saw a calm and reliable person like Yiran, I wanted to go up to him, like a drowning person seeing thest driftwood. Due to Yiran¡¯s temperament, we pretended not to care, but only we ourselves knew what kind of mood and state we were in at the time.¡±

    Wei Dong sighed. ¡°Yeah, all the strength you were trying so hard to show was actually just a means to force yourself not to copsepletely. Just like, if you pretend not to care, you might really end up not caring. And so pretending tough and be carefree, it¡¯s just a way to not be so afraid.¡±

    ¡°Like us, neers use self-deception to protect and support themselves,¡± Ke Xun nced at Luo Bu, who was still spinning around Mu Yiran. ¡°Let him be. Let¡¯s hurry up.¡±

    Two groups of people searched the lower deck room twice, but still did not find any rhino horns.

    ¡°Could it be that all the rhino horns on the ship have been burned by the vanished captain and crew?¡± Wei Dong wondered suspiciously after the two groups got together again.

    ¡°It¡¯s really no good. Aren¡¯t rhino horns a very expensive thing from ancient times to the present?¡± Luo Bu said.

    ¡°Yes.¡± It was unknown if it was because he saw a trace of Ke Xun¡¯s original shadow in Luo Bu, but Mu Yiran, who had always been cold toward new people, seemed to be quite kind to him. ¡°Rhino horns are expensive. They might not be in the storage room. Let¡¯s go and look in the captain¡¯s quarter.¡±

    Everyone got on the deck and easily found the captain¡¯s room, because this room was probably the most well-equipped room among all the rooms. The low, wooden bed was made more finely, and the texture of the bedding was also very high-end. In addition to the bed, there were also several storage boxes filled with clothes and daily necessities.

    Qin Ci and the others had searched this room before, and they had not found anything suspicious.

    This time, everyone carried out a more detailed search. Ke Xun even squatted down and knocked on the wooden floor nk by nk.

    Facts proved that Ke Xun¡¯s idea wasn¡¯t wrong. At the head of the bed, the wooden floor made a hollow sound.

    Ke Xun pulled back the wooden nks, revealing a hole half-a-person deep. There were two or three wooden boxes in the hole, and the lids were all locked.

    ¡°Then the question is, where to find the key?¡± Luo Bu said.

    They had searched every corner of the room just now, and there was no key.

    ¡°Why are you looking for a key?¡± Ke Xun said as he reached out to hold the lock. With a hard yank, the lock broke with a snap.

    ¡°Brother is awesome!¡± Luo Bu was surprised, ¡°You¡¯re Astro Boy with an iron arm, right?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Iron your head. Don¡¯t talk nonsense ande over to help lift the boxes up.¡±

    Ke Xun pulled the locks off all the boxes, and then, with Luo Bu¡¯s help, lifted all the boxes up. When everyone opened the boxes, they saw that some of them contained bamboo slips, some of them contained precious jewelry, and some of them contained rhino horns.

    ¡°The bamboo slips may contain some very important information,¡± Shao Ling said, looking around at everyone. ¡°Does anyone know Qin script?¡±

    Everyone shook their heads, and seeing the eyes of the veteran members subconsciously turning to look at Mu Yiran, Shao Ling raised his brows slightly and looked at Mu Yiran with a slight scrutiny.

    ¡°The characters in Qin script that I can recognize are very limited.¡± Mu Yiran nced at the scroll of bamboo slips that was opened. ¡°Forgive me for not being able to recognize the content on it.¡±

    ¡°Now that we have found the rhino horns, what are we going to do next?¡± Liu Yanlei, with the astute eyebrows, seemed to be thinking deeply about it.

    ¡°We have two choices, to burn or not to burn.¡± Shao Ling looked at everyone.

    Burning would result in an irresistible force or creature that would likely lead to their deaths.

    Not burning may stall the progression of the plot, resulting in no additional clues.

    The 13 people who had entered the painting were now caught in a dilemma.

 Chapter 191: Another Big Boss?

    <h4>Chapter 191: Another Big Boss?</h4>

    ¡°Based on what you said, at least one person will die every night,¡± Liu Yanlei said. ¡°In that case, there¡¯s no difference between burning and not burning, right? No matter what, someone will die, right?¡±

    ¡°Death begins at night,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°It¡¯s better to watch for any new developments first, and then make the decision whether to burn or not to burn based on the situation at hand. We might as well each hold onto a rhinoceros horn in case of an emergency.¡±

    No one objected to this proposal. Everyone took out the rhinoceros horns in the box and counted them. There were exactly 13.

    ¡°It seems that your proposal is right.¡± Luo Bu pretended to y with the rhino horn in his hands. ¡°It seems that these rhino horns are prepared specifically for us, and the quantity is just right.¡±

    ¡°So does that mean that we still need to light these horns?¡± Li Yi asked in rm.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless to make guesses out of thin air. We can only wait and continue to analyze existing clues,¡± Shao Ling said.

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± Xue Ge, the young female painter who often seemed distracted, suddenly recovered and said.

    ¡°Wow, beautifuldy, we¡¯re all on the cusp of death and you¡¯re still in the mood to eat?¡± Luo Bu looked at her in surprise.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to be a full ghost than a starving ghost.¡± Xue Ge¡¯s indifferent expression didn¡¯t seem to regard the situation of being inside a painting as bizarre at all. She turned toward the kitchen on the first floor, saying, ¡°Can someone help me?¡±

    The other two female members, Fang Fei and Chen Xinai, followed her out.

    The others stayed in the captain¡¯s room to look through the contents of the boxes. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, no one could read the ancient seal script on the bamboo slips.

    ¡°I think we should first figure out why this ship is sailing at sea,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°If possible, we should also figure out where its destination is.¡±

    ¡°Since the g on the ship has the country¡¯s name, then this ship must be an imperial ship,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°With the living standards of the Qin Dynasty, it would be impossible for ordinary people to build such arge private ship, so it should definitely be an imperial ship.¡±

    ¡°In the Qin Dynasty, there was no sea trade. Although this ship is full of grains, clothes, medicines, and daily necessities, it shouldn¡¯t be formercial trade.¡±

    ¡°It was said that Qin Shihuang liked to patrol the sea to admire the territories under his control and to show-off the national power of the Qin Dynasty. Then, could this ship be considered a patrol ship sent by Qin Shihuang?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, there would be no need to carry jewelry and expensive things on the ship,¡± Zhu Haowen said rigorously.

    ¡°It seems to me that this ship is making a long-distance voyage,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°It carries a lot of food, clothing, daily necessities, and illness-preventing medicine. It¡¯s obviously prepared for long-distance travel. Indeed, what would be the purpose of an imperial ship making a long distance sea voyage without the prerequisite of disying force?¡±

    ¡°Cultural exchange?¡± Yu Long, the dull green, linen-haired man, said. ¡°Aren¡¯t there many scrolls in the ship?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very possible,¡± Shao Ling nodded.

    ¡°Long-distance voyages, cultural exchanges, these two key words can only remind me of the eastern crossing to Japan,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°It may also be to the Korean Penins,¡± Zhu Haowen calmly added.

    ¡°Eastern crossing¡­Ah! I know! This painting tells the story of the eminent monk Jianzhen!¡± Wei Dong¡¯s eyes shone brightly.

    ¡°¡­Examine your big head!¡± Ke Xun smacked him on the head, pping out his divine light. ¡°Even I, this mediocre academic g, knew that Jianzhen is from the Tang Dynasty. This painting is from the Qin Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°My bad.¡± Wei Dong clutched his head. ¡°Qin Dynasty¡­There are also some simr tales. Isn¡¯t Xu Fuji, who went out to sea to find the Elixir of Immortality, from the Qin Dynasty?¡±

    ¡°¡­Are you sure he went to sea looking for an Elixir of Immortality and not for candies?¡± Ke Xun narrowed his eyes at him.

    ¡°Xu Fu! Xu Fu!¡± Wei Dong hurriedly changed his words. ¡°This is easy¡ªXu Fu took a bunch of virgins on a sea voyage to search for the Elixir of Immortality for Qin Shihuang, right?¡±

    ¡°It is said that there were severalrge-scale sea voyages during Qin Shihuang¡¯s reign,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°The most famous one was exactly this Xu Fu. I agreed with Mr. Wei¡¯s conjecture. It is very possible that this painting is describing what happened when Xu Fu crossed east. After all, the Qin Dynasty¡¯s navigational technology was limited by the times, and so it was impossible for there to be more frequent long-distance sea voyages. Only Xu Fu¡¯s eastern crossing was recorded down in history.¡±

    ¡°Legend says that Xu Fu took some boys and girls out to sea to look for the Ind of Immortals, but they never returned. Could it be that this was because they encountered these¡­monsters at sea? The whole crew was wiped out and he could not go back?¡± Li Yi guessed.

    ¡°But some experts said that Xu Fu actually took these people to Japan, and they all stayed there. Are the Japanese our descendents?¡± Yu Long said.

    Shao Ling shook his head slightly. ¡°This kind of statement is really arrogant. Japan during the Qin Dynasty already had aboriginal people living there. It was just that, during the Warring States period in China, Japan was experiencing the Jomon culture of the Stone Age. They made a living by hunting, fishing, and gathering. In other words, their society is still in the primitive n state.¡±

    ¡°However, with the inception of the Qin Dynasty, Japan suddenly developed bronze and iron tools, and even rice nting techniques appeared out of thin air. It took them an extremely short time to transition from the Stone Age to the Iron Age¨CThis phenomenon seems to prove the theory that Xu Fu did indeed bring the advanced technology, culture, and products of the Qin Dynasty to Japan.¡±

    ¡°If this painting is depicting Xu Fu¡¯s eastern crossing, then at least it proves that the people on this ship weren¡¯t allpletely annihted. Otherwise, how would they appear in Japan?¡±

    ¡°I remember that, ording to historical records, Xu Fu went out to sea to search for the Elixir of Immortality twice under Qin Shihuang¡¯s order. There was no result the first time, so Qin Shihuang ordered Xu Fu to make a second trip. During the first sea voyage, Xu Fu had said that there was a giant dragon blocking him. Therefore, in the second voyage, Qin Shihuang dispatched an archer to follow Xu Fu out to sea. When the archer shot and killed the sea dragon, Xu Fu then started his second voyage.¡±

    ¡°I think this is particrly critical. Shi Ji¡¯s Historical Records of Qin Shihuang once mentioned that Qin Shihuang had a dream that he fought with the Sea Emperor. After waking up, he called for a dream interpreter, who told him that the Water God¡¯s sight was originally not wide-ranging enough and so it was using the sea dragon as a scout, one whose purpose was to spy. Now that this fiend hade out to make trouble, so long as he killed it, he would see the true, benevolent god.¡±

    ¡°The key points are, one, the phrase ¡®The Water God¡¯s sight was originally not wide-ranging enough¡¯, and second, it was using the sea dragon as a scout. Or, we can understand it as a kind of patrol, such as patrolling the sea. Third, in killing the sea dragon will he break through the obstacle of the evil god. In other words, doing so will break the deadlock and allow him to see the true, benevolent god. Or, allow us to escape from the heavens, clear the customs, and leave the painting?¡±

    ¡°So, can we think that a sea dragon may appear in the sea? If we want to leave the painting, we will have to try to kill it? But the sea is so vast and far-reaching, how can we find the sea dragon?¡±

    ¡°The answer is the rhinoceros horn in our hands. ording to the legends of Rhino Horn at Bull Islet Rock, once we light the rhinoceros horn, it will cause the creatures of ¡®the other world¡¯ to appear to put out the fire. Regardless of whether they are the fiends of gods or if they are ghosts, they are still creatures of another world.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, we can use the rhinoceros horn to attract the sea dragon, figure out a way to kill it, and then use the burning rhinoceros horn to attract the ¡°unseeing¡± Water God. I think that this Water God may be the seal, and as long as we find it, we can leave the painting.¡±

    ¡°These are just my personal conjectures, so let¡¯s take it as merely a starting point. If you have any other ideas, you might as well speak up and brainstorm.¡±

    After Shao Ling said these words, his eyes swept across everyone¡¯s faces and finally rested on Mu Yiran¡¯s face.

    This person spoke very little, but for some reason, Shao Ling felt that he could not be ignored.

    Shao Ling¡¯s reference to the ssics and legends seemed to have calmed everyone present. Wei Dong and Luo Bu looked at him with admiration. Meanwhile, Li Yi took the lead in recovering and nodded his head, saying, ¡°I think you¡¯re close to the truth. That might very well be how it is.¡±

    Yu Long also nodded. ¡°Your reasoning is faultless. To leave the painting, we need to kill this sea dragon.¡±

    Lui Yanlei¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°I also think you make sense. However, this raises another question. How do we kill this so-called giant dragon?¡±

    ¡°There are arrows and crossbows in the warehouse below the deck,¡± Yu Long said. ¡°Since the history books recorded that the giant dragon was killed with arrows, let¡¯s use them.¡±

    Li Yi and Liu Yanlei nodded in agreement.

    Shao Ling turned to look at the veteran members, all of whom had yet to make a statement. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Qin Ci nced at hispanions and carefully said, ¡°Based on the experience and lessons gained from previous paintings, all conjectures and spections may be the key to leaving the painting. Therefore, we try not to reject any possibility.¡±

    ¡°So, we support your inference, but it is necessary to remind you that the unnatural forces in the painting cannot be resisted.¡±

    ¡°Once that power wants to or needs to kill you, then it will definitely be able to kill you. You cannot make any resistance, much less counter-kill it.¡±

    ¡°Of course, the rules of each painting are different. Maybe, in this painting, we can kill this unnatural force. I am just saying this to remind you not to underestimate the enemy. The cruelty of the ¡®painting¡¯ is far beyond your imagination.¡±

    ¡°In addition, using crossbows also raises the problem of knowing how to use them, so it¡¯s best to learn how to use them before it gets dark.¡±

    Shao Ling nodded. ¡°Thank you for the reminder. Then we¡¯ll hurry up and move the crossbows to the deck so that we can be familiar with them and practice.¡±

    Everyone stopped talking and walked toward the stairs leading to the lower deck.

    Wei Dong walked at the back of the group and quietly touched Ke Xun¡¯s elbow. He lowered voice and said, ¡°This Shao Ling knows his stuff. I feel like I¡¯m seeing another Boss Mu, and he seems to even be stealing the limelight with his knowledge, so that the big boss couldn¡¯t even say a few words from beginning to end.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t too bad.¡± Ke Xun looked at his boyfriend¡¯s straight back. ¡°I wish that everyone who entered the painting could steal his limelight with their abilities. At least then, he wouldn¡¯t have to bear everyone¡¯s expectations and lives on his shoulders. Doing so is simply too heavy and too much burden for one person.¡±

 Chapter 192: Captain Ke Xun

    <h4>Chapter 192: Captain Ke Xun</h4>

    Everyone moved the crossbows from the lower deck to the upper deck, studied how to use it, and then tried to shoot. In order not to waste arrows, they all shot the arrows at a designated cabin door.

    As a result, it turned out that there was a gap between having only seen a pig run and actually eating pork. A group of people held their crossbows to aim, but the arrows they shot flew out wildly.

    The only two surprises came from the man-man couple, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran. Both of them have both strength and motor skills, and the arrows they shoot could basically nail the door. This is particrly true for Ke Xun, who was very good at anything physical. After practicing with more than a dozen arrows, his uracy was already quite high and could nearly shoot all arrows into one single spot.

    Everyone continued to practice hard. After four to five in the afternoon, Fang Fei and Chen Xinai came over and told their boyfriends to go to the dining area for food.

    The dining area was actually arge room between two cabins. It only had a low table because the practice in the Qin Dynasty was to eat sitting on the floor.

    Everyone followed them into the dining area and saw that Xue Ge was already sitting there and eating. Chen Xinai said, ¡°We don¡¯t know how to use the cookware of this era so we made something rtively simple. You¡¯ll have to make do. The food is in the kitchen.¡±

    The three girls only served meals for themselves and their boyfriends, but the others didn¡¯t mind. After all, they weren¡¯t obliged to serve everyone.

    The rest of the people went to the kitchen and saw that there was a bronze cauldron steaming with firewood underneath. They leaned over and saw that it was a pot of porridge with rice and vegetables mixed together. It had been simmered into a soft lump, lookingpletely unappetizing.

    ¡°Sobsobsob, I can¡¯t even eat meat before I die. I feel so pitiful.¡± Luo Bu wiped away nonexistent tears from his face.

    ¡°Learn to be content with your lot, okay? What¡¯s with the sobsob, so strange. If you want to eat something else, then make it yourself,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°If I can cook by myself, Aunty Liu would be unemployed,¡± Luo Bu said.

    Wei Dong asked, ¡°Aunty Liu is?¡±

    Luo Bu said, ¡°My servant who specializes in cooking.¡±

    ¡°¡­Oh, I forgot that you¡¯re a young master,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not too hungry, just wait.¡± Ke Xun suddenly rolled up his sleeves and walked towards the cauldron. ¡°I think this isn¡¯t enough for us to eat. I¡¯ll make a little more. If you¡¯re hungry, I¡¯ll serve you the porridge first to pad your stomach.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Brother, do you know how to cook?!¡± Luo Bu looked at him in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re such girlfriend material!¡±

    ¡°Even when you¡¯re about to die, you can¡¯t stop yakking so much.¡± Ke Xun looked at the firewood underneath the cauldron and saw that the fire had gone out. He raised his gaze and told Luo Bu, ¡°Go find me some flint.¡±

    ¡°What kind of flint? I have a lighter here.¡± Luo Bu fished something out from his chest pocket, only to discover that it was just two flints and a tinder. ¡°¨CFuck! My Zippo! My 230,000 yuan lighter has turned into two broken stones?!¡±

    Wei Dong asked, ¡°¡­Dare I ask if your family stillcks a servant who specializes in maintaining the lighter for you, the kind who is honest and has artistic expertise?¡±

    Ke Xun lit the firewood and began to look for ingredients in the kitchen. When everyone saw this, they all exited the door to continue to practice shooting arrows. Only Mu Yiran remained.

    Ke Xun once again moved the cooking cauldron and fed more firewood underneath it. Then he cut the meat into small pieces, skewered them, and grilled them on the cauldron.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that there are no cumin and peppers.¡± Ke Xun searched the kitchen for seasoning, but only found salt and pepper. He couldn¡¯t help but sighed, ¡°It¡¯s like cooking without rice.¡±

    ¡°Use cornel to substitute for pepper.¡± Mu Yiran pointed it out to him.

    Ke Xun went over to get the cornel and when he passed by Mu Yiran, he kissed him on the cheek.

    ¡°Do you think that Shao Ling¡¯s n of shooting the sea monster with arrows would work?¡± Ke Xun asked his boyfriend as he grilled the kebabs.

    Mu Yiran stood leaning against the door, like a nted bamboo. His eyes fell on Ke Xun¡¯s hands skillfully handing the ingredients. There was a softness in his voice as he said, ¡°At present, there¡¯s nothing wrong with his thinking. But as to whether shooting the sea monster with arrows would be sessful, this can only be verified by tonight.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s face was calm. ¡°With how cruel the painting is, we can only get more clues through constant death. I don¡¯t know who will be selected tonight¡­It¡¯s better to eat more meat before deathes.¡±

    When Ke Xun called the others toe in to eat, Luo Bu was shocked. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m actually gonna have Qin Dynasty kebabs¡­Aiyo, it¡¯s so good! Brother, can I eat more kebabs? You¡¯re so awesome! Brother, can I marry you? Although I¡¯m straight, I¡¯m willing to bend for you!¡±

    ¡°Shut up and eat.¡± With a speechless face, Ke Xun grabbed a handful of kebabs, took his boyfriend¡¯s hand, and went to the corner.

    ¡°What the¡­My big brother is his boyfriend?¡± Luo Bu asked Wei Dong as he looked at them.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­.¡±

    This guy really wasn¡¯t shy with strangers.

    But¡­those two really did seem straight.

    ¡°That¡¯s your brother-inw,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°So domineering and powerful.¡± Luo Bu lowered his head to eat his meat.

    Wei Dong found that Luo Bu¡¯s hands were trembling slightly.

    Luo Bu must be very afraid. He must be very afraid of death.

    It was just that he had been using nonsensical talks to cover up his inner fear, so that the nerves that supported him would not copse.

    Wei Dong silently lowered his head to eat, but a deep sourness surged in his heart, gathering under his eyes and at the tip of his nose.

    In order to be strong enough to kill the monster tonight, everyone ate to their fill. Ke Xun not only made more kebabs, but also cooked a pot of meat porridge. He smashed the fish into puree, cutmbs into thin slices, and cooked them together in the porridge. Then he sprinkled a little salt, tossed in some chopped green onions, wild vegetables, and sugar and ginger.

    ¡°This is more delicious than Aunty Liu¡¯s.¡± Luo Bu clutched his swollen belly. He had eaten the most, as if using the feeling of fullness tobat his fear.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting dark soon.¡± No one was in the mood to pay attention to him. Li Yi looked at the sky outside. ¡°Should we also take defensive measures?¡±

    After saying this, he looked at Shao Ling.

    Shao Ling nodded. ¡°Yes. We can¡¯t just attack without considering our defenses. Ladies can hide in the lower deck since it¡¯s probably safer than above.¡±

    ¡°I want to stay,¡± Xue Ge said. ¡°I don¡¯t like the feeling of being kept in the dark.¡±

    ¡°I want to be with my boyfriend,¡± Fang Fei also said, and she walked over to the crossbows and bent over to pick one up.

    ¡°Me too.¡± Chen Xenai followed her and picked up a crossbow.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­The girls in this session are so fierce, I like it!¡±

    ¡°In that case,¡± Shao Ling said, not wanting to obstruct their wishes, ¡°then we should use the central hall where we ate just now as our base. If the situation isn¡¯t right, everyone will hide there. We¡¯d better strengthen the doors and windows.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea,¡± said Zhu Haowen, raising objections with a calm expression. ¡°It¡¯s an enclosed space, and the only exits are through windows and the one door. If we encounter danger, we will all be caught in one.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying everyone should scatter?¡± Liu Yanlei looked at him carefully.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhu Haowen answered without hesitation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how many American horror or disaster films you¡¯d seen,¡± Liu Yanlei stared at Zhu Haowen with slight sarcasm, ¡°but the supporting role often bes cannon fodder who dies when the n is to ¡®act separately.¡¯¡±

    Liu Yanlei probably worked in a job simr to a salesman in the real world, because he seemed quite eloquent. ¡°Amercans have a strong heroismplex, so most of the people who survive in the end are the protagonists. Isn¡¯t this warning enough for you? The more dangerous and unpredictable the situation is, the more we should unite and gather all our forces. What about the saying ¡®unity of will is an impregnable stronghold¡¯? The best defense is not with walls or weapons but the concerted efforts of all!¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked at the slightly agitated Liu Yanlei, and his tone was still calm but now had a slight coldness when he said, ¡°The power of the painting cannot be resisted. Whether it is one person or a hundred people, you will die when it wants you to die. Here, the best defense is not manpower, but the most unreliable ¡®luck¡¯, strength of mind, and finding the seal.¡±

    ¡°Then I ask you.¡± Liu Yanlei did not back down. Instead, he took a half step forward and stared at Zhu Howen. ¡°In the previous paintings, were you all ever taken out all at once?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Zhu Haowen looked back at him expressionlessly.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that it?¡± Liu Yanlei sneered. ¡°That means there¡¯s no such thing as a painting rule where everyone is taken out all at once. Otherwise, everyone who entered the painting will die right away and there won¡¯t be anyone left. Since you say that survival depends on luck, then why does it matter whether we all stay together or are alone. If we¡¯re lucky, we can live and if we¡¯re unlucky, we¡¯ll die. If that¡¯s the case, why not increase our strength by working together and seeking more possibilities for survival, and even counterattack?¡±

    ¡°I think Liu Yanlei makes sense,¡± Li Yi said in a deep voice.

    ¡°I think so too.¡± Yu Long also nodded.

    The eyes of the neers all fell to Shao Ling, as if his attitude would confirm everything.

    Shao Ling¡¯s gaze swept across Mu Yiran¡¯s face and thennded on Zhu Haowen. ¡°If we¡¯re onnd right now, then I would agree that it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea for everyone to hide in an enclosed room.¡±

    ¡°But, in fact, we¡¯re now on a ship in the middle of the vast ocean. This ship is already a closed space, because we can¡¯t go everywhere except on this ship.¡±

    ¡°Since we¡¯re already in a closed space, it¡¯s better to have shelter than to go without one. We don¡¯t know whether the sea monster would have the ability to prate through walls, but even if there is only one in ten thousand possibilities that this is the case, then we still have to try to take some measure of self-protection, right?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s more, we don¡¯t know what the death condition, as you call it, in this painting is. Since everything is possible, what if the rules this time require us to help each other to survive?¡±

    ¡°So, I also agree with Liu Yanlei. With more peoplees more strength. What¡¯s more, one person may be short, but three people are long. But of course, we won¡¯t force anyone to share our opinion.¡±

    As he spoke, his questioning gaze swept across the people who hadn¡¯t made a statement one by one. The neers standing next to him or behind him also stared at Zhu Haowen, as if he was a brainless character in a horror or disaster film, creating division and turning people into cannon fodders.

    When Shao Ling¡¯s eyes met Ke Xun¡¯s, he saw him raise his lips and smile. Then Ke Xun stretched out his arm and put it around Zhu Haowen¡¯s shoulders, as if surrounding him within his protective walls, blocking all the unfriendly sights that were cast onto him.

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Ke Xun looked at Shao Ling with a faint smile. ¡°Thinking with one heart and moving in one direction is a necessary condition to sessful teamwork. I appreciate your cooperative spirit. But so what? I have engaged in teamwork for many years, and I want to share with you my experience.¡±

    Zhu Haowen slightly tilted his face to look at him.

    This guy, who was always showing a sloppy and casual look in front of strangers, for the first time today, revealed the controlling and dominating power of a team leader.

    ¡°Thinking with one heart doesn¡¯t mean that there is only one solution to a problem. Moving in one direction doesn¡¯t mean that everyone must always stay together.¡± Ke Xun stood with his head held high and tall, looking down at the neers in front of him. ¡°In my opinion, thinking with one heart doesn¡¯t mean solving problems in a unified way, but to ensure that everyone has amon goal, no matter what happens. No matter the emergency, our firm belief will never waver. As long as everyone can guarantee that they will not waver, will not shrank, will not give up, and will not separate, then all roads lead to Rome, so what does it matter if different ideas and methods are used to achieve the goal?¡±

    Zhu Haowen listened quietly, and suddenly, he could imagine how this guy led his team to invincibility in battlefield-like games when he was a student. He must be a particrly good captain, an excellent captain.

    ¡°As far as effort is concerned, holding a group of people to keep warm is only the initial stage.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice is determined and calm, as if he¡¯d said it many times before. ¡°The best team action is not neatly dividing life and death together, but putting forth aprehensive, multi-angled,yered, flexible, diversifying, and seamless cooperation, which can trigger more possibilities and potential for each member, to ultimately achieve ourmon goal.¡±

    After saying this, Ke Xun smiled. ¡°So,pared to a single collective action, I am more inclined to exploring the several paths. I stand by Haowen¡¯er.¡±

    Zhu Haowen stared down at the deck under his feet, silently feeling the warm and powerful breath of the person beside him.

    Suddenly, he felt that, even if he died in this painting, he would have no regrets.

    <strong>Xida:?</strong>Hmmm¡­seems like the author is setting up for a power struggle between the neer team and the veteran team (plus Luo Bu). Go Team Veteran!

 Chapter 193: When Darkness Falls

    <h4>Chapter 193: When Darkness Falls</h4>

    ¡°I also stand by Haowen¡¯er,¡± Wei Dong immediately made a statement the moment Ke Xun finished speaking.

    ¡°I also stand by Brother Haowen¡¯er!¡± Luo Bu was only one beat slower than him.

    Qin Ci smiled and looked at Shao Ling and the neers beside him. ¡°The so-called same goal, there¡¯s more than one choice and more than one way to achieve it. If anyone is willing to join our team, please speak freely.¡±

    Suddenly, Xue Ge came out from among the neers and walked over to stand beside the veteran members. As she passed by Ke Xun, she said lightly, ¡°You¡¯ve convinced me.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we¡¯ll each deal with tonight in different ways,¡± Liu Yanlei said coldly. ¡°But pardon me for speaking up front, I hope your actions are actually worthy of your eloquence and you won¡¯t hold us back at the critical moment.¡±

    ¡°That makes the two of us,¡± Ke Xun said, looking straight into his eyes with a half-smile.

    Regardless of his face or his aura, Liu Yanlei waspletely crushed, and so he turned his head and left with a cold snort.

    Shao Ling remained calm andposed. With a slight nod to the veteran members, he said, ¡°Good luck.¡±

    Then he turned and walked to the central hall in the center of the cabins on the first floor.

    Only the five veteran members and the two neers, Xue Ge and Luo Bu, remained. Luo Bu looked at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran and said, ¡°Brother, Brother-inw, what should we do tonight?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun finally said, ¡°Who¡¯s your brother and your brother-inw?¡±

    Luo Bu said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about these details. Brothers, you guys hurry up and share your ideas. It¡¯s getting dark.¡±

    Everyone habitually looked at Mu Yiran, and Mu Yiran, as always, never let them down. ¡°In the story of Burning Rhino on Bull Islet Rock, the burning of the rhinoceros horn was the source of disaster and death. But since we need to look for the seal, perhaps only by ignoring the rhinoceros horn can we attain clues. Therefore, this has be a situation of knowing there¡¯s a title in the mountains but still having to go into the mountain.¡±

    ¡°The force of death in the painting cannot be resisted. This is the power that we are facing, and one with an unsolvable dead end.¡±

    ¡°However, the painting will not block all the avenues of escape. Usually, it is a situation of nine deaths and one life. What¡¯s more, there is more than one kind of dangerous force in the painting.¡±

    ¡°But although the force of death is irresistible and extremely dangerous, as long as you find the right path, you can survive.¡±

    ¡°For example, in Funeral, as long as you don¡¯t get seen by the ghosts and you hold your breath, you won¡¯t be killed. In Human Studies, as long as you¡¯re unconscious, you can avoid losing your senses and going mad. As long as you cooperate with a tacit understanding, you won¡¯t be electrocuted to death¨Call of these had a solution.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s likely that after lighting the rhino horn, what will be needed will be thetter. We won¡¯t die without first being given the chance to find a way out. There may be a risk of death, but it¡¯s not necessarily without a solution.¡±

    ¡°As for how to solve it, there¡¯s no shortcut. We can only, and must, use the death of the first night to verify and find clues. Therefore, we can¡¯t do anything in advance and can only adapt ordingly.¡±

    ¡°This painting is a confined space, and the struggle for life and death will happen only on this ship, so I reason that neither running nor dodging is the way to avoid death. It¡¯s because we have nowhere to go.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, the way of death in this painting is not an indiscriminate attack type, nor should it be a taskpletion type, but will most likely be a trigger or a conditional type.¡±

    ¡°There are many subtypes rted to the conditional attack type, but the limited space on this ship means that there are limited items, so I think this condition will have nothing to do with finding or collecting items.¡±

    ¡°And since it has nothing to do with objects, it¡¯s very likely to be rted to our behavior and thoughts. Therefore, I think the death condition this time should be closely rted to our performance.¡±

    ¡°The crossbows are just preventive measures. In this case, it¡¯s difficult to say whether it will be useful, but it¡¯s still good to make extra precautionary preparations. As for the rhinoceros horn, we don¡¯t have to rush to ignite it. It¡¯s better to wait and see what happens first. If the situation indicates that it must be ignited, then we can make reasonable adjustments.¡±

    ¡°I, Ke Xun, and Luo Bu, will form a team. Dr. Qin, the four of you are in a team. You don¡¯t all need to carry crossbows. As a team, you can divide thebor and cooperate on whether to burn or not burn the rhinoceros horn.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll set the watch at the stern of the ship. Dr. Qin, the four of you will be at the back of the second floor, while the three of us will stay at the back of the first floor. If everything went as expected, the force woulde from the sea and pass through the first floor. On the second floor, the four of you with a better view are responsible for reconnaissance. If the situation turns bad, consider dispersing or enter the cabins to avoid it. It¡¯s up to you to decide.¡±

    ¡°Just in case, we¡¯ll find two ropes and tie it to the railing on the second floor. If there¡¯s an ident, we can also use the ropes to move from the second floor to the first floor in the shortest time, or from the first floor to the second floor.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all I can think of for the time being. Do you have anything else to add?¡±

    ¡°Nothing else!¡± Everyone responded in unison.

    ¡°Oh my God, my brother-inw is too handsome!¡± Luo Bu eximed and elbowed Ke Xun. ¡°Utterly impable. Brother, you¡¯re right to bend him.¡±

    ¡°¡­..¡± Ke Xun wrapped his arm around the boy¡¯s neck and walked him toward the stairs leading to the lower deck. ¡°Follow me down to look for rope.¡±

    Meanwhile, the others waited on deck. Zhu Haowen and Wei Dong stood on the side of the ship, looking out at sea, while Mu Yiran and Qin Ci went to see Shao Ling¡¯s team to put forth Mu Yiran¡¯s spections. When all was said and done, he couldn¡¯t just cut off sharing news just because they¡¯d broken off into two teams. As for whether the other party was willing to believe and ept their spections, that was their own business.

    This group of people were busy working in the central dining hall. They found hammers and nails from nowhere and were dismantling the two low tables. They were using the dismantled wooden boards to seal the windows, leaving the door as the only exit.

    They also carried all the boxes under the floor of the captain¡¯s room into the hall, saying that these boxes might y a role. The six people went their separate ways in an orderly manner under themand and coordination of Shao Ling, seeming to view him collectively as their leader.

    After hearing Mu Yiran¡¯s analysis, Shao Ling nodded to express his gratitude, and reciprocated by saying, ¡°If you encounter danger, call us, and we will do our best to help.¡±

    When Mu Yiran and Qin Ci returned to the stern of the deck, Ke Xun and Luo Bu had just returned, holding severalrge rolls of hemp rope in their arms.

    ¡°A not-so-good update, our mobile phones have been deprived of their shlight function, and Luo Bu¡¯s flints can no longer ignite anythingbustible,¡± Ke Xun told the crowd. ¡°We ended up having to grope in the dark below, but fortunately, I still remember the approximate location of the rope. It seems that this painting won¡¯t allow us to light anything other than the horns.¡±

    ¡°Exactly right. When darkness falls, we won¡¯t be permitted to light other objects ,¡± Zhu Haowen added. ¡°It¡¯s already dark now. When it was dawn earlier, we could still use our cell phone shlight when we entered the lower cabin.¡±

    Ke Xun pped his forehead. ¡°I forgot to look for more flints when I was down there. I¡¯ll go back to look.¡±

    Zhu Haowen reached out and grabbed his arm. ¡°Don¡¯t go. It¡¯s hard finding things without any light. Use mine.¡±

    He took out a flint from his chest pocket.

    ¡°You also have one?¡± Ke Xun looked at the flint, suddenly realized something, and raised his eyebrows. ¡°You smoke?¡±

    Zhu Haowen had never smoked in front of Ke Xun.

    ¡°Mmm, are you surprised?¡± Zhu Haowen was calm.

    ¡°Quit smoking,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°For young people, fitness is the way to rx. Learn it from me.¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked at him, smiled, but didn¡¯t speak.

    Ke Xun asked Qin Ci, ¡°Dongzi doesn¡¯t smoke. Do you smoke, Brother Qin?¡±

    Qin Ci also smiled. ¡°As a doctor, I know the health disadvantages of smoking better than anyone else. I don¡¯t smoke. So only Haowen in our group has a flint.¡±

    ¡°I do too.¡± Xue Ge said, taking out his own flint.

    ¡°That¡¯s good enough,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Our group has Radish. Once the rope is ready, prepare to meet the enemy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you pay attention to anything at a further range,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°Okay, be more careful.¡± Ke Xun patted him on the shoulder.

    Zhu Haowen gave him a deep look and turned his head away, saying, ¡°You too.¡±

    Once the ropes were arranged, Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, and Luo Bu stood by the door at the stern and waited quietly. The door was opened so they could hide in the room if needed.

    The sea at night was extraordinarily quiet, save for the surging of the waves ahd creaking of the ship¡¯s hull.

    The night sky only had a few stars overhead, with no moon, and the wind blew the clouds across the sky, causing them to gather and disperse unpredictably.

    After countless times of struggling at the edge of life and death together, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran had long since formed a tacit understanding.

    They just stood quietly side by side, their arms pressed together, fingers interlocked underneath their sleeves.

    Suddenly, a third hand reached out and held their two, interlocked hands.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun demanded, ¡°Do you want to get beaten?¡±

    Luo Bu said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid too, brother, so you can include me too.¡±

    Ke Xun was momentarily speechless. ¡°I¡¯ll add your radish head, I will. Get out of the way and grab your own equipment.¡±

    Luo Bu said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hold my equipment. My hands are shaking too much. I¡¯m scared, I¡¯m really scared¡­¡±

    As he spoke, his voice seemed to be sobbing spasmodically.

    Ke Xun became silent. Then he wrapped his arm around Luo Bu¡¯s shoulder and brought him over to his side. ¡°In the painting, any words offort are useless. Just like, no matter how scared you are, it¡¯s pointless. So, Radish, if you are unfortunate enough to be chosen by death, and the way of death seems likely to be extremely tragic, I will help you die quickly and suffer less. Do you agree?¡±

    ¡°How quickly?¡± Luo Bu choked out.

    Ke Xun lifted the crossbow in his other hand. ¡°I¡¯ll try and shoot an arrow into your throat as urately as possible for a quick death, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Luo Bu didn¡¯t hesitate to agree. He wiped the tears from his face and added, ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave it to you, bro. But you can shoot only after you see that there¡¯s no chance for me, in case I can be rescued. Don¡¯t send me away easily until the veryst minute!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to deal with this stuff anymore, and his eyes fell to the dark sea.

    Time inched slowly toward the 12 o¡¯clock point of night.

    Suddenly, arge thick cloud formed, covering the entire sky and instantly swallowing every light there was into an endless darkness.

    The darkness was so thick that it seemed as if Ke Xun had suddenly lost his sight. He couldn¡¯t see any light or images. He even put his hand out in front of his eyes but still could not see a single outline.

    This darkness was abnormal.

    ¡°Yiran,¡± Ke Xun called in a very low voice.

    But no one responded.

    He stretched out his hand, but there was nothing there. Mu Yiran, who had been standing beside him, had disappeared.

    Ke Xun retracted his hand and raised his crossbow. But after thinking it over, he put it down again. It was so dark right now; he absolutely could not shoot the crossbow, for fear of hurting Mu Yiran or Luo Bu.

    ¡°Radish?¡± Ke Xun called again in a low voice.

    Luo Bu did not respond either.

    Ke Xun stood calmly in ce, not acting rashly. He quickly calmed himself down and listened carefully to the surrounding environment.

    There was no sound.

    All he could hear was the slow surging of the sea and the asional creaking of the wooden hull.

    Creak, creak.

    Creak.

    Something was creaking down the deck.

    Slow as sea water, rough as a wooden hull.

    Creaking, step by step, in the blinding darkness, heading in his direction.

 Chapter 194: Ke Xun Questions and Mu Yiran Answers

    <h4>Chapter 194: Ke Xun Questions and Mu Yiran Answers</h4>

    In this endless darkness, between the entirety of the sky and the sea, it seemed that there was only himself and this silent, ancient ship left.

    But Ke Xun knew that none of this was true. He knew that everyone was still there. They were just all separated by this abnormal darkness. They were both close and far away from each other. They could not see nor hear one another. There were twelve people to keep himpany, but at this moment, everyone was in their own lonely and helpless situation.

    Under these circumstances, the unhurried creaking sound from the deck seemed even more creepy.

    Ke Xun backed away slowly, trying not to make any sounds. It would only take a few steps until his back was pressed to the wall of the cabin, and if he leaned against it, at least his back would be safe. But even after taking a dozen steps, that wall never came.

    He stopped moving.

    Yiran was right. It was useless to escape or hide.

    He tried to rx his breathing as much as possible, so that he could better hear his surroundings.

    Creaking, the sound of something walking along the deck, moving slowly and getting ever closer.

    It came from the direction of the bow. As it moved along the deck, it would pass through the central dining hall in the middle of the hull, and Shao Ling and his team would meet it first.

    Ke Xun listened intently. In the empty, dense darkness, the sound of the waves was heavy and sluggish. The hull suddenly seemed to undte up and down, and a wind brushed past his ears, as if something had just walked by, barely just a hair-length away from making skin contact. A cold chill across his body.

    But he remained motionless, only quietly holding the crossbow across his arm and tightly clutching the arrow with his other hand.

    That breath, that sensation of something a mere hair-length away, stood behind Ke Xun, tightly pressing close to his back without touching his skin, like a shadow following the body.

    A numbness swept from his lower back, ran up his spine across the back of his neck, and stopped at the back of his head.

    This numb and itchy sensation made his entire back and head so tense, so contracted to the point of trembling.

    Ke Xun stood stiffly, trying to remain calm, continuing to be ready to respond at any given moment. Sweat was trickling down behind his ears and across the length of his neck, sticky and cold.

    ¡°Huu¡­¡±

    That sound came like the sea breeze or a puff of air, blowing past his ear. The thing on his back seemed to move, and Ke Xun could feel it sliding against him, slowly pressing ever closer against his skin.

    Closer and closer.

    The darkness was thick, and Ke Xun could see nothing.

    But he knew that the thing could see him. It was staring at him, as if staring at a helpless blind man.

    Humans without their light were as fragile as a fruit without its pulp, crumbling with a light touch.

    Darkness was the source of fear and the root of vulnerability.

    The thing cloaked in darkness moved closer toward the helpless Ke Xun, its tentacles of death outstretched.

    ¡°Ke Xun!¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was like a light in the darkness,ing from the direction on Ke Xun¡¯s right.

    The mass behind him suddenly stopped, leaving Ke Xun with a cold breath.

    ¡°Yiran¡­How are you?¡± Ke Xun asked, his voice full of nervousness due to his recent experience.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Ke Xun, can you tell where I am?¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was low and steady.

    ¡°Yes, on my right side, about ten steps away from me.¡± Ke Xun could always judge distance with great uracy.

    ¡°Okay. Now,e to my side. Don¡¯t care about anything else. Just walk over.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s calm voice could give people infinite courage and security.

    Ke Xun did his best to make his voice sound calm, so as not to worry him. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ming.¡±

    With that, he took a step toward the direction of Mu Yiran¡¯s voice.

    One step, two step, three step.

    Ke Xun stopped.

    Mu Yiran waited for a while, but found that there were no soundsing from Ke Xun¡¯s side. He asked in a deep voice, ¡°Ke Xun?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ke Xun responded, but still didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°¡®What¡¯s wrong?¡¯¡± Ke Xun repeated. ¡°Don¡¯t be retarded.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t fucking talk to me like him! If you want to kill me, then do it. If you don¡¯t want to do it, then go die!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s angry voice rang out in the deep darkness.

    ¡°Ke Xun, don¡¯t be confused,¡± Mu Yiran said in a heavy voice. ¡°If you can¡¯t figure out the situation, you should avoid guessing out of thin air.¡±

    ¡°Guess your fucking uncle! Fuck off!¡± Ke Xun was extremely annoyed.

    ¡°Ke Xun!¡± Mu Yiran sounded both helpless and angry. ¡°Have you probed enough? Thest time you and I ate together, it was the coconut chicken soup that you stewed yourself. Remember, you said, that there is a step in making this soup that is very important. A lot of people often pour coconut milk into cold water and then boil them together. But in fact, it¡¯s better to first boil the coconut milk first and then pour it into the chicken broth, so that the soup will have a clear fragrance. In that soup, you put in chicken, red dates, goji berries, and pork bones. Ke Xun, do you need more proof?¡±

    Ke Xun was silent.

    With a soft sigh, Mu Yiran continued to solemnly say, ¡°If you have no doubt,e here. Ke Xun,e to me.¡±

    In the darkness, Ke Xun didn¡¯t make any movements. Mu Yiran stopped reminding him and simply waited for him quietly.

    But after a long time, seeing that Ke Xun was still motionless, Mu Yiran had to ask, ¡°Ke Xun?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Ke Xun finally answered, his voice emotionless. ¡°Then, Yiran, tell me, who was your first love, who was your first time, when did you n to introduce me to your parents, rtives, and friends, and will you share your wealth with me? Do you think I like you more or you like me more?¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun, this is not the time for these discussions.¡± Mu Yiran seemed a bit angry, and his tone increased in force. ¡°Stop making trouble ande here!¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t answer, then you¡¯re not Mu Yiran.¡± Ke Xun was still heartless, stubbornly standing still. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But in this case, if I¡¯m not cautious, then the result could likely be death. Yiran, if it really is you, then you should understand my feelings.¡±

    ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Mu Yiran seemed rather helpless, but in the end, he indulged him. ¡°My first love wasn¡¯t anyone around me, but the movie star, Marlon Brando. I liked him very much when I was a kid. It was probably due to my excessive obsession with him that helped me realized my sexual orientation.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re part of my ¡®first time¡¯, this question is really superfluous, but maybe I can also consider it as youplimenting my techniques.¡±

    ¡°If we can leave this painting, and if you want, I can take you to see my parents at any time and introduce you to everyone I know.¡±

    ¡°Regarding my wealth, you can have it if you want it; but if you don¡¯t want it, then you don¡¯t have to take it. I¡¯m willing to share all my things with you, which naturally includes wealth.¡±

    ¡°As for thest question, Ke Xun, in the past, you liked me more, but in the future, I will like you more.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t say anything for a long time, and it wasn¡¯t until Mu Yiran called him again did heugh and softly said, ¡°I¡¯m very happy. Yiran, it seems that we have many simrities.¡±

    ¡°You liked Marlon Brando, while I liked in Delon. I remembered watching him y Zorro when I was very young. He was wearing a ck poet shirt, a cape, and a top hat, and he looked so handsome as he wielded a sword.¡±

    ¡°Later, I liked Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levett. I don¡¯t know why, but I always feel that they are both very simr. Maybe it¡¯s the shape of their faces? Or maybe their mouths? Or their temperament?¡±

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s also that guy who yed a stripper, Channing Tatum. He was tall and handsome, and looked bad and sexy. By the way, have you seen Supernatural? The brother Dean is a pretty handsome guy. Thinking about it now, I haven¡¯t watched that drama in a long time¡­¡±

    Ke Xun continued to babble and talk for a long time, until Mu Yiran suddenly interrupted him,¡°Are you dying time?¡±

    Ke Xun stopped his endless prattling and smiled. ¡°Yes, look, the sky is brightening.¡±

    But the surroundings were still darker than ink, without any light.

    ¡°Ke Xun, you really¡ª¡± Even if he could indulge in Ke Xun infinitely, Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t hold back his temper at this moment. ¡°This is a dangerous situation! Stop talking now ande here!¡±

    ¡°You really don¡¯t want to see the light and don¡¯t want to give up,¡± Ke Xun sneered, without any repentance or any intentions of walking over. ¡°Although you can read Yiran¡¯s memory, monsters are monsters, and dirty things are dirty things. You will never understand the emotions of ¡®humans¡¯.¡±

    ¡°The questions I asked Yi Ran just now, you answered them very well, and they are in line with his personality and ideas. But you will never understand that liking someone doesn¡¯t mean invading all aspects of his life and thoughts.¡±

    ¡°Who was his first love? Who was his first time? I would never ask him questions like this. This is his privacy, his freedom, and his own life.¡±

    ¡°Yiran knows me and trusts me. He knows that I would never ask him these kinds of questions, so once I asked these questions, Yiran would be suspicious. He would definitely think that I¡¯m not the real Ke Xun. So he wouldn¡¯t answer my questions in such a satisfactory manner, and he would no longer tell me to go over to him.¡±

    ¡°As for when to introduce me to his parents, rtives, and friends, I wouldn¡¯t ask that of him either. I don¡¯t want to put any pressure on him. He¡¯s different from me. He has a family, a career, and a friends circle and social status. He has too many things to consider and too many problems to face. I wouldn¡¯t put him in a situation that would embarrass him or make him work harder than necessary. He, too, understood and knew I would never ask such a question.¡±

    ¡°What about sharing wealth? First of all, I don¡¯tck money, nor do I have much desire and need for money. I¡¯ve used barely more than half of my money to help my poor buddies. So I won¡¯t be thirsty for the money of the person I love. Secondly, I¡¯m not a fool who will use money to test his emotional depth.¡±

    ¡°And thest question, who likes whom more? If I really asked such a question, I would be insulting myself. If I have to calcte my feelings without suffering, then this person may only love myself. Yiran would not answer my question, because he also knows that if he answers it, he would be belittling our mutual feelings.¡±

    ¡°By the way, I¡¯lll also remind you that my patient exnations above are also for the purpose of dying time, you¡¯re wee.¡±

    This time, Mu Yiran in the darkness was silent for a while, and when he finally spoke, he said, ¡°How can you be so sure? I didn¡¯t try to ask you questions to determine whether you¡¯re real or fake, and just now, have even answered your questions so painstakingly.¡±

    ¡°Not giving up?¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice changed from cold to light, and then from light to a warm smile. ¡°In fact, all the answers above are unnecessary. At the very beginning, when you asked me toe to you, I already knew that you¡¯re not Mu Yiran, so no matter how clever you are afterward, I won¡¯t be fooled.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s question was devoid of any emotions.

    ¡°Because,¡± Ke Xun said with a lightugh, ¡°in such a situation where we could see nothing, none of us knows where the danger lies. If it is Mu Yiran, he will never tell me to walk over and look for him. Instead, he will take the risk himself ande to find me.¡±

    A gleam of dawn suddenly lit up the sky, tearing through the eerie and enchantingly deep darkness.

 Chapter 195: A Summary of Shao Lingâ€™s Illusion

    <h4>Chapter 195: A Summary of Shao Ling¡¯s Illusion</h4>

    The moment dawn came, the thick and heavy darkness was sucked out of thin air like smoke, quickly dissipating.

    Ke Xun looked ahead and saw that a dozen steps away on his right was the vast ocean. Even if he could swim, he believed that once he fell off, he would have no chance of returning to the ship.

    Turning his head, he saw Mu Yiran standing behind him, only half a step away.

    If he hadn¡¯t been able to withstand the terrifying pressure brought about by the terrifying thing on his backst night, it was likely the arrow in his hand would have pierced the body of his beloved, killed by his own hands.

    Ke Xun threw away the crossbow and arrow in his hand, turned around, and hugged his lover tightly. His lover also opened his arms to catch him, wrapping one arm around his waist, and putting one hand on the back of his head, which was slightly moist from the sea-water.

    ¡°Brother, Brother-in-Law¡­If you kiss¡­let me know in advance¡­I¡¯ll look away¡­¡± Luo Bu¡¯s trembling voice came from down at his feet.

    Ke Xun tilted his head and saw? Luo Bu lying on the deck with a pale face, cheeks still wet with tears. He seemed to have even lost the strength to raise his hand to wipe his tears away, as if his entire person had be a soft, wilted radish.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Ke Xun asked him.

    ¡°Would being so scared I peed my pants be considered as okay?¡­¡± Luo Bu asked, sniffing.

    ¡°¡­.¡± Ke Xun ignored him and turned his head to kiss Mu Yiran on the lips. Then he loosened his arms and raised a finger upstairs. ¡°I¡¯ll go up and check on Dongzi and the others.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go to Shao Ling and check on them.¡± Mu Yiran nodded. They didn¡¯t say much else, because they had already taken care of one another.

    To save the effort of running around up the stairs, Ke Xun directly climbed up the rope to the second floor. He saw that Wei Dong, Qin Ci, Zhu Haowen, and Xue Ge were still there, their expressions a little strange.

    ¡°Are you all okay?¡± Ke Xun still asked.

    Several people responded with an ¡°mmn.¡±

    ¡°What happened to youst night?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say¡­¡± Wei Dong¡¯s face was full of fear, a cold sweat still visible on his forehead.

    ¡°Where is Xiao Mu?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°He went to check on Shao Ling¡¯s group,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°Let¡¯s go down first and see how that group is doing.¡±

    Everyone went down the stairs and saw a group of people gathered on the side of the ship, looking down at the sea below.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The group rushed over.

    ¡°Li Yi fell into the sea,¡± Shao Ling answered. ¡°I can only guess that he met with bad luck.¡±

    ¡°Did he identally fall in, or¡­is it rted tost night?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°I think it should be rted tost night.¡± Shao Ling leaned to the side, revealing a piece of white robe that had identally gotten hooked on the side of the ship. ¡°We all have the clothes on our body, so it¡¯s very likely that Li Yi¡¯s illusion caused him to fall into the seast night.¡±

    ¡°So, all of us had hallucinationsst night?¡± Yu Long¡¯s voice was trembling, obviously quite scared.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point in going after the deceased. Let¡¯s hurry up and collect clues.¡± Shao Ling was as calm as ever. ¡°Please tell me in detail about your own experiencest night. If you can, please try to be as detailed as possible. Even a small detail could provide us with clues about the seal.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the middle dining hall and talk¡­¡± Chen Xinai was so frightened that he could hardly stand and had to be reluctantly supported by Liu Yanlei.

    While everyone walked to the central hall, Ke Xun went to the stern to look for Luo Bu. He saw that he was hiding among the cargo in the deck, and his wet pants had begun to smell.

    ¡°Come out.¡± Ke Xun nudged him with his shoe. ¡°Go to the kitchen to get some water to wipe off. Throw away your pants; I¡¯ll find a new one for you in the lower cabin.¡±

    ¡°I really can¡¯t get up¡­¡± Luo Bu began to wiggle his limp body toward the kitchen like a bug.

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    When Luo Bu returned to the central hall, everyone was sitting on the floor, silent.

    Ke Xun threw Luo Bu away and sat cross-legged next to Mu Yiran. He asked him, ¡°What did you guys say just now?¡±

    ¡°After darkness fellst night, Li Yi lit his rhino horn,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°So, whoever lights the rhino horn will die?¡± Liu Yanlei¡¯s eyes wereplicated.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Xue Ge, who had always been indifferent, raised her eyes and nced at him. ¡°Was the hallucinations ofst night not enough of a death threat to you?¡±

    Liu Yanlei choked and stopped speaking.

    ¡°The question of whether the person who lit the rhino horn will die or not can be analyzedter.¡± Shao Ling looked at everyone. ¡°Right now, we need to focus more on each of our experiencesst night. Then, we can findmon grounds and suspicious points. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll go first?¡±

    The neers seemed very convinced of Shao Ling, so no one had any objections, and the veteran members weren¡¯t troublesome, so they all looked at him together.

    Shao Ling even prepared nk bamboo slips and writing brushes for note-taking.

    ¡°After the darkness fellst night, I seemed to be separated from other people by an invisible barrier,¡± Shao Ling said clearly and slowly. ¡°I even suspect that I had entered another parallel space at that time, because when it happened, I was at the door of the central hall and when I tried to touch the door or the wall, I couldn¡¯t feel them at all. It was like I was in a cosmic ck hole, surrounded by an endless darkness. Did this happen to all of you too?¡±

    Everyone nodded or expressed affirmation.

    Shao Ling wrote on the bamboo slips ¡°1. Isted in a parallel space.¡±

    This move made him seem calmer and more reliable. The neer¡¯s attention became more concentrated than before, and they looked at him seriously and intently, waiting for his next words.

    ¡°But in the subsequent development, I think that each of us will have different experiences,¡± Shao Ling continued. ¡°Because, soon after, I had the hallucination, and it was the voice of someone I personally know. Therefore, I specte that perhaps the people in your hallucinations are all those you¡¯re familiar with?¡±

    Everyone continued to nod or answer.

    So Shao Ling wrote on the bamboo slips the entry ¡°2nd, hallucinations about acquaintances.¡±

    ¡°The person who appeared in my hallucinations is my friend,¡± Shao Ling continued, ¡°Although I couldn¡¯t see him in the dark, his voice was very distinctive, so even if someone imitated him, I would have realized it was fake. But the voice in the hallucinationst night was exactly the same as his.¡±

    ¡°Of course, due to the circumstances surroundingst night, I dare not believe that this was actually him. He was in S City and could not have appeared in this painting.¡±

    ¡°But my steadfastness did notst long. ¡®He¡¯ was very frightened and panicked, and he kept asking me where this was and what was going on. He said he should be asleep in his own bed in S City so why did he appear here? Why was such an incredible and terrifying thing happening?¡±

    ¡°The weird things he was saying, if it were in the past, I wouldn¡¯t have believed it. But the fact that I entered the world in the painting haspletely copsed my materialism, and I began to doubt whether the same thing was happening to him. I also identally entered the world of the painting, because of this, I waspletely shaken as to whether this ¡®him¡¯ was really my friend or not.¡±

    ¡°You may understand that the reason why the scammer¡¯s deception can deceive so many sane, sober, and even highly-educated people wasn¡¯t because the liar has a higher IQ, but because the scammer was skilled enough to capture people¡¯s firm beliefs. This scammer will find a tiny crack in a solid wall and prate it, digging into it and attacking the heart until the entire wall copses from the inside out.¡±

    ¡°Sost night, when I was being scammed by this deception, I went from believing only a little topletely believing it.¡±

    ¡°My friend, to me, is more intimate than my own hands and feet. We have a fateful friendship, and some people may say that almost all friendships can share adversity but not prosperity. But he is different.¡±

    ¡°He can control my property at all. I trust him, just as he trusts me. We have never concealed anything from the other, and we have never avoided anything. Our rtionship is as close as one person, and we would go through fire and water for one another.¡±

    ¡°So the fear and helplessness he showedst night would inevitably shake me. I was afraid that it might be true, that he really was trapped in the painting, and that I mustn¡¯t leave him alone.¡±

    ¡°For the sake of caution, I asked a lot of things that only the two of us knew, even some very small details, and he was able to answer it all. I almostpletely believed that he was my friend, until I asked thest question, and he ended up revealing his feet.¡±

    ¡°Thest question I asked him was: If, in this terrible world, only one of us can survive, would you want to live by yourself, or would you want me to live, or would you want to die with me here?¡±

    ¡°His answer was to die with me here. As I have said earlier, we have a fateful friendship, one that can go through fire and water. We can even sacrifice our lives for each other, and so his answer wasn¡¯t wrong.¡±

    ¡°But the problem was that, if the other person was the real him, then when I asked this question, he wouldn¡¯t have answered and would have, in fact, scolded me. There are some things between friends that, once the words are spoken, no matter how heavy it is, will be as light as a feather.¡±

    ¡°Of course, each pair of friends will have different ways of getting along. My friend and I belong to the so-called mode of tacit understanding.¡±

    ¡°So this was when I suddenly realized that the fear and panic ¡®he¡¯ was disying was just an illusion that used my care for my friend to trick me. ¡®His¡¯ ultimate goal was to make me walk into the sea a few meters away. Once I walked over, the end result would probably be you guys looking for both mine and Li Yi¡¯s bodies.¡±

    When Shao Ling said this, he nced at everyone¡¯s expressions, and then he nodded slightly. ¡°It seems that hallucination that everyone experiencedst night was simr, with the intention of deceiving us into the sea. If anyone has a different experience, please also tell us.¡±

    Everyone shook their heads, and so Shao Ling wrote the third point on the bamboo slips: 3. Use acquaintances to trick people into the sea.

    He immediately raised his head and looked at everyone, ¡°Then I would like to ask again. Is the acquaintance in your illusion, like the situation I encountered, quite clear about the details and bits of your rtionship?¡±

    Everyone nodded together this time.

    Shao Ling made another note: Have the ability to read memory.

    ¡°It now appears that Li Yi is the only one who failed to see through this trick,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°But perhaps, his death was rted to the lighting of the rhino horn. In order to verify which of the two possibilities resulted in his death, we need to continue analyzing your experiencest night¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry, let me say something.¡± Ke Xun raised his hand and met Shao Ling¡¯s gaze. ¡°Did Li Yi ignite the rhino horn because you discussed it or was it of his own volition? Also, where is the horn that he lit?¡±

 Chapter 196: Love in the Illusion, Dispute Outside the Illusion

    <h4>Chapter 196: Love in the Illusion, Dispute Outside the Illusion</h4>

    Warning: Thest paragraph of this chapter is homophobic. If this bothers you, please skip or read with caution.

    ¡°We did discuss whether we need to actively ignite the rhinoceros horns,¡± Shao Ling answered Ke Xun¡¯s question, ¡°But out of caution, we finally decided that unless we must burn the rhino horns, we will first monitor the situation.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that we did make arrangements in advance on who will light the rhinoceros horn, and after drawing lots, Li Yi was chosen as the first to light his rhino horn. If he has an ident, the second person, Yu Long, will take over.¡±

    ¡°I think the reason why Li Yi lit the rhinoceros hornst night was probably because the endless darkness made him fearful, or because it was too dark for him to see, so he thought that lighting the horn would solve his problem.¡±

    ¡°As for where the rhinoceros horn he¡¯d ignited is, Mr. Mu and I had searched for it earlier, and not only did we not find its remains, we couldn¡¯t even find any ashes. It¡¯s probably that the rhinoceros horn had fallen into the sea with Li Yi.¡±

    ¡°So this whole igniting thing ispletely useless!¡± Yu Long suddenly said loudly. ¡°Even after lighting it, we¡¯ll still die. It also attracts the thing. Whoever lights the horn up, whoever dies!¡±

    ¡°If whomever lit the rhinoceros horn died, then there is no need to separate us into different illusions and lure us into the sea,¡± Zhu Haowen said indifferently.

    ¡°Then what is the purpose of this rhino horn?¡± Liu Yanlei asked, staring at him.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s for illuminating strange things.¡± Ke Xun looked at him with half-closed eyes. ¡°Maybe, only Li Yi, who lit the rhinoceros horn, saw the ¡°strange¡± creature that created the illusions for us.¡±

    ¡°So whoever lights the rhino horn will die?!¡± Yu Long eximed sternly.

    Ke Xun lifted his eyebrows. ¡°Then why can¡¯t someone ignite the rhinoceros horn to take the opportunity to see the monster and kill it?¡±

    Lu Yang was choked by these words, and when he finally opened his mouth to give a rebuttal, his girlfriend Fang Fei put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

    ¡°Brother, you¡¯re mighty and domineering.¡± Luo Bu gave Ke Xun a trembling thumb up.

    ¡°I think what Mr. Ke said has some truth,¡± Shao Ling said, ever the sensible one. ¡°The person who lights the rhinoceros horn will likely be able to see the strange creature. After all, it was only after running the rhino horn at Bull Islet Rock was Wen Qian able to see the strange things in the water.¡±

    ¡°But this doesn¡¯t mean that whoever burns the rhinoceros horn won¡¯t die. After all, maybe Li Yi saw the monster¡¯s body but was still bewitched into losing his life.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about the burning rhinoceros hornter. Now, please tell me about your experiencest night. Maybe we can gather more clues about the illusion.¡±

    Several of the neers who had followed Shao Lingst night looked ufortable. Each of them lowered their eyelids, not making a sound. Finally, Luo Bu, who was sitting next to Ke Xun, raised a trembling hand. ¡°Then I¡¯ll talk¡­In the illusionst night, the voice was pretending to be my girlfriend. ¡®She¡¯ said that she had been hit by a car while crossing the street and she didn¡¯t know why she got here.¡±

    ¡°At the beginning, I didn¡¯t believe it. I told her, this is a painting. How can you get in? How did you know I¡¯m here? She said that she couldn¡¯t bear to leave me. Maybe because her obsession was too deep, and so her soul came by itself.¡±

    ¡°I firmly believed this was caused by those ghosts that wanted to lie to me, but I couldn¡¯t hold back my disbelief because she sounded so real¡­so I began to hesitate.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m not stupid, right? I asked her a lot of things that only the two of us knew, but I didn¡¯t expect that she would answer them all correctly. I¡­I really believed it.¡±

    ¡°She cried and said she couldn¡¯t bear to leave me. She told me she didn¡¯t want to die, and she said she loved me very much. But she couldn¡¯t help it, she felt as if she was going to disappear soon, and she wanted me to kiss her onest time before she leaves.¡±

    ¡°She said she knew that I am timid, so she didn¡¯t dare toe over. She said that if I wasn¡¯t afraid of her, I would walk over to her and kiss her myself. She would try to wait for me to do so.¡±

    ¡°I, I really was timid. But I thought that this is my girlfriend. What appearance hadn¡¯t I seen her in? Even when she had diarrhea, I would still go to the bathroom to hand her toilet paper. She, she..How could she be dead¡­I was in a daze for a long time, and what shed through my mind was all the images of us together.¡±

    ¡°As a result, I thought of a problem¨C¡±

    ¡°You know, she and I both love raising small animals. The house we live in together has birds, fishes, turtles, hamsters, four to five cats, and seven to eight dogs. She likes to stay home and take care of them. Oftentimes, I would have to leave home for anywhere between ten days to two or three months. During this time period, these animals we raised would sometimes die due to injuries, idents, or old age, and every time when I call back to chat with her, I would ask about the animals, and she would never tell me that they had died.¡±

    ¡°It was because she knows that I can¡¯t stand this. I have never liked to hear about death, whether it¡¯s human or animal.¡±

    .

    ¡°I may be useless, undesirable, and very silly, but I will be depressed for a long time if the people or animals I know die.¡±

    ¡°My girlfriend knows this about me, so if a small animal at home dies, she would never tell me on the phone, and would wait untilter when I get home.¡±

    ¡°She hopes that I would be less sad for a day, and she doesn¡¯t want me to associate her voice with notifications of death.¡±

    ¡°¡ª¡ªSo at the time, I felt that it was a bit¡­a bit contradictory. I think, if she really has a soul, and her soul could really find me due obsession, would just look at me in secret. She would nevere out of her own ord and tell me she was dead. She would rather I find out the newster.¡±

    ¡°I suddenly remembered that we used to talk about those tragic romances in which the heroine was terminally ill. My girlfriend told me that if she was terminally ill, she would never tell me. She would never be like those people and would never pretend not to love me or break up with me or pretend to cheat. She didn¡¯t want me to feel sad.¡±

    ¡°Instead, she would seize thest moment of her life and work harder to be nice to me. Then, when she was about to die, she would run away to die quickly. Even if I would eventually find out that she had died, although I would still be sad and depressed, when I thought back to myst moments with her, they would all be full of happiness¡­¡±

    ¡°Anyway, I won¡¯t say any more sappy stuff. I just want to say that I don¡¯t think she woulde to inform me of her death, let alone cry so sadly in front of me, making me feel ufortable and leaving me with one final, heartbreaking memory of her.

    ¡°So, I hesitated. I didn¡¯t dare to go forward, but she kept crying, saying how much she loves me. But no matter what, she always wanted me to go to her, and the more I listened to her voice, the more weird I thought it was. I was so scared that I peed on the spot¡­¡±

    ¡°And after you peed, everything lit up?¡± Ke Xun looked at him, a little dumbstruck. However, he felt that this kid actually wasn¡¯t¡­so silly. When he saw him lying on the ground this morning with tears staining his face, he had thought that this kid was so scared, he¡¯d cried. Now, he realized that those tears may have been for his girlfriend.

    ¡°From this point of view, the illusions used to confuse us are roughly the same,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°It seems to use people close to us to deceive us and lead us into a deadly trap. I wonder, in the illusion you experiencedst night, are there any other important clues or characteristics about the illusion that you¡¯ve discovered?¡±

    Everyone thought for a long time, and finally Mu Yiran said, ¡°The power behind the illusions can read our memories and use them to simte and shape the personality and behavior of the person we are close to.¡±

    ¡°For example, under what circumstances, in what tone and manner, and the judgment and handling of problems, these are all in line with the personality of the person.¡±

    ¡°But, the image it simtes is based only on the memory of the ¡®past¡¯ person in our mind. In other words, it can grasp our past, but it cannot control our ¡®present progressive.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Once we raise a new problem, it can only solve and deal with it ording to the experience of the ¡®past.¡¯ But people¡¯s thoughts are always changing and evolving with the progression of time. This is why, when we question it, it will often reveal ws. This is because our heart has a clear answer, but it answered after some careful judgment and analysis.

    ¡°Therefore, we may find a way to deal with this illusion, and that is¡­¡±

    ¡°Ask it thetest questions, and find ws in its answer!¡± Yu Long¡¯s rush to answer, interrupting Mu Yi¡¯s words.

    ¡°I think this method is no longer useful,¡± Liu Yanlei said, ¡°Is that behind-the-scenes power so stupid? It had already used that trickst night, and if it used it again tonight, everyone will already know that it¡¯s fake, it¡¯s an illusion, so who would believe it?!¡±

    He nced at Mu Yiran with some contempt.

    ¡°Then you probably don¡¯t know,¡± Ke Xun looked at Liu Yanlei, ¡°in the illusion I experiencedst night, it was his voice that was used to confuse me. How can you be sure that the illusion tonight will not take advantage of the people next to you to deceive you? For example, what if your girlfriend calls out to you in the dark to save her? Do you believe her? Would you save her or not save her?¡±

    ¡°The illusion has separated us. If Xinai¡¯s voice sounded in the dark, it must be fake!¡± Liu Yanlei retorted.

    ¡°Brother Qin told you about the paintings we¡¯ve gone through.¡± Ke Xun looked straight into Liu Yanlei¡¯s eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that the death conditions in the paintings are not always the same? The death conditions in some paintings will continue to escte. So, can you guarantee that you will be quarantined alone tonight?¡±

    Liu Yanlei was repeatedly refuted by Ke Xun, turning his momentum involuntarily short. After reacting, he became a little irritated and sneered, ¡°As far as I know, only those who know how to swim can drown. Your experience is not the be-all and end-all. Those who are defeated by schemes are those who have done bad things and have a bad body. I don¡¯t think the experience of you perverted homosexual can help us in any way!¡±

    After he said this, the room suddenly fell into an awkward silence.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    <b>Xida: </b>What? Who to die next? I vote for Liu Yanlei.

 Chapter 197: Black-Bellied Boss, A Fatal Blow

    <h4>Chapter 197: ck-Bellied Boss, A Fatal Blow</h4>

    ¡°Am I hearing things?¡± It was Luo Bu who broke the silence first. He looked at Liu Yanlei, whose face had turned red, and said with an incredulous expression, ¡°The year is 8012 and there are still people who thought homosexuality is abnormal?¡± (tn: yea, it says 8012. I dunno if author meant 2018? Edit: For exnation, please see Liffychan¡¯sment below.)

    As Luo Bu was talking, Wei Dong saw that the situation was taking a bad turn. This fierce child was already rushing to defend Ke Xun, but he feared that his close childhood buddy himself, with his bad temper, would end up kicking Liu Yanlei into bing a paraplegic.

    But, before Ke Xun could speak or act, Mu Yiran suddenly spoke, his voice as cold as ever, ¡°From the known phantoms that Shao Ling, Luo Bu, and myself experiencedst night, the phantom will only pretend to be the person we are closest to, or the one we love the most. Only this kind of person can attack our heart and make it difficult for us to be cold and unfeeling. So it seems that the illusion Mr. Liu experiencedst night should be the phantom simting Miss Chen. So let¡¯s ask Mr. Liu to tell us how he overcame his deep feelings for his loverst night and avoid being murdered?¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell into silence once again. However, this silence wasn¡¯t awkward but very subtle.

    A momentary stiffness visible to the naked eye shed across Liu Yanlei¡¯s face, and Chen Xinai¡¯s gaze fell on him with some suspicion.

    This was like being caught between a rock and a hard ce.

    If the person in Liu Yanlei¡¯s illusion wasn¡¯t Chen Xinai, it would prove that the person he loved most wasn¡¯t her.

    If it were Chen Xinai, the fact that Liu Yanlei could still sit there safely might have meant that he just did not love her deeply enough, so he was not moved by the bitter cards created by the ¡®her¡¯ in the illusion.

    Of course, it could not be ruled out that Liu Yanlei fully understood his girlfriend, so there was no possibility that he could be fooled by the illusion. However, even the momentary stiffness on Liu Yanlei¡¯s face could be seen by Luo Bu. It was impossible to look at him and not think that he was not guilty.

    So, no matter how Liu Yanlei dealt with the problem raised by Mu Yiran, there was no way he could escape not offending his girlfriend.

    Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen, one with his head hanging down and the other with his eyelids half closed, tried to conceal their mirth as much as possible. Wei Dong simply grinned directly, thinking that this ck-belly boss¡¯ method of spraying was very ck and powerful indeed, dealing a fatal blow to the snake!

    Liu Yanlei quickly concealed the embarrassed look on his face, and deliberately put on a cold and calm look. He coldly responded to Mu Yiran¡¯s words, ¡°The illusion I experiencedst night was simr to Shao Ling and Luo Bu¡¯s. I don¡¯t think we need to recount it in detail. It would waste too much time for all 12 of us to talk about our experiences. Now that we have understood the ploy, we should focus more on whether the rhinoceros horn needs to be lit.¡±

    Shao Ling spoke at the right time, ¡°If the illusion that you experiencedst night has no more clues or differences, then we will move on to the next question-what is the role of the rhinoceros horn? At present, the consequences of igniting it might very well result in drawing the attention of the monster, in addition to having to deal with the illusion. Does anyone have a different opinion?¡±

    They all looked at each other and said that there was none for the time being.

    ¡°In this case, the next question we have to discuss is,¡± Shao Ling said, looking at everyone, ¡°whether we still need to ignite the remaining rhinoceros horns. If it is necessary, who will ignite it tonight? And after igniting it, what should we do? How should we respond to the illusion, and what if it is an upgraded version ofst night¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°If we don¡¯t light the rhinoceros horn, we might not be able to find clues about the seal,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°This painting will deprive us of all lighting functions except through the means of the rhinoceros horn. It¡¯s obvious that we must burn the rhino horn; this is inevitable.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Zhu Haowen followed.

    Wei Dong jumped in, ¡°Agreed.¡±

    Luo Bu also added, ¡°I agree with my brother.¡±

    ¡°Although I also think that burning rhinoceros is rted to the clues of the seal, I also think that we can¡¯t give up looking at alternative ways. As long as we can see something with the naked eye and can reach that ce with our bodies, we should observe it carefully and not let any corners go unobserved,¡± Liu Yanlei suddenly expressed his opinions very positively, seeming eager to bury what just happened.

    ¡°Yes, as long as there is a trace of possibility, we can¡¯t let it go,¡± Shao Lin also affirmed Liu Yanlei¡¯s statement. ¡°Like this, we will separately inspect the entire ship and try our best to work at the level of detail in centimeters. In addition to exchanging information about any clues we find, we also must think about the rtionship between burning rhinoceros and the seal and how we can deal with tonight¡¯s danger.¡±

    No one had any objections to this arrangement, and so they spontaneously formed into groups. Some were responsible for checking the upper deck again, some were responsible for checking the lower deck, and some were responsible for checking the sails.

    Just as they were about to put this n into action, Liu Yanlei uttered another sentence, ¡°You seem to have overlooked an important ce¨Cthe bottom of the ship. Who will check it?¡±

    Everyone stopped to think.

    It sounded impractical to check the bottom of the ship, but they really couldn¡¯t let go of any possibility.

    But¡­who would inspect the bottom of the ship? This would require jumping into the sea and diving underwater. This ship was sorge, and naturally, the bottom wasn¡¯t small. If that person couldn¡¯t hold their breath long enough, it would be toote to go up for air. With the bottom of the ship blocking the top of that person¡¯s head, how could he get around the bottom of the ship and float to the surface in the shortest time possible?

    Not to mention¨Cthat terrible thing. It was unknown whether this thing was a ghost or some unimaginable force that came from the sea. Who could guarantee that once they entered the sea, they wouldn¡¯t be killed by that thing on the spot?

    This was an awkward but serious problem.

    As everyone was considering the feasibility of this matter, they suddenly heard the girl named Fang Fei say, ¡°I¡¯ll check underneath the ship.¡±

    Fang Fei was Yu Long¡¯s girlfriend, with her hair dyed the same dull blue and linen color as him. Since entering the painting, she had rarely spoken.

    ¡°Really?¡± Luo Bu looked at her in surprise. ¡°Beauty, don¡¯t underestimate¡­¡±

    ¡°I have a diving license,¡± Fang Fei interrupted him lightly. She pointed to her boyfriend, Yu Long, and added, ¡°He has it too. We¡¯re members of a diving club.¡±

    Yu Long silently nced at her.

    ¡°What is your diving certification level?¡± Shao Ling asked suddenly.

    ¡°AOW.¡± Fang Fei looked calm.

    ¡°AOW?¡± Luo Ling asked.

    ¡°Advanced Open Water,¡± Shao Ling exined. ¡°These divers can dive into a depth of 30 meters and can do deep diving, ship diving, underwater navigation, and night diving.¡±

    ¡°Awesome!¡± Luo Bu gave a thumbs up. ¡°But there¡¯s no diving equipment on this ship.¡±

    ¡°We can dive freely,¡± Fang Fei said.

    ¡°Free diving means diving without carrying an oxygen tank, but only by holding your breath,¡± Shao Ling said, looking at Fang Fei. ¡°You should think carefully before deciding whether to go into the sea. After all, we don¡¯t know what will happen once you¡¯re in the water.¡±

    ¡°They said that no one would die during the day in the painting,¡± Fang Fei pointed to the veteran members. ¡°Then I¡¯ll make a bet just this once.¡±

    Shao Ling¡¯s gaze moved to Yu Long.

    It was clear that Yu Long didn¡¯t actually want to go underwater. This was why, before Fang Fei had spoken, he had not mentioned that he could dive.

    Yu Long felt pressured by everyone¡¯s gaze. He frowned and looked at Fang Fei. ¡°What if you lost the bet?¡±

    ¡°When we y extreme sports, aren¡¯t we betting with our lives?¡± Fang Fei looked at him nkly. ¡°Free diving is the second most dangerous sport in the world, and a single misstep can result in reaching the gates of hell.¡±

    ¡°Just because I¡¯m willing to die while deep diving doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m willing to die in the sea in this ghost ce!¡± Yu Long was a little irritated.

    ¡°Then do whatever you want. I¡¯ll go down there myself,¡± Fang Fei said. As she was about to get up and walk outside, Yu Long grabbed her arm.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?!¡± Yu Long red at her anxiously, sounding quite angry. ¡°Are you being deliberately irritating to make me anxious? What¡¯s wrong with you? Don¡¯t be self-willed, and don¡¯t force me!¡±

    Fang Fei nced at him indifferently. ¡°You¡¯re no longer qualified to tell me not to be headstrong. Yu Long, after we get out of here, let¡¯s break up.¡±

    After saying this, she threw his hand away and walked out the door without looking back.

    Yu Long seemed to be caught in disbelief and iprehension. He yelled, ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± But he still chased after her.

    Wei Dong quietly nudged Ke Xun¡¯s arm with his elbow and said in a low voice, ¡°It seems that the illusion tested out several pairs of stic loversst night¡­I say, who was in your illusion? Was it the boss?¡±

    ¡°I refuse to answer this no brainer question. Come with me.¡± Ke Xun took his boyfriend¡¯s hand in one hand and grabbed Wei Dong¡¯s hand with the other.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Wei Dong asked hurriedly.

    ¡°Since this girl insisted on going into the sea, she needs to have some safety measures with her,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°We need to find some twine and tie it around her waist. This might help a little.¡±

    By the time they came back on deck with a roll of hemp rope, Yu Long seemed to have decided to apany Fang Fei into the sea. They seemed to be waging a cold war, and while they were each ignoring the other, they didn¡¯t purposefully hinder the decision to go undersea and were focused on doing some warm-up preparations.

    ¡°There is low visibility undersea, and it won¡¯t be easy to see the bottom of the ship,¡± Ke Xun said, stepping forward. ¡°My phone¡¯s waterproof rating is IP68, and the shlight should be okay to use underwater for two hours. You can use it.¡±

    ¡°Hey, so is my phone. I¡¯ll give it to the guy.¡± Luo Bu, who was following Ke Xun, also offered up his phone very generously.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Fang Fei took the phone, affixed it with some rope, and hung it around her neck.

    Ke Xun suddenly remembered something, and turned to ask Mu Yiran. ¡°It¡¯s very strange. Why are the watches and lighters in this painting degraded to a very early state, but our phones are still in their original state, although they could only be used during the day and we can use the shlight. Doesn¡¯t this vite the rule?¡±

 Chapter 198: The Most Terrifying Aspect of Death Is Powerlessness

    <h4>Chapter 198: The Most Terrifying Aspect of Death Is Powerlessness</h4>

    Mu Yiran thought for a moment, and said, ¡°Luo Bu¡¯s watch was made of metal and machinery. The lighter could be regarded as a small and simple mechanicalbination, but in the painting, it is impossible to identify suchplex mechanical properties, so they are directly degraded.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, the watch only retained its ring shape and metal texture, and was reduced to a metal bracelet. After all, a watch can be regarded as a kind of jewelry. The lighter only retains the attribute of lighting, so it is reduced to stone and tinder.¡±

    ¡°It can be seen that the painting will use the time period and the clearance requirements to change the properties of the ¡®out-of-time¡¯ items we carry. While keeping them in line with the time period as much as possible, it will also try to retain the original function of the item, unless it must be erased due to customs clearance.¡±

    ¡°But among them, the mobile phone is a rtively special existence. It isposed of electronicponents with technologically advanced materials and functions. The ¡®painting¡¯ cannot recognize or degrade this, just like in the Human Studies painting that we experience. In that painting, mobile phones took on a bug-like existence.¡±

    ¡°Among all the functions of the mobile phone, lighting is probably the best recognized function. Therefore, in this painting, only this function can be used and is allowed to be used during the day. The appearance and internalponents of the mobile phone are probably due to the fact that they had no regressed identification. We are allowed to keep them but their primary function is unuseable. Therefore, they are like scrap metals in our hands.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Ke Xun nodded. Suddenly, the corners of his lips rose. ¡°I have an idea.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him, smiled slightly, and said, ¡°You can try it.¡±

    Luo Bu looked at them dully, spit out the handful of dog food that was forcibly stuffed into his mouth, and asked Wei Dong, ¡°What are they doing?¡±

    Wei Dong also spit out the dog food in his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t bother asking what they¡¯re doing. Learn from me and just eat dog food quietly. Do you know what this is called? This is called two hearts beating as one. There¡¯s no other words for it. The love of real dog men don¡¯t need to be done with the mouth. With just one nce, they know what the other is thinking. This is faster than copying and pasting.¡±

    Luo Bu understood. With a sigh, he said, ¡°This is love. As a straight man, I am envious.¡±

    Wei Dong hooked one arm around his shoulders. ¡°You have it too. Don¡¯t you especially love your little girlfriend?¡±

    ¡°I love her in general. I have nothing better to do so I just found someone to y with.¡± Luo Bu put on the look of ¡°I don¡¯t care too much and it¡¯s actually a little bit annoying.¡±

    Wei Dong pped his head. ¡°Stop talking about it like it¡¯s cheap. This single dog is no match for those two big guys and no match for you! Especiallypared to this Ke person, who has been bent since childhood.¡±

    Everyone could see how much this rich second generation actually loved his girlfriend.

    In the illusionst night, some couples fell into suspicion, some broke up decisively, some showed their true feelings, and some showed that their ¡°hearts are linked as one, and words need not be spoken.¡±

    The green and heavy sea was surging with pale waves. Standing on the side of the ship, looking down, it was difficult to see beyond the waves. The water underneath seemed very muddy, like a pile of thick and greasy, lifeless dirt.

    Everyone admired Fang Fei¡¯s courage. Under such seawater, who knew what terrifying or disgusting things were hidden. Yet, she courageously bounded herself with a long rope and jumped down without hesitation.

    Yu Long¡¯ face was sullen, but he dived into the deep green water with her.

    Qin Ci, Mu Yiran, Ke Xun, and Luo Bu stood by the ship¡¯s gunwales, ready to pull the two people up from the sea and rescue them if the situation turns bad. Meanwhile, the others continued to check the cabins for clues.

    Luo Bu looked at the water below and couldn¡¯t help asking Ke Xun, ¡°Brother, do you think that Li Yi¡¯s body is still in the sea? Will they see him in there?¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Ke Xun also looked at the sea, ¡°If this sea is just ordinary sea water.¡±

    ¡°In ordinary sea water, Li Yi¡¯s body will surface in about ten hours,¡± Qin Ci said next to him, ¡°But I don¡¯t think this is ordinary seawater. For people like Fang Fei and Yu Long that are good with water, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to fall into the sea in the middle of the night. They would just need to wait for dawn to be rescued. But once you are selected by death in the painting, there¡¯s no chance of survival. Therefore, once we fall into the sea, what we will encounter will probably be more than just drowning.¡±

    ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t scare me, especially when I wasn¡¯t even asking.¡± Luo Er quickly stepped back and left the ship¡¯s side.

    Qin Ci: ¡°¡­¡±

    Why was Ke Xun the brother and he the uncle¡­

    Fortunately, Fang Fei and Yu Long didn¡¯t encounter any terrible things in the sea. They dived several times and came back up several times for air. When noon arrived, they were dragged back up to the ship.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t checked everything,¡± Yu Long said through heavy breathing. He took the towel Qin Ci passed over and wiped the water from his head and face. ¡°The visibility underwater was too poor, so it was really difficult to check thoroughly. Even with the phone¡¯s shlight, it was still very hard to see if there was anything at the bottom of the ship that resembled a seal.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your hard work. Change your clothes first.¡± Qin Ci knew that this kind of thing couldn¡¯t be rushed and so he tried tofort the two courageous neers.

    ¡°We¡¯ll continue in the afternoon.¡± Fang Fei didn¡¯t say much, but she was a person of great perseverance and personal conviction.

    Yu Long felt helpless about her decision, but he only shook his head and said nothing.

    Ke Xun went to the kitchen and saw Xue Ge and Chen Xinai preparing to cook. ¡°Do you need any help?¡± he asked.

    Xue Ge handed him the knife. ¡°You cut the meat.¡±

    Ke Xun took the knife, nced at the ingredients on the short table, and picked out a few pieces of meat from it. ¡°Roast pork belly. We can add in a cold dish, a hot dish, and a fruit tter. We can also make meatball soup with some vegetable rice balls. This¡¯ll be living.¡±

    The room went quiet. When he looked up, he saw Xue Ge and Chen Xinai looking at him silently. He raised his eyebrows and asked, ¡°Have you never seen a man who knows how to cook before?¡±

    ¡°I have never seen a man who lives so exquisitely until he dies,¡± Xue Ge said. ¡°You can even cook meat as much as you like and make four dishes and one soup.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t let my boyfriend suffer.¡± Ke Xun began to slice the pork belly. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I will be able to live through tomorrow. I have to eat and drink and befortable before I die. After experiencing a few paintings, your mentality will be as calm as mine.¡±

    Chen Xinai¡¯s eyes became a littleplicated when she heard these words. She lowered her head and began to fiddle with the things in her hands.

    But Xue Ge smiled, and there was a hint of temperature in her always cold voice. ¡°It makes sense. Unfortunately, I won¡¯t have the opportunity to experience a few more paintings.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t give up hope, beauty.¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t persuade her too much. Dispensing spiritual chicken soup wouldn¡¯t work well in the painting.

    Xue Gue smiled again. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t enter the painting, I won¡¯t be able to live more than a few months. I have leukemia.¡±

    After she said this, she stared at Ke Xun, waiting for him to look surprised or sympathetic like everyone else when they heard about her condition, looking at her like she was already a dead person.

    But he didn¡¯t. He merely concentrated on cutting the meat in his hand. Even after she finished speaking thest three words, he didn¡¯t even blink, as if he had heard the words ¡°caught a cold¡± instead. When he spoke, his words were as casual and natural as before. ¡°How about making leopard fetus? I saw it in the lower deck. You won¡¯t be able to eat this kind of thing outside the painting. In ancient times, the leopard fetus dish was considered a treasured delicacy. Although I don¡¯t know how to make it, I can try. If ites out tasting bad, we just won¡¯t eat it. How about it?¡±

    This time, Xue Geughed. ¡°Leopard fetus? Leopard fetus? Wouldn¡¯t that be too cruel?¡±

    ¡°Being uncultured really is terrible. Leopard fetus is actually the centa of the leopard, not an actual fetus, okay?¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°It¡¯s not cruel. Anyway, this is the painting. Maybe what you eat in your belly may not be the real thing. It might just be paint or paper.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat. The more you talk about it, the more I¡¯m losing my appetite.¡± Xue Ge¡¯s voice finally had a bit of vitality.

    She hated being treated like a dead person while she was still alive. She would rather be treated like normal before she died.

    The cruelest part about dying wasn¡¯t just impending death. It was that people sympathized and pitied her, but could not help in any way, so she was full of her own despair and resentment as she slowly died.

    She felt that Ke Xun¡¯s emotions were somewhat morefortable.

    He looked carefree, but in fact, he was more sensitive and thoughtful than others.

    In contrast, Chen Xinai was absent minded. After darting nces at Ke Xun a few times, she finally gritted her teeth and walked over to him. While choosing the ingredients, she asked in a low voice, ¡°In your illusionst night, who was the one talking to you?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at her and replied, ¡°My boyfriend.¡±

    Chen Xinai¡¯s expression was a little stiff, and she asked, ¡°Then your boyfriend¡­was it you in his illusionst night?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask. If you want to know, ask him yourself,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious?¡± Chen Xinai gave him a strange look. ¡°If you¡¯re not in his illusion, doesn¡¯t that mean the person he loves and trusted the most is someone else?¡±

    ¡°Then the person in your illusion, is it Liu Yanlei?¡± Ke Xun looked at her from the corners of his eyes.

    ¡°Of course it is!¡± she eximed, as if he¡¯d stepped on her foot.

    Ke Xun shrugged and said nothing to her.

    Chen Xinai frowned, lowered her head and chose a few dishes in silence. Finally, she no longer held back¡ªperhaps because the man next to her had a trustworthy temperament, or maybe he felt reliable. In short, Chen Xinai didn¡¯t know why. She just wanted to tell him the things that she¡¯d been holding in her stomach. ¡°I¡¯ve asked a few people, and the illusions they hadst night were, without exceptions, about their favorite person.¡±

    Ke Xun began to chop meat. His brows moved slightly, and he guessed what Chen Xinai meant.

    So, since she was now certain that the person who appeared before her boyfriendst night was his favorite person, she began to hesitate more and more about whether this person was her.

    Chen Xinai seemed to want to say more, but seeing Mu Yiran walk in through the door, she closed her mouth and walked aside with the food.

    Mu Yiran didn¡¯t say anything to Ke Xun, but merely stood by his side, watching him handle the ingredients.

    Ke Xun¡¯s hands kept moving, but he crossed his foot with Mu Yiran¡¯s leg, connecting them like human-shaped handcuffs.

    Chen Xinai couldn¡¯t stand this wave of dog food. She threw aside the vegetables and left the room. When Ke Xun finished cooking and went outside to call everyone toe and eat, he heard Chen Xinai and Liu Yanlei arguing at the corner of the deck.

    As they ate, everyone exchanged information about the oue of inspecting the hull this morning. The conclusion was that there was no gain.

    ¡°Then, we have to discuss the matter of who will light the rhinoceros horn tonight,¡± Shao Ling said.

    ¡°It can do it.¡± Ke Xun took out his phone and put it on the low table.

    The neers looked confused, but the veteran members were full of tacit understanding. They all said in unison, ¡°Let¡¯s try it!¡±

 Chapter 199: The Newcomerâ€™s Self-Rescue Method and the Veteran Memberâ€™s Experience

    <h4>Chapter 199: The Neer¡¯s Self-Rescue Method and the Veteran Member¡¯s Experience</h4>

    Use the mobile phone to explode and light the rhino horn.

    With the experience of the painting Human Studies under their belt, the veteran members were more confident.

    ¡°This indeed a good idea.¡± Shao Ling nodded, ¡°But there are advantages and disadvantages.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Liu Yanlei¡¯s tone of voice was still positive, but to other people, he was simply performing to hide his guilty conscience.

    As for his guilty conscience, of course it had to do with the illusionst night and his girlfriend.

    ¡°The advantages is that if anyone who lights the rhinoceros horn will die, this method could at least prevent us from dying because of it,¡± Shao Ling exined. ¡°But the downside is that, if only the person who lights the rhinoceros horn can see the phantom or the clues rted to the seal, then this method would prevent us from gaining anything.¡±

    ¡°So now, the problem lies in this conundrum: If you want to save your life, you might not be able to get any clues to leave the painting, and if you do get a clue, it is likely at the expense of sacrificing your life.¡±

    ¡°So you have to decide whether or not you¡¯ll want to use this method.¡±

    This was indeed a dilemma for them.

    ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t want to light the rhinoceros horn,¡± Liu Yanlei said.

    ¡°I¡¯m not lighting it either,¡± Yu Long said, looking at his girlfriend. ¡°The two of us already risked our lives in the sea. You can¡¯t just let us do all the dangerous things.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we can only use the explosion from the phone to light the rhinoceros horn tonight,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°At least we can obtain more clues about the death condition. Then, let¡¯s discuss how to deal with tonight¡¯s illusion.¡±

    Before they realized it, Shao Ling had taken control in leading the discussion and the direction in which the entire ¡°team¡± would take. The neers epted it quite naturally, while the veteran members withheld their opinions.

    Ke Xun sat side by side with Mu Yiran, holding his hands and gently pinching his slender fingers.

    ¡°Since we know that what appears at night are simply illusions, as long as we don¡¯t believe, we should be fine,¡± Liu Yanlei said, ncing at Chen Xinai intentionally or unintentionally.

    ¡°But we must also consider whether the illusion tonight will escte. For example, if truth is mixed with falsehood, how do we distinguish between the two?¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll agree on a code. This way, if something is true or false, we¡¯ll know with the code,¡± Luo Bu suggested.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that the phantom can read your memory, so it can read the code,¡± Liu Yanlei said.

    ¡°Then what should we do¡­If this is the case, I won¡¯t be able to believe in any of you; I don¡¯t dare believe,¡± Luo Bu said in a sad voice.

    ¡°One solution is for us to use our own strengths to escape danger, since each of us can be dangerous to the other,¡± Shao Ling analyzed calmly. ¡°So, if we want to be free from the illusion, we must try to ensure that we are safe. The second thing is that we should try our best to reassure the other. As long as we won¡¯t need to rely on ourpanions and can reassure them instead, the phantom won¡¯t be able to easily use us.¡±

    ¡°This makes sense.¡± Liu Yanlei nodded a few times. ¡°I have an idea. Since falling into the sea at night will result in death, how about we figure ways to prevent ourselves from falling? Let¡¯s tie our waists with a rope and then tie the other end of the rope to the ship¡¯s side or the mast. No matter what the person in the illusion asks us to do, we just won¡¯t untie the rope.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that cornering yourself in?¡± Yu Long retorted, ¡°If you tie yourself up and you meet with danger, it will be toote to run! How stupid!¡±

    Liu Yanlei sneered. ¡°Please use your brain to think. If there are any other dangers aside from falling into the sea, the illusion wouldn¡¯t have to spend so much effort to confuse us. How simple would it be to just stab us directly in the dark? From beginning to endst night, the illusion was only bewitching us with sounds. It wasn¡¯t touching us. So I have reasons to believe that the way the power behind the scenes kills is through illusion, and it couldn¡¯t touch you.¡±

    ¡°What if the way of killing people gets upgraded tonight?¡± Yu Long scolded.

    Liu Yanlei choked, but quickly found a reason. ¡°If it is upgraded as you said, even if you don¡¯t tie yourself down, you will still be killed. The probability is half and half. I would rather choose to have anotheryer of insurance.¡±

    ¡°Then do what you want!¡± Yu Long snorted coldly.

    Liu Yanlei looked at Shao Ling, hoping that he would express his opinion. Shao Ling pondered for a moment, and said, ¡°We don¡¯t have to force other people. If we think something might be useful, we might as well try it. After all, we can¡¯t guess tonight¡¯s death conditions. Whether it is the same asst night or not, we can only think of preventative measures as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°Tying yourself with a rope to prevent you from falling into the sea is one way. We can brainstorm for more ideas.¡±

    ¡°I also have a suggestion. Although hiding in the cabin proves to be useless, we can try to hold hands with each other. As long as we do not encounter an irresistiblepulsion, we¡¯ll try our best not to let go. Maybe it can reduce the chance of the illusion using us to confuse one another. Are there any other suggestions?¡±

    ¡°Plug up your ears?¡± Luo Bu said. ¡°So you won¡¯t be able to hear the illusion imitating the voice of your acquaintances.¡±

    Shao Ling nodded. ¡°That is also one way. Is there any more?¡±

    ¡°Make a few simple anti-drowning tools.¡± It was Fang Fei who spoke. ¡°Whether they will be useful or not, at least we¡¯ll be prepared.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask the two of you to please help us make them.¡± Shao Ling looked at her and Yu Long.

    ¡°I can also help,¡± Xue Ge said.

    ¡°Do you have any suggestions?¡± Shao Ling looked at the veteran members.

    Compared with the positive speeches of the neers, the veteran members seemed very calm.

    Quite tacitly, none of the veteran members rushed to talk. Mu Yiran finally took the lead in speaking. ¡°My suggestion is not to rely too much on tools. The most important thing is to think in ordance with the circumstances.¡± For example, Shadow.

    ¡°Until thest second, never give up,¡± Ke Xun added. For example, Human Studies.

    ¡°Try to keep a calm andposed mentality,¡± Qin Ci continued. For example, The Funeral.

    ¡°Be detailed andprehensive in observation,¡± Zhu Haowen said. For example, Breaking Through the Ground.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Wei Dong looked at everyone, then at Ke Xun, and finally finished with a loud voice, ¡°Trust yourpanions!¡± For example, Faith.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Luo Bu eximed, siding with the veteran members.

    ¡°All empty talks, nice to hear but useless,¡± Liu Yanlei snorted mockingly.

    ¡°This is experience,¡± Zhu Haowen replied coldly.

    ¡°The experience of pumping people up?¡± Liu Yanlei sneered

    ¡°From the experience of watching other people¡¯s death,¡± Zhu Haowen said coldly.

    Liu Yanlei was choked again. He wanted to argue some more, but he saw that the veteran members were already getting up one after another. They said, ¡°Discussion time over. We¡¯ll continue to inspect the hull,¡± and filed out of the room one after another.

    The division ofbor continued in the afternoon. Some people went to sea, some made anti-drowning life-saving tools, and some checked the cabins.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were in charge of inspecting the lower deck, and Luo Bu had to follow along.

    ¡°Brother, brother-inw, how about we hide in the bottom cabin at night? So we won¡¯t be afraid of falling into the sea,¡± Luo Bu said.

    Ke Xun thought for a moment and looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Anyway, if we can¡¯t escape the illusion, it¡¯ll be the same no matter where we are. We tried it on deckst night, and so tonight, we can try staying under the deck.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded and carefully checked the contents of the box. Ke Xun stood by and held the phone to illuminate for him. From time to time, he would reach out and rub Mu Yiran¡¯s waist, thinking that his waist must be sore from bending over for such a long period of time.

    Luo Bu looked at them for a while from the side, and sighed, ¡°You two have a very good rtionship. People say that married couples are birds of the same forest, flying together in the face of disaster. Just like you two. You encountered such terrible things, and yet it¡¯s so enviable that you bore it together instead of letting it separate you.¡±

    ¡°There is nothing to envy,¡± Ke Xun said nkly, ¡°Even if we are like this, there are always times when we¡¯re not happy together.¡±

    ¡°Ah? You have some unsatisfactory times?¡± Luo Bu was surprised. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°There are always unconscious light bulbs nearby.¡± Ke Xun looked at him coldly.

    Luo Bu: ¡°¡­ Brother, Brother-inw, you both continue to chat. I¡¯ll scram¡± Then he ran away.

    After spending all afternoon searching, they still came up with nothing.

    After dinner, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were responsible for setting up the mechanism to detonate the phone. Ke Xun did not contribute the phone he was using, but took out his backpack that had degenerated into a sack. He pulled out a small domestic brand-name mobile phone worth a few hundred yuan.

    The dozen or so cheap mobile phones he¡¯d purchasedst time finally came into use. Ke Xun didn¡¯t give up on his brains, and this time he still brought all these phones with him.

    Luo Bu announced his proposal to hide in the lower deck at dinner and got unanimous consent.

    After the meal, they set everything up. When the sky turned dark, they entered the lower deck and bolted the door leading to the lower stairway from the inside.

    After clearing out a room used for storing items, they entered, blocked the door, and put on a simple, hand-made life jacket. Liu Yanlei tied his waist with a rope and then tied the other end firmly to the beam along the ceiling. Due to his persuasion, Chen Xinai also tied herself to the beam with a rope.

    There was still a while before midnight, and everyone sat on the ground in a circle.

    ¡°Although we can¡¯t predict whether tonight¡¯s illusion will escte,¡±? Shao Ling said in the darkness, ¡°please remember two points: No matter who you hear or see in the illusion, or what the other party said, don¡¯t believe it; The illusion will make us want to leave this ce. We must try to control our impulse and not move. Of course, this premise is based on whether the dangers are all fictional illusions. If we are faced with real danger, we must leave this ce to avoid it. Please decide for yourself.¡±

    Everyone agreed, and the dark room fell into silence for a while.

    Waiting for death won¡¯t feel good, and waiting for death in a dark and silent room was even more tormenting.

    Liu Yanlei was the one who sat on pins and needles the most. Since this morning, he had been in a mess. In addition to the shock of possible death, he also had a quarrel with his girlfriend Chen Xinai.

    Of course he couldn¡¯t admit that she wasn¡¯t the one who tried to bewitch him in the visionst night.

    Although it wasn¡¯t because he had no heart for her. It was just that the person he loved most wasn¡¯t her.

    Liu Yanlei had always been reluctant to admit this, but the illusionst night relentlessly made him recognize his hypocrisy and self-deception.

    Therefore, his mood became more and more chaotic. The many fragments of his life in the past twenty years shed across his mind, such as being a student, work, his first love, blind dates, and the few girlfriends he¡¯d dated. Life was unsatisfactory, and he himself had made all sorts of calctions, had struggled, had lied, and had cried for survival and sess.

    Unconsciously, time passed quickly, and someone said, ¡°It¡¯s almost time. Be careful.¡±

 Chapter 200: There Was A Creature That Made You Want to Die When You Encountered It

    <h4>Chapter 200: There Was A Creature That Made You Want to Die When You Encountered It</h4>

    Warning: Some gross stuff ahead. If you¡¯re easily grossed out, read with caution.

    There was the sound of clothes rubbing in the darkness, and Liu Yanlei quickly put his homemade earplugs into his ears. He grabbed the hands of the people sitting on both sides of him and told them to hold on as much as possible.

    Holding Yu Long with his left hand and Chen Xinai with his right hand, he found that both their hands were cold, wet and trembling slightly.

    The room without light was already very dark, but suddenly, a thicker darkness silently encroached and enveloped everything.

    Time slipped on by, slowly and leisurely, and the murky seawater pushed up against the ship¡¯s side, trying to find a way in.

    Creak, creak.

    The noise sounded far and wide, empty and dead.

    Nothingness and darkness blurred the boundaries of time. It seemed that only a short time had passed, and yet still it seemed that a long time had passed.

    Creak, creak

    In the narrow corridor outside the room, from weak to strong, from far and near, there was a slow sound of something stepping on the wooden floor.

    Creak, creak, creak.

    The sound stopped outside the door.

    There was a dead silence in the darkness, as if something was standing quietly at the door, sensing the twelve fragile humans in the room.

    Liu Yanlei felt that something was wrong.

    He obviously plugged his ears, why could he still hear the sound so clearly?

    ¨CPlugging their ears was useless!

    Liu Yanlei was shocked. He forced himself? to calm down, and tentatively called out to his right side in a very low voice, ¡°Xinai?¡±

    ¡°Yan¡­ Yanlei¡­,¡± Chen Xinai¡¯s voice trembled with extreme fear, ¡°I¡­I¡­I¡¯m afraid¡­I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±

    ¡°Shh¡­ it¡¯s okay¡­ it¡¯s okay¡­ don¡¯t move¡­ don¡¯t move¡­¡± Liu Yanleiforted her and alsoforted himself. He firmly held her cold and trembling hand, and he told himself that he loved her. Maybe she wasn¡¯t his favorite person in the past, but in the future, she would definitely be his favorite person. He would protect her, he would believe in her, and just like any hero in every heroic movie, he was willing to protect her. Even at the risk of his own life.

    Chen Xinai also held on to his hand tightly, but she shook more and more, so much so that the words she forced out of her mouth were shaking, ¡°No¡­no¡­Something¡¯s wrong¡­Yan-Yan-Yanlei¡­Yanlei! Yanlei! Something¡¯s here! Something¡¯s here! Ahhhhh!

    She screamed, as if a sharp ax was splitting her flesh and blood. Her voice was terrified and distorted. ¡°Help¡ªNo! Ahhhh! Yanlei help me. Ahhhh!!!!

    His nerves, already so tense they were about to shatter, was instantly cut into pieces by the sounds of her non-human screams. As if electrocuted, he subconsciously pulled back his hand before he could stop himself. Realizing this, he tried to reach out with his hand again, but he heard her pping her own body frantically in the dark, screaming loud enough to tear her own throat apart. ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh¡ªLee¡ªLee¡ªSo many leeches¡ªThey¡¯re inside my skin¡ªThey got inside my skin¡ªAhhhhh¡ªYanlei¡ªHelp me¡ªAhhhhhh!!!!!

    Liu Yanlei was shocked. He was still desperately trying to find Chen Xinai¡¯s hand in the darkness, but when he heard this, he subconsciously retracted his hand again. Even his body jerked backward.

    Leeches?! Where did the leechese from in this vast sea? Was it the doing of that phantom monster?

    As he thought this in panic, he heard everyone in the room screaming. The mixture of men and women¡¯s screams were terrifying and horrific. They were pping at their own bodies, rolling all over the floor, and even running into walls. Within these chaotic sounds were also sounds that made his scalp go numb, the sounds of snakes and insects squirming.

    Liu Yanlei was dumbfounded. He could no longer tell whether what he heard was an illusion or real. He had to crawl backward to prevent the others from stepping on him.

    The room wasn¡¯t big. He only had to move up a few steps before his back hit the wall. But unexpectedly,? one of the hands he was using to support himself identally pressed on some kind of sticky fment in the corner. He hurriedly pulled his hand back, but he could not shake off the fment at all. The harder he shook, the more the fment stuck to him.

    ¡ªWhat was this?!

    Liu Yanlei was in a panic. He grabbed at the fment with his other hand. They were light and sticky, and they were gone with a few rubs of his fingers.

    ¡ªSpider, spider web?!

    ¡ªThere were spider webs in the corner!

    His whole body went numb. From the top of his head to the back of his feet, dense goosebumps rose up.

    Spiders were the most disgusting thing, and he feared them the most.

    This kind of fear was different from the fear of ghosts and death. It was a kind of fear that was more akin to physiological disgust and psychological rejection. Regardless of whether they were male or female, many people have their own unbearably terrifying fear. Some people were afraid of mice, some were afraid of snakes, some were afraid of bugs, and some were afraid of toads.

    Liu Yanlei was afraid of spiders. No matter how big or small, as long as he saw this creature that crawled fast on slender legs, he would feel as if it was crawling on him. And the ce where it crawled will grow dense, small bumps. And these bumps with white tips would emerge one after another. Pus would ooze out, and out with the pus woulde clusters of tiny baby spiders.

    Whenever he saw a spider, he couldn¡¯t help but imagine it like this, making himself sick and disgusted.

    Now, he couldn¡¯t help but imagine such a scene. He quickly leaned forward to avoid the spider web, rubbing his hands desperately against his clothes, trying to wipe off the spider web and the spiders that might have been attached to it.

    Suddenly a hairy thingnded on his forehead. On reflex, he stretched out his hand and his palm brushed against what felt like the leg of a spider. He screamed and jumped up, shaking his head desperately to get rid of it.

    In that moment, he became as frenzied as everyone else. The screams around him were infectious, disrupting his sanity andposure. The big spider on his head clung to him firmly. He could feel it covering most of his face, and it¡¯s legs were digging eagerly into his mouth and nose.

    He remembered reading about a spidernding on a human face, which had left a deep psychological shadow in him. If the human body was injected with toxins from this spider, it¡¯s muscles would be numb and be unable to move. Another kind of digestive juice would be injected into the body, so that the flesh and blood under the skin would turn into liquid. During this process, the person would still be alive and would still feel everything. But they would be unable to move and could only helplessly feel themselves melting and slowly being sucked dry by the spider.

    Regardless of whether this was true or not, he was very afraid of spiders. He was afraid that he would be that helpless body. Now, at this moment, with the spider on his face, its eight long legs clinging to his face more and more forcefully, he dared not touch it with his hands. He could only shake his head desperately. But now matter how hard he tried, he could not shake it off. He screamed frantically, just like the others around him. All of them were screaming non-stop, frantic and hysterical.

    He really was going crazy. At the moment when his nerves werepletely broken, he heard someone screaming, stumbling, and then desperately rushing out of the room. This person was followed by a second person, then a third person. The sounds of their footsteps rang out loudly, crashing and rushing out the door.

    Everyone was rushing outside. Liu Yanlei became even more anxious. He was afraid of being abandoned. He was afraid that they would leave him here to die tragically alone. Unwilling to be left behind, he struggled to untie the rope around his waist. Then, fiercely, he rushed forward, pulling away the people already in front of him, and managed to sessfully escape out the door.

    The strong, fishy scent of seawater instantly burst into his nostrils.

    He thought, where did that spidere from?

    There were also leeches¡­Chen Xinai was most afraid of leeches. That fat, ugly, and terrifying worm would burrow into human flesh and suck human blood. When it burrowed into the flesh, one must never try to pull it out by hand. Because, as soon as you did, it¡¯s body would be torn in half. One half would be in your hand and the other half would only drill deeper into your flesh. You could only push the meat next to it, pushing it out bit by bit.

    He heard that after leaching into the flesh, the leeches would not only suck human blood, but they would alsoy eggs. Thus, when the baby leeches were born, they would continue to suck more blood andy more eggs inside the human body¡­

    Liu Yanlei didn¡¯t know if these things were true. This was what Chen Xinai had told him, because she was afraid of leeches, just like how he was afraid of spiders. Therefore, she was always willing to exaggerate their terrifying effects.

    But where did the spiders and the leechese from?

    Did theye from that phantom monster?

    What did they say before darkness fell?

    Now matter what happens, do not leave this ce.

    But then, why were they all running outside?

    He remembered what he¡¯d learned about herd mentality when he was in job training sses.

    When everyone was afraid, he also became afraid. When everyone screamed, he also could not help but scream. And when everyone ran out the door, he¡­he also ran out without thinking.

    He raised his hand in a dazed manner and touched his face.

    Somehow, the spider had disappeared, and when he touched his face, he felt seawater.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    When Ke Xun turned on the shlight on his phone, he found everyone copsed on the floor. Some were sweaty, some were crying, and some had peed on themselves¡­

    After confirming that Mu Yiran and hispanions were okay, he pulled his leg away from Luo Bu¡¯s arms. ¡°You have a loose dder or something? Why do you keep peeing on yourself?!¡±

    ¡°Brother, I was scared to death¡­¡± Luo Bu was pale, lying in a softened lump on the floor. ¡°You give me a moment.¡±

    ¡°Check on the number of people.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice sounded calmly, and Ke Xun hurriedly took a picture of the entire room with his phone.

    ¡°Six, seven, eight, nine¡­¡± Ke Xun paused. ¡°Liu Yanlei is missing.¡±

    Chen Xinai was prostrated on the ground, crying bitterly.

    No one spoke for a while, until Shao Ling said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the deck first.¡±

    The sea breeze in the early morning had a strong, salty scent. The sky was gloomy, and the sea was a dull color. The surface of the ocean was calm, just unchanging, undting waves that seemed to extend to the end of the world, as if there was only a sea of stagnant water and a ship of 11 people between the sky and the earth.

    They all looked at each other, and they all were very haggard, as if they had suffered a great deal of mental torture.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s talk about our respective experiencesst night.¡± Shao Ling spread out the bamboo slips he¡¯d been using to record information and lifted his brush. ¡°In the first instance, we heard sounds. In this instance, we feel things. What I felt was¡­I hope this wouldn¡¯t make you feel ufortable. What I felt was cockroach eggs, spilling out of my hair and clothes. They burst open to spray out countless small cockroaches that fell on me.

    ¡°Urgh¨C¡± Wei Dong and Luo Bu both vomited together.

    ¡°So, what the illusionst night focused on was what each of us found most disgustin,¡± Zhu Haowen said coldly.

    ¡°What is in Haowen¡¯er illusion?¡± Qin Ci asked smoothly.

    ¡°Touching the faces of locusts and praying mantises.¡± Zhu Haowen was expressionless.

    Qin Ci: ¡°¡­¡± What strange fear was this?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    <b>Xida: </b>Ugh. This reminded me of a Thai movie I watched as a child, where a girl was force-fed a worm by either her mother-inw or her love rival and worms were squirming out of her skin everywhere. She went crazy and started eating the worms that wereing out of her body. That movie left a deep psychological shadow on me, and I have hated worms ever since. Have you guys ever seen the movie ¡°The Fly¡±? Another reason why I cannot stand maggots. Now I feel like throwing up.

 Chapter 201: Be Your Own Hero

    <h4>Chapter 201: Be Your Own Hero</h4>

    After being tortured for an entire night, no one had the stomach to eat breakfast.

    Because, that morning, they all talked about the worst thing they each had experienced.

    For example, scorpions with countless legs,rge and plump soft-footed worms, nightmare pipa toad, and so on.

    Afterward, they decided not to go into the details and instead focused on the process. It turned out that the process was that, after being attacked by their most disgusting fear in the dark, they heard the screams of everyone, followed by footsteps rushing out of the room.

    ¡°Then I want to ask,¡± Shao Ling looked at everyone, ¡°who actually screamed out loudst night?¡±

    Wei Dong and Luo Bu slowly raised their hands with frustrated faces.

    Shao Ling looked at the three girls, a little surprised. Chen Xinai was still in a daze and did not hear Shao Ling¡¯s question. Fang Fei said, ¡°Don¡¯t be surprised. I practice diving all year round, and I learned not to open my mouth when I¡¯m panicking, or I¡¯ll choke on water.¡±

    Yu Long nodded in agreement.

    Xue Ge, who had imagined a big-bellied moth, said, ¡°The reason why I¡¯m sick of moths is because I watched a catastrophe horror movie when I was a child. The moths in it flew into human mouths and made cocoons toy their eggs, which left an indelible psychological shadow in me, so once I met a moth in reality, my first reaction was to keep my mouth firmly shut.¡±

    ¡°So, what did you two scream?¡± Shao Ling¡¯s gaze fell back to Wei Dong and Luo Bu.

    Wei Dong thought for a moment and hesitantly said, ¡°Just¡­¡¯ahhhhh, fuck, ahhhhhh¡¯, like that.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Luo Yu also thought for a moment. ¡°I can¡¯t remember exactly. I was so scared, I peed myself. But under normal circumstances, I would shout something like, ¡®No, no, ahhh, I¡¯m going to die, I¡¯m going to die, ahhhh,¡¯ like these.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Look for the source, look for the seed.¡±

    ¡°In the illusionst night, I heard nearly everyone screaming, and I believe you all heard the same,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°So, did anyone actually try to run out of the room?¡±

    They all looked at each other, and finally Luo Bu said, ¡°I was so scared that my legs were soft. I had the heart, but not the strength, so I justy slumped on the floor.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Although I would like to follow when I heard everyone running out, I thought about it and realized that, if Ke¡¯er and the others really did run out, they would never leave me. Ke¡¯er would definitely call out to me, telling me to run. But I didn¡¯t hear him, so I felt that, regardless of whether other people ran out or not, Ke¡¯er was definitely still in the room. So I just stayed where I was.¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°I didn¡¯t run.¡±

    Qin Ci said, ¡°I didn¡¯t run.¡±

    Xue Ge said, ¡°I was more afraid of the sensation of stepping on moths more so than I was of moths falling on my body, so I didn¡¯t dare to run and stayed in ce.¡±

    Yu Long said, ¡°I heard that toads can see moving things, so I didn¡¯t dare move. I was afraid it woulde at my feet¡­¡±

    Fang Fei said, ¡°I was also afraid of stepping on a big, meaty worm, so I dare not run.¡±

    Chen Xinai ignored everyone, stillpletely out of it.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°No matter how disgusting it was, it was just an illusion, so I definitely wouldn¡¯t run.¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°So we can be certain that, regardless of whether it was the sounds of us screaming and yelling or the sounds of us running desperately out of the room, they were all illusions. They were used to mislead us into making the wrong choice. After darkness fell, we should have been separated by the illusion and ced into some kind of parallel space.¡±

    Shao Ling wrote on the bamboo slips: ¡°Fourth, illusions can simte realistic scenes of touch and human voices, and can use psychological cues and mental effects to lure people into the sea.¡±

    The first three were:

    Be isted and ced in a parallel space.<ol start="2">Hallucinating about acquaintances.<ol start="3">Use acquaintances to deceive and tempt people to fall into the sea, and have the ability to read memories.

    After writing, Shao Ling put down the brush and studied the bamboo slips for a while, then he raised his gaze to look at everyone. ¡°Based on the experience of these two nights, I have a hypothesis.¡±

    ¡°On the first night, the phantom copied the voice of a familiar person. Although the phantom wanted to lure us into the sea, when we refused to be fooled, it did not force us through touch.¡±

    ¡°On the second night, the illusion also used deceptive methods to let us fall into the sea on our own by producing supplementary sounds. However, aside from the sound, the illusion also created the sense of touch and so it became abination of two auxiliary means.¡±

    ¡°So, my guess is that these illusions are created using people¡¯s five senses, and they are superimposed every night.¡±

    ¡°The first night was a single auditory illusion, and the second night was a superposition of auditory and tactile illusions.¡±

    ¡°If there is nothing wrong with my spection, then in the next few nights, the illusion of smell, vision, and taste may continue to appear, and we will also have to prepare in advance to deal with these deceptions. I wonder if you have any supplemental or differing opinions?¡±

    His eyes fell on Mu Yiran, but he saw that he was just looking down and thinking. As he waited for him to speak, he heard Yu Long say, ¡°No, you¡¯re right. This is it. Now that we have seen through the phantom¡¯s ploy, we can quickly figure out how to deal with it. Earplugs, life jackets, and tying with rope, these methods are all useless.¡±

    After everyone came up from the lower deck, they had already searched the surface of the nearby sea, but they were unable to locate Liu Yanlei.

    Looking at these drowsy people who hadn¡¯t closed their eyes for almost two days and two nights, Shao Ling said, ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a few hours. A poor mental state will lead to an unstable mental state and result in us being more easily manipted.¡±

    No one had no any objections, and so they dragged their tired and exhausted bodies to look for a room to rest in.

    Ke Xun closed the door, fell on the mattress, and snuggled up to Mu Yiran. Rubbing his furry head in his Mu Yiran¡¯s arms, he yawned and said, ¡°Mental and psychological attacks are more difficult to deal with than physical and direct attacks. Like in Pure Land, we have been boiled for a few days without much sleep, and wouldn¡¯t survive another two nights of this.¡±

    Mu Yiran stretched out his hand to rub the back of his head. ¡°Go to sleep. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll need to search this ship anymore. Nothing will happen during the day, and the key to breaking the game can only be at night.¡±

    Ke Xun put his arm around Mu Yiran¡¯s waist, threw one leg over him, and patted him lightly with his hand. ¡°You sleep too. Let go of all problems and keep your spirits up. Don¡¯t say anything else about this, otherwise I will feel distressed, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± The corners of Mu Yiran¡¯s mouth gently hooked up. He wrapped this dog¡¯s head in his arms and stroked the back of his head until he heard his breathing gradually stabilized. Only then did his hand stilled, and he looked at Ke Xun¡¯s face for a while before finally closing his eyes.

    A warm and soft touch on his lips woke Mu Yiran up from his light sleep. He put his hand on the back of that person¡¯s head, pressed him closer, deepened the kiss, and then separated.

    ¡°Lunch is ready. Get up and eat.¡± Ke Xun handed him the ss of water he¡¯d been holding.

    Mu Yiran took a few sips of water and, still holding the cup, walked out with Ke Xun.

    The others also looked like they had just woken up. However, after lunch, they regained their energy and sat in the middle hall to discuss the n for tonight.

    ¡°First and foremost, we don¡¯t need to hide under the deck anymore. Last night¡¯s experience confirmed that no matter where we are, the illusion will affect us.¡± Shao Ling continued to act as the ¡°leader¡± of the entire team. ¡°Next is the issue of burning rhinoceros.¡±

    ¡°Because the rhino horn was lit with a mobile phonest night, it was impossible to prove whether the person who lit the rhino horn would die or not. But, one thing that we can be certain of is that death makes no distinction. We¡¯ll have to determine what the rule is for lighting the rhinoceros horn and see the so-called power behind the scene. It is very likely that only the person who lights the rhinoceros horn can see it.¡±

    ¡°So, this time, we will no longer use a phone to light the rhinoceros horn. Instead, someone must personally ignite it. This is an inevitable problem. We must decide who this person will be. Only then will we be able to find the seal and leave the painting. We must decide now.¡±

    After Shao Ling finished speaking, Yu Long frowned and said, ¡°How do we decide? Do we draw lots or vote? Why should my life or death be decided by others? Isn¡¯t it enough that I don¡¯t want to ignite the rhino horn? I should have absolute autonomy over my own survival. I don¡¯t ept being forced or being morally kidnapped. Fang Fei and I have already gone to sea to check the bottom of the ship, and before going to sea, no one knew whether we would die or not. Under this premise, we have both already risked our lives. We have done our best, and now I will tell you clearly, neither Fang Fei nor I will light the rhino horns!¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Shao Ling agreed very happily. Looking at the other people, he said, ¡°I should add first that the death condition may not be solely based on the act of lighting the rhinoceros horn itself, so whether you light the rhinoceros horn or not, you may still die.¡±

    ¡°Second, ording to the veteran members, the time limit given to us is only seven days. Even if we¡¯re all lucky enough to survive the first six days, we would inevitably die if we cannot find the seal.¡±

    .

    ¡°Third, if we don¡¯t light the rhinoceros horn, we definitely won¡¯t find any clues, and so we will definitely die. If we light the rhinoceros horn, we will definitely gain clues, and so perhaps only half of us will die.¡±

    ¡°So, should we find someone to light the rhinoceros horn? Let¡¯s vote by a show of hands. Do you have any objections?¡±

    ¡°I have no objections, I agree to light the rhinoceros horn.¡± The first person to express his position was Ke Xun.

    Afterwards, everyone expressed their opinions, and except for Yu Long and Chen Xinai, thetter of whom was still not speaking, everyone agreed to light the rhinoceros horn.

    ¡°Since everyone agrees to light the rhinoceros horn, then I suggest drawing lots to select the person responsible for doing so. Are there any objections?¡± Shao Ling looked at everyone.

    ¡°The two of us are staying out of it,¡± Yu Long reiterated.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so troublesome,¡± Xue Ge suddenly said, with a faint smile on her face. ¡°I volunteer to light the rhino horn.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°It makes no sense to let a girl take this risk.¡±

    Xue Ge smiled. ¡°Can you look down on a woman even as a gay? Everyone is equal before life and death.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°The hat that you pressed over is too big. Since you said that everyone is equal, then let¡¯s draw lots. No one will volunteer, okay?¡±

    Xue Ge thought for a moment. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s draw lots. But I have a request. Let me be the first to do it.¡±

    Everyone agreed, and so Xue Ge personally went to find a nk bamboo slip. She removed nine bamboo pieces from it. Yu Long, who was not drawing, made a mark on one of them and put them all into the cup. The others would then draw, one by one.

    Xue Ge was the first to draw. She looked at the exposed ends for a while and finally chose one of them.

    Ke Xun took the second draw. He looked at the remaining pieces for a long time, seeming hesitant. Finally, he drew one at random.

    The others also drew one by one. Afterward, everyone revealed their lot.

    In the end, it was Xue Ge who won.

    Ke Xun scratched his head. ¡°My intuition seems a little broken today.¡±

    Xue Ge smiled. ¡°Intuition isn¡¯tparable to real skills. The reason I was able to pick the right one was that, in your eyes, the colors of the bamboo pieces are indistinguishable, but in my eyes, the color differences are clear. I remembered the color of the piece with the mark. Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m a painter, and a pretty great one at that too.¡±

    ¡°¡­Okay, great painter, then you do it.¡± Ke Xun knew that he couldn¡¯t persuade someone already determined to die, so he didn¡¯t pretend with her. ¡°Anyway, once you light the rhinoceros horn and is found by the phantom, we¡¯ll be there to help you out.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Xue Ge smiled. ¡°The person who is illuminated by the rhino horn will die. You¡¯ll be implicated if you get too close to me. You¡¯ll stay in the middle hall and I¡¯ll go to the deck.¡±

    ¡°Just in case, please forgive me for being impolite,¡± Shao Ling said to Xue Ge. ¡°It would be better if you have a bamboo slip and a brush in your hand. If you see something, record as much as you can, even if it is very brief, even if there are only a few words. Also¡­please don¡¯t put the bamboo slips on your body.¡±

    The meaning was that, should Xue Ge be chosen by death and end up falling into the sea, at least she wouldn¡¯t take the bamboo slip with her. Otherwise, all her previous effort would have been in vain.

    Although his words were a bit ruthless, they were also the most sensible and useful arrangement that could be made.

    Xue Ge agreed. She looked at the people looking back at her with differing gazes, and the corners of lips rose slightly. ¡°My life is short. If I can save a few lives before I die, it would be a good death. In fact, there¡¯s nothing wrong with movies with personal heroism. Isn¡¯t it cool to be your own hero in your own world?¡± </ol></ol>

 Chapter 202: Psychological Attack and Psychological Defense

    <h4>Chapter 202: Psychological Attack and Psychological Defense</h4>

    In the painting, allforts and chicken soup niceties were useless, so there was nothing they could do but salute Xue Ge with their eyes.

    Shao Ling was still sensible and calm. He did not continue to waste time, but brought everyone¡¯s thinking back to important issues. ¡°Next we will discuss how to deal with illusions. In fact, as long as there is an effective method, Xue Ge¡¯s life might not even be at risk.¡±

    ¡°Yes, if no one dies, we will vote tomorrow,¡± Yu Long said dully.

    ¡°That is something that needs to be consideredter. Now let¡¯s focus on how to deal with tonight¡¯s illusion.¡± Shao Ling took a few bamboo pieces that were removed from the bamboo slips and wrote audio, tactile, smell, vision, and taste. Afterward, he removed the slips with audio and tactile written on them and set them aside. Then, he picked the slip with smell written on it and showed it to everyone.

    ¡°ording to the experience of the previous two nights, if the illusion is based on the sense of smell, what do you think it would be like?¡± Shao Ling looked at everyone.

    Everyone thought about it. After a while, Luo Yi raised his hand. ¡°The illusion of touch is our most disgusting thing. Will the sense of smell also be our most disgusting smell? For example, the smell of shit, the smell of vomit after drinking. The kind that can make me vomit when I smell it.¡±

    ¡°¡­That¡¯s just on the level of vomiting though. Is it possible that you¡¯ll want to die when you smell shit?¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°This illusion will want to kill us with the smell! I think it¡¯s probably going to be simr to a kind of hallucinogenic smell. For example, with a single sniff, we¡¯ll fall into mountains of daggers and seas of mes, and there will be only one way out. Those that couldn¡¯t help but take that way out will fall into the sea.¡±

    ¡°Then what if it¡¯s the sense of taste? For example, would it give us the illusion of eating shit in our mouth?¡± Luo Bu asked.

    ¡°¡­Can you drop it with the piss and shit?¡± Wei Dong said angrily. ¡°Is having so much money limiting your imagination? Broaden your mind! Be more adventurous.¡±

    ¡°I just feel that if the illusion puts me in a pit of pee, I would really dare jump into the sea and die rather than remain in the pit,¡± Luo Bu whispered nonsense.

    Unexpectedly, Shao Ling nodded at this. ¡°That¡¯s notpletely unreasonable. Since the illusion can read our memories, it will naturally know the most repelling thing in our heart. Once the right medicine is prescribed, it would be easy to break our heart¡¯s defense.¡±

    ¡°But what we¡¯re focused on is not what kind of setting the illusion will use to confuse or kill us, but to figure out the best way to prevent cracks in our heart¡¯s armor.¡±

    ¡°Simply put, we need to make our most vulnerable point invulnerable, so that the illusion wouldn¡¯t have a chance to get in.¡±

    ¡°Everyone has weaknesses. I think this problem has no solution,¡± Yu Long said.

    ¡°Then you can only wait to die,¡± Fang Fei said coldly.

    Yu Long frowned and shook his head helplessly, not saying anything.

    Shao Ling continued, ¡°To be frank, whether it is hearing, smell, or touch, these things are nothing but illusions. It is only because these illusions are too realistic that they often make us feel as if we¡¯ve really entered them, so that we feel panic and hesitation, thus making it easier for them to deceive us. The most important factor is that this sense of reality is simply too strong, so that it is difficult for us to remain unaffected. I think the key to solving the puzzle and breaking the game is to find a way to distinguish between illusion and reality.¡±

    Seeing that everyone was lost in thought, Shao Ling stopped talking and his gaze swept across the faces of everyone around him.

    A long time passed, and feeling that time could no longer be dragged on without progress, Shao Ling spoke again, like a reader ¡°Dr. Qin, as a doctor, how can someone be more focused, or how to dull the five senses?¡±

    Qin Ci lifted his eyes to look at him. ¡°Difference trade, worlds apart. Probably only a psychologist can help solve the problem you¡¯re talking about. In fact, in the process of treating patients with mental illness, a lot of what psychologists do is ¡®listen.¡¯ Even with their guidance, it would take a while for people¡¯s psychological state to gradually improve. Therefore, I can only disappoint everyone by saying this: to solve our psychological problems, we can only rely on ourselves. But right now, we just don¡¯t have enough time to make effective changes. Sorry.¡±

    Shao Ling waved his hand and then looked at Zhu Haowen. ¡°Mr. Zhu?¡±

    ¡°The only way I can think of is to rely on myself,¡± Zhu Haowen said indifferently. ¡°No matter what the illusion is, I will stay firm in my heart.¡±

    ¡°Hai, easier said than done¡­¡± Luo Bu sighed.

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Wei Dong also sighed. ¡°Humans are emotional animals. As long as they have feelings, they will inevitably be deceived. Just like how, when someone knew that the other person is a liar, he would go in with the mentality of fighting falsehoods and deceptions. But in dealing with the swindler, he ended up getting tricked in the end. These things would be hard to avoid, unless that person is simply a hard-hearted person.¡±

    Shao Ling directly ignored them, and his gazes fell onto Mu Yiran expectantly. ¡°Mr. Mu, I think you should have something to say to everyone.¡±

    Mu Yiran raised his eyes indifferently.

    From the beginning of the painting to the present moment, his past brilliance seemed to have beenpletely suppressed by Shao Ling, so that in the eyes of the neers, his existence was hardly noteworthy. Even Zhu Haowen had more presence than him, having struggled with the neers for some reasons. As for Mu Yiran, he was always offline and would silently stand beside Ke Xun, either observing or thinking.

    Right now, being called by Shao Ling in the matter in which a leader would treat his subordinates, Mu Yiran¡¯s mood didn¡¯t fluctuate. Just as before, he simply calmly stated his thoughts.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve ever watched a movie called Inception?¡± His first sentence was said very nonchntly.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it!¡± Luo Bu hurriedly raised his hand.

    Some had seen it and some had not.

    Mu Yiran continued,¡±The protagonist of the story often enters and exits the dream world, but because the dream feels too real, it is very easy to gradually be unable to distinguish between dream and reality. His lover ended up dying because he could not distinguish between them.¡±

    ¡°The situation we¡¯re facing now is slightly simr to this story, and the way the protagonist in the story ovees this problem is to find something to use as a kind of warning.¡±

    ¡°The object chosen by the protagonist is a spinning top. Whenever he starts to doubt whether the world he is in is a dream, he turns the spinning top. If the spinning top keeps spinning, it proves that he is still in the dream world.¡±

    ¡°Because only the spinning top in the dream world will keep spinning againstmon sense and will not stop. In the real world, the spinning top will fall down after a short period of time. This is how he distinguishes reality from dreams.¡±

    ¡°I think we might be able to learn from this method. Each of us can choose a warning object of our own. When we find ourselves in an illusion, we can use this warning object to remind ourselves to work hard to stay where we are. I think this will give us a greater chance of surviving.¡±

    ¡°But we need to be careful in choosing this item. It must be something that will give you absolute vignce. It can y the role of strengthening your conviction. Therefore, not just any item will do, and we will need to make psychological preparation by telling ourselves that as long as we can not see or touch this object, we will firmly believe that everything around us is an illusion.¡±

    ¡°The only way to fight against psychological and mental attacks is to have a solid psychological defense line and firm mental will. This is my suggestion.¡±

    Mu Yiran stopped talking, and the neers stared at him.

    ¡°Can the nonsense in the movies be used here?¡± Yu Long frowned. ¡°You really don¡¯t take life and death seriously!¡±

    ¡°This is indeed us not thinking like you on the matter of life and death,¡± Ke Xun answered indifferently. ¡°We¡¯ll just leave the proposal here, and whether you adopt it or not is up to you. Keep in mind that this isn¡¯t nonsense made up by the movie. It has roots in psychology. This method of suggestion is not only very effective but is indispensable for our athletes. It has proven to be very useful.¡±

    ¡°If you need a basis in reality, you can try the ¡®conditioning ring¡¯ or the ¡®conditioning bracelet.¡¯¡± Mu Yiran continued. ¡°This is a psychological warning for people who are not firm in their will or who cannot easily control their emotions. Whenever your will is shaken or your emotions are out of control, the ring or bracelet will remind you of restraint. It will provide you with a psychological suggestion, helping you realize that you need to control your mental state. This is simr to the spinning top that I mentioned earlier. These illusions are attacks against our psychology and spirit. Psychological problems can only be solved psychologically.¡±

    Ke Xun added calmly, ¡°So don¡¯t take ignorance as nonsense. Please cherish your IQ while also cherishing your life.¡±

    Mu Yiran gracefully continued, ¡°Perhaps you can consider having a restraint bracelet, which is very effective in controlling words and deeds.¡±

    Ke Xun continued, ¡°I have nothing else to add.¡±

    Mu Yiran followed, ¡°That is all.¡±

    Yu Long: ¡°¡­..¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­..¡±

    Wei Dong:¡­.Look, these gay guys are partnering up to bully people.

    Shao Ling looked at Mu Yiran for a moment and said, ¡°This is indeed a good method. However, if the illusions of the three senses are superimposed, the difficulties will also triple. What to do if it¡¯s difficult for us to fight with willpower? What then?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him lightly. ¡°Then the biggest challenge we face will no longer be from the illusion but from ourpanions. At that time, whoever has the weakest willpower will be eliminated. The only way forward is to hold on.¡±

    ¡°But I remember that,¡± Shao Ling said with a smile, while looking at Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes, ¡°Dr. Qin once told us about the painting Human Studies. In that painting, you encountered an experiment that deprived you of your sense, which is opposite to the situation in this painting.¡±

    ¡°At that time, your coping method was to knock people out. Once they lose consciousness, they will no longer feel the deprivation of their senses.¡±

    ¡°Then, in this painting with the opposite situation, can¡¯t we also try this same method? After all, after losing consciousness, our sensitivity to various sensations will be reduced, and so perhaps we canpletely escape it. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°If the illusions don¡¯t cause us strong pain or difort, this method might be useful,¡± Mu Yiran calmly answered. ¡°However, we need to consider a problem. When a person goes from an unconscious state to a conscious state, they will be more susceptible to being deceived. We must consider the possibility that we will be awakened by this phantom. When we¡¯re half-awake, will we be able to face the illusion in front of us? Will we have the mind to fight against a dangerous situation? I think the better defense strategy is to stay awake and alert.¡±

    ¡°So, what if webine this method with the warning object method?¡± Shao Ling continued to gaze steadily at Mu Yiran. ¡°If we are unfortunately awakened from our unconscious state, we will immediately use the warning object method to warn ourselves. I think this method is instead more effective and safer than suffering from the illusion from beginning to end.¡±

    ¡°After all, confronting the illusion from beginning to end will cause the spirit to umte tremendous pressure, and it will result in premature fatigue. Even when you wake up halfway, at least your mental power will still be very abundant, and will shorten the time in which you will need to endure. Thus, your chance of seeding will be greatly increased.¡±

    ¡°What are your thoughts and suggestions on this?¡±

    This time, he was no longer asking Mu Yiran but had turned his gaze to the others.

    ¡°I agree with your approach.¡± Yu Long took the lead in expressing his position. Obviously, he trusted Shao Ling more as the ¡°leader¡± of the overall situation.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s no point in asking,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°Everyone can just choose the method they want.¡±

    No one had any objections, and so they got up to look for their respective warning object.

    ¡°Which method do you choose?¡± Wei Dong asked Luo Bu, who was sitting next to him.

    Luo Bu thought for a long time and said with a sad face, ¡°Although I believe in brother-inw¡¯s method more, I think these two methods will work differently for different people. People like me who don¡¯t have very strong willpower, I feel that there¡¯s no way I can survive the whole battle. So, I chose Shao Ling¡¯s method, but I also want to add one more protective measure¡­¡±

 Chapter 203: Is It Imaginary? Is It Real? Foolishly Hard To Tell

    <h4>Chapter 203: Is It Imaginary? Is It Real? Foolishly Hard To Tell</h4>

    Luo Bu sidled up to Ke Xun and said, ¡°Brother, can you tie me up tonight? Truss me uppletely with my hands behind my back so that I¡¯ll be unable to untie the rope, run out, and jump into the sea. Just in case I wake up and am bewitched by the illusion, at least I won¡¯t be able to move.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I think this is a great idea,¡± Wei Dong said, having overheard. He leaned over and said, ¡°Can you tie me up too?¡±

    Ke Xun looked at these two people. ¡°You have to think carefully about it. We can¡¯t be certain whether the illusion will get rid of your rope. After all, it could get rid of the cabin, leaving us in an empty space. Therefore, wouldn¡¯t it be easy to get rid of the rope in that parallel space?¡±

    ¡°From the experience of the first two nights, the only things that the illusion cannot dominate are our personal will and behavior,¡± Mu Yiran said from next to him. ¡°So there is really no guarantee that the rope will work.¡±

    Luo Bu and Wei Dong looked at each other, until Luo Bu suddenly had an idea. ¡°Hey, can I use the rope as a warning object? If I am awakened after being knocked unconscious and see that I have a rope, it will remind me about the illusion. If there is no rope, it will also prove that I am inside an illusion. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯ll work,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°Just focus all your attention on the rope. If there¡¯s a rope, just think about the rope. If there¡¯s no rope, keep telling yourself that it¡¯s an illusion. This will make it easier to concentrate and not be affected by the illusion.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do it then. I¡¯ll find a rope!¡± Luo Bu got up and hurried away.

    ¡°What about you? Will you use a rope too?¡± Ke Xun looked at Wei Dong.

    Wei Dong hesitated. ¡°I actually don¡¯t like the feeling of being tied up. The illusion is enough to torture people. If I¡¯m tied up, wouldn¡¯t that just make it worse?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s best to find something that has the most presence and familiarity for you,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Wei Dong was lost in thought.

    ¡°Your cell phone?¡± Ke Xun prompted.

    Wei Dong thought about it and said, ¡°I don¡¯t like the phone I¡¯m using now, so I don¡¯t really have any feelings attached to it. I feel that even if it¡¯s lost, I wouldn¡¯t miss it. I would just change to a new one.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­.¡±

    Wei Dong looked around, and his gazended on the brush that Shao Ling had just used to write with. ¡°That¡¯s it! The brush! The one thing I¡¯m most familiar with is a paintbrush. I¡¯ve painted from when I was a young to now, and although I¡¯m doing graphic design now, I would also still use brushes to draw illustrations and whatnot. That¡¯s it!¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll use my cell phone.¡± Ke Xun took out his phone and showed Mu Yiran the phone case. ¡°It has aser-engraved embossed pattern that I can rub my fingers over. I can use this as a warning item.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at the pattern on the phone case and saw two swash of English words: Corgi & Mooney.

    He couldn¡¯t help but smiled.

    Ke Xun blinked and leaned forward to ask him, ¡°What about you? What are you using?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll probably need to borrow something from you.¡± Mu Yiran looked at him.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ke Xun blinked again. ¡°Thinking about it, I think the only thing I can give you is¡­¡±

    ¡°Ahhhhh! I¡¯m deaf and I can¡¯t hear anything!¡± Wei Dong crawled out of the room with his eyes covered.

    ¡°¡­¡± Mu Yiran retracted his gaze, raised his hand to caress Ke Xun¡¯s shoulder, and said, ¡°Your hair has grown.¡±

    When he retracted his hand, there was a strand of hair between his fingers.

    ¡°When the timees, I¡¯ll tie it to my finger and make a restriction ring.¡± Just as Mu Yiran said this, Ke Xun¡¯s lips came over.

    Shao Ling was the only one trapped in the room, and he thought, maybe this is also an illusion.

    Before dinner, everyone had decided on their warning object. Xue Ge also chose a brush. After all, she was more of a professional painter than Wei Dong.

    Yu Long and Fang Fei were using the couple rings on their respective hands. Although they had degenerated from tinum iid with diamond to copper iid with gems, at least they hadn¡¯t changed much.

    Qin Ci, Zhu Haowen, and Shao Ling choe their own cell phones.

    Chen Xinai was still in a state of dissociation. Although she was able to start thinking again, she didn¡¯t seem to be able to think about what to use as a warning object for herself. Regarding this, everyone was very hands off. After all, right now, the only one who could help her with her psychological problems was herself.

    When night fell, everyone gathered in the atrium on the first floor and sat in a circle, silently waiting for impending death.

    It was like waiting for death in the dark, full of uncertainty.

    The passage of time might have been difficult to endure, because Yu Long¡¯s voice eventually resounded in the darkness, ¡°What if we don¡¯t light the rhino horns at 12 o¡¯clock.¡±

    Shao Ling¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°We would still be in an illusion, but we won¡¯t be able to see any clues without lighting the rhino horn.¡±

    ¡°Then what if we all light the rhino horns in one go?¡± Luo Bu asked.

    ¡°Then we might only have this one chance to see the clues tonight,¡± Shao Ling said.

    Everyone fell into silence once more, until the time approached midnight.

    ¡°Please.¡± Shao Ling¡¯s voice was turned toward Mu Yiran.

    Shao Ling, Yu Long, Fang Fei, and Luo Bu had chosen the method of both being knocked unconscious and having a warning item. Chen Xinai didn¡¯t make any requests, and so naturally no one could force it on her. The veteran opted to stay awake, while Xue Ge must stay awake to light the rhinoceros horn.

    THe darkness didn¡¯t not affect the uracy of Mu Yiran¡¯s moves. He knocked out several people in turn, while Ke Xun and Wei Dong were responsible for typing Luo Bu up with a rope.

    ¡°Fellows,¡± Ke Xun said to his old friends, ¡°Stay alive.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± several deep voices said together.

    As a darkness thicker than night quietly invaded the room, Ke Xun only had enough time to shout to Xue Ge, who was standing outside the door. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡±

    Xue Ge was not afraid.

    For a person who was destined to have only a few days to live, the struggle of life and death was already beyond the sphere of her consideration.

    Her mind was settled, and she revealed a calm smile in the darkness.

    Picking up the rhino horn and the flint and steel, she did not hesitate to light it. The spot of yellow light that instantly illuminated the rhino horn was nearly transparent. And through the transparent rhino horn, she saw the thing hidden in the darkness.

    ¡­¡­..

    ¡°Wake up. Hey, don¡¯t sleep.¡±

    In a daze, Yu Long heard a sound next to him. It seemed to being from the kid named Ke Xun.

    Yu Long rubbed his face and sat up. Everything was still cloaked in darkness, and he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What time is it?¡±

    ¡°Before dawn, close to dawn,¡± Fang Fei answered faintly from next to him.

    ¡°¡­Everything is okay?¡± Yu Long calmed down as his consciousness became a little more clear. There was a hint of joy in his voice as he hurriedly asked Fang Fei, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I still alive talking to you?¡± Fang Fei was still treating him coldly.

    Yu Long didn¡¯t care. He stretched out his arms and hugged her tightly. Dropping a kiss on top of her head, he said, ¡°Okay. Why are you still angry, even at a time like this?¡±

    ¡°Because it is a time like this.¡± Fang Fei¡¯s voice became colder. ¡°I still don¡¯t know where I stand in your heart. Yu Long, if we all die here this time, I won¡¯t say anything. But if we can go out, we must break up.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t argue, you two,¡± Wie Dong couldn¡¯t help but persuade from his end. ¡°It¡¯s hard to live each day. Cherish the people in front of you.¡±

    ¡°This has nothing to do with you. Please shut up,¡± Fang Fei said coldly.

    Silence descended on the room. All the voices had stopped at once, as if everyone was listening.

    Yu Long frowned, feeling a little ufortable. This situation was really embarrassing. But regardless of the situation, he couldn¡¯t help but say to Fang Fei, ¡°You¡¯re done forever?¡±

    His tone began to sound ugly. ¡°You won¡¯t let it go, will you? Yes, the person in my illusion on that first night isn¡¯t you. So what does that prove? If I really have a guilty conscience, why would I tell you the truth? When you asked me, I told you the truth. Wouldn¡¯t it have been easier for me to just lie? I told you the truth to prove that I have a clear conscience. What¡¯s wrong with that? Do I have to lie for you to be happy?¡±

    ¡°Yu Long!¡± Fang Fei¡¯s voice seemed to tremble with anger. ¡°Don¡¯t take shame as a clear conscience! Those daysst month when I went to other provinces topete in amateur divingpetitions, tell me who you¡¯re with!¡±

    ¡°¡­I fucking stayed in the team and trained! What are you saying?!¡± Yu Long roared.

    ¡°Your reason isn¡¯t good enough, Yu Long. You think I don¡¯t know you?¡± Fang Fei sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t think that all women are fools. I¡¯m not going to let you y around with me like some kind of monkey. You were with Liu Lili everyday during those days I was gone. You know what you did!¡±

    ¡°What the fuck are you farting about?! If it wasn¡¯t because Liu Lili was your best friend, I wouldn¡¯t even have spoken to her. I don¡¯t care who she is! Can you stop this fucking nonsense that¡¯s just based on your imagination alone?!¡± Yu Long flew into a rage out of humiliation, unable to help butsh out.

    ¡°My imagination? Yu Long, men like you probably think that women¡¯s IQ bes negative when they¡¯re in love,¡± Fang Fei¡¯s voice was calm, leaking with icy sarcasm. ¡°Do you know that your arrogance haspletely betrayed your self-righteous IQ.¡±

    ¡°Liu Lili posts photos in her circle of friends every day. She always likes to take pictures of her meals. So here¡¯s the irony. In the dining photos she posted during those few days, she ced the ss vase on the table as a decoration. There was a reflection, and I saw your ear in that reflection.¡±

    ¡°Do you think there will be a second person¡¯s earlobe with the same exact scar as your¡¯s? That ss vase was a birthday gift I gave her, and she ced it on the table in her dining room. Therefore, it was impossible for you both to meet by chance and just happened to stop for a meal.¡±

    ¡°Yu Long, I have never mentioned this matter to you. First, because Liu Lili¡¯s grandmother had just died and I didn¡¯t have the morals to tear it up with her. Second, I wanted to give you a chance to exin. If you really have a clear conscience, you will definitely take the initiative to tell me about your meal with Liu Lili.¡±

    ¡°But you didn¡¯t. Yu Long, I waited for you for so many days, but you never said anything about it.¡±

    ¡°After entering the painting, I realized that we might really die here. It doesn¡¯t make much sense to care about the past. It¡¯s better to leave a good thought for each other. So after the first night, when I asked you who was in your illusion, as long as you said it was me, I was willing to believe it, whether it was true or not.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s funny is that your arrogance makes you think of ¡®telling the truth¡¯ with a clear conscience. Since the person you love and trust isn¡¯t me, why should I still agonize over something like this right before death!¡±

    ¡°But to tell you the truth, I had already printed out the photo Liu Lili had taken, and I also erged a close-up of your ears in the reflection of the vase, and attached an erged version of your own headshot and a copy of the usation that you¡¯re stepping on two boats. Thatrge poster is now posted in the most conspicuous position in yourmunity. After seeing these things, see if people and your dad, who cares so much about his good face and who feels so proud of having such a charming son like you, will feel about it.¡±

    ¡°You¡ªFang! Fei! You¡¯re crazy! My dad has a bad heart¡ªYou¡¯re going to kill my dad¡ª¡° Yu Long was enraged. He jumped up and rushed towards Fang Fei in the dark.

 Chapter 204: Chicken

    <h4>Chapter 204: Chicken</h4>

    The heavy darkness was like dense smoke being drawn by a range hood.

    When the dim light of dawn finally plunged into the central hall, the people who¡¯d survived the long and terrifying darkness looked at each other in silence.

    ¡°Yu Long¡­¡± Fang Fei looked at the empty spot next to her, and after a while, tears slowly trickled down her cheeks.

    ¡°Xue Ge is gone.¡± Ke Xun went out, picked up the bamboo slip that Xue Ge had left on the deck, and showed it to everyone.

    At first, no one cared about the slips, focusing on rejoicing over their survival and sighing over the dead. Then they all came over to take a look.

    There was only one word written on the bamboo slips. The handwriting was a quick, barely legible scribble, and it was onlyposed of a few strokes. It took a long time for them to realize that it was the word ¡°chicken¡± (¼¦).

    ¡°¡­What does this mean?¡± Wei Dong looked at Mu Yiran and Shao Ling in confusion.

    These two think tanks also couldn¡¯t understand, and they each became lost in thought.

    ¡°We¡¯ve told her in advance to write only the most critical things,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°Then this ¡®chicken¡¯ must be the most critical thing.¡±

    ¡°So, after lighting the rhinoceros hornst night, what Xue Ge saw was a chicken?¡± Wei Dong¡¯s expression was one ofplete absurdity. ¡°This is too uneptable? How can a chicken appear in this vast sea? Where did ite from? The sea?¡±

    ¡°Or, it could be something that starts with the word ¡®chicken¡¯,¡± Qin Ci thought out loud. ¡°She just didn¡¯t have time to write the word ¡®chicken¡¯pletely, so maybe the real thing is a phrase. For example, a cockb flower, or a feather duster, both of which arepletely different from a chicken.¡±

    ¡°No, if that¡¯s the case, she would have directly written the ¡®flower¡¯ character or the ¡®duster¡¯ character,¡± Zhu Haowern said as he used his fingers to write the words on his thigh. ¡°This way, she would be able to write two key points in a shorter amount of time.¡±

    ¡°It depends on the situation,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°In a stressful or critical situation, people¡¯s first reaction is to follow their usual habits. Plus, there¡¯s not time to analyze how to write something in the shortest amount of time.¡±

    Zhu Haowen thought about it and nodded. ¡°That makes sense. So it seems that what Xue Ge sawst night is protbably something that starts with the character ¡®chicken¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Is there a chicken in the sea? It¡¯s impossible that it¡¯s a cockb flower or a feather duster,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°Or is it just a fish with the character ¡®chicken¡¯ in it? I don¡¯t understand this at all. Who of you knows anything about fish?¡±

    As he was talking, he suddenly saw Fang Fei, who had been in a silent daze next to him, stood up and walked outside.

    Ke Xun stood up to stop her. He thought that the expression on her face wasn¡¯t right.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Going into the sea.¡± She still had tears on her face, but her expression was calm. There was a sense of determination in that strange calmness. ¡°I¡¯m going to look for Yu Long¡¯s body.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t try to stop her again and only said, ¡°Remember to tie a rope around your waist.¡±

    Although she would find nothing in the end, it was best to let her vent.

    ¡°What was your illusionst night?¡± Wei Dong looked at Fang Fei¡¯s back a bit sorrowfully.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to mention it,¡± Ke Xun said, anger shing across his eyes.

    Wei Dong knew him better than anyone else and knew that the phantomst night had made him very upset.

    He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Thanks to the warning method that Mu Yiran proposed, otherwise I would really have been trickedst night. At first, there were many illusions that tried to confuse and entice me into leaving, and I survived through them. Later, it seemed that a long time had passed, and the illusion seemed to have gradually disappeared. After a long time, I heard Ke¡¯er say, ¡®It¡¯s almost dawn, everything is okay.¡¯ There were footsteps in the darkness, as if people were starting to move around. Haowen¡¯er also said, ¡®I¡¯m going to the bathroom.¡¯¡±

    ¡°In fact, I¡¯d been holding my pee. At first, I wanted to go too, but when I thought about how the sky wasn¡¯tpletely bright yet, I decided to wait. Then I heard everyone talking, and Yu Long and Fang Fei began to quarrel. Yu Long might have gotten so angry that he hit his girlfriend¡­¡±

    ¡°The young couple kept making awkwardness, and I didn¡¯t doubt it at all. Everything was so realistic. Fang Fei was beaten, and she fell directly at my feet. I subconsciously reached out to help her, and then ¡®Ke¡¯er¡¯ became angry. What Ke¡¯er looked down the most was men who beat women, and ¡®he¡¯ fought Yu Long.¡±

    ¡°Yu Long was fighting and cursing, and the cursing was so unpleasant that I couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. Everything was so realistic that it triggered my own anger. I wanted to stand up and join the fight.¡±

    ¡°Fortunately, I had the brush in my hand. If I really did join the fight, I would first have to drop the brush, right? I was about to throw it aside, when I suddenly remembered something that happened when I was in school.¡±

    ¡°There was a little gangster near the school that often ran to our school to look for trouble. The object of their trouble was a mutual friend of Ke¡¯er and I. Ke¡¯er was going to help, and as I was about to follow, he pressed me back down and said, ¡®That other person is a gangster. When you start, you have to go hard, not light or heavy. Don¡¯t join us. Your hand holds a brush and you¡¯ll use it in the future to earn money to support your family.¡±

    ¡°Thinking about this, I couldn¡¯t let go of the brush in my hand. As I held the brush and gradually calmed down, I realized that I was probably still caught in an illusion. It still wasn¡¯t bright yet, and even if it wasn¡¯t an illusion and was real, I also decided to wait until I see the sky to rx my vignce.¡±

    ¡°It turned out that this illusion was really fucking cunning. Fortunately, I had the brush in my hand, otherwise I would have fallenst night. It made me hold back both fire and urine!¡±

    Wei Dong stood up and looked at Ke Xun. ¡°It should be alright if I go to the bathroom now.¡±

    ¡°Take me, Brother Dong!¡± Luo Bu¡¯s voice came dully from the corner.

    Wei Dong walked over to untie the rope for him.

    Shao Ling raised his eyes to look at Mu Yiran. ¡°The deceptiveness of the illusion is bing more and more sophisticated. First, it confused us with an initial illusion, so that we thought it was the main thing. Once this illusion passed, we rxed our vignce, and it was this time that an even more bewildering illusion continued.¡±

    ¡°Did the illusion wake you from unconsciousness?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    Shao Ling looked down and said, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Obviously, the method of using loss of consciousness did not work.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think the illusion each night is created and superimposed ording to the five senses,¡± Mu Yiran added lightly.

    Shao Ling raised his eyes and stared at him. This person once again denied the inference he¡¯d made.

    ¡°Last night¡¯s illusion didn¡¯t specifically target the sense of smell and taste to create a plot, let alone vision.¡± Mu Yiran didn¡¯t mind Shao Ling¡¯s scrutinizing gaze. ¡°And what is noteworthy is that, in the night beforest, we experienced an illusion that disgusted us. It seems that what we experiencedst night was an illusion that would make us lose control of our emotions. More precisely, it was an illusion that irritated us. Of course, this still needs to be determined once we have checked in with everyone else about their experiencest night.¡±

    ¡°Mine was like this,¡± said Ke Xun, who sat next to him. ¡°The illusion fabricated a plot that gave me the most uncontroble anger.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same with mine,¡± Zhu Haowen added.

    ¡°Me too.¡± Qin Ci nodded.

    ¡°So, what is your inference?¡± Shao Ling looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°The first night was trust, the second night was disgust, and the third night was anger?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Mu Yiran said clearly and calmly. ¡°The third night was anger, the second night was loathing, and the first night was love.¡±

    Shao Long was startled. He was about to argue, but Mu Yiran did not give him the chance and directly continued, ¡°Love, loathing, and anger. If you think about it, the power behind the scenes wasn¡¯t creating the illusions based on our five senses but on our human emotions. People have seven emotions and six desires, the so-called seven emotions are joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire. As such, the next four nights will have illusions based on joy, sorrow, fear, and desire.¡±

    ¡°Humans are sentient animals. As long as they are normal and healthy, they will have emotions. As long as they have emotions, they will have mental weaknesses. As long as there are mental weaknesses, their thoughts and behavior might be affected by the illusions.¡±

    ¡°The illusion uses the seven emotions that humans possess in turn to find the weakest point. Those that are still alive aren¡¯t alive due to spiritual strength. It was probably just because their weak point hadn¡¯t been touched upon yet.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps we can carefully examine what our weaknesses are, what makes us happy, makes us lose control, makes us sorrowful¡­Only by acknowledging and facing our weaknesses will we be able to resist these attacks.¡±

    When his voice fell, no one said anything. They all looked down, trying to explore the weakest point in their heart.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gazended on the bamboo slips with the word ¡°chicken¡± written on it, and he fell into deep thoughts once more.

    ¡°Then do you think the person who lights the rhino horn will die?¡± Shao Ling asked him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Mu Yiran looked at the ce where Xue Ge had been standingst night. ¡°To put it coldly, a person like Xue Ge, who had little life expectancy, it is unlikely that she will be unable to bear it, resulting in the loss of control. Of course, nothing is absolute. Maybe she¡­¡¯disappeared¡¯ due to emotional interference, maybe she ran into something she could not ovee, or maybe she hadpletely given up on surviving and so she allowed herself to be settled here.¡±

    ¡°So tonight,¡± Shao Ling looked at him and the others around him, ¡°who will light the rhinoceros horn?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    The voice that answered was incredibly calm, as if the subject matter had nothing to do with death. The voice was Fang Fei¡¯s, who was walking in through the door.

    ¡°Girl, the deceased is already dead. There¡¯s no need to despise your own life because of this,¡± Qin Ci looked at her with pity. Yet, from beginning to end, she never revealed any fragility.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong,¡± Fang Fei calmly said. ¡°It¡¯s not because of Yu Long. I just can¡¯t bear to wait for death like this. This isn¡¯t my character. I¡¯m not afraid of death, otherwise I would not have chosen such a high risk hobby as being a diver. My life is full of unknowns, and I just can¡¯t stand this feeling of being yed on. Death is a part of nature, and my lifelong desire is to challenge death and nature.¡±

    This brave and unyielding woman made the men present stare in awe. Luo Bu couldn¡¯t help suggesting, ¡°Isn¡¯t there a knife in the kitchen? Sister, please take one tonight and knife that chicken. How about it?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m afraid Fang Fei can¡¯t be in the same room as us.¡± Shao Ling was still sensible and calm. ¡°Otherwise, she might stab us under the influence of the illusion. Even if we¡¯re not in the same room, because the illusion allows us to break through the constraint of space, the person at the bow can still identally injure the person at the stern.¡±

 Chapter 205: No Anger and No Desire, The Path To Immortality

    <h4>Chapter 205: No Anger and No Desire, The Path To Immortality</h4>

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for a knife,¡± Fang Fei said. ¡°Diving all year round requires physical fitness and strength training.¡± Pointing to Luo Bu and Wei Dong, she added, ¡°My strength is no less than yours. I will try to fight against that ¡®chicken.¡¯ If I can¡¯t resist it, then probably even a knife will be useless.¡±

    Wei Dong and Luo Bu: ¡°¡­.Okay.¡±

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s agree on a set of simple marks.¡± Mu Yiran looked at Fang Fei.

    ¡°Xue Ge didn¡¯t have enough time to leave more information. I suppose it was because we didn¡¯t consider it enough.¡± Mu Yiran took the bamboo slips and the brush. ¡°Let¡¯s agree on some quick and easy writing marks that will have different meanings. Use them if you can and leave as much information as possible about what you saw. Sorry that I have to say this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Fang Fei said calmly, like a warrior about to undergo a mission with no chance of return.

    ¡°If you see a real ¡®chicken¡¯, please draw a ¡Ì on the bamboo slips.¡± Unwilling to waste time, Mu Yiran quickly got on topic. Writing it on the bamboo slip, he said, ¡°If it¡¯s just something that starts with the word ¡®chicken¡¯, and you can¡¯t write its full name, please write ¡®o¡¯.¡±

    ¡°If you think it can be eliminated by human power, please write a ¡®one¡¯ above ¡Ì or O. If you¡¯re not sure, write a ¡®one¡¯ below.¡±

    ¡°If you are convinced that the person who lit the rhino horn would definitely not survive, put a right sh on ¡Ì or O. If you think that only the person who lit the rhino horn can find the signature, but the person who lit the rhino horn will die, draw a left sh. If it is useless to look for the signature, put neither ¡Ì nor O, and instead mark an X.¡±

    ¡°If you see the signature, please copy it down as much as possible, but if it is toote to copy it, draw a ¡®¡÷¡¯. If the signature is in the sea, draw a wave line above the ¡÷. If it is on the boat, draw a straight line above the ¡÷. If¡­¡±

    In this way, Mu Yiran prescribed corresponding marks for almost all possible situations, and asked Fang Fei to memorize them. Even after she had learned it, she still asked Wei Dong to help her improve her memory by randomly asking her questions.

    For everything else, it seemed that they had to wait for night to arrive. Ke Xun cooked, and after they had all eaten, they used the entire morning to catch up on sleep.

    In the afternoon, they all gathered together to briefly narrow the illusions they each had experiencedst night. It turned out that all the illusions they experienced had tried to deceive them into getting angry.

    ¡°It¡¯s worth noting that the rope Luo Bu was tied withst night disappeared in the illusion, only to reappear at dawn,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°However, Wei Dong¡¯s brush didn¡¯t disappear. The fact that mobile phones did not disappear could be attributed to them being something outside the setting of the painting. Then, why didn¡¯t the brush, which holds the simr status as a rope, disappear?¡±

    ¡°It was probably because the rope restricted Luo Bu¡¯s movements, this hindering the illusion¡¯s goal of tricking him into jumping into the sea. As such, the illusion had to take it away,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°It¡¯s just like the walls. The illusion will remove or alter the things that could prevent us from jumping into the sea.¡±

    ¡°Luo Bu is amazing.¡± Wei Dong patted Luo Bu on the shoulder. ¡°He used a rope as a warning object, but the rope was taken away. Although he lost his warning object, he could actually still hold on.¡±

    ¡°Maybe because of the illusionst night. It didn¡¯t make me so angry that I couldn¡¯t control myself.¡± Luo Bu scratched his head. ¡°I really don¡¯t have much of a temper. Even when I was little, I rarely got angry. I have never quarreled with anyone before. When someone provoked me, I would either ignore them or apologize directly, regardless of whether it was my fault or not. Anyway, I couldn¡¯t get angry, and I have no interest in being rude to others.¡±

    As Luo Bu was talking, he suddenly noticed that Mu Yiran, Shao Ling, and Zhu Haowen were staring at him. He was so scared that he stopped and blinked at the three of them.

    ¡°Then please think about it now. Is there anything that will make you angry enough to lose control?¡± Shao Ling asked him.

    Luo Bu thought for a long time and finally shook his head in embarrassment. ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything. I even imagined that I was forced by a man, and even that didn¡¯t make me feel very angry¡­¡±

    Everyone: ¡°.¡­.¡±

    ¡°Then what if someone abuses your parents in the most viciousnguage?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°Look, even if I told the other person not to scold me, they obviously wouldn¡¯t listen to me. Scolding the other person back would be meaningless. If I want to use physical violence, he would probably continue unless I killed him, wouldn¡¯t he?¡± Luo Bu said lightly, ¡°And the fundamental reason why someone would insult someone else¡¯s parents is to provoke that person. So why should I let them get to me? It¡¯s fine if I turn a deaf ear to these things. If the other person wants me to get angry, then I just won¡¯t get angry. The other person wants me to be unhappy, so why should I give him the satisfaction of getting what he wants?¡±

    ¡°¡­Damn, this kid has a really good mentality,¡± Wei Dong said to Ke Xun. ¡°I¡¯m starting to like him.¡±

    ¡°But what if the other party puts the insulting content into action?¡± Shao Ling further asked. This was very tactful, but everyone understood what he meant.

    No one could stand this happening.

    Luo Bu thought about it for a while and replied, ¡°If that is the case, I might only hate myself. No matter what the reason is, the end result was that I am a son who has no ability to protect his parents. However, this emotion isn¡¯t anger, but self-me.¡±

    Everyone was quiet for a moment, until Shao Ling looked at Mu Yiran and said, ¡°Luo Bu is a person who hardly produces anger, so he survived the illusion more easily than the rest of usst night.¡±

    ¡°In other words,¡± Qin Ci said, ¡°Among the seven emotions of human beings, the emotion mostly likely to kill us is the one that has a stronger grip on us. Otherwise, we have a chance of survival.¡±

    ¡°So the only way to survive is not to have the seven emotions and six desires?¡± Zhu Haowen said with a slight irony. ¡°That is probably something that only Buddhist monks can do.¡±

    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that we mustpletely eliminate our seven emotions and six desires,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°It may only be necessary to achieve a level like Luo Bu. He did notck anger, but this anger was shallow. If a person is very indifferent in these seven basic emotions, then this can be regarded as having attained detachment and impassivity. Therefore, if the illusion is screening us this way, then the best mentality to have is one that is good, or better yet, one that is exceedingly good.¡±

    ¡°Screening?¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes lit up, and he met Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re being screened! Isn¡¯t this painting about Xu Fu taking virgins and going out to sea to find the Ind of Immortals? Not all mortals can see what they want to see. If they want to see the immortals, they must be different from ordinary people, and so they must be tested, right? Don¡¯t immortals have to abandon the seven emotions and six desires of mortals before they can be immortal? Therefore, to reach immortality, one must go through manyyers of trials, and so the illusions encountered by this ship at sea must be the trials of the immortals.¡±

    ¡°This is very possible,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°This ship probably isn¡¯t the one with Xu Fu in it,¡±

    ¡°At that time, ording to records, Xu Fu took two to three thousand boys and girls, plus eight hundred crossbow soldiers, and no hundreds of technicians. Even with a conservative number, there must be at least five thousand people. This meant that several or even hundreds of ships had formed a huge fleet for this sea voyage.¡±.

    ¡°The navigating technology at the time was limited. And things beyond their control can happen at sea. As a result, not all ships can eventually reach the end goal.¡±

    ¡°There is no conclusion as to where Xu Fu¡¯s ship finallynded. Some said he reached Japan, some said he reached the Korean penins, and some said he reached the Americas. The mostmon view is that he reached Japan.¡±

    ¡°However, in view of the fact that ancient arrows and other cultural relics inscribed in seal script were also unearthed near San Francisco, America, we may think that this fleet of ships was once disced on the endless and dangerous sea, and finally went in different directions.¡±

    ¡°So there may be such a ship, like this one, that found the right path by ident, entering the route to the Ind of Immortals, and thus epting the trials set by these ¡®immortals¡¯.¡±

    After saying this, Mu Yiran suddenly fell into thinking, and Shao Ling took his words and said at the end, ¡°So this trial is based on humans¡¯ seven emotions. Those who are irritable and easy to hate, easy to be happy and easy to sorrow, are easy to fall into love and desire, such people do not have a rtionship with immortals, as they are too weighed down for immortality. They are screened and eliminated in the trial of the seven nights, and the remaining talents are ultimately qualified to be immortals.¡±

    ¡°Just like what the Taoists often say, ¡®One¡¯s nature makes up seven points, and one¡¯s fate makes up three points.¡¯ The cultivation of one temperament is very important to cultivating Taoism and immortality. If there is no cultivation foundation, it would be very difficult for this person to undertake any major events, while increasing the danger to his life.¡±

    ¡°So, embodied in this painting is the story of the eastern crossing in search of the Ind of Immortals, while at the same time, people with unstable seven emotions, or nature, would have no chance of seeing these immortals.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, if we don¡¯t want to die in the trials of the next few nights, we must try our best to be calm and not allow emotions to influence our actions and thoughts.¡±

    ¡°Unexpectedly, we ran into the painting to cultivate immortality.¡± Wei Dong was a little bit dumbfounded, and looked at Luo Bu beside him. ¡°So, I think Radish is most likely tost until the end.¡±

    Luo Bu said, ¡°¡­Brother, are youplimenting me? Why can¡¯t I be happy at all?¡±

    ¡°No, Luo Bu is timid, and ismitted to ¡®fear¡¯.¡± Shao Ling looked at Luo Bu, ¡°I want to ask Mr. Luo, what is the greatest fear in your heart?¡±

    Luo Bu thought for a while, and shivered. ¡°I am most afraid of Sadako and Kayako. If the illusion makes a ghost like thise after me, even if I know it¡¯s just an illusion, I would still be so scared that I will run away anyway¡­.I think I might not be able to survive the night of fear¡­¡±

    There was a tremor in his voice, and his eyes were wet.

    ¡°So I think what we need to do most now is to find a way to ovee our most vulnerable emotions,¡± Shao Ling looked at everyone grimly. ¡°Although psychological problems take a long time to slowly adjust, there is one method that may work when pressed for time. I think we can try it.¡±

    ¡°What method?¡± Luo Bu asked hurriedly.

    As everyone watched, Shao Ling replied word by word, ¡°Crash therapy.¡±

 Chapter 206: It Takes Courage To Face Yourself

    <h4>Chapter 206: It Takes Courage To Face Yourself</h4>

    ¡°We must face our biggest weakness head-on, so as to ovee the avoidance and fear of it, and therefore strengthen our mind,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°I believe there are two ways to improve. One is the crash therapy that I had just mentioned, and the other is to thoroughly analyze yourself, talk it out with someone else, and thus ovee the avoidance and shame of it. If you have no objections, you can choose any of these two methods. The rest of us will help you.¡±

    ¡°Then I pick crash therapy¡­¡± Luo Bu looked at Shao Ling hesitantly. ¡°Brother Shao, how are you going to treat me?¡±

    ¡°Of course, by making you copse first and then rebuilding you up.¡± Wei Dong patted him on the shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s what it means. For example, you¡¯re afraid of Sadako and Kayako, right? Then we¡¯ll pretend to be this type of ghost and keep on scaring you. When you¡¯re numbed to the terror, you won¡¯t be scared anymore when you encounter them in an illusion. Got it?¡±

    Luo Bu cried, ¡°I was almost scared to death just hearing you talk about it. Is this really possible, brother?¡±

    It might be that he thought Wei Dong was slightly less reliable, because he looked at Shao Ling when he asked this. Shao Ling nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Luo Bu began to tremble. ¡°There¡¯s nothing on this boat. How would you pretend to be ghosts?¡±

    ¡°There should be something, so don¡¯t worry about it and just wait,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°What about you? What do you say?¡± Shao Ling looked at the others.

    Everyone looked down, thinking to themselves. It was Fang Fei who spoke first, ¡°I might lose in the emotion of sorrow. Although I like taking risks and challenging my own limits, and I¡¯m not afraid of death, I am a pessimist.¡±

    Fang Fei paused, staring at her cross-legged knees, as if organizing the words to analyze herself.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m overly pessimistic, I¡¯m always taking risks. I used a life full of excitement to prevent myself from falling into depression, but I still dare not admit that my risk-taking may just be a way of pursuing death.¡±

    ¡°There are many things that made me feel sad and depressed. If the illusion puts these things together and shows them to me, I may copse in an instant. Plus¡­Yu Long¡¯s death. To be honest, my mood is incredibly down right now.¡±

    ¡°I can understand how you feel,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Because I have experienced this situation before, where all kinds of counseling and enlightenment would have no effect at all. Instead, they only increased the self-abuse and the feelings of frustration.¡±

    ¡°But, you¡¯re a really brave person. Many people in this same situation would be unwilling or wouldck the courage to speak out about their own psychology. They avoid facing the cruelty of life and also avoid epting their ipetent failures. They can only drop that broken jar.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re different. You are the bravest woman I have ever seen. Although you¡¯re pessimistic, it¡¯s because life is too fucking boring. It¡¯s not your fault. I don¡¯t think you need anyone to help you with your mental construction. Do whatever you want to do. You haven¡¯t lost to death yet.¡±

    After these words, everyone became quiet for a long time.

    Qin Ci felt that Ke Xun was truly worthy and deserving of being a leader.

    He neither filled people with chicken soup pleasantries nor spoke exaggerated and beautiful words. Even so, he could let a pessimist feel the warmth of his words and the strength he exuded.

    This was clear from the smile that came to Fang Fei¡¯s face after hearing his words.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Fang Fei said. ¡°You turned my frustrated bravery into free and easy bravery. It¡¯s very helpful. Thank you.¡±

    Shao Ling couldn¡¯t help but nced at Ke Xun a few more times. Ke Xun looked back at him, raised his lips, and smiled. ¡°Although I also have an emotional Achilles heel, I am reluctant to say it. You all continue.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°I think my Achilles heel may be desire¡­¡±

    Luo Bu looked at him in surprise. ¡°But you don¡¯t look like an overly-indulgent person, Brother Dong.¡±

    ¡°¡­You idiot.¡± Wei Dong pped his head. ¡°I¡¯m talking about a desire for things that are out of reach, such as money, houses, and food. I seem to be particrly eager for these¡­.¡±

    Ke Xun shook his head. ¡°A lot of people are eager to make their lives better. Butpared to living with nothing and dying with everything, which is more tempting?¡±

    ¡°¡­Continue living. I¡¯m afraid of death,¡± Wei Dong answered.

    ¡°So, think about it and recognize this in yourself,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong re-examined himself with an ¡°Oh.,¡± and so Shao Ling¡¯s gaze fell on Qin Ci.

    Qin Ci smiled. ¡°As a doctor who is ustomed to seeing patients dying and in pain, I have gradually be numb to death, sorrow, and fear. The work intensity of doctors is very high, and overtime ismon. Therefore, there is no time to want anything. A doctor¡¯s job requires a normal mind. I dare not say that I meet the conditions to pass the screening, but at this moment, I¡¯m not certain where my emotional weakness lies. I¡¯m afraid I will know only when ites.¡±

    ¡°Brother Qin is very calm. Maybe he¡¯ll be an immortal in the end,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°Haowen¡¯er is like this too, right?¡±

    Zhu Haowen looked down and said lightly, ¡°I do have an emotional weakness, but I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡±

    Shao Ling smiled and did not pressure them. It was clear that, although this group of people had different personalities, they were all people with perseverance. Well¡­maybe not that Wei Dong¡­No, he also had perseverance, one that insisted on trusting his friendspletely.

    This was hard toe by.

    ¡°So, after all this discussion, only I will be treated alone with crash therapy?¡± Luo Bu asked.

    After this, there was nothing else to do but wait.

    Fang Fei silently memorized the marks set by Mu Yiran. Meanwhile, Mu Yiran fell into contemtion about the character ¡°chicken¡± that Xue Ge had left behind. Shao Ling, Qin Ci, and Zhu Haowen each moved to a separate corner, either closing their eyes or just sitting there. Thinking about it, it wasn¡¯t easy for Chen Xinai to survivest night¡¯s illusion. At this moment, it may be because of the dual effects of sorrow and mental tension that cause her toy slumped in the corner, asleep. And finally, Ke Xun and Wei Dong were using crash therapy to help Luo Bu ovee his fear.

    Ke Xun was the one to n Luo Bu¡¯s ¡°treatment.¡±

    In Wei Dong¡¯s words: Ke Er, this kid from small torge, was perfect for this.

    The n was actually very simple. He would force Luo Bu to walk around the lower cabin under the deck by himself. Meanwhile, Ke Xun and Wei Dong would wear white robes and surprise him during his walk, either by popping up at the dark cabin door, or crawling up to him or jump-scaring him.

    Luo Bu was very timid. He knew that the ones crawling on the ground were Ke Xun and Wei Dong, but he still felt terrified every time he saw them. He couldn¡¯t run away from Ke Xun, and everytime Ke Xun caught him, he would be forced to listen to him telling terrible jokes.

    Wei Dong was actually the one who did Ke Xun¡¯s ghostly make-up, with the paints found on the boat. Before Wei Dong became a graphic designer, he used to work in a small production team as a temporary worker, and so his ability to paint ghost makeup was even more terrifying than those seen on films.

    Therefore, a terrified Luo Bu was forced to listen to Ke Xun telling him bad jokes, including a few vulgar ones where the protagonist was reced with Sadako or Kayako. This thoroughly confused Luo Bu. After the fifth time, he began to look at Ke Xun with a grimace, and every time he saw the white robe on his body, he didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. This method had magically worked.

    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± Wei Dong squatted beside him. ¡°If you see a ghost in the illusion tonight, just close your eyes and remember the jokes that Ke¡¯er told you. Don¡¯t think about anything else. Don¡¯t worry about anything else.¡±

    ¡°But what if it¡¯s a different ghost? What about the old corpse uncle and the zombie in the mountain vige? All of these scares me,¡± Luo Bu said in anguish.

    ¡°All the illusions in the first three nights were unfolded in the dark,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°If this is a fixed feature of the illusion, then no matter what kind of ghost appears, they¡¯re all the same in the dark. Unless the illusion has improved and you can see, you don¡¯t have to be afraid. Have you just been practicing for nothing? Do you want to practice a few more times?¡±

    ¡°No, no, enough, enough. Brother, rest and save your energy to fight the illusion tonight.¡± Luo Bu shook his hands again and again. Then he limply fell back to the ground.? ¡°Brothers, you¡¯re not afraid of anything?¡±

    ¡°What of?¡± Wei Dong sighed. ¡°I used to be almost like you, timid and cowardly, but since I came across the unfortunate incident of entering paintings, let alone other things, I have be more and more courageous. Ghosts can¡¯t scare me anymore. In order for me to be scared, it would have to be an extraordinary ghost¡­ what else can it do anyway? Encountering it just means death. The only differences are the ways in which I die. At the end of the day, I just hope for a happy death, one that doesn¡¯t involve a lot of suffering.¡±

    Ke Xun patted him on the shoulder, and said, ¡°It¡¯ll be over one day. We have already marked the coordinates of all the art galleries that we¡¯ve been to. You can basically see that they are two letters. These clues meant that the game has a beginning and an end. Although I don¡¯t know how many more paintings we have to go through, there will definitely be an end. Perseverance is victory.¡±

    ¡°All right, I¡¯ll persevere.¡± Wei Dong took a deep breath and looked at Luo Bu. ¡°You must also persevere. No matter how terrible a ghost is, it¡¯s not as terrible as death itself. Not to mention the ghost in this painting is only just an illusion. As long as you¡¯re not deceived, you won¡¯t be scared and the ghost won¡¯t be able to kill you. Which option will you choose? Think about it .¡±

    Luo Bu nodded bitterly.

    By the time they finally returned to the deck, the sky was getting dark, and death was stepping closer to the lone ship on the vast sea.

    Fang Fei sat alone on the side of the ship, silently looking at the thick, inky sea below her feet.

    ¡°Tell me, where are the corpses of those who have died?¡± Wei Dong asked Ke Xun. ¡°Even if they fell into the sea, they should have floated up a long time ago already. But why don¡¯t we see them at all? Could there be human-eating sea monsters in the sea?¡±

    Ke Xun raised his eyebrows, as if he¡¯d been reminded of something. He found the crossbow that everyone had used on the first day from the room next door, strode to Fang Fei¡¯s side, and handed it to her, telling her, ¡°After lighting the rhino horn, no matter what you see, it will no longer be an illusion. You may use this bow if you need to.¡±

    ¡°What if I identally shoot you?¡± Fang Fei remembered that the illusion would cause confusion and chaos

    ¡°If you see something very tall, you squat down and shoot it in the head.¡± Ke Xun squatted to demonstrate to Fang Fei. ¡°Look, at such an oblique angle, even if one of us is nearby, we won¡¯t easily get hit. If the thing is really a chicken, and it¡¯s only the size of a chicken, you stand up straight and shoot downward, and you won¡¯t be able to hit us.

    The high and low positions can be changed, so if we do get hit, it¡¯s our bad luck that¡¯s to be med. But you still have to try to hit it with this arrow, since it¡¯s important as to whether we can break this game. Do you remember what they said about Emperor Qin Shihuang using an arrow to shoot a shark? I think this arrow must be useful, so please feel at ease to use it.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Fang Fei didn¡¯t hesitate anymore. She took the crossbow and saw that Ke Xun had also taken two mobile phones out from his bag and was handing them over.

    ¡°Just in case,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°If the crossbow doesn¡¯t work well or doesn¡¯t work at all, you can blow up the phone.¡±

 Chapter 207: Ke Xunâ€™s Heart-Wrenching Pain

    <h4>Chapter 207: Ke Xun¡¯s Heart-Wrenching Pain</h4>

    In fact, as long as your willpower was strong enough, no matter how enchanting the illusion was, if you firmly believe that it was only an illusion, you should be able to retreat from it and save your life.

    At least Ke Xun thought so.

    After the first night, when the illusion nearly seeded in tricking him, he had spent the following nights with barely any danger.

    Their experiences in previous paintings had umted into a state where, as Wei Dong had said, the current members of the ¡°Entering the Painting¡± group had very few ghosts that could scare them and make them panic.

    Usually, when they chat on Wechat, they would often mention that Ke Xun had developed the fastest. He had grown from that poor and messy youth of his first painting to the mature, calm, reliable person that he was now, even taking on the role of the team¡¯s protector.

    Wei Dong, who was most familiar with him, said that he had be more and more indestructible, whether it was in spirit and belief, or thoughts and emotion.

    Ke Xun himself had thought so too.

    This recognitionsted until darkness fell.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran sat in the corner of the central hall. The moment the darkness invaded, Mu Yiran¡¯s hand disappeared from his grasp.

    It was still the same deep, empty darkness, and only the sound of the viscous sea water could be heard.

    He waited quietly for the illusion to appear, trying to guess what kind of plot the despicable thing behind the scene would make up to confuse him.

    The surging sound of the sea gradually became clearer, as if it was directly in front of him, right at his feet. The sense of quiet gradually disappeared. The sea in front of him seemed to have a shore, and there seemed to be trees on that shore. There were even the sounds of cars whizzing past.

    A biting cold suddenly swept over him, surrounding him in all directions. In an instant, the temperature seemed to have dropped below zero, causing Ke Xun¡¯s skin to rise in goosebumps.

    The peculiar breath of midwinter came to his nose, the wind sharp and stinging, scraping at his inside, and letting the chill prate his heart from the inside out.

    He shivered slightly from the cold and suddenly shrank into himself.

    This was a winter scene.

    Although there was still a thick darkness in front of him, without any images, he could feel that it was winter. The weather was very cold, possibly the coldest he had ever experienced.

    The water in front of him made a gurgling sound, like ripples hardened by the cold that were constantly colliding into each other.

    And within the sound of the gurgling water, there was also the sound of ice crashing. The smashed ice fragments flew away, making the invisible scene more textured.

    Ke Xun opened his eyes wide and looked into the emptiness in front of him.

    In the darkness, his body trembled slightly.

    ¡°Xiao Xun.¡±

    It was an iparably familiar voice, as if he¡¯d just heard it yesterday. It was so close.

    His heart shunk sharply, and his body began to visibly shake. It was unknown whether this was due to the cold or something else altogether.

    ¡°Xiao Xun¡­Xiao Xun, are you doing okay by yourself?¡±

    Ke Xun opened his mouth and tried to say something, but nothing came out. He only felt a torn, dry pain in his throat.

    ¡°Xiao Xun¡­Son, do you miss dad?¡± asked that extremely familiar voice.

    ¡°¡­Fuck¡­Fuck!¡ª¡ªFuck!¡± After several tries, Ke Xun was finally able to let out these hoarse, crackling sounds from within his dry throat.

    That disgusting thing behind the scenes had created the illusion of a dead person, unafraid ofpletely being seen through by him. Was this still even an attempt at bewitching him? No, this wasn¡¯t bewitchment. This was rampant, malicious provocation!

    It was a stark deration. As if saying, even if you knew that this was only an illusion, you still couldn¡¯t escape. You would still die in this illusion! Because this was an obsession you could never let go of, a scar that could never heal, a painful nightmare you could never be rid of!

    Ke Xun had never been so angry before in his life. But this anger was not like a raging fire. It was like a boundless ocean that swallowed himpletely, and the weight of it was suffocating.

    Under this suffocating ocean of anger, there was an endless sorrow, the sting of which had umted into a deep, hidden well.

    During the darkest and most depressing period of Ke Xun¡¯s life, he always wanted to look at his dearest people even more. Even if it was just a nce, no, even if he could only hear their voice. Just one sentence. One word. One sound. One light cough¡­

    God knew how much he wanted these.

    And now, in front of him, was the one thing he was most eager for, but that had been unachievable. Suddenly, this ¡°truth¡±, even if it was just an illusion, this endless longing hidden deep within his heart, suppressed and contained, came gushing out frantically, spewing like volcanicva.

    The raging waves on the sea, the ck abyss underneath, the volcano at the bottom of the seabed.

    Anger, sadness, longing.

    These suppressed himyer byyer, making him unable to move.

    ¡°Xiao Xun¡­Do you miss dad? Dad misses you very much. I¡¯ve been so worried about you. I was worried that you wouldn¡¯t be able to take good care of yourself, whether you could eat or dress well all alone.¡±

    ¡°Go away, go away!¡± Ke Xun screamed. ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill you! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    ¡°Xiao Xun, don¡¯t you want to talk to dad? This may be¡­thest time we¡­can have the chance to talk¡­Xiao Xun, don¡¯t you¡­don¡¯t you want to listen to my voice?¡±

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Ke Xun grabbed his hair fiercely with both hands and buried his face between his arms.

    He wanted to hear, he wanted to hear. Even though it was just an illusion, he still wanted to hear the voice he wanted to hear most.

    He missed this voice so much that every time he remembered it, his heart ached. This pain had not diminished with the passage of time, and the death of his loved one was like a wound that could never heal.

    ¡°Xiao Xun¡­Dad is sorry for leaving you all alone in this world. It¡¯s my fault for leaving you. I¡¯m not a qualified father. I hope¡­I hope you will have a better father, one that will take care of you for me, and protect you forever¡­¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Ke Xun opened his palms, covered his eyes, and squeezed out a low and miserable voice from under his palms.

    Illusion, this was just an illusion. It was fake, of course it was fake¡­ But he still wanted to continue to listen to his ¡°dad¡± talk to him, even if every sentence and every word he said made him feel more disheartened, more pained.

    ¡°Xiao Xun¡­I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t apany you as you grow up, and that I can no longer watch as you grow from a handsome youth into an indomitable, mature, and responsible man. I regret that I can¡¯t watch you as you start your career. And I can¡¯t watch you find someone you like, marry her, start a family, and have a child who is as cute as you were when you were a kid¡­I can no longer protect you, can no longer apany you through most of your life¡­Xiao Xun¡­I¡¯m so sorry, I made you suffer¡­¡±

    ¡°No¡­no¡­¡± Ke Xun murmured, choking in his desperately suppressed voice.

    ¡°Xiao Xun, do you miss dad?¡±

    Of course. How could he not? He missed him when he was eating and all that apanied him was an empty table, when he stood in front of the window at night and looked out at the city from the floor-to-ceiling window, when he fell asleep at night, when he opened his eyes in the morning. He missed him when it rained, when it snowed, when he was walking down the street. He missed the father he could no longer see.

    ¡°Xiao Xun, do you miss dad?¡­ Son, when I was alive, what I loved hearing the most was hearing you call me dad¡­Do you love me?¡­Xiao Xun, do you want me? Do you miss me?¡±

    Ke Xun covered his eyes, making a thick nasal sound that mixed with his heavy breathing.

    He panted for a long time, and the voice made by the illusion stopped talking, as if quietly waiting for him.

    Until he finally squeezed out from his throat a choked word, ¡°¡­.Missed¡­¡±

    Suddenly, a biting cold wind rushed toward his face, almost piercing the skin. The north wind sounded in the darkness, and followed it came the sound of the rushing river not far from him. There was a sudden st of startled screaming, ¡°Someone had fallen into the water. Come! Help! Someone has fallen into the water!¡±

    ¡°¨CI¡¯ll save him!¡± A familiar voice shouted in front of him, followed by the sound of footsteps rushing into the distance.

    Ke Xun¡¯s body froze suddenly, and then began to tremble uncontrobly.

    There was the crash of someone jumping into the water, struggling to swim. These sounds mixed into the sound of the rushing water and the crashing ice shards on the water surface, sandwiching the scream of the bystanders. Every sound reached Ke Xun¡¯s so clearly, even the heavy breathing of that most familiar voice.

    ¡°Someone jumped in¨C¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s swimming toward the drowning man!¡±

    ¡°He caught the drowning man! He caught the drowning man!¡±

    ¡°No way! His clothes were too heavy! He didn¡¯t even take off his jacket when he jumped into the water. The river¡¯s too cold¨CHe¡¯s starting to struggle!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s almost there. Almost to shore. Work hard!¡±

    ¡°Oh no! No¨CHe¡¯s out of strength¨CHe¡¯s starting to sink¨C¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s sinking! He¡¯s sinking!¡±

    ¡°The drowning person was saved!¡±

    ¡°But the rescuer couldn¡¯t hold on! He couldn¡¯t hold on¡­The rescuer¡­The rescuer is dead¡­¡±

    Ke Xun was fighting in the cold, his entire body shaking, choking soundsing out of his throat.

    A feeling of sinking into deep water flooded him from all directions. He felt the chill to his bones, and water suffocated him, soaking into his pores and his internal organs.

    Ke Xun gasped subconsciously, and in the gurgling underwater, he suddenly heard the familiar voice again, ¡°Xiao Xun¡­I¡¯m in so much pain¡­Can you feel it, Xiao Xun? I¡¯m in the water, and it¡¯s cold¡­It¡¯s cold¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªShut up!¡ªShut up!¡± Ke Xun tried to shout over that voice, but to no avail. That voice seemed to be out of track with his own voice, and it passed into his ears, undisturbed.

    He mmed his hands over his ears, but the sound prated his hands and pierced his ears. He was helpless to do anything. Everything was just an illusion, and he could endure the sound and the physical torture. He could endure it. But the most painful thing, the one thing he could not bear, was the heart-wrenching pain it wrought.

 Chapter 208: âˆš

    <h4>Chapter 208: ¡Ì</h4>

    It was unclear how much time had passed. The sounds in his ears and the sensation of drowning gradually disappeared, and Ke Xun fell to the ground in exhaustion, panting.

    ¡°Someone has fallen into the water. Help! Someone has fallen into the water!¡±

    Suddenly, a loud cry sted into the icy endless darkness, disturbing the sound of water, of ice crashing, and of people yelling.

    ¡°¡ªHelp!¡± The familiar voice in front of him shouted again, and there came the sound of footsteps rushing into the distance.

    Ke Xun was startled for a moment, followed by infinite, exponentially expanding and overpouring amount of anger, pain, torture, and sadness¡ª

    ¡°The rescuer! The rescuer is sinking! He¡¯s sinking!¡±

    ¡°The rescuer can¡¯t make it! He can¡¯t make it¡­The rescuer¡­The rescuer is dead¡­¡±

    ¡°Xiao Xun¡­ Dad is so ufortable¡­ The water is choking up my lungs and it hurts¡­Do you remember what it was like when you saw me being fished out of the water? There was sludge in my nose, in my mouth, in my ears¡­How miserable I looked¡­When I was struggling in the water, I wished someone could have saved me¡­But no¡­I was so lonely.¡±

    Ke Xun clutched his head desperately, hoarse cries leaking from his mouth, unable to be suppressed.

    He never wanted to think about thest time he¡¯d seen his father. His father was lying on the icy, muddy ground by the river, his expression still locked in pain. His eyes were half-opened, his eyes nk. He would never again see the familiar world, never again see his family, and never again see the silly son lying beside him, crying so hard.

    This was a memory that he did not want to recall nor touch, but now, the cruel and vicious illusion kept repeating, repeating, and repeating that memory again and again, intertwined with those from his father. The perspective shifted back and forth, alternating between his and his father¡¯s points of view. Thus, their most painful memories alternatively pressed on Ke Xun¡¯s body, torturing him cruelly and severely.

    That memory was of Ke Xun¡¯s most pain day and night, making him suffer from mild depression and had, at one point, even gave him thoughts of suicide.

    It had taken a long time and had exhausted all his willpower for him to finally be able to walk out of the darkness and return to the light.

    But this illusion was now reying his most painful moment, trying to drag him back into the abyss of depression, forcing him to copse once more to the point of no salvation.

    Ke Xun fell to the ground, curling up tightly. The sound of his beloved¡¯s death was grounded into his soul, over and over again.

    Until Ke Xun produced an unbidden thought in his mourning beast-like cry: Since the rest of his life is so painful, why bother to live alone?

    ¡°Xiao Xun¡­Come with me. You¡¯ll never feel so painful ever agaIn¡­Son, Dad¡¯s good boy¡­Come,e. Just stretch out your hand, and you¡¯ll be free¡­Come¡­Just move a little¡­¡±

    Ke Xun wearily loosened his arms around his body, and slowly stretched out his hands into the void.

    He was holding the phone in his hand, and his fingertips inadvertently brushed against the slight convex pattern on the back of the phone case. It was a string of English that read:

    Corgi and Mooney.

    ¡­

    The morning light of dawn spilled into the central hall, and Mu Yiran opened his eyes onto the scene of his fallenpanions.

    Last night¡¯s illusion was based on the theme of ¡°sorrow.¡± Ifpared with the previous nights, the psychological and spiritual impact of this night¡¯s illusion on Mu Yiran was probably the smallest. In the second half of the night, he even took a nap¡ªnot even the phantom could wake him up.

    Before entering the painting, Mu Yiran¡¯s life could be said to be rtively lucky. He had aplete and normal family. His family was open-minded and understanding, and so his life was peaceful and smooth. Even when he entered the art business, his family weren¡¯t upset or dramatic about it.

    Therefore, emotions like ¡°sorrow¡± rarely appeared in his past life, and naturally it did not cause much damage.

    .

    But apparently his friends were not as lucky as him; they were copsed on the ground, their faces weighed with exhaustion and depression.

    Grief was no greater than death. It could be seen that ¡°grief¡± was more likely to destroy a person¡¯s spirit than the previous emotions.

    Chen Xinai¡¯s ¡°disappearance¡± confirmed this point.

    The other people sat up one after another, and gradually got rid ofst night¡¯s emotional impact, with the gratitude of the rest of their lives on their faces. Shao Ling got up and opened the door to let the humid sea breeze in. Meanwhile, Qin Ci messaged his forehead. For him, who had lost his lover,st night was probably not any better.

    Zhu Haowen calmly counted the number of people in the room, while Wei Dong and Luo Ge each shrank their heads and wiped away the tears on their faces with their sleeves.

    Ke Xun was curled up in the corner, holding his head tightly in his arms, motionless.

    Mu Yiran strode over. He crouched beside him, put a hand on his shoulder, and whispered, ¡°Ke Xun?¡±

    Ke Xun quickly raised his head to look at him, azy smile on his face. ¡°Good morning.¡±

    His voice was extremely hoarse.

    Mu Yiran looked at his bloodshot eyes and the bags under his eyes, then he stretched out his arms and hugged him. Ke Xun silently allowed himself to be held by him.

    Until Shao Ling walked over and solemnly said, ¡°Fang Fei¡­is gone.¡±

    Ke Xun was about to sit upright when he heard this. Mu Yiran stroked the back of his head before letting go to take the scroll of bamboo slips from Shao Ling. He unrolled it and both he and Ke Xun looked at the contents together.

    ¡°This is the message that Fang Fei left,¡± Shao Ling said, his tone a little strange. ¡°It might be beyond your expectations.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze fell on the bamboo slip and written on it was one of the signs that he had gone over with Fang Fei.

    Because the meaning of this symbol was too unexpected, in order to prevent others from doubting her uracy, she deliberately wrote this symbol in the correct standard, ensuring that no other meaning could be construed from it.

    This symbol was a standard ¡°¡Ì¡±.

    It meant that, after lighting the rhino hornst night, what Fang Fei saw was a real chicken.

    ¡°¡­Why?¡± said Qin Ci, who also came over to look at the bamboo slips. He couldn¡¯t understand it at all.

    Why would a chicken appear on a lone boat in the vast ocean? Even the appearance of a duck would be more reasonable than that of a chicken.

    Even in the world of the painting, the plot setting must always conform tomon sense and logic, unless the theme of the painting itself was absurd and bizarre.

    What¡¯s more, since Burning Rhinoceros at Sea was an ancient painting that could not be more serious, it seemed unlikely that such an unconventional error would ur.

    ¡°Could it be that they brought live chickens on board when they went to sea?¡± Wei Dong guessed.

    ¡°It makes sense,¡± Luo Bu said. ¡°If you take raw or cooked meat on a long sea voyage, they would end up getting spoiled. It¡¯s better to bring live chicken and live ducks, and you can raise them while sailing.¡±

    ¡°But we haven¡¯t seen other live poultry or animals on this ship,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°This chicken could only be seen after lighting the rhino horn, which proves that it¡¯s definitely not an ordinary chicken.¡±

    ¡°Where did ite from? It flew over from the shore?¡± Wei Dong thought it was too funny. ¡°What chicken could fly so far? The painter is simply too strange.¡±

    ¡°No matter how bizarre and unbelieve the clues are,¡± Shao Ling said, ¡°since it¡¯s clear that it¡¯s a ¡®chicken¡¯, we can only consider it from this perspective. Should we take a break or focus on talking about clues?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s rest first,¡± Mu Yiran said, one hand on Ke Xun¡¯s back.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Shao Ling nodded. ¡°Last night was too sorrowful.¡±

    Everyone was about to get up and move around separately, when Ke Xun suddenly said, ¡°Where is Fang Fei¡¯s bow and arrow?¡±

    ¡°Damn¨CWhat¡¯s wrong with your throat?!¡± Wei Dong eximed, shocked when he heard the sound of Ke Xun¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s changing due to puberty,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Brother, I have throat-soothing chewing gum here¡­¡± Luo Bu said, searching himself.

    Ke Xun momentarily ignored him and went out with Mu Yiran. They saw Fang Fei¡¯s bow on the deck, with several arrows scattered beside it.

    ¡°There¡¯s one less arrow,¡± Ke Xun said hoarsely. ¡°There are only four on the ground. Yesterday, I gave her five.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s over there.¡± Mu Yiran pointed to the front of the deck. The fifth arrow was nailed to the side of the ship¡¯s railing, the tip embedding a long feather into the wood.

    They quickly walked over, and Ke Xun pulled the arrow from the wood and showed everyone the feather.

    ¡°Really, what an amazing girl,¡± Qin Ci said softly.

    It was quite obvious that after seeing the weird chickenst night, Fang Fei not only didn¡¯t flinch from fear, but even dared to attack it with an arrow.

    Regrettably, she failed to shoot the chicken¡¯s body and only got one of its feathers.

    ¡°This is the chicken¡¯s feather?¡± Wei Dongpared the length of the feather with his hand. ¡°What chicken feather can grow so long?!¡±

    ¡°A pheasant, or maybe some kind of bird species,¡± Shao Ling said.

    Even if it was a pheasant, it was still unbelievably strange that such a creature would appear at sea. Everyone looked at each other, while Mu Yiran looked thoughtfully at the long feather in Ke Xun¡¯s hand.

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t disturb him, and simply turned to look out at the endless sea beside him.

    In the early morning, the sea was full of moisture, and a cloud of gray mist was evaporating in the distance, making the world seem illusory.

    Ke Xun was in a trance, when he heard Luo Bu¡¯s voice ringing beside him. ¡°What the¡­How did my throat-soothing gum be like this? What the fuck is this?¡±

    Turning his head to look, he saw that Luo Bu was holding several brown-yellow things that resembled the stems of dried fruit flowers.

    ¡°It has degraded.¡± Wei Dong also nced over. ¡°If the things outside are brought into the painting, and if the painting has an ancient setting, they will degenerate into something that would fit with the setting. One time, when I entered a painting, I packed chocte, but the chocte had degraded into some kind of cheese because it didn¡¯t fit with the time period and the social background¡­¡±

    ¡°Chewing gum should also be sugar when it degrades.¡± Luo But looked at the ugly color in his hand. ¡°What the fuck are these things?¡±

    Qin Ci walked over and looked at it a few times. He picked up one of them and brought it closer to his eyes. He smelled it and said, ¡°This is dried lc. Now wonder. Lcs were used by the ancients to remove bad breath, so it could be considered as a kind of ancient chewing gum. It¡¯s not surprising that your chewing gun would degrade into this kind of thing.¡±

    ¡°It turns out that this is a degraded version of chewing gum.¡± Luo Bu squeezed the dried lc and threw it into his mouth before Qin Ci could stop him. ¡°Pei! So unptable! Too spicy and tongue-piercing.¡± Luo Bu wrinkled his face and spat out the flower. ¡°It¡¯s better to have something that has evolved for thousands of years¡­¡±

    ¡°Evolution, millennia¡­¡± Mu Yiran suddenly said. Raising his gaze, he looked at everyone and said, ¡°I think I know what that chicken is.¡±

 Chapter 209: Big Boss Ke Xun

    <h4>Chapter 209: Big Boss Ke Xun</h4>

    ¡°The ssic of Rites says ¡®Pheasants enter the flood as a mirage¡¯, and In Search of the Supernatural mentions this phrase ¡®The thousand-year-old pheasant enters the sea as a mirage.¡± Mu Yiran picked up the long feather. ¡°The pheasant lived for a thousand years and was able to enter the sea and turn into a mirage. We¡¯ve all heard of the term mirage. However, the ancients had a different interpretation of the term mirage.¡±

    ¡°ssic of Mountain and Sea interpreted a mirage as a m-like sea monster, but The Materia Medica interpreted it as a dragon. It was said to look like a serpent with dragon-like horns and a red mane. The scales underneath its waist were inverted, and when it ate, it would swallow its food whole. It can blow entire city walls apart with its breath, and it would often appear during rainstorms. It was called a sea monster, and also known as a mirage.¡±

    ¡°The ancients believed that the sea monster was the result of a mirage, and the ce where it appeared in the misty clouds was considered the ce where the gods lived. This resulted in a historical event where Emperor Qin Shihuang sent people out to sea to search for the medicine of the gods.¡±

    ¡°So from this perspective, everything we have experienced so far made sense. This ship was sent out by Emperor Qin Shihuang to search for the Ind of Immortals. During the sea voyage, we encountered the optical phenomenon of a mirage. However, in the ancients¨Cor in the painter¡¯s cognition, the mirage is a sea monster, and the world in the painting is created ording to the painter¡¯s will and cognition, so what we encountered wouldn¡¯t be an ordinary optical phenomenon, but illusions transformed by the mirage.¡±

    ¡°The illusion we experience every night should be the so-called mirage. The thousand-year-old pheasant enters the sea as a mirage. In the sea, it is a mirage, but onnd or on deck, the image it presents is a pheasant.¡±

    ¡°In the story of Burning Rhinoceros At Bull Islet, the sea demons are invisible to the naked eye. Although they can be seen after burning the rhino horn, the demons would alsoe out to try to destroy the burning rhino.¡±

    ¡°Burning rhinoceros is an act of sabotaging the barrier between yin and yang, and so it must be punished by the demons, just like what happened to Wen Qiao in the story. So every night, when we burn a rhino horn, at least one person will die.¡±

    ¡°If the rhino horn is not burnts, maybe someone will die from the illusion created by the mirage, or maybe no will die that night. However, we wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the fate of voting someone to death the next day, and we also might not be able to find the signature.¡±

    ¡°So, for the moment, we still need to light a rhino horn tonight to look for the signature. However, I think this situation may not be entirely mortal. Judging from Fang Fei¡¯s ability to shoot the pheasant¡¯s tail feathers, my guess is that the pheasant can be killed¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to burn the rhino horn tonight,¡± Ke Xun suddenly said. He looked at Mu Yiran calmly and added, ¡°I¡¯ll kill it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be impulsive!¡± Wei Dong said anxiously. ¡°Regardless of whether the pheasant can be killed or not, none of the people who lit the rhino horns survived. Who can guarantee that you can kill the pheasant, that you wouldn¡¯t die anyway? As long as you light the rhino horn, you will die. Big brother, please persuade him!¡±

    .

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun. He raised his hand to stroke Ke Xun¡¯s head and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be with you tonight.¡±

    Wei Dong eximed, ¡°¡­Is love making people blind?!¡±

    ¡°For the sake of insurance, we can still use mobile phones to ignite the rhino horn,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°You should also be mentally prepared in advance, because we¡¯re not sure what the consequences may be after shooting the pheasant. My suggestion is for everyone to stay together on the deck. The illusion can tear the barrier of space and distance, and so there¡¯s no difference between staying in the cabins and staying on deck. It doesn¡¯t make us any safer. However, Ke Xun and I will stay in the upper deck and shoot and kill the pheasant. If we can find the signature on time, with everyone on deck, we can leave the painting in time.¡±

    After hearing this, everyone nodded.

    ¡°Is it really a good thing to try to kill it?¡± Luo Ling looked at the boundless sea. ¡°What if it bes a giant m and can¡¯t be killed with an arrow?¡±

    ¡°Regarding the question of the mirage¡¯s body,¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°I¡¯m more inclined to say that it is a dragon. Even in Journey to the West, we are familiar with what the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, had said to the monk, Tang Seng. He said, ¡®The journey west will have a lot of monsters and demons. Even turning into pavilions and buildings to deceive people. Among the nine kinds of dragons, there is a famous mirage. When the mirage rises, it¡¯s like a building rippling like water. Here, a mirage is also a dragon.¡±

    ¡°We have said before that Emperor Qin Shihuang once shot a giant sea creature, thus starting Xu Fu¡¯s journey to the east. Shao Ling also mentioned that in Historical Records: The First Emperor of Qin, Emperor Qin Shihuang dreamed of the Sea God, and the interpretation of the dream was this: kill the evil dragon, and you will see the true god.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, the mirage in this painting is most likely in the form of a dragon, and it is imperative that we shoot it to find a breakthrough.¡±

    After these words, no one had any more objections. There was nothing to do for a while, so they all found a ce to rest and sleep.

    Mu Yiran went to the kitchen to boil some hot water for Ke Xun. Then he found a separate room and told him to lie down on the couch. He sat next to him, patting his back until he sank into slumber.

    Ke Xun slept until mid-afternoon. When he opened his eyes, Mu Yiran was gone. He went to the central hall and found everyone gathered there. Wei Dong said, ¡°There¡¯s food for you in the kitchen. Go eat first. Anyway, there¡¯s nothing much important to do here.¡±

    ¡°Who cooked?¡± Ke Xun asked, his voice still hoarse.

    ¡°Everyone.¡± Wei Dong¡¯s expression becameplicated. A group of big masters who didn¡¯t know how to cook got together, and one added a handful of firewood, and one threw in some vegetables. It was a messy, flustered way of cooking, but it smelled somewhat¡­

    Ke Xun went to the kitchen and saw that there was still some half-warm porridge left in the pot, which was a rotten mixture of lumps of meat and vegetables, looking very unappetizing.

    But Ke Xun didn¡¯t nitpick. He ate until his stomach was filled and then he returned to the central hall.

    There was really nothing for everyone to do. Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen were looking at the bamboo slips in the captain¡¯s room. Wei Dong and Luo Bu sat in a daze, while Mu Yiran and Shao Ling were discussing the possibilities where the signature might be.

    Ke Xun took the bow and arrow and returned to the deck, ready to practice some more. Mu Yiran also grabbed a bow and arrow and followed him to the deck.

    They practiced until it got dark, and then they arranged the mechanism to light the rhino horn with a mobile phone. Afterward, they both went to the front deck, so as to prevent identally injuring their teammates when they shot arrows into the dark. There, they stood at the ship¡¯s head, while everyone stayed at the back.

    Now, there was nothing to do but wait.

    As night fell, the fog in the sea became thicker and thicker. With thest glimmer of light, Mu Yiran turned his head to look at Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun¡¯s expression was extremely calm. From his face, there were no signs of any emotional fluctuations whatsoever, be it happiness, anger, sadness, or nervousness.

    ¡°Ke Xun,¡± Mu Yiran whispered, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll still remember that we¡¯re going to leave the painting together.¡±

    Ke Xun turned to face him then, and thest faint light in the sky vanished altogether as they looked into each other¡¯s eyes. In the darkness, Mu Yiran heard Ke Xun¡¯s voice, spoken with a slight smile, ¡°Of course, I remember. I will never again make my favorite person lonely and sad.¡±

    They did not hold each other¡¯s hands, but turned back to back, arrows nocked at the ready.

    Since they were going to leave the painting together, they must try their best tonight to get through the door.

    It was unknown how much time had passed. But the preset mechanism was activated, and the mobile phone¡¯s battery was detonated, igniting the rhino horn.

    Ke Xun calmly raised the bow and arrow in his hand.

    Although the light of the rhino horn was bright, the range it could reach was limited. Ke Xun stood beside the rhino horn, looking around vigntly, waiting for the appearance of the pheasant.

    The waves rushed in the darkness, the sound seeming dull and stagnant under the cover of dense fog. However, if you listened carefully, under the dull and thick sound of the waves, there seemed to be many small, strange noises.

    These sounds were densely packed, crowded, squeaky and noisy. They sounded like they were scraping bones with a dull file, making people¡¯s scalp tingle.

    These unbearably unpleasant sounds seemed to umte in the depths of the sea, but it seemed to be slowly surging from the depths and floating towards the ship.

    They got closer and closer, noisier and finer, until suddenly, they broke through the barrier of the sea. All the noises burst out in an instant, exploding upon the surface of the sea. The harsh sounds prated Ke Xun and Mu Yiran¡¯s eardrums and pierce directly into their brains.

    Ke Xun gritted his teeth. However, he did not cover his ears to block that nerve-wrenching sound, but steadily held the bow in his hand, motionless in ce.

    These noises resounded across the vast ocean surface, seemingly refracted by the water waves and bing infinitely amplified.

    There seemed to be no end to the noise, and it seemed to continuously pierce their ear drums and brain nerves. This went on for an unknown amount of time. If it was someone else, that person might have copsed long ago. However, Ke Xun simply held onto the bow and arrow, motionless.

    Suddenly, the sound came to an abrupt end, and there was an empty silence. After such a long period of noises, the silence was unusually abrupt, making one¡¯s chest felt heavy.

    The thick sea waves continued to crash and rolled slowly, adding to the sense of suffocation and making it more difficult to breathe.

    This painful and difficult feeling went on for a long period of time, and just when it felt as if their breastbone were about to be crushed by the oppression, they suddenly heard a familiar ¡°creak.¡±

    Ke Xun stared at the direction where the sound came from, into a darkness deeper than the night.

    Creak, creak, creak.

    The sound was not hurried, as ifing from a power with the superiority of resting at the top of the chain of life and death. There, it sneered with the scornful ridicule of something that could manipte life at will. It walked casually toward the side with the burning rhino horn.

    Creak, little by little, it came closer and closer.

    At the edge of the illumination casted by the burning light of the rhino horn, a sharp bird¡¯s w silently protruded from the darkness, falling into the ambiguity of light and shadow.

    Ke Xun held his breath and stared at it without blinking.

    This w fell on the intersection of darkness and light, and it didn¡¯t move for a long time. It seemed to be waiting for the nerves of the person who feared it to copse first, and it also seemed to be waiting for them to rx after a long period of high tension.

    Finally, it seemed to think that the time hade, and slowly, poked its head out of the dense and dead darkness.

    A colorful bird head appeared in the flickering light of the rhino horn. It tilted its head slightly. revealing a long narrow eye and a strange smile.

    Were youughing at the fragility of humans, or were you proud of your own masterpiece?

    In the light of the rhino horn, a sneer sounded, and with this sneer, an arrow flew out of the light and instantly prated the bird¡¯s head, the shot both ruthless and deadly urate.

    A bitter scream exploded in the intecing of light and darkness, fog and shadow. Ke Xun walked out of the light with his bow in hand. The sneer was still fading from his lips, and his eyes fell coldly in the direction where the bird fell.

    He said, word by word, ¡°I said, I would kill you.¡±

 Chapter 210: The Separation of Yin and Yang

    <h4>Chapter 210: The Separation of Yin and Yang</h4>

    The mncholic darkness quickly dissipated like billowing smoke. Normal skylight was restored all around, but it was still night. A few stars hung overhead, and the sea underneath was swarthy. The salty air filled the depths, making people feel refreshed. The illusion had disappeared.

    Ke Xun quickly turned his head to look at Mu Yiran and saw that he had also turned to look at him. Mu Yiran cupped his hand around the back of Ke Xun¡¯s neck, rubbed the area where his hair met his nape, and said in a deep voice, ¡°Beautifully done.¡±

    Ke Xun raised arge smile. ¡°Of course. How else could I match someone as good as you?¡±

    Mu Yiran took a closer look at his face and saw that the distressing, overwhelming fragility and depression that had been hidden there was gone. Feeling relieved, he pulled him into a strong hug before releasing him to look for the others.

    The other people were originally on the deck. When the illusion appeared, these people disappeared in the darkness, and now they reappeared in front of their eyes as the illusion faded. They were lying one by one on the ground, their faces full of fear.

    ¡°How are you?¡± Ke Xun asked as he walked over.

    Qin Ci wiped the cold sweat from his face, ¡°¡­Tonight¡¯s illusion is ¡®fear¡¯. This is probably the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life.¡±

    Ke Xun stretched out his hand to pull the still paralyzed Wei Dong up, and asked Qin Ci, ¡°Oh? What is in your illusion?¡±

    Before Qin Ci could answer, Ke Xun found that his hand had passed right through Wei Dong.

    Ke Xun was stunned. He stretched out his hand again to pull Wei Dong¡¯s arm, but found that his hand had passed through his skin and flesh as if through water.

    He froze in ce, but Wei Dong didn¡¯t seem to notice anything. Hey slumped on the deck and finally lifted his head reluctantly. He looked at Ke Xun, but his gaze wasn¡¯t focused on Ke Xun¡¯s body. He seemed to be looking through Ke Xun, as if gazing further away.

    ¡°How is Ke¡¯er and the others?¡± Ke Xun heard Wei Dong ask.

    ¡ªWei Dong couldn¡¯t see him!

    ¡°Dongzi?¡± Ke Xun called to him tentatively.

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t hear him at all, and was trying hard to get up from the deck.

    Ke Xun turned his head to look at Qin Ci, who seemed to have answered his words earlier. ¡°Brother Qin, can you hear me?¡±

    ¡°How is everyone?¡± Qin Ci turned to ask the others.

    ¡°Fortunately good.¡± Shao Ling¡¯s hair was also a little messy. ¡°I thought I wouldn¡¯t feel the so-called fear riddled in horror movies at all. But it seems that I was wrong. I didn¡¯t even know that I was afraid of something.¡±

    ¡°I have to thank my brother.¡± Luo Bu rubbed at the frightened tears on his face. ¡°It was my brother¡¯s pornographic jokes that saved me. When that ¡®thing¡¯ grabbed my anklest night, I remembered my brother pretending to be Sadako and grabbing my feet, telling me about the use of feet¡­¡±

    Ke Xun frowned. It seemed that Qin Ci¡¯s response just now wasn¡¯t answering his question, but just talking to the person next to him.

    They couldn¡¯t see him anymore!

    Ke Xun turned to look at Mu Yiran. Fortunately, he was still with himself. He said he wanted to be with him, so now he was really still here.

    ¡°We and they seem to be in different spaces,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t that pheasant dead? Is there more than one?¡±

    Mu Yiran turned around. ¡°I¡¯ll check if it¡¯s still alive.¡±

    How could it be alive with an arrow through its head? However, the world of this painting may not followmon sense.

    Ke Xun went with him and saw that the creature,rger than an ordinary wild pheasant, had fallen on the side of the ship. The arrow was still embedded in its head, with blood and flesh puckering out at the tip. Its long, narrow, and seemingly smiling eyes were nk, with the pupils floating toward the upper lids, exposing the whites of itsrge eyeballs.

    Such eyes weren¡¯t normal for birds. But regardless of whether it was a demon or a bird, it was now dead.

    Ke Xun looked out into the sea, trying to find if there were any other additional oddities. However, the surface of the sea was dark, as it coated in ayer of oil, making it impossible to see what was underneath.

    As he stared out into the sea, he suddenly heard Wei dong¡¯s heart wrenching crye from behind him. ¡°Ke¡¯er¡ªyou fuckinge back to me!¡±

    Ke Xun hurriedly turned his head to look and saw Wei Dong rushing to the ce where he and Mu Yiran had stoodst night, beginning to cry bitterly.

    With the death of the pheasant, the rhino horn was burned out, leaving no trace of ashes behind.

    They couldn¡¯t see him and Mu Yiran. They thought that the same fate that had befallen Li Yi, Xue Ge, and Fang Fei had also befallen them. They thought that, once the rhino horn was lit, they would die.

    Shao Ling and Qin Ci were silent, while Luo Bu also began to cry. Zhu Haowen stared nkly, standing motionless at the far end.

    No one realized that Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were still alive, and that they were standing by their sides at this very moment.

    ¡°So,¡± Ke Xun withdrew his gaze from Wei Dong and looked at Mu Yiran, the only one who was still with him, ¡°the both of us are¡­dead?¡±

    Mu Yiran pursed his lips, and after a while, shook his head slightly. ¡°No, this isn¡¯t certain for the time being. The night isn¡¯t over yet, and we haven¡¯t suffered any harm. Maybe we have a chance, because we still have time.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Ke Xun was quick to cheer up. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry! Now that I think about it, is it possible the same thing happened to Li Yi, Xue Ge, and Fang Fei? Even if they were not killed by the pheasant after lighting the rhino horn, they became like us. They could see us, but couldn¡¯t interact with us?¡±

    At that time, no one imagined that theirpanions were actually still alive, and were even by their sides.

    ¡°But ording to the rule that someone must die every night in the painting, even if they were still alive at the time, they would not live til dawn.¡± Mu Yiran was more sensible than the emotional Ke Xun. ¡°So you and I must find a way out of this dilemma before dawn.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a look in the sea!¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°Maybe there¡¯s something under the sea that¡¯s the key to breaking the game.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t go into the sea,¡± Mu Yiran vetoed. ¡°You can¡¯t enter the sea until dawn.¡±

    ¡°But once it¡¯s dawn, it¡¯s the end for us,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Did you hear the soundsing from the sea? There were a lot of noises, a cacophony of noises, and so I think there are definitely more than pheasants undersea. There may be many pheasants, or other things.¡±

    ¡°If you have to, use the rhino horns to draw them up, so you wouldn¡¯t be groping about in the dark after entering the sea and die ten deaths,¡± Mu Yiran said coldly.

    They had a dispute for the first time.

    Seeing that his boyfriend was getting angry, Ke Xun quickly relented. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re handsome, you have the final say. But we don¡¯t seem to be in that space anymore, so I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to pick up the rhino horns.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s give it a try first.¡± Mu Yiran strode toward the central hall where the rhino horns were stored, and Ke Xun quickly followed after him.

    He couldn¡¯t bear to stay on the deck anymore. Wei Dong¡¯s cries were making his chest painful.

    However, just as he¡¯d guess, they were unable to pick up the rhino horns. Whenever they tried to touch a physical object, their hands or limbs would go directly through it, as if it was made of liquid.

    ¡°This is simply the truest portrayal of the separation of yin and yang.¡± Ke Xun shook his head and then reached out to caress Mu Yiran¡¯s face, only to find that it was as warm as ever.

    ¡°The separation of yin and yang¡­¡± Mu Yiran held Ke Xun¡¯s hand, and his eyes flickered. ¡°Your reminder is very timely¨Cburning rhinoceros is a bridge that connects yin and yang. The rhino horn we lit tonight was burnt out, so we¡¯re left in this space. Maybe, if a rhino horn is ignited, the two realms will be reconnected and we can go back.¡±

    ¡°This makes sense.¡± Ke Xun held Mu Yiran¡¯s hand and shook it, as ifplimenting him. ¡°But our current problem is how do we ignite this inessible rhino horn¡­Or should we blow up another mobile phone?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Yi nodded.

    Ke Xun removed the bag full of mobile phones from his back, took one out, and threw it at the rhino horn. However, the phone also went through the rhino horn, as if sinking into water.

    ¡°So everything on our body is also in another time and space, like us?¡± Ke Xun wondered as he grabbed another mobile phone. He wrapped his clothes around his hand to prevent injuries and pulled out the battery. He smashed it, causing fire to sh. When it came into contact with the rhino horn, the rhino horn oddly transformed into a wave of water and the fire passed through it.

    ¡°It¡¯s not working. We¡¯repletely isted in a different time and space.¡± Ke Xun scratched his head and turned to look at Mu Yiran. ¡°We¡­can¡¯t go back?¡±

    Mu Yiran pressed his lips together and stared at the pile of rhino horns on the ground. Meanwhile, Ke Xun walked to the ship¡¯s side to stare out into the sea, not wanting to disturb his thinking.

    Suddenly, he heard a short cry from Luo Bu. When he looked over, he saw that Wei Dong had fainted onto the ground, and Qin Ci was removing his hand from his neck.

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun walked over. Although Qin Ci was a doctor, he¡¯d never done this kind of work before. But fearing that Wei Dong would be too sad, he probably felt that he had to act.

    Luo Bu thought that Qin Ci must have gone crazy. He was so scared that he dared not cry anymore and simply looked back and forth between Qin Ci and Wei Dong, at a loss.

    Qin Ci ignored him and calmly told Zhu Haowen and Shao Ling. ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to be sad. We must immediately figure out a way to break this game.¡±

    Shao Ling frowned and fell into thought, while Zhu Haowen remained silent.

    Qin Ci raised his hand and patted Zhu Haowen¡¯s shoulder. In a warm voice, he said, ¡°Haowen, us leaving this painting safely would be the bestfort for them. I know you¡¯re feeling terrible, but¡­¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Zhu Haowen interrupted him. He turned his gaze to the night sky and said, ¡°We still have some time before dawn. In previous nights, once the darkness faded, the sky would dawn. But right now, something¡¯s not right. Something must have happened in the first half of the night. Ke Xun and Mu Yiran would never do something toote¨C¡±

    After saying this, Zhu Haowen pressed his lips together and walked toward the end of the deck. The sky was faint and visibility was low. Qin Ci knew that Zhu Haowen wanted to find the clues that Ke Xun and Mu Yiran must have left behind, and so he followed him.

    Zhu Haowen brought out his phone, tried to turn on the shlight, and found that it worked.

    Ke Xun spected that it might be because they¡¯d killed the pheasant, and so their ability to use light at night must have been restored.

    The bright light illuminated the deck within a few meters in front of Zhu Haowen. As he walked slowly fowardly, he studied the deck carefully, as if wanting to find anyst traces they¡¯d left in the world.

    Then, under the light of the mobile phone, he saw a pheasant with an arrow through its head.

    ¡°They shot it to death!¡± Qin Ci eximed.

    ¡°They can see it!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes lit up, and he turned to call back to Mu Yiran. ¡°Yiran, I found a way!¡±

    ¡ªThis pheasant was the only thing that could be seen and touched by the people in both dimensions!

 Chapter 211: Loyal Corgi Protecting His Boss

    <h4>Chapter 211: Loyal Corgi Protecting His Boss</h4>

    Ke Xun squatted next to the dead pheasant. Across from him was Zhu Haowen, Shao Ling, and Qin Ci, all of whom were also squatting down to carefully observe the pheasant.

    Ke Xun pushed the corpse of the pheasant with his hand. When Zhu Haowen, Shao Ling, and Qin Ci saw the corpse suddenly moving, they jumped back in shock and stared at it guardedly.

    ¨CIt worked!

    Seeing hope, Ke Xun became more energetic. He picked up the pheasant¡¯s body, broke it¡¯s legs with both hands, and put it in a split position on the deck.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    Qin Ci: ¡°¡­¡±

    Shao Ling: ¡°¡­¡±

    Luo Bu, from further away: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­It seems like an invisible force is ying with it,¡± Shao Ling said hesitantly.

    ¡°¡­An invisible thing from the sea?¡± Qin Ci guessed uncertainly.

    ¡°¡­Those things will do something like this?¡± Zhu Haowen pointed his chin to the dead pheasant that was now in the posture of riding a horse.

    Then, he and Qin Ci looked at each other and saw the incredible and hopeful light in each other¡¯s eyes.

    The three people stared at the dead pheasant, not knowing what to do for a while.

    But Ke Xun didn¡¯t want to waste time. Dipping his finger in the blood from the pheasant¡¯s head, he tried to write on the deck.

    Unfortunately, the color of the deck was darker than the blood. He wrote a few words but found that the other three hadn¡¯t even noticed. He had to stop to think. Then he plucked off two of the pheasant¡¯s long tail feathers and tucked each behind his ears.

    Zhu Haowen looked at the height of the two feathers and the distance between them, and suddenly said, ¡°Ke Xun, is that you?¡±

    Ke Xun nodded quickly, and the two feathers moved back and forth with his head.

    .

    ¡°It¡¯s really you, Xiao Ke?!¡± Qin Ci, who had always been calm, disyed a rare happiness. ¡°Where is Xiao Mu?¡°

    Ke Xun plucked a feather from behind his ear and pointed the feather to where Mu Yiran was standing.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Shao Ling asked, ¡°Can you talk?¡±

    Ke Xun shook his head.

    ¡°So, how about writing instead? I¡¯ll get the bamboo slips and brush and ink?¡± Shao Ling said.

    Ke Xun shook his head and pointed his feather at the dead pheasant on the ground. Then he dipped the feather in the pheasant¡¯s blood and wrote on the deck a few times.

    Zhu Haowen pointed the phone¡¯s shlight at the deck and saw that there seemed to be some blood stains on it. He said, ¡°I can¡¯t see clearly, wait a minute.¡±

    As he said this, he tore off almost the entire hem of his white robe. He spread it on the deck and added, ¡°Write here.¡±

    Ke Xun dipped the feather in blood. When the feather touched the white robe, the white robe remained solid. He wrote, ¡°Burn a rhino horn.¡±

    ¡°You want us to burn a rhino horn?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    Ke Xun drew a ¡°¡Ì¡± on the cloth.

    Shao Ling immediately turned around to fetch a rhino horn from the central hall, while Qin Ci went to wake Wei Dong up. Luo Bu walked closer and asked, ¡°Brother, are you invisible?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ke Xun wrote on the cloth: (-_-).

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    Luo Bu said, ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to y with emojis. Brother Dong nearly cried to death. What happened to you and brother-inw? Why can¡¯t we see you? Are you okay? Have you found the seal? Will you guys stay invisible from now on?¡±

    ¡°Really full of ideas.¡± Ke Xun was depressed and wrote on the cloth: shatup!

    Luo Bu said, ¡°Brother, you spelled ¡®shut¡¯ wrong.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    Shao Ling returned with some rhino horns. Wei Dong followed Qin Ci back with a pair of swollen eyes. Shao Ling asked Ke Xun, ¡°Do we light it with a mobile phone or do we light it by ourselves?¡±

    ¡°Mobile phone,¡± Ke Xun wrote. ¡°Try one first to experiment.¡±

    Everyone understood what he meant. It was necessary to test first.

    As Shao Ling was about to take out his mobile phone, Zhu Haowen took a step forward and almost eagerly used his mobile phone to ignite the rhino horn.

    The bright light illuminated the small area around them. The people standing carefully outside the light looked at the floating position of the two feathers. They watched as the intersection of light and shadow slowly merged, revealing two tall and slender figures, which were exactly Ke Xun and Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Ke¡¯er!¡± Wei Dong roared and rushed to hug his lost brother.

    Ke Xun hugged him tightly, then pushed him away. ¡°You got your snot on my face! Let¡¯s focus on the business at hand first.¡± Then he strode over and touched the unlit rhino horns Shao Ling was carrying. He discovered that he could finally touch people and objects. In order to prove it again, he grabbed the roll of bamboo slips that had been thrown to the ground. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re back!¡±

    ¡°What happened? Is it rted to the killing of the pheasant?¡± Shao Ling asked Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran quickly and briefly exined what happened to them, and then said, ¡°We need to hurry and find the seal before dawn.¡±

    Everyone knew the meaning of this statement. No one had died tonight, and if they couldn¡¯t find the seal before dawn, they would have to vote someone out.

    Shao Ling asked Mu Yiran and Ke Xun, ¡°So, you two didn¡¯t experience the illusion just now?¡±

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°My guess is that only people who are illuminated by the rhino horn will not be affected by the illusion and can see the pheasant.¡±

    Shao Ling said, ¡°Then Li Yi who died on the first night, Xue Ge who died on the third night, and Fang Fei who died on the fourth night did not actually experience the illusion. What was the cause of their death then?¡±

    ¡°Could it be that the pheasant attacked them?¡± Qin Ci guessed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this phantom can kill a person.¡± Ke Xun nced at the pheasant¡¯s body on the deck. ¡°If it can attack people and kill them, why would it need illusions? Even the illusions could only kill us by luring us into the sea.¡±

    Mu Yiran added, ¡°Li Yi, Xue Ge, and Fang Fei, when they lit their rhino horns, their circumstances should be simr to myself and Ke Xun. They didn¡¯t experience an illusion, and they could see the pheasant. An example is Fang Fei shooting the pheasant¡¯s feather.¡±

    ¡°Since we¡¯re presuming that the pheasant cannot attack people directly, I think there are likely two reasons that these three people died. The first is that these three people were isted in an alternative space like Ke Xun and I were. They were unable to return to the original, and so when the sky dawned, they somehow lost their lives.¡±

    ¡°In the second reason, we still have to refer back to the story of Burning Rhinoceros at Bull Islet. In the story, when Wen Qiao lit the rhino horn, the demons and monsters in the sea jumped out to extinguish the fire. The mirage came from the sea andnded on the ship in the form of a pheasant. It can be inferred that, although these three people weren¡¯t affected by the illusion, when they lit the rhino horn at the beginning, the pheasant extinguished the fire. Although the pheasant could not attack us, the story of Burning Rhinoceros at Bull Islet proved that the fire could be extinguished. Therefore, after it put out the burning rhino, it re-imposed the illusion on these three people, making it likely that these three people could still die from the illusion.¡±

    After listening to Mu Yiran¡¯s analysis, everyone nodded together.

    ¡°So, what do you think caused you and Mr. Ke to remain isted in another space?¡± Shao Ling asked. ¡°After the pheasant was killed, you stayed in that space, so it shouldn¡¯t be something created by the pheasant. Who created it and why?¡±

    ¡°¨CCould it be that there are other creatures besides the pheasant in the sea?¡± Wei Dong shivered, and Luo Bu shivered beside him.

    ¡°Before I killed the pheasant, I did hear many strange soundsing from the sea,¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Does that mean¡­we have to kill the things in the sea to find more clues?¡± Wei Dong and Luo Bu looked desperate.

    Mu Yiran looked down thoughtfully. After a moment, he raised his eyes to look at everyone. ¡°In fact, after darkness falls, all of us are actually in another dimension, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    Everyone paused, as if they had grasped a key point but could notprehend it.

    Fortunately, they had Mu Yiran.

    ¡°To be more precise, each of us are in a different space,¡± Mu Yiran continued slowly and clearly. ¡°And there¡¯s not just one alternate space, but there are several different spaces. The pheasant used these different spaces to separate us, and then it created the illusions to trap us. Then the question is, if the different spaces were created by the pheasant, why did Ke Xun and I remain in a separate space even after killing it? If these spaces weren¡¯t created by the pheasant, how was it able to use it to separate us at will?¡±

    ¡°There are other phantoms in the sea that cooperated with it?¡± Wei Dong guessed.

    ¡°Or, the spaces it created wouldn¡¯t disappear after it¡¯s death but could still survive?¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Mu Yiran looked at him. ¡°We have already presumed that the illusion we experienced every night was created by the mirage. Since the mirage was condensed by a thousand-year-old spirit, its spaces wouldn¡¯t disperse easily, and so we continued remaining in the same space. My guess is that these spaces would be maintained for a while yet.¡±

    ¡°So you mean, whether it is the space we were isted in when we experienced the illusions, or the space where you and Ke Xun were isted after killing the pheasant, all of these were created by the pheasant?¡± Shao Ling looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°But there is one thing I need to remind Mr. Mu about. When we experience the illusion, we cannot see, hear, or feel each other in the isted space. But, ording to the situation that you and Mr. Ke just described, you were able to see and hear us in our space. Why is that?¡±

    Mu Yiran was about to speak, when Ke Xun said, ¡°Shao Ling, are you suspicious of Yiran and I?¡±

    After hearing these words, everyone became silent and looked back and forth between Shao Ling and Ke Xun.

    Shao Ling¡¯s expression remained unchanged, and he looked at Ke Xun calmly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m really sorry to say that, but given the nature of the death rule in this painting, it¡¯s hard not to doubt that the two of you aren¡¯t the embodiment of an upgraded illusion. After all, it¡¯s not light yet, and this night isn¡¯t over, is it?¡±

    Ke Xun smiled speechlessly. ¡°You know, you are clever but your cleverness makes you stumble.¡±

    Shao Ling was unmoved, and remained calm and indifferent. ¡°I am not smarter than others, I am just more cautious.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very interesting.¡± Ke Xun looked at him with a faint smile. ¡°It¡¯s difficult for a cautious person like you to give absolute trust, so I¡¯m very curious about how you can have such a trustworthy friend, one where you can put your fate in his hand and vice versa. Mr. Shao, forgive me for guessing. The illusion you described experiencing that first night was probably made up by you, right? In fact, you don¡¯t have such a friend at all. The reason why you made up such a person was to make yourself appear as someone who is very loyal, so as to gain everyone¡¯s trust, especially those neers with no backbones. Let me guess one more thing. Actually, you¡¯re a person with a strong desire for control, right? You don¡¯t like being controlled by others, and obviously we veteran members wouldn¡¯t thoughtlessly obey you, so you need to control the neers and have them listen to you, right? Of course, I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re a bad person. There are all kinds of people who like to maintain control. But let me advise you, it¡¯s good to be cautious, but too much caution makes you too full of suspicion. Not only do you have no friends, but you can also easily make mistakes.¡±

    Shao Ling was silent, his tight mouth indicating that he wasn¡¯t as calm as the expression he tried to maintain.

    Wei Dong asked Ke Xun quietly, ¡°How do you know that his first night experience was made up?¡±

    Ke Xun snorted lightly. ¡°You forgot, the illusion every night was based on humans¡¯ seven emotions. The first night was based on ¡°love¡±, but we didn¡¯t realize it at the time, so he made up the matter with his friend. A few nightster, he conjectured that the illusions were based on the seven emotions. At the time, he could no longer change his telling of his experience the first night, but fortunately, no one paid attention to it. Whose ¡°love¡± would be with him? He¡¯s not gay!¡±

    Wei Dong looked at him. ¡°You¡¯ve been with the big boss for so long that your IQbat effectiveness has also increased rapidly.¡±

    Ke Xun nced at Shao Ling. ¡°You can doubt me, but you can¡¯t doubt my big boss, who had been working so hard to help everyone find a way out.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    <b>Xida</b>: Ke Xun¡¯s logic is faulty though. tonic love is as genuine and important as romantic love.

 Chapter 212: The Pheasantâ€™s Trick

    <h4>Chapter 212: The Pheasant¡¯s Trick</h4>

    This small internal disturbance did not affect Mu Yiran. Seeing that Shao Ling was choked speechless by his guardian corgi, Mu Yiran quickly continued the previous topic.

    ¡°Mr. Shao¡¯s question was actually something I wanted to talk about next. Despite being isted in another space, Ke Xun and I could still see and hear you, but we couldn¡¯t touch you.¡± Mu Yiran looked at the people in front of him. ¡°Because, at the time, it wasn¡¯t me and Ke Xun who were in another dimension, but you.¡±

    Everyone looked at him in surprise and shock, and Shao Ling looked at him suspiciously.

    ¡°Burning rhinoceros can connect the yin and yang realms, or it can connect different spaces,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°Wen Qiao couldn¡¯t see the spirits in the water because the spirits were in another space. However, after the rhino horn was burnt, the spirits appeared to put out the fire. The space where these spirits were located merged with the space where Wen Qiao was located, also called the Yang realm.¡±

    ¡°So, when Ke Xun and I lit the rhino horn to see the pheasant, it was Ke Xun, the pheasant, and I who were in the realm of the sun. So, given that we couldn¡¯t touch you, it is likely that this is the space we were originally in when we first entered the painting¡­¡±

    Everyone was dumbfounded and speechless.

    ¡°I think this is probably the pheasant¡¯s most cunning scheme,¡± Mu Yiran continued. ¡°From the very beginning, it set up a longsting illusion space for us. Within this illusion, every night, it created small illusory spaces thatsted only one night, making us think that these illusions only exist at night. And once the illusion appeared, we wouldn¡¯t be able to see, hear, or feel one another.¡±

    ¡°This was the pheasant¡¯s biggest trick. A space is a space, and an illusion is an illusion. Simply put, what it set for us was a nested illusion space.¡±

    ¡°This has two purposes. First, it wanted to use the embedded illusion every night to trap us, and the other is that it wanted to use the illusion to confuse us and prevent us from discovering that we were already in an illusion.¡±

    ¡°In our civilization of gods and ghosts, many weird and strange things can be solved, and this solution was precisely that burning the rhino horn can bridge two worlds. Coincidentally, when Emperor Qin Shihuang sent ships out to sea to look for the Ind of Immortals, he filled these ships with gifts, medicinal materials, fabrics, calligraphies, paintings, literature, and precious jewels.¡±

    ¡°As Luo Bu said earlier, rhino horns were also very valuable in that era, so they were sent aboard as gifts, and it happened that these rhino horns are the only thing that could break though this illusion space.¡±

    ¡°So, I think that if we want topletely escape the phantom space we are in now, we have to light the rhino horn.¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯ve lit the rhino horn more than once already, and aren¡¯t we still in the same illusion?¡± Luo Bu asked.

    ¡°Remember, then, that we only lit the rhino horns on the ship,¡± Mu Yiran said. He took a rhino horn and walked to the ship¡¯s gunhale. ¡°Since this painting is called Burning Rhinoceros at Sea, we might have to use the rhino horn to illuminate the sea.¡±

    So he borrowed the flint from Luo Bu and lit the rhino horn in his hand.

    Ke Xun took a step closer to him, holding his arm with one hand. Everyone hurriedly moved to the side of the ship and looked into the dark sea that was illuminated by the light of the rhino horn in Mu Yiran¡¯s hand.

    He lifted the rhino horn above the sea, causing the light to spill onto the surface of the sea. The water waves reflected it in a strange way, and the darkness over the surface of the sea seemed to have been sucked away, gradually bing clear and transparent.

    Immediately afterwards, everyone was surprised to see several stars appeared under the sea, and there seemed to be floating clouds. And under the stars and clouds, there seemed to be another sea of ??deep blue water, which was surging slowly.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Wei Dong leaned forward and tried hard to look into the sea. Then he looked at everyone in surprise. ¡°There seems to be another sky and sea under this sea?¡±

    ¡°Is there another space under the sea?¡± Qin Ci looked at Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran looked at everyone and calmly said, ¡°I personally think that the space below is the real way out. So, we have to enter the sea.¡±

    ¡°Please wait,¡± Shao Ling finally said. ¡°If the space below is the Yang realm, then based on what you just said, you and Ke Xun were in the real Yang realm after lighting the rhino horn and seeing the pheasant. At that time, you were still on this ship, right? What does it have to do with the space below?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at him. ¡°I just said that this is a nested phantom space. Inside arge phantom space, there are several small phantom spaces, and outside thisrge phantom space, maybe there is arger space, and this space is the Yang realm.¡±

    Shao Ling was stunned. Obviously his thinking speed was still a step slower than Mu Yiran¡¯s.

    ¡°To put it bluntly, all these illusions are actually established within the scope of the Yang realm, so when Ke Xun and I lit a rhino horn, although our position hasn¡¯t changed, we were already in the Yang Realm,¡± Mu Yiran said. .

    ¡°Then, we can also directly light a rhino horn and return to the Yang realm. Why must we enter the sea?¡± Shao Ling asked.

    ¡°Returning to the Yang realm is not the goal. Our goal is to find the seal and return to the real world.¡± This time, it was Ke Xun who answered him.

    Still resistant, Shao Ling asked, ¡°If the method of breaking the game in this painting is really as simple as illuminating the sea with rhino horns, wouldn¡¯t the pheasant worry about us using the rhino horns to illuminate the sea on the very first night?¡±

    ¡°At the beginning, the rhino horns were ced under the floor of the captain¡¯s room, along with a few boxes of bamboo slips,¡± Zhu Haowen answered. ¡°If we couldn¡¯t figure out the importance of burning rhinoceros, we would never use the rhino horns to illuminate the sea, so what was waiting for us was a dead end.¡±

    ¡°And, even if we thought of burning rhinoceros to illuminate the monster, just like what happened on the first night, we would worry that it would lead to our deaths. After all, Wen Qian ended up dead, so we would be cautious about burning the rhino horn.¡±

    ¡°We can say, even if all of us are brave and we dare to illuminate the sea on the first night, we haven¡¯t experienced the five nights of illusion and death, so how can we be sure that the images under the sea aren¡¯t a trap? Right now, you don¡¯t even dare enter the sea, let alone on the first day, when you would be even more confused about what¡¯s going on. So, it¡¯s even more impossible to enter the sea on the first night.¡±

    ¡°And, Ke Xun also said that, before he killed the pheasant, he heard a lot of strange soundsing from the sea. These sounds must be auditory illusions created by the pheasant to make us fear entering the sea. After all, after hearing these sounds, who would dare enter the sea?¡±

    ¡°So, because the pheasant had set up such a trick, there¡¯s nothing to worry about. The pheasant was originally a thing that used human emotions and psychology to create illusions to trap us. It also must understand our human psyche. What¡¯s more, if on the first day, we burned the rhinoceros horn and boldly jumped into the sea to explore, in the end, we would be able to leave the painting without damage. There¡¯s no rule that says 13 people cane in, but 13 people can¡¯t go out.¡±

    Although Shao Ling no longer said anything, they could see that he was still suspicious. Obviously, he was hesitant about whether it was the right move to enter the sea.

    ¡°There¡¯s no more time to waste.¡± Ke Xun began to undress. ¡°We need to dive into the space in the sea and find the seal.¡±

    They no longer deliberated over it, and followed Ke Xun in undressing. Even Qin Ci, who had always been calm and restrained, was very passionate about taking off his clothes¡­

    Shao Ling looked at these people and couldn¡¯t help frowning.

    These guys¡­both the old and young were so willful. No one looked at the team¡¯s behavior and thought it was wrong¡­

    He was still hesitating when he suddenly saw Ke Xun calling over Wei Dong and Luo Bu. They began to take off his clothes. He struggled but he was no match for three people. To be honest, even Ke Xun alone would be able to handle him. Calling Wei Dong and Luo Bu over to help was just to save time.

    ¡°What are you still hesitant about?¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°After five days in this illusion, have you figured a way out yet? After we all leave, will you be able to find a way out by yourself? This is yourst chance. Just like choosing between three shorts and one long, hurry up ande along with us!¡±

    Shao Ling: ¡°¡­¡±

    What the fuck was with the chosing between three shorts and one long? Did it have anything to do with the choice of jumping into the sea? Who¡¯s touching his underwear? Stop it! His underwear couldn¡¯t be taken off!

    Shao Ling was so busy with these three guys that his thinking copsed and he was pushed to the side of the ship in a mess.

    After looking intently, he discovered that Mu Yiran¡¯s clothes were still intact, and he hurried said, ¡°He hasn¡¯t¡­¡±

    Before the words ¡°taken off his clothes¡± could be spoken, Ke Xun stuffed a rhino horn in his mouth. ¡°Use your mouth to hold it in the sea, and use your hands for swimming.¡±

    .

    ¡°Huh?!¡± Shao Ling looked at him in surprise.

    The neatly dressed Mu Yiran was the one who answered his question. ¡°We need to burn the rhino horn in the sea in order for the light to guide us to that space.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Shao Ling was so surprised that he even forgot to take the rhino horn out of his mouth.

    But the clever, well-dressed Mu Yiran understood his question. ¡°Since this painting is full of magic, then we should look at everything in it with magical eyes. Here I also want to reflect on myself. As a modern person, I¡¯m not used to thinking about divine things. So previously, my thinking was blocked by the ¡®burning rhinoceros¡¯ aspect, and my focus was only on the word ¡®burning¡¯. I didn¡¯t think deeply about the ¡®rhinoceros¡¯ part. And just now, after illuminating the sea with the rhinoceros horn, I suddenly remembered a legendary statement regarding ¡®rhinoceros¡¯.¡±

    ¡°The ancients said that there was a rhinoceros who was a psychic beast that lived in the sea. Its horn could defeat water, and so it was called ¡®the water defeating rhinoceros.¡¯ I vaguely remember a few words from the Compendium of Materia Medica, which states that its horn had soared through the sky for a thousand year¡­and so it can vent its anger through the sky, canmunicate with the gods, can defeat water, and can frighten chickens.¡±

    ¡°My memory of this is scattered and fragmented, so I didn¡¯t make this connection with the rhino horns before. Now that I think about it, the so-called horn that passed through the sky should refer to this rhinoceros. Defeating water is to avoid water. So I think that when we burn the rhinoceros under the sea, the light would not be extinguished.¡±

    Shao Ling had no words.

    There were only six rhino horns left, which wasn¡¯t enough for seven people. Mu Yiran asked, ¡°Is there anyone that couldn¡¯t swim?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not very good underwater,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°I¡­ I feel weak, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t have the strength to swim after I enter the sea¡­¡± Luo Bu raised a trembling hand.

    Upon seeing this, Ke Xun pointed to Zhu Haowen. ¡°I will take¡­¡±

    ¡°You take Luo Bu,¡± Mu Yiran said lightly. ¡°I¡¯ll share a rhino horn with Haowen. Doctor Qin, Wei Dong and Shao Ling, you three take care of each other.¡±

    Everyone responded, and Ke Xun honestly said ¡°Oh¡±.

    Without further ado, everyone lit their rhino horns one after another, and Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen jumped into the sea first, and the others followed.

    Shao Ling was still trying to stop and remind them, ¡°You have now used up all the rhino horns. If you don¡¯t seed this time, your way out would be blocked and you would no longer be able to leave!¡±

    He didn¡¯t know who kicked him from behind, but he fell into the sea.

 Chapter 213: Deep Sea Fear

    <h4>Chapter 213: Deep Sea Fear</h4>

    Ke Xun took Luo Bu for thest jump. He had a tacit understanding with Mu Yiran, without discussing it beforehand. After the dive, one led the way while the other held the rear. The group quickly lined up and moved downward.

    The light from the rhino horns formed a strip of light in the sea, and they did not go out underwater.

    With the rhino horn in their mouths, they could draw a meager amount of air even while undersea. This was probably due to the magical effect of ¡°soaring through the sky¡± in the Materia Medica.

    Since Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen shared a rhino horn, they had to constantly pass the horn between the two of them. Fortunately, they were both calm and organized. Even if they needed to swim and exchange the horn, they cooperated with tacit understanding.

    As they dived further down into the depths of the sea, the lighting from the rhino horns weren¡¯t veryrge. Beyond their small circle of light, there was still pitch-ck sea water that was as overwhelming as the sky, squeezing them from all directions. Under this kind of pressure, they couldn¡¯t help but feel their chest tighten in near ustrophobia.

    Everyone involuntarily elerated their speed of diving. Darkness was the source of fear, and when their consciousness became fully cognizant that this darkness was as vast and unfathomable as an ocean, the fear in their hearts doubled, filled with nerves.

    Luo Bu was very timid. His nerves hadsted these past five days without breaking down, but this had already surpassed his limit and cognition. He didn¡¯t know how long he could hold on. He had never had much confidence in himself, so the more he thought about it, the more he felt as if he might not be able to hold on.

    In the face of crises and hardships, some people would think ¡°I can still hold on,¡± and some people would think, ¡°I can¡¯t hold on any longer.¡±

    Luo Bu was thetter.

    So now, under the cover of this terrible infinite darkness, he was getting more and more frightened, more and more desperate, more and more¡­losing the belief to continue.

    I can¡¯t hold it anymore¡­I really can¡¯t hold it¡­I¡¯m going to die here¡­I really might¡­die here¡­

    Luo Bu couldn¡¯t shed tears, because the sea water was in his eyes.

    He missed his father, his mother, his girlfriend, Uncle Zhang, Aunt Liu, the stray cat he¡¯d raised and the dog he¡¯d found abandoned by its owner. He missed the blue sky and white clouds and even the haze outside the painting, and he missed his life before the painting.

    He really didn¡¯t want to die.

    He was so scared, and there was no one to save him, no one to help him. He would die in this cold ocean and be a lonely, floating corpse.

    No one could help him¡­

    ¡ª¡ª Suddenly his waist tightened as a hand firmly and forcefully grasped onto the waistband of his shorts and pulled him along, forcing them to speed up as they moved downward.

    It was Ke Xun, the man who had taken his shoulders before they had jumped into the sea and told him, ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll take you out. Don¡¯t be afraid.¡±

    Luo Bu didn¡¯t understand why Ke Xun suddenly elerated, and even caught up with Dr. Qin, Wei Dong and Shao Ling, who were all swimming ahead.

    Then he took him along with these three people, seemingly to apany them.

    Luo Bu thought for a while, and then understood.

    Ke Xun was afraid that he was afraid, and even more afraid that he would give up, so he let more people apany him, for him to see hope from the atmosphere of everyone working together to live.

    Luo Bu grabbed Ke Xun¡¯s hand that was holding onto his waistband, and Ke Xun turned his head and raised the corner of his lips in the light of the rhino horn.

    What an evil, charming, and arrogant smile, Luo Bu thought. But at that moment, he especially wanted to say to him sincerely: ¡°Brother, loosen your hand. My shorts is strangling my crotch¡­

    Shao Ling, who was swimming next to Luo Bu, felt very broken at this moment. Because he had been paying attention to the light of the rhino horns. Each rhino horn could only burn for a limited time. At the moment, everyone¡¯s rhino horns had burned nearly to the end and might notst even three minutes. When that happened, they would be stuck, and what awaited them was an immediate burial in the infinitely deep seabed.

    He thought it was necessary to remind these people, and so he waved his hand and patted Wei Dong, who was the one closest to him. Wei Dong turned his head to look at him, and Shao Ling pointed to the rhino horn in his mouth and motioned for Wei Dong to look at how much there was left.

    Wei Dong gave him a thumbs up, then turned his head back, and continued swimming as if nothing had happened.

    Shao Ling:?

    Didn¡¯t you understand my meaning? Shao Ling thought for a moment. This Wei Dong seemed to be dumber than the others.

    So he swam to Qin Ci, patted him, and pointed at the rhino horn in his mouth.

    Qin Ci turned his head to look at him. And then he took the rhino horn in his mouth with one hand, and Shao Ling¡¯s rhino horn with the other, exchanged the two rhino horns, and then inserted them back into their mouths. Afterward, he turned back and continued swimming.

    Shao Ling:??

    ¡­No, I didn¡¯t mean that I think my rhino horn is not good and I need to exchange it with you! ¡ª¡ªAre current doctors so unhelpful?!

    Shao Ling had no choice but to turn his head to the other side and stretch out his hand to tap Luo Bu who was closer to him. But then he took his hand back, thinking, this kid is less reliable than the others. So he swam harder and patted Ke Xun instead.

    Ke Xun turned his head to look at him, Shao Ling pointed to the rhino horn on his mouth, and then made a ¡°smaller and smaller¡± gesture.

    Ke Xun replied with a gesture of ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡±, then he patted Luo Bu and pointed at Shao Ling. Luo Bu made an ¡°OK¡± gesture and reached out to grab Shao Ling¡¯s shorts, just like how Ke Xun was pulling him. Then, under Ke Xun¡¯s leadership, he dragged Shao Ling on downward.

    Shao Ling:? ? ?

    ¡ª¡ªI¡¯m not saying that my strength is getting less and less! ¡ª¡ªLet go of my shorts. You¡¯re strangling me!

    Shao Ling was annoyed and helpless. He thought that this time he might really die here.

    The team of seven people continued to dive in the sea. Under the huge, dark and deep sea, their faint lights looked like barely detectable microorganisms.

    As it got closer and closer to dawn, the deep sea got darker and darker, as if slowly swallowing theirst lights.

    Finally, even Luo Bu had discovered that the light of their rhino horns was weakening. He hurriedly grabbed Ke Xun¡¯s arm, wanting to remind him, wanting to copse, wanting to struggle, wanting to cry with fear¨C

    Ke Xun sensed his panic, and thinking that he was nervous and anxious again, he simply grabbed him and sped up.

    Ke Xun¡¯s physical strength was surprisingly good. After swimming for so long, despite the magical effect of the light from the rhino horns, everyone was feeling the pressure of being undersea, and they were also tasked with swimming as well. Everyone was a little tired, but he actually was able to take a person and sprint underwater.

    Ke Xun quickly took Luo Bu to the front, and when he passed Mu Yiran, he gestured to him without even turning his head. He knew that Mu Yiran would definitely understand.

    Luo Bu¡¯s mental quality was the worst among them all, and he couldn¡¯tfort him or force him to calm down, he could only take him and charge ahead.

    Ke Xun swam hard, so much so that Luo Bu could not follow at all, and so he was dragged behind like a dead fish.

    Luo Bu knew that Ke Xun was trying to save him, but he did not see hope. The light of the rhino horn was dying; it was getting weaker and weaker, and the ck sea was squeezing them deeper and deeper in all directions. Luo Bu widened his eyes in despair, and though the salty water stung his eyeballs, he did not want to close his eyes. He was afraid that if he closed his eyes, he would no longer be able to open them.

    Luo Bu opened his eyes as wide as possible and watched as the surrounding sea got darker and darker and the light in front of him got darker and darker. He began to feel cold all over, and his muscles seemed to be stiffening into stone. He suddenly wondered if he was dead. This thought scared him so much that he desperately stretched out a hand, wanting to move.

    So he moved, and his fingertips that dipped into the ck sea suddenly caught something. Before he could realize what it was, a gray and swollen face suddenly broke into his vision!

    ¨CThat¡ªThat was Li Yi. His body had been soaked underwater for so long that it had almost swelled into a fat, white jellyfish. The flesh on his body had begun to rot, and his eyes were tightly closed, his faceposed in dead silence.

    Sure enough, he¡¯d died in the sea. Without the light of a rhino horn, he could not go anywhere. He could only be confined by this sea and die a silent death.

    Luo Bu was shocked by this sudden dead face breaking into his line of sight, even nearly hitting his own face. He reflexively opened his mouth to scream, and the rhino horn slipped out. Salty sea water poured into his mouth and directly choked his lungs.

    I¡¯m dying! Luo Bu began to panic and il. Ke Xun, who didn¡¯t know what happened, turned around to restrain him.

    But Luo Bu wanted to catch his breath. He wanted to breathe. He was choking. There was no rhino horn in his mouth, he had no air, he was dying, he was going to die, he¨C

    In that moment when Luo Bu was caught in extreme fear, a familiar, cold and hard thing was suddenly inserted into his mouth. It was a rhino horn.

    Shao Ling looked at Luo Bu in the light of the rhino horn.

    This kid, despite being so frightened and having a nervous breakdown, had not forgotten to let go of his shorts even for a moment.

    Shao Ling now finally believed that actions that were nted could achieve results.

    If it hadn¡¯t been for Luo Bu not giving up on him, he wouldn¡¯t have been by his side and he wouldn¡¯t have managed to catch the rhino horn just in time as if slipped from Luo Bu¡¯s mouth.

    Luo Bu regained the rhino horn, and Ke Xun, seeing that he had finally calmed down and was no longer iling about, finally stopped restraining him. He waved his hand, knocked his head, and pulled his shorts again to continue their downward descent.

    Luo Bu, who had experienced a shock just now, no longer dared to resist. He stiffened his body, widened his eyes, and let Ke Xun dragged him like a dead fish.

    The light of the rhino horn gleamed underwater, asionally gliding over a swollen, pale foot, though the rest of the body was hidden in the darkness beyond the light of the horn.

    Luo Bu didn¡¯t know whose foot that belonged to, and he could only try to pretend that he hadn¡¯t seen it. Even when he was pped in the face with a pale arm, he dared not struggle.

    In what felt like a few centuries, the sea water in front of him suddenly became thinner, and the heavy pressure around his body gradually became lighter and lighter. It was as if a cloud and mist was surrounding his body, and in front of his eyes, the sea water also rose like clouds, flowing and floating.

    Suddenly, his body plummeted down into weightlessness, and he fell out of the sea and, with a ssh, into the deep water below him.

    No, it wasn¡¯t deep water. It was the sea. It was another sea!

    This sea was different from the sea in the illusion. This sea was the real sea, with a vast expanse of azure crystals, white mists and floating waves. It was the real sea!

    ¡°Ssh!¡±

    ¡°Ssh!¡±

    ¡°Ssh!¡±

    Hisrades fell out of the sea and into the sea one by one. As they floated, they wiped off the water from their faces.

    ¡°You¡¯re all too reckless.¡± Shao Ling had held it in for too long. ¡°What if the rhino horn goes out in the sea?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this inextinguishable?¡± Ke Xun shook the rhino horn in his hand, and thest light of the rhino horn slowly died out.

    ¡°This is in hindsight,¡± Shao Ling said coldly.

    ¡°Who told you it was in hindsight?¡± Ke Xun shook the water from his hair, like a big golden retriever. ¡°I¡¯ve told you about the experiences in the first few paintings, didn¡¯t I? The painting wouldn¡¯t leave us with a dead end. The only way to survive was to go to the end. Therefore, the burning time of the rhino horn would be enough to cross the sea and reach this space. You think too much. Have you fallen into that suspicion problem again?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Shao Ling was speechless. What did this have to do with suspicion? No matter what, no one would dare hand his life over to a stranger who he had only met five days ago!

    Shao Ling shook his head and wiped the water off his face. Seeing that Wei Dong was paddling in front of him, he couldn¡¯t help asking him, ¡°Why did you give me a thumbs up in the sea?¡±

    Wei Dong was taken aback. ¡°Weren¡¯t you asking me how you were swimming? I thought that you were quite arrogant, but you¡¯re still asking for praise. Is that right? It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll praise you more in the future, okay?¡±

    Shao Ling: ¡°¡­¡±

    Really, I don¡¯t want to bother with this group of people anymore.

 Chapter 214: Burning Rhinoceros at Sea, by Anonymous

    <h4>Chapter 214: Burning Rhinoceros at Sea, by Anonymous</h4>

    ¡°Hurry.¡± Mu Yiran looked at the sky. The sky was already lighting up, but there was still a little time left before they had to vote.

    However, right now, they didn¡¯t need to work hard to figure out what to do next, because not far from where they had fallen was a huge ship.

    ¡°Wh¨C? Another ship?!¡± Wei Dong was shocked and confused. ¡°Is this like an endless loop? This isn¡¯t an infinite nested space, right? If we sink and swim downward again, will we arrive at the same space?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not the same, Look, there are people on that ship.¡± Ke Xun had good eyesight, and he pointed to the people standing by the side of the ship. ¡°They¡¯re all dressed in ancient costumes. Maybe they are the real ancient people traveling on the ship in this painting.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get on the ship and take a look,¡± Mu Yiran said as he began to swim in the direction of the ship.

    The people on the ship also spotted them in the sea. After a burst of shouting, someone lowered a ropedder.

    They climbed up thedder while the ancient people watched them.

    Looking at their style of dress, these people indeed seemed to be from the Qin and Han Dynasties. What¡¯s more, the g flying overhead was embroidered with the character ¡°Qin¡± in seal script.

    The people in the ship stared at them in amazement, fear evident in their eyes.

    Ke Xun and the others didn¡¯t act rashly and stood on the deck, dripping water and exchanging nces.

    The two sides were in a stalemate, when suddenly, the ancient people in the front stepped to the side, making way for a person that appeared to be of a higher status. This person saluted them and began to speak.

    Ke Xun and the others looked at one another in dismayed.

    What was he saying? It sounded like Cantonese, but also like the Southern Min dialect, and the also like the Hekka dialect.

    ¡°It was said that the Qin Dynasty¡¯smonnguage was simr to Cantonese,¡± Shao Ling whispered to them.

    Wei Dong and Luo Bu looked confused. ¡°Isn¡¯t themonnguage of the Qin Dynasty supposed to be Shaanxi?¡±

    Shao Ling expressed that he no longer wanted to bother with these two people.

    It was a pity that there was no Cantonese speaker among them. Even if there were, though, the ancient pronunciation and the modern pronunciation would likely vary significantly, thus making it difficult tomunicate.

    Mu Yiran stepped forward and replied with a hand gesture to the other person, followed by a writing gesture.

    The other person quickly understood. He turned his head and said something to the person next to him. After a salut, the person next to him hurried away. When he returned, he was holding a silk sheet and pen and ink.

    Mu Yiran told Wei Dong, ¡°Try to use the simplest way to clearly draw what I am saying. Draw the ship and an ancient person painting the ship.¡±

    Wei Dong hurriedly responded. Ignoring his body still dripping with water, he took the painting supplies, spread them out, picked up the brush, and began to paint.

    Luo Bu looked on from the side and sighed. ¡°Fortunately, we have Brother Dong. What kind of immortal touch is this? You can draw so vividly with just a few strokes.¡±

    In his heart, Shao Ling said: It¡¯s true that no one should be underestimated. No matter how good people are at certain things, they will have things they are bad at. And no matter how ordinary some people are, they too will also have their shining points.

    The super ordinary Comrade Wei Dongpleted this painting within three minutes. He took up the silk cloth and showed it to everyone. The content was clear at a nce.

    Mu Yiran pointed to the image of the person painting and then pointed his hand at the ancient people surrounding them. Then, he pointed to the image of the person painting again.

    His meaning was very clear. He intended to find someone who could paint among the people on the ship.

    The person in charge quickly understood and said a few words to the others. Someone left to carry out his order, and he made a few gestures to Mu Yiran, indicating for them to talk in the cabin.

    Mu Yiran shook his head to express rejection.

    Time waits for no one. They had no time to deal with irrelevant things.

    But the leader seemed to have something important to say to them. Seeing that Mu Yiran was unmoved, the leader thought for a moment, called someone toe, gave an order, and then the person turned and ran into the cabin.

    ¡°It feels like the painting has upgraded since The Scarlet Beast.¡± Qin Ci looked at the ancient people around them. ¡°These NPCs no longer behave mechanically. They seem¡­smart, or rather, closer to real humans.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°Even without us influencing the plot, they still have their own life trajectory and thoughts. This kind of esction is extremely scary.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­How is it scary?¡± Luo Bu asked in a trembling voice.

    Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen both looked down to think up more precise answer. Meanwhile, Ke Xun nced over the faces of the ancients who were still watching them curiously and with awe, and said thoughtfully, ¡°This feeling is like¡­ Hmm, have you seen Pacific Rim?¡±

    Some people nodded and some shook their heads.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Monsters from another world under the sea invaded the human world. At first, only the lowest level monsters came, one at a time. Later, it became two at a time, and the monster¡¯s level also increased. Muchter, the higher the monster¡¯s level, the more they came to invade. I don¡¯t know why, but the painting gives me a feeling simr to this. The NPCs in the paintings are slowly bing more and more real and intelligent. It seems¡­like human beings from another world slowly invading and recing us. At first, they only used some mechanized lowest-level members to test us, and then they would send high-level ones to continue the test, and then send those with higher levels¡­.tounch an invasion.¡±

    ¡°Brother, you have a big imagination.¡± Luo Bu couldn¡¯t help but shiver again.

    As they were talking, they saw that the person who had ran into the cabin earlier had returned, and there was a person behind him. Seeing this person, the seven-member group cried out in surprise. Even Mu Yiran was surprised.

    ¡°Hey, good seeing you again.¡± Fang Fei waved her hand to several people.

    ¡°¡ªFuck¡ª¡ªWhat¡¯s going on?!¡± Wei Dong threw out this shocked question on behalf of everyone.

    With a calm expression, Fang Fei came to the front. ¡°After I shot the pheasant and only got its feather, it rushed over and tried to destroy the rhino horn. I hurriedly tried to avoid it, but it chased too closely and the horn fell into the sea. When I discovered the horn could still burn underwater, I thought that I should at least try to find Yu Long¡¯s body before I die¡­so I jumped into the sea after it and kept diving and ended up here. These ancient people think I¡¯m some kind of god or someone with supernatural powers. They pulled me up to the ship, but we don¡¯t understand each other so we haven¡¯t been able tomunicate much.¡±

    Everyone thought it was quite lucky, and Ke Xun raised a smile at her and said, ¡°Well, I did say that you wouldn¡¯t lose. How does it feel to defeat death?¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡± Fang Fei also smiled.

    ¡°Oh, I admire this girl so much.¡± Wei Dong said to Luo Bu.

    ¡°Yes, Brother Dong, she is even manlier than you,¡± Luo Bu praised.

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡± Why say it, you rotten child?

    Fang Fei¡¯s reappearance made everyone feel much better. After experiencing the unseen deaths of the people around them, they finally had a¡­a person who outperformed, no, who had beaten death. This kind of joy and relief gave them renewed hope and strength.

    As they were speaking, another person that the leader had sent off with amand returned. There were eight people behind him, and the leader pointed to these eight people and made a painting gesture to Mu Yiran.

    ¡°These people should be the painters on the ship,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°But¡­among these eight people, who was the real author of Burning Rhinoceros at Sea?¡± Wei Dong scratched his head.

    Shao Ling said, ¡°Qin Shihuang¡¯s painters were included in the list of hundreds of workers, and most of them were unnamed. If one of these painters created this painting, it¡¯s likely that they aren¡¯t qualified to leave their seal or signature on the painting.¡±

    ¡°Then what can we do? How can we leave the painting without the seal?¡± Luo Bu said shakingly.

    Shao Ling frowned, thinking hard. However, he soon discovered that everyone else was looking at Mu Yiran, and so he followed suit.

    Mu Yiran raised his gaze. With the sea and the morning light reflecting in his eyes, he made a few gestures to the leader.

    He pointed to the eight painters and made a painting gesture. Then he shook his hand to point at the distant sky behind them all.

    He was pointing in the direction where they had fallen.

    From the moment when they got on the ship, their attentions were focused on the ancient people in front of them, and so they hadn¡¯t been able to spare time to look back at where they had fallen from.

    Now, following Mu Yiran¡¯s gestures, everyone turned their heads in unisom and cast their eyes to the sky and sea behind them. They were immediately stunned.

    In the ce where the clouds and mists touched the sea far away, a phantom and dreamlike mirage floated like a giant screen.

    In the mirage surrounded by clouds and mists, there were faint mountains in the distance, and a few pavilions among the peaks. And nearby was a vast inky sea and a huge ship floating on the surface of the waves.

    ¡°¨CA mirage!¡± Wei Dong eximed in surprise. ¡°We actually¨Cwe were in that mirage?!¡±

    Mu Yiran ignored hispanions¡¯ surprises and simply gestured for the eight painters to draw the image depicted in the mirage. The leader was still in awe of these people that had appeared out of nowhere, and so he quickly passed on Mu Yiran¡¯s request. After fetching eight sets of painting tools, the eight painter sat on the floor and went straight to work.

    As they painted, the painters were quiet, and so everyone stared at the painters nervously for a while and then turned their heads to stare at the mirage in the distance for a while.

    Mirages couldst for a short time or for a long time. Although a mirage in the early morning was rare, it wasn¡¯t umon. Sometimes, it couldst 40 minutes, and sometimes it couldst more than two hours.

    However, they didn¡¯t have much time left. The time for voting was near. But how could they obtain the seal? They could not think of a clear way yet¡­

    As time ticked on, the tension in everyone¡¯s heart increased. Luo Bu sometimes forgot to breathe, so nervous was he, and so his face alternated between white and red.

    Finally, with only a few minutes left to go, the eight painters finished their paintings. Mu Yiran stepped forward to carefully observe their eight paintings. Everyone also rushed over. By this point, they had understood Mu Yiran¡¯s intention. As eight pairs of eyes were fixed on the paintings, desperately looking¨C

    ¡°¨CThis one!¡± All hands pointed to one painting in particr. This one looked exactly like the original Burning Rhinoceros at Sea painting they¡¯d seen in the art gallery!

    ¡°Yes¨CBut there¡¯s no seal!¡± Wei Dong called out anxiously.

    Everyone felt helpless.

    Suddenly, Ke Xun turned and grabbed the hand of the artist who painted Burning Rhinoceros at Sea. He removed the brush from his hand and ran the brush over his thumb. Then he forcibly dragged his thumb over and pressed it onto the painting.

    The four sides of the silk cloth on which the image was painted suddenly lit up with a bright white light, forming an axis. The axis of the painting becamerger andrger, and the white light became brighter and brighter until it was so bright that everyone could hardly keep their eyes opened. The axis in the center of the painting fell and¨C

    ¡°Crash!¡±

    Eight people fell on the cold marble floor of the art gallery, all tangled in a mess.

    ¡°Fuck, Ke¡¯er, you¡¯re too awesome!¡± Wei Dong shouted excitedly, not caring that he was at the very bottom of the pile. He was full of joy and excitement. ¡°How did you know that you can use his fingerprint?!¡±

    ¡°I just guessed¡­¡± Ke Xun had fallen into his boyfriend¡¯s arms, and so he opened his own arms and hugged him tightly, not wanting to get up right away. ¡°The seal and the signature both represent the painter¡¯s identity. But fingerprints are also a kind of identification. Since there¡¯s anguage barrier, it would be impossible for us to ask him to sign his name, and the painter may not have a seal, so I can only use his fingerprint.¡±

    Shao Ling climbed up and looked at the imitation of Burning Rhinoceros at Sea on the wall.

    It was said to be an imitation, but in fact, it was more like a remake of the original. It faithfully reflected all the details of the original painting, including the damaged portion.

    In the original painting, the chaotic areas in the sky were mirages, but the colors had faded and the lines had be blurred due to age.

    Shao Ling stared deeply at the painting for a long time. Then looking at the crowd with a somewhatplicated expression, he pointed to the surface of the sea in the painting. ¡°This ce in the original painting had a fingerprint-like imprint. If you aren¡¯t looking closely, you would just think that it was a ripple on the sea. It¡¯s nearly blended in.¡±

    ¡°So, did the paintinge first, or did wee first?¡± Qin Ci philosophically ask.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± A scream came from the entrance of the exhibition hall, startling everyone, and they turned to look.

    There were a few females standing by the entrance, staring at them in fear and disgust. One of them asked in a sharp voice, ¡°What are you doing?! Acting like ruffians! Security¨CSecurity¨CWe need to call the police!¡±

    Everyone suddenly reacted and looked down at themselves. Most of them were wearing only a pair of underwear or a boxer, all in diverse styles and distinct colors.

    Only Mu Yiran and Fang Fei were neatly dressed, and at this moment, they took a few steps to the side, pretending not to know these people.

    Everyone else: ¡°¡­¡±

    No wonder Mu Yiran refused to take off his clothes when jumping off the boat.

    Shao Ling said in his heart.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    <b>Xida: </b>Of course, how can the perfect Mu Yiran be caught half naked? /sarcasm

 Chapter 215: Our Home

    <h4>Chapter 215: Our Home</h4>

    Before leaving, Fang Fei left her contact information behind and added the ¡°Entering the Painting Theory¡± group to her WeChat. Everyone else stayed in a nearby hotel for one night, and had a break-up meal together the next morning.

    After eating, they continued to sit, primarily because Shao Ling had a lot of questions to ask.

    ¡°So now it seems that the coordinates of all the art galleries you¡¯d entered looked like a T and a triangle when connected?¡± Shao Ling looked at the map Ke Xun had saved on his cell phone.

    ¡°The angr shape at the end looked like a triangle, or a vertical sh and a right sh in the middle that might be the letter N or M,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°But I think it¡¯s most likely the letter N or M.¡±

    ¡°So the coordinates of the paintings are based on the shape of these letters,¡± Shao Ling said thoughtfully. ¡°And these letters are a hint?¡±

    ¡°We talked about it,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°Everyone thinks that there are two possibilities. First, these letters will eventually form a sentence simr to a code word or prompt, and it¡¯s likely that this sentence will unlock the truth behind this whole incredible thing. Second, the letter formed by these coordinates could also be a huge signature.¡±

    Shao Ling was shocked. He immediately went back to studying the image on the cell phone, and after a while, he said, ¡°If this is a signature, have you tried searching for a painter whose signature starts with the letter T?¡±

    ¡°There are so many painters from all over the world, both at home and abroad. It would be hard to find, right?¡± Luo Bu said.

    ¡°At least we can exclude ancient Chinese painters,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°Only foreign painters or Chinese contemporary painters sign with English letters. The name starting with T may also be an English word or an abbreviation of the painter¡¯s name. We should investigate the names of painters in various countries and disregard those without the letter T in their name. Then, using this method of elimination¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s too much work.¡± Qin Ci shook his head slightly. ¡°You must know that in the paintings we have entered, there were even painters who weren¡¯t well-known or those who weren¡¯t very good at painting. Since we have to consider painters with various levels of skills, it¡¯ll likely take us years to go screen everyone.¡±

    Shao Ling thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Then do all the painters have anything inmon? Or any other connections?¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± Wei Dong replied. ¡°We even tried to check the genealogy of these painters: We checked everything we could find and found no connections.¡±

    ¡°The only thing they have inmon is that they¡¯re all Chinese,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Shao Ling¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Does this kind of thing happen abroad?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± This time, it was Mu Yiran who answered. ¡°I personally went to several art galleries abroad that were said to have supernatural events, but in the end, they all had had nothing to do with this. This incident seems to only be happening in this country.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s fine if we only investigate domestic painters.¡± Shao Ling refused to give up on his idea. ¡°Have you tried contacting the painters of previous paintings?¡±

    ¡°Xiao Mu checked, but they¡¯re all dead,¡± Qin Ci answered.

    ¡°This may be the second thing they have inmon,¡± Ke Xun said, spreading his hands.

    Shao Ling frowned. There seemed to be no solid clue, as if these incidents were happening for no reason and progressing with no reason. There was no cause, no result. And what if it continued indefinitely like this?

    If this was the case, then what was the point of struggling to survive?

    Seeing the dazed irritability suppressed between Shao Ling¡¯s eyebrows, Mu Yiran said, ¡°I believe that there is always a cause and effect. There is a reason for this phenomenon, so there¡¯s no need to feel hesitant.¡±

    Shao Ling smiled. ¡°You¡¯re right. I was a little impatient.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s normal. After all, you¡¯ve only experienced one painting, and so it¡¯s normal to be anxious to get out of this situation,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Unlike us, we¡¯ve already been numb to it after surviving so many paintings. Right now, just focus on eating, sleeping, working, and ying, as if nothing¡¯s wrong. In this way, you can jump directly to our stage.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± Shao Ling recovered. After calming down, he reorganized his emotions and then looked at Mu Yiran. ¡°So what kind of investigations are you all conducting?¡±

    ¡°First of all, we wanted to know if this phenomenon only started this year, or if it has always existed,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°The first painting that Dr. Qin and I entered was at the beginning of May this year. It was also the first time for the other eleven people who were pulled in with us, so we have no way of knowing whether there were other paintings prior to us. If there are, then the letters formed by the coordinates of the art galleries that we¡¯ve obtained may not have started with a T.¡±

    ¡°I think that, if we can determine when this entire thing started, we can gain more useful clues. So this question is particrly crucial.¡±

    ¡°Dr. Qin has ssmates working in hospitals in various cities. He is in the process of contacting these people and asking in casual chats about some strange things that may be happening in their cities. You must know that these kinds of rumors always get passed around at hospitals, and the people who got out of the paintings often get sick, crazy, or injured in the real world. The hospital is a great ce to get in touch with these people and things.¡±

    ¡°Haowen and Wei Dong are responsible for collecting and asking about rumors on the inte. Ke Xun and I are responsible for conducting research via books and print media and by conducting field visits. But so far, we have not found anything useful.¡±

    ¡°If you and Luo Bu have any connections you can utilize, I hope you can join in and help too. I will also contact Fang Fei.¡±

    Luo Bu raised his hand. ¡°Brother-inw, I can join your and brother¡¯s group. I don¡¯t have a job, so I usually have a lot of time to run around. It¡¯ll be fine if I don¡¯t go home for a few months! Brother, let me stay at your house.¡±

    Ke Xun was speechless. ¡°¡­.You can do it, but I can¡¯t! You don¡¯t want your girlfriend anymore?¡±

    Luo Bu said, ¡°My girlfriend said that two people can get tired of each other after being together for a long time and this will cause them to hate each other. She said it¡¯s okay if I don¡¯te home for two to three months.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°¡­I don¡¯t understand your heterosexual love very well. Anyway, don¡¯t squeeze into my house. It was very hard for me to finally be able to live in a two-person world, and I¡¯ll kill anyone whoes in and bother us.¡±

    Luo Bu: ¡°Yoooo¡ª¡ª¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­Yo, you radish head. If anything happens, I¡¯ll send you a WeChat, so just wait at home.¡±

    Shao Ling said, ¡°I can also find someone to look into this matter and even open publications and social media ounts as a cover for us to solicit information.¡±

    Wei Dong asked, ¡°Can I ask what Boss does for a living?¡±

    ¡°I work in Wenxin Group,¡± Shao Ling said briefly.

    Wenxin Group was one of the most famous literary operators in China. It had online tforms and print media publishing, with a huge audience and a high interactive feedback rate.

    If Shao Ling could take advantage of his position to collect information, it would be tantamount to adding a powerful boost.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s arrange it like this for the time being,¡± Shao Ling got up. ¡°I still have to catch today¡¯s flight. If there¡¯s any news, pleasemunicate in the group Wechat and keep in touch.¡±

    After everyone sent Shao Ling off, they said goodbye to one another and went their own separate ways.

    In the end, Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, and Wei Dong were the only people left in the hotel.

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran with a big smile on his face. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go home too?¡±

    Mu Yiran also smiled softly. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go home.¡±

    Wei Dong next to them: ¡­ Who am I? Why am I standing here? Why am I suddenly eating dog food?

    It was afternoon by the time they got home. This time, Mu Yiran brought a whole suitcase, and he watched as Ke Xun opened his suitcase like a big, happy dog and rushed into the bathroom. Seeing this, the corners of his lips curled into a small smile.

    ¡°I think our house needs more furniture.¡± Ke Xun stood in the middle of the central hall, hands on his hips. As he looked around at his empty house, he began to dislike it. ¡°The walls are too white. Why don¡¯t we change the color to a high-grade gray? Or a tranquil blue? Or a pale color? Maybe add a serious sofa in the living room and a small home theater? We can get a whole wall of bookshelves in the study for your books. We can also get a desk and throw myputer in the guest room. The guest room is empty anyway. By the way, I saw a set of coffee machines online, I¡¯ll ce an order now.¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun,¡± Mu Yiran hooked a finger underneath Ke Xun¡¯s chin and turned him to face him, ¡°this is your home, and it will be my home in the future. It needs both of our imprints, and it can¡¯t be decorated based on just my preferences alone. Whatever you like, I¡¯ll like.¡±

    Ke Xun gazed into his eyes, and after a moment, he licked his lips and said in a low voice, ¡°Whatever I like, you¡¯ll like too? Then¡­¡± As he said this, he wrapped his arms around Mu Yiran¡¯s waist and pushed him back slowly into the study. Suddenly, he hooked his feet, causing them to stumble andnd on theputer desk. ¡°I like this.¡±

    He lowered his body, brushed his lips across Mu Yiran¡¯s cheek, and lightly bit his ear, all the while, his hands were moving up and down.

    He heard Mu Yiran¡¯s voice ringing softly in his ears, like a sigh, like a light panting, with a soft and maic tone.

    Not to die in the painting, but to die here, Ke Xun thought to himself.

    Mu Yiran cupped the nape of his neck, and Ke Xun wondered to himself why he liked it so much. It was fine if his nape was touched and rubbed, but once the hair at the nape of his neck was tightly tugged, his lower spine instantly went numb.

    ¡­¡­

    Having aputer desk in the study was a good thing. They should discuss it further and continue to keep it in the study.

    ¡­¡­

    When Wei Dong called, Ke Xun was throwing the dead keyboard into the trash can.

    Wei Dong asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Resting.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°After?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°Stop talking nonsense. If there¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m hanging up.¡±

    Wei Dong said, ¡°Now that you have a boyfriend, you don¡¯t care about me anymore. Didn¡¯t you say you want to buy furniture? My uncle will be in the store tomorrow. If you go to him directly, you¡¯ll get a discount.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Okay. By the way¡­ What brand of keyboard is more sturdy?¡±

    Wei Dong asked, ¡°Is your keyboard broken? Have you used a mechanical keyboard before? It has great tactile quality, especially when the keys are pressed. It makes a mechanical ck-ck-ck sound, which is pretty exciting¡­Is anyone there? Hello? Say something!¡±

    Ke Xun finally said, ¡°Um¡­I was just imagining it. It should be really exciting.¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Wei Dong continued to talk, but Ke Xun¡¯s thoughts began to drift away. Mu Yiran was sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, drinking a cup of steaming instant coffee. The city was full of the fallen leaves ofte autumn, and the golden red afterglow of the sunset shaded his beige sweater, making it glow with a fluffy warm light.

    <strong>Xida:?</strong>I¡¯m really sorry, but after some self-assessment, I¡¯ve decided to drop this novel. My life has be incredibly busy and hectictely, and it has been a struggle to find time to work on this project. Hopefully, a new trantor will be found soon.

 Chapter 216: Old Station Art Gallery

    <h4>Chapter 216: Old Station Art Gallery</h4>

    City A was not far. It only took four hours by train.

    In the early winter season, the world still retained most of its colors. Red maple trees flew past by outside the train window, as if they were about to burn the train carriage.

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran sat side by side in the seat. Their hands were next to each other with palms up. The width of the palm and the length of the fingers were surprisingly simr. At a rough look, it seemed like one person¡¯s hand.

    Looking at them closely, Ke Xun¡¯s hands were a little rougher. There were thin calluses of various degrees on the palms and fingers.

    ¡°Look, your career line is long.¡± Ke Xun scratched where the ¡®career line¡¯ was on Mu Yiran¡¯s palm andpared it with his own. ¡°My career line is bad¡­ But my love line is thick!¡±

    The two people whispered about everyday routines.

    Mu Yiran leaned on the back of the seat and obediently wore the neck pillow that Ke Xun gave. His cold face was buried in the furry pillow, which made him look a little simple and honest.

    Ke Xun felt Mu Yiran¡¯s hand touching the back of his head, and his fingers squeezed between the pillow and the back of his neck, as if looking for the tip of his hair.

    ¡°You want some chocte?¡± A hand reached out from someone who couldn¡¯t read social cues from the front seat, and there were two bars of choctes.

    Wearing ck sunsses, Wei Dong turned back and said, ¡°Chocte is not junk food. We need to store enough calories to maintain our physical strength.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Wei Dong¡¯s solemn ck clothes and ck sunsses and expressed his concern: ¡°Just now, the train police kept looking at you.¡±

    ¡°Well, I also think this outfit gives me courage.¡± Wei Dong pursed his lips and chewed chocte, feeling this was a cool thing to do.

    Wearing the ¡®courageous¡¯ dark clothes, Wei Dong started to give choctes to Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen who were sitting in the front row. He also jabbed Zhu Haowen¡¯s shoulders and said: ¡°When will youe back to this seat? I don¡¯t want to sit next to Shao Ling. He¡¯s too smart. I have been living under the shadows of smart deskmate since I was young. I had enough.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°I don¡¯t want to be next to a ¡®social man¡¯. I would rather be next to a doctor.¡±

    Qin Ci: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡®Social man¡¯ Wei Dong looked towards Zhu Haowen: ¡°It¡¯s easy to get trainsick reading on the train¡­ Wait a second, Haowen Er, since when did you start reading books instead of ying games? A physical book too!¡±

    Zhu Haowen flipped through the pages, seemingly engrossed in the plot.

    Wei Dong was curious: ¡°WTF, it has words too!¡±

    ¡°Detective novel.¡± Zhu Haowen replied.

    ¡°Who wrote it? Gokyu Higashino?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Wei Dong did not realize at all he said the name wrong. He scratched his head and thought again: ¡°Your book looks quite old. Is it by the detective queen Aletha?¡±

    ¡°Wang Shuo.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bully artists for being uncultured! Ke Er and I read a lot of Wang Shuo back then. There¡¯s <i>Hot and Cold, Measure for Measure</i>, and there¡¯s <i>Fierce Animals¡­ </i>He wrote detective novels? Haha! Ha! That¡¯s so funny!¡±

    Zhu Haowen held up the book to show Wei Dong the cover. It was <i>The Case Collection of Solicitors</i> and the author¡¯s name was Wang Shuo.

    ¡°That is rare. Did not know Wang Shuo had also written detective novels.¡± Wei Dong turned his head and muttered to Ke Xun in the backseat, only to cover his eyes the moment he turned around. ¡°What are you doing in a public ce?!¡±

    Ke Xun looked up and said, ¡°Adjusting the seat height¡­ ¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you two just lie down¡­¡± Wei Dong discovered that they were both wearing neck pillows. <i>An outstanding man has been turned into a fat necked grouse. Love can really lower someone¡¯s capability¡­</i>

    When the train stopped at a station, Shao Ling came to this carriage. He saw a man in ck clothes and dark sunsses waving warmly at him. Shao Ling looked carefully at the front and back seats of the sunsses fellow, making sure he was not in the wrong carriage.

    The sunsses fellow: ¡°There is only one seat left. They don¡¯t want to sit next to this ¡®social man¡¯.¡±

    After greeting everyone, Shao Ling sat down and said, ¡°In sociology, ¡®social man¡¯ refers to a person who has both attributes of nature and society, as opposed to ¡®economic man¡¯.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­ ¡± Wei Dong, with his sunsses off, stared nkly. With both hands, He passed over his box of choctes: ¡°Do you want to eat some? This is for maintaining energy. It¡¯s sweet and delicious.¡±

    Shao Ling politely nodded and took a piece of chocte: ¡°Actually the sweet vor does not belong to the taste of chocte itself. Chocte is native to Central and South America. The origin of the word is xoctl, which means ¡®bitter water¡¯.¡±

    Wei Dong chewed the choctes and looked at Shao Ling innocently. He felt the shadows of his school days shrouded him again: ¡°Ha, right¡­ ¡±

    He looked towards Shao Ling, who did not eat the chocte but rather seemed to be in a daze.

    Everyone had their own way to relieve tensions, like how Wei Dong numbed himself by making jokes and fooling around. Shao Ling¡¯s method was probably reciting textbook knowledge like a robot¡­

    Thinking of that, Wei Dong felt some sympathy for the new member: ¡°Don¡¯t be polite, eat more!¡±

    Shao Ling was patted on the back by Wei Dong for a few times, as if he had just regained his consciousness. He looked at the ingredients on the chocte package and said, ¡°The sugar amount is a little high. Fortunately, the saturated fat in choctes contains stearic acid, so I¡¯ll eat a little.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Just eat.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The train soon arrived in City A. The hotel was already booked, so everyone was not in a hurry to check in.

    ¡°It¡¯s still early. Let¡¯s go to the art gallery first.¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Just now Radish said they have arrived at the art gallery.¡± Wei Dong took off his sunsses when he passed the mirror in the waiting hall. Walking among this group of people, he felt like a blind man who needed to be taken care of, or like a hostage in opaque sunsses.

    Everyone had the evesting art gallery ticket in their pocket. This time it said, ¡®Old Station Art Gallery¡¯.

    It took everyone a long time to find the old railway station on the map. Because of thepletion of the new railway station, the old railway station had been arranged into a public art gallery, which was said to improve the citizens¡¯ level of art appreciation.

    As of now, ¡®Old Station Art Gallery¡¯ had been open for ten years. Except for major art exhibitions, it was almost empty at regr times. People¡¯s level of art appreciation was not something that an art gallery could change.

    So, when the taxi driver heard that these few ¡°tourists¡± were going to the art gallery, he warned them wholeheartedly: ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time. It¡¯s very boring! There¡¯s no pieces from big masters, really! Other museums or art galleries have some representative pieces, not here! You guys might as well go to the botanical garden or zoo! The zoo has just added baby kangaroos!¡±

    Zhu Haowen sat leaning forward. He was inexplicably nked by Qinci and Wei Dong to sit in the middle of the back row and felt very awkward. ¡°I heard that this art gallery was built by the mayor against the public¡¯s suggestions. It was said that the bidding projects that year included an aquarium, a train model exhibition, and a folk memorial museum.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± The taxi driver loved to chat, ¡°Any one of them would be more popr than the art gallery! Especially the aquarium, imagine how many children it would attract! Could also open a buffet cafeteria underground and people could eat while enjoying the fish behind the ss. That would be so exciting! It could also generate ie for the city!¡±

    ¡°Yes yes yes.¡± Wei Dong nodded inattentively throughout the drive.

    When they got to the old train station, everyone thanked the taxi driver and ¡°persisted¡± to get off there. Wei Dong didn¡¯t forget to add: ¡°I just want to see how miserable this art gallery is¡­¡±

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran had already arrived by the previous taxi. The girl with the long ck ponytail standing next to them was Fang Fei.

    This hairstyle made Fang Fei look sharper and cooler. She nodded to everyone and didn¡¯t say much.

    ¡°Brother! Brother! Brother-inw, brother-inw!¡± A voice came from a distance. It was obvious who it was.

    Luo Bu arrived on an electric scooter, swaying from side to side: ¡°Fortunately, you two are tall, otherwise I would have to go around this dpidated building again. I looked around for a long time and still haven¡¯t found the art gallery.¡±

    Ke Xun silently pointed to the big characters on the door of ¡°this dpidated building¡±: Old Station Art Museum.

    ¡°Ohh, it¡¯s here~¡± Luo Bu stopped the scooter. He looked up with blinking eyes, ¡°This small shabby building is so small and run-down. I thought it was a convenience store.¡±

    The art gallery was not very small. Old train stations in old cities were almost always this size.

    ¡°I thought you had thought that this was a garage¡­,¡± said Wei Dong.

    ¡°Aiya, Brother Dong?! When did you arrive?¡± Luo Bu suddenly discovered Wei Dong was here and was excited. He then immediately saw Qin Ci: ¡°Brother Qin!¡± Then Shao Ling: ¡°Brother Shao!¡± And then Zhu Haowen: ¡°Wen Er¡­ ¡°

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°Don¡¯t call me Brother.¡±

    Luo Bu happily leaned forward and rubbed Zhu Haowen with his elbow: ¡°Show your ID if you dare, let¡¯s see who the older brother is~¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Click!¡± Luo Bu used his phone to take a selfie for the two of them, ¡°It¡¯s nothing to be young now. Let¡¯s take another picture ten yearster, and see who looks older~¡±

    Luo Bu looked at the picture on his phone. Two young faces exuded unlimited youthfulness, although one had no smile, and another had a forced smile.

    Luo Bu really wanted to ask everyone to take a photo together at the entrance of the art gallery, but felt that this proposal seemed ominous¡­

    Zhu Haowen turned his attention to the art gallery: ¡°The reach of this Old Station Art Gallery was not ideal. In fact, many citizens evenined about the municipal decisions back then¡­¡±

    Luo Bu: <i>Huh?</i> <i>The topic change was not smooth at all.</i>

    Shao Ling raised his head to inspect this old art gallery: ¡°Was this municipal decision affected by other factors? The railway station was rebuilt into an art gallery in 2009. Other art galleries you have experienced before were built on different dates, some of them are hundreds of years old, and some of them are newly opened in the past two years. I think it is necessary for us to find out the reasons for why these art galleries are built. This one was built against the public¡¯s consensus, and the people of this city do not buy it. It can be said that this was a wrong decision, but how was this decision made in the first ce?¡±

    After Shao Ling said this, he looked around. Fortunately, barely anyone visited here. It was just them standing alone in front of the gate.

    ¡°What gave me the deepest impression was the painting <i>Breaking Through the Ground. </i>The developers from Hong Kong bought thatnd which led to the residents of the Spring Bamboo Apartments to be forcefully removed, and even created resentment.¡± Qin Ci also felt the same way. ¡°So, it seems that the art galleries were built by some mysterious force.¡±

 Chapter 217: Pawns

    <h4>Chapter 217: Pawns</h4>

    <i>Built by some mysterious force.</i> These words made Luo Bu shudder.

    There must have been a mastermind behind the paintings, maybe it was a person, an organization, or a mysterious force. If the mastermind behind the scenes could control the will of individuals or even groups of people, then this force would be inestimably powerful.

    Shao Ling seemed to have read Luo Bu¡¯s thoughts: ¡°If the other party really were that powerful, they wouldn¡¯t try their best to get people to enter the paintings. I think there must be great limitations on the usage of such powers.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded slightly. Regarding these spections, several old members had talked about them before, but they couldn¡¯t continue to expand upon the topic of entering the paintings.

    ¡°Therefore, the geographical locations of these art galleries are important, but it is hard to say what are the meanings behind them.¡± Said Qin Ci.

    ¡°How many paintings have you guys experienced in total?¡± Luo Bu had already put away the white electric scooter. He lifted it up after folding it. It looked very convenient.

    Wei Dong: ¡°Ke Er and I have already gone through nine paintings. Haowen Er has two less than us. Boss Mu and Brother Qin have two more than us.¡±

    ¡°That is to say, my brother-inw and Brother Qin have already gone through twelve paintings. Is it going to end for them soon?¡± Luo Bu rubbed his chin. He didn¡¯t wear a fancy watch on his wrist today, only a Casio sports watch. ¡°I think that painting instigator seems to like the number thirteen very much. It chooses thirteen people every time. Does that mean there are also thirteen paintings in total?¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°9+2=11.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ That means my brother-inw and Brother Qin have already gone through eleven paintings. That is still a lot, almost thirteen.¡± Instead of wasting time on his arithmetic, Luo Bu immediately got back on topic.

    Qin Ci nodded slightly: ¡°As for the final number of thirteen, we have made such guesses before.¡±

    ¡°If there truly are thirteen paintings in total, then when brother-inw and Brother Qin finishes the thirteen paintings, this whole thing will end?¡± Luo Bu asked innocently. <i>When it ispletely over, everyone can celebrate together¡­</i>

    Wei Dong patted him on the shoulder: ¡°I¡¯m just afraid, after they get through the thirteen paintings, it only ends for these two. We can only rely on ourselves in the future. Whoever clears thirteen paintings will be free.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Luo Bu looked at Mu Yiran, who existed like a god in his heart, ¡°Brother-inw and the others wouldn¡¯t just leave us to be. Besides, Brother Ke would still be here.¡±

    Ke Xun said earnestly like a big brother: ¡°I¡¯m afraid that after thirteen paintings, these people who got through willpletely forget about entering the paintings. If you want to discuss something with a certain someone, the bodyguards around him will stop you first.¡±

    Mu Yiran tilted his head to look at Ke Xun. He didn¡¯t expect this guy to have made such an assumption in his heart.

    Ke Xun also looked at Mu Yiran: ¡°It¡¯s not impossible. After Luo Wei got out, he didn¡¯t know us at all.¡±

    Several old members invariably recalled the scene after the eighth painting, the lonely figure of Luo Wei leaving by himself and his dazed and bewildered expression when everyone tried to talk to him.

    No one continued to disturb him. Only after he truly ¡°left¡±, did they go to express their condolences as former friends. They took the initiative to take care of all the funeral arrangements and the care of Luo Wei¡¯s mother.

    Mu Yiran squinted his eyes. He would never allow such an embarrassing and vicious event of ¡°amnesia¡± to happen between himself and Ke Xun. This kind of thing would never happen.

    A dull bell suddenly rang. Everyone unconsciously looked towards the sound source. It was the bell tower above the art gallery.

    ¡°The old railway station is at least a hundred years old, and the clock tower looks like it was built before the Chinese Revolution.¡± Wei Dong looked up at the clock tower above the art gallery.

    Luo Bu wasn¡¯t focused on that: ¡°Three dayster at this time, are we going to be inside the painting¡­¡±

    Everyone heard him but did not know how to respond. They all chose to be silent.

    ¡­¡­

    Three dayster, everyone came again to the Old Station Art Gallery. Luo Bu felt the cunning and stinginess of time, as if the time outside paintings was infinitely shortened, and yet the time inside was infinitely stretched out.

    Of course, this was just his own psychological illusion, a psychological obstacle of time that was difficult to ovee.

    Luo Bu was still carrying his beloved white electric scooter. After folding, the scooter looked more like a handbag with a strange shape. The gatekeeper had no reaction to this. Anyone who passed the luggage check and had a ticket would be let through.

    ¡°Luo Bu, are you going to ride on the scooter to enter the painting?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°Ride? Don¡¯t say that about my Koharu.¡± Luo Bu was holding his scooter.

    Wei Dong felt his steps were a bit heavy. This happened every time he stepped into an art gallery, along with chest tightness and nausea. This was an innate feeling of resistance.

    Wei Dong did not want to show his timidity in front of the new people and add undue panic to them. He smiled and said: ¡°Your Koharu. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re thinking about the same Koharu I am.¡±

    Luo Bu nodded earnestly: ¡°Yui is left at home. I came out with Koharu today. It¡¯s new and convenient to use.¡±

    ¡°Are you still short of servants who take care of electric scooters?¡±

    ¡°I just started using them, only have two. I don¡¯t need dedicated caretakers for now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I thought there would be Miss Aoi in your storage.¡±

    ¡°Miss Aoi, isn¡¯t she an old timer fromst century¡­¡±

    ¡°Looks like this kind of topic can also cause generation gaps.¡±

    There seemed to be no one in the art gallery. Only the eight of them were walking inside it, and only Wei Dong and Luo Bu were speaking.

    Luo Bu lowered his voice and said, ¡°I¡¯m still counting on Koharu to make great contributions. After all, it is also a means of transportation. Maybe it can be turned into a bicycle or a carriage¡­¡±

    Everyone didn¡¯t take Luo Bu¡¯s words seriously at first, but when they heard this sentence, they thought that this young man was creative. If the electric scooter could be brought into the painting, it might really have some uses.

    Ke Xun patted Luo Bu¡¯s shoulder, only to realize that he was trembling slightly. In front of them was the fourth exhibition hall that they were going to enter.

    In the past three days, everyone had visited here and looked through all the paintings carefully, hoping to be of some help when inside the painting.

    The good thing about this old art gallery was that the exhibited items won¡¯t change for centuries. There should not be any sudden changes.

    The fourth exhibition hall wasrge and had more than 200 works on disy. Almost each painting had a different artist. For this purpose, Mu Yiran specifically checked the list of artists in the industry and could only find five of them. The rest of them werergely unknown.

    Despite this, everyone still took pictures of all the paintings in this exhibition hall, studied them one by one and even discussed things they didn¡¯t understand.

    Mu Yiran also tried to find all relevant information and distributed the summarized texts and pictures to everyone. Everyone read them carefully many times and felt like they were studying for the college entrance exams.

    At this moment, everyone walked into the familiar exhibition hall. With an unsure look on his face, Luo Bu walked towards arge painting of a sunset. ¡°Do the ck eyes in the sun refer to sunspots? One of the meanings say it¡¯s drawn for blind children. Another meaning is¡­¡±

    Ke Xun stood next to Luo Bu: ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, you¡¯re not going in alone.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s my brother-inw too.¡± Luo Bu looked at Ke Xun, ¡°Brother, you didn¡¯t memorize much either, do you¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    There were voices at the end of the exhibition hall. Could it be that there were other visitors already here? A few of them walked inside, only to find five or six people talking by the gate inside the exhibition hall.

    For the convenience of visitors, the exhibition hall usually had two entrances, but the other door of this exhibition hall was closed. Everyone thought it was because there were too few visitors, so there was no need to open all the doors.

    ¡°We came to City A to study and collect information about the local culture. We will take the train back tomorrow. Please allow us to see the photography works in the exhibition hall next door.¡± A young woman with a camera bag on her back said.

    Several other young people with camera bags also begged one after another. The staff was finally persuaded and picked up the key to open the door: ¡°Well, I won¡¯t do this again. The exhibition hall is supposed to open next month. Don¡¯t tell anyone else my boss will me me for it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, thank you so much!¡± The young people said gratefully.

    Seeing this situation, the veterans of the group were a little dazed.

    ¡°Wait, does the exhibition hall next door still belong to the fourth exhibition hall?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    The staff nodded: ¡°It is also part of the fourth exhibition hall, but it is temporarily separated.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­Okay, thank you.¡±

    Everyone didn¡¯t expect that there would be such a thing. All their previous efforts were in vain.

    ¡°There are only photography works in the next room. It has nothing to do with paintings, right?¡± Fang Fei, who remained silent for a long time, spoke suddenly.

    Several veterans stood by the door, and no one stepped into the next hall.

    ¡°Do you guys want to go in and have a look? It¡¯s only open for a short time, at most an hour. If you want to see it, hurry up and have a look.¡± The staff stood by the door with the key.

    ¡°We are here to see paintings, not photos.¡± Said Wei Dong.

    ¡°They are like some ck and white photos. I don¡¯t understand either. It seems that there are also paintings.¡± The staff¡¯s words sounded heavy to everyone.

    ¡°Have you guys noticed that there were five people who went in just now?¡± Shao Ling couldn¡¯t help but tell them about his discovery.

    There were eight people on their side, including the five who had just entered. It was exactly thirteen.

    The staff nodded, as if dering a judgment, and said: ¡°Yes, there are five in total. They are all photography enthusiasts.¡±

    Zhu Haowen went in first. They had to go sooner andter.

    Qin Ci walked beside Mu Yiran, and couldn¡¯t help but whisper: ¡°If they want to attract us into the paintings, why do they have to y these tricks? Is it to prevent us from preparing in advance?¡±

    Mu Yiran seemed to be thinking about something: ¡°It seems that there are two forcespeting in the dark. One is guiding us, and the other is stopping us.¡±

    When Qin Ci heard this, he couldn¡¯t help but shudder.

    Mu Yiran continued: ¡°Moreover, the two forces seem to be evenly matched, and we are just pawns in this game.¡±

 Chapter 218: Photographer

    <h4>Chapter 218: Photographer</h4>

    When the eight of them walked into the next hall, they found that it waspletely dark inside.

    Hearing the door slowly close behind them, everyone¡¯s mood sank.

    The few newbies were quite calm. One of them asked if there was a power outage and asked everyone to turn on their phone shlights¡­

    Before he finished speaking, a beam of white light shot straight down on a painting. The veterans quickly approached it, trying to remember the content and the artist of the picture clearly in the shortest possible time.

    The five young people stared dumbfounded at the visitors who suddenly approached. One of them tightly covered the expensive camera he had just bought from Japan¡­

    Gradually, the neers felt something was wrong, as if the only things left in this dark world were this ray of light, these people, and this painting on the wall.

    The veterans¡¯ gazes were all fixated on the painting. It was a painting that was mixed with ck and white photography works in the hall. The painting was ck and white. It was not made from ink, but more like a sketch drawn with ck charcoal pencil. Probably to make a visual impact, the artist drew arge circle on a square piece of paper. The scenery was hidden inside the circle, adding an artistic sense to the picture.

    Theposition of the picture was very simple. There was only a simple house and its nting shadow cast by the illuminating sun. The author¡¯s signature was written outside the circle. The handwriting was sloppy: <i>Inn</i> by Bi Di in Spring 1995.

    The white light only existed for more than a dozen seconds, and the veterans already had a tacit assignment of tasks. Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen focused on memorizing the picture. Ke Xun and Qin Ci focused more on memorizing words, and Mu Yiran looked at the whole thing.

    Shao Ling observed theposition ratio of the picture in his own way. Fang Fei noticed differences in the brushes. The picture was drawn in charcoal. The author¡¯s signature and the big circle seemed to be in pencil. Luo Bu took a few photos of the picture¡­

    When the world becamepletely dark, the five neers finally let out a terrified scream: <i>Where is this ce?! What exactly is going on? Who are you people?!¡¡¡¡</i>

    Luo Bu¡¯s voice slowly filled the air: ¡°The misfortune has fallen upon all of us. Let¡¯s hope that we are lucky.¡±

    Soon, everyone fell silent, and the darkness was gradually thickening, as if it were a secret realm that could not be dissolved. One could only melt into it after passing through a suffocating voidness.

    Luo Bu didn¡¯t know how long itsted. He only knew that he was holding Ke Xun and Wei Dong¡¯s hands tightly, and his legs were squeezing his electric scooter Koharu. When he got the chance to talkter, he would certainly tell everyone what he was feeling. <i>It felt like swimming in asphalt¡­</i>

    The ¡°asphalt¡± was not hot but at room temperature. It is gradually cooling down, getting colder and colder, as if it wanted to condense people into thousand-year-old ambers.

    In the chaos, no one knew how much time had passed before their feet finally stepped onto the t ground and could breathe freely. Luo Bu greedily breathed in the cold air and heard Wei Dong say: ¡°I felt like I had swum through a whole preserved egg.¡±

    Everyone, inadvertentlypared to ¡°ginger juice and soy sauce¡± by Wei Dong, was now adjusting themselves to face the new environment.

    Even though everyone was still in the dark, they could feel it was indoors. Below their feet was a solid wooden floor, which was not clean and seemed to be covered in dust.

    After experiencing the indescribable ¡°preserved egg¡±-like sensation just now, the five neers also gradually calmed down, wrapped the old cotton robes that did not belong to them tightly around, and listened to Qin Ci¡¯s talk about entering the paintings that sounded like some ancient myths.

    ¡°It¡¯s really cold here,¡± Ke Xun had already turned on his phone, ¡°What the hell, is my phone broken?¡±

    The screen of Ke Xun¡¯s phone was bright, but there was nothing on it. It was like the dim light of a phone screen when it was just turned on, or the short nk when changing the lens of an early film. The whole screen was full of empty white light.

    Soon a few more patches of white light appeared, and everyone¡¯s phones lost all functions except to illuminate.

    ¡°I can¡¯t even see how much battery there is.¡± Wei Dong stared at the rectangr white light on his phone. Was it a waste to charge it to 100% beforeing here?

    ¡°That is to say, phones are useless in this painting?¡± An unfamiliar voice rang out, and it came from a boy among the neers. The boy imitated Shao Ling in the dim light and touched the wall behind him. Soon he felt clear scratches carved on the wooden wall.

    ¡°My Ricoh camera has also changed. It has be a purely mechanical old-fashioned camera!¡± This time the one who spoke was the one who covered the camera for fear of being robbed.

    Qin Ci introduced the veterans to the neers. One of the older ones among the neers, a short-haired girl, took the initiative and said: ¡°My name is Xi Shengnan. I¡¯m the owner of the WeChat group ¡®Sculpting Time Hobbyist Photographers¡±. A few of us organized this activity to study local culture, and City A is thest stop of our trip¡­¡± Xi Shengnan¡¯s voice waned.

    After the introduction, everyone got acquainted with the neers. Besides Xi Shengnan, there was another good-looking girl named Du Lingyu. The boy with a Japanese Ricoh camera was Lu Heng, and the slightly chubby boy was Cao Youning. The one who spoke first and looked for clues near the wall was Mai Peng.

    ¡°So, if we find the photographer¡¯s signature, we will definitely be able to get out?¡± Du Lingyu¡¯s voice trembled slightly.

    ¡°The artist.¡± Cao Youning corrected her.

    ¡°Bi Di is a photographer.¡±

    ¡°We are now in his painting.¡±

    Du Lingyu went silent, and her cell phone also went dark at the same time, as if it wanted to save its stamina with her master.

    The surroundings seemed to be slightly brighter, but the light was strange, very different from the normal break of dawn.

    ¡°Turn off the phone first.¡± Mu Yiran, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke.

    Perhaps it was because Mu Yiran¡¯s unique temperament was so convincing that several neers turned off their phones at the same time. At this time, the darkness was gradually thinning, and the surroundings were filled with inexplicable lights, like night lights with cool colors.

    ¡°Before ¡®dawn¡¯es, let¡¯s talk about this painting and its artist first. I hope everyone shares everything they know.¡± With the help of the dim light, Mu Yiran could barely see where they were¡ªit was a wide corridor of a wooden building. There was a wooden door not far from them, which probably leads to another room. On the other side, there was a deep staircase, connected to the bottomless darkness.

    It was like the scene of a horror movie, with imminent dangers brewing all around.

    ¡°You just said that Bi Di is a photographer?¡± Qin Ci asked Xi Shengnan.

    Xi Shengnan nodded: ¡°We came to the art gallery today to look at Bi Di¡¯s photography works. In truth, his photography exhibition won¡¯t be open until next month, but we could not stay in City A for a month. We predicted that the exhibition would be prepared beforehand, so we begged the staff member to open the door for us.¡±

    ¡°If I had known it earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have gone to any photography exhibition even if you kill me.¡± Cao Youning muttered in a low voice. He remembered what his grandmother said when he was a kid: <i>literally driven by a ghost</i>.

    ¡°Bi Di is a very famous photographer?¡± Shao Ling asked.

    ¡°He is well-known in the industry, but not nationally famous,¡± Xi Shengnan replied, ¡°This exhibition in City A is his first photography exhibition, because City A is his hometown. The exhibition can also be regarded as amemoration of this artist after his death.¡±

    Bi Di was already dead. Several old members looked at each other in silence. This once again matched with the situation of the previous artists. Every artist of the paintings that they entered was already dead.

    ¡°As a photographer, does Bi Di asionally draw?¡± Shao Ling continued to ask.

    ¡°It¡¯s really hard to say. Bi Di changed his photography style after he turned forty. First, he stopped producing color photographs and turned to ck and white. In terms of form, he almost stopped capturing and snapping.¡± Xi Shengnan said.

    Hearing this, Mu Yiran cast his gaze over. Shao Ling continued to ask: ¡°If you give up capturing and snapping, you lose the true meaning of photography. Why did he¡­¡±

    ¡°He brewed a photo just like brewing a book or a movie.¡± said Mai Peng, ¡°For a photo, he might have to line dozens of drafts. After the finished photo came out, these drafts would be burned. Only a few of them are still left in this world. The work we are in is one of those precious drafts.¡±

    ¡°The name of this draft is ¡®Inn¡¯. Have you ever seen the finished photo of ¡®Inn¡¯? Can you tell me about the photo?¡± Shao Ling turned his attention to Mai Peng. It was obvious he knew more about the artist.

    Mai Peng shook his head regretfully: ¡°I have seen all the photography works that were published by Bi Di, and I remember almost all the contents. But I have never seen a photo called ¡®Inn¡¯. This is the first time I have seen this draft as well.¡±

    Qin Ci looked at the other neers: ¡°Has no one seen the photo of ¡®Inn¡¯?¡±

    Everyone shook their heads. Cao Youning said: ¡°I didn¡¯t even see what was clearly drawn in the draft, let alone the photo. I was too scared back then.¡±

    Luo Bu looked at his almost useless phone disappointedly: ¡°I even took a few pictures. I think when we first came in¡­ Ah¡ª Ahhh¡ª Ahhhhhh¡ª¡±

    Luo Bu¡¯s sudden screams scared the neers. Wei Dong also panicked and tried to calm down: ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You hungry?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a hairy thing rubbing against my feettt!¡± Luo Bu was so scared that he forgot to stay away. He was sweating and only knew to clutch onto Wei Dong who was closest to him.

    Now everyone was not calm anymore and looked towards Luo Bu¡¯s feet with the help of the dim light. There really was a furry thing moving around. Du Lingyu screamed: ¡°Oh my God, what is that thing?! Do these kinds of strange things often appear in paintings¡­¡±

    Ke Xun lit up his phone and pointed to Luo Bu¡¯s feet: ¡°It¡¯s a dog.¡±

    ¡°Ah?! What the hell, this is so weird!¡± Luo Bu moved towards Ke Xun slowly. He was too afraid to lower his head to look, but the dog followed him. ¡°Oh God, is this a strange type of NPC¡­Holy, its color is so weird, why is it so white¡­¡±

    ¡°When did this dog sneak in? Why did ite so silently? I don¡¯t remember that there was a dog in the picture.¡± The one who spoke was Lu Heng, who was also terrified.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s part of the picture.¡± Mu Yiran remained calm, ¡°Radish, where is your electric scooter?¡±

 Chapter 219: Lighting Lanterns

    <h4>Chapter 219: Lighting Lanterns</h4>

    ¡°Oh God, brother-inw, are you saying this dog is my Koharu?¡± Luo Bu¡¯s whole body was almost clung on to Ke Xun. Mu Yiran cleared his throat and politely pulled him away. ¡°Otherwise, where else is your electric scooter?¡±

    Luo Bu calmed down slightly and looked towards the white dog. The dog was staring at him with a pair of puppy eyes. Luo Bu stared back at it for a while: ¡°You are right, she is Koharu.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Here, Koharu,e to dad.¡± Luo Bu¡¯s attitude took a 180-degree turn. This white dog was not too big and could be easily picked up by Luo Bu. ¡°It really is her! There¡¯s also a tag on her neck! It¡¯s the tinum te engraved with diamonds that I hang on my scooter!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s necessary for us to check the items we brought.¡± Shao Ling opened his backpack, which had turned into arge coarse-clothed bag. ¡°The shlight turned into a few big candles, the food turned into dried tbread, and thepass¡­ thepass is missing. I clearly remember it was in the bag.¡±

    ¡°There is apass on my watch too.¡± Fang Fei looked at the watch on her wrist, which had, at some point, turned into a strangely shaped porcin bracelet.

    ¡°My Casio has be a rope.¡± Luo Bu, holding Koharu, wanted to cry.

    Among the neers, only Mai Peng wore a watch, but it hadpletely changed. He looked at his buddy Xi Shengnan: ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring a set of knives?¡±

    Xi Shengnan opened her bag: ¡°Although the box has changed, the contents inside should still be there.¡± she said as she opened the wooden box in her hand. ¡°My name is still on this box. It looks like this ce also uses Chinese characters.¡±

    Mai Peng seemed to care more about the knives inside the box. ¡°Themonly used knives are still there. Even though the appearance has changed, it doesn¡¯t affect their functionality. Some of the tools seemed to have be unrecognizable¡­ But are there a few things missing?¡±

    Xi Shengnan nodded: ¡°Maybe because this world could not recognize them. A new type of knife is missing, along with a scraper.¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to ask, what are you doing with so many knives visiting a photography exhibition?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but interrupt.

    Xi Shengnan exined: ¡°We have been on this trip for more than two months. The main thing we do on the road is taking pictures. Sometimes we need to stay in some ces for a few days to capture a certain scene. Last month we camped in the wild for nearly a week. These knives are naturally indispensable for living outside. I had brought a set of ceramic knives with me, but I forgot to take them out when I came to the art gallery. I didn¡¯t expect it would pass the security check, looks like they should repair their inspection equipment.¡±

    It was unbelievable that knives were brought into a painting, which reminded the veterans of that mysterious power that seemed to be ying against the painting instigator.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you guys to have wilderness survival skills!¡± Luo Bu couldn¡¯t help but praise them.

    The veterans were surprised by the neers. At first, they thought that they were hobbyist photographers that only captured street scenes. They didn¡¯t expect them to be rtively experienced photographers with some wilderness survival skills.

    Wei Dong: <i>The scraper they mentioned, it¡¯s probably for scaling the fish they captured¡­</i>

    ¡°Did all your cameras change? Can they still take pictures normally?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    The neers all took out their cameras. Xi Shengnan shook her head: ¡°Mine has be an 80s entry-level camera for beginners.¡±

    Simr changes had taken ce in others¡¯ cameras. The cameras became old-fashioned, along with old types of films in them.

    ¡°Can you try and see if you can still take pictures?¡± Mu Yiran looked towards Mai Peng, who picked up the camera skillfully in his hand.

    Mai Peng looked at everyone from the viewfinder of the camera and turned the film: ¡°I have used old cameras before, and this camera has no problem taking pictures.¡±

    Mai Peng¡¯s camera lens scanned the surroundings, and suddenly stopped at the deep staircase. Mai Peng¡¯s eyes left the camera and stared at a certain spot in the darkness doubtfully.

    Seeing his action, the veterans were reminded of the experience in the painting <i>Human Studies</i>. Some things that were invisible to the naked eyes often appeared on phone screens.

    Qin Ci couldn¡¯t help but ask in a low voice: ¡°Is there any problem?¡±

    Mai Peng¡¯s expression remained calm: ¡°The ce in front is too dark, I¡¯m wondering if it¡¯s appropriate to take a picture of that ce¡ªif we want to, we must turn on the sh.¡±

    The question did not get an immediate answer. The surrounding light seemed to be a little brighter than before, but still as dim as a night light. No one got a full view of the location they were in.

    ¡°Something doesn¡¯t feel right. Dawn shouldn¡¯te this slow.¡± Shao Ling couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I suspect that this may not be natural light. We may be in a sealed room. These lights may bemplights or some other type of lights.¡±

    Mai Peng was still holding the camera, looking at the world through the viewfinder.

    The other neers didn¡¯t have the courage to pick up their cameras, as if they were afraid of seeing something they shouldn¡¯t see through the viewfinder.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to think too much about the environment.¡± Mu Yiran stared at Mai Peng for a long time and said, ¡°Just follow your usual photography habits.¡±

    As soon as Mu Yiran finished speaking, Mai Peng pressed the shutter. The strobe light in the darkness was like a white sh, illuminating everyone, who looked like pale stone statues under the light.

    The sh did not let everyone see the environment clearly. The sudden strong light temporarily blinded them instead.

    Mai Peng no longer held the camera, but let it hang on his chest. His eyes were staring at the stairs at the end of the corridor, and he moved two steps in that direction.

    Zhu Haowen stopped him in time: ¡°What did you see?¡±

    Mai Peng looked at the expressionless man in front of him, and then looked down at his camera: ¡°The camera settings of the photo I just took kept the maximum depth of field. When I pressed the shutter, I seemed to see someone going up the stairs.¡±

    Everyone subconsciously moved closer to theirpanions. This was an instinctive sense of self-protection. Cao Youning¡¯s breaths were especially heavy in the darkness: ¡°I can¡¯t stand this anymore. Are we going to be trapped in this small wooden building forever? It has been a few hours and it¡¯s still dark! We are just going to keep waiting?¡±

    Cao Youning¡¯s sweat dripped on the floor. There were blurred shadows of everyone on the floor, which made them feel scared but also reassured. At least these were shadows of humans.

    Mu Yiran did not move closer to anyone, but stayed near the stairs, as if listening to something.

    Ke Xun walked over quietly and spoke in a low voice: ¡°It seems like someone really is going upstairs.¡±

    Mu Yiran stopped Ke Xun from going forward: ¡°Don¡¯t just step into the unknown darkness.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t speak: <i>I only want to go together with you</i>.

    Mu Yiran also stopped talking and held Ke Xun¡¯s hand tightly in the darkness.

    Just when several neers were about to break down, a warm light lit up the corridor, apanied by the sound of light and steady footsteps.

    Everyone was silent, but their eyes were fixated on the direction of the light. The light really was moving slowly up from the stairs.

    The light gradually brightened. Its orange color made people feel warm, and the whole world gradually appeared clearly in front of everyone. This was a very huge wooden building, bigger than the tube-shaped apartment building in <i>Kung Fu Hustle</i>, the bathhouse in <i>Spirited Away</i>, and the Huanji Building in <i>Big Fish & Begonia. </i>It was so big that it looked like a small society.

    Lanterns were lit up floor by floor, and one could see the huge courtyard surrounded by this circle of corridors. There was an adjacent courtyard in front of it, which was also lit up. There were many courtyards connected on all sides, like a city of buildings, or a country of buildings.

    The one who lit thentern walked up to this floor and nodded slightly at them. Using a long stick-shaped tool in his hand, he lit up thenterns on this floor one by one.

    ¡°You are all up so early?¡± Thentern-lighter¡¯s voice was polite and gentle, ¡°Was it because of the movements downstairs?¡±

    The neers stared at this iparably realistic NPC, not daring to look directly at him and only observed secretly in the candlelight.

    Thentern-lighter didn¡¯t mind and concentrated on lighting thenterns around everyone: ¡°Many people have gone down to see what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Qin Ci took advantage of the situation and asked, ¡°Did something happen downstairs?¡±

    ¡°Xiayu is dead.¡± Thentern-lighter looked a little sad.

    Xi Shengnan frowned slightly when she heard those words. Everyone remained calm, not knowing what would unfold.

    Thentern-lighter sighed: ¡°I have no idea if she offended someone. She was killedst night.¡±

    Everyone had a lot of questions but didn¡¯t know where to start: <i>What kind of ce is this wooden building? What kind of people live here? Who is the deceased Xiayu? Does this have anything to do with the signature? ¡­</i>

    Mu Yiran peeked downstairs and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go down and have a look too.¡±

    Hearing this, thentern-lighter, with thentern in his hand, stood sideways at the top of the stairs. He then said something that surprised everyone: ¡°It¡¯s better to go and have a look, Master Mu. Be careful, there¡¯s a step that¡¯s a bit shaky.¡±

    Hearing the NPC calling him by hisst name, even Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t maintain his usualposure. He looked at thentern-lighter inquiringly, and finally nodded politely: ¡°Thank you for reminding me.¡±

    Everyone followed Mu Yiran and walked towards the stairs. When Luo Bu passed by thentern-lighter, he suddenly heard him say, ¡°Master Luo, what is Koharu eating today? Still minced meat porridge?¡±

    Luo Bu was stunned. He opened his mouth for a long time before saying, ¡°Sure, anything is fine.¡±

    Everyone walked down the stairs a little stiffly. The NPC knew the surnames of several people, which had never happened in previous paintings.

    Although the previous NPCs were all strange in some ways, some were like broken records, some like real humans, and some so weird that only voices could be heard, but these NPCs never knew nor asked about everyone¡¯s real origins. Perhaps for them, these people simply belonged to the outside of the painting, and that alone was enough.

    ¡°I really wanted to ask thentern-lighter, what is the setting of this world? I feel this is like an ancient game. We all have our own identities in it, and we should have different character settings.¡± Lu Heng said to everyone while going downstairs.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to be quiet at this kind of moment. The veterans are more experienced, and they probably have their own ideas.¡± Xi Shengnan¡¯s words still carried some weight among her group, and Lu Heng quickly closed his mouth.

    The task of exining fell to Qin Ci again. Qin Ci slowed down to walk among them: ¡°The fact that the NPC knew our surnames has never happened in previous paintings. We haven¡¯t figured out the rules of this world. It¡¯s best not to act rashly. Maybe this world is still asleep, and one word could wake them up.¡±

 Chapter 220: The Deceased

    <h4>Chapter 220: The Deceased</h4>

    The courtyard below the city of buildings was quite huge. It was simr to a modern-day medium-sized za, with spacious open space, pavilions and rockeries, and lively ces like bazaars.

    But everything always seemed to be covered with dust, as if it was eroded by desert sandstorms several years ago and was difficult to clean even if it was rebuilt.

    ¡°Looks like ruins.¡± Shao Ling couldn¡¯t describe his feelings at the moment. Everything before him looked spectacr and frightening. ¡°This ce feels like a newly excavated underground city. Maybe there are some buried stories for us to dig.¡±

    Listening to Shao Ling¡¯s description, Mu Yiran thought of something, but didn¡¯t speak.

    ¡°This ce is too big. If we just look for the signature without any clues, we probably won¡¯t be able to find it in ten years.¡± Looking at the majestic buildings, Wei Dong actually missed the ship from thest painting. Although the sea was vast, it was simple. ¡°Besides, there are too many NPCs¡­¡±

    Luo Bu hugged his dog and shivered: ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay in this ce for ten years¡­¡±

    ¡°You wish, we only have seven days.¡± Wei Dong reminded Luo Bu mercilessly.

    Luo Bu didn¡¯t say a word, instead Koharu cried out.

    Everyone looked at this magnificent andplicated city of buildings, all feeling a little helpless.

    There was only a simple house in the painting they saw. Who knew that the structure inside the house could be soplicated, with so many vivid NPCs living here.

    ¡°Look, there are a lot of people gathered on the tform on the second floor.¡± Du Lingyu pointed to a basketball court-sized tform. It was indeed full of people, and people from different floors seemed to be rushing in that direction.

    ¡°That¡¯s probably where the incident happened.¡± Qin Ci slowed down his pace, ¡°The deceased Xiayu that thentern-lighter mentioned should be there.¡±

    ¡°This is the first obvious clue that the painting gave us.¡± Zhu Haowen also stopped, not intending to squeeze into the crowd.

    ¡°If this is a clue, then the signature is on Yuxia¡¯s body? Are we going to find a signature on a corpse?¡± Cao Youning felt that his voice didn¡¯t quite resemble him anymore. <i>Everything that happened today felt too illusory. I really hope this is just a dream.</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s Xiayu.¡± Xi Shengnan corrected him, ¡°it¡¯s not Yuxia.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a person in the painting, and they are already dead. They have no nothing to do with us.¡± Cao Youning wasn¡¯t in a good mood and couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about whether it¡¯s Xiayu or Yuxia. He felt this so-called dead person was like the white-clothed doll that his older sister used to scare him when he was young, dragged on the floor with its face down and hair loose.

    ¡°Xiayu, why do I feel that this name is familiar? If I remember correctly, the character Xia should be the Xia in ¡®Wu Xia¡¯.¡± Du Lingyu seemed to have remembered something, and turned to look at Xi Shengnan: ¡°Sister Xi, I remember in your novel¡­¡±

    Xi Shengnan looked at everyone: ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just a coincidence, but there is a heroine in my novel named Xiayu, and that was my first novel.¡±

    Unexpectedly, Xi Shengnan was not only a photographer, but also a novelist.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a hobby.¡± Xi Shengnan said faintly.

    At this time, several people passed by them, who were just there to see what was going on: ¡°Poor Miss Xiayu. If you ask me, her name is inauspicious. A fine jade with ws.¡±

    ¡°Oh, now you are talking and acting so knowledgeable. If you knew literomancy, what do we need the Shamans for?¡± Another person said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s listen to what Master Shaman has to say. The murderer can¡¯t escape the Shaman¡¯s eyes.¡±

    They walked towards the tform on the second floor where the crowd gathered while talking.

    ¡°A fine jade with ws. Sister Xi, this is exactly the same as the name of the heroine you wrote.¡± Du Lingyu¡¯s voice trembled slightly, not understanding how the painting obtained everyone¡¯s information, and was even aware of their written works.

    Xi Shengnan didn¡¯t look well either. Even if it was just a coincidence, it was inauspicious.

    ¡°Sister Xi, how did Xia Yu in the novel die?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    The corner of Xi Shengnan¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°She didn¡¯t die, Xiayu didn¡¯t die in the novel, and in the end, she obtained happiness through her own efforts.¡±

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t know why but he felt that it was even more sad that Xiayu didn¡¯t die. The wicked painting instigator seemed to just want to kill happy and beautiful things for them to see.

    .

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just a coincidence. Let¡¯s go find out the surname of this Xiayu.¡± Wei Dong tried tofort Xi Shengnan.

    Xi Shengnan seemed a little hesitant. Her gaze scanned the crowd and finallynded on Mu Yiran¡¯s face.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°The shorter we stay in the painting, the better. I suggest that we divide into three groups. One group will go back to the room where we live to find clues. The second group will walk around this ce. Even if no clues can be found, it¡¯s fine to at least get a hang of the rules of this ce. Thest group will go downstairs to the scene of the incident.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go down and have a look.¡± Fang Fei said directly. At the moment, she had already made simple changes to her clothes. She tied the wide gauze used for headbands tightly around her waist, making her look very agile.

    ¡°I¡¯m going too!¡± Wei Dong followed closely behind.

    Wei Dong¡¯s rare bravery and generosity stunned Luo Bu. He whispered, ¡°I won¡¯t be going¡­ I¡¯m not yet used to corpses¡­¡±

    Lu Heng said to Xi Shengnan, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. Let¡¯s have just a few people go first to fish for some information.¡±

    Xi Shengnan wanted to go too but was a little afraid. She could only nod at this moment: ¡°Please be careful.¡±

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran exchanged a nce, and followed Wei Dong: ¡°When did you have the guts to rush forward alone now?¡±

    Wei Dong had indeed grown a lot now. He rarely called ¡°Ke Er, Boss¡± for help. Seeing how Luo Bu kept calling ¡°brother, brother-inw¡± nowadays, Wei Dong thought of his old self.

    ¡°Rush forward alone?¡± Wei Dong pointed to Fang Fei who was walking in the front: ¡°She is quite emboldening.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡±

    Fang Fei walked in the front. The cotton tunic fitted her very well. Under the candlelight, the fabric of the tunic exhibited matte exotic patterns, with flowers and birds inside the round beaded patterns.

    Wei Dong looked at the pattern on his clothes, which was simr to everyone else¡¯s: ¡°I think the birds on it seem to be crows.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s inauspicious. Touch some wood.¡± Ke Xun remained expressionless.

    ¡°What, are you Haowen Er now?¡± Wei Dong stopped talking. Everyone had reached the second floor at this time, and there seemed to be a loud argument from the crowd in front of them.

    ¡ª¡±It¡¯s him! It must be him! The Xiao family has always wanted a marriage with the Chu family, but now that fell through, he simply killed Xiayu!¡± It seemed that someone was pointing out the murderer.

    Almost everyone¡¯s gaze was focused on a red-faced young man. His eyes flickered a few times and he tried to defend himself: ¡°Anyway, I didn¡¯t kill her. Even if the marriage talk fell through, I have no need to kill anyone.¡±

    Soon someone said: ¡°You said that what you can¡¯t have, no one else can have either! Many of us were there when you said it!¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± The young man was speechless.

    The voices of these people were quite loud. Ke Xun and others could hear them clearly outside of the crowd.

    Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help butin in a low voice: ¡°Why is the plot so dramatic? It feels like a cliched TV drama written by a third-rate editor in the 2000s¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Shengnan is a serious writer.¡± Lu Heng, who was standing next to them, suddenly said.

    This sentence contained a lot of information. Ke Xun turned to look at Lu Heng, and Fang Fei, who was standing in front of them, also turned around: ¡°You mean, what happened just now is the same as the plot in the book? ¡±

    Wei Dong was also surprised: ¡°Have you read that book? Women¡¯s fiction?¡±

    Fang Fei¡¯s eyes drifted over Wei Dong¡¯s face: <i>Is this important¡­</i>

    Lu Heng first answered Wei Dong: ¡°Yes, I have read it. It was Shengnan¡¯s debut novel, and it was published on a female-oriented novel website. The reception was lukewarm, maybe because the plot didn¡¯t have enough ups and downs, but it conveyed true feelings¡­¡±

    ¡°Bro, get to the point.¡± Wei Dong reminded him.

    Lu Heng cleared his throat in embarrassment: ¡°The heroine Xiayu, also surnamed Chu, had an engagement with the Xiao family before. Later, the Xiao family fell into decline, and the Chu family unterally broke off the engagement.¡±

    The young man, who was used by everyone as the murderer, was from the Xiao family. ording to what people had said, he had a marriage agreement with the deceased Xiayu before, and he once said, ¡°If you can¡¯t get it, you might as well kill it.¡± in front of everyone. Everyone was now using that as evidence, and it was hard for him to defend himself.

    They were quiet after hearing what Lu Heng said. Fang Fei looked at Ke Xun: ¡°I don¡¯t believe that this painting will read our inner thoughts one by one likest time.¡±

    Ke Xun thought for a moment and asked Lu Heng: ¡°Did Xi Shengnan know the photographer Bi Di before?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they knew each other. Bi Di passed away in the 1990s. Besides, the cities where these two resided are far away, so it is unlikely that they ever met.¡± Lu Heng hesitated for a moment, then added: ¡°The onlymon thing they share is probably photography.¡±

    But why did the painting choose Xi Shengnan¡¯s novel as the first clue? If Xi Shengnan had no special rtionship with the artist, would today¡¯s scene happen to everyone in the future?

    Ke Xun looked at Fang Fei: ¡°I also don¡¯t believe that this painting will follow the path of the previous painting and dig deep into our inner thoughts.¡±

    Through the stream of figures, Wei Dong vaguely saw the dead Xiayu lying there, covered with a gray cloth, with dark red blood oozing under. The blood flowed like a gtinized stream, stopping in one direction, as if intending to identify the murderer.

    Wei Dong¡¯s heart trembled. He moved closer to Ke Xun and felt a little more at ease.

    ¡°I think this painting only borrowed the settings of the novel written by Sister Xi and changed many parts. Sister Xi said just now that the heroine did not die at all and lived a happy life.¡± Wei Dong expressed his opinion, ¡°This story so far has little to do with that novel.¡±

    Lu Heng pursed his slightly thick lips. Under the candlelight, his facial features were closer to those of Southeast Asians: ¡°This is Shengnan¡¯s first novel. She once revealed that it is almost a semi-autobiographical novel. I¡¯ve heard that many authors¡¯ first novels are somewhat autobiographical.¡±

    The flickering candlelight was as ominous as what Lu Heng said¡ªautobiography, wouldn¡¯t the deceased, Xiayu, be the incarnation of Xi Shengnan herself?

    The candle mes jumped more and more violently, but the crowd suddenly fell silent. A gust of wind rushed towards them with momentum, and someone whispered: ¡°Master Shaman is here.¡±

 Chapter 221: Master Shaman

    <h4>Chapter 221: Master Shaman</h4>

    When Wei Dong saw the so-called Master Shaman for the first time, he almost let out a scream. His body felt weak, but Ke Xun promptly held him up: ¡°Hold it in, that¡¯s a mask.¡±

    Master Shaman wore a slightly old dark long cotton robe and a pale mask, which had a pair of crescent moon eyes and aughing mouth that cracked to the ear, all of which were as ck as the bottom of a pot. There were some radiating ck lines around the eyes, looking like the eyes were emitting ck light. These lines were all over the mask, as if the mask would be cut open by these sharp lines at any time.

    ¡°Master Shaman¡¯s eyes are filled with wisdom.¡± Although the people¡¯s attitudes were not exactly humble, their expressions were filled with great admiration for Master Shaman.

    Wei Dong finally restrained his elerated heartbeat, but he still couldn¡¯t look straight at Master Shaman calmly¡ªespecially those eyes with countless ck rays, which were quite torch-like.

    Worrying about things increased their chances of happening. Master Shaman slowed his steps when walking past Ke Xun and hispanions. His masked face approached them, as if ¡°looking¡± at them. Those curved ck eyes and ck mouth seemed to be able to suck people into their endless dark abyss.

    Finally, Master Shaman nodded slightly, and continued to walk slowly towards where the dead body was.

    Wei Dong was frightened, and he tried his best to calm himself down while Lu Heng leanedpletely on Wei Dong.

    Wei Dong wiped off his cold sweat<i>: Luckily, Radish didn¡¯te with them, otherwise he would have been scared to death.</i>

    Lu Heng¡¯s whole body was covered in cold sweat, and he couldn¡¯t even wipe them all off. Now he wanted to ask the veterans, did such scary NPCs often appear in previous paintings? And how on earth did they live through so many paintings without being frightened to madness?

    Ke Xun was also afraid, not because of Master Shaman¡¯s weird mask, but¡­ this world seems to have fixed rules that cannot be broken. They had names in this world. This must not be groundless, but more like preparing for the role-ying that was about toe.

    Master Shaman¡¯s status seemed to be high. So what about the status of their group of people in this world? What kind of tasks would be assigned? What kind of punishment would be imposed if the rules were vited?

    At this time, everyone on the second floor was silent, and even the entire city of buildings was silent. People reverently left the right to speak to Master Shaman.

    Everyone lowered their heads slightly. Ke Xun and the others had no choice but to do as the Romans did, and followed everyone with their heads slightly lowered, but their ears were pricked up to listen to the slightest movement.

    Master Shaman lifted the white cloth covering the deceased. Perhaps the cloth was too old, even the rustling sounds became dull, as if not wanting to attract the attention of uninvolved people.

    ¡°Master Shaman,¡± an unfamiliar voice rang out. It seemed to be an official who was guarding the corpse, ¡°The murderer must have been vicious and despicable. They not only stabbed the deceased several times, but also disfigured her face. The deceased was good at ying the Guqin, and the murderer cruelly cut off all her fingers.¡±

    Master Shaman remained silent for a long time, and the official also fell silent.

    The rustling sound of the old cloth sounded again. It seemed that the cloth had been put back on the deceased.

    The official added: ¡°Master Shaman, we all suspect that Xiao Hu did it. Because the marriage arrangement didn¡¯t work out, he harbored murderous intent¡­¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. Master Shaman, please help me!¡± Xiao Hu¡¯s exnation echoed in the buildings, like a passionate speech in a stage y.

    Another unfamiliar voice said hastily: ¡°Do not bother Master Shaman. Master is looking into the eyes of the dead.¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but raise his head slightly. Because he was tall, and the other people happened to lower their heads, he was able to see what was happening on Master Shaman¡¯s side. The dead body was entirely covered by a white cloth. Master Shaman¡¯s tall body bent down like shrimp. His masked face seemed to be staring at the corpse through the cloth.

    Master Shaman stared for a long time.

    ¡°The murderer is a woman.¡± Master Shaman finally spoke. Perhaps because of the thick mask, the voice sounded very strange as if their mouth had been covered by someone.

    Everyone was silent for a while, and suddenly someone said: ¡°Then it must have been Xiao Hu¡¯s lover! She must be jealous of Xiayu! She did it!¡±

    Gradually, voices of agreement came one after another, like the wind blowing into a forest of por trees, causing crackling sounds¡ª¡±This woman is so vicious! She is jealous of Xiayu¡¯s beauty! Jealous of Xiayu¡¯s Guqin skills!¡±¡ª¡±Hmph, now she has destroyed her own life too! The Chu family will not let it go! Our Lantern Inn will not let her go!¡±¡ª¡±The people in the Fluorite Inn are all ck-hearted! They can¡¯t see the light there! ¡°¡ª¡±Get her out, we Lantern Inn are not to be bullied!¡±¡­

    A strange sound appeared, and everyone shut up.

    The sound was simr to fingers lightly flicking eggshells. The sound rang clearly in everyone¡¯s ears. It was not loud, but rather like a strange type of whisper.

    Ke Xun¡¯s eyes were fixated on Master Shaman. He couldn¡¯t believe that the sound just now came from Master Shaman gently tapping their chin, the chin of the mask, with their fingers.

    ¡°That woman will have retribution.¡± Master Shaman said.

    Perhaps ¡°tapping the chin¡± brought along some magical force, everyone stopped talking. After respectfully watching Master Shaman leave, no one said anything more. At most just one more line¡ª ¡°The light will bless and protect Xiayu and let her rest in peace.¡±

    Soon, the ¡°death of Xiayu¡± became old news. People scattered and went about their business.

    Xiayu¡¯s body was still covered with a white cloth and guarded by several people.

    Ke Xun and the others had no reason to stay here anymore, so they went upstairs along the stairs they came from.

    Lu Heng walked at the back, holding on to the handrail of the stairs, and barely managed to climb up. Wei Dong gave him a hand: ¡°It¡¯s not night yet. Nothing will happen during the day. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Lu Heng became even more weak: ¡°At night, will someone really die? Is it bound to happen?¡±

    Wei Dong remained silent and just dragged him upstairs.

    Fang Fei walked in the front without saying a word.

    Ke Xun: ¡°You are not the prying type of person. Going downstairs to see the dead body wasn¡¯t your goal.¡±

    Fang Fei turned to look at Ke Xun.

    Ke Xun: ¡°You might have discovered something, and you were eager to go downstairs to verify it.¡±

    Fang Fei¡¯s ck eyes swept over Ke Xun and looked down at the bracelet on her wrist.

    Ke Xun: ¡°Is it rted to that Master Shaman?¡±

    Fang Fei nodded and took off the earthenware bracelet on her waist: ¡°I wanted to talk about it when we get back. Now that you have thought of it already, then let¡¯s take a look at this.¡±

    Ke Xun took this wide bracelet with a rough style. It would be apliment to say it was simple. To put it bluntly, it was crude, as if made by amateurs for fun. It was not even round enough. ¡°It¡¯s so ugly.¡±

    Fang Fei: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°WTF Ke Er, you already have a boyfriend. Why are you holding a girl¡¯s bracelet?¡± Wei Dong¡¯s tone was like as if he was scolding Jia Baoyu.

    Ke Xun acted as if he didn¡¯t hear it. He was holding the bracelet in a serious manner, his fingers resting on the inner ring of the bracelet: ¡°Are there words here? It seems to be a single character with simple strokes.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°What, are you Shao Ling now?¡±

    Fang Fei looked around to make sure there was no one and nodded: ¡°It says ¡®Shaman¡¯.¡±

    Maybe it was because the word ¡®Shaman¡¯ was special in this world, everyone else was quite surprised. Wei Dong recalled the terrifying scene when Master Shaman approached him just now: ¡°No wonder he watched us for a long time, and finally nodded at us. It seems that¡­ he met a colleague? Was that meant to be a greeting?¡±

    Lu Heng stammered behind and said, ¡°So he was nodding back then? I thought he wasughing¡­ His head was shaking fromughing¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Fang Fei: ¡°Let¡¯s go back first. What did Mu Yiran say? Where are we going to meet up?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s at the ce where we came in. The room next to the corridor should be the residence this world has arranged for us. Let¡¯s go back to the room first. Brother Qin and Haowen Er went to check on the other floors, and they should be back.¡± Ke Xun looked at a gauzentern next to him. A me as big as a fist flickered. It was both beautiful and terrifying.

    Fang Fei smiled faintly and couldn¡¯t believe that Ke Xun and Mu Yiran had discussed so many things after a few exchanges of nce and some whispers.

    ¡°Which floor did wee down from just now?¡± Lu Heng looked at the huge rectangr courtyard and the almost identical rooms on the upper and lower sides, ¡°What if we can¡¯t find it?!¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s tone wasforting: ¡°We¡¯re on the ninth floor, next to the stairs, and there are crows drawn on thentern at the door.¡±

    ¡°Touch some wood.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice came from above the stairs.

    Wei Dong subconsciously touched the stairs¡¯ wooden pirs: ¡°That¡¯s a crow for sure. I¡¯m an artist, can¡¯t I tell the difference between a crow and other birds? Although it¡¯s not filled with ck, the figure, head and mouth definitely belong to crows! ¡ªLu Heng, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m bird-phobic¡­¡± Lu Heng wanted to cry but had no tears.

    ¡°¡­¡­Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok. It¡¯s not that serious. I¡¯m mainly scared of the beaks¡­¡± Lu Heng tried his best to distract himself from thinking about such ufortable things. ¡°By the way, there is one more thing that I would like to ask everyone to keep secret.¡±

    Both Ke Xun and Fang Fei slowed down, looking towards Lu Heng whose face was pale.

    Lu Heng: ¡°The things happened just now, about Xiayu¡¯s disfigurement and severed fingers, I don¡¯t want Shengnan to know. She looks strong, but she is actually very fragile. Please, everyone.¡±

    Everyone didn¡¯t say anything and tacitly agreed.

    Wei Dong and Lu Heng walked behind and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Do you like her?¡±

    Lu Heng smiled bitterly: ¡°You could tell?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite obvious.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, she turned me down. She has been hurt before and doesn¡¯t believe in feelings.¡± Lu Heng¡¯s voice was soft but firm. ¡°I learned photography because of her. I didn¡¯t know anything about it before and was not interested in it.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at the camera hanging in front of Lu Heng¡¯s chest. When walking in the crowd just now, the people seemed to be no strangers to this object. That was to say, in this world of indistinguishable times, the camera was something that already existed.

    Lu Heng¡¯s hesitant voice came up again: ¡°I¡­ just secretly took a picture of Xiayu.¡±

 Chapter 222: 1/16 Second

    <h4>Chapter 222: 1/16 Second</h4>

    Everyone could hardly believe that the seemingly timid Lu Heng secretly took a picture of a corpse in a dangerous situation like that.

    ¡°Damn, you mean, you secretly took a photo of the deceased in front of that Master Shaman?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t tell whether Lu Heng was timid or too courageous. He had been standing next to Lu Heng back then and didn¡¯t even notice he was secretly using the camera.

    Lu Heng¡¯s voice was still hesitant: ¡°At that time, Master Shaman hadn¡¯te yet, and the crowd was quite chaotic. I didn¡¯t even raise the camera and didn¡¯t dare to look at the viewfinder. I just pointed it in the direction where Xiayu was lying and pressed the button. My hands were trembling at the time. I don¡¯t know if it can bear such a slow speed.¡±

    ¡°What speed?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t understand, and Ke Xun and Fang Fei were also confused.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s the shutter speed,¡± Lu Heng became even more timid, wondering if he had vited a certain rule in this world by secretly photographing the deceased. ¡°I used a very slow speed, 1/16 second. In fact, it has already exceeded the limit of the safe shutter speed. At this speed, a tripod should be used. Plus my hands were trembling, so maybe the picture was blurred.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t know why he let out a sigh of relief, as if not being able to capture anything in the photo was something that made people feel at ease.

    ¡°Why did you want to take a photo of her?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    The four of them slowly moved upstairs. When they asionally meet one or two other people, they would tacitly keep silent.

    Hearing Ke Xun¡¯s question, Lu Heng seemed to have found his way again amidst confusion. His voice became firmer: ¡°I wanted to take those pictures to show Shengnan. After all, it was the one work she cared about most, in case she wants to see it after we leave the painting¡­¡± Lu Heng¡¯s eyes became confused again, and he scratched his hair, ¡°I¡¯m probably crazy, I actually took a picture of the heroine¡¯s body for the author to see. God knows what I was thinking¡­¡±

    ¡°You just don¡¯t want her to have regrets.¡± Fang Fei said suddenly.

    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t want her to have regrets on anything.¡± Lu Heng muttered to himself and nodded.

    Ke Xun continued to ask: ¡°What was the safe shutter speed you mentioned just now? And as for the 1/16 second, why would the picture be blurred?

    The three of them didn¡¯t understand the photography jargon that Lu Heng said just now. Everyone understood Ke Xun¡¯s intentions at this moment. If Lu Heng was lucky enough to take a clear photo, it might be a useful clue.

    ¡°The speed is the click sound when we press the camera shutter. It¡¯s also the exposure time. If the speed is very slow, the shaking caused by handheld cameras will affect the photo. 1/60 to 1/30 second can be said to be the limit of a safe shutter speed for handheld cameras, and that¡¯s with a tripod for stabilization. Not to mention that the speed I just used was 1/16 second.¡± Although Lu Heng was timid and nervous, the words just spilled out when he started talking about professional photography.

    Even though Wei Dong couldn¡¯t figure out why dividing seconds into many parts would still be called slow, he still asked: ¡°Then why did you still use such a slow speed to shoot? You know that your hands will shake when you are nervous.¡±

    ¡°Because under the circumstances at that time, the corpse was absolutely still but the surrounding people were moving. If you shoot at a slow speed, the ideal effect should be that those moving people around would be barely seen and only the corpse would be still and clear.¡± Lu Heng replied earnestly, ¡°But at that time it was impossible to take an ideal photo, I just pointed the lens in that direction. I didn¡¯t even have a chance to look through the viewfinder, and my hands were shaking. ¡ªIt¡¯s fine if it didn¡¯t capture the scene. Shengnan will definitely not want to see Xiayu¡¯s corpse.¡±

    At this time, everyone had reached the ninth floor. Ke Xun stopped at the corner of the stairs and asked, ¡°Does this kind of camera require film developing to see the photos?¡±

    ¡°Right, this is not a digital camera. We can only see the photos after they are developed.¡± Speaking of this, Lu Heng seemed to temporarily forget the dangers around him, and said with a little excitement: ¡°I think this kind of dy is the biggest charm of photography.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°I feel that the story of Xiayu took ce in ancient times, and we can¡¯t tell which era this building and these people belong to,¡± Fang Fei expressed her thoughts, ¡°I can¡¯t believe that there would be a film printing shop in such a building. ¡±

    ¡°What about outside the building? Maybe there is one outside.¡± Wei Dong felt a little regretful after he finished speaking. ording to how the previous paintings went, this building should be the scope marked by the painting. No one could go out.

    ¡°Woo¡ª¡± Luo Bu and his dog appeared at the door of the room.

    Wei Dong: ¡°I never expected that the first to wee us would be Koharu.¡±

    Luo Bu didn¡¯t take it seriously and held the dog in his arms: ¡°I don¡¯t know why Koaru can¡¯t bark, even my brother-inw finds it strange. Supposedly if it can hear sounds, it should be able to make sounds. It shouldn¡¯t be mute.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already good enough that it can ¡®woo¡¯, after all it was an electric scooter.¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°If I had known that I would have brought in the old stroller I had when I was a child, it would have at least been able to shout ¡®reversing, please be careful¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯tpare your ¡®reversing, please be careful¡¯ to my Koharu. It¡¯s one of a kind.¡± When Luo Bu and Wei Dong went back to the room, all thirteen of them were there.

    This room was very spacious, about 100 square metersrge. The bed was argemunal bed. Du Lingyu said to Fang Fei: ¡°The girls will be on the other side of the folding screen. It is good enough to be able to make a simple separation.¡±

    Fang Fei nodded. These conditions here were much better than sleeping around in the ship cabin.

    ¡°This building is too big. We haven¡¯t walked out of this courtyard after wandering around for a long time. Finding the signature is like finding a needle in a haystack.¡± Cao Youning sat on a wooden stool, a little discouraged.

    ¡°What has everyone heard about the origin of this building?¡± Shao Ling stayed in the room looking for clues just now, and he turned his attention to the members who came back from outside.

    ¡°Lantern Inn.¡± Ke Xun felt another voice ringing out at the same time. He turned around and saw that it was Zhu Haowen.

    Zhu Haowen stopped making a sound and sat silently on the chair beside the wooden table.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t actively inquire. We heard the name ¡®Lantern Inn¡¯ from other people. In addition to the Lantern Inn, there is also the Fluorite Inn.¡± Ke Xun continued, ¡°If the Lantern Inn is full ofnterns, then the Fluorite Inn seemed to have no light.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded and turned to look at another group.

    Qin Ci acted as a representative and said: ¡°We tried to inquire as discreetly as possible. What is certain at present is that our Lantern Inn is a giant hotel, and the locals call it the Inn.¡±

    Inn. It finally had something to do with the name of the painting.

    Du Lingyu was very surprised: ¡°Inn? Hotel? Why is there such a big hotel? And there are so many people.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded: ¡°If we guessed right, the world is divided into units of Inns. Because the outdoor environment is very harsh, people need to live inrge groups.¡±

    ¡°However, once people settle down, it means they have a home. Why do they still call these ces Inn? A hotel is not a home.¡± Luo Bu couldn¡¯t figure it out, but only remembered hearing wivesining to husbands in the TV shows he watched as a child: <i>You treat our house like a hotel.</i>

    ¡°We haven¡¯t found out about that yet,¡± Qin Ci smiled apologetically, ¡°In addition to Lantern Inn, Xiao Ke found out about a Fluorite Inn, and we also heard about a ce called Cold Night Inn. These giant hotels are like small countries. They do not have a defined ruling ss. Everyone seems to trust the shamans very much, calling them Master Shaman.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded slightly and got up to open therge wooden cab against the wall. There were various pieces of luggage inside, totaling thirteen.

    ¡°I would like to apologize to everyone here. We opened and checked all this luggage just now.¡± Shao Ling said.

    People felt that there was no need to apologize for this matter. After all, these things didn¡¯t really belong to them. They were just props temporarily arranged by this world for everyone.

    ¡°Are the contents of these luggage different?¡± Mai Peng asked, ¡°How can we tell which luggage belongs to whom?¡±

    ¡°Will it let everyone choose the luggage this time too?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but think of the painting <i>Pure Land</i>. Everyone indirectly determined their own fate when they chose the props.

    ¡°No, they contained personal markings.¡± Shao Ling answered, ¡°Some are obvious. For example, this earthy red cloth bag had a mirror inside with the word ¡®Yu¡¯ carved on the back. We believe it belongs to Du Lingyu. Some markings are less apparent. My bag has a small Xun. I learned to y the Xun from a teacher when I was young, so that bag should be mine.¡±

    Everyone was very curious after hearing this. They wanted to know what attributes their luggage would have.

    ¡°Of course, we couldn¡¯t determine the owners for some of them. You guys will have to check for yourselves.¡±

    Shao Ling distributed the bags to several people, and the rest of the luggage remained on the wooden table.

    Wei Dong held his own coarse cloth package: ¡°I¡¯m wondering, how did you know this is mine¡­ Oh, this is certainly mine.¡±

    Wei Dong held a thin notebook in his hand, which had various pictures. Most of them were sketches, including portraits of people,ndscapes, and some funny pictures.

    Looking at the cover of the notebook, Luo Bu couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter: ¡°Brother Dong, you drew yourself so handsome~¡±

    ¡°Barely got one-tenth of my charm.¡± Wei Dong joked brazenly and took a closer look at the drawing of himself on the cover. ¡®Light Inn Wei¡¯s Art Collection¡¯ was written on it.

    ¡°It seems that we are members of the Light Inn?¡± Wei Dong continued to flip through the pages, hoping to find some clues.

    ¡°We are indeed from the Light Inn. In the luggage, we found something like a customs clearance document, which recorded our journey.¡± Mu Yiran opened the ¡°customs clearance document¡± ced beside the table: ¡°This is a record of the past ten years. We have stayed in various Inns, sometimes for as long as half a year, sometimes only a few days.¡±

    ¡°Why did we leave the Light Inn to go to so many ces? ¡°Wei Dong had taken on his role and treated himself as a member of the Light Inn.

    ¡°We are supposed to be a caravan selling spices. We have a lot of spices in our big luggage.¡± Mu Yiran answered with his guess while opening a ck bag in his hand: ¡°I really want to know, who is the owner of this bag.¡±

    The ck package was opened, and there was a snow-white mask inside.

 Chapter 223: Three-legged Golden Crow

    <h4>Chapter 223: Three-legged Golden Crow</h4>

    In this dimly lit room, the contrasting color of the snow-white mask induced fear in people¡¯s heart.

    Apart from the mask, there was nothing else in the bag.

    ¡°This may be mine.¡± Fang Fei said.

    While everyone was surprised, Fang Fei took off her bracelet and showed it to Mu Yiran.

    Everyone kept silent, not knowing what fate this strange mask would bring to this girl.

    Mu Yiran carefully looked at the bracelet, from the outer side to the inner side, missing no spots.

    ¡°We also have a Master Shaman in our team. That¡¯s reassuring.¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice drifted into Fang Fei¡¯s ears.

    ¡°This bracelet belongs to the Light Inn. Perhaps you were given the status of a shaman when you stepped into this world.¡± Mu Yiran returned the bracelet to Fang Fei and wrapped the snow-white mask back up. ¡°You put it away first. This mask may be useful for us.¡±

    Fang Fei nodded and picked up her bag.

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she have anything of her own in her bag, but only a mask?¡± Cao Youning looked at the various-sized candies in his bag. It was because of these candies that Cao Youning recognized it immediately, ¡°Our luggage contains things that represent our own attributes, along with a bunch of misceneous things¡­¡± Cao Youning quickly put away his bag after finding tworge coarse-clothed shorts.

    Cao Youning¡¯s casual remark caught the attention of the veterans: everyone¡¯s luggage contained a lot of daily necessities, and there were one or two things rted to themselves, while Fang Fei only had a mask alone.

    After the experience they had in previous paintings, they didn¡¯t dare to think deeply about this.

    Wei Dong picked up the charcoal pencil in his bag and had already sketched out theyout of the room in his notebook. He raised his head: ¡°Master Shaman must be different from us ordinary business travelers, and they certainly cannot bring so many mundane things with them as to rid themselves of worldly worries.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Brother Dong, when did you be so philosophical~¡± Luo Bu came over to watch Wei Dong draw, and even held the dog in front of Wei Dong, ¡°Draw a close-up of our Koharu.¡±

    Wei Dong looked at the dog¡¯s face that was so close to him: ¡°You bark a few times. Be loud, else I won¡¯t draw.¡±

    ¡°Woo¡­Woo¡­¡± Koharu tried its best, but still couldn¡¯t make a standard bark. It was so anxious that its eyes were filled with tears.

    A hand gently patted Koharu¡¯s head. It was Fang Fei. Her movements were very gentle, which was quite different from her usual character.

    ¡°We also discussed about this dog just now.¡± It was Shao Ling who spoke. ¡°First, why did an electric scooter turn into a dog. Second, why can¡¯t this dog bark.¡±

    By this time, everyone had recognized their own luggage and checked its contents.

    ¡°The reason why Radish brought the electric scooter in was hoping that it could be a means of transportation. In the best case, it would turn into a car.¡± Ke Xun looked at a wooden duck in his bag. He shook it and it made a clicking sound. This was a toy from his childhood left by his father. It was said that his grandfather made it for his father.

    Luo Bu nodded desperately: ¡°That¡¯s right, preferably a car, or a carriage, or even a horse¡­¡±

    ¡°Woo¡­¡± Koharu looked at its master innocently, as if hating itself for not being a horse.

    ¡°¡­Dogs are fine too¡­¡± Luo Buforted his dog, ¡°Aren¡¯t dogs used as transportation in some ces?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes shot at Luo Bu. They couldn¡¯t believe that this guy nned to use the puppy as a mount.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what we analyzed too.¡± Shao Ling said.

    ¡°Huh??¡± It was particrly spectacr when a lot of people said ¡°Huh?¡± at the same time.

    ¡°The electric scooter did not turn into a dog for no reason. Based on our experience in previous paintings and the current one, items that came from the outside world usually do not lose their fundamental properties. For example, food will be dry bread, watches will be bracelets, and cameras will change from modern to retro. As for phones, even if they can only illuminate, they still retain the basic appearance of phones.¡± Shao Ling analyzed carefully, ¡°However, the electric scooter turning into a dog does not make sense in theory.¡±

    Mai Peng frowned: ¡°You mean, in this world, dogs are vehicles?¡±

    This statement was very ridiculous, but Cao Youning still said seriously: ¡°I watched a video before, the owner took their golden retriever for a vine. The golden retriever was very scared, so the owner leaned their whole body on the golden retriever. But during the injection, the golden retriever burst out a great force, jumped up and ran away with the owner on his back, and the owner was carried away by the dog like he was riding a dog hahahahaha¡­¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Luo Bu alsoughed.

    Cao Youning continued tough until he realized it was a bit untimely. He shut up and put his bag into the cab.

    After a while, Shao Ling said: ¡°So we specte that the world outside the Inns must be extremely cold. Maybe it is covered with ice and snow, and there are many uneven hillside roads and forests.¡±

    Qin Ci suddenly realized: ¡°Could it be that dogs are used for pulling sleds like the Eskimos?¡±

    Du Lingyu: ¡°I heard that it is very cruel to use dogs for sledding.¡±

    Qin Ci: ¡°The center of gravity of a horse is rtively high, hence horses are not flexible enough to walk on forest roads or go up and downhill in the snow. If the cargo is not too heavy, some people will choose to use dogs for transportations. Sled dogs are also more cold-resistant. In a tribe of Eskimos called the Mmute, their dogs can endure the severe cold of negative seventy degrees Celsius to pull sleds to transport goods.¡±

    Koharu stared with its round eyes and listened very carefully.

    Luo Bu tightly hugged his dog: ¡°Our Koharu isn¡¯t a sledding dog¡­¡±

    Koharu shook its fur and kept looking at Qin Ci.

    Qin Ci couldn¡¯t help but smile: ¡°You¡¯re still young. We won¡¯t let you pull sleds.¡± He then looked at the misty gray colors outside the window, ¡°Besides, we may not have the chance to go out.¡±

    Everyone was silent for a while. Some arranged their bags, some whispered, and some just sat there in a daze¡­

    Xi Shengnan and Lu Heng sat a little far away from everyone and kept talking in low voices. Lu Heng seemed to beforting her. Xi Shengnan nodded slightly, but her expression was still not pretty.

    Ke Xun¡¯s gaze swept across the crowd, and finally settled on Mu Yiran, who was standing by the window and looking at him too, with a slight smile in his eyes.

    Ke Xun walked over and showed Mu Yiran the wooden duck in his bag: ¡°How do you know it¡¯s mine? Huh?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°You have long legs.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°You also have long legs.¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t believe that Mu Yiran would take out the clothes inside the luggage to check the length of the pants.

    Mu Yi remained silent and took out his luggage from the cab. He opened it and there was a wooden duck that was almost the same as Ke Xun¡¯s.

    Ke Xun was stunned. He picked it up and looked at it for a long time in disbelief. Shaking it, the duck¡¯s mouth made a rattling sound: ¡°Even the sound is the same, what is¡­¡±

    .

    <i>What is going on?! This is so unexpected and pleasantly surprising!</i>

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was calm but serious: ¡°This is a toy I used when I was a child. My grandfather bought it from a craftsman for my mother. Because of its good workmanship, it has been passed down to me. Since it wasn¡¯t broken, I¡¯ve kept it.¡± Ke Xun listened carefully to this unreasonable and wonderful crossing of fate. He wanted to say something but couldn¡¯t. Heughed for a long time, and finally felt that hisughter was a bit sad: <i>it¡¯s so nice, all of this is so nice. If they weren¡¯t in the painting, it would have been even better.</i>

    Mu Yiran patted the wooden duck in Ke Xun¡¯s hand: ¡°It¡¯s nice no matter where we are.¡±

    Therge gauzemp in the room glowed with a hazy yellow halo, dyeing everyone in a warm tone.

    ¡°By the way, regarding Fang Fei¡¯s bracelet, how did you know that it belongs to the Light Inn?¡± Ke Xun returned to the ¡°real topic¡±.

    ¡°There are patterns on the bracelet, which are very coarse and abstract, but I can still recognize the circles, birds and flowers.¡± Mu Yiran replied, looking at the veil of themp. There was a big circle with a dotted line in the center drawn on it, but the flowers and birds were drawn in solid lines, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, the bird should be a crow.¡±

    ¡°Damn, I¡¯m right again!¡± Wei Dong burst out in excitement.

    Ke Xun: <i>You are eavesdropping on us.</i>

    Wei Dong: <i>You two started talking about the ¡°real topic¡±, okay? Everyone should be involved in this!</i>

    Ke Xun: <i>Fine fine</i>.

    Wei Dong spoke up: ¡°So it¡¯s really a crow? Why is there a crow painted on it! Why isn¡¯t this crow ck?¡±

    ¡°It should be a three-legged golden crow. If you look carefully, it has three legs.¡± Mu Yiran pointed to the bird on thempshade, and everyone looked curiously. Surely enough, there was a slightly bent foot next to the two feet.

    ¡°This is the three-legged golden crow that lives in the sun, right? Shouldn¡¯t the golden crow be golden?¡± Du Lingyu asked curiously.

    ¡°The golden crow is also called the sun crow. People in ancient times discovered the phenomenon of sunspots through observation, which looked like a crow. Soter generations often use the term ¡®golden crow¡¯ to describe the sun.¡± Shao Ling exined, ¡°It is called the golden crow because this ck crow is crouching in the center of the golden sun, but it itself is ck.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, sunspots are ck,¡± Du Lingyu looked at the bird drawn on the gauze cover. Without it being painted ck, it was almost impossible to tell it was a crow. Looking at the patterns on her cotton robe, she discovered the same type of birds. ¡°Why aren¡¯t these crows ck?¡±

    Shao Ling frowned slightly: ¡°I can¡¯t figure this out either. ck color and three legs should be the symbol of the three-legged golden crow. I always feel that this colorless crow must have something to do with the peculiarities of this world.¡±

    Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t figure it out either and had listed this as one of the clues for deciphering this painting.

    Then, Ke Xun briefly told everyone about Xiayu, and intentionally left out the parts about Xiayu¡¯s disfigurement and severed fingers. Lu Heng, who was sitting in the distance, smiled gratefully at Ke Xun.

    When Mai Peng heard about Lu Heng taking pictures, he couldn¡¯t help saying: ¡°I also took a few pictures in the building just now, but it seems like there¡¯s no film printing technology in this world, so I can¡¯t see what I took.¡±

    Zhu Haowen, who hadn¡¯t spoken for a long time, suddenly said: ¡°I think, since cameras and film are preserved in this world, there must be a way to develop photos.¡±

    Everyone nodded thoughtfully. Qin Ci said, ¡°Photos are also clues. Apart from looking for signatures, we also need to pay attention to whether there is a film printing shop here. This kind of shop may have another name in this world.¡±

    Xi Shengnan whispered to Lu Heng who was next to her: ¡°What do you think you have captured in your photo?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s mainly the scene, and Xiao Hu. After all, that person is the male protagonist of the novel, so I just wanted to take a picture.¡± Lu Heng smiled.

    ¡°I really can¡¯t believe that this world actually arranged the male lead to kill the female lead.¡± Xi Shengnan muttered to herself.

    ¡°No, Master Shaman has already said it. It might have been that female side character.¡±

    ¡°s.¡± Xi Shengnan seemed to not want to listen and sighed slightly.

    ¡°Right, what¡¯s in your bag? Only you haven¡¯t gone through it carefully.¡± Lu Heng pointed at the bag in front of Xi Shengnan. When everyone was checking their bag just now, only she was in no mood to touch it. She figured out that it was her bag from the character ¡®Xi¡¯ on a purse.

    Hearing that, Xi Shengnan opened her bag again. In addition to clothes and everyday items, there was also a ck jar.

 Chapter 224: Fish

    <h4>Chapter 224: Fish</h4>

    It was a ck round jar with a strangely shaped ck lid tightly screwed.

    Everyone¡¯s gaze was on the jar, and Luo Bu had the strongest reaction. Holding Koharu in his arms, he backed away step by step, leaning his body firmly against the door frame and ready to escape at any time.

    Xi Shengnan was not rmed, but rather surprised.

    Lu Heng, who was sitting next to her, also didn¡¯t panic, and even reached out to touch the jar.

    Several other neers also stood up and walked towards the ck jar. Their faces were full of disbelief, and their eyes had an iprehensible light of piety.

    As if this jar was a unique treasure.

    Luo Bu: <i>Oh shit oh shit, the evil jar started to exert its power. The first step is to attract the neers and turn them all into pus¡­</i>

    Cao Youning walked up and patted the jar. He hesitated for a moment and then picked it to feel the weight.

    Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran in a low voice: ¡°Mind enlightening this newbie with some knowledge?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know what that is either.¡±

    Ke Xun was surprised. In addition to not having watched cartoons, Boss Mu also didn¡¯t recognize this ck jar. Of course, most of them didn¡¯t recognize this jar.

    ¡°Who can tell us what¡¯s inside this?¡± Wei Dong was puzzled too. Looking at how Cao Youning was holding the jar reminded him of his once hungry self holding a bowl of freshly made instant noodles¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s inside yet. ¡°Cao Youning said and shook the jar, ¡°I feel that there is something in it, and it is a bit heavy. ¡±

    ¡°Damn it, don¡¯t just shake it like that, what if it explodes?!¡± Luo Bu almost ran out of the door, and Koharu¡¯s fur stood up.

    Seeing that Cao Youning was about to open the mysterious ck jar, Luo Bu yelled out in an instant: ¡°Don¡¯t open it! Can you guarantee that it¡¯s a jar full of golden fingers?!¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Perhaps Luo Bu¡¯s words reminded Lu Heng. He snatched the jar from Cao Youning¡¯s hand: ¡°Don¡¯t just open it! Is there a darkroom bag? Use a darkroom bag.¡±

    ¡°Yes, darkroom bag!¡± Xi Shengnan continued to look through her luggage. The neers also started to help her.

    Wei Dong¡¯s eyes narrowed to a straight line: ¡°Are you people really photographers? Are you sure you are not photographers who are also gangsters? Darkroom bag? What kind of gangster term is this? Haowen Er, do you know?¡±

    Zhu Haowen¡¯s eyes were also straight lines: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Found it! Darkroom bag!!¡± Du Lingyu found a ck cloth-like thing from the bottom of a stack of clothes. It looked like a piece of ck clothing but was actually a strangely shaped thick ck bag. Du Lingyu picked up the bag and pointed it towards thentern for a long time, ¡°It¡¯s doubleyered and glued, so it¡¯s not see-through at all!¡±

    Hearing this, Mu Yiran¡¯s slightly frowned brows gradually rxed, as if he understood what these things were.

    The neers put the ck jar into the darkroom bag. They looked at each other, and finally handed everything over to Mai Peng.

    Mai Peng rubbed his itchy nose due to the cold. He sealed the opening of the bag and put his hands in through two cuff-like things on the bag.

    Wei Dong: ¡°What the hell is this, can it be even weirder¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you need the lights off?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    Mai Peng paused: ¡°It¡¯s safer to have them off.¡±

    Perhaps it was because of Mu Yiran¡¯s attitude, although the veterans didn¡¯t really understand it, they still cooperated to put out the few gauzemps in the room. Luo Bu, who was standing at the door, also obediently closed the door with the dog in his arms. The room fell into darkness for a moment. With the curtains drawn, it was almostpletely ck.

    ¡°Mai Peng, you have a lot of guts ha.¡± Luo Bu¡¯s voice in the dark was shaky. ¡°In such a dark room, you dare to reach your hand into the ck bag, and open the ck ashes¡­oh no, ck jar¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we often do this. These are the most basic tasks when we first started doing photography.¡± Cao Yuningforted Luo Bu.

    ¡°Photography?¡± A few people asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, those of you who don¡¯t know photography wouldn¡¯t have known. That ck jar is a standard developing tank, which is used for developing film.¡± Cao Youning said.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Wei Dong was very surprised, ¡°A jar can develop film?!¡±

    Lu Heng also joined the conversation: ¡°Yes, it can. This is purely done manually. If you have experience doing it, the resulting photos will look better than that of a printing shop.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course, besides a developing tank, we¡¯ll need things like developing solutions and fixing solutions. I hope this world can provide us with that.¡± Said Lu Heng.

    In the dark, rustling sounds could be heard. They seemed to be the sound of opening the jar. Everyone fell silent. Because no one could see anything, they couldn¡¯t tell the result from Mai Peng¡¯s expression.

    Mai Peng breathed heavily as he had a bad cold: ¡°Yes, it should have everything we need. There are packets of powders, a lot of them.¡±

    Wei Dong¡¯s scatterbrained mind started thinking about instant ramen bowls¡­<i>are there sauce packets</i>¡­

    ¡°You mean, packets of developing powder and fixing powder?¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°I think they should be, along with some necessary things for film development.¡± There was another movement where Mai Peng was. He seemed to be checking for things by touching them one by one.

    Qin Ci didn¡¯t understand what was going on for a while, and said in a low voice: ¡°Since it is confirmed that it is a developing tank, why do we need to confirm the contents in the dark? If it is a dangerous object, isn¡¯t it more dangerous in the dark?¡±

    Mu Yiran replied: ¡°The developing tank is used for film development. If there are already films in the tank itself, the films will bepletely exposed and be useless if opened without precautions.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it is.¡± Qin Ci¡¯s voice lowered. It was hard to imagine what would be on the films if this jar had them¡­

    ¡°There are films! There really are!¡± Mai Peng¡¯s cold-affected voice rang out.

    Qin Ci instantly felt that he had jinxed it with his thoughts.

    ¡°How many films are there?¡± Lu Heng asked cautiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s packed in a small paper envelope. They are cut into pieces, should only be a few.¡± Mai Peng said.

    Mu Yiran said: ¡°It is currently impossible to determine whether these films have been exposed, right?¡±

    Mai Peng: ¡°In theory, yes. If you don¡¯t take it out to look, you can¡¯t tell just by touching. However, these films have been cut. I believe that only developed films will be cut.¡±

    It did make sense, but experience was only experience. If the films in the envelope had not been developed, they would turn to scraps when exposed to light, which was equivalent to destroying precious materials.

    ¡°What should we do? Brother-inw.¡± Luo Bu said.

    ¡°Two options: one is to only take out a small piece of film. Even in case of exposure, only a small piece is destroyed. The other method is to immediately find a red ssmpshade and set up the room as a darkroom. This will minimize the harm done to the photo from exposure.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°I have a redmpshade here.¡± Suddenly a thin voice rang out. It was Du Lingyu.

    Everyone was stunned, it seemed that the painting had prepared all the materials for film developing for everyone.

    Du Lingyu murmured to herself: ¡°No wonder there is a redmpshade wrapped in cloth in my bag. I thought it was too creepy just now, so I didn¡¯t dare to mention it. So it¡¯s the red light for the darkroom.¡±

    ¡°I have sealed the darkroom bag. You guys can light up themp now.¡± Said Mai Peng.

    A light quickly lit up. It was the gauzemp next to Zhu Haowen. Du Lingyu walked over and handed over a round red ss shade¡­

    Everyone¡¯s face appeared red after the red light lit on, which was quite creepy.

    Mai Peng took out a small negative from the darkroom bag and looked at it while facing the red light. ¡°It has been developed. The person who did it had really good techniques. The room temperature here is only about ten degrees. To be able to manually develop this level of films under such a cold condition, they must have been a very experienced master.¡±

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong have already joined Mai Peng¡¯s side. At this moment, no one cared about the technique. Everyone was more concerned about what was shot on the film.

    Wei Dong squinted his eyes and looked at it for a long time: ¡°It looks like a few big ck spots on a white background! What are these things?¡±

    Zhu Haowen, who was closest to the red light, also squinted his eyes for a long time: ¡°I think these should be white spots, not ck spots.¡±

    ¡°Haowen Er, are your eyes bad?¡± Before Wei Dong finished speaking, Mai Peng said, ¡°He¡¯s right. The film negative is like this. The colors are opposite to the colors of the real photo. If it¡¯s a ck and white film, the ck on the film is actually white, and the white on the film is ck¡ªbecause it ispletely opposite, hence the developed films are also called negatives.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right,¡± Wei Dong nodded, ¡°It¡¯s a bit like the inverted color effect in picture processing.¡±

    Ke Xun kept staring at the ck spots on the film: ¡°Mai Peng, are you sure this picture was taken clearly and developed well?¡±

    Mai Peng nodded: ¡°I think so. It¡¯s a pity that the negatives are too small, and we don¡¯t have professional equipment to print the photos to erge them.¡±

    ¡°There are some gray things on these four ck dots, and I really can¡¯t tell what they are.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes never left the film, ¡°But I think these four ck dots all have a fish shape. A fish shaped like a tfish.¡±

    Perhaps it was Ke Xun¡¯s remark that reminded Mai Peng of something. He looked at the negative repeatedly, and called several other photographers over to look together: ¡°Lu Heng, do you feel these gray things are like water?¡±

    Lu Heng looked for a long time, and his voice was a little heavy: ¡°Looking at the texture and shape, it should be water. But if these are water, then the white background of the film should also be water, which means¡­¡±

    Du Lingyu¡¯s voice trembled a little: ¡°This painting is so scary.¡±

    Although the others did not have professional photography knowledge, they had more or less figured out the original appearance of this photo through Mai Peng¡¯s exnation of the negative film just now.

    In the ck water, there are four snow-white diamond-shaped fish swimming.

    The photography conditions in this world were limited. It should be impossible to perform underwater photography, let alone capturing theplete profile of four fish.

    In other words, the four fish were lying t on the water.

    These were four dead white fish.

 Chapter 225: Brainstorm

    <h4>Chapter 225: Brainstorm</h4>

    Dead fish floating on ck water. Four dead snow-white fish.

    The entire negative exuded a sense of unknowing terror.

    ¡°Where are the other negatives? Take them out and let¡¯s have a look.¡± Mu Yiran had already taken the tweezers, which was holding this film of dead fish, from Mai Peng¡¯s hand.

    Under the faint red light, Mai Peng opened the envelope and poured out a few small negatives. He carefully pinched the toothed edges of the negatives to avoid sticking fingerprints on them.

    All the negatives were simr, with ck dots of different sizes distributed on a white background.

    Qin Ci stared at one of the negatives: ¡°The shape of these fish is different from the previous ones, a bit like willow leaves.¡±

    ¡°There are those kinds of fish that look like willow leaves.¡± Du Lingyu said while frowning and looking at the film. She only felt that these fish were very stiff, as if standing there in a daze. Staring at it for long made people feel terrified.

    Qin Ci squinted at it for a while: ¡°Looks like fish, but not really. It¡¯s too small to see clearly. We have to magnify them.¡±

    ¡°Are all the negatives here?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    Mai Peng held the empty envelope: ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all here.¡±

    ¡°Then turn on the lights again, so we can see more clearly.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    All the gauzemps in the room were lit up. The crimson eerie atmosphere was immediately reced by a soft warmth. Luo Bu¡¯s tense heart rxed a little at this moment. He also leaned over to look at the negatives.

    ¡°Brother, what did you see?¡± Luo Bu stretched his neck to look at the negative in Ke Xun¡¯s hand.

    Ke Xun strictly followed Mai Peng¡¯s requirements and used his index finger and thumb to gently hold the zigzag patterns on the top and bottom of the film, so that the photo could be kept as clean as possible: ¡°Radish, look, there is only one fish in this picture.¡±

    This was also a negative with a white background. Arge diamond-shaped ck fish upied almost the entire frame. Because the image wasrge, they could even clearly see the fish¡¯s eyes, which was a gray dot.

    ¡°This fish is notpletely floating on the water. It has gray water ripples on its body. I just feel that it is alive.¡± Luo Bu couldn¡¯t imagine how this photo was taken. ¡°It seems to be swimming close to the water surface, with its side up. Strange, doesn¡¯t fish breathe with its gills? Aren¡¯t its gills exposed above the water surface? My God, have I also learned to analyze? And I even used knowledge from biology. Brother, hurry and praise me.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be in line with how fish swim.¡± Ke Xun also felt that this picture reflected some problems, ¡°I also think there is something mysterious about these fish, but unfortunately these negatives are too small, and the colors are inverted. It would be great if it can be erged.¡±

    Luo Bu looked towards Mai Peng who was beside them: ¡°You guys can use a jar to develop films, can you guys use another jar to develop photos?¡±

    Cao Youning spoke first: ¡°Developing photos isn¡¯t that easy. First, we need an erger, that¡¯s a machine. This isn¡¯t something that can be done through pure manual work! Even with God Mai here, we can¡¯t do it.¡±

    It turned out that Mai Peng had the title of a god among these photographers. At this time, he fell into a state of hard thinking. After a long while, he said: ¡°This world seems to have no electricity. If we want to make an erger by hand, we¡¯ll need a room of electric lights and a magnifying lens made by professional manufacturers. As long as I have these two things, I can find ways to assemble the other stuff. We can make a simple lens set using two convex lenses. The camera bellows and the film holder should be no problem.¡±

    Luo Bu listened dumbfounded, convinced that he had really met a great master this time, but one could not make bricks without straws. Just getting electricity alone could be difficult: ¡°Our phones have electricity, and don¡¯t your cameras have batteries?¡±

    Mai Peng smiled wryly. He shook his head and sniffed his stuffy nose: ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as you think. What I need is a real light bulb, even if it¡¯s not a specialized incandescent bulb for amplification, just an ordinary LED light is fine¡ªIn this Lantern Inn, if they have electric lights, why would they bother to light so manynterns.¡±

    ¡°Those things are tooplicated. For now, we only want to magnify the negatives, even if they are in a state of inverted colors.¡± Zhu Haowen suddenly said, ¡°How about a magnifying ss?¡±

    ¡°You have a magnifying ss?¡± Mai Peng asked hastily.

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°No.¡±

    Mai Peng: ¡°Oh¡­ Aaaaaachoo! Sorry.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Ke Xun said: ¡°A magnifying ss is not a very high-tech thing, maybe we can get it in stores here. Just now we saw a bazaar downstairs. We can go there to try our luck.¡±

    ¡°It just so happens that I also need a magnifying ss.¡± It was Qin Ci who spoke, ¡°There is a medical book in my luggage. The writing on it is very small, and the light here is quite dim, making it difficult to read.¡±

    The word ¡°medical book¡± seemed to bring some hope to everyone¡ªin case anyone got sick here, at least there was a doctor who could treat them with the medical book.

    Lu Heng said: ¡°I don¡¯t know if the medical skills in this world are the same as that of the outside. My grandfather opened a Chinese medicine clinic. I also learned some simple Chinese medicine knowledge when I was young.¡±

    ¡°No wonder your signature for book loaning is in my medical book.¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Signature for book loaning?¡± When Lu Heng first heard the word ¡°signature¡±, he couldn¡¯t help being a little sensitive. Everyone was looking for a signature to leave the painting.

    Speaking of this, Qin Ci also felt a little unbelievable: ¡°This is my habit. I always have a big bookmark on my books¡¯ title page. I will ask everyone who borrows the book to sign the bookmark. It can be regarded as a type of OCD. I didn¡¯t expect this to be known by this painting.¡±

    Wei Dong: <i>Brother Qin, your childhood nickname must have been something like ¡®Librarian¡¯, right? Sorry, off-topic.</i>

    Lu Heng continued to ask Qin Ci: ¡°You mean, the bookmark on your medical book has records of me borrowing?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it has your signature, but it¡¯s a pity that there¡¯s no date.¡± Qin Ci was also a little regretful about this. If there was a date, they could learn what time period this world belonged to.

    Mu Yiran heard the conversation between the two and seemed to think of something, with a slightly heavy expression.

    Ke Xun and Luo Bu had already walked to the door: ¡°We¡¯ll try to find a way to get a magnifying ss. We can¡¯t all just wait here.¡±

    Soon several members joined the team looking for the magnifying ss. The door opened and closed, and the room became quiet again.

    Mu Yiran put the negatives back into the envelope, and then put the envelope into the ck developing tank. Meanwhile, he looked at the things used for film development such as the developing powders in the tank and eventually settled his gaze on the owner, Xi Shengnan, of these things.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to offend, after all, everyone¡¯s luggage has some sort of personal marks on them,¡± Mu Yiran looked at Xi Shengnan and said, ¡°Did you take simr photos previously? Or ever see these things in the photos?¡±

    Xi Shengnan was arranging a wooden jewelry box at the moment. There seemed to be bracelets and hairpins. She closed the box without looking carefully: ¡°I have never seen such strange fish, and I have never photographed them before. Those things were like this jewelry box, unfamiliar to me.¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyes, and when he opened them again, a dim candle light reflected in his eyes: ¡°At present, we haven¡¯t found a clear clue, but the problems havee one after another. We might as well brainstorm now and have everyone put their ideas together. It doesn¡¯t matter if the idea sounds outrageous or ridiculous.¡±

    Mai Peng rubbed hispletely stuffed nose. The heavy cold was quite a pain. ¡°My biggest question is¡ªwhy was everyone healthy before entering the painting, but I just suddenly got a heavy cold. This doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded after hearing this and recorded it on a notebook with a pen: ¡°This part certainly doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±

    ¡°I also have a question,¡± Du Lingyu raised her hand, ¡°Actually it¡¯s a very small thing, but I find it very strange. Why did the perfume smell on mepletely disappear? That ¡®Voleur de Roses¡¯ fragrancests very long. It¡¯s impossible to have disappeared without a trace.¡±

    ¡°Good, everyone go on.¡± Mu Yiran recorded that too.

    ¡°My question is,¡± Zhu Haowen was still standing next to a gauzemp and said, ¡°Why does this painting know so much about each of us? First our surnames, then the props based on the memories and habits of our world. Even if this painting takes the route of role-ying, it¡¯s impossible to find out the preferences of each yer.¡±

    yer? Shao Ling unconsciously looked towards Zhu Haowen. He suddenly understood why this person was able to survive through nine paintings. He seemed to regard all the paintings as simply clearing game levels.

    Shao Ling said: ¡°This is also the biggest question in my heart. I feel very lost because I can¡¯t grasp the focus of this world. It¡¯s scary that this painting ¡®knows¡¯ so much about each of us.¡±

    Mu Yiran remained expressionless. He lowered his head and recorded everything.

    Xi Shengnan had already packed her bag. Now the developing tank had been ced in themon cab.

    Xi Shengnan seemed to have lost the spirit she had before and said in a low voice: ¡°This painting is indeed terrifying. It not only captures our hearts, but also restores the characters in my works in this world. But this world itself ispletely different from the world of my novels. I am very confused and pessimistic. I always feel that I will be the most unlucky one.¡±

    Du Lingyu saidfortingly: ¡°Sister Xi, don¡¯t be paranoid, maybe it¡¯s just a matter of time. Xiayu may be the first book character we found. We¡¯ll perhaps find other thingster.¡±

    Xi Shengnan smiled bitterly. Lu Heng patted her shoulders, as if trying to give her strength.

    When it was Qin Ci¡¯s turn, he only shook his head: ¡°I¡¯m already in a mess. This world is beyond my imagination. I think the scariest thing is that we have to continue to y the role of the caravan. There are many things that we can¡¯t say, and we don¡¯t dare to ask the NPC for information, so we can only clench our fists and guess. For example, we can¡¯t ask others about these weird fish on the negatives. The more important the clues are, the less we dare to ask, fearing that the people here will see through our identity as outsiders from beyond the painting and we will be punished by this world.¡±

    After listening to Qin Ci¡¯s words, the few neers found this more difficult.

    ¡°Xiao Mu, what do you have in mind?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    After finishing recording, Mu Yiran stopped writing: ¡°The thing that bothers me the most is the record of time. There is no borrowing date in your bookmark. The business travel records in my hand do not have a clear date. For example, the caravan visited the Fluorite Inn. I can only roughly calcte from the seasonality of the goods exchanged that we probably stayed in the Fluorite Inn for half a year. And this time we came to the Lantern Inn, there were seven vertical lines drawn. Maybe they represent seven days, or maybe they represent something other than time.¡±

    Qin Ci frowned: ¡°This is what is written on my bookmark: Lu Heng borrowed the book at the Lantern Inn, and Lu Heng returned the book at the Lantern Inn. There is no description of the date at all.¡±

    Mai Peng seemed to remember something, and sniffed at his nose, which was flushed from a cold: ¡°When we first came here, I found some vertical lines carved on the wall of the corridor, and they happened to be seven.¡±

 Chapter 226: Taboo

    <h4>Chapter 226: Taboo</h4>

    Ke Xun, Wei Dong, Cao Youning, Fang Fei, Luo Bu, and Koharu came to the bazaar and shops downstairs together.

    Ke Xun divided everyone into two groups: ¡°Fang Fei, Dong Zi, Cao Youning, you three go to the bazaar over here. Luo Bu and I will go to the shops over there. Let¡¯s meet back here in an hour.¡±

    Cao Youning: ¡°There¡¯s no time disyed on the phone, so how do we tell it¡¯s an hour?¡± He said and looked around, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t this big za even have a clock?¡±

    Time was indeed a problem. Fang Fei said: ¡°Each group inquires for information as fast as possible, and the group thatpletes the task first will wait here.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Wei Dong looked around, ¡°That¡¯s the only way to go. By the way, let¡¯s buy lunch as well. It should be noon.¡±

    There were lights all around and with a gray fog outside the window, it was impossible to judge the direction of the sun to know the approximate time.

    Cao Youning nodded immediately: ¡°Hurry and buy lunch, I¡¯m already hungry!¡±

    Everyone was a little hungry. Now they could only judge the time by the extent of digestion in their stomach, more primitive than primitive people.

    After grouping up, Ke Xun and Luo Kuo walked towards the row of shops.

    ¡°Brother, have you brought any money?¡± Luo Bu followed Ke Xun, and Koharu followed like a little tail.

    ¡°I took some money from the luggage.¡± Ke Xun touched his wallet. ¡°The currency here should be universal. There¡¯s a record showing that I spent some money at the Light Inn.¡±

    ¡°Record?! Brother, you have the habit of tracking expenses?¡± Luo Bu was surprised and felt that this habit waspletely inconsistent with Ke Xun¡¯s personality.

    ¡°I never keep ounts, but there is a simply record in my wallet, and it is in my handwriting.¡± Ke Xun still couldn¡¯t figure this out, and nned to tell Mu Yiran when they were back, ¡°When you get back, you also should analyze the contents of your bag carefully, I feel that the painting has not fully grasped the habits of each of us.¡±

    The two talked as they walked. There was a tailor shop in the front and it shouldn¡¯t have anything they wanted to buy. But Ke Xun still went in to ask: ¡°Boss, where can I buy a magnifying ss?¡±

    ¡°Only merchants from the Light Inn sell rare goods like that.¡± The old tailor lowered his head to sew the clothes. After a long time, he looked up at Ke Xun and took off his sses, ¡°I bought this from the merchants of those caravans.¡±

    Ke Xun himself was part of a Light Inn caravan, but unfortunately his caravan only sold spices. ¡°Old Master, when will those caravans that sell magnifying ssese back? Is it possible that the shops here stock goods from them?¡±

    After the old tailor took off his sses, his eyes were sunken and had obvious dark brown dark circles. At this moment, these eyes were fixed on Ke Xun without blinking, and his voice was particrly gloomy: ¡°When. You said when. Are you going to break the taboo. You are breaking the taboo. You are breaking the taboo.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t know which part of his words ¡®broke the taboo¡¯, but he took a few steps back when the old tailor was approaching him.

    Luo Bu was already scared silly. Koharu acted to protect its master and made a few sounds of ¡°Woo¡±.

    The old tailor seemed to be awakened by the sounds from the dog. He took a breath, rubbed his eyes vigorously, and put on his sses again: ¡°Oh, boy, what did you just say?¡±

    Ke Xun: <i>I dare to not say anything anymore. I don¡¯t know which words broke the taboo¡­</i>

    The old tailor thought for a while: ¡°Oh, look at my memory, you said a magnifying ss, right? Some shops in our Lantern Inn will restock from the caravans. The toy store in front seems to have magnifying sses and telescopes. Go try your luck.¡±

    ¡°Okay, thank you.¡± Ke Xun and Luo Bu thanked him and hurried out.

    ¡°Oh my god, Brother, I was scared to death just now.¡± Luo Bu¡¯s legs were limp.

    Ke Xun was also taken aback just now, but he calmed down quickly: ¡°Tell me, what did I say that broke the taboo just now? Was it the Light Inn? But he said the words ¡°Light Inn¡± first.¡±

    After all, Luo Bu had only experienced one painting and still had lingering fears at this time: ¡°I¡¯m thinking of the old men NPCs that Brother Dong told me. There was an old man that was like a broken record. I heard he almost ate you guys. There was another one wearing a red vest in the mail room. And another old man who never showed up and only talked through broadcasting: ¡®Don¡¯t pollute the colors!¡¯ Shit, I feel that one is the scariest.¡±

    Ke Xun: <i>That probably wasn¡¯t an old man¡­</i>

    Luo Bu: ¡°I guess I¡¯m someone who has experienced old man NPC too¡­¡±

    On the contrary, Ke Xun felt a little relieved. The sudden strange actions of the NPC made him feel that the painting was not as invulnerable as they imagined. At least it made everyone understand the taboo of this world, which was not far from finding out the rules.

    Walking past a few shops, they saw a toy store, but the door was tightly closed.

    The two had no choice but to ask the shop¡¯s neighbor¡ªa mutton pancake shop: ¡°Boss, is the toy store next door closed?¡±

    Mutton pancake shop boss: ¡°The shop just closed. They went back to sleep.¡±

    Luo Bu looked at the bright candlelight around him: ¡°Went back to sleep?¡±

    The boss of the mutton pancake shop didn¡¯t care much about it: ¡°If they feel sleepy, they go to sleep.¡±

    Ke Xun suddenly saw that a nearby shop was also about to close, and felt something was wrong: ¡°Why are they all closing?¡±

    ¡°They want to sleep so they just close the shops. We don¡¯t have rules that say we must be open all the time.¡± The boss was a little displeased when he saw that the two had no intention of buying mutton pancakes.

    Ke Xun looked at the pancakes that the boss was baking. It was divided into manyyers. The roasted minced mutton was very fresh, and it was covered with ck pepper and fermented soybeans. The vor was very tempting.

    ¡°How about we eat this for lunch?¡± Ke Xun said.

    Luo Bu was already hungry, and the smell of the mutton pancakes was too enticing: ¡°Okay, this is fine! I¡¯ve never seen such a big mutton pancake!¡±

    ¡°Our Gulouzi is a famed dish among the four Inns! Anyone whoes to the Lantern Inn must try it!¡± The boss quickly became enthusiastic again, ¡°This big one is enough for three men, how much do you two want? I¡¯ll cut it for you!¡±

    Ke Xun calcted the price: ¡°Let¡¯s get four first.¡±

    ¡°Okay!!¡± The boss¡¯s voice was loud. He didn¡¯t expect to meet such a big customer.

    Ke Xun furtherughed and said, ¡°The shops here are very casual. They just close at whim. If wee to your ce for our next meal, can we still get food?¡±

    After pondering all the way, Ke Xun seemed to vaguely understand what the ¡®taboo¡¯ was.

    Luo Bu also hurriedly said: ¡°Yes, boss, if it¡¯s delicious, we¡¯ll have dinner¡­¡±

    Ke Xun gave Luo Bu a strong pat, making him shut up immediately, and said with a smile, ¡°If it¡¯s delicious, we¡¯ll eat your pancakes every meal!¡±

    The boss was very happy when he heard this: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, our shop only closes when the lights are off. As soon as the lights are on, we open the shop immediately! The shop is opened by my brother and I. It is not that tiresome making pancakes in shifts.¡±

    The boss was very quick. He has already cut out fourrge mutton pancakes with a knife. The color was golden, and with the meat stuffing showing through, they looked very delicious.

    Ke Xun thought about it, and then asked carefully, ¡°We¡¯re new here, are the lights about to go out now?¡±

    The boss stopped what he was doing. His right hand was holding the knife and his left hand was ced on top of the pancakes. His face was full of bewilderment, as if he had just lost his memory.

    Luo Bu trembled, and dragged Ke Xun back a few steps, fearing that the NPC would suddenly go berserk.

    About half a minuteter, the boss seemed toe back to his senses: ¡°Look at me, why did I space out? Gulouzi doesn¡¯t taste good when it¡¯s cold! I¡¯ll hurry up and pack it for you!¡±

    Ke Xun said no more and took the mutton pancakes wrapped in arge paper bag from the boss. He paid and asked: ¡°By the way, where can I buy a magnifying ss?¡±

    The boss thought for a while: ¡°The toy store next door has it. If there are vendors from the Light Inn in the market, you may be able to get them!¡± The boss said and looked at the cotton robe on Ke Xun, ¡°Aren¡¯t you from the Light Inn? Come on, you folks neverck those rare gadgets.¡±

    Ke Xun smiled and said, ¡°Maybe I lost it somewhere and couldn¡¯t find it. I¡¯ll look for it when I go back.¡±

    Luo Bu followed Ke Xun out of the store: ¡°My God, we broke the taboo just now, and the boss almost¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± Ke Xun said in a low voice. At this time, the surroundings were rtively quiet and there were not too many people.

    ¡°Time?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the first time I broke the taboo was because I asked, ¡®when will those caravans that sell magnifying ssese back¡¯. That is a rtively clear point in time. The old tailorter also repeated the phrase ¡°when¡± with an emphasis. The second time I almost broke the taboo because I asked, ¡®are the lights about to go out now?¡¯. This is also a point in time. But maybe because I asked more casually, it didn¡¯t cause a strong reaction from the NPC.¡± Ke Xun spilled out his analysis.

    Luo Bu thought about it carefully and felt it made sense: ¡°However, people will inevitably talk about time when they talk in daily life, such as ¡®what time is it¡¯, ¡®when are youing¡¯, ¡®are the lights going out soon? ¡®, ¡®why do you sleep whenever, is this a lunch nap¡­¡±

    ¡°Therefore, we better avoid talking to the NPCs. When we have to speak, we must also pay attention to the taboo words.¡± Ke Xun never thought that this world would be soplicated, and there were so many taboos whenmunicating with the NPCs.

    When the two returned to the meeting ce, Wei Dong and the others were already waiting there.

    Cao Youning ran over with joy on his face: ¡°Did you guys buy something delicious?!¡±

    Luo Bu: ¡°You are more gluttonous than me. I thought you guys got a magnifying ss just now with how happy you are.¡±

    Cao Youning rubbed his hands excitedly when he saw the mutton pancakes andined to Luo Bu: ¡°There is nothing to buy in the market. It was all needles and threads, pigs, sheep, dogs, and rabbits.¡±

    ¡°There are pigs, sheep, dogs and rabbits?¡±

    ¡°Yes, there are shops that sell live animals.¡± Cao Youning nodded, ¡°The bleating of those sheep is so annoying!¡± As he spoke, he looked at the mutton pancakes in Ke Xun¡¯s hand, as if eating the mutton pancakes was for revenge.

    Wei Dong took over the conversation: ¡°Besides pigs and sheep, no other animals bark.¡±

    ¡°Other? What else?¡± Luo Bu asked.

    ¡°Rabbits.¡±

    ¡°Rabbits don¡¯t bark in the first ce, okay?¡±

    ¡°Dogs, they are just mute like Koharu.¡± Wei Dong said.

    Fang Fei also said: ¡°There are also chickens. Those roosters don¡¯t seem to be able to crow.¡±

    Luo Bu: <i>Is it the legendary eggying rooster, the fighter jet of all roosters</i>?

    Wei Dong spread his hands: ¡°We thought it was unusual, so we asked. The boss said that¡¯s what the rooster sounds like, ¡®coo coo coo¡¯. The boss got anxious when we asked too much, and almost got mad.

 Chapter 227: Lights Off

    <h4>Chapter 227: Lights Off</h4>

    Since they weren¡¯t able to get a magnifying ss for the time being, Ke Xun and others prepared to head back with the lunch.

    ¡°There must be a reason why roosters and dogs can¡¯t make sounds.¡± Luo Bu seemed to think of something from this and looked at Ke Xun. ¡°Brother, does this also have something to do with time?¡±

    Ke Xun was looking up at the buildings above the courtyard. The buildings here could be described as ingenious. Each floor had its own shape, some with a protruding tform, and some with a staircase.

    Ke Xun stared at the top of the buildings, which waspletely covered. A ring of lights was lit along the roof at the moment, illuminating the entire city of buildings as if it were daytime.

    ¡°No wonder my Koharu can¡¯t bark! It¡¯s to not let it y the duty of a dog!¡± Luo Bu suddenly figured it out, ¡°The original duty of a dog is to keep watch at night! It¡¯s said in the <i>Three Character ssic</i>: chicken heralds the break of day, dog keeps watch at night!¡±

    Everyone was stunned: ¡°The chickens and dogs here have forgotten their original responsibilities. Does it mean that this world has no concept of time!¡±

    Wei Dong patted Luo Bu on the shoulder: ¡°Radish you really are something, you even managed to recite the <i>Three Character ssic</i>! So that means, there is no morning, no night, and no time in this world.¡±

    Cao Youning looked around, suddenly feeling terrified: ¡°Is it because the outside is so gray that you can¡¯t see the sun? Without the sun, there would be no day and night.¡±

    A world without the alternation of day and night and the flow of time was like a spaceship that had lost its track in space, floating there forever¡ªat this time, ¡°forever¡± is no longer a good word.

    Ke Xun: ¡°However, time is always there, and it will not disappear because of intentional neglect.¡±

    Even if the room was covered with thick ck curtains, even if dark clouds covered the sun forever, time still passed by every minute.

    ¡°If people could really escape time, then Su Shi wouldn¡¯t have written phrases such as ¡®life is but an inn, I, too, am a passerby.¡¯¡± Fang Fei pointed out the title of the painting.

    Perhaps it was precisely because of people¡¯s indifference to the concept of time here that this strange society, where Inns were eternal residences, came into being.

    They thought about it all the way and got to the ninth floor before they knew it.

    The people in the room seemed to be chatting about something together and stopped talking when they saw lunch.

    ¡°We¡¯re talking about Bi Di.¡± Qin Ci hurriedly took over the hot steamy paper bag from Ke Xun¡¯s hand, ¡°What delicious food did you buy?¡±

    ¡°I thought this ce was quite cold, so I bought mutton pancakes. I don¡¯t know if anyone has any dietary restrictions.¡± Ke Xun said.

    Wei Dong also put the things he bought at the market on the table: ¡°There are still some vegetable dumplings and a few dried radishes here. The vegetables here don¡¯t seem to be very fresh.¡±

    The smell of mutton pancakes had sessfully captivated everyone, and the sounds of stomach growling kepting and going. Everyone was ready to eat after washing their hands.

    In the face of this ¡°delicious meal¡±, several neers, except Cao Youning, hesitated. Qin Ci said: ¡°If this world wants to poison us with food, there is no need to go through all the trouble.¡±

    The few felt that it was reasonable. When they were about to eat, they realized that a little less than half of the mutton pancakes were already gone.

    ¡°Are you used to eating mutton?¡± Lu Heng asked Xi Shengnan.

    Xi Shengnan took a small piece and tasted it: ¡°Roasted mutton is okay. It doesn¡¯t have any smell. I¡¯m not too used to eating mutton dumplings.¡± Xi Shengnan seemed to have remembered something, and took out a small jar of condiments from themon cab, ¡°I saw this just now, who wants to eat it?¡±

    It was a small porcin jar with ¡°extra hot chili sauce¡± written on the paper attached to it. Everyoneughed. No one nned to try it. Cao Youning was eating the mutton pancakes with a satisfied face: ¡°Sister Xi, this gulouzi is already very vorful. There¡¯s no need to add seasonings at all!¡±

    ¡°Gulouzi?¡± Shao Ling interrupted Cao Youning, ¡°You mean, this kind of mutton pancake is called gulouzi?¡±

    Luo Bu replied: ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s how the boss introduced it, and his shop sign also says ¡®gulouzi¡¯. Brother Shao, what¡¯s the problem? Oh shit, gulouzi isn¡¯t some code name for poison, right?!¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry, eat at ease.¡± Shao Ling exined before continuing, ¡°Just now we talked about how Bi Di had a set of very famous photography works of the city Dunhuang, and that he was very interested in the Tang dynasty. I believe that this Lantern Inn has some traces of the Tang dynasty, such as the patterns on our clothes, these candlesticks, and the gulouzi mutton pancakes, which is a delicacy from the Tang dynasty. It has been recorded in <i>Tang Yue Lin</i>: ¡®During the mealtime of rich families, a catty of mutton is prepared. Put ityer byyer insiderge pancakes. Add ck beans, chili peppers, and butter. Bake in the oven and eat when half-cooked. It is called ¡®gulouzi¡¯.¡¯¡±

    Everyone listened in earnest. The shape and materials of the mutton pancakes they were eating now were very simr to the description of gulouzi in the Tang dynasty. Everyone could not help but admire Shao Ling¡¯s vast knowledge. Du Lingyu asked: ¡°Could the Tang dynasty be a clue? But our world already has cameras and developing tanks.¡±

    Shao Ling said: ¡°The world is obviously influenced by Bi Di. Whether the Tang Dynasty can be used as a clue remains to be investigated.¡±

    Xi Shengnan stopped chewing, and the gulouzi covered with bright red chili sauce in her hand was particrly eye-catching: ¡°My novel is set in the Tang Dynasty. It is a story that happened in the golden era of the Tang dynasty.¡±

    So Xiayu¡¯s story was also rted to the Tang Dynasty. Perhaps because of this coincidental simrity that the story was ¡°selected¡± into this world?

    Mai Peng had no appetite due to his cold, so he only ate a little and then stopped. He said: ¡°I remember that when I was young, a photography magazine once published some things about Bi Di. He seemed to have a dreamto use photography to record the relics of the Tang dynasty, but he passed away after onlypleting a small part of it.¡±

    ¡°When did Bi Di pass away? Do you have a specific time?¡± Mu Yiran also finished his lunch early.

    The neers all looked towards Mai Peng. Mai Peng thought carefully: ¡°No more than a year after that photography magazine published his interview. He seemed to have passed away from some disease. I was young at that time. It was originally an old photography magazine in my home, published in the 90s. It was already old news when I saw it. I felt it really was a pity when I read the interview and his courageous words, knowing that he was already dead. The magazine was either published in 1995 or 1996. I really can¡¯t remember.

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but sigh after hearing this, but they mostly tried to analyze the connections between this information and the painting.

    After dinner, Koharu didn¡¯t want to stay inside and wanted to go out.

    Luo Bu could only walk his dog in the ninth floor¡¯s corridor and warned himself to talk as little as possible if he encountered an NPC. <i>Try not to talk and pretend to be mute if ites to it.</i>

    After walking around the corridor twice, they met an NPC who was also taking a stroll.

    He was a short, fat and slightly bald man who liked tough. Hisughter was fuzzy and viscous, as if he wasughing with ventriloquy.

    ¡°What a nice dog.¡± The man said with a smile.

    Normally, no matter how much Luo Bu didn¡¯t like a person, he would politely say ¡°thank you¡±. But at this moment, he didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble, so he just nodded and nned to take the dog away.

    The man followed all the way, and said in an intimate tone: ¡°This dog is really white. He didn¡¯t grow up in the Lantern Inn, right. It looks good everywhere.¡±

    Koharu seemed to be able to read its master¡¯s mind, and when it saw its master speeding up, it started to run along with him.

    Although the man¡¯s legs were short, his walking speed wasn¡¯t slow: ¡°This dog¡¯s legs are also good. Are the eyes good?¡±

    Seeing that the man was about to lower his body to catch Koharu, Luo Bu hurriedly picked up Koharu. He opened his mouth, making sounds of ¡°ah ah bah bah¡±, and gestured with his head shaking along the way. Koharu also followed and shook its head too, cooperating with its master with sounds of ¡°woo ahh¡±.

    The man keptughing and sounded as if there were many pearls falling on a jade te in his belly. If he shook his head, perhaps skittles could pop out of his ears. ¡°How beautiful are these eyes! Brother, your dog must be a spirit dog! How much did you pay for it? Can you give it to me? I¡¯m going to the Cold Night Inn.¡±

    ¡°Ah bah ah bah!¡± Luo Bu was so scared and started running with his arms around Koharu. He didn¡¯t feel at ease until he saw Ke Xun and Mu Yiran standing at the door not far away.

    The man smiled stickily. He was short-legged, so he tiptoed over to touch the dog¡¯s head and look at the dog¡¯s eyes: ¡°How much did you get it for, I¡¯ll buy it. I¡¯m serious, not kidding.¡±

    Luo Bu breathed in deeply and burst out four words: ¡°None of your business!!!¡±

    The short and fat man was obviously frightened. He probably really thought Luo Bu was deaf and mute.

    Luo Kuo skipped and ran back with his dog. With heavy pants, he reported: ¡°Brother, brother-inw, there is a creepy man over there¡­¡± Luo Bu pointed while talking, and suddenly realized that the man had disappeared at some point, ¡°No, creepy ghost¡­¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°What did that fat man tell you just now?¡±

    ¡°Woo¡­¡± Koharu called out aggrievedly.

    Luo Bu recounted the situation just now with some exaggerations. Mu Yiran listened very carefully, and after filtering out many adjectives and adverbs, he said slowly: ¡°It is simr to our previous guess. Dogs here may really be a means of transportation. ¡±

    ¡°Oh my god, brother-inw, you have the heart to ride Koharu?!¡± Luo Bu was anxious.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°¡­ there are often surprises in the world of the paintings. The man mentioned the Cold Night Inn just now. I think that ce should be even colder than here. Perhaps we really need to use dogs to pull sleds.¡±

    Koharu listened to Mu Yiran¡¯s words very carefully. It wanted to bark, but unfortunately could only utter a few ¡°woo¡±.

    Ke Xun tilted his head and looked at Mu Yiran: ¡°Of course, we are a caravan of thirteen people, and we have arge amount of goods. Dogs can¡¯t bear such weights. Let alone we only have a small Koharu.¡±

    Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t figure it out for the moment. Looking at the eyes of the two people and the dog in front of him, he felt like a sicko who was trying to abuse the dog. Mu Yiran wanted to reach out to pat the dog¡¯s head, but he was not used to it, so he folded his arms and smiled lightly. It was an innocent and cute smile, which was rare to see.

    Ke Xun felt that a certain part of his heart seemed to turn soft and transparent. He cleared his throat with a smile and changed the subject: ¡°By the way, we may have a lead for the magnifying ss.¡±

    ¡°Woo?!¡± Before Luo Bu could speak, Koharu rushed to ask.

    ¡°The pattern of that man¡¯s clothes just now is the same as ours. We are both from the Light Inn. He may also be a merchant. Maybe we can buy a magnifying ss from them, or even borrow it.¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Which man? Brother, you sound very silly when you say ¡®man¡¯¡­¡± Right after he finished speaking, Luo Bu realized that he was wrong. He really couldn¡¯t bear the looks that Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were throwing at him. He said a few words of ¡°ah bah ah bah¡± to try to brush it off.

    Ke Xun: ¡°The fat man just now. He should be from the Light Inn. We have to think of a good reason to visit him, because this guy is likely to ask for Koharu in exchange.¡±

    Before Ke Xun finished speaking, a voice suddenly came from the top floor: ¡°Lights off¡ª¡±

 Chapter 228: Film

    <h4>Chapter 228: Film</h4>

    ¡°Lights off¡ª¡±

    The voice was not loud, but everyone in the Lantern Inn heard it clearly.

    Unlike needing antern-lighter for lighting thenterns, it was much easier to put out the lights. All thenterns seem to have received themand ¡°lights off¡± and extinguished one by one from the ground floor to the upper floor.

    This ritual-like feeling of sacredness made everyone fall silent. They watched the light gradually disappear from their feet to the top of their heads and experienced the entire process of being shrouded in darkness.

    After who knows how long, Luo Bu said with a stammer: ¡°Brother, brother-inw, are you guys still there?¡±

    Before Ke Xun had time to respond, a warm hand quickly grabbed him: ¡°You are both here, that¡¯s great!¡± He could imagine that this guy¡¯s other hand had already grabbed ¡°brother-inw¡±.

    The strange thing was that although the surroundings were dark, they were notpletely invisible, as if there was a faint light to illuminate.

    ¡°Koharu¡­Wah¡­Ahhhhhhh¡­¡± Luo Bu yelled out of control.

    Not knowing what was going on, Koharuy on its master¡¯s shoulder pitifully, about to fall at any time. Its eyes were shining like jewels.

    Ke Xun picked Koharu up and carefully looked at its eyes: ¡°Are the eyes of dogs always so bright at night?¡±

    ¡°This is not normal.¡± Mu Yiran also came over to look. One of his hands was still tightly held by Luo Bu. A weak voice appeared: ¡°I thought Koharu had turned into a monster¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the room first.¡± Mu Yiran saw that the entire Lantern Inn plunged into darkness. The only two light sources were from Koharu and were extremely eye-catching.

    The three of them returned to the room with the aid of the light from the dog¡¯s eyes.

    When Ke Xun entered the room, he covered Koharu¡¯s eyes: ¡°Everyone, be prepared, Koharu¡¯s eyes glow at night.¡±

    Even though they were notified in advance, everyone in the room still let out low exmations when they saw Koharu¡¯s eyes.

    Koharu was ced on the table and acted as a dog-shaped night light.

    Although the dog¡¯s eyes were bright, they couldn¡¯tpare with real lights after all. At present, they were only slightly brighter than everyone¡¯s phones.

    ¡°Strange, why the dog¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t so bright when we first arrived here, they were obviously ck at that time.¡± Shao Ling sat at the table, studying Koharu¡¯s eyes, ¡°Could it be like some kind of stone that emits light at night only after it absorbs enough light?¡±

    Everyone was quite convinced by this exnation, and then Zhu Haowen changed the subject without beating around the bush: ¡°There are two questions now. First, when do the lights go off here and why is the lights-on time so short. Second, how were the lights put out and why were they off by themselves.¡±

    This was exactly where everyone was most confused about. Zhu Haowen continued to ask: ¡°What time do you all think it is? Guess it based on your intuition. Everyone has a biological clock in their bodies. We have not been here for a long time, so we shouldn¡¯t be assimted too quickly.¡±

    Assimted¡ªthis word made everyone startled. Wei Dong looked around in the dim light, and then touched his stomach: ¡°I think it was about one o¡¯clock in the noon when I ate. It¡¯s about two o¡¯clock now.¡±

    Qin Ci nodded: ¡°I think so too. We entered the art gallery at 9:10. I looked at my watch at the time. The time we entered the painting was about 9:30 to 9:50. If we calcte ording to that time, It¡¯s almost two o¡¯clock in the afternoon now.¡±

    ¡°But is the time outside the painting the same as inside the painting?¡± Du Lingyu asked, ¡°What was your previous experience like?¡±

    Qin Ci: ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily the same. We usually enter the painting in the morning, but in the painting, it may be afternoon or even dusk.¡±

    ¡°It is very necessary for us to figure out the time. Calcting it based on the time outside, if we arrived at the painting at ten o¡¯clock, ording to the digestion time of the human body, we almost all felt hungry after twelve o¡¯clock. Lunch was at approximately one o¡¯clock and the lights turned off at no more than one hour after the meal, hence two o¡¯clock.¡±

    ¡°From ten o¡¯clock in the morning to two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, a total of four hours, from lights-on to lights-off, a total of only four hours.¡±

    Everyone fell silent for a while.

    Koharu blinked, and the whole world flickered.

    ¡°Why is a day in this world so short?¡± Xi Shengnan sighed. She was sitting leaning against a folding screen, a little listless, ¡°If a day is less than twenty-four hours, is our time limit here still seven days? Doesn¡¯t that mean we have less time to look for the signature?¡±

    After hearing this, everyone¡¯s nerves were tense.

    ¡°ording to how it usually goes, the passage of time in the painting is the same as outside. A day is also twenty-four hours.¡± Shao Ling said, ¡°It¡¯s just that if the daytime here is only four hours, it means that the night will be extended. We will experience twenty hours of long night. What¡¯s worse, the dangers in the painting all happen at night.¡±

    ¡°Th-this is too difficult.¡± Du Lingyu turned her face to the dark, and gently wiped away her tears.

    Cao Youning yawned untimely: ¡°Sorry, sorry, I tend to get sleepy after I get full, and I also have the habit of taking a lunch nap. I really hope that the lights-off this time is just for everyone to take a nap, and maybe it will be turned on again in two hours. ¡±

    Mu Yiran lowered his eyes slightly and had no choice but to speak out about his discovery: ¡°The sky is already dark.¡±

    ¡°Sky?¡± Cao Youning was taken aback.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you feel that it¡¯s pitch ck outside the window?¡± Shao Ling couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°When we first arrived, the sky was slowly getting brighter. Although it was still gray at its brightest, it¡¯s evident that daylight existed. It¡¯spletely dark now.¡±

    Although Cao Youning was afraid, he couldn¡¯t resist and yawned: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just like this. When the room gets dark, I get sleepy easily.¡±

    ¡°If you are sleepy, you can take a nap. We will wake you up in about an hour,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°Everyone else, pull yourself together. It¡¯s two o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Please remember this time. Don¡¯t be assimted by this world.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°We can¡¯t just sit still. It¡¯s not a good time now to go out to find the signature. We can¡¯t get a magnifying ss for now, but we can do something else.¡±

    ¡°Develop films!¡± It was Mai Peng who spoke. His voice sounded funny because of the bad cold, ¡°We have water and a kettle now. These are enough for developing films.¡±

    Hearing this, everyone was a little excited, so they started working on it. Lu Heng had already taken out the developing tank from the cab: ¡°Turn on your phones so it¡¯ll be bright enough. We¡¯ll have to prepare developing and fixing solutionster.¡±

    Mu Yiran asked: ¡°If using the developing tank, does the film have to be a full roll? How many photos have you all taken in your current cameras?¡±

    Mai Peng hesitated for a moment, obviously forgetting this problem because of his excitement: ¡°My camera has a disy for winding films. I probably only took less than ten pictures. If I take it out now, the remaining twenty or so pieces of film will be rendered useless. Maybe we will still need to take pictures with films in the next few days.¡±

    Lu Heng also went to get his camera: ¡°How about you guys, who have taken pictures in this world?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to take pictures,¡± Du Lingyu said. ¡°The roll in my camera is still new, probably because I transferred all the photos in the camera to theputerst night and it bes new when it¡¯s emptied.¡±

    ¡°I also didn¡¯t take any.¡± Xi Shengnan said, ¡°The camera has rolled over a dozen shots. They are probably the pictures of the scenery I took at the entrance of the art gallery, along with some works in the gallery.¡±

    Cao Youning yawned andid down with his clothes on: ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to take pictures¡­¡±

    ¡°Then use my roll.¡± It was Lu Heng who spoke, ¡°I have taken thirty-three pictures for this roll of film. It¡¯s good enough.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by thirty-three?¡± Luo Bu interrupted and asked.

    ¡°A roll of film generally has thirty-six sheets. If a roll is taken out and developed after only taking a few shots, the remaining unused films are wasted.¡± Lu Heng exined, ¡°I have thirty-six sheets in this roll, and I have finished shooting thirty-three. It¡¯s fine to waste just three pieces.¡±

    ¡°Then why waste it? We can shoot and finish the roll.¡± Luo Bu admitted that he had the blood of a businessman. Sometimes he was very good at using resources.

    Wei Dong nodded after hearing that: ¡°Luo Bu is right, use those three pieces.¡±

    Lu Heng¡¯s voice trembled slightly: ¡°Wh-where to shoot?¡±

    Taking pictures was particrly creepy in the middle of the night, as if it was destined that something invisible to the human eye would appear in the lens.

    Luo Bu, who had always been timid, said calmly at this time: ¡°When I was young, I heard from my grandma that cats and dogs can sense that kind of thing. If there is something in our room, Koharu can definitely feel it and will not be so quiet like a chicken.¡±

    ¡°Woo¡­¡± Koharu was not very happy with beingpared to a chicken.

    ¡°Okay, quiet like a maiden.¡±

    Koharuy down on the table. It looked like it was not in the mood to respond to its master.

    Lu Heng seemed to try to embolden himself and said: ¡°Our hometown also has this kind of saying about dogs. It is said that if a dog barks suddenly in the middle of the night, you can tell ¡®who¡¯ passed by how fast it barks. I think it was ¡°fast barks are humans, slow barks are gods, in-between are ghosts.¡±

    The more Lu Heng talked, the more afraid he became.

    ¡°Let¡¯s shoot. We want to use the camera to capture some clues that are invisible to the naked eyes. If what we capture is just an ordinary night scene, then it¡¯s meaningless.¡± Mai Peng was much calmer than Lu Heng, ¡°Shoot.¡±

    Lu Heng picked up the camera, his hands trembling slightly.

    Seeing this, Mai Peng said: ¡°Are you willing to lend me your Ricoh?¡±

    This was exactly what Lu Heng wanted: ¡°Yes yes, God Mai, you should shoot!¡±

    Mai Peng took Lu Heng¡¯s camera, stared at the viewfinder first, and adjusted the lens very professionally. He picked several angles in the room, and everyone who was ¡°gazed¡± upon by the camera lens turned away their faces unnaturally, seemingly as if they didn¡¯t want to be photographed.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to use the sh. Everyone, be careful not to blind your eyes.¡± After Mai Peng reminded them, he took a picture on the spot, and then took another picture from a different angle. The clicking sound seemed to be a little longer than just now.

    It took a long time for Mai Peng to reveal his face from behind the camera: ¡°Strange, it seems that the scene in the viewfinder has changed at the moment of shooting just now.¡±

    Everyone was suddenly nervous. Shao Ling asked: ¡°What has it changed into? Did you see clearly?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t see clearly. It was already dark, and the sh was too bright, but I feel that the dog¡¯s position seems to have changed.¡± Mai Peng said.

    ¡°What¡­¡± Luo Bu hugged Koharu tightly in fright.

    ¡°Obviously it was on the table, but the moment I pressed the shutter just now, I saw that it was on the other side by the window¡­ Because its eyes are very bright, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m wrong about that. There were two bright spots by the window.¡± Mai Peng was very sure.

    ¡°Could it be¡­ There is also a dog by the window?¡± Du Lingyu muttered, ¡°Or¡­something else.¡±

 Chapter 229: Strange Negatives

    <h4>Chapter 229: Strange Negatives</h4>

    Everyone moved away from the window in an instant, and subconsciously gathered around Mu Yiran, as if it was the safest ce.

    Mu Yiran, who was surrounded ¡®watertight¡¯: ¡­

    ¡°How many photos did you take before realizing something was wrong?¡± Ke Xun felt that he was squeezed out of the ¡°teammate circle¡± by the big guy Cao Youning, so he simply asked the photographer directly, ¡°Why did I feel that the click sound in the first shot was faster than the second one?¡±

    Mai Peng tried his best to maintain hisposure: ¡°Yes, the shutter speed of the first shot was faster than the second one. The first one was a test shot, so I chose 1/250 second, which ismonly used. It¡¯s suitable for shooting people in regr motion. I felt pretty good when I was shooting, so I decided to try at a slower speed. In fact, it is best to use a slow speed for shooting night scenes. I tried 1/30 second, and I think this speed should be barely enough to bear the deviation caused by the shakes from my hands.¡±

    Mai Peng paused for a moment before continuing: ¡± I saw the two bright spots by the window only in the first shot. Although I changed the position when I was taking the second picture, the window was still within the scope of the viewfinder. Unfortunately, when I took the picture, it felt very bright. My eyes were a bit blurred and I didn¡¯t have the chance to see anything.¡±

    Ke Xun thought for a while and made a bold proposal: ¡°There is onest piece of film left, do you dare to take a picture of the outside?¡±

    Mai Peng: ¡°Outside the door?¡±

    Ke Xun stood up and walked to Mai Peng¡¯s side: ¡°Yes, let¡¯s crack the door open and point the camera at the corridor outside to take a picture. I¡¯ll be with you.¡±

    Mai Peng felt that his hands, which were holding the camera, were sweating. He wiped on his cotton robe, and then held the camera steady again: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try.¡±

    No one else in the room spoke anymore. Even though they thought this matter was risky, clues were often obtained from dangers. Entering the painting itself was a risky process.

    Ke Xun apanied Mai Peng to the door, and gently opened thetch that fastened the door. The darkness outside was like a thick fog that could taint the whole room ck at any time.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stand against the door. Try not to lean out. Just shoot at the crack of the door.¡± Ke Xun stood behind the door, opening the door to the width of a camera lens, ¡°Let¡¯s shoot.¡±

    Mai Peng took a deep breath and felt that Ke Xun¡¯s tone made him feel more at ease. He held the camera, steadied his mind, and quickly finished shooting. Perhaps because he was afraid of disturbing people outside or something else, Mai Peng didn¡¯t turn on the sh. Some things should be able to be captured even without the sh.

    Ke Xun pulled Mai Peng back to the room, quickly closed the door and put thetch on: ¡°Did you discover anything new just now?¡±

    Mai Peng felt a little bad: ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to look at it. Besides, it was pitch ck outside, so I couldn¡¯t see anything. I just adjusted the aperture to an appropriate distance. I was afraid that my hands would shake, so I adjusted the speed to 1/60 second.¡±

    ¡°It went well just now.¡± Ke Xun pulled Mai Peng to the table and found that Mai Peng¡¯s hands were already a little cold. ¡°The next step is to develop the film.¡±

    The few0 neers began to prepare for film development in a hurry. Under the guidance of Mai Peng and Xi Shengnan, they gradually divided their responsibilities and proceeded in an orderly manner.

    The veterans helped with other tasks. About an hourter, the roll of film was finally fixed and could be taken out of the developing tank.

    Everyone turned on their phones to illuminate, and Koharu also leaned over to look with its bright eyes.

    ¡°Very sessful, even more sessful than expected.¡± Mai Peng slowly unwrapped the roll of film, and scanned the pictures one by one with focused eyes, ¡°The room temperature here is too low, so the grains of the images are rtivelyrge. Even by controlling the water temperature and time, we can only guarantee basic rity.¡±

    Du Lingyu couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°It¡¯s already incredible to be able to produce negatives like that in this environment.¡±

    Most people didn¡¯t speak, but just stared at the patterns on the roll of film in Mai Peng¡¯s hand. Frame by frame, each frame was like a small world, leaving eternal light and shadow.

    Because it was Lu Heng¡¯s film, he looked at it very carefully: ¡°The earlier ones were taken by us on the mountains. After that, the roads, yes, then the sunset, yes, the night view of the city. That¡¯s right. What I took before I entered the painting was yesterday¡¯s night scene.¡±

    This sentence sounded very bleak.

    No one had time to talk about being bleak now. Fourteen pairs of eyes (including Koharu) were staring intently at the slowly unfolding city night scenes. A dozen night scenes slowly passed by. The final picture was a night view of the TV tower.

    ¡°This is thest one, and we entered the painting after.¡± Lu Heng¡¯s voice was a little weak.

    The next picture ¡ª Du Lingyu let out a scream and then covered her mouth tightly with her hands. She hidpletely behind Cao Youning. Cao Youning also wasn¡¯t feeling good. His chubby body was slightly trembling: ¡°W-W-What is this? Oh my god¡­ this woman is terrifying.¡±

    The whole picture was light gray and appeared to be indoors. It was a faint shadow of a dark gray woman, who seemed to be running. Because the picture was too small, it was hard to see clearly.

    Fang Fei stared at the picture for a long time: ¡°I think this is the second floor of the Lantern Inn. Today we went to see where the deceased Xiayu was. I remember these wooden pirs very clearly, and the overallyout is basically the same.¡±

    Lu Heng suddenly felt not alright. He trembled for a long time and couldn¡¯t say a word: ¡°I, yes, I, I took the photo at this location, b-b-b-but there were many people there when I took the picture, and the deceased was lying there with a white cloth over! You, you were all there at the time, you all saw it!¡±

    Wei Dong patted Lu Heng on the shoulder: ¡°Yes, this is where we were standing at that time. There were two pirs in front, and there were full of people¡­ But why did the photo look like this? Who is this woman? What is she running for? This is simply too strange.¡±

    ¡°The woman seems to be running very fast. She¡¯spletely blurry, like a gray shadow,¡± Qin Ci also expressed his opinion, ¡°I can only vaguely tell that it¡¯s a woman from her hairstyle.¡±

    It took a while for Lu Heng to speak: ¡°It¡¯s easy to exin why the figure is blurry. I used a very slow speed at that time, only 1/16 second. I originally nned to take a picture of the corpse¡­¡± He looked towards Xi Shengnan who was beside him. She patted the back of his hand, as if wanting tofort him too.

    Mai Peng took over: ¡°If the speed was so slow, then this figure was actually not moving fast. Judging from the extent of the blur, this person¡¯s speed was actually slower than the walking speed of average people.¡±

    The analysis eventually came to a dead end.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡± Mu Yiran broke the silence.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Mai Peng continued to unroll the film, and the next photo taken was of this room. The whole photo was whitish, maybe because the room was too dark at that time, but the two ck spots by the window were exceptionally clear. In reality, that should be two extremely bright spots.

    ¡°Woo¡­¡± Koharu seemed to be frightened, and ran directly from the table to the bed, and then to the window, as if she wanted to find the dog that ¡°imitated¡± herself in the photo.

    Shao Ling examined it carefully for a long time: ¡°When the photo was taken, all of us sat apart. Why is there almost no one in the photo?¡±

    Mai Peng also found it strange: ¡°I took the photo from the side of the bed, aimed towards the window. Many people were sitting there, especially Cao Youning, who was clearly lying in bed and wanted to sleep¡­why, why is everyone missing?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue and see the next one.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    In the next picture, the entire image was ck, much darker than the previous one. Arge group of people gathered around the table and were doing something. ¡ª Obviously, this photo was brighter, and the resolution was rtively higher.

    Ke Xun had sharp eyes and he looked carefully: ¡°Why do I feel that this group of people seems to be¡­¡±

    ¡°Eating.¡± Zhu Haowen finished what Ke Xun wanted to say.

    After hearing this, Du Lingyu curled up behind Cao Youning: ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore, this is too strange and creepy.¡±

    Zhu Haowen frowned and looked at it further: ¡°The person at the table is holding a big spherical thing in his hand. What is that?¡±

    ¡°This one also has Koharu,¡± Luo Bu spotted a dog beside the table. ¡°The eyes are not so bright, but Koharu seems to be eating something too. It¡¯s a big pile. My God, what is it eating¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s look at thest one.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Mai Peng felt that he hadpletely stopped thinking, and now he could only execute orders mechanically. He moved the film in his hand stiffly and showed thest one. Half of thest one was pure ck, as if there was only half of the photo.

    Everyone was already mentally prepared and remembered what was taken in thisst photo. ¡ª It was the one taken by Ke Xun and Mai Peng at the corridor from the crack of the door. Who knew what would appear in it.

    Mai Peng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with one hand: ¡°I can exin why there is only half of the image. Although this film roll has thirty-six sheets, because the whole camera has been restored to an old-fashioned camera, the film has also be old-fashioned film. When I was developing the film just now, I found out that this roll of film was manually wound out of arge roll. From the trimmed shape at the top, I can see that it was manually trimmed.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean? I-I don¡¯t quite understand.¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°That is to say, the film wound manually may not be strictly thirty-six sheets. People who wind it tightly may end up with thirty-seven sheets, and those who wind it loosely may only have thirty-five sheets. This roll is rtively loose, so it only has thirty-five and a half sheets. Hence thest picture we saw was only half.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Wei Dong also wiped the sweat from his forehead, ¡°I thought there was only half of the world left outside the door.¡±

    Even though only half of the photo remained, the horror was beyond people¡¯s expectations.

    The negative film was gray, not as white as imagined, and the contrast was clearer. Everyone could immediately tell that this ce was the wooden corridor at the door. The scary thing was that there was a figure standing very close to the door, which was where the crack of the door was facing. Because there was only half of the photo, there was only half of the figure. Due to the backlight, it looked very white on the film, but the facial features couldn¡¯t be seen clearly. There were two very ck spots on the left chest of the figure.

    ¡°Oh my God¡­¡± Mai Peng¡¯s hands trembled, ¡°When we were taking a picture of the outside, someone was there?! And this person seemed to be walking in! And he was so close to the camera! Could it be that he is in the room now?¡±

    It was hard for everyone to keep calm at such a time, and they tried to stay close, fearing that the figure who ¡°sneaked in¡± through the crack of the door would suddenly attack.

    Du Lingyupletely blocked her ears and didn¡¯t dare to listen anymore.

    Fang Fei squinted her eyes and stared at the film for a while: ¡°The ck spots on this person¡¯s left chest and left arm should be two very bright spots in reality. Why do I think this person seems to be holding something? It seems to be an animal with eyes as bright as Koharu.¡±

 Chapter 230: Ear

    <h4>Chapter 230: Ear</h4>

    Four different negative films, four styles of horror.

    The first photo: Lu Heng took it on the second floor where the corpse was. The crowd and the corpse disappeared, only the figure of a strange woman was photographed, walking much slower than ordinary people.

    The second photo: Mai Peng took the photo in the room where everyone was staying. No one appeared in the photo. There was only an animal, invisible to the naked eyes, with glowing eyes by the window.

    The third photo: another photo taken by Mai Peng at the same time and ce, but arge group of people with unknown identities gathered to eat. One of them was holding arge object which appeared to be a bit strange.

    The fourth photo: a shot of the dark corridor taken by Mai Peng through the crack of the door. There was an approaching ck shadow, who was carrying an animal with glowing eyes.

    Because the content of the photos was so bizarre, no one could even start a discussion. There was only silence.

    This kind of fear was not so much born from the heart, it was more appropriate to say that it came from both external and internal. Something invisible seemed to exist, covering everyone¡¯s pores, and it might have even ovepped with someone in the room.

    That fear tormented everyone¡¯s skin and nerves, as if it could crush people into pieces at any time ¡ª and these pieces would be shards of cold iron. Wherever the lodestone of terror appeared, these shards would immediately stand up sharply and be controlled and toyed with like fools.

    After who knew how long, Du Lingyu said faintly: ¡°Did we lit incense in our room? I can vaguely smell incense just now.¡±

    ¡°I lit it,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°If we stay here too long, everyone¡¯s biological clock will deviate. In order to figure out the time here, we need something to measure the time.¡±

    ¡°Is it a joss stick?¡± Du Lingyu asked.

    ¡°Yes, we have a type of long and thin incense in our goods. The smell is faint and it¡¯s very durable. I lit one after lunch and it hasn¡¯t burned out yet.¡± There was no trace of panic in Mu Yiran¡¯s voice. He was still as calm as ever, which made people feel somewhat at ease.

    Qin Ci also spoke: ¡°I have already checked the effect of that incense. It is said to keep people refreshed. It¡¯s safe and non-toxic.¡±

    Hearing this, Du Lingyu even had an infinitely pessimistic thought: <i>If everyone fell asleep and was poisoned to death in their sleep by the scent of chronic poison, they wouldn¡¯t have to suffer anymore.</i>

    Someone yawned. As if to respond, many others couldn¡¯t help but yawn too.

    ¡°Some people have already started to feel sleepy, but I think it¡¯s only five o¡¯clock in the afternoon.¡± Qin Ci said.

    Lu Heng: ¡°Cao Youning has fallen asleep.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we feel hungry even though we haven¡¯t had dinner?¡± Luo Bu leaned against the bed, and Koharu was lying beside him. Her eyes were no longer as bright as when the lights just went off.

    ¡°If you¡¯re sleepy, get ready to sleep.¡± Mu Yiran stood up. Using the light from his phone, he came over to the corner next to the cab. ¡°This incense will burn out soon.¡±

    Shao Ling: ¡°After lunch, it was about one o¡¯clock in the afternoon, and now it is about five o¡¯clock. The burning time of the incense for this length is about four hours.¡±

    Mu Yiran lit a second stick of incense, this time five times as long as the previous one. Twenty hours, this amount of time plus the burning time of the previous stick, was exactly twenty-four hours.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t figure out why those lights go off one by one in order. It¡¯s more organized than voice-activated lights.¡± said Luo Bu. ¡°Could it be that this Lantern Inn really has some magical power.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s because of thentern oil.¡± Zhu Haowen didn¡¯t seem to be sleepy either. ¡°When thentern oil burns out, thentern will go out. Thentern-lighter cleverly calcted the amount ofntern oil in eachntern, so that thesenterns extinguished gradually.¡±

    ¡°Oh~ That makes sense,¡± Luo Bu came to a sudden realization, ¡°It¡¯s not so scary now you said that.¡±

    ¡°I always feel that the things here are not as crazy as we imagined. We have experienced so many paintings, and each painting has its own source of terror. But once we figure out the reason behind it, there is nothing to fear.¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s actually not that scary, everyone, don¡¯t scare yourself.¡± Luo Bu hugged his dog. He found a ce on themunal bed andy down with his clothes on. Although his body was already chilling from fright, his tone remained casual. ¡°Eat and sleep as you should. We have to gather enough energy to find the signature!¡±

    Although those words were for Luo Bu to encourage himself, it still motivated everyone a little. Many people were lying on themunal bed and getting ready to sleep.

    Xi Shengnan said: ¡°We don¡¯t want to sleep on the other side of the folding screen. After a;; it feels a bit¡­¡±

    They were still a bit scared.

    ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s squeeze a bit. Anyway, thismunal bed is big enough to amodate the three of you girls.¡± It was Lu Heng who spoke.

    After a while, everyone was lying on the bed.

    Maybe drowsiness was really contagious. After about half an hour, most people fell asleep.

    Koharu also closed her eyes and fell asleep, bringing away the only light in the room.

    Mu Yiran was lying on the bed. Although he felt extremely drowsy, he still tried his best to stay awake. Today¡¯s matter was veryplicated, but it was not without a trace. As long as they found a gap and used enough strength, they would be able to pry the whole thing apart.

    Mu Yiran was lying on the farthest side of the bed, with Ke Xun beside him.

    ¡°Go to sleep.¡± Mu Yi suddenly turned over and ced his hands on Ke Xun.

    ¡°Was it a mistake to open the door to take a picture just now?¡± Ke Xun said after a while.

    Among the four photos, the fourth one probably caused the greatest amount of panic among everyone, the mysterious figure blocking the door trying to break in. Maybe that thing got in through the crack of the door at that time.

    It was Ke Xun who proposed to open the door to take a picture of the corridor, but he was unable to pay the consequences for the panic caused by this matter.

    ¡°Are you afraid? The man standing at the door holding the dog.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Although Ke Xun was wearing a cotton robe, he seemed to be able to feel the warmth of Mu Yiran¡¯s hand on his body. The temperature was reassuring. Ke Xun said: ¡°The man who was holding the dog¡­ After you describe it like this, it doesn¡¯t feel scary at all.¡±

    Ke Xun felt that Mu Yiran¡¯s hand moved up slowly. It stayed by his ear and slowly traced the shape of the helix of Ke Xun¡¯s ear with his index finger. Ke Xun felt itchy, shook his head slightly, and held the hand that was on his ear. He held tightly and was not letting it do that again.

    ¡°Maybe the man holding the dog will be a breakthrough.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°You stared at that negative for half an hour.¡± Ke Xun said. In the situation just now, no one wanted to take a second look after seeing or learning from others the content of the few negatives. Only Mu Yiran unfolded the film to thest half picture and looked at it alone for a long time with the light of his phone.

    Ke Xun: ¡°Any new discoveries?¡±

    ¡°Hm.¡±

    ¡°But this discovery is a bit insane and doesn¡¯t make sense?¡±

    ¡°Hm.¡±

    ¡°Are you nning to talk to me about it or are you just going to hold it in.¡±

    Mu Yirany on his back, his ck eyes looking at the thick ink-like darkness in the room: ¡°I still can¡¯t figure out the problem of time in this world. It stands to reason that no matter how disordered the time is, it can¡¯t all be in a mess. There must be potential rules.¡±

    ¡°Although day and night are deliberately blurred in this world, the habit of lighting on and putting offnterns is still preserved, making it hard to tell whether the people here ignore time or value time.¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°We need to think of a way to erge those negatives. There are many clues hidden in them.¡± Mu Yiran felt the slight cold in the darkness. At the same time he nestled against the most important person to him and couldn¡¯t tell whether it was warm or cold for a while, ¡°I was going to make a simple projector and have already found a suitable box. All I need is the phone with the best lighting and a magnifying ss.¡±

    ¡°A simple projector?¡± In Ke Xun¡¯s mind, making things such as projectors was not simple.

    ¡°Yes,pletely handmade, but it can have a magnifying effect.¡±

    Ke Xun was thinking that the only device he could make by hand was probably just a tin can phone: ¡°Boss, you are quite awesome. If we can¡¯t get a magnifying ss tomorrow at the toy store, I will try my luck with that fat uncle. As for the phone with the best lighting, I think it would be Radish¡¯s. His phone¡¯s screen was obviously brighter and bigger than others¡¯. It seems that the nouveau riche gold phone is quite extraordinary, especially the long battery life.¡±

    ¡°You are nouveau riche gold¡­ This young master came from a noble family with a royal bloodline!¡± Luo Bu tried his best to clear his rtionship with nouveau riche in his dream. Koharu suddenly woke up. Its eyes lit up and gradually closed. It snuggled into the arms of its owner, made sounds of ¡°woo woo¡­¡± as if sleep-talking and fell asleep.

    Ke Xun turned over andy down facing Mu Yiran: ¡°Are you really going to sleep and hold it in? What clues do those films have?¡±

    Mu Yi smiled silently: ¡°The breakthrough I found was in thest picture, the ear in the man holding the dog.¡±

    ¡°Human ear or dog ear?¡±

    ¡°Human ear.¡±

    ¡°Now that I think about it, it feels weird. What about that man¡¯s ears?¡± Ke Xun and Mu Yiran seemed to be not afraid of anything when they were together, and they didn¡¯t care whether this mysterious man was really lurking in the room and eavesdropping.

    ¡°I am familiar with the outline of that person¡¯s ear.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°Um?¡±

    ¡°The arc is round, and the earlobe forms a slightly sharp bend.¡± Mu Yiran said slowly.

    ¡°What the¡­whose ears did you observe so carefully, I¡¯m going to fight him¡­¡± Ke Xun felt Mu Yiran¡¯s hand caressing his ear as he spoke and something in his heart moved: ¡°Could it be¡­ how is it possible? I was clearly standing behind the door and holding against the door, and even if the camera could turn around, it wouldn¡¯t be able to capture me.¡±

    ¡°So I think time is causing it.¡±

    ¡°You mean, the man in thest photo is me? Still holding the dog? Koharu?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very possible. You did stand at the door with Koharu in your arms today.¡± Mu Yiran emphasized, ¡°I carefully observed the outline of that half figure. Whether it was the ears, the head, the shoulders and the neckline, I can be sure, that is your figure.¡±

    Ke Xun felt his hairs stand up and fall again, so he calmed down and recalled carefully: ¡°We came back from a walk today and suddenly the lights went off. Radish grabbed our hands, and Koharu was squatting on his shoulders. Later I held Koharu, and I stopped in front of the door, because I was afraid that the people in the room would be frightened by Koharu¡¯s eyes, so I covered its eyes before entering.¡±

 Chapter 231: The Knives that Disappeared

    <h4>Chapter 231: The Knives that Disappeared</h4>

    Ke Xun flipped through the content of the four negatives one by one in his head. ording to Mu Yiran, if the figure in thest picture was himself, then the content of the other negatives should be other people in this room: ¡°The one where people were eating, it should be the scene when everyone was eating. I remember Koharu seemed to be at that spot and everyone fed it quite some food, so it looks like a lot.¡±

    With such an exnation, there was not as much fear as before and he even had a sliver feeling of peculiar funniness.

    Perhaps it was because of the sudden rxation that Ke Xun actually felt sleepy. Hearing the sounds of Mu Yiran¡¯s breathing beside him, he also seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep.

    Everything in the dark room was silent, as if the only thing alive was the curling smoke in the corner.

    This night seemed to be very, very long, so long that it made people feel that they had slept for seven days and seven nights.

    When Du Lingyu opened her eyes, the room was no longer as dark as it was before going to bed, but gray with very dim light.

    The room was still the same, with a high wooden ceiling, arge wooden cab attached to the wall, arge table, and a big bed which she was lying on.

    She actually woke up alive. Du Lingyu secretly rejoiced, but at the same time vaguely hoped that everything would end soon, if she woke up in this terrifying room every day, she would probably die of mental torture sooner orter.

    Not knowing how long she had slept, Du Lingyu felt her body was a little stiff, maybe it was because of the cold. Du Lingyu endured the stiffness and turned over. She felt that something was wrong with her surroundings, as if everything had fallen into an inexplicable and deathly stillness.

    For no reason, Du Lingyu felt a sense of overwhelming panic, and didn¡¯t even dare to move her gaze, so she let her eyes stay in the direction of the wooden cab in the room, where there was a faint smoke. Was it the incense Mu Yiran lit for timing? What time is it now? Was she still safe and sound in the world inside and outside the painting?

    What Du Lingyu smelled was another kind of aroma, which was different from the previous one. Although it was also faint, there was something seductive in it, making people want to continue smelling it.

    ¡°Are you awake?¡± A voice rang out beside her. It was Fang Fei.

    Du Lingyu felt that this voice was a kind of redemption for her. At this moment, she rxed and sat up slowly: ¡°That was a long sleep.¡±

    ¡°Get up, get ready to wash up, and have breakfast.¡± Fang Fei¡¯s voice was slightly cold.

    Du Lingyu felt something was wrong. Fang Fei was sleeping on her left side, why did this sounde from the right side? Du Lingyu subconsciously looked in the direction of the voice, and saw that Fang Fei was fully dressed, and she was sitting at a distance to her right.

    ¡°Have you finished washing up?¡± Du Lingyu¡¯s eyes slowly moved from Fang Fei to her side, and she suddenly found Xi Shengnan lying motionless beside her ¡ª Xi Shengnan was lying without a sound. Her face was covered with a piece of fabric. She was not sleeping.

    Du Lingyu was so surprised that she forgot to scream. She quickly left Xi Shengnan¡¯s side. Judging by Fang Fei¡¯s appearance, she was the one who covered Xi Shengnan¡¯s face.

    Du Lingyu admired Fang Fei¡¯s calmness, and tried not to tremble at this time: ¡°Wh-what¡¯s going on here? Sister Xi¡­¡±

    ¡°Something happened to her.¡± Fang Fei seemed to be tasked with guarding the corpse. ¡°They have already gone to get someone.¡±

    It was only at this time that Du Lingyu thought of looking at the otherpanions. Only then did she realize that Cao Youning was the only one sleeping on the bed. Lu Heng and Mai Peng were also in the room at this time, standing on the edge of the bed with very unpleasant expressions.

    Du Lingyu slowly moved to the side of the twopanions, and said in a low voice: ¡°Why don¡¯t you wake everyone up, Cao Youning now¡­do you want to wake him up?¡±

    Mai Peng: ¡°Don¡¯t, just now Lu Heng woke me up, I almost died.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t exin the feeling. It was like being pulled back from another world. My heart was so ufortable that it was about to jump out. It has already been a long time and I¡¯m still not feeling well now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, let¡¯s wait until he wakes up by himself¡­¡± Du Lingyu felt as if she was intentionally talking about irrelevant topics, because she was really afraid to talk about Xi Shengnan¡¯s death, as if this ¡°death¡± was a secret, as long as she covered her ears, closed her eyes and didn¡¯t look or listen, she would be safe.

    Du Lingyu suddenly remembered something: ¡°Hey? Mai Peng, your voice, your voice haspletely recovered? Have you recovered from your cold?¡±

    It was obviously an extremely severe cold yesterday, yet it became fine today.

    Lu Heng seemed to have just realized that, but at this moment he just looked at Mai Peng nkly and didn¡¯t say anything. His eyes once again rested on Xi Shengnan¡¯s body, and his eyes were filled with despair and dead silence.

    Mai Peng: ¡°I¡¯m also surprised. My voice suddenly recovered, and my nose isn¡¯t blocked anymore. However, my throat hurts so badly. It hurts like a knife.¡±

    Du Lingyu was puzzled, but she couldn¡¯t figure out why. Besides, the bigger thing on her mind was Xi Shengnan¡¯s death. How did she die? What did she experiencest night? They slept next to each otherst night, did that mean that she brushed shoulders with deathst night?

    Du Lingyu felt chills all over her body, so cold that she was almost frozen.

    ¡°Where is it? This room?¡± There were noisy voices outside.

    It was Ke Xun who opened the door: ¡°Yes, we didn¡¯t move anything after we found out, and kept it as it was.¡±

    In addition to the few veteran members, there was also a middle-aged man who looked like an official. His expression was very calm, and he slowly approached the bed. When he saw Fang Fei, he nodded slightly: ¡°Master Shaman.¡±

    Fang Fei had no choice but to nod in return and cast her eyes on Xi Shengnan¡¯s body: ¡°Everyone was asleep, and no one had heard anything. She just¡­¡±

    ¡°I heard she died of poisoning?¡± The official had already walked to the front of the bed.

    Fang Fei nodded and lifted the cloth towel covering Xi Shengnan¡¯s face with her own hands.

    Du Lingyu closed her eyes subconsciously, but she heard Fang Fei¡¯s voice very clearly in her ears: ¡°Because the face ispletely ck and blue, and the seven orifices were bleeding ck blood, so we deduced that it is poisoning.¡±

    Du Lingyu shivered for a moment. Although she didn¡¯t see it with her own eyes, ¡°the face is ck and blue, and the seven orifices were bleeding¡± was enough to make up for it. She was afraid and sad in her heart ¡ª Sister Xi left everyone forever like this¡­

    The official seemed to observe for a while, and then said after a long time: ¡°It looks like she really was poisoned. Does she have any enemies in the Lantern Inn?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Lu Heng¡¯s voice was a little emotional, ¡°She just came here, and she doesn¡¯t even know anyone here.¡±

    ¡°So, what about you people?¡±

    ¡°No! We have no reason to kill her at all!¡± Lu Heng¡¯s voice was almost crying, ¡°Shengnan is like an intimate older sister to us. We won¡¯t do that kind of thing¡­¡±

    The official¡¯s voice was cold and heartless: ¡°Can I take a closer look?¡±

    ¡°Please go ahead.¡± That seemed to be Fang Fei.

    After a long time, until the lights in the room suddenly lit up, Du Lingyu couldn¡¯t help but open her eyes and look elsewhere. Only then did she realize that thentern-lighter from yesterday came in and lit every gauzentern.

    ¡°Old Jing,e and take a look.¡± The official greeted thentern-lighter.

    Thentern-lighter walked over with steady steps, and was not rmed when he saw the dead body on the bed: ¡± Inn Officer, anything for me to do?¡±

    ¡°Look at the hairpin on the deceased¡¯s body. Isn¡¯t that the one Xiayu lost?¡± Said the officer.

    This sentence obviously caused dissatisfaction among many people, especially Lu Heng: ¡°We came here in those outfits! Shengnan has always been wearing this hairpin! Shengnan does not take other people¡¯s things!¡±

    Thentern-lighter took the hairpin handed over by the officer, and carefully identified it: ¡°It is indeed Xiayu¡¯s. The jewelry of the Chu family is all marked. There is a word Chu engraved on the inside of this jade hairpin. No other family can imitate it.¡±

    The official, also known as the ¡°Inn Officer¡± as mentioned by thentern-lighter, said: ¡°We need to check her other jewelry.¡±

    No one expected that things would develop like this, but judging from the current situation, stopping them might not be the best choice.

    So, they had to offer Xi Shengnan¡¯s bag. Fortunately, the developing tank and photography-rted things inside had been put into the public cab.

    The Inn Officer soon found the jewelry box in the bag. He opened it and examined the jewelries under the light: ¡°Most of these jewelries are marked with the word ¡®Chu¡¯. There is another box here. What is this box for?¡±

    The Inn Officer found another small and long box with a strange shape. When he opened it, he found some knives inside.

    ¡°Sister Xi brought them from outside¡­ from outside of the Lantern Inn! These have nothing to do with the Chu family.¡± Du Lingyu couldn¡¯t help exining that this box contained Xi Shengnan¡¯s ceramic knives brought in from the outside world, which turned into metal knives by the painting by ¡°default¡±.

    The Inn Officer remained unmoved and carefully checked the knives in the box one by one: ¡°Why are there two missing? There are obviously grooves for knives, but no knives.¡±

    This¡­ It was hard for Lu Heng to exin. The two knives were likely not recognized by the painting and did not appear.

    Shao Ling, at the side, was surprised: Xi Shengnan did not tell everyone about this matter. At that time, she only mentioned a few words about the ceramic knives, but she did not publicly disclose anything about the two missing knives, at least not to everyone.

    In the world of paintings, there were very few things that disappeared because they could not be recognized. Even the most taboo thing in this world: time ¡ª everyone¡¯s phone was only missing phone functionalities and timing capabilities like clocks and calendars, but at least it could illuminate. At least it still retained the appearance of a phone. Even the most taboo watch didn¡¯t disappear but had be an ornament such as a bracelet.

    It was absolutely abnormal that two knives were missing from a set of knives, and no one knew about it.

    Mai Peng¡¯s voice was a little weak, and he exined to a few veteran members in a low voice: ¡°At that time, Sister Xi said that something was missing, two new-styled knives were missing. We felt that it was probably because the painting didn¡¯t recognize¡­¡±

    The Inn Officer¡¯s voice became more and more serious: ¡°These knives have the word ¡®Xi¡¯ on them. The dead woman¡¯s surname is Xi?¡±

    Mai Peng still remembered the original appearance of this set of props. It was a resin box containing a set of ceramic knives. Xi Shengnan wrote the word ¡°Xi¡± on the resin box.

    Qin Ci answered the Inn Officer¡¯s words: ¡°Yes, ourpanion¡¯s surname is indeed Xi. Excuse me, sir, is there any problem with this matter?¡±

    The Inn Officer¡¯s words spread to everyone¡¯s ears word by word: ¡°Xiayu was stabbed to death by knives, and she was stabbed many times all over her body. In the end, two knives were still in her body, and they were engraved with the word ¡®Xi¡¯.¡±

    Perhaps it was because things turned around so quickly that people were caught off guard. No one said anything, only doubts grew.

    Thentern-lighter spoke slowly: ¡°Master Shaman was right. The murderer is a woman, and this woman will have retribution.¡±

 Chapter 232: Poison Made From Spices

    <h4>Chapter 232: Poison Made From Spices</h4>

    Du Lingyu could not pull herself out of this nightmare-like reality for a long time. Xi Shengnan killed Xiayu? Xiayu was already dead when everyone came to this world? Even putting aside all the emotional factors, this matter could not hold true, because Xi Shengnan had no time tomit the crime.

    Du Lingyu rubbed her temples. Whenever she was highly stressed, she was prone to migraines. This time, not only migraines, but also tinnitus in the ears.

    Du Lingyu finally managed to calm herself down a little, only to realize that Cao Youning had gotten up and stood beside the bed at some point. He was as bewildered as her, not so much sadness and fear, but more of a feeling of insignificance and confusion.

    Mu Yiran seemed to be talking to the Inn Officer. Du Lingyu listened to each word, but realized that herprehension ability was really poor. Mu Yiran seemed to be talking in a roundabout way on purpose, as if he were intentionally avoiding something but also trying every means to ensure the other party understood his intentions.

    Right, it was ¡®time¡¯. Mu Yiran couldn¡¯t talk about time directly with the people in the Lantern Inn, so he mostly used words like ¡°lights-on, lights-off¡± to express it.

    Fortunately, the Inn Officer¡¯sprehension ability was much better than Du Lingyu¡¯s. At this time, he nodded and said: ¡°I understand that although Xi Shengnan is suspected of murder, she is also a victim. Besides, we cannot bring back the dead¡­ I will send someone to bring the magnifying ss in a bit. We must find a way to find out the source of this poison from the medical book.¡±

    Magnifying ss? Mu Yiran actually got a magnifying ss, and it was from the Inn officer. Du Lingyu felt incredible, and gradually understood why these veterans were able to get through so many paintings together. In addition to the team¡¯s cooperation and tacit understanding, having an excellent leader was also a necessary element.

    The Inn Officer was about to leave atst. He turned his head and said to everyone: ¡°I will send someone in a bit to put the body into a coffin. It will be frozen first and then put into the frozen ground so that she can rest in peace.¡±

    It seems that this was the ultimate way this world preserved the deceased.

    Lu Heng wiped his eyes and said, ¡°Can we send her off then?¡±

    Inn Officer: ¡°Yes.¡±

    The door opened and closed. There were only twelve members left in the room, and Xi Shengnan who was slowly bing stiff on the bed.

    ¡°Why? I really don¡¯t understand.¡± It was Luo Bu who spoke. He hugged Koharu tightly at this moment: ¡°When we arrived, that Xiayu was already dead, why are Sister Xi¡¯s knives in her body? And those two knives were brought in from the outside world! The timing is not right at all!¡±

    ¡°Hence, the time in this world ispletely disordered, and it is precisely because of this disorder that the residents here ignore time.¡± Shao Ling said.

    ¡°If they really ignore time, why do they have such an important ceremony of lighting on and off thenterns?¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°I think they are more afraid of time, or even in awe, so everything that is time-rted is listed as taboo words.¡±

    Mu Yi suddenly walked to the side of the wooden cab and looked at the pile of incense ashes in the corner. Half of the incense was slowly burning in the ashes: ¡°The second incense has only burned a small half.¡±

    ¡°What was the length of the second incense?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    Mu Yiran took out a long, unburned incense stick: ¡°I took the incense ording to this length, and I marked it with a pen. A section can burn for about four hours. Last night I used an incense stick five times as long. That is to say, it can burn for twenty hours under normal circumstances.¡±

    ¡°Yes, only in this way can we make up the twenty-four hours of day and night.¡± Qin Ci pondered.

    Qin Ci came over and took a closer look at the burning incense. This incense had not been extinguished any timest night: ¡°ording to the current length, there are about three-fifths of the total length left, So that meansst night¡¯s incense burned for only eight hours.¡±

    Cao Youning rubbed his eyes: ¡°I think I slept for a long timest night, definitely more than eight hours.¡±

    Many people also expressed the same feeling.

    Luo Bu looked at Ke Xun who was standing next to him: ¡°Brother, does this count as a day or half a day? There were four hours of daytime yesterday, plus the eight hours after the lights went off, that¡¯s only twelve hours, isn¡¯t it? There are two sets of day and night in a day here?¡±

    Ke Xun seemed to think of something: ¡°I¡¯ll go and check the seven lines carved on the wall outside, maybe something has changed.¡±

    Du Lingyu really didn¡¯t want to stay in a room with a dead person. Although the dead person was very close to her when she was alive, death was death. It was one thing to feel sad, but another thing to stay with the corpse.

    Du Lingyu couldn¡¯t restrain the fear in her heart. Seeing Ke Xun going out at this time, she followed him out.

    It was bright outside, like yesterday¡¯s daytime. Du Lingyu followed closely behind Ke Xun. A tall man could always give people a sense of security.

    Ke Xun came to the wall of the corridor, and there were still seven vertical lines deeply engraved. Nothing changed at all.

    Ke Xun touched these seven vertical lines with his index finger, feeling the sharp bumps: ¡°I always feel that these seven lines have a story, and there must be clues hidden in them.¡±

    Brightness made people feel warm and at ease. Du Lingyu felt that her body was gradually warming up. She also carefully observed the seven lines on the wall.

    ¡°Do you feel that these seven lines were not drawn by the same person?¡± Du Lingyu expressed her opinion.

    Ke Xun looked carefully and found that the first three lines were drawn straight with a strong force, while thest four lines, some were slightly nted, some were slightly shorter, and some were slightly shallower. It seemed that they really were not drawn by the same person.

    Du Lingyu pursed her slightly dry lips, pointed to the seventh vertical line with slightly trembling fingers and said, ¡°You can see that this line is very shallow, and it slopes sharply to the lower left corner, just like how I write numbers¡­¡±

    Thetter words might make people feel ominous, but Du Lingyu said it anyway: ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I always feel that I drew thest line.¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help turning his face to look at Du Lingyu. He didn¡¯t know why this girl made such a sudden remark.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe it¡¯s a girl¡¯s intuition.¡± Du Lingyu forced a smile. This topic was a bit scary, and she didn¡¯t have solid evidence, ¡°Anyway, when I was young, I learned to write numbers in grid notebooks. My mom forced me to write along the diagonal lines so all the numbers I write are very nted¡­Besides, although this wall is made of wood, it is still very strong wood. I think it¡¯s impossible for me to carve as deep as the first few lines¡­¡±

    Du Lingyu gradually stopped talking, feeling that the hairs on her face were about to stand up. She suddenly felt nervous and ufortable for no reason.

    Ke Xun stretched out his hand and paused in mid-air for a bit before patting Du Lingyu¡¯s shoulder lightly: ¡°In the world of the painting, crying and being nervous are useless, we have to go all out to find clues if we want to save our lives. However, I think the analysis you just made is very useful.¡±

    Du Lingyu tried hard not to tremble: ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°In fact, everyone has their own specialties and potential. If everyone can bring out these, then we will not be far from leaving the painting.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes were still looking at the seven lines on the wall. After Du Lingyu¡¯s remarks just now, Ke Xun always felt that these seven lines were also staring back at him.

    Du Lingyu nodded and wrapped the old cotton robe tightly around her body, which made herself feel warmer: ¡°Also, when I woke up in the morning, I smelled some strange fragrant scent where Sister Xi was.¡±

    ¡°Fragrant scent?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that scent is very special,pletely different from the smell of the incense we lit at night, and that scent is very light. It may be difficult for ordinary people to smell it.¡± Du Lingyu subconsciously smelled her sleeves, ¡°My clothes still have a little smell, probably because I was closest to Sister Xist night.¡±

    Ke Xun gazed at Du Lingyu: ¡°Have you always been so sensitive to scent?¡±

    Du Lingyu nodded: ¡°I¡¯m quite interested in perfumes. I¡¯ve been taking fragrance sses in my spare time for the past two years, so I may be more perceptive on detecting scents.¡±

    When Ke Xun and Du Lingyu returned to the room, Qin Ci was flipping through the medical book. Because the words on it were very small, Qin Ci squinted his eyes and looked at it with difficulty: ¡°I didn¡¯t read this book carefully yesterday. I just discovered that the first half of this book is about medicine, and the second half is about poison.¡±

    Ke Xun gently interrupted Qin Ci: ¡°Xiao Du has some experience with fragrance, and she smelled a strange fragrance from Xi Shengnan¡¯s body.¡±

    After Qin Ci heard this, he hurriedly turned back a few pages: ¡°There is a part here that specifically records the use of spices as poisons. Could it be¡­¡±

    All eyes were on Qin Ci, and the whole room could only hear the sounds of book turning, page by page, like the hands of a clock ticking slowly.

    As the sounds came to an abrupt end, Qin Ci¡¯s hand stopped on a certain page: ¡°Strange, a page was torn off.¡±

    Everyone gathered to take a look and saw that a certain page of the medical book had been neatly torn off. Because it was torn very close to the inside, it would be impossible to discover it without turning to this page.

    Qin Ci looked at the previous page and the next page: ¡°These records are all about the method of using spices to make poison, and the page that was torn out should be the same.¡±

    Everyone was silent for a long time, and Wei Dong was the one who finally spoke out: ¡°So that means, the murderer secretly tore out this page, then used spices to make the poison ording to the recipe on it, and poisoned Xi Shengnan to deathst night?

    ¡°However, how did the murderer do it? There are so many people in our room, if they used incense to poison us, they would poison us all. It would be impossible to poison only Xi Shengnan.¡±

    What Wei Dong said was very reasonable. This matter was indeed difficult to exin.

    Qin Ci walked to the side of Xi Shengnan¡¯s body and lifted the cloth towel to take a closer look: ¡°ording to the condition of her poisoning, I think she should have taken a lot of poison. Only when the poison enters the body can it cause such serious consequences.¡±

    ¡°Doctor Qin, do you mean that Shengnan ate the poison?¡± Lu Heng said, ¡°We were all together when we ate. She didn¡¯t eat anything else by herself.¡±

    Shao Ling: ¡°Let¡¯s think back carefully, and don¡¯t miss any details. The two missing knives in that set were caused by our negligence. Everyone, think about it, yesterday when we were eating or drinking water, was Xi Shengnan with everyone all the time?¡±

    Just as everyone was frowning and thinking hard, Mai Peng suddenly said, ¡°I know now, maybe it¡¯s the jar of chili sauce. She seemed to be the only one who ate the chili sauce yesterday.¡±

    Hearing this, Qin Ci took out the jar of chili sauce from the cab with a cloth towel, and opened the lid that was fastened on it.

    A spicy smell permeated the room. Du Lingyu stepped forward. She frowned and sniffed it carefully: ¡°Because of spicy smell covering it up, the fragrance has faded a lot, but there is still a little bit. It is the same smell on Sister Xi. ¡±

    Mai Peng sighed: ¡°Among us, only Sister Xi and I are the only ones who eat spicy food. I didn¡¯t dare to touch chili yesterday because of the bad cold, so only she ate it.¡±

    It was not that the veteran members did not eat spicy things at all, but this jar of chili sauce had abel that said: extra hot chili sauce, and made people flinch at the sight of it.

    Qin Ci took out a set of needles from his bag: ¡°There are special needles here to test for poison, which looks to be a specialty of this world.¡±

    Mai Peng was a little puzzled: ¡°Isn¡¯t it only possible to test for arsenic with silver needles? Sister Xi should not be poisoned with arsenic.¡±

    Qin Ci: ¡°These are not silver needles. The color and texture of these needles are very unusual. They should be special poison test needles. Let me have a try.¡±

    In the end, the entirety of the needle stuck in the chili sauce turned jet ck.

 Chapter 233: Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 233: Coffin</h4>

    The poisoning was intentional, and the poisoner was very nned and purposeful. It was done quietly, without anyone noticing, and sessfully made Xi Shengnan the only victim.

    ¡°If the target of the poisoner was Xi Shengnan, then this poisoning case was done perfectly.¡± Shao Ling frowned. ¡°I really can¡¯t figure out how the poisoner knew each of our taste.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Luo Bu also said, ¡°I don¡¯t even know your tastes. I used to think Brother Dong liked spicy food.¡±

    Wei Dong gave Luo Bu a sharp look: Y<i>our words will offend the hairlines of all artists in the world¡­</i>

    Shao Ling also nodded slightly: ¡°Even if we experienced the previous painting together, I don¡¯t know everyone¡¯s tastes.¡±

    Cao Youning also followed up and said: ¡°We in the photography group know each other well, because we often go out to gather inspirations together, but we don¡¯t know about you guys at all! This matter just doesn¡¯t feel right no matter how much you think about it. No one can guarantee that only Sister Xi would eat that bottle of poisoned chili sauce.¡±

    Du Lingyu: ¡°I think it¡¯s impossible for our group of people to kill each other, but the outsiders know even less about our tastes, so how could they kill Sister Xi with such uracy?¡±

    ¡°Unless it¡¯s a case of conditional killing, this time the target is someone who loves chili peppers, just like a murderer who only killed women in red dresses many years ago.¡± Cao Youning said.

    ¡°No, no, this matter is not as simple as what you said.¡± Qin Ci put away his poison test needle and covered the jar of poisoned chili sauce with a lid using a cloth towel. ¡°The Inn Officer just brought up another case after some inspection. That Xiayu died the night before, but the murder weapons in her body were brought in from the outside world. This matter is very strange.¡±

    ¡°The time in this world is very chaotic, and I suspect that the poisoning of Xi Shengnan is also rted to the disorder of time.¡± Shao Ling said.

    At this time, the door suddenly opened, and the Inn Officer walked in with a few of his subordinates: ¡°Rtives of the deceased, do you have any other request? If not, we are going to move the corpse into the coffin.¡±

    There are many things that had note to light, but Xi Shengnan must be returned to the earth, even if it was the frozen earth.

    No one raised any objections.

    Qin Ci handed the jar of poisoned chili sauce to the Inn Officer: ¡°¡­that¡¯s all we can provide, just like we don¡¯t understand why someone poisoned Xi Shengnan, we also don¡¯t believe that Xi Shengnan would do that to Xiayu¡­ I really can¡¯t think of a motive formitting the crime.¡±

    The expression of the Inn Officer had always maintained a subtle sense of alienation: ¡°No one can tell what happens after the lights go off. I have already asked the Master Shaman of this Inn, and he spected that it was a man who poisoned Xi Shengnan. That man will also receive retribution.¡±

    This sentence contained a lot of information. It would take them a long time to digest.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you all going to send off yourpanion? Thene together.¡± The Inn Officer walked out of the room first after saying this.

    Several of his subordinates carried Xi Shengnan¡¯s body out of the room and carefully ced it into the crystal coffin in the corridor.

    Everyone followed behind Xi Shengnan¡¯s coffin and walked slowly forward.

    Qin Ci walked alongside Mu Yiran, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Xiao Mu, you have been quiet today, did you think of something?¡±

    Mu Yiran put his mind away and looked at Qin Ci who stood beside him: ¡°Speaking of the current situation, when Xi Shengnan died, it was only us, herpanions, who stayed by her side and no outsiders came to take a look. However, yesterday Xiayu also died in an unnatural way, but that caused a certain amount of panic.¡±

    ¡°This¡­ is it because the Chu family has a rtivelyrge amount of influence?¡± Qin Ci spected.

    ¡°I hope that¡¯s not the reason. I don¡¯t want that Chu family to trouble us,¡± Mu Yiran coughed lightly, ¡°Comparing the two murder cases, there is only one conclusion, that is, the crime scenes are different ¡ª Xi Shengnan died in the room, and Xiayu died in the square on the second floor.¡±

    ¡°You mean that the crime scene was where the people gathered to look? The crime scene where Xiayu was killed?¡± Qin Ci became more and more confused, ¡°If this is the case, then the murderer has no chance to kill Xiayu in public.¡±

    ¡°This ties together with what the Officer said just now. No one can tell what happens after the lights go off.¡± Mu Yiran said slowly.

    Ke Xun also couldn¡¯t help but said: ¡°And that Master Shaman. Last time, he shared his spection after seeing Xiayu¡¯s body, but this time, he hasn¡¯t shown up. How did he know that the murderer is a man?¡±

    ¡°Master Shaman is a very mysterious existence in this world. If I guess correctly, they may be able to see through time.¡± Mu Yiran presented his guess.

    Fang Fei, who was walking nearby, heard this. Her pace slowed down, as if she was deep in thought.

    Everyone followed the crystal coffin in front and walked up the steps. They slowly reached the top floor of this Inn. Passers-by often stopped to look at this strange funeral procession, albeit with a mere curiosity. After all, the life and death of others had nothing to do with them.

    The top floor was arge wooden dome. On the side of the dome, there was a circle of gray windows made of ss. The Inn Officer ordered someone to open one window, and the biting cold wind blew in, as if it could freeze everything here into ice sculptures.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hang the coffin. After the freezing process, everything will be in peace.¡± The Inn Officer performed the funeral ceremony with a serious expression.

    Several funeral directors tied the crystal coffin with strong ropes, and then carefully prepared to lift it out of the window.

    Lu Heng suddenly became a little out of control. He was in a daze and had been sluggish like a wandering soul just now, and now he suddenly rushed to the crystal coffin: ¡°I don¡¯t believe that Shengnan is dead! I don¡¯t believe it! She is still so young. She is not even thirty years old!¡±

    The Inn Officer¡¯s gaze became sharp: ¡°You¡¯d better keep your mouth shut. If you keep talking nonsense about these taboo words again, I will send an order to freeze you into the ground with her.¡±

    Cao Youning and Mai Peng hurriedly pulled Lu Heng aside.

    ¡°Lu Heng, we don¡¯t want to see the situation today either,¡± Du Lingyuforted him, ¡°The more important thing now is to live on and find out the cause of Sister Xi¡¯s death.¡±

    Hearing this, Lu Heng stopped struggling but there was nothing but emptiness in his eyes.

    Because the window was open, the top floor of the entire Lantern Inn was extremely cold. Du Lingyu put on the cotton hood that was part of the robe and wrapped herself up tightly. She bolstered up her courage and walked towards the window where the coffin was sent out.

    The crystal coffin was sent down steadily. Xi Shengnan¡¯s ckened face was gradually covered by the rapidly gathering ice crystals on the surface of the crystal coffin, from hazy to untilpletely invisible.

    The rope was passed down slowly at a constant speed, as if operated by some kind of precise machine, making people believe that this coffin would never fall from imbnce.

    Du Lingyu felt a piercing coldness on her face, only to realize that there were still snowkes outside. She didn¡¯t dare to lean out from the window to look out, so she huddled between Ke Xun and Wei Dong and looked at the slowly descending crystal coffin on tiptoe.

    The headache and tinnitus came again, and Du Lingyu even felt her vision was blurred. If it had not been the cold wind, she might have fainted.

    ¡°Xiao Du, are you alright?¡± Ke Xun noticed that Du Lingyu looked a bit odd. Wei Dong held up Du Lingyu¡¯s fainting body just in time.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened. I felt like I was hallucinating just now,¡± Du Lingyu looked at Ke Xun and Wei Dong, whose eyebrows and bangs were snow-white from the blowing wind, and felt that these two people suddenly turned into gray-haired old men in a few minutes.

    Du Lingyu was in a cold sweat. She felt her teeth chattering. Ke Xun and Wei Dong helped to move her away from the window.

    ¡°It¡¯s too cold outside, at least twenty to thirty degrees below zero.¡± Wei Dong wiped his frost-covered eyebrows, ¡°I guess you were about to faint from the cold.¡±

    But Ke Xun looked at Du Lingyu seriously: ¡°What was your hallucination just now?¡±

    Du Lingyu paused. The hallucination just now seemed to still appear in front of her eyes. Her eyes were dazed, and she murmured: ¡°I saw, under Sister Xi¡¯s crystal coffin, that there is a dozen more coffins hanging. They line up neatly in a vertical row¡­so many coffins, they look like a train¡­it¡¯s so terrifying, it really is terrifying¡­¡±

    Wei Dong and Ke Xun looked at each other, and at this moment they could only pat Du Lingyu¡¯s shoulder lightly: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. It¡¯s white outside, it¡¯s easy to trigger hallucinations.¡±

    Ke Xun knew that the following questions might be cruel, but he still asked while it was still fresh in Du Lingyu¡¯s memory: ¡°How many coffins were there?¡±

    Du Lingyu shivered and recalled: ¡°Fifteen¡­ No, maybe less than fifteen, I didn¡¯t count, probably¡­¡±

    ¡°Thirteen?¡± Wei Dong heard himself speak out this terrible answer.

    Du Lingyu nced nkly at Wei Dong: ¡°Probably, about twelve or three.¡±

    ¡°Were all those coffins exactly the same?¡±

    ¡°Exactly the same, but because of the distance, I couldn¡¯t see the inside¡­¡± Du Lingyu was surprised. She was trying hard to observe in that terrifying hallucination just now, ¡°It¡¯s not over yet. Later, I heard the click of scissors and the coffin at the bottom fell.¡±

    This hallucination was so terrifying that even Wei Dong trembled when he heard it.

    Ke Xun held Du Lingyu¡¯s hand tightly, trying to calm her down: ¡°What happened after it fell?¡±

    ¡°After that, there was another click. The sound was very clear and loud, and then the second before thest coffin also fell¡­it fell into the abyss below, a gray abyss where you couldn¡¯t see anything¡­¡± Du Lingyu subconsciously covered her ears.

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t know what he should do now, so he opened his arms and hugged Du Lingyu like arade in arms, trying to give her some warmth and strength.

    Meanwhile, Ke Xun has already walked to the Inn Officer¡¯s side: ¡°Excuse me, Officer, what is the burial ceremony like? This is the first time I have attended a close one¡¯s funeral.¡±

    The Inn Officer nced at Ke Xun calmly: ¡°Cut the rope with a pair of golden scissors, and the crystal coffin will descend into the frozen soil on its own. Only then she can truly rest in peace.¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s heart trembled. He didn¡¯t expect that Du Lingyu¡¯s hallucinations would be so simr to the actual ceremony.

    ¡°But, but she is still very young.¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice was regretful, but his eyes kept looking at the Inn Officer.

    ¡°Reincarnation is fair to everyone. Death is the real consummation.¡± The Inn Officer showed a faint smile, ¡°By the way, we have prepared a magnifying ss for you. To prevent such vicious incidents from urring in the future, it would be best to decipher the contents of that medical book as soon as possible.¡±

 Chapter 234: Projector

    <h4>Chapter 234: Projector</h4>

    No one expected that they would benefit so much from the Inn Officer ¡ª in addition to borrowing a precious high-power magnifying ss, they also borrowed an extremely bright fluorite.

    ¡°It was said that a Master Shaman from the Fluorite Inn personally provided it for the sake of our Master Shaman.¡± Ke Xun put the two ¡°treasures¡± on the table.

    Wei Dong was able to borrow some carpenter tools: ¡°Boss, shall we get started?¡±

    Mu Yiran put arge wooden box on the table. It was about the size of two shoe boxes: ¡°These things are enough. This piece of fluorite is a pleasant surprise.¡±

    Under Mu Yiran¡¯smand, everyone worked together, and after about half an hour, the wooden box was used to make a simple magnifying projector.

    The magnifying ss was skillfully iid on one side of the wooden box, and the fluorite was iid on the side opposite to the magnifying ss. The other two sides had fine grooves for moving the film.

    After all the lights in the room were off, the magical projection disyed on the wall.

    Perhaps because of the unique texture and brightness of this fluorite, the projection on the wall was not any inferior to that of modern projectors, especially in this world. It was simply a miracle.

    Wei Dong and Luo Bu stood on the sides of the projector. One person was responsible for pushing in the film, and the other was gently retracting the film. They kept their speed and strength consistent to prevent scratches on the film surface.

    When frames of the pictures were magically disyed on the wall, everyone let out a burst of amazement.

    The pictures ranged fromndscapes to cities, from dusk to night scenes. When it got to the familiar night view of the city TV tower, everyone¡¯s hearts rose to their throats.

    Everyone remembered what the next picture was.

    Wei Dong and Luo Bu paused together in unison. Luo Bu looked at Wei Dong who was standing opposite to him. At this time, Wei Dong¡¯s face looked strange under the illumination of the projector, as if he had also be part of the pictures on the wall.

    Wei Dong nodded, which meant: Prepare to push the film in.

    Luo Bu also nodded slightly and gently released the film in his hand. He felt an appropriate stretching force from Wei Dong. The TV tower gradually moved into the darkness and was reced by a slightly blurred picture.

    Because the film was not developed, the pictures on the wall still had a negative effect. ck was white and white was ck.

    The overall color of this negative was gray. The blurry figure of the woman was slightly darker than the overall background. It seemed that the woman was wearing a light-colored dress with somerge patterns on it. The biggest color conflict here was the woman¡¯s hair. On the negative film, the woman¡¯s hair was almost white.

    From this, it appeared that this was a young woman with long ck and thick hair. The long hair seemed to be braided into a thick braid, hanging down from one side of the ear, and the end of the braid was almost down to the knees.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Du Lingyu looked at the woman on the wall in surprise, and Lu Heng was also surprised.

    ¡°Why, do you know this person?¡± Shao Ling asked.

    ¡°Judging from this woman¡¯s hairstyle, she should be Xiayu.¡± Du Lingyu said.

    Lu Heng also nodded in affirmation: ¡°Shengnan described it like this in the novel: the heroine always braids her thick hair into a long braid. It hangs down from her shoulders to her knees¡­¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s gaze locked on the woman¡¯s clothes. He approached slowly, trying to identify something without blocking the light: ¡°There seems to be something at where her heart is. That thing is very white so it shouldn¡¯t be part of the clothes, nor part of the pattern on the clothes.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes fixated on the woman¡¯s chest, and finally Qin Ci said: ¡°That location is the vital part of the human body. If my deduction is correct, the white thing on the negative should be a ck knife handle.¡±

    The disy on the wall trembled slightly as Luo Bu¡¯s hand shook: ¡°If that really were the case, then therge patch of light color on her heart is not a pattern on the clothes at all, it should be¡­ a deep red bloodstain.¡±

    If these were indeed bloodstains, it would be truly horrifying because there was not just one bloodstain on the woman¡¯s body, but many,rge and small.

    ¡°Judging from the woman¡¯s movement and posture,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°she was walking with a staggering gait, almost on the verge of copsing at any moment.¡±

    No wonder her movements were extremely slow. It turned out that this slowness was a sign of being in a state of near-death, on herst breath.

    Due to the blurry image, it was difficult to discern the woman¡¯s facial expression. However, considering the bloodstains and her staggering gait, her expression must have been one of intense agony.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why was this captured in the photo?¡± Mai Peng questioned, ¡°When we came to this world, Xiayu was already dead. That is to say, the camera captured events that happened before?¡±

    ¡°Judging from this photo, the only thing that is correct is the location. Could it be that we can use a camera to capture what happened before at a location?

    ¡°This incident is simply so beyond belief and too mysterious.¡±

    Mu Yi Ran was standing slightly off to the side, his eyes fixed on the wall without blinking. Finally, he spoke up: ¡°If not mistaken, Lu Heng used a shutter speed of 1/16 second to take this photo.¡±

    Lu Heng was still in a daze, but upon hearing his own name, he suddenly snapped back to reality. He processed Mu Yi Ran¡¯s words and nodded, ¡°Yes, my shutter speed was indeed too slow. If I used 1/60 second, we would be able to see the woman¡¯s face clearly.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded: ¡°Does anyone else have any other opinions on this picture?¡±

    Luo Bu also took the initiative to speak and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t the Officer say that there are two knives stuck in Xiayu¡¯s body? Why is there only one in the photo? Where did the other go?¡±

    Ke Xun answered the question directly: ¡°When I went to get the magnifying ss just now, I asked about it. The other knife should be stuck in the back. Because of the angle, we can¡¯t see it.¡±

    ¡°I have no more questions.¡± Luo Bu moved the film in his hand, ready to show the next negative.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s move on to the next one.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    The next photo was very familiar to everyone, because it was this room. But there was no one in the room except the mysterious animal on the other side of the window with a pair of glowing eyes.

    This was also the first photo that had scared everyone.

    ¡°If the camera can really capture past events, then there is a reasonable exnation for these photos.¡± Mai Peng¡¯s voice waspletely fine now, but he felt his throat was extremely ufortable and often swallowed saliva from time to time.

    Indeed, if the difference in time caused these different effects, then these photos did not seem so terrifying anymore.

    ¡°If I remember correctly, Mai Peng took this photo at a speed of 1/250 second.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Mai Peng admired Mu Yiran¡¯s memory: ¡°Yes, 1/250 second is my usual speed.¡±

    Zhu Haowen folded his arms and looked at it for a long time: ¡°Judging from the lighting in this photo, this should be taken at night. Furthermore, that animal¡¯s eyes should only be so bright in the middle of the night. ¡ª If the camera only captured moments before the time of the photograph, then I really don¡¯t recall our room ever having such a scene after the lights were off. At least, after the lights were off and before Mai Peng took the photo, all of us were gathered around the table, and some were sitting on the bed.¡±

    What Zhu Haowen said made sense. Judging from the angle in the photo, there had been no one on the bed and no one knew where everyone had gone.

    Qin Ci, who was standing by the side, also couldn¡¯t figure it out: ¡°Why don¡¯t we discuss this phototer. Let¡¯s take a look at the next one first?¡±

    Everyone had no choice but to nod in agreement, so the disy on the wall moved again, and the next photo appeared.

    This photo had also caused panic among everyonest night.

    Based on the lighting, the photo should be rtively bright. It was obvious that the gauzemp was emitting light, and there was also some brightnessing from the window. There was no doubt that this photo recorded a scene before the lights had gone off.

    The reason why the content made everyone ufortable was because the people in the photos were eating. Due to the contrast in the negative film, it was difficult to make out what they were eating. Not only were there humans, but there was also a dog eating arge pile of food on the ground.

    ¡°Yesterday, Koharu did eat a lot, and everyone was feeding it¡­¡± Luo Bu frowned and looked at the ck dog in the picture. Based on its outline and posture, he concluded that it was Koharu.

    Perhaps because they had gained some confidence, everyone dared to rush forward to carefully examine the photo, especially Cao Youning, who resembled someone searching for themselves in a graduation photo, ¡°I see it, I see it! The person sitting on the bed is me! I have a big pancake in my hand! I remember tearing off arge portion of the Guluozi mutton pancake at that time! Yes, yes, that¡¯s me!¡±

    After careful examination, everyone became more certain that this photo captured the scene of the group having lunch together yesterday.

    Lu Heng also scrutinized it for a while, and his gaze gradually shifted from himself to the person next to him, ¡°At that time, Shengnan was also here.¡±

    Due to Xi Shengnan¡¯s presence in the photo, everyone¡¯s hearts couldn¡¯t help but tighten. Perhaps Xi Shengnan¡¯s movements at that time were perfectly synchronized with the shutter speed, her outline was exceptionally clear ¡ª a well-defined half profile with a small rolled-up mutton pancake in her hand, which appeared unusually white.

    ¡°Why is the thing that Sister Xi was holding so white? Why is it not the same color as ours?¡± Cao Youning asked carelessly, ¡°In the real world, it should be something very dark, right?¡±

    No one answered him.

    The color on the mutton pancake was that of the poisonous spicy sauce.

    ¡°What shutter speed was used for this photo? 1/30 second?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    Mai Peng nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°The next one is 1/60 second, right?¡± Mu Yiran continued.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mai Peng answered, seemingly grasping something vaguely.

    Mu Yiran said, ¡°Let¡¯s look at thest one.¡±

    Even though they knew that the photos were of real events and the eerie effects were caused by the time difference, thest photo still made most people take a few steps back.

    When thest half of the photo appeared, some timid members couldn¡¯t help but gasp, because the figure of the stranger in the picture was incredibly huge. It was too close to the camera, creating an unsettling approaching effect.

    The screen suddenly trembled, and Wei Dong¡¯s voice cracked, ¡°Oh my God, it¡¯s Ke Er!¡±

 Chapter 235: Past, Present, Future.

    <h4>Chapter 235: Past, Present, Future.</h4>

    Wei Dong¡¯s roar startled everyone.

    Everyone stared intently at the figure disyed, then turned their heads topare it with the real Ke Xun, then stared at the disy to ponder, and then turned to look at Ke Xun again¡­

    After examining these negatives with Mu Yiranst night, Ke Xun was mentally prepared, but when he saw the big figure of himself on the wall, he still couldn¡¯t adjust himself: ¡°It¡¯s too close. It makes me look a bit fat.¡±

    Everyone: ¡­

    ¡°This ispletely messed up,¡± Cao Youning began pacing around the room. Every time he passed in front of the disy, his enormous shadow would appear on it, as if trying topare himself to Ke Xun on the wall in terms of height, weight, and strength. ¡°The time is all messed up. They were clearly taken at the same time, so why some has people eating, some with no one around, and some with Ke Xun entering the room after the lights went off? The cat Ke Xun was holding is Koharu, right? And the cat next to the other window is also Koharu, right? What about the cat squatting next to them during the meal¡­¡±

    ¡°Dog.¡± Luo Bu couldn¡¯t help but interject. ¡°Koharu is a dog.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right, right.¡± Cao Youning stood in front of the disy, and the image of Ke Xun¡¯s shadow fell on his face, with the two dots that were Koharu¡¯s eyes aligning perfectly with Cao Youning¡¯s own eyes. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯spletely messed up. There¡¯s no order to it at all!¡±

    Mai Peng directly pulled his chubbypanion away from the disy and looked at theposed veteran members. ¡°I think Mr. Mu probably already understands what¡¯s going on.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Mr. Mu, please tell us,¡± Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran with expectant eyes.

    Mu Yiran had already lit amp beside him, causing the images projected on the wall to instantly fade in the warm orange light. ¡°There is indeed a pattern here, and it follows a very standard time pattern.¡±

    At this moment, the expressions of the people varied. Some seemed to have figured out the answer, some seemed to have a partial understanding, and some had no clue at all.

    .

    Wei Dong and Luo Bu hadn¡¯t fully grasped it yet. Wei Dong carefully put away the film and returned the projector to themunal cab.

    All the lights in the room were lit on. Mu Yiran wrote down some numbers on a piece of paper: ¡°ording to the time we estimated yesterday, lunchtime was about 13:00. Lights-off was about 14:00. About an hourter, Mai Peng started taking pictures. Let¡¯s assume it was 15:00.¡±

    ¡°Mai Peng took three photos at 15:00. The first photo shows half of an empty room with Koharu sitting by the window. We can¡¯t estimate what point in time this was. The content of the second photo is very clear. It is the scene where we had lunch at 13:00. The third photo is when Ke Xun was about to enter the room after the lights went off at 14:00.¡±

    ¡°The shutter speed of the camera used in the second photo was 1/60 second, and the photo captured is of the scene at 13:00. The speed of the third photo was 1/30 second and captured the lights-off at 14:00. The first photo used the fastest speed, 1/250 second, and captured a scene we didn¡¯t seem to have experienced before ¡ª Koharu sitting by itself by the window. Its eyes were bright, so it was obviously after the lights-off.¡±

    Qin Ci couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I don¡¯t understand. If the photos taken at 1/60 second and 1/30 second both captured past events, with a one-hour dy between each point in time, then what did the photo taken at 1/250 second capture?¡±

    Everyone looked at Mu Yiran with questioning eyes, but Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze was directed towards the window. He then said to Koharu, ¡°There was an animal in the photo just now that looked exactly like you, sitting by the window.¡±

    Koharu seemed to understand and let out a series of ¡°woo¡± sounds as it quickly dashed to the window, as if it wanted to expose the imposter dog.

    Fang Fei gasped: ¡°I remember now. There was indeed such a momentst night. When the film had just been developed and we had all gathered around the table looking at the film, Koharu was also startled when it saw this particr photo. It jumped from the table onto the bed and then ran to the window, as if trying to find that dog imitating it¡ªjust like how it¡¯s acting now.¡±

    Fang Fei wasn¡¯t used to talking so much at once, and after finishing her exnation, she quickly fell silent again.

    Upon Fang Fei¡¯s reminder, most people recalled the scene fromst night. Luo Bu suddenly realized, ¡°No wonder the photo didn¡¯t capture anyone on the bed because at that time, everyone was gathered around the table looking at the film. Only Koharu ran to the window! The camera unexpectedly captured that exact scene.¡±

    ¡°At that time, the film had already been developed, which means that the event urred after taking the photos,¡± Shao Ling also figured out what happened. ¡°After taking the photos, we immediately started preparing the developing tank to process the film. The whole process took at most an hour. If we took the photos at 15:00, then it should be around 16:00 when we gathered to look at the developed films.¡±

    Wei Dong was amazed and said to Fang Fei, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the camera to capture things that will happen in the future. It¡¯s incredible.¡±

    Fang Fei nodded. She didn¡¯t intend to say much, but seeing Wei Dong looking at her, she continued, ¡°Although it¡¯s a bit messy, as long as we find the central point, we should be able to discover the pattern.¡±

    ¡°Right, right.¡± Wei Dong nodded and, together with Fang Fei, turned their expectant gaze once again to Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran continued to live up to everyone¡¯s expectations and said, ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with photography, but I specte that there should be another point of speed between 1/250 second and 1/60 second in the camera¡¯s shutter speed, and this point is likely to be amonly used speed.¡±

    Mai Peng picked up the conversation, ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s 1/125 second. This speed is often suitable for shooting people walking at a normal speed on a sunny day. It¡¯s the mostmonly used shutter speed, especially for beginners. They often set the shutter speed to 1/125 second because, unless they are taking special photos, this speed generally won¡¯t go wrong.¡±

    Mu Yiran wrote down ¡®1/125 second¡¯ on a piece of paper, ¡°This speed should be the central point that Fang Fei mentioned earlier. If our guess is correct, the photos taken at this speed should represent the normal time and capture the immediate moments. Unfortunately, none of the four photos taken yesterday used this speed, which caused everyone to be confused.¡±

    Shao Ling carefully looked at the values of shutter speed written by Mu Yiran on the paper, ¡°So, if we take 1/125 second as the central point, when the speed is faster than this, it will capture future scenes at the same location. When the speed is slower than this, it will capture past events at that location.¡±

    1/125 second was like the present continuous tense. Slower than this speed, it captured the past; faster than this speed, it captured the future.

    Mai Peng looked at the camera hanging in front of him and found it hard to believe that such an ordinary camera had been endowed with such a magical power in this world.

    Du Lingyu also gradually figured it out, ¡°If we calcte based on yesterday¡¯s photo-taking at 15:00, it means if Mai Peng had used a speed of 1/125 second to take the photo, it would have captured the scene at 15:00. However, Mai Peng chose 1/250 second, which pushed the time forward to 16:00, capturing the future scene where everyone was not in the frame because they were looking at the film. When Mai Peng chose 1/60 second, which is slower than the central point of 1/125 second, the time moved back one hour, capturing the scene when Ke Xun returned with the dog after lights-off at 14:00. As for 1/30 second, which is two steps slower than the central point, it pushed the time back by two hours, capturing the scene two hours before at 13:00, when everyone was having lunch.¡±

    Du Lingyu, after finishing her analysis, looked somewhat uncertainly at Mu Yiran and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if what I just said is right.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded, ¡°Absolutely correct.¡±

    To make it clearer for everyone, Mu Yiran directly wrote down the corresponding times for each shutter speed on the paper: 1/125 second, present time; 1/60 second, one hour earlier; 1/30 second, two hours earlier; 1/250 second, one hourter.

    Lu Heng also started to gradually understand. His voice was somewhat hesitant, ¡°Then, what about the photo I took, the one with Xiayu? I used a shutter speed of 1/16 second at that time.¡±

    ¡°That photo¡¯s time would be even earlier. We arrived in the painting around 10:00 in the morning, and you went to the second floor to investigate around 11:00 in the morning. At that time, using a shutter speed of 1/16 second¡­¡± Mu Yiran wrote down 1/16 second on the paper. ¡°I want to ask, between 1/30 second and 1/16 second, are there any other shutter speeds?¡±

    Lu Heng answered, ¡°No, at least not on my camera.¡±

    ¡°The progression of time may be in increments of one hour, with each speed setting shifting the time forward or backward by one hour. If we calcte it that way, at 1/16 second, it captures a scene from three hours earlier. Three hours before 11:00 is 8:00,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°That time seems correct. We entered at 10:00, and we hadn¡¯t arrived in this world yet at 8:00. It¡¯s highly likely that something happened during that time.¡± Lu Heng analyzed.

    ¡°There is another possibility,¡± Mu Yiran drew another line. ¡°The progression of time may not be of hourly increments, but rather exponential increments. 1/125 second is the central point, 1/60 second is one hour earlier, 1/30 second is two hours earlier, 1/16 second is four hours earlier, 1/8 second is eight hours earlier, 1/4 second is sixteen hours earlier¡­¡±

    Everyone listened attentively. Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but open his mouth wide, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t it mean that we can capture things from a long time ago and a long time in the future?¡±

 Chapter 236: One and a Half Hours

    <h4>Chapter 236: One and a Half Hours</h4>

    If it was indeed possible to use the cameras to see events from the past and the future, it undoubtedly would provide them with more clues to find the signature.

    ¡°Time is limited. It has been two hours since ¡®dawn.¡¯ It¡¯s best for us to split up. One group can use the cameras to search for clues, while the other group continues to look for the signature,¡± Ke Xun suggested, ncing at the burning incense in the corner. Two hours had already passed since thenterns were lit.

    Mai Peng held his camera, ¡°I would want to have Mr. Mu guide me while looking for locations to take photos.¡±

    Cao Youning added, ¡°Finding a signature in this Inn is like finding a needle in a haystack. I don¡¯t have any other special skills, so maybe I should also take photos.¡±

    Mu Yiran thought for a moment and said, ¡°That works. Those of you who are skilled in photography can distribute the film among yourselves. Film is a precious resource now, and we should use it wisely.¡±

    All the new members nodded and took out their cameras.

    Ke Xun nced at Mu Yiran: ¡°How about this, everyone should gather in this room in no more than two hours. We¡¯ll buy some food on the way, so we can have lunch before the lights go off.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded in agreement, ¡°Finding the signature might be challenging without narrowing down the scope. Let¡¯s try to gather some information first.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good!¡±

    Du Lingyu looked at Ke Xun, hesitating to speak.

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Xiao Du, you can talk to Yiranter about the hallucinations you experienced.¡±

    ¡°Okay, sure,¡± Du Lingyu nodded.

    Ke Xun continued, ¡°Brother Qin, you can stay behind and continue researching that medical book. There might be something useful to us in there.¡±

    Qin Ci had no objections to the suggestion. He walked over to the overhead projector and took off the magnifying ss, preparing to use it to read the bookter.

    Ke Xun nced at the others and said, ¡°Without further ado, let¡¯s go look for the signature now.¡±

    So, Ke Xun, Wei Dong, Zhu Haowen, Fang Fei, Luo Bu, and Koharu left the room together.

    Although they said they were looking for the signature, there wasn¡¯t a clear route.

    ¡°I always feel like the signature is hidden in the past and future, not really rted to the present,¡± Wei Dong scratched his head. ¡°Even if we want to look for it, we don¡¯t know where to start.¡±

    Zhu Haowen was expressionless. ¡°Since we can¡¯t determine the time, let¡¯s first determine the location and the people involved.¡±

    ¡°As for the location, aside from our room, there are a few more important ces: the square where Xiayu was killed on the second floor, the window by the suspended coffin on the top floor, and the entrance and exit of this Lantern Inn.¡±

    ¡°As for the people, we can only specte based on our specific roles: people who do business with us, people who use or trade camera-rted goods, and the authorities of this world, the esteemed Master Shamans.¡±

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but nce at Fang Fei when Master Shaman was mentioned.

    ¡°I was also thinking about this,¡± Fang Fei paused in her steps and stood by the staircase railing. Under the candlelight, her high ponytail and upright figure gave off an air of detachment from the world. ¡°Initially, I wanted to try wearing that mask.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Wei Dong blurted out. ¡°Who knows what the mask does? What if you put it on and can¡¯t take it off¡­?¡±

    Fang Fei chuckled softly. ¡°That¡¯s not too scary. I¡¯m more concerned about truly bing a member of the Shamans after putting on the mask and I would lose my true self.¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯ve made it even more terrifying.¡± Luo Bu said.

    ¡°What Haowen just said reminded me,¡± Fang Fei said with a serious expression. ¡°I believe I should use my identity to get acquainted with some of the Shamans. Perhaps I can gather some information.¡±

    It indeed was a good idea, but Wei Dong still said, ¡°You are going alone? How about Ke Er go with you?¡±

    Fang Fei replied, ¡°I am the only one with the identity of a Shaman among us, so it would be more appropriate for me to go alone. However, I haven¡¯t figured out a reason for the visit yet.¡±

    Ke Xun had an idea, ¡°How about this? Fang Fei can go visit the Master Shaman of the Fluorite Inn with some gifts to thank them. After all, they lent us a piece of precious fluorite. ¡±

    Fang Fei nodded, ¡°That¡¯s a good suggestion. I¡¯ll go back to prepare. We have some valuable spices among our goods, which can be used as a gift.¡±

    Everyone agreed that it was a good idea, so Fang Fei went back to the room to prepare the gift, while the others continued downstairs.

    ¡°Oh? Where¡¯s Brother Shao?¡± Luo Bu suddenly noticed someone was missing.

    ¡°Discussing past, present and future with others.¡± Wei Dong said, ¡°They research time, we research geography. Where should we go first?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s buy food first.¡± Luo Bu¡¯s suggestion received a nod of agreement from Koharu.

    ¡°¡­You foodie, haven¡¯t we had breakfast?¡±

    ¡°Those dry breads were hard to swallow¡­ shall we get Gulouzi again?¡± Luo Bu suggested and Koharu nodded once more.

    ¡°¡­ ¡± Ke Xun looked towards downstairs, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the square on the second floor first, where Xiayu was killed ording to the photo. Maybe there will be some clues there. If not, we can search elsewhere.¡±

    ¡°Sure, Gulouzi is also on the second floor,¡± Luo Bu¡¯s stomach growled as if protesting and everyone looked towards him. ¡°Hunger can sometimes sharpen one¡¯s mind. I suddenly feel that the ¡®people¡¯ that Brother Haowen mentioned is worth investigating. We should all make use of our connections in this Lantern Inn.¡±

    ¡°What connections do you have here?¡± Wei Dong asked, thinking that Luo Bu had gone stupid from hunger. ¡°You better not tell me that your family has a business here.¡±

    Luo Bu¡¯s eyes, however, gleamed brightly, just like Koharu¡¯s eyes. ¡°That fat uncle. Wasn¡¯t he asking about Koharu? We even thought about borrowing a magnifying ss from himst night!¡±

    ¡°The ¡®none of your business¡¯ fat uncle?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s the only connection I have here,¡± Luo Bu¡¯s smile suddenly was suddenly filled with strength ¡°But Koharu better note with me. I¡¯m afraid that guy might have ulterior motives towards Koharu. I¡¯ll go alone.¡±

    ¡°Wait, can you do it?¡± Wei Dong expressed his concern.

    ¡°You can¡¯t just say that to a straight man,¡± Luo Bu said solemnly.

    Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen exchanged a knowing look. <i>Gay guys don¡¯t like hearing this either¡­</i>

    Luo Bu, ¡°If Fang Fei, a girl, can go alone to meet Master Shamans, then as a grown man, can¡¯t I handle a fat normal human?¡±

    Zhu Haowen chimed in, ¡°Let Luo Bu go. He might actually have what it takes.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°The fat uncle lives next to us. If there¡¯s really a problem, just call out for people in our room. Besides, it should be fine during the daytime. Luo Bu, be mindful of yournguage, don¡¯t say anything that is taboo.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t say anything I shouldn¡¯t.¡± Luo Bu was happy to be entrusted with such an important task. He set off alone after bidding farewell to Koharu.

    ¡­¡­

    The incense in the room was still the one that Mu Yiran litst night before going to bed. With its length, it wouldst twenty hours. The section that burnedst night was eight hours, and now two and a half hours had passed since ¡°dawn.¡±

    ording to yesterday¡¯s pattern, the duration of daytime here was four hours. There was only an hour and a half left until the lights-off.

    They must return to the room before the lights would go out, so everyone needed toplete their tasks as quickly as possible.

    Each person had an hour and a half, which added up to three hours for two people, six hours for four people, and a total of eighteen hours for twelve people.

    That was how Luo Bu calcted it in his head. This must had been what ¡®there is strength in numbers¡¯ meant.

    During this one hour, Boss Mu and the members of the photography group would go to several important locations to take photos and investigate the secrets of time in this world. Fang Fei, using her identity as a Shaman, would meet with another Shaman. Qin Ci would focus on studying the medical book. Meanwhile, Ke Xun and the others would go ¡°blindly searching¡± for the signature like door-to-door salesmen.

    What Luo Bu was about to do now was to knock on the door next to their room.

    This was his own one and a half hours.

    ¡ª¡°Knock, knock.¡±

    The door quickly opened, revealing the same fat, semi-bald smiling uncle fromst night. He was also smiling now. It sounded like a cormorant that had swallowed a huge fish.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t bring the dog today?¡± the fat uncle asked, inviting Luo Bu into the room.

    ¡°It¡¯s with someone else today.¡± Luo Buposed himself and quickly put on a smile.

    This room¡¯syout was simr to their living ce, just slightly smaller. There were a few people still in the room, some resting on the bed, some seemed to be counting ounts.

    Luo Bu¡¯s arrival didn¡¯t seem to faze anyone. Some didn¡¯t even bother to look, while others just nodded briefly.

    ¡°He¡¯s also from the Light Inn,¡± the fat uncle introduced Luo Bu simply to hispanions. ¡°The dog we saw yesterday belongs to him.¡±

    These words caught the attention of a fewpanions. One of them sat up straight from the bed. ¡°Are you guys dog traders?¡±

    Luo Bu smiled and replied, ¡°We trade spices, the dog is our own.¡±

    That person turned to the fat uncle and asked, ¡°It¡¯s a spirit dog?

    ¡°Right, a spirit dog, quite rare.¡± The fat uncle couldn¡¯t hide his smile.

    ¡°Alright, you two go chat,¡± the ones resting on the bed surprisingly got up and even the person counting ounts stopped. ¡°Go chat go chat, we¡¯re going out to buy some liquor and rations.¡±

    In no time, the few people in the room went out, leaving only the fat uncle and Luo Bu behind.

    The fat uncle probably wanted to show more sincerity, but his smile seemed increasingly perverted.

    Luo Bu instinctively distanced himself a bit: ¡°My surname is Luo. How should I address you?¡±

    ¡°Just call me Old Li. We sell dried fish and jerky. You can take some dried fish back with youter. It¡¯s a specialty of our Light Inn, you can¡¯t get it at other Inns,¡± Old Li said enthusiastically.

    ¡°Thank you for your kindness. Actually, I came here to borrow a magnifying ss. I wonder if you have any here?¡± Luo Bu presented his prepared excuse.

    The fat uncle awkwardly rubbed his double chin with his meaty hands. ¡°We don¡¯t need that kind of stuff. The merchant group that sells those magnifying sses has already left. Otherwise, you could have bought from them.¡±

    ¡°They left?¡± Luo Bu felt a bit nervous, unsure if this kind of conversation would be considered taboo. ¡°Where did they go? Can we catch up with them?¡± He actually wanted to ask, ¡°when did they leave¡±, but now he could only use clever ways to phrase his question.

    ¡°They went far away, even with a spirit dog, you won¡¯t be able to catch up,¡± the fat uncle replied. ¡°You can try your luck at the toy store. They might be selling them.¡±

    Luo Bu thought for a moment and added, ¡°I kept my dog as a pet for fun. I didn¡¯t realize it was a spirit dog.¡±

    The fat uncle looked at Luo Bu, and suddenly chuckled in a low voice: ¡°Little brother is lying to me. Without a spirit dog, how did you guys get here?¡±

    Luo Bu asked back, ¡°You guys didn¡¯t bring a dog, so how did you get here?¡±

    The fat uncle stared at Luo Bu with his little mung bean-like eyes and realized that he didn¡¯t seem to be lying: ¡°So you guys rented a carriage too. What a waste to not use such a good dog. Maybe you can even make it to the Cold Night Inn!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so good about that ce?¡±? Luo Bu tried to portray himself as someone who was na?ve and inexperienced.

    ¡°There are good things there. I¡¯ll give you someter,¡± the fat uncle appeared generous and asked, ¡°By the way, I heard something happened at your ce. Is the dog okay?¡±

    Luo Bu shifted his eyes and replied, ¡°Something happened after lights-off. A sister of ours left.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± the fat uncle tapped the table with his fat fingers. ¡°Think about it positively, it¡¯s also a good thing.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Luo Bu was confused.

    The fat uncle¡¯s voice lowered: ¡°Anyhow, it reaches a consummation. It¡¯s a good thing.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Luo Bu said frankly.

    ¡°It is said that after death, you can meet another version of yourself,¡± the fat uncle¡¯s voice was drifting, ¡°I heard it from an old Shaman in the Light Inn when I was a child.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ wouldn¡¯t the other version of yourself also be dead? Else how could you see them?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! It is a consummation!¡± the fat uncle spread his chubby hands. ¡°Alright, alright, enough of this abstract stuff. How about we travel together? We¡¯ll rent a carriage and let your spirit dog apany us on the journey! To the Cold Night Inn!¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I can¡¯t make that decision,¡± Luo Bu hesitated. He actually couldn¡¯t make that decision.

    ¡°I¡¯ll show you some good stuff. The Cold Night Travel has fantastic goods!¡± the fat uncle said, walking towards the other side of the folding screen in the room. ¡°You all should try them!¡±

 Chapter 237: Twin-born

    <h4>Chapter 237: Twin-born</h4>

    This one and a half hours belonged to Fang Fei.

    The Master Shaman of the Fluorite Inn lived in another courtyard-style building, two buildings away from their residence.

    Fang Fei walked along a long corridor that resembled an ancient, covered walkway, which connected several courtyards.

    She got the address of this Master Shaman from the Inn Officer. Qin Ci also helped Fang Fei pick out the valuable spices that she was carrying now. In Fang Fei¡¯s experience, this was the first time she had visited an elder with a gift in hand by herself.

    The ce where the Master Shaman lived was very high up, close to the top floor. Observing from there, the entire Lantern Inn felt like an ancient yellowish painting.

    A girl, who appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, opened the door for Fang Fei. She nced at Fang Fei and said, ¡°Pleasee in, big sister.¡±

    Fang Fei ced the gift on the table. The room had no lights, instead, there were various fluorites for illumination. The cool-toned light often made people feel clear-headed.

    ¡°Are you here to see my grandmother? She was called to take care of a twin-born,¡± the girl gestured for Fang Fei to take a seat.

    ¡°I¡¯vee to express my gratitude to the Master Shaman for providing the valuable fluorite.¡± Fang Fei politely replied.

    The girl, however, appeared very weing. ¡°Shamans have been like a family since ancient times. There¡¯s no need for formalities.¡±

    Fang Fei thought about what she said and carefully asked: ¡°I¡¯ve often heard people say this phrase too, but in our world, how far back does ¡®ancient¡¯ really go?¡±

    ¡°Well, it just means a long, long time ago,¡± the girl earnestly replied.

    Feng Fei nced at the ancient-looking bracelet on the girl¡¯s wrist. It resembled her own. She cautiously asked, ¡°Are you a Shaman too?¡±

    The girl nodded. She sat next to Fang Fei to look at her bracelet and also took her own bracelet off topare it with Fang Fei¡¯s: ¡°My grandmother says that no matter how ancient something is, it cannot escape this circle.¡±

    Feng Fei felt something in her heart but she couldn¡¯t fully grasp it and refrained from asking rashly.

    Fortunately, the girl was lively by nature and walked towards a cab, ¡°I heard that the masks of your Light Inn are pure white, is that true?¡±

    Feng Fei noticed that she also took out a mask. It was a ck one with irregr white shapes on it, resembling pieces of fluorite.

    Feng Fei nodded: ¡°Right, my mask is white.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so pretty!¡± The girl still retained a youthful nature.

    Fang Fei smiled faintly and asked: ¡°Have you worn it?¡±

    ¡°Not yet.¡± the girl stuck out her tongue, ¡°No one has invited me to perform any Shaman rituals, so I haven¡¯t had the opportunity to wear it.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    The girl whispered to Fang Fei: ¡°I secretly wore it once. I couldn¡¯t quite exin what felt different, but it was indeed different. Unfortunately, my grandmother noticed afterwards, and I dare not wear it in secret again.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be wrong to listen to what Master Shaman says.¡± Fang Fei didn¡¯t know how to continue the conversation. ¡°Right, what did you say the Master Shaman went to do? How soon will she be back?

    ¡®Soon¡¯, Fang Fei felt nervous when she said this word. It was a specific expression of time, and she didn¡¯t know how the other person would react.

    The girl, however, continued to smile: ¡°That¡¯s the advantage of our Fluorite Inn. Even after the lights go out, we still have the fluorites to illuminate, so my grandmother is often invited to attend to matters for a long time.¡±

    ¡°I rarelye to the Lantern Inn, so I don¡¯t know much about the rules here. I have never ventured outside after the lights go out.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better not to go out. People with poor fate might end up walking the wrong path at night, resulting in a case of twin-born and they would be unable to achieve consummation.¡± the girl said seriously.

    Fang Fei still remembered what the girl said earlier. The Master Shaman was called to ¡°take care of a twin-born¡±. What exactly was this twin-born? She had initially mistaken it for some fright-calming rituals for twins, but it seemed that it had a different meaning altogether.

    Fang Fei: ¡°Can we all deal with twin-born?¡±

    ¡°Yes we can, but it¡¯ll take some days!¡± The girl sounded a bit regretful.

    ¡°Some days?¡± Fang Fei emphasized the word ¡®days¡¯.

    The girl blushed: ¡°Did I break a taboo? In your Light Inn, it¡¯s called days, right? Because it¡¯s bright there.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we call it days.¡± Fang Fei wasn¡¯t ustomed to beating around the bush and speaking in riddles, so she directly asked, ¡°What exactly is ¡®twin-born¡¯? I still haven¡¯t fully understood it.¡±

    The girl sighed softly: ¡°I don¡¯t fully understand it either. It¡¯s about people who are unwilling to die and are attached to the mortal world. They can never reach consummation and just wander around in the Inns. What¡¯s frightening is that if they happen to see their other self while still alive¡­¡± The girl¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°The more I talk, the more I get scared about it.¡±

    ¡°How do the Shamans deal with it, then?¡± Fang Fei asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the girl looked at Fang Fei with some confusion. ¡°Aren¡¯t you already a Shaman?¡±

    Fang Fei lowered her head slightly. ¡°I have very little experience.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The girl suddenly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re still young. By the way, how much lifespan do you have?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Was your lifespan not calcted when you became a Shaman?¡± The girl stared at Fang Fei with round eyes, bing more and more puzzled by the big sister in front of her.

    Fang Fei whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t ask, it¡¯s best to say less about taboo matters.¡±

    The girl blushed. She smiled softly and no longer said anything.

    Fang Fei felt she would inevitably blow her cover if she stayed longer, so she decided to take her leave. However, just as she was about to leave, the girl spoke again, ¡°I guess the other you have already be a great Shaman, and she has provided you with many shortcuts.¡±

    Fang Fei was filled with endless questions but couldn¡¯t ask them one by one. It was a suffocating feeling. She took a deep breath and replied, ¡°I believe the same for you.¡±

    The girl smiled sweetly and spoke in a soft voice, ¡°My lifespan is very long, from the birth of the white fish to the extinction of the earth¡¯s core. She must have gone through many hardships to protect the carefree me today. Unfortunately, I can never see her in my eternal life.¡±

    ¡°She, the other you.¡± Fang Fei didn¡¯t fully understand.

    ¡°I believe the other you have gone through the same.¡± The girl¡¯s expression was extremely solemn.

    At this point, Fang Fei had already stood up, and it seemed that their conversation wasing to an end.

    ¡°The lights are about to go out. Big Sister, you should head back.¡± the girl reminded her.

    ¡­¡­

    Fang Fei¡¯s one and a half hours soon passed by, and so did everyone else¡¯s.

    When Fang Fei returned to the familiar room on the ninth floor, Mu Yiran was already developing films with Mai Peng and a few others, meanwhile Ke Xun and Wei Dong were setting up the food. Wei Dong looked up and saw Fang Fei, ¡°You¡¯re back, you¡¯re back, another one has returned!¡±

    ¡°Who hasn¡¯t returned yet?¡± Fang Fei first noticed Koharu, who hade to greet her alone. ¡°What about Luo Bu?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go next door and look for him in a moment. He should be back by now. The pancakes are getting cold,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Listening to Ke Xun¡¯s tone, it felt like he was a father going to the neighbor¡¯s house to find his yful child who hadn¡¯te home for dinner¡­

    The door opened again, and this time, Shao Ling and Du Lingyu walked in.

    ¡°How did you two form a team on your own?¡± Wei Dong asked curiously.

    ¡°Just now, Xiao Du talked about her hallucinations, and I thought there was something to it. So I temporarily handed her camera to Mai Peng and went to a few ces with her to explore and hopefully find new¡­ clues.¡± Shao Ling swallowed the words ¡°hopefully find new hallucinations¡±. It sounded somewhat cruel.

    ¡°Did you make any new discoveries?¡± Ke Xun looked at Du Lingyu, fortunately he couldn¡¯t detect any signs of distress on her face.

    Du Lingyu subconsciously touched the top of her head and remained silent.

    Shao Ling continued, ¡°We went to several ces, including the wall with seven lines carved and the window of the top-floor where the coffin was suspended, but Xiao Du didn¡¯t experience any more hallucinations. Later, we also visited the location on the second floor where Xiayu died, but again, no new hallucinations.¡±

    Wei Dong patted Ke Xun and said, ¡°Next time, send Mr. Ke, the ¡®Hallucination Catalyst¡¯.¡±

    Shao Ling sat down and took a sip of water. ¡°However, based on Xiao Du¡¯s ount, there are indeed some unfathomable things. When we first arrived in this world, did any of you feel a sudden headache?¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°No.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°No, I don¡¯t remember.¡±

    Fang Fei: ¡°No.¡±

    Mai Peng, who was stirring the developing solution: ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I had a bad cold at that time, and my head was constantly foggy.¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°No.¡±

    Cao Youning: ¡°No, I was too scared at the time, if I felt a sudden headache I would definitely have yelled out. Lingyu, when did you feel the headache? How kind of pain was it?¡±

    Du Lingyu moistened her throat with water. ¡°It was right when we arrived in this world. It was still dark, and we were all in this pitch-ck corridor. Suddenly, I felt a headache, but it happened all at once. After the pain went away, I felt fine. At that time, I thought it was just difort caused by entering the painting¡­ Besides, I didn¡¯t dare to say much at the time, so I didn¡¯t mention it.¡±

    ¡°Was it very painful? Can you describe the location of the pain?¡± Qin Ci closed the medical book in his hands and asked: ¡°What kind of sensation was the pain? Can you describe it? Have you ever experienced simr pain before?¡±

    Du Lingyu carefully recalled, ¡°It was the crown of my head, it felt like someone pped it with quite some force, and it¡¯s never been this painful before.¡±

    Qin Cih¨¦ furrowed his brow, ¡°Strange. Based on her description, I feel like she may have actually been hit by an external force.¡±

    Ke Xun seemed to think of something and suddenly asked Mai Peng, ¡°Didn¡¯t you take a photo in the corridor when we first arrived? What shutter speed did you use?!¡±

    Mai Peng just remembered, ¡°Oh right, I did take a photo. I think it was my usual 1/250 second. But now, to save film, we¡¯re using a single camera to take photos, and I can¡¯t take out the film from my camera for now.¡±

    Mu Yiran asked, ¡°How much film would be wasted if you took it out?¡±

    ¡°If I do it in the dark and cut away the used portion, it shouldn¡¯t waste more than a few pieces, maybe around three?¡± Mai Peng said. ¡°I have a whole roll of film, so we can try this approach.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s give it a try. Let¡¯s address any doubts as soon as possible,¡± Mu Yiran agreed.

    Mai Peng looked at Du Linyu and asked, ¡°Lingyu, are you sure your camera contains a full roll of film?¡±

    ¡°Yes, when I advanced the film, the disy showed ¡®one¡¯.¡± Du Linyu couldn¡¯t understand why there were problems with her film. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Your roll of film only has a dozen or so pieces in total.¡± Mai Peng found it equally perplexing.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Du Linyu wondered.

    ¡°These rolls of film are hand-wound in this world. I don¡¯t know why your roll only has a dozen or so pieces, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a case of mishandling.¡± Mai Peng said.

    ¡°For now, let¡¯s stop making wild guesses. We¡¯ll see after the film is developed.¡± Cao Youning said.

    As they were busy with their work, Koharu suddenly hopped and ran to the door, making sounds of ¡®woo¡¯.

    Sure enough, Luo Bu had returned, and his eyes flickered with panic. ¡°Brother-inw, where¡¯s my brother-inw?¡±

    ¡°Your brother-inw is busy. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Ke Xun pulled Luo Bu into the room.

    ¡°The fat uncle gave us a gift.¡± Luo Bu put an oiled paper bag on the table, ¡°It¡¯s dried fish.¡±

    ¡°Oh, in case it¡¯s poisonous, don¡¯t eat it.¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t even look at it.

    But Luo Bu opened the paper bag: ¡°Everyone look at this!¡±

    The oily paper bag contained several palm-sized slices of fish, resembling tfish yetpletely snow-white in color.

    Even after being pickled and dried, the white color was still dazzling.

 Chapter 238: Bulb Mode

    <h4>Chapter 238: Bulb Mode</h4>

    These white fish aroused a familiar sense of horror among everyone.

    ¡°I never thought that you could eat those fish.¡± Wei Dong furrowed his eyebrows and instinctively stayed away from the oily paper bag emitting the smell of dried fish.

    ¡°They are edible. That fat uncle saw me hesitating and immediately ate a fish tail¡­¡± Luo Bu was still in shock when he recalled how the fat uncle ate the fish tail.

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Shao Ling asked, ¡°Are all the fish in this world like this?¡±

    Luo Bu: ¡°These should be a special kind of fish found only in the Cold Night Inn. They are rtively precious ingredients¡­ It is said that these fish are not only delicious but also have a powerful effect of warming the body and warding off the cold. Even if you venture out into the ice and snow outside, you won¡¯t feel cold.¡±

    ¡°Cold Night Inn, how many inns are there in this ce?¡± Cao Youning interjected. ¡°Can someone educate me on the geography here?¡±

    The task of exining fell again on Qin Ci. ¡°Actually, in our shared luggage, there are some maps and road guides that indicate there are four Inns in this world, which aremonly referred to as the ¡®Four Inns of the Mortal World¡¯ by the people here. These four Inn have significantly different climates due to the varying levels of illumination they receive.¡±

    Cao Youning looked at Qin Ci with admiration, wondering when this person had be so well-versed in the basic topography of this world.

    Qin Ci continued, ¡°Based on our character setting, we alle from the Light Inn. That is supposed to be the brightest ce among the four Inns. As for what the light sources are, I have no idea. I only know that the Light Inn is a ce that people of other Inns aspire to go to. It¡¯s often referred to as the ¡®Abode Chosen by God¡¯. Lantern Inn has a shorter daytime than the Light Inn, but it is ranked second among the Inns in terms of livability. The most important thing is that there are sufficient sources of fire here and they can usenterns to illuminate the inside of the Inn.

    ¡°As for the third Inn, the Fluorite Inn, it is rtively darker and colder. There are no fire sources, and the people there rely on the unique fluorites found within the Inn for illumination, the same kind of fluorite we used in our homemade projector.¡±

    ¡°Lastly, there is the Cold Night Inn. ording to the records, no one lives there. Although it is referred to as an Inn, no one built houses there. It is dark all year round and there is no light.¡±

    Everyone listened attentively. Previously, they had only vague ideas about the four Inns, but today, after listening to Qin Ci¡¯s exnation, they understood more about the distribution of these Inns in this world.

    ¡°But it looks like that fat uncle and his group seem to be particrly wanting to go to the Cold Night Inn. They said there is good stuff there.¡± Luo Bu interrupted, ¡°he said these white fish are precious goods and are in high demand at other Inns. As for whether the Cold Night Inn holds any other secrets, he didn¡¯t say.¡±

    Mu Yiran asked, ¡°Does he still have his eyes on Koharu?¡±

    Luo Bu nodded: ¡°He said only spirit dogs can bring people to the Cold Night Inn, and Koharu is a spirit dog.¡±

    Koharu seemed to be quite interested in the phrase ¡®spirit dog¡¯. It stood straight on all fours with its eyes wide open, as if he was listening to a very important matter.

    ¡°He wants to coborate?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°As expected of my brother-inw,¡± Luo Han gave a thumbs-up. ¡°That¡¯s his intention. He knows we definitely won¡¯t lend Koharu to him, so he tried toe up with a n to convince us to go together with them to the Cold Night Inn. He said it wouldn¡¯t be a loss for us. There is good stuff in the Cold Night Inn.¡±

    Ke Xun nced at the good stuff on the table¡ª the dried white fish¡ª and believed that none of them had the appetite to eat them, so he temporarily put them away. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, and everyone is here. Let¡¯s eat and talk at the same time.¡±

    Mai Peng also added, ¡°The film is almost ready. We can look at it in a little while.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s eat first,¡± Ke Xun had already set up the food.

    However, Mai Peng said, ¡°My throat is hurting too much. I really can¡¯t eat.¡±

    This caught Qin Ci¡¯s attention: ¡°Your throat hurts? Didn¡¯t you already show obvious symptoms of a cold yesterday? Why is your throat hurting now?¡±

    Mai Peng couldn¡¯t exin it himself. It was indeed a strange urrence.

    Qin Ci approached and asked Mai Peng to stand next to amp. ¡°Open your mouth, let me have a look at your throat.¡±

    To see clearly, Qin Ci turned on the shlight on his phone and observed with a furrowed brow. ¡°It¡¯s really strange. Your tonsils are swollen, and there are some ulcers. Normally, this shouldn¡¯t be what happens after a severe cold.¡±

    Mai Peng cleared his throat and took a sip of water, feeling slightly better. ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ve never experienced a cold in this sequence before.¡±

    ¡°Sequence?¡± Qin Ci caught this word. ¡°It seems like a reversed sequence.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my health is pretty good. A cold typicallysts three or four days. Usually, it¡¯s a sore throat the first day, stuffy nose the second day, sneezing and a runny nose the third day, and by the fourth day, it¡¯s mostly over.¡±

    Qin Ci nced at Mu Yiran, his expression extremely serious. ¡°Mai Peng is right. That¡¯s the normal sequence of a cold. I believe that in Mai Peng¡¯s case, it is happening in reverse.¡±

    ¡°Happening in reverse?¡± Many people started to feel unsettled. Lu Heng was the first to speak up. ¡°Could it be¡­ time going backward?¡±

    Right, a lot of people thought it that way. The time in this world was flowing backward.

    ¡°No wonder it¡¯s called the Inn, and the time is so chaotic. In fact, the time here is going backward!¡± Cao Youning was extremely surprised that he even forgot to eat his food.

    Zhu Haowen spoke calmly, ¡°That is not logical.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by logical?¡± Cao Youning retorted. ¡°My beard is the evidence. When I first arrived here, it suddenly became unkempt and long, but this morning it became slightly shorter! Isn¡¯t that evidence of time going backward?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Zhu Haowen said expressionlessly, ¡°If time is truly reversed, we wouldn¡¯t be able to finish our conversations, move forward, or even eat our meal¡­ Our actions and everything else would be in reverse.¡±

    Everyone fell silent for a moment. Shao Ling spoke up, ¡°He¡¯s right. Time in this world isn¡¯tpletely flowing in reverse, but there are traces of it happening in certain ces.¡±

    Ke Xun had already pulled Mu Yiran to sit at the table: ¡°Let¡¯s eat first. The lights are about to go off. No one wants to eat in the dark. Once we¡¯re full and energized, we can discuss further. We still have a lot to do. We can look at the newly developed films and study the four photos of the white fish. Let¡¯s all sit and eat!¡±

    It was not like they could fully understand what was going on with time, so everyone decided to sit down and have their meal.

    As their meal approached its end, the lights went off.

    Darkness brought about a familiar sense of panic, especially for the neers. After all, Xi Shengnan had indeed died justst night, and now her body was ced in a coffin, hanging outside in the cold.

    Under the cold-toned lighting of the fluorites and the phones, everyone cleaned up the wooden table after the meal and set up the projector.

    The viewing effect at night was indeed better. The image disy was particrly bright on the dark wall.

    As they were already familiar with operating it, Luo Bu and Wei Dong were once again responsible for moving the films in the projector. The two of them coordinated seamlessly and showed no more signs of shaky hands.

    ¡°This is Xiao Du¡¯s film. It must contain some scenery from the outside world,¡± Wei Dong tried to lighten the atmosphere. ¡°I wonder what the first photo captured.¡±

    However, Du Lingyu remained silent, her eyes fixed on the screen without blinking. She knew very well that this was a brand-new roll of film, because she had cleared the storage in her camera in the real world and there would be no traces of the past captured within.

    Arriving at this unfamiliar world like that, as if signifying some kind of farewell.

    Mai Peng¡¯s words triggered her panic. This roll only had a dozen or so pieces, where did the previous pieces of the film go? Could it be that the spection about time going backwards is true? Did her past self use them? Then cut off and develop them? And then put the remaining pieces back into the camera?

    ¡°Brother-inw! Brother Haowen! Brother Qin!¡± Luo Bu¡¯s sudden exmation snapped Du Lingyu out of her imagination, and she looked at therge disy on the wall hurriedly¡­

    The negative appeared slightly blurred, but it didn¡¯t affect everyone from recognizing the people in it, as they were close to the camera, and they were familiar faces.

    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t know what would be captured, I couldn¡¯t judge the distance or the focus. I could only choose themonly used aperture settings based on the shutter speed,¡± Mai Peng exined to everyone. ¡°Following Brother Mu¡¯s advice, I maximized the use of a slow speed. Since there¡¯s no tripod here, I had to stabilize the camera on the table to ensure stability.¡±

    Ke Xun nced at the image and felt an inexplicable difort in his heart. It was as if his heart had contracted into a cold, hard mass, and it would take him a long time to recover.

    Ke Xun heard Zhu Haowen¡¯s slightly hoarse voice asking, ¡°What shutter speed did you use?¡±

    Mai Peng exined, ¡°We aimed for the slowest speed, so I used the bulb mode.¡±

    ¡°What is the bulb mode?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a manual shutter. When the speed exceeds thirty seconds, you can choose the bulb mode setting, which allows forplete manual control. As long as you keep your finger on it, you can maintain the exposure for several minutes.¡± Mai Peng exined. ¡°Strangely, this camera¡¯s shutter speed bes difficult to use at slower speeds after 1/2 second. It seemed to be malfunctioning, so I had no choice but to choose the bulb mode setting. The manual exposure time was approximately ten seconds.¡±

    Cao Youning chimed in, ¡°Without a shutter release cable and a tripod, capturing a photo like this in ten seconds is already quite extraordinary. We calcted that it might capture something from quite a few hours ago. But if we assume it¡¯s in exponential increments, it¡¯s also possible that it captured something from a few days ago.¡±

    The screen trembled slightly, and it was Wei Dong¡¯s hand trembling. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m feeling a bit¡­I can¡¯t handle it. Looking at this photo makes me feel ufortable. I don¡¯t know why.¡±

    Since the camera was fixed on the table, it captured the scene from the table to the cab. There were four people in the photo. Qin Ci stood by the table. His facial features were vaguely discernible but blurred. Even then, it was possible to tell that he was in a bad mood. Further away was Mu Yiran, standing alone. Because only his profile view was captured, it was difficult to see his expression. Yet, even from this blurry silhouette, one could sense a strong aura that seemed to condense the entire atmosphere of the Inn. Furthest away was Luo Bu, standing beside the cab, seemingly engaged in a struggle with someone, but most of that person¡¯s body was out of the frame, making it impossible to identify who it was.

    ¡°That person is me,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°Brother Dong, how did you¡­¡±

    ¡°It is me. It¡¯s my sixth sense.¡±

    Luo Bu asked, ¡°But why would we be fighting¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe something serious had happened¡­¡± Wei Dong tried to free himself from the depressing emotions.

    The focal point of the negative was on the face of Zhu Haowen, who was the closest to the camera. He was sitting by the table and his face was the clearest. He was crying.

    Zhu Haowen was crying expressionlessly.

    Everyone tried to guess the story behind this photo, but they dared to not guess beyond a certain point.

    Finally, Fang Fei broke the silence. ¡°Clearly, this is not something that happened a few hours or even a dozen hours ago. It should be several days ago, or even longer.¡±

    ¡°But at that time, we hadn¡¯t arrived yet¡­¡± Du Lingyu said.

    ¡°Time is chaotic, luckily we can still capture it with the cameras,¡± Fang Fei said. ¡°There must have been something significant that had happened at that time.¡±

    Although they couldn¡¯t imagine the specific events, the people in the photo losing theirposure had already caused uneasiness among everyone.

    As they instinctively looked towards Mu Yiran to seekfort, they discovered that he had somehow positioned himself in the farthest corner from the projector disy, as if unwilling or afraid to continue looking at the photo.

    In the darkness, someone lightly pped their hands, and eventually, everyone¡¯s gaze settled on Ke Xun¡¯s face.

    ¡°Although we don¡¯t know what catastrophic event is happening in the photo, it belongs to another time and is unrted to our present moment,¡± Ke Xun¡¯s voice was reassuring and broughtfort. ¡°But just in case, just in case that time is indeed going backwards, and that if we are forced to relive the past, at least we still have a choice.¡±

    ¡°What choice?¡± asked Du Lingyu.

    ¡°Before that terrible event happens, we find the signature and get out,¡± Ke Xun replied. ¡°The past and the future are all illusions. They provide us clues, not facts.¡±

 Chapter 239: Timeline

    <h4>Chapter 239: Timeline</h4>

    Wei Dong wiped his eyes, but his vision was blurry again: ¡°Fuck this painting! Fuck it!¡±

    He felt a distinct pull on the film in his hand. It was Luo Bu reminding him to push in the film.

    Wei Dong¡¯s reaction was somewhat numb, but he heard Ke Xun saying, ¡°Next one.¡±

    Indeed, whether it was the past or the future, no one could determine for certain that what the camera captured was inevitable.

    History was full of randomness, and no one knew what would happen in the future. Crying andmenting at this moment served no purpose. Wei Dong loosened his grip on the film, and the second image appeared on the screen.

    Thirteen pairs of eyes, including Koharu¡¯s, looked towards the screen and half of them were moist.

    The second negative had bright colors, indicating that it was taken at night.

    There seemed to be many people sleeping on the bed. It was a peaceful photo.

    Mu Yiran stepped forward and focused on a small ck dot in the corner of the photo. ¡°Next one.¡±

    The next photo was still taken at night, with everyone sleeping on the bed. It looked not much different from the previous one.

    Mu Yiran continued to gaze at the same top left corner of the photo, on that small ck dot. ¡°Go back to the previous one.¡±

    It switched back to the previous photo and everyone instinctively started to look for the differences between the two seemingly identical photos.

    ¡°There¡¯s one person missing here!¡± Du Lingyu took two steps forward, feeling a bit scared. Only when she felt that Ke Xun was standing next to her, she lowered her slightly swollen eyes and stepped up, pointing to the bottom right of the photo. ¡°In this part of the second photo, there¡¯s one person missing.¡±

    The beds were dark, and the figures on the beds were also quite dark, making it impossible to tell who was who or even the exact number of people. Although the negative represented darkness with white colors, arge area of white also made it indiscernible.

    As the two photos kept switching on the screen, everyone followed Du Lingyu¡¯s guidance and noticed the difference in the bottom right corner of the photos. The first photo showed a bed full of people, while in the second photo, near the edge of it, there was an empty spot where a person should have been.

    ¡°Who is that person?¡± Cao Youning asked. ¡°Shall we count the number of people?¡±

    It was hard to tell how many people there were. Everyone was sleeping together inrge cotton robes, making it difficult to see the exact number of people.

    However, Wei Dong felt slightly relieved. Because based on people¡¯s habits, they would tend to sleep in the same spot they did on the first night. ording tost night¡¯s arrangement, Mu Yiran was sleeping at the edge of the bed, with Ke Xun next to Mu Yiran, and himself next to Ke Xun. Though it was hard to determine an exact headcount, it was certain that at least seven or eight people were captured in the photo.

    In other words, Mu Yiran was safe, Ke Xun was safe, Wei Dong was safe, Luo Bu was safe, Zhu Haowen was safe, Qin Ci was safe¡­ and yes, Ke Xun was safe.

    Wei Dong admitted that he was selfish, but at this moment, he truly cared about the safety of the older members more.

    As a girl, Fang Fei was sleeping on the other end of the bed and couldn¡¯t have been captured in the photo.

    ¡°Why do I feel like that person is you?¡± Cao Youning looked at Lu Heng.

    ¡°Why?¡± Ever since Xi Shengnan left, Lu Heng seemed to be less timid, although he was mostly in a state of absent-mindedness.

    ¡°Because I slept next to youst night.¡± Cao Youning pointed to the bottom right corner of the disy. ¡°Look, that slightlyrger figure, that should be me. There¡¯s a bit of distance between me and the person in front, which was Mai Peng.¡±

    ¡°Why is there some distance?¡± Mai Peng asked. It was cold in the Lantern Inn, everyone naturally huddled together to keep warm in bed.

    ¡°I, I was afraid I might catch a cold from you.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°So that person must be me, and on the other side is Lu Heng. But Lu Heng is missing in the second photo!¡± Cao Youning eximed.

    Many people¡¯s attention focused on Lu Heng, wondering where he could have gone in thete night.

    Even Lu Heng himself didn¡¯t know, his eyes innocent and helpless.

    ¡°Did anyone get up during the night?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    There was no response. Only Cao Youning thought for a moment and said, ¡°I was too tiredst night and fell into a deep and long sleep.¡±

    Du Lingyu added, ¡°I actually thought about going to the bathroomst night, but I didn¡¯t dare. Eventually, I dozed off.¡±

    ¡°When was this captured?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°The first photo was taken at 1/1000 second, so it¡¯s probably about three or four hourster. The second photo was taken at 1/2000 second, possibly four or eight hourster,¡± Mai Peng said. ¡°Actually, we still haven¡¯t fully figured out the pattern.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s furrowed brows gradually rxed. ¡°Let¡¯s see the next one, the photo taken at 1/4000 second.¡±

    The image on the screen moved to the next one. The photo was still whitish, with a gray tinge. It appeared to be nighttime, but the bed was empty, except for a single figure sitting on it!

    Luo Bu almost screamed out, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where are the people? Where did they go? It¡¯s still nighttime! Who is that person sitting on the bed!¡±

    Zhu Haowen added, ¡°And there¡¯s someone lying near the edge.¡±

    ¡°W-What? Lying near the edge¡­¡± Luo Bu looked towards the edge of the photo. There really was a person lying there, but because only half of the person was captured, it was not easy to notice. ¡°Oh my god! This is too creepy. Could it be that everyone gathered to sleep on the other side¡­¡±

    For a moment, everyone panicked and tried to identify who it was by examining the sitting figure. However, the photo was blurry, and they could only tell it was a man, seemingly not too tall.

    Ke Xun quietly approached Mu Yiran¡¯s side: ¡°Are you looking at that incense stick?¡±

    Mu Yiran turned his head to look at Ke Xun but didn¡¯t speak.

    But Ke Xun saw a veryplex emotion in his eyes, a mix of happiness from finding something lost and sorrowness from groundless worries. These were not expressions that should belong to Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Let¡¯s think of a way to get out quickly, everything else is just paper tiger~¡± Ke Xun tightened his fist and lightly tapped Mu Yiran¡¯s clenched fist, ¡°Big boss, win with the power of your brain.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes flickered. He addressed everyone with seriousness: ¡°One thing we can be sure of, the camera¡¯s shutter speed increases time exponentially. The three photos just now depict night scenes, but at different times, and even different timelines.¡±

    ¡°Timelines?¡± A lot of people asked.

    ¡°Although there is no concrete evidence, I believe there is more than one timeline in this world.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°You mean, parallel universe?¡± Shao Ling asked.

    ¡°No, a parallel universe is a space-time that has no intersection with our time-space. But byparing and observing these three photos, I believe the other timeline can be connected with our current timeline, but for now, I can¡¯t find the point of connection.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at the bewildered crowd and continued: ¡°Everyone, please take a closer look at the ck dot in the upper left corner of the photos. That is an incense stick I ced in the corner of the room. The red ember of the incense stick is quite discernible in the darkness.¡±

    All eyes focused on the incense stick in the photo.

    ¡°Just as Mai Peng said earlier, the three photos were taken at shutter speeds of 1/1000 second, 1/2000 second, and 1/4000 second, respectively. By observing the length of the incense stick, we can deduce that the scene captured at 1/1000 second happened four hourster. It appears that that time is increasing exponentially at each interval. Following this pattern, the photo taken at 1/2000 second should depict a scene of eight hourster, and judging from the incense, it seems urate.¡±

    Luo Bu frowned, ¡°If we follow this pattern, then the photo taken at 1/4000 second should be sixteen hourster?¡±

    ¡°In theory, that should be the case,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze rested on the photo taken at 1/4000 second, ¡°but strangely, the position of the burning incense in this photo hasn¡¯t changedpared to the previous one.¡±

    Silence filled the air.

    ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t get it.¡± Wei Dong carefully pondered Mu Yiran¡¯s words, ¡°Are you suggesting that time has stopped?¡±

    ¡°Time has stopped in our world. Everyone in the Lantern Inn has entered an irresistible state of sleep,¡± Mu Yiran slowly spoke out his spection, ¡°Even people¡¯s breathing in their dreams has stopped. This pause in time, if I¡¯m not mistaken, should be twelve hours.¡±

    ¡°Why? Why?¡± Luo Luo waspletely dumbfounded. ¡°You need to exin it in detail. I don¡¯t understand at all.¡±

    Mu Yiran stood beside the screen, facing everyone. ¡°Let¡¯s temporarily set aside the assumptions we had yesterday about time, because the time we entered the painting and the time within the painting are not necessarily connected. To help everyone understand better, let¡¯s assume that the time whennterns are lit is at zero o¡¯clock.¡±

    ¡°Zero o¡¯clock is a starting point, and it is also the time when we just arrived at the Lantern Inn.¡±

    Right, thenterns were lit not long after everyone entered the painting.

    Mu Yiran carried on, ¡°Thenterns are lit at zero o¡¯clock and the lights willst for four hours. After that, it¡¯s a long time of darkness. In other words, lights go off at 4:00, but everyone can still maintain consciousness in the dark after the lights-off, just like we are now. However, several hourster, we will involuntarily enter a state of deep sleep. This time should be 12:00.¡±

    ¡°Using the three photos as an example, Mai Peng took them approximately one and a half hours before the light went out, which is one and a half hours before 4:00, so around 2:30. The first photo depicted an event of four hourster, at 6:30, when we were already lying in our beds. Though it¡¯s uncertain if we had fallen asleep. The second photo showed an event eight hourster, at 10:30, when someone had left for an unknown purpose. However, because the incense was still burning, it remained within our current timeline.¡±

    ¡°The third photo captured an event sixteen hourster, at 18:30. At that time, the incense stopped burning and stuck at around 12:00. This means that from 12:00 to 18:30, time in this world bes frozen. Even though time is passing, we cannot detect it with any timekeeping device, except for the camera. Therefore, I consider the timeline beyond 12:00 as another separate timeline.¡±

    ¡°On this other timeline, there still exists an ¡®us.¡¯ Perhaps after we ¡®fall asleep¡¯, we transform into ¡®them.¡¯ Or perhaps ¡®they¡¯ exist within the dreams thate after our deep slumber.¡±

    ¡°¡¯They¡¯ have the same personalities and feelings as us, and perhaps they even have the same purpose as us, which is to find the signature and get out of this ce.¡±

    ¡°However, the situation for ¡®them¡¯ is clearly not favorable. Only one person is left alone in the room during the night. This is a rare urrence, and it¡¯s unlikely that everyone left one person behind to keep watch. Instead, it seems more like¡­ there is only one person left in the team.¡±

    Those words made everyone hold their breath. Fang Fei spoke after a while: ¡°There is anotherpanion sleeping next to them.¡±

    ¡°That person is already dead, or rather, it can be said that the person had not died at that time,¡± Mu Yiran sighed softly, ¡°There are ck threads in that person¡¯s hairpin, which are actually the light patterns of jade in reality. If I¡¯m not mistaken, that person is Xi Shengnan.¡±

    ¡°Xi Shengnan, who is still alive.¡±

 Chapter 240: Circle

    <h4>Chapter 240: Circle</h4>

    ¡°Xi Shengnan, who is still alive.¡±

    This sentencepletely surprised everyone.

    ¡°Shengnan?!¡± The strongest reaction came from Lu Heng. ¡°Isn¡¯t this photo of events that will happen 16 hourster? Shengnan had¡­ an identst night. Why would her image appear 16 hourster?!¡±

    Lu Heng was so excited that he kept shaking Cao Youning who was next to him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Cao Youning said. ¡°Boss Mu said it seems to be another timeline.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ the other timeline has no discernible pattern, it¡¯s simply too chaotic!¡± Lu Heng looked around the dark corners of the room, which appeared even darker due to the glow of the fluorite.

    ¡°Just now, Dr. Qin examined Mai Peng¡¯s tonsils and concluded that Mai Peng¡¯s cold progressed in a reversed sequence.¡± Shao Ling analyzed from the side. ¡°If our timeline is the one in reverse, then the other timeline would be going forward, right? In the other timeline, Xi Shengnan is still alive? But here¡¯s the problem: in our timeline¡¯s yesterday, Xi Shengnan was also alive. Are the living Xi Shengnans in these two timelines the same person?¡±

    ¡°If they are the same person, then our timeline¡¯s Xi Shengnan seems to have never been in the state shown in the photo: lying on the bed in the dark with a man sitting on the bed nearby.¡±

    ¡°So, if they are not the same person, then who is the other Xi Shengnan?¡±

    ¡°In the photo we saw just now of several days ago, Wei Dong, Luo Bu, Mu and Haowen were all in it. But who are they? Do they all have another physical body and another soul?¡±

    Shao Ling finished his questions, but the faint glimmers he glimpsed in his confusion were not enough to illuminate the answers.

    ¡°There are no two Xi Shengnans, nor are there two Wei Dongs. No matter how the timelines twist and turn, these people are still themselves,¡± Fang Fei suddenly spoke up.

    Koharuy beside Fang Fei, staring at her with its bright eyes, seemingly captivated by her words.

    ¡°The symbol of the Shaman, apart from the mask, is a bracelet. Today, I heard that young Shaman girl say: the bracelet is round, and nothing can escape this circle. So, I believe that the so-called timelines are probably circr as well,¡± Fang Fei said, gently touching the y bracelet on her wrist as she slowly spoke.

    Shao Ling drew a circle in the void, seeming to grasp something yet also appearing more perplexed. ¡°The concept of ¡®twin-born¡¯ that Fang Fei mentioned today and the idea of ¡®seeing another self after death¡¯ mentioned by Luo Bu, are simr. There are two timelines in this world, each with its own protagonist. Although they cannot see each other, the actions they take in their lives can have an impact on their other self.¡±

    ¡°I think it makes sense. This could exin my cold. The ¡®me¡¯ from the other timeline caught a cold for some reason, which then affected me in this timeline. But because our timeline is moving in reverse, my cold is exhibiting this strange reversed sequence.¡± Mai Peng also tried to analyze.

    Fang Fei added, ¡°Today, the young Shaman girl from the Fluorite Inn mentioned the topic of lifespan. It seems that on the day when a Shaman truly bes a Shaman, they are told their lifespan, and it appears that Shamans have very long lifespans. The young Shaman girl said, ¡®from the birth of the white fish to the extinction of the earth¡¯s core.¡¯ Although I didn¡¯t fully understand it, it feels like a tremendously long period of time.¡±

    ¡°White fish? Could it be rted to the white fish the fat uncle gave me?¡± Luo Bu interjected.

    Mu Yiran looked at Fang Fei, ¡°Could you briefly paraphrase what the Shaman girl said? ¡®White fish¡¯ and ¡®earth¡¯s core¡¯, although I don¡¯t fully understand, they seem to be crucial words.¡±

    Today¡¯s time was short, and after Fang Fei returned, she only briefly mentioned a few things before everyone started looking at the developed negatives on the wall, leaving little time for in-depth discussions.

    Fang Fei recalled the girl¡¯s words, ¡°She said her lifespan is very long, from the birth of the white fish to the extinction of the earth¡¯s core. She also mentioned that the other her must have gone through many hardships to secure the carefree life she has today. Unfortunately, she will never be able to see her other self in her eternal life.¡±

    Upon hearing these words, Mu Yiran fell into contemtion.

    Cao Youning couldn¡¯t help but yawn and said, ¡°I¡¯m so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open. Shall we continue this conversation on the bed?¡±

    Du Lingyu replied, ¡°Every time I see the bed, I¡¯m reminded of the scenes captured in the photos. I¡¯m even a bit hesitant to sleep on them.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too cold, we can¡¯t possibly sleep on the floor,¡± Wei Dong thought for a moment, ¡°How about this? The photo just now captured us all huddling together, and for some reason, there seemed to be an empty space near where Lu Heng was. Since this made people feel uneasy, I suggest we break that pattern now. Let¡¯s not sleep in the same order as the photo!¡±

    ¡°But we can¡¯t even see clearly who is next to whom in the photo, so how do we change the order?¡± Du Lingyu objected.

    ¡°Easy. In the photo, everyone huddled together tightly, so let¡¯s not stick together. After all, the bed is big enough. We¡¯ll intentionally leave some space between each of us and deliberately not follow the sequence of future events!¡± Wei Dong now harbored a deep hatred for paintings.

    However, Du Lingyu shook her head. ¡°I think that no matter how we try to avoid it, we cannot influence the other timeline. But it seems that timeline is precisely what determines our life and death.¡±

    ¡°Well, you never know. We may only see their influence on us, but perhaps we also have an influence on them!¡± Wei Dong wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°Anyway, tonight I n to stay away from Ke Er and keep my distance from Radish too!¡±

    Luo Bu also yawned. ¡°Are we going to look at other photoster? We didn¡¯t erge and look at those white fish photos.¡±

    A snoring sound filled the air. Cao Youning unexpectedly fell asleep on the bed.

    Qin Ci checked the burning incense. ¡°If we considerntern-lighting to be at zero o¡¯clock, it¡¯s already six o¡¯clock now, and we have half an hour left until the event of the first photo at 6:30.¡±

    The disy on the wall became increasingly blurry, and the colors faded.

    ¡°Strange, why isn¡¯t this piece of fluorite as bright anymore?¡± Wei Dong was puzzled.

    ¡°Perhaps this stone is like Koharu¡¯s eyes. It absorbs light during the day to illuminate at night. It probably can onlyst for two to three hours, and as time goes on, the light will gradually weaken.¡± Qin Ci analyzed.

    ¡°If only we had taken the time to finish looking at these films earlier, now we can¡¯t see them clearly,¡± Wei Dong expressed disappointment.

    Luo Bu yawned again. ¡°I can hardly stay awake. How about we go to sleep?¡±

    Since the projector was temporarily useless, Wei Dong put it back in themunal cab. He was about to encourage everyone to hold on a little longer, hoping to stay awake until 6:30.

    Suddenly, footsteps could be heard outside the door, and the familiar voice of thentern-lighter apanied the steps: ¡°Guests, go to sleep. If there¡¯s anything to do, do them after thenterns are lit¡ª¡±

    These words seemed to possess some magical hypnotic power. Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but yawn several times. He climbed onto the bed and fell asleep, ultimately wasn¡¯t able to hold out until 6:30.

    Mai Peng was also very tired, but the pain in his tonsils made it difficult for him to fall asleep quickly. Just as he was about to get up in the dark for some water, he suddenly heard hispanion, Lu Heng, in the darkness, ¡°Say, is Shengnan still in this world?¡±

    Mai Peng sighed. ¡°Lu Heng, don¡¯t think too much. We saw Sister Xi¡¯s coffin hanging outside with our own eyes.¡±

    Lu Heng stopped talking and fell silent for a long time before slowly speaking again, ¡°Back in my hometown, when we hold funerals, there¡¯s always someone to carry the coffin. Usually, it¡¯s the deceased¡¯s closest family or best friend. Actually, I wanted to carry Shengnan¡¯s coffin today, but I was afraid of breaking the rules of this world, and at that moment, I lost the courage to¡­ I truly regret it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all in the past. Sister Xi won¡¯t me you,¡± Mai Peng said, although he was overwhelmed by sleepiness, he still persisted inforting Lu Heng.

    ¡°But she¡¯s out there alone, in the freezing cold and snow,¡± Lu Heng added.

    Mai Peng thought of the crystal coffin hanging outside the Inn and was a little scared by Lu Heng¡¯s words, so he stopped talking.

    ¡°Mai Peng, promise me, if something happens to me here, you¡¯ll carry my coffin. Promise me,¡± Lu Heng repeated in the dark.

    Mai Peng felt a bit frightened, but more than anything, he felt ufortable at heart. ¡°Okay, I promise you. If something happens to me, you¡¯ll carry my coffin too.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a deal.¡±

    Before falling asleep, Mai Peng wanted to take another look at the burning incense, but he was so sleepy as if he was about to faint, and soon he fell into a deep sleep.

    That night felt exceptionally long and tiring.

    Once again, it gave people the illusion that the world had changed dramatically, that even seas had turned intonds.

    Du Lingyu struggled to wake herself up. Like the previous night, it felt as if she had been pulled back from another world, undergoing a painful detachment of her entire body and mind.

    Du Lingyu gazed at a corner of the room¡¯s ceiling. Though her mood was not entirelyposed, it was not as distraught and helpless as the morning before.

    She turned her head to look at Fang Fei and saw she had just woken up as well. When Fang Fei¡¯s gaze swept over her, it felt unfamiliar, even carrying a certain awe-inspiring aura that made Du Lingyu involuntarily shiver.

    After a few seconds, Fang Fei seemed to truly wake up. She looked at Du Lingyu and sat up, ¡°I can¡¯t believe that we actually fell asleep ording to the positions in the photos.¡±

    Du Lingyu also sat up and noticed that some of them were still asleep while others had already woken up, but most of them remained in the same positions.

    Originally it was Xi Shengnan on Du Lingyu¡¯s other side, and now that the spot was naturally vacant. On the other side of Xi Shengnan was Lu Heng, and that spot was also empty now.

    Lu Heng¡¯s spot was exactly the empty spot in the photo.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Lu Heng?¡± Du Lingyu asked instinctively.

    This question startled Mai Peng awake. He sat up abruptly. ¡°Where is Lu Heng? Where is he?¡±

    Shao Ling¡¯s voice came from the side of the wooden table, ¡°Something happened to Lu Heng.¡±

    Mai Peng¡¯s gaze shifted towards the wooden table, where he noticed several veteran members standing by, and Lu Heng was lying face down on the table, as if he was extremely tired and had fallen asleep on it.

    It was just like back in high school during evening¡¯s self-study sessions, where Lu Heng would sit in front of him, and when he felt tired, he would nap on the desk for a while and then wake up soon.

    ¡°He-he¡¯s sleeping?¡± Mai Peng heard himself ask.

    Qin Ci sighed: ¡°He was poisoned, with exactly the same poison that Xi Shengnan had consumed.¡±

 Chapter 241: Going Opposite Directions Both Ways

    <h4>Chapter 241: Going Opposite Directions Both Ways</h4>

    Everyone did not immediately inform the Inn¡¯s authority regarding Lu Heng¡¯s death, instead, they checked his luggage.

    Just like how Xi Shengnan¡¯s luggage contained Xiayu¡¯s jewelry, it was hard to say what would be found in Lu Heng¡¯s luggage.

    Most of the contents were daily necessities, except for a peculiar palm-sized ebony box that caught everyone¡¯s attention.

    Qin Ci carefully opened the strange ebony box using a cloth to cushion it, revealing some small pill-looking objects inside. Qin Ci lightly sniffed, ¡°Seems to be throat lozenges or something simr.¡±

    ¡°So, there¡¯s no secret in Lu Heng¡¯s luggage?¡± Cao Youning¡¯s eyes flickered with panic. This was the second death he experienced in this world, and both times the deceased were his close friends.

    ¡°This box looks like a medicine box based on its appearance. I also have two simr boxes in my medical kit,¡± Qin Ci said as he shook the ebony box near his ear. ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound off, but I always feel like my medicine boxes have arger capacity, even though they appear to be about the same size.¡±

    Mu Yiran took the ebony box and carefully examined its sides and bottom. Soon, he discovered a hidden small drawer. By releasing the hidden spring mechanism, the drawer could be pulled out.

    ¡°This is too mysterious. I doubt even Lu Heng knew how to open this small drawer¡­¡± Cao Youning hadn¡¯t even finished speaking as he stared in astonishment at Mu Yiran pulling out a folded piece of paper from the drawer.

    ¡°Is it that form?¡± Mu Yiran showed the paper to Qin Ci.

    Qin Ci wanted to nod in confirmation, but to be sure, he took the medical book and ced the paper on the torn page, which aligned the torn edges perfectly.

    Everyone was dumbfounded. They never expected that the form for that spice poison had been secretly torn off and hidden by Lu Heng.

    Qin Ci smelled the scent inside the small drawer of the ebony box again, his expression turning serious. He looked at Du Lingyu, ¡°Xiao Du, does this scent¡­?¡±

    Du Lingyu nodded with difficulty, ¡°It is that scent. Sister Xi had that scent on her when she died, and now Lu Heng¡¯s body¡­ also has this scent. The scent is stronger in this drawer, but because it¡¯s sealed inside the wooden box, the aroma of the ebony cleverly conceals it, making it difficult to detect. It¡¯s like how the poison was added to the chili sauce before. The vor was also masked by the strong taste of the sauce.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it, I don¡¯t believe Lu Heng would secretly hide these poisons. I don¡¯t believe Lu Heng would consume the poison tomit suicide, and I especially don¡¯t believe he would poison Sister Xi! Sister Xi was the most important person to Lu Heng.¡± Mai Peng spoke intermittently.

    ¡°Mai Peng, you don¡¯t look well at all,¡± Du Lingyu expressed concern.

    ¡°I have a terrible headache. It¡¯s been like this since I woke up,¡± Mai Peng ran his hand through his messy hair. ¡°I still don¡¯t believe that Lu Heng would hide the poison from us! Perhaps all of this is the work of someone we can¡¯t see. In the end, we¡¯ll all be poisoned by this person.¡±

    ¡°No, there¡¯s probably only this much of the poison,¡± Qin Ci responded to Mai Peng¡¯s words, his gaze slowly shifting from the form to Mai Peng¡¯s face. ¡°Yesterday, I already counted all our spices. The goods we have were missing a portionpared to our shipping records and the total quantity of goods. And coincidentally, the missing ingredients are exactly the ones used to make this poison.¡±

    ¡°So you mean¡­¡±

    ¡°The poison form doesn¡¯t require many ingredients. The spices we¡¯re missing, ifbined together, would probably fit in this small drawer of the medicine box.¡± Qin Ci looked at everyone. ¡°In other words, the drawer contained all the poison. Only a small portion was added to the chili sauce that poisoned Xi Shengnan, and Lu Heng consumed the remainingrger portionst night.¡±

    Luo Bu was obviously confused by this sudden series of events. ¡°Could it be that someone else prepared these poisons and used them to kill Lu Heng and Xi Shengnan?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why didn¡¯t they kill both of them at once instead of doing it two times?¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°If they were to poison two people at once ? ? ? ??? , the sess rate would be higher.¡±

    Zhu Haowen added, ¡°And there¡¯s another premise. This hypothetical murderer would need to be familiar with all our habits. At the very least, they would understand each person¡¯s taste preferences, in order to precisely make Xi Shengnan consume the poison in the chili sauce and to have the ability to make Lu Heng calmly drink the poison alone at the table in the middle of the night.¡±

    Upon hearing the words ¡°drink the poison,¡± Du Lingyu noticed a water cup beside the wooden table where Lu Heng¡¯s body was lying. It was the type of cups that everyone usually used, with simple patterns on top to indicate ownership.

    The door was gently pushed open, and a bright, warm light filled the room as thentern-lighter poked their head in. ¡°Esteemed guests, is there anything I can assist you with?¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at thentern-lighter. ¡°We have a deceased who needs to be buried.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go get some help.¡± Thentern-lighter left politely after speaking those words.

    It was now the time for lighting thenterns, the moment that Mu Yiran had originally assumed to be midnight. Everywhere was filled with bright and warm light, as if someone brewing chicken soup was whispering to you, ¡°Today is a brand new day.¡±

    Du Lingyu frowned while sniffing her sleeve and then her wrist, her eyes fixed on the bright corridor outside the door. She had an impulse to run out.

    Instinctively, she searched the crowd for Ke Xun¡¯s figure. For some inexplicable reason, he gave her the greatest sense of safety.

    Ke Xun appeared to be talking with Mai Peng, discussing something rted to ¡°coffin carrying.¡±

    ¡°Ke Xun,¡± Du Lingyu called out to him in the crowd.

    Ke Xun looked up, and in Du Lingyu¡¯s eyes, there seemed to be a light illuminating his face.

    ¡°I have some thoughts, but I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯re useful,¡± Du Lingyu said.

    Ke Xun, standing tall among the crowd, stepped out. ¡°Xiao Du, what did you think of?¡±

    Du Lingyu walked out of the door and hurriedly looked at the left section of the corridor and the staircase at the end of the corridor. ¡°I had another hallucination just now. Lu Heng died, lying on the table just like that. There were only me and Sister Xi in the room. I was very scared and ran out of the room, down the left corridor, and down the stairs¡­ I think I wanted to verify something with someone.¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t know what to say for a moment, but he felt that Du Lingyu¡¯s hallucinations were particrly strange. ¡°It seems like you have memories of another timeline, but these memoriese and go.¡±

    ¡°You mean, my hallucinationse from another timeline?¡± Du Lingyu supported her head against the railing of the corridor to look at the staircase below. ¡°I was probably going to meet a woman at that time, but the memories after that arepletely vague¡­ Sorry, that¡¯s all I can remember, and I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s useful.¡±

    ¡°If I remember correctly, every time you have a hallucination, it¡¯s right after thenterns are lit,¡± Ke Xun¡¯s gaze turned to the vertical lines on the corridor wall, all seven lines remained unchanged. They were deep and decisive. ¡°Or perhaps, the incidents of death have triggered certain deep-seated memories in you. Think about it carefully, we only discover an incident of death after everyone wakes up. Strange thing is, why the rest of us don¡¯t experience the same hallucinations as you? In the real world, do you have some kind of psychic physique?¡±

    ¡°Shao Ling asked me the same question,¡± Du Lingyu seemed to still be notpletely out of her anxious state. At that moment, she leaned against the wall. It was a posture of self-protection. ¡°But unfortunately, I¡¯m very ordinary in the real world,pletely dissociated from those supernatural things.¡±

    ¡°The hallucinations you mentioned include the scene of Lu Heng¡¯s death along with Xi Shengnan. This reminds me of the photo fromst night,¡± Ke Xun carefully recalled Mu Yiran¡¯s exnation of the photos fromst night. ¡°It¡¯s the photo that captured events of 16 hourster, presumably around 18:30. At that time, there was a man sitting alone on the bed, and Xi Shengnan was lying nearby.¡±

    ¡°Do you mean that the man in the photo is Lu Heng?¡± Du Lingyu carefully remembered the contents of the photo. ¡°At that time, Xi Shengnan¡¯s position was already at the bottom of the photo. If I were also in the photo, the camera wouldn¡¯t capture me.¡±

    Du Lingyu made this bold spection calmly, causing Ke Xun to have a newfound respect for this seemingly delicate girl.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t understand why there were only three of us left in the room. It was nighttime, and others had no reason to be outside¡­¡± Du Lingyu seemed to have thought of something, but no matter what, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say it. Her eyes suddenly focused on Ke Xun. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, Ke Xun, out of everyone, I trust you the most, even more than my old buddies of many years in the photography group.¡±

    Ke Xun saw sincerity in Du Lingyu¡¯s eyes, as well as a hint of¡­ something resembling regret.

    ¡°Especially when I see these seven carved lines, that feeling bes particrly strong,¡± Du Lingyu continued, ¡°For no reason at all, I just feel your decisions are correct, and you advance forward with unwavering determination, withoutpromise or hesitation.¡±

    Du Lingyu wiped her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I had these strange feelings, and I even told you about them. It¡¯s as if I¡¯ve wanted to say them for a long time, but never had the chance to say them.¡±

    Ke Xun felt he got some clues in Du Lingyu¡¯s words, but her subsequent emotional words confused him again. Ke Xun slowly approached Du Lingyu and patted her shoulder. ¡°When we go to bury Lu Hengter, do you still have the courage to go near that window?¡±

    Du Lingyu nodded without hesitation. ¡°I will definitely go. Even though I¡¯m a little scared, I still want to understand what exactly is going on. Even if I see something more terrifying there, I think we will get closer to the truth.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Ke Xun didn¡¯t know what to say for a moment, facing the brave Du Lingyu. ¡°We will all be with you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Du Lingyu suddenly eximed absentmindedly. ¡°I remember you said the same thing: ¡®We will all be with you! All of us stand united to take this step together. Even if this is a step backward, this step backward is for the sake of moving forward in the long run! Even if that step backward leads to a deep abyss, we will get eternal light in return!¡¯¡±

    Du Lingyu spoke word by word, tears seemed to be shimmering in her eyes.

    Ke Xun was dumbfounded for a while. ¡°I can responsibly tell you that I would never say these things, even if you forced me to¡­¡± Ke Xun scratched his head and asked again: ¡°Are you sure it wasn¡¯t Shao Ling who said these words¡­¡±

    ¡°It was you! I was crying at the time, and many others were crying too.¡± Du Lingyu couldn¡¯t hold back her tears again. ¡°I don¡¯t remember what happened afterward, but I always feel like I was a deserter¡­¡±

    Maybe because Du Lingyu¡¯s voice was a bit high just now, several of theirpanions gathered at the door, even Mu Yiran came out, who was holding a piece of paper. The paper had circles of various sizes drawn on it, with each circle divided by lines of different angles.

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun. ¡°There may have only been one single timeline, but it has been segmented and realigned. Maybe there is no going backward and forward. It¡¯s like driving on a road and encountering a car in the oppositene. Because of the different directions, we always think the other side is going the opposite way.¡±

    Ke Xun said, ¡°Can you guys say something that I can understand today¡­¡±

    Mai Peng: ¡°I also have the same request¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran said to Mai Peng, ¡°Based on the severity of your cold, I believe your cold will recoverpletely soon, as if it never happened. If this actually happens, it will indirectly confirm my theory.¡±

 Chapter 242: Dedicated to Yu

    <h4>Chapter 242: Dedicated to Yu</h4>

    Because daytime at the Lantern Inn was short, everyone had to split into groups and act separately.

    ¡°I promised Lu Heng to carry his coffin. Let¡¯s just have us old friends from the photography group send him off.¡± Mai Peng said as he rubbed his aching head. ¡°I believe Lu Heng would understand; after all, the most important thing now is to find the signature.¡±

    Du Lingyu nced at Ke Xun, who replied, ¡°I¡¯ll go too in a moment. Dong <i>Zi</i> and Radish can stay to prepare the projector. There are still a lot of photos we haven¡¯t had the chance to go throughst night.¡±

    Wei Dong and Luo Bu nodded, and Koharu followed suit.

    ¡°While thentern-lighter hasn¡¯t arrived, I think we should recheck our luggage,¡± Shao Ling said, ¡°There are many things that we overlooked in our luggage, and they could hold important information.¡±

    This statement made sense. The mystery surrounding the ebony box in Lu Heng¡¯s luggage was now an unsolved mystery. But everyone was convinced that the Lu Heng, who existed in the same timeline as them, couldn¡¯t have known the secret of the ebony box. His death was entirely out of his control.

    Everyone took out their luggage andid them out on the table without hesitation.

    Mai Peng and Mu Yiran exchanged a nce after Mai Peng took out his bag. He quickly went to get the film developing tank from themunal cab: ¡°I¡¯ll develop the photo I took at the stairs when we first arrived. That photo could be very important.¡±

    ¡°And the film from Xi Shengnan¡¯s camera that we cut out yesterday,¡± Mu Yiran helped out on the side, ¡°I have a basic understanding of the process of film development. Later, you can go carry the coffin, and I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡±

    If any amateur said such a thing, Mai Peng would have tly rejected it. But at this moment, Mu Yiran made people trust him involuntarily: ¡°I have prepared the developing and fixing solutions. Brother Mu, you just add them at the right time. Other things are not tooplicated either.¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded: ¡°Rest assured.¡±

    Mai Peng and Mu Yiran prepared to develop the film, while the others checked the luggage and items on the table.

    Compared to others, Fang Fei¡¯s belongings were the simplest, containing only a snow-white mask and nothing else.

    The others also took out their more peculiar items, such as Shao Ling¡¯s Xun, Wei Dong¡¯s hand-drawn ¡°Light Inn Wei¡¯s Art Collection¡±, Du Lingyu¡¯s diamond-shaped mirror, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran¡¯s identical wooden ducks, and¡­.

    Du Lingyu was flipping through the rest of her luggage, saying, ¡°I also have several collections of spice forms here. I saw them when we first arrived, but never had a chance to look through them. The days here are too short.¡±

    ¡°Spices form?¡± Qin Ci, who was studying two small medicine boxes from his package, asked, ¡°Are they rted to our goods? Or¡­¡±

    ¡°I am personally interested in perfume blending,¡± Du Lingyu said while scanning through spice forms in her hand, checking for any missing pages. ¡°In the real world, it¡¯s mixing perfume. Here, it seems to have evolved into something rted to aromatic spices and incense.¡±

    ¡°I find it strange that you all have books, but Sister Xi¡¯s luggage doesn¡¯t have her own novel. That Xiayu should be closely rted with this world.¡± said Luo Bu. There were many dried meat snacks in a small bag of his. It also had a special note that said, ¡°Koharu¡¯s Energy Supply¡±.

    Luo Bu fed a piece of dried meat to Koharu who bounced around happily, its tail spinning like a little top.

    Cao Youning seemed to recall something, ¡°I do have an impression of what you¡¯re talking about. Sister Xi often brought a book with her in the bag she carried, although I don¡¯t know what book it was.¡±

    Du Lingyu also seemed to remember something and opened Xi Shengnan¡¯s bag, taking out the items one by one, ¡°Yes, Sister Xi always carried that book with her! I remember the night before we went to the art gallery, she was flipping through that book in the hotel! She must have had it in her backpack, so why is it missing?¡±

    Du Lingyu¡¯s words caught everyone¡¯s attention. Shao Ling asked, ¡°Are you talking about the novel with Xiayu? Can you briefly tell us the summary, and if there¡¯s anything special about the book? For example, the narrative structure, the main themes, even the publishing house, editors, preface, and book design: anything that you can think of, just tell us!¡±

    Du Lingyu tried to calm herself down and began, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, I¡¯ve been so stressed these days that Ipletely forgot about this book.¡±

    ¡°No worries, Xi Shengnan herself never mentioned this to anyone either,¡± Shao Ling gave Du Lingyu an encouraging look.

    Du Lingyu continued, ¡°The book¡¯s title is ws and Brilliance of Jade. and it¡¯s about the growth of a girl. The time period is somewhat vague, and the narrativenguage is entirely in an ancient style. However, the content leans more towards the modern era. Yet, the novel avoids descriptions of modern things. There are no cars, phones, and the like. The protagonist is a girl who needs to go out to work and changes her fate through her own efforts, finding love and happiness. In the end, she remains with the male lead forever.¡±

    ¡°Forever?¡± Shao Ling didn¡¯t think this was a beautiful vocabry used in fairy tales like Cindere or Snow White.

    ¡°The female lead finds the door to eternal life,¡± Du Lingyu said, ¡°this part sounds a bit ridiculous and doesn¡¯t quite match the overall style of the story. As a result, because of this ¡®door to eternal life¡¯ ending, the readers on the novel website heavily criticized the book.¡±

    Everyone listened and agreed that the content of the novel was somewhat unreasonable.

    ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand, why does she always carry her own book with her?¡± Wei Dong couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Wei Dong: <i>I¡¯m really embarrassed to say the word self-love directly</i>¡­

    Du Lingyu said: ¡°Brother Shao just mentioned the publishing house, but in fact, that book has not been officially published: it is not so much a book, but rather a self-made book she bound. Sister Xi printed it herself and included some of her own photography works. Only that one has not been shared with anyone.¡±

    ¡°Actually, Sister Xi had been revising that book, and often wrote some new ideas in the book with colored pens. It is not so much a book as it is an alternative type of journal.¡±

    Cao Youning also said: ¡°No wonder that book seemed so strange¡­¡±

    Shao Ling asked Du Lingyu, ¡°Have you read that book?¡±

    ¡°I read the electronic version on the novel site, but as for the physical book, I just flipped through it and didn¡¯t have a chance to look closely,¡± Du Lingyu carefully recalled. ¡°So, there is nothing special about the publishing house or the book design, as Brother Shao mentioned. However, speaking of the appearance of that book¡­ I remember there was a beautiful page at the end with three words written on it: ¡®Dedicated to Yu.''¡±

    ¡°That book is dedicated to you?¡± Luo Bu asked in confusion.

    ¡°No no, it¡¯s not the Yu in my name, but Yu as in ¡®yuyan¡¯. I also feel it must be someone¡¯s name.¡± Du Lingyu felt ufortable about revealing so many of Xi Shengnan¡¯s secrets after her death, but she had to do it to find the signature. ¡°I asked her before about who this Yu was, but every time she just smiled faintly and didn¡¯t answer me.¡±

    Suddenly, Mai Peng paused his film developing and looked up. ¡°Did you say it was the Yu in ¡®yuyan¡¯? Yu with the ¡®yan¡¯ radical?¡±

    Du Lingyu nodded, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one.¡±

    Mai Peng said, ¡°The painter Bi Di¡¯s original name was Bi Xiaoyu. I believe this shouldn¡¯t be just a coincidence.¡±

    Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, as if they had glimpsed some secrets of this world.

    ¡°Could Sister Xi have known Bi Di in the past? There¡¯s a big difference in their age, how could they have known each other?¡± Cao Youning was puzzled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they knew each other. When Bi Di passed away, Sister Xi was only a few years old,¡± Du Lingyu carefully spected about Xi Shengnan¡¯s thoughts from a female viewpoint. ¡°I think it¡¯s more of an admiration. Sister Xi always appreciated Bi Di¡¯s photography works very much. She was the one that suggested this visit to the art gallery and listed it as a must-visit ce on our itinerary.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Cao Youning¡¯s expression became a bitplicated: ¡°Right, she also said it would definitely make us feel the trip was worthwhile¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran quickly washed his hands and also walked over. The film in the developing tank was slowly undergoing changes invisible to the naked eye. His task was to agitate the liquid inside and open the tank at the right time.

    ¡°If the ¡®Yu¡¯ in the book indeed refers to Bi Di, then it¡¯s not hard to exin everything here,¡± Mu Yiran felt like all the puzzles were slowly being unraveled one by one. ¡°In all the artworks we have experienced, the items we brought with us were never intended to be offered to the painting or the painter. In my view, the act of writing words dedicated to the painter in the book itself is a form of sacrifice. This book will be integrated into the painting in a special way, for the painter to use.¡±

    Everyone listened to these words, slowly digesting them, their expressions filled with a sense of mncholy.

    ¡°But Xiayu died as soon as we entered the painting!¡± Luo Bu was very puzzled. ¡°Didn¡¯t she find the door to eternal life in the book? Why did she die before experiencing the world inside the painting? And¡­ she was killed by the person who created her.¡±

    This part left them feeling ironic and absurd.

    ¡°Perhaps in another timeline, the oue was different. In there, Xiayu might have been thest one to die,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes flickered with light. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, Xiayu might have had some interactions with us before. That would exin why her belongings appeared in our rooms, in Xi Shengnan¡¯s bag, and why Xie Shengnan even wore those jewelry pieces openly: if Xi Shengnan truly had ulterior motives towards Xiayu, she would never disy those jewelry to others.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw, it¡¯s getting too confusing, my head is about to explode¡­¡± Luo Bu innocently hugged Koharu. ¡°Aren¡¯t these games supposed to have thirteen yers? Why did it be fifteen yers this time?¡±

    Koharu nodded, considering itself part of the team as well.

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with my book!¡± Du Lingyu suddenly said, and showed everyone one of the spice form collections, ¡°Thetter half of this book isn¡¯t a spice form, it¡¯s¡­I don¡¯t quite understand what¡¯s written on it: The Earth¡¯s core is nurtured by the soil. Within it lies time. In the beginning, the heavenly light creates water. Within the water, white fish emerge. Their breath turns into Qi and surrounds the inns as a ring¡­¡±

    Everyone gathered around to look at the book, only to discover that it was two books sewn together. At first nce, it seemed like a collection of spice forms, but thetter part contained a booklet of different content.

    Du Lingyu found where the two books were stitched together and saw words at the bottom right corner of the second book¡¯s cover: Code of Shamans.

    Wei Dong: ¡°I think this must be Fang Fei¡¯s belongings.¡±

    Fang Fei took the book to look and felt it should be a Shaman¡¯s book.

    Du Lingyu was very puzzled, ¡°How did this book end up with me, and why was it hidden in this way?¡±

    Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and the voice of thentern-lighter came from outside, ¡°The crystal coffin is ready. The deceased can be ced inside now.¡±

    Everyone quickly packed their belongings, and Ke Xun went to open the door.

    Outside the door, there was a familiar crystal coffin, exactly the same as the one that held Xi Shengnan yesterday.

    Mai Peng and others ced Lu Heng¡¯s body into the coffin together and carried the coffin forward. Their steps were slightly unsteady as if they were heavy-headed.

    Du Lingyu couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Are you alright? Don¡¯t force yourself.¡±

    Mai Peng replied, ¡°I promised Lu Hengst night. I believe in this world, those about to die are able to sense their impending death.¡±

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s the case. But only I receive some hints after someone else dies. Too difficult. This world is too difficult.¡± Du Lingyu¡¯s brows frowned tightly. ¡°I hope that book can be of use. Fang Fei¡¯s identity is different from ordinary people. I hope she can understand the content of that book.¡±

 Chapter 243: The First Photo

    <h4>Chapter 243: The First Photo</h4>

    ¡°The Earth¡¯s core is nurtured by the soil. Within it lies time. In the beginning, the heavenly light creates water. Within the water, white fish emerge. Their breath turns into Qi and surrounds the inns as a ring.¡±

    This was the opening content of the ¡°Code of Shamans¡±. Later in the book, it discussed specific methods of practicing shaman craft. Currently, Fang Fei was reading it attentively, hoping to understand it as quickly as possible.

    While the film in the tank was still being developed, Mu Yiran and the others were inventorying the items in their luggage. Mu Yiran noticed Shao Ling¡¯s Xun and asked, ¡°Is this Xun any different from the one you used before?¡±

    Shao Ling had already examined the Xun many times: ¡°I haven¡¯t yed the Xun for many years. When I was a kid, I used a y Xun, a nine-hole Xun. This one is a stone Xun. It¡¯s an ancient Xun. It has no sound holes, only a blowing hole.¡±

    Wei Dong didn¡¯t understand a thing, ¡°Luckily, you know what it is. If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t even know it¡¯s a musical instrument. I thought it was a strange little jar. How can this Xun make sounds without holes?¡±

    Shao Ling picked up the Xun and looked at the blowing hole, ¡°This type of Xun probably can¡¯t produce a musical tone. In ancient times, it was used to imitate bird calls or animal sounds, to attract and catch prey. Simr Xuns with only one blowing hole have been found in the Hemudu and Yangshao cultural sites. This is probably the most primitive form of the Xun, dating back to at least six to seven thousand years ago.¡±

    ¡°Six to seven thousand years, and I haven¡¯t even had a chance to read ¡®Five Thousand Years of Chinese Nation¡¯ yet,¡± Luo Bu sighed on the side, while Koharu seemed very interested in the stone Xun and kept leaping to try to reach it.

    ¡°I think this Xun¡¯s shape resembles an egg. I wonder if this item holds any informational or practical value.¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    Qin Ci quickly understood Zhu Haowen¡¯s point, ¡°It¡¯s just that we don¡¯t know what the ¡®Earth¡¯s core¡¯ mentioned in the book really is. Could this Xun be a hint towards the Earth¡¯s core?¡±

    This statement caught Shao Ling¡¯s attention, and he carefully analyzed the stone Xun in his hand, ¡°In fact, the standard shape of a Xun is a t-bottomed oval. This one¡¯s t bottom is not very prominent, making it closer to the shape of an egg. If this shape is indeed a hint, there might be some clues to follow. For example, in this world, there are many buildings and foods with Tang Dynasty style, but this Xun is definitely not of the Tang style. The Xun had already developed into a five-hole instrument in the Shang Dynasty, and from then on, it became a formal musical instrument. By the time of the Tang Dynasty, it had evolved into a five or six-hole instrument, and it would certainly not look like this one.¡±

    Wei Dong also began to think: ¡°Why is this thing so hard to figure out? If they really wanted to hint ¡®Earth¡¯s core¡¯ at us, they could have just used an egg or an egg-shaped stone. Why bother with a Xun?¡±

    Shao Ling replied, ¡°There is a possibility that the shape of the Earth¡¯s core itself is simr to this Xun, with a hole at the top.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°There¡¯s another possibility. Leaving an egg might get censored by the painting.¡±

    ¡°Censored?¡± Wu Dong asked.

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°Yes, the items in our luggage, though we did not bring them into the painting, are strongly connected to us. For example, this Xun. It appeared in Shao Ling¡¯s bag because he can y it, but not in other people¡¯s bag. If this is an item that another timeline has left, I believe that a lot of the items that can provide hints to us have been censored. The things left can only be the ¡®correct items¡¯, items that have direct corrtion to their owner.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, these items might be messages sent to the us nowadays by our other selves?¡± Qin Ci spected, still feeling confused but sensing that they were getting closer to the truth.

    ¡°If it really is as what you guys say, then there are some things in my art collection too,¡± Wu Dong picked up his own Wei¡¯s Art Collection. ¡°Look at this page. It appears to be a bunch of Easter eggs, but don¡¯t you think there¡¯s something strange about this particr one?¡±

    On the page, there indeed appeared to be a collection of colored eggs, each egg drawn with various beautiful patterns. Yet, one egg stood out in the corner. It wasrger than the others and had no patterns, just a thick line around the middle of the egg.

    Luo Bu looked at it closely, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. That line is probably just the pattern on this egg.¡±

    ¡°No, I know my own drawing habits,¡± Wu Dong shook his head without hesitation. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t draw an egg like this in the middle of a bunch of colored and patterned eggs. Besides, I deliberately emphasized that line in the middle of the egg, using bold strokes. I believe it¡¯s some kind of hint.¡±

    As Wei Dong spoke, he flipped through other pages of the art collection, ¡°Also, I noticed that there are many nk pages in the book between pages I have drawn on. That¡¯s really not my habit and it¡¯s definitely not caused by carelessness. If I didn¡¯t guess wrong, there were originally drawings on those nk pages, but because they revealed information, they got naturally screened out by the painting!¡±

    ¡°Naturally screened out¡±, everyone had already treated the painting deliberately hiding information as a natural urrence.

    Everyone flipped through the art collection and gradually agreed with Wu Dong¡¯s observations. Qin Ci said: ¡°So, the key to solving the puzzle lies in the shape of the egg. Shao Ling¡¯s Xun has a hole, and Wu Dong¡¯s egg has a thick line in the middle. It¡¯s highly likely that the Earth¡¯s core must possess both of these characteristics.¡±

    To the conclusion drawn by Qin Ci, everyone nodded in agreement and instinctively turned their gaze to Mu Yiran.

    Mu Yiran had already opened the developing tank and taken out two rolls of film: ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at these negatives first before doing more analysis.¡±

    Wei Dong and Luo Bu quickly jumped into ¡°projector operators¡± mode and processed one of the film rolls before cing it into the projector. ¡°Is this¡­ Mai Peng¡¯s camera¡¯s film?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I believe the first picture we took when we first came to this world is crucial,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°The photos we capturedst night at other locations and time frames didn¡¯t capture any people, so they are meaningless.¡±

    As the lights in the room were blown out one by one, the projection on the wall gradually became clear. It disyed scenic views of the wilderness, with strong ck-and-white contrasts. The entire image felt very dimensional. If it were printed, it would be an impressive photograph.

    ¡°No wonder Mai Peng is known as ¡®Mai God¡¯,¡± Wei Dong looked at the flickering frames on the screen. ¡°These photos truly can make him a god.¡±

    As thesendscape and street figure photography slowly passed by, it finally settled on a scene of the world familiar to everyone ¡ª the wide view captured not only the stairs but also the entire corridor.

    Just as Mai Peng had mentioned when he took the photo, there was indeed a person walking up the stairs. The person was wearing arge robe, and their face was entirely white.

    ¡°Oh my god, why does this person look so scary?¡± Luo Bu¡¯s hands trembled in fright.

    ¡°It seems to be¡­ a Master Shaman,¡± Wei Dong observed the person¡¯s face on the screen. The white mask was strikingly simr to Fang Fei¡¯s mask. ¡°Due to the inverted colors, this Master Shaman is wearing an entirely ck mask.¡±

    Fang Fei also stared at the disy on the wall from the side: ¡°If my judgment is correct, this should be the Shaman from the Cold Night Inn.¡±

    This was the first time the camera captured a photo of a Shaman, making this photo particrly eerie.

    ¡°Look at this part of the corridor; there¡¯s another person,¡± Zhu Haowen pointed to a spot on the other side of the photo. ¡°This person is crouching there, and their figure is rtively small, so it¡¯s easy to overlook them.¡±

    Soon, everyone noticed the person crouching against the corridor wall. They were facing the wall while crouching, their right hand raised as if drawing something on it.

    ¡°This person should be a woman,¡± Fang Fei said, ¡°She somewhat resembles¡­ but the pattern on her robe isn¡¯t right. None of us wear robes withrge color blocks.¡±

    Even without Fang Fei¡¯sment, others also had a simr feeling. The woman crouching there looked like Du Lingyu in terms of hairstyle and body shape.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys feel that the patterns on her robe are somewhat simr to the one on Xiayu¡¯s robe?¡± Wu Dong pointed out.

    It was indeed simr and was very much simr.

    If this woman was truly Du Lingyu, why was her robe covered in bloodstains? And what was she writing on the wall as she crouched there?

    ¡°If I¡¯m looking at it correctly, she seems to be drawing lines on the wall, and those seven lines on the wall are all or partially drawn by her,¡± Shao Ling said.

    ¡°But how did the camera capture so many things? How did Mai God manage that?¡± Luo Bu couldn¡¯t help but ask. From his perspective, if a person stood at the shooting location and looked in that direction, it would be impossible to see both the areas under the stairs and the entire corridor at the same time.

    ¡°Probably with the use of a wide-angle lens. This makes the viewing anglerger and the scene wider,¡± Shao Ling replied. ¡°My new phonees with a wide-angle lens. Though it¡¯s iparable to professional camera lenses, I still looked up about them online ¡ª they might produce negative space, which are somewhat likepositional nk spaces in pictures. Clearly, the extent of the wide-angle also produced some negative space in this photo, but these spaces aren¡¯t entirely nk, there seems to be something else there.¡±

    Everyone stared at the disy on the wall intently. Perhaps due to the use of a wide-angle lens, the proportions of the picture appeared slightly surreal. Nevertheless, it sessfully captured the Master Shaman walking upstairs and Du Lingyu at the far end of the corridor. Besides these, there were indeed some ¡°nk¡± things at the edges of the photo. These things didn¡¯t belong to the Lantern Inn, nor were they simply caused by spatial stretching. Instead, they were peculiar phenomena that resembled starry skies.

    ¡°The buildings and the surroundings of the figures seem to be stretched. Due to the inverted colors, what we¡¯ve captured here are actually some white spots on a ck background,¡± Wei Dong frowned and studied the image. ¡°But what are these things exactly?¡±

    Mu Yiran also stared intently for a long time. ¡°This photo contains quite some information. Let¡¯s analyze it step by step: ording to Mai Peng, the photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/60 seconds. The shooting time was when we just entered this world. So, in another word, it captured events that happened precisely one hour before we entered the painting.¡±

    ¡°Afterparing various aspects, it¡¯s almost certain that the girl drawing lines on the wall is indeed Du Lingyu. This means that an hour before we entered the painting, the other Du Lingyu was in this corridor.

    ¡°When we entered the painting, thenterns were not lit. Based on our previous analysis regarding time, this was an hour before midnight, which means 11PM of the day before our entry into the painting. This should be the time when the other timeline was running, which exins why the camera captured other ¡®members.¡¯¡±

    ¡°However, there¡¯s a problem. It¡¯s evident from the photo that it was nighttime as well, because there were nonterns lit on the corridor. So why was Du Lingyu alone in the corridor at night? From the bloodstains on her, it seems that she was involved in some emergency event, but her reaction was not to seek help from others, instead, she was drawing lines on the wall. This indicates that the act of drawing lines is a crucial matter.¡±

    ¡°As for the bloodstains on Du Lingyu¡¯s body, we can¡¯t determine if it¡¯s her own blood or someone else¡¯s. We also can¡¯t tell if the Shaman who was going upstairs is rted to this event. Du Lingyu mentioned before that when she first arrived in this world, she felt a severe headache, as if she had been struck heavily. As for who attacked her, we don¡¯t know if it was the Shaman, the other Du Lingyu, or someone else entirely¡­¡±

    Fang Fei suddenly interrupted Mu Yiran: ¡°When we first arrived in this world, if the other Du Lingyu was also in the same location, it would create a situation of twin-born. It seems that something terrible will happen if the two people meet.¡±

    ¡°But so far, Du Lingyu has been rtively safe. We haven¡¯t seen anything terrible happening to her,¡± Qin Ci said.

    ¡°Therefore, let¡¯s dare to assume,¡± Mu Yiran continued, ¡°that Master Shaman prevented the negative consequences of twin-born just in time. As Fang Fei mentioned before, someone had specifically asked the Master Shaman to resolve the case of twin-born. I suspect that the heavy blow might be the resolution.¡±

    Fang Fei nodded excitedly, ¡°I just saw that page in the book. The method to resolve twin-born is to draw the two persons together and perform a ¡®union¡¯ through patting on the crown of their heads!¡±

    Wei Dong also listened with excitement, finding it hard to believe that they could deduce all this from just one photograph. ¡°This makes sense! But why would the other Du Lingyu encounter us? ording to our analysis, aren¡¯t we on a different timeline?

    Mu Yiran said: ¡°The moment we entered the painting is likely an important point in time. It¡¯s also where the two timelines converged. At this point in time, it¡¯s very likely that people from both timelines can meet each other.¡±

    Wei Dong still couldn¡¯t understand, ¡°I still don¡¯t get it. Why was Du Lingyu the only one there at night? Where were the other ¡®us¡¯?!¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s face turned somewhat grim. A hint of pity, which was unusual for him, flickered in his eyes, ¡°Perhaps, at that time, she was the only survivor.¡±

    ¡°W-what?!¡± All eyes turned to focus on Mu Yiran¡¯s face. ¡°You mean that, at that moment, in the other timeline, the rest of us were already dead?¡±

 Chapter 244: Light Source

    <h4>Chapter 244: Light Source</h4>

    In another timeline, Du Lingyu was the only survivor, and everyone had already died.

    The other twelve people were all dead.

    The despair of being unable to struggle against death left everyone speechless.

    ¡°Let us continue discussing this picture,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was somewhat cold, but those who knew him could sense that this coldness was used to conceal his grief. ¡°Regarding the negative space that Shao Ling mentioned, it is quite evident in this picture and filled up the surroundings of the photograph. Its content is somewhat strange.¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Shao Ling tried his best to recover from the sadness just now, ¡°negative space should typically appear as a nk space or a gradually fading effect. However, in this photo, the negative space is ck with white dots on it. It¡¯s somewhat simr to snowkes in the middle of the night, but not quite.¡±

    Zhu Haowen also joined in, ¡°I believe the camera is a key item in this world, likely rted to Bi Di¡¯s identity as a photographer. We already know that the camera can capture scenes from the past and the future using the different shutter speed, representing a span in time. So, is it possible that the camera¡¯s lens angle can capture the expansion of space? Could a wide-angle lens like this capture scenes beyond the Lantern Inn?¡±

    This idea was quite intriguing, and everyone nodded. Shao Ling continued, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I think with the extent of how this photo used the wide-angle lens, it might have captured not only the world outside of the Lantern Inn.¡±

    ¡°Oh my God, could it have captured the world beyond the painting?!¡± Luo Bu was extremely surprised.

    ¡°Not to that extent,¡± Shao Ling said hurriedly, ¡°I have been thinking about the structure of the Four Inns and what the world beyond them is like. Based on the words in the book ¡®Code of Shamans¡¯, the Xun and Wei Dong¡¯s drawing, I believe that the Four Inns are in a circr arrangement, which aligns with the phrase ¡®surrounds the Inns as a ring¡¯.¡±

    Wei Dong listened while frowning, ¡°So you mean, the Earth¡¯s core is like a big egg, and the Four Inn are like a waistline tied around it?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, you¡¯ve put it urately,¡± Shao Ling nodded.

    ¡°I think the Four Inns are not tied around the Earth¡¯s core but are rather encircled in its interior,¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°The opening lines of ¡®Code of Shamans¡¯ mentioned ¡®The Earth¡¯s core is nurtured by the soil. Within it lies time.¡¯ I believe the people of the Four Inns reside inside the Earth¡¯s core, still arranged like a ring, but not like us living on the surface of the Earth, rather inside the Earth¡¯s core.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t handle this anymore, my brain ispletely overwhelmed. Just tell us, what should we do next?¡± Luo Bu looked at the burning incense, ¡°We have a little over two hours before the lights go out, so we need to make the most of our time.¡±

    ¡°Besides attending the funeral, I asked Ke Xun and the others to follow the shopping list in the luggage and visit the shops. Hopefully, we¡¯ll find something useful,¡± Mu Yiran took out another roll of developed film, ¡°Now, let¡¯s take a look at the photos from Xi Shengnan¡¯s camera.¡±

    Luo Bu took the film and set it up in the projector, ¡°I don¡¯t think Xi Shengnan took any pictures. There shouldn¡¯t be any photos of this world in her camera.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps the Xi Shengnan on another timeline took some. We still don¡¯t know who took pictures of those white fish.¡± Wei Dong casually remarked as he quickly loaded the film, preparing for the ¡°screening¡±.

    ¡°Right, we¡¯ve got plenty of work. We¡¯ll have to erge those white fish picturester.¡± Luo Bu quickly focused on his job and cooperated with Wei Dong.

    Xi Shengnan¡¯s photos started to appear on the screen. Her style waspletely different from Mai Peng¡¯s. She seemed to prefer capturing close-ups of still life or narrative-style scenes of people and street views. asionally, she also snapped pictures of animals and food.

    When the historic building of the Old Station Art Gallery appeared in one of the photos, both Wei Dong and Luo Bu slowed their movements. This familiar gallery was like a dream that suppressed them from waking up, pulling everyone back into the dark night once again.

    ¡°Say, are we still inside the Old Station Art Gallery?¡± Luo Bu suddenly asked.

    ¡°If we are still in the painting,¡± Qin Ci replied, ¡°the painting ¡®Inn¡¯ is exhibited in the gallery, so in a broad sense, we are still inside the Old Station Art Gallery.¡±

    ¡°Well, this question is as profound and hard to answer as the mysteries of our current timelines,¡± Luo Bu shook his head and continued showing the next photo.

    Xi Shengnan appeared to be a photographer enthusiastic about recording life. She captured shots of the gallery¡¯s hall and even took a side-profile picture of the old man guarding the entrance. The seemingly ordinary expression in the photo even showed a touch of sorrow.

    After that, there were random shots of various exhibition halls and it soon showed that familiar exhibition hall and its familiar door.

    Inside the door was another exhibition that was separated from the hall: the exhibition of Bi Di¡¯s photography works.

    As expected, the subsequent photos were about the Bi Di¡¯s photography exhibition. Xi Shengnan didn¡¯t focus on any particr works but rather captured theyout of the hall and the natural lighting from the windows, creating afortable atmosphere that gilded a sense of golden radiance upon this photography exhibition.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Several people said in unison.

    Wei Dong and Luo Bu timely stopped what they were doing, letting this slowly moving negative to stop on the disy.

    The picture was taken of the exhibition rack in the hall. A row of photography works on disy formed a sense of depth, showcasing Bidi¡¯s photographs from near to far.

    Everyone¡¯s gaze was fixed on the third work from the left¡ªalthough it was rtively small and not so clear due to being out of focus, it didn¡¯t hinder them from recognizing it immediately¡ª ¡°Inn¡±, this picture was indeed the ¡°Inn¡±.

    ¡°My goodness, I feel like I¡¯m disced in space and time. Are we now looking at this picture inside this very picture?¡± Luo Bu shook his head, feeling incredible.

    The others remained silent as they observed the painting. Although the picture in the photo held a familiar feeling that could be recognized even if it turned to ashes, it also carried a sense of estrangement and unfamiliarity as if after a long separation.

    ¡°I now feel that this circle may have a special meaning,¡± said Wei Dong. ¡°Don¡¯t you think this circle looks like a camera lens? All of us are actually within Bi Di¡¯s lens.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense. No wonder cameras were given such a special meaning in this world,¡± Qin Ci gazed at the circle in the image and the buildings within it. ¡°Now it appears that this circle might be a ring, and the Inns exist within the rings.¡±

    ¡°And the timelines.¡± Shao Ling added, ¡°When we first entered the painting, the timeline that we are currently in and the other timeline connected. This probably formed a circle.¡±

    ¡°Signature is outside the ring,¡± Fang Fei also spoke, and her words were quite astonishing, ¡°We are inside the ring, and the signature is outside. To find the signature, we need to go out.¡±

    Everyone fell silent, realizing this was a rare breakthrough, but at the same time, they also felt that reaching the outside of the ring was nearly impossible¡ªit wasn¡¯t just a matter of geographical distance; beyond the ring, it seemed like another universe.

    ¡°Everyone look, there is something on the right side of the ring,¡± said Mu Yiran.

    Everyone squinted their eyes and looked to the right side of the ring after hearing this. Because the signature was on the left side of ring, they had overlooked the right side. Now, they noticed some disorganized lines, but due to their light color, they appeared very blurry.

    ¡°I remember these things,¡± Fang Fei said. ¡°Before we entered the painting, I focused on the pencil-drawn part, which is this ring and the things outside the ring. On the left is the author¡¯s signature and the date, and in the upper right corner, there are some very faint pencil lines. I thought they were just imperfections caused by image processing.¡±

    ¡°Yes, those lines seemed too random, seems like they don¡¯t have special meanings.¡± Wei Dong said.

    Mu Yiran looked at Fang Fei and said, ¡°What kind of lines did you see back then? Can you draw them? Just a simple sketch will do.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± Fang Fei walked up to the table and picked up the pen and paper prepared by Mu Yiran. After carefully recalling, she drew a few strokes. ¡°On the left, I forgot if there were one or two lines, anyway, they were slightly curved. I remember the right side clearly. It was two crossed lines, like an ¡®X¡¯. I¡¯m certain of one thing, these lines were very faint and had been erased, so I thought they were just excess lines created while drawing and didn¡¯t pay much attention to them.¡±

    ¡°I think we can break through this circle, because you can erase pencil marks.¡± If it were regr times, Shao Ling would think he was trying to tell a joke, but as of now, he was extremely serious, ¡°The pencil part of this picture can probably all be erased.¡±

    ¡°Including the painter¡¯s signature,¡± added Zhu Haowen.

    ¡°Oh God, that would be terrifying. If the signature is erased, then we¡¯re really in trouble.¡± Luo Bu was scared by what they were saying.

    ¡°Everyone, look at this pattern carefully,¡± Mu Yiran presented Fang Fei¡¯s sketch to the others. ¡°Let your imagination run wild. What do you think it resembles?¡±

    ¡°A few strands of hair¡­¡± said Luo Bu.

    ¡°Unfinished clouds?¡± suggested Qin Ci.

    ¡°Traces of wind blowing?¡± said Wei Dong.

    The others didn¡¯t speak anymore. It was difficult to make sense of these few abstract lines.

    Mu Yiran then sketched a simr pattern on the side. He kept the cross on the right side but only one curved line on the left: ¡°What about this? What does it look like?¡±

    The group frowned and pondered for a while, but eventually gave up trying to guess.

    ¡°A lightbulb,¡± Zhu Haowen suddenly said, ¡°It looks like the lightbulbs we draw in middle school physics when studying circuits.¡±

    With Zhu Haowen¡¯s remark, everyone began to see the resemnce. However, in a circuit drawing, aplete circle would enclose the cross. This drawing was more casual.

    Mu Yiran nodded, ¡°I also think it is a lightbulb. To be precise, it is an indication of a light source. When a photographerposes an image, they would consider the position of the light source. So, perhaps Bi Di drew it specifically as a reminder for hisposition in his draft. However, since it was just a draft, he might have erased it after for the overall effect of theposition.¡±

    ¡°But if it is a light source, why didn¡¯t he just draw a sun?¡± Wei Dong questioned.

    ¡°I believe that if this picture were a photograph, it would be impossible to capture it directly in nature,¡± Mu Yiran exined. ¡°So the artist cannot use sunlight and has to create a staged scene and use artificial lighting.¡±

    ¡°But something isn¡¯t right,¡± Qin Ci pointed out, ¡°Whether it¡¯s a sun or a bulb, they are both light sources. But why is the shadow of the house inside the circle on the same side of the light source? That¡¯s not normal.¡±

    The light source was in the upper right of the circle, but the shadow of the house inside the circle was in the lower right. This indeed went againstmon sense.

    .

    ¡°If the sun is on the right side, then the shadow of the house should be on the left!¡± Luo Bu also noticed the problem.

    ¡°It is probably because of this that the time in this world is so chaotic. The light and shadow inside arepletely wrong.¡± Mu Yiran exined. ¡°Light and shadow, we can also interpret it as time .¡±

    The time in this world was so chaotic and there was even more than one timeline. These were not coincidences but a deliberate design by the artist.

    The artist seemed to want to create such a photographic work, a piece with distorted light and impossible to achieve in reality.

    ¡°So? How do we exactly get out? The signature is outside the circle,¡± Luo Bu asked anxiously.

    ¡°We can leave because the shape of the Earth¡¯s core is simr to the Xun. It also has a blowing-hole like exit. We can go out from there.¡± Fang Fei¡¯s voice echoed behind the others.

    Everyone felt something was wrong with Fang Fei¡¯s words. They turned around and were surprised to find that Fang Fei was now wearing her mask!

    The snow-white mask belonging to the Shamans.

    After she put on the mask, Feng Fei seemed to have changed her identity. Although Feng Fei was not usually expressive, this mask made her appear cold, even somewhat divine.

    Wei Dong cautiously asked Fang Fei, ¡°Are you now Fang Fei or Master Shaman?¡±

    Fang Fei faced Wei Dong with her snow-white mask. ¡°Whoever I am, we will always bepanions, and our goal is to find the signature and get out. I am just using this mask to see things that are invisible to the naked eye.¡±

    ¡°What did you see?¡±

    ¡°The inside of the Earth¡¯s core and the space we are in.¡±

 Chapter 245: Refraction

    <h4>Chapter 245: Refraction</h4>

    Mu Yiran looked at Fang Fei with a serious gaze. They had agreed to try the Shaman¡¯s mask at an appropriate time, but this girl suddenly¡­

    Fang Fei, wearing the mask, looked even more serious than Mu Yiran. ¡°I have read the book. Shamans wearing the mask exist outside the cycle of reincarnation, so their lifespans are usually very long. Apart from that, there are no other dangers.¡±

    Wei Dong wondered: Is this an important point? Does long lifespan count as a danger¡­

    ¡°What do you see?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    Fang Fei slowly scanned the surroundings and said, ¡°It¡¯s very fantastical, as if I can see faraway worlds through this room, just like that wide-angle lens.¡± She paused for a moment, seemingly to be observing before speaking again, ¡°I can even adjust my own perspective, it¡¯s truly incredible.¡±

    ¡°The Lantern Inn is a collection of houses lit bynterns, and in front of it is a bright world, which should be the Light Inn. Behind the Lantern Inn is a pitch-ck stone house with faint green, blue, and white light spots. I think that should be the Fluorite Inn. Beyond the Fluorite Inn, it¡¯spletely dark, illuminated only by snow. That ce is probably the Cold Night Inn¡­ On the other side of the Cold Night Inn is the Light Lodge again.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a circle, and the four Inns form a circr pattern,¡± Fang Fei raised her head and slowly walked, ¡°This circle is in the middle of the Earth¡¯s core, somewhat like the equator on Earth. The houses of the Inns are built on the inner circle. Just as we spected before, the Inns are inside the Earth¡¯s core.¡±

    ¡°Can you talk about the Earth¡¯s core?¡± Shao Ling asked.

    ¡°Like a ss egg. I can only see the inside, but not the outside of the egg,¡± Fang Fei paused for a long time, ¡°Still can¡¯t see it. But I can see that exit. It¡¯s next to the Cold Night Inn. This exit leads to the outside, like the blowing hole of that Xun.¡±

    Wei Dong said: ¡°I remember someone saying it felt like swimming inside a preserved egg when we first arrived.¡±

    Luo Bu: ¡°Brother Dong, you said that.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°I did?¡±

    Luo Bu nodded, ¡°Yes, I said it felt like asphalt, while you said it was like a preserved egg. It seems you expressed it more urately.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Shao Ling said, ¡°So, if we want to get out, we must go to the Cold Night Inn, because that¡¯s closest to the exit. The signature is outside of the Earth¡¯s core. Going out of the Earth¡¯s core is our only option.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s one problem,¡± said Zhu Haowen. ¡°How far is the exit from the signature? From looking at the painting, the signature is on the left side of the circle, but the exit may not necessarily be right next to the signature. If we go to the wrong location, we may end up going in the wrong direction. The Earth¡¯s core is too big, and searching outside of it may be even more difficult.¡±

    This indeed was a problem. Wei Dong asked Fang Fei: ¡°Can you see the outside through the preserved egg? Can you see where the signature is? Is it far from that exit?¡±

    Fang Fei spread her hands: ¡°I can¡¯t see anything, can¡¯t even sense any light.¡±

    Wei Dong somehow wanted to draw facial features on this white mask¡­

    Meanwhile, Mu Yiran took out a pen and paper and drew arge circle, ¡°I¡¯ll draw a simple sketch, an approximate reproduction of the original image: the signature is in the top left corner, and the light source is in the top right corner. These are all the contents outside the circle. Perhaps we can make some deductions from this.¡±

    Luo Bu: ¡°We can make deductions from this? Genius brother-inw please solve this for us¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran drew an arrow pointing toward the circle¡¯s light source, ¡°Lightes in from here, and we likely entered from here as well. The world we were in, at that time, should be full of light. This painting also tells us that our homnd is indeed the Light Inn.¡±

    Mu Yiran drew arge cross on the circle and divided it into four sections, ¡°Let¡¯s assume the upper-right part is the Light Inn. ording to what Fang Fei just said, adjacent to it are Cold Night Inn and Lantern Inn, opposite it is the Fluorite Inn.¡± Writing down Fluorite Inn on the part opposite the Light Inn, Mu Yiran continued, ¡°Currently, we can only confirm the positions of these two inns. The positions of the other two are harder to determine. The only reference we might have is the sketch inside the circle.¡±

    ¡°But, the painting is quite abstract. It only has a house at the center of the circle, yet our four Inns are built on the inner circle,¡± Qin Ci felt there was no way to analyze this, ¡°Of course, the world inside the painting may not perfectly follow its contents. Currently, the center of the circle only has a house and its shadow¡­¡±

    ¡°I think the shadow is significant!¡± After everyone had put their minds to it for a while, Luo Bu finally spoke up, ¡°If it weren¡¯t significant, the artist wouldn¡¯t have deliberately drawn it! Earlier, my brother-inw said that the angle of the light bulb and its shadow was wrong, which caused the confusion in time. However, I believe the shadow must have another purpose. I think the shadow represents darkness, so the lower-right corner of the circle should be the Cold Night Inn!¡±

    This left everyone speechless and surprised. Wei Dong remarked, ¡°Luo Bo, you really are something.¡±

    Mu Yiran furrowed his brow but didn¡¯t immediately write ¡°Cold Night Inn in the lower-right corner, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then the exit from here to the signature is indeed far away. It could be the farthest distance in this painting¡¯s world. Keep in mind that once we leave from the exit, we¡¯ll have to measure the distance on the spherical surface of the Earth¡¯s core. And we don¡¯t even know how many days it would take to reach the Cold Night Inn, let alone the time needed to search for the signature outside the Earth¡¯s core. Five days is far from enough: and remember, in our current timeline, we only have 12 hours per day.¡±

    Zhu Haowen walked over to the table and picked up the pen: ¡°I have some thoughts. The shadows here might not be ck.¡±

    ¡°Shadows are not ck, then what color are they? Aren¡¯t the shadows on this picture ck?¡± Luo Bu asked.

    ¡°The house itself in the center of the circle is abstract, so the shadow should also be abstract. It only represents people¡¯s intuitive understanding of shadows. However, the world we are in is different from the real world,¡± Zhu Haowen pointed to the light bulb and then to the circle, ¡°As Fang Fei said earlier, this Earth¡¯s core is like ss, and when we just entered the painting, we also experienced that indescribable feeling of being inside something. So, I believe the material of the Earth¡¯s core should be ss or a transparent material simr to ss. If that¡¯s the case, then the shadows produced by ss wouldn¡¯t be ck.¡±

    Everyone listened attentively. Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes lit up and showed a rare expression of anticipation.

    Zhu Haowen drew a straight line with the pen near the light source, as if trying to depict the effect of a beam of light: ¡°If that is indeed the case, it exins why the light and shadows appear so strange. We all know that ss or water can create a refractive effect, and the material of the Earth¡¯s core is even more unique and may likely generate a very special refractive effect. This also exins why there¡¯s such a peculiar angle between the shadows and the light rays.¡±

    ¡°So you mean, the shadows here aren¡¯t really shadows?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°Yes, those are not shadows, but refracted light,¡± Zhu Haowen used arrows to indicate the direction of light refraction, ¡°The light enters from the position of the Light Inn and then refracts out from the lower right corner. Although the refracted light might not be as intense as the original light source, it is still somewhat effective¡ªthis is why the Lantern Inn we are in only has four short hours of daytime.¡±

    ¡°We all know that the Fluorite Inn and the Cold Night Inn have no daylight at all, and it¡¯s not possible that the dim light in the Lantern Inn does not have a light source. If ites from refracted light, then this can all be exined.¡±

    Everyone was left in awe, and secretly admired Zhu Haowen¡¯s analysis.

    Mu Yiran nodded in agreement, ¡°Makes sense. If that¡¯s true, then the lower right corner is where we are currently in, the Lantern Inn, and the upper left corner is the Cold Night Inn.¡±

    ¡°The exit of the Earth¡¯s core is also right in the Cold Night Inn. If the signature is there too, we¡¯ll have a much smoother journey!¡± Qin Ci¡¯s voice was filled with excitement.

    Luo Bu was confused by all this, but he nodded along happily, ¡°So that means once we reach the Cold Night Inn, we¡¯ll be able to find the signature quickly!¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Fang Fei, ¡°So how do we reach the Cold Night Inn? Whether from the inner surface or the outer surface, the Lantern Inn and the Cold Night Inn are quite far away. Do we need to pass through the Light Inn to get to the Cold Night Inn?¡±

    ¡°Just now my vision reached its limit, my eyes got a bit tired. Now I can¡¯t see clearly,¡± Fang Fei was just exining when the room¡¯s door suddenly opened, and the other members returned with lunch.

    The sight of Fang Fei wearing the mask startled the new members, and only Ke Xun remained calm. He even made a joke, ¡°Thought you were applying a face mask.¡±

    Fang Fei smiled lightly. She turned toward Du Lingyu who was standing aside, and her shoulders stiffened slightly. But since the mask covered her expression, it didn¡¯t attract too many people¡¯s attention.

    Ke Xun lit on thenterns in the room, ¡°I knew you guys must havee up with some important conclusions again, but for now, I want everyone to take a look at this.¡±

    Ke Xun cleared a corner of the table and ced arge basin filled with water on it. Then, he went to retrieve his own baggage, ¡°Yiran, take out your duck as well.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Two identical wooden ducks were ced on the table. Ke Xun turned both ducks over, bellies up. ¡°There is indeed something on their bellies! The bellies of these two ducks can be connected together.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Immediately after that, Ke Xun ced the two ducks belly to belly and twisted them together as if winding up a toy.

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Everyone, look closely.¡± Ke Xun ced one of the ducks with its head facing up into the basin, and the other duck, astonishingly, sank beneath the water¡¯s surface like a reflection.

    Everyone found it incredible. Wei Dong even said, ¡°Is the duck below made of a different material?¡±

    ¡°Exactly the same material, keep watching,¡± Ke Xun gently tapped the head of the duck on the water surface. That duck extended its neck to lightly tap the water, and then flipped under the water. Meanwhile, the duck beneath the water floated up, appearing above the water¡¯s surface.

    ¡°No¡­ Brother, after demonstrating for so long, what are you trying to tell us?¡± Luo Bu couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and finally asked.

    ¡°Actually I can¡¯t figure out what¡¯s going on either.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun quickly continued, ¡°But I feel like these two ducks wouldn¡¯t just randomly appear in our bags. This is definitely a clue left by the other ¡®us.¡¯ Why did they choose these two ducks? Because coincidentally, Yiran and I both had this wooden duck toy when we were kids. It¡¯s precisely because it aligns with our memory that two ducks weren¡¯t censored by the painting.¡±

    ¡°However, why would they leave behind these two wooden ducks, and why do these two ducks have such a strange interaction¡­ I believe there¡¯s something significant here.¡±

    Shao Ling said from the side, ¡°Does this represent a kind of reincarnation? Or perhaps a substitution of identity?¡±

    ¡°The hint from the wooden duck toy is crucial. The point where the two timelines intersect is right here.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s expression was slightly excited. He rarely showed such emotions.

 Chapter 246: Death

    <h4>Chapter 246: Death</h4>

    The room was unusually quiet. All eyes were fixed on Mu Yiran¡¯s face, awaiting the most crucial revtion.

    In order to express it clearly, Mu Yiran picked up a pen and drew a straight line on a nk piece of paper, ¡°Let¡¯s assume this is a timeline. From point A to point B is the time we are currently experiencing.¡± Mu Yiranbeled A and B at the ends of the line, and drew a forward arrow, ¡°Now, imagine another timeline, exactly the same length as ours, but moving in the opposite direction. In fact, these two timelines are even ovepping. It¡¯s like a single road divided into twones, with vehicles traveling towards each other on either side. No matter which side you¡¯re on, the other side appears to be moving in the opposite direction.¡±

    Everyone remained silent, even if they had small doubts, they wanted to wait and hear it all before asking.

    Mu Yiran drew another arrow beneath this line, this arrow pointing from point B back to point A, in the opposite direction of the previous arrow.

    ¡°No matter how chaotic the time within the painting may be, the overall rules of the painting should remain intact. We have seven days in the painting. This has hardly changed, and the same is true in this painting, ¡®Inn¡¯.¡± Mu Yiran drew several vertical lines on the straight line, dividing it evenly into seven segments, ¡°The seven lines on the wall likely represent the seven days, another reminder and emphasis from the other ¡®us¡¯.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been puzzled by what exactly the intersection point of the two timelines is. Things like lights-off, lights-on, and forced sleep had led me to make incorrect judgments for a long time, until¡­ when Ke Xun brought out these two wooden ducks. It¡¯s likely that these are messages left by the other ¡®us¡¯ within their capability!¡±

    ¡°These two wooden ducks, only one of them can stay on the water¡¯s surface. No matter how you change it, only one can survive.¡± a hint of sadness appeared in Mu Yiran¡¯s expression, ¡°This discovery led me to find the point where the two timelines intersect: death.¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t quite understand,¡± Luo Bu couldn¡¯t help but mutter, ¡°The fat uncle said that you can see another self after death. Is that what he means?¡±

    Mu Yiran nodded, ¡°Yes, because sooner orter, the ¡®us¡¯ from both timelines will meet at the point of their respective deaths. Right now, Xi Shengnan and Lu Heng have bothpleted this matter.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still confused. Even if both sides set off from the two points and go towards each other, is everything happening simultaneously? Why do I feel a lot of things have already happened on their side.¡± Mai Peng said.

    Mu Yiran looked at Mai Peng, ¡°Have you recovered from your cold?¡±

    Only then did Mai Peng realize it. He cleared his throat to confirm, ¡°Strange. I was feeling so dizzy on the way to the funeral that I almost fainted. When I handed down the ropes to tie the coffin at the window, the cold wind almost made me lose consciousness¡­ Howe I¡¯m fine now, like nothing happened? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°This is the influence of the other timeline on us. The other ¡®you¡¯ carried Lu Heng¡¯s coffin and caught a cold from the cold wind at the window as a result, hence your cold progressed in a strange, reversed state.¡± Mu Yiran exined, ¡°It¡¯s an effect the two timelines have on each other that¡¯s somewhat like a maic field. This influence is not very precise, but we¡¯ve caught a glimpse of it. I believe the ¡®them¡¯ on the other timeline are also being influenced by us, but they seem to have be aware of it before us.¡±

    ¡°This also exins the question Mai Peng raised earlier: You feel that they seemed to have acted earlier than us and that many things on their side have already urred in advance. Actually, there is no such thing as early orte, or fast or slow. It¡¯s all about the position of our timeline.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue looking at the diagram. We start from point A. On the first night, the death of Xi Shengnan urred. On the second night, Lu Heng had an incident.¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s pen stopped at the second grid on the vertical line, ¡°When we reach the second day, the other side is on the fifth day. When we are on the first day, the other side is on the sixth day. When we just entered the painting, the other side has alreadypleted seven days. This is why the photo we took right after entering the painting showed Du Lingyu drawing lines on the wall. Though it¡¯s hard to see, we can deduce that she was drawing the seventh line.¡±

    Du Lingyu, who was absent just now and didn¡¯t know much about the photo, still nodded at Mu Yiran¡¯s exnation, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve always felt that the seventh line on the wall resembled my handwriting.¡±

    Zhu Haowen stood up, his expression somewhatplex. He seemed to want to sit down but opted to pace around the room, ¡°So, everyone¡¯s lifespan in this world is the same, right?¡±

    Mu Yiran sighed silently, ¡°Yes, Fang Fei heard about lifespans from the Shamans of the Fluorite Inn. Regardless of how long the lifespans of the NPCs in this world may be, the lifespans of those of us from outside the painting are only seven days. Once we exceed those seven days, there¡¯s no turning back.¡±

    ¡°Death, here, is considered consummation, because people from the two timelines intersect through death. It¡¯s like the two ends of a rope finally meet and form a knot, creating aplete circle of life. ording to this theory, Xi Shengnan and Lu Heng havepleted their circles and reached consummation.¡±

    Mu Yiran then took out another pen and dipped it in cinnabar, ¡°The red line is our current timeline, the ck line is ¡®theirs¡¯. This should be more straightforward.¡±

    Mu Yiran wrote Xi Shengnan¡¯s name below and drew a straight line divided into seven segments. The red line only had the length of just one segment, while the ck line spanned six.

    Following suit, he wrote Lu Heng¡¯s name, and his line was divided into two-fifths: two segments for red and five for ck.

    ¡°To put it more urately, a timeline is essentially each person¡¯s lifeline,¡± Mu Yiran said.

    Everyone began toprehend. In truth, this timeline was remarkably fair in a sense. Each person only had seven days in this world. Regardless of how the two timelines operated or how an individual navigated them, no one could escape the fate of seven days. Thebined time of both timelines would always equal seven days.

    Qin Ci couldn¡¯t quite believe it, ¡°So, you¡¯re saying ¡®they¡¯ are essentiallypeting with us for time, for lifespan? Lifespan¡­ isn¡¯t lifespan just another term for time?¡±

    Ke Xun listened for a long time and finally figured it out: ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The ¡®us¡¯ on the other timeline aren¡¯t anyone else. They¡¯re not the NPCs in the painting. ¡®They¡¯ are us. ¡®They¡¯ shouldn¡¯t bepeting with us. They should be able to make the right trade-offs.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun with a somewhat sad and pitiful gaze.

    Ke Xun continued, ¡°Why must it be apetition and not apromise?¡±

    Everyone was clearly taken aback by Ke Xun¡¯s words, looking at him with disbelief.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice grew solemn, ¡°¡®They¡¯ quickly realized this as well, and unexpectedly,prehended the difference between illusion and reality. At least some of ¡®them¡¯ recognized that their timeline is the false line, while the other side¡¯s is the solid line. The ones who can truly find the signature and sessfully leave are only those on the other side! So¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran found himself unable to continue for a moment.

    Ke Xun took a deep breath and continued for him: ¡°So, the duck underwater willingly sinks to the bottom, so that the duck above water can swim to the shore with all its might.¡±

    ¡°And so, they used every means to leave various pieces of evidence for us, hoping to warn us,¡± Shao Ling understood too, ¡°and they, resolutely and without hesitation, retreated in order to advance to make the final sacrifice.¡±

    Ke Xun nced at Du Lingyu, who was standing in the corner, and suddenly understood her previous words: the ¡°advance forward with unwavering determination, withoutpromise or hesitation.¡±; the ¡°we will be all be with you¡±; the ¡°this step backward is for the sake of moving forward in the long run.: <i>All of us stand united to take this step together. Even if this is a step backward, this step backward is for the sake of moving forward in the long run! Even if that step backward leads to a deep abyss, we will get eternal light in return.</i>

    There were soft sobs in the room; it was from Du Lingyu in the corner. Her eyes were red and swollen as she looked up, ¡°I vaguely remember some things. Yes, it¡¯s like this. I was thest one. I was too timid to face death¡­¡­ Ke Xun was the first one. After figuring it out, he was the first to sacrifice himself. He told me, ¡®Don¡¯t be afraid, we will all be with you.¡¯ That¡¯s what he said to me¡­ But I didn¡¯t listen to him then¡­¡±

    Du Lingyu¡¯s voice choked up as she spoke, unable to continue.

    Hearing this, Zhu Haowen¡¯s eyes reddened, looking at Ke Xun, ¡°The first¡­ Ke Xun, you¡­ you¡¯re such a damn bastard!¡±

    Mu Yiran attempted to regain hisposure, ¡°So, if the ¡®other¡¯ Ke Xun keeps his lifespan within two days, he gains five days of life for today¡¯s Ke Xun, and more time to find the signature.¡±

    All of them suddenly understood the content of the photo from the previous night. Every veteran member of the group had mournful expressions. That time should be when Ke Xun had left.

    ¡°How could we not have been together?¡± Ke Xun said, looking at Mu Yiran.

    ¡°Perhaps I was too timid,¡± Mu Yiran replied, hardly able to believe that he could still make a joke at a time like this. He approached Ke Xun and hugged him tightly, as though trying to merge this man into his own heart, so that the two of them would never separate. ¡°Back then, we must have had a strategic n, with different roles for each person¡­ Let¡¯s learn from them, they are truly remarkable.¡±

    .

    Wei Dong wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, ¡°Let¡¯s get moving. We can¡¯t waste the time they bought for us. Let¡¯s quicklye up with ideas to find the signature! Let¡¯s head to the Cold Night Inn!¡±

    ¡°Cold Night Inn?¡± Mai Peng and the others looked puzzled.

    Wei Dong had already begun packing, ¡°We¡¯ll exin as we pack. Let¡¯s make the most of our time.¡±

    ¡°Brother Dong, we haven¡¯t erged the photo of the white fish yet,¡± Luo Bu said with a strong nasal tone.

    ¡°Oh, right, let¡¯s look at the photo first!¡± Wei Dong stopped his packing and swiftly loaded the four negatives into the projector. ¡°Turn off the lights and look at the big screen!¡±

    The lights in the room were quickly extinguished one by one, and the image on the screen gradually became clear.

 Chapter 247: Ready to Set Off

    <h4>Chapter 247: Ready to Set Off</h4>

    <strong>?</strong>Once again, the familiar image of the white fish appeared on the screen, its appearance almost identical to the dried fish that the fat uncle had given them.

    ¡°ording to the fat uncle, only the Cold Night Inn has these white fish. Could it be that the ¡®us¡¯ from before left behind these negatives specifically to remind us to go to the Cold Night Inn to find the signature?¡± Wei Dong said.

    The current image on the screen disyed four white fish in water. Because their sides were facing upwards, everyone still thought they were four dead fish.

    The next image was a close-up of a single white fish, but there was nothing particrly remarkable about it.

    The following few pictures were also varying numbers of white fish with simr shapes. However, one picture was different from the rest. The fish in it was shaped like a willow leaf and was just poking out there, looking eerie and unnatural.

    ¡°Are these things really fish?¡± Cao Youning studied them for a while but couldn¡¯t figure out what they were.

    ¡°Looking at the state they are in, they really don¡¯t feel like fish. Why are they so stiff? Theyck vitality and don¡¯t look like they are swimming. Even dead fish shouldn¡¯t be in this state,¡± Luo Bu couldn¡¯t make sense of it either. ¡°Unless these fish are frozen stiff.¡±

    ¡°Since these fish grow in the Cold Night Inn, they shouldn¡¯t fear the cold,¡± Qin Ci analyzed. ¡°Actually, if you look closely, they should be fish. There¡¯s something resembling fish fins on both sides. It would be better if the image were clearer.¡±

    ¡°If the Cold Night Inn is indeed very cold, it¡¯s quite impressive to capture these photos to this extent.¡± Mai Peng added.

    ¡°Dong Zi, you should sketch these photos down, they should be very important.¡± Ke Xun said.

    ¡°Ke Er is right,¡± Wei Dong quickly took out a pen from his bag, ready to draw them in his art collection book. ¡°It happens that the first few pages are nk, so I¡¯ll just draw it there.¡±

    Wei Dong began drawing the image in front of him. He took a quick look at the structure andyout and started drawing rapidly. Although they were just simple lines, they captured the basic outline of the photo.

    As Wei Dong was finishing up, he stopped his pen. ¡°I believe these slender fish should be the side views of the white fish we saw earlier. Judging from their shape and structure, I think I¡¯m right. To be exact, they were photographed from the top of the fish¡¯s back facing downward.¡±

    After Wei Dong¡¯s exnation, everyone all found them quite simr.

    ¡°But why do I feel like these fish aren¡¯t in the water, but rather like they¡¯re fixed in the cracks of a cave?¡± Mai Peng looked at them for a while and still couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°Say, when do you guys think these photos were taken?¡±

    If these white fish truly originated from the Cold Night Inn, then at what time did the members of the other timeline go to the Cold Night Inn?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know other things, but one thing is certain: the outside temperature is at least negative twenty or thirty degrees Celsius. Water droplets can instantly turn into ice at this temperature. Even if they could manage to take photos, it would be impossible to develop the films.¡± Mai Peng said with conviction. ¡°The current temperature in the Lantern Inn is already quite challenging for film development. If it gets colder, it will be even more difficult toplete.¡±

    ¡°What do you think about the quality of the film developed?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    Mai Peng replied, ¡°It¡¯s simr to the quality of the ones we developed two days ago.¡±

    Mu Yiran continued, ¡°They only have 7 days, and if these photos were indeed taken by them, they should have rushed back from Cold Night Inn to the Lantern Inn to develop these films. Due to the time constraints, they wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to go to the other Inns on the way.¡±

    Zhu Haowen, ¡°One question: Why did theye to the Lantern Inn? What could attract them here? If we consider the distance, they could¡¯ve gone to the neighboring Light Inn or Fluorite Inn, both of which are closer and more convenient.¡±

    ¡°I can answer this question,¡± Fang Fei spoke up. ¡°Between two diagonally opposite Inns, there is an invisible tunnel that allows people to quickly reach the other side. Although the actual distance to Lantern Inn is a bit longer than to the other two Inns, there are no obstacles in this tunnel, while the journey to the other two Inns would have many uncertainties and could waste a lot of time.¡±

    ¡°So they chose toe to the Lantern Inn from the Cold Night Inn for the sake of speed,¡± Qin Ci furrowed his brow, ¡°Could it really be just to find an Inn with a suitable temperature to develop these photos?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s evident that these photos are extremely precious,¡± Shao Ling remarked, ¡°and these photos aren¡¯t in rolls. They were cut from the films. They probably did this to prevent certain photos from being censored out and disappearing, which might lead to the entire roll vanishing. So, they cut each photo out as a precaution.¡±

    Luo Bu scratched his head for a while, ¡°So you¡¯re saying that when they arrived in this world, they were in the Cold Night Inn, while we were in Lantern Inn? Why would that be?¡±

    ¡°We were in the Lantern Inn because they ended the 7th day in the Lantern Inn,¡± Shao Ling answered, ¡°and they appeared in Cold Night Inn because we will be going to the Cold Night Inn to find clues based on these white fish films¡­ Is this an infinite loop?¡±

    ¡°This matter isn¡¯tplicated. It¡¯s just a result of the effects the two timelines have on each other. It¡¯s not really an infinite loop, because the total time of the two timelines adds up to only seven days,¡± Mu Yiran spoke.

    ¡°I think I understand now why they were able to determine their roles so early,¡± Ke Xun¡¯s expression lit up with sudden realization, ¡°I was wondering the whole time, what made them know they were on the false line and determined that the other timeline¡¯s us were on the solid line?¡±

    ¡°They appeared in the Cold Night Inn at the start and immediately took photos of the Inn. In order to save time, they crossed the tunnel to get to the Lantern Inn, developed the film here, and thought of every way possible to leave various items as hints for us.¡±

    ¡°I think there¡¯s only one answer: when they first appeared in Cold Night Inn, they discovered Bi Di¡¯s signature!¡±

    ¡°Even though they discovered the signature, they realized they couldn¡¯t exit this world through the signature at all. So, the skilled members among them started brainstorming¡­bined with the effects from our timeline providing hints, their final conclusion was that their timeline is reversed, it¡¯s a false line. Their task is to assist their counterparts on the other timeline¡­ I¡¯m sorry, my brain capacity is limited, and I can only reason up to this point.¡±

    Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun, seemingly surprised by this corgi¡¯s remarkable growth, ¡°Very reasonable. The people from the other timeline discovered the conclusion right after arriving in this world.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they just wait for us right beside the signature? When we arrived in this world, we could have seen the signature directly,¡± Luo Bu thought hard and posed a proactive question.

    ¡°Cold Night Inn is extremely cold. Without consuming special Shaman medicine, they wouldn¡¯t survive a day,¡± Fang Fei¡¯s voice sounded icy behind her mask, ¡°And besides, they had just arrived and couldn¡¯t immediately figure out all the secrets of the timeline. Concepts like the intersection of lifespans aren¡¯t something that can be deduced overnight.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s another possibility. Maybe they encountered danger in the Cold Night Inn and escaped to here in an emergency,¡± Du Lingyu also added, ¡°But I think analyzing this now isn¡¯t the most important thing. The top priority is leaving this ce and heading to the Cold Night Inn.¡±

    Feng Fei couldn¡¯t help but nce at Du Lingyu again, though her white, icy mask revealed no expression at all.

    ¡°Feng Fei, did you see something? On me.¡± Du Lingyu sensitively caught on to it.

    Feng Fei wasn¡¯t used to lying, so she spoke: ¡°Yes, maybe the deaths of your twopanions stirred up some of your memories. Your current condition is somewhat unstable. In my view, you¡¯re a person with double images.¡±

    ¡°Double images?¡± Du Lingyu was suddenly frightened into a cold sweat.

    ¡°Yes, just like the effect of double exposure in a photograph. The edges of your body aren¡¯t unique. About five or six centimeters away, there¡¯s a faint shadow. Although it¡¯s not very clear, I can tell that the person is you.¡± Feng Fei slowly approached Du Lingyu and suddenly patted her forehead with her right hand. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re fine now.¡±

    Everyone stared in astonishment¡­

    Du Lingyu wiped her forehead full of sweat, ¡°All those illusions and feelings just disappeared. Feng Fei, tell me, after we find the signature, can I still leave?¡±

    Feng Fei fell silent for a moment, ¡°If we can smoothly leave the Lantern Inn, there might be a chance.¡±

    Du Lingyu bit her lip and fell silent.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. Let¡¯s leave before the lights go out. If we can find the signature in advance, then we won¡¯t be confined by the 7-day cycle of reincarnation anymore.¡± Cao Youning didn¡¯t know how to console hispanion.

    ¡°As long as there¡¯s a glimmer of hope, no one will give up on you.¡± Ke Xun hoped these words could encourage Du Lingyu.

    Du Lingyu nodded slowly, gradually finding some strength.

    Mu Yiran looked at the incense in the room, ¡°There isn¡¯t much time left. We have less than an hour until the lights will go out. Everyone, pack your belongings quickly. Feng Fei, if we want to go to the Cold Night Inn through that tunnel, what preparations do we need to make?¡±

    Feng Fei said, ¡°A spirit dog, enough Shaman medicine to resist the cold, and Shaman¡¯s eyes that can see this tunnel.¡±

    ¡°No wonder the fat uncle wanted to team up with us. They not only want to use our spirit dog but also want Feng Fei to help them find the way,¡± Luo Bu said while packing dried tbreads into his food bag.

    ¡°Shaman medicine to resist the cold, is it easy to find?¡± Mu Yiran asked.

    ¡°I can make it now. We need an alchemical furnace and a few types of medicinal herbs.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Ci had already prepared the alchemical furnace.

    Qin Ci said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you prepare the herbs. We have aplete set of herbs in our luggage, but if it¡¯s still not enough, we can immediately buy more from the apothecary.¡±

    Feng Fei quickly listed the names of several herbs. It seemed that she had gained considerable knowledge about Shaman craft after putting on the Shaman¡¯s mask.

    Luckily, all these herbs were avable. Qin Ci prepared them quickly.

    Luo Bu asked a bit worriedly, ¡°Although Koharu is a spirit dog, how can it carry so many of us? Do we need to use it to pull a cart¡­¡±

    ¡°No need to pull a cart. Koharu can do it.¡± Feng Fei confidently affirmed.

    Koharu seemed to be full of confidence too. It even seemed a bit excited, standing on its hind legs, eyes shining, and spirits high.

    ¡°I¡¯m done drawing,¡± Wei Dong stopped his pen, sounding quite emotional, ¡°Do you know, after finishing these drawings, I¡¯ve just filled the empty pages at the beginning of this art collection. Could it be that the drawings on those empty pages were these? It¡¯s really incredible.¡±

    ¡°Even if these weren¡¯t the drawings, they must be important content about the Cold Night Inn, undoubtedly rted to the signature,¡± Shao Ling said, ¡°By the way, Feng Fei, where is that tunnel approximately in the Lantern Inn?¡±

 Chapter 248: Time, the Thief

    <h4>Chapter 248: Time, the Thief</h4>

    Everyone had their belongings packed and ate the cold-resistant Shaman medicine. When they pushed open the door and stepped into the corridor, the Lantern Inn was still like the lights interwoven in a dreamy film. As they silently walked through the corridor, their eyes couldn¡¯t help but linger on the seven vertical lines on the wall.

    ¡°The first three lines are drawn very straight and with much force. I feel like they are from the same person¡­¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t even finish his words as a voice of ¡°lights-off¡± came from inside the Lantern Inn. Soon, the lights on each floor went off in session, and everything returned to the familiar darkness.

    Everyone instinctively turned on their phones. They also brought the piece of fluorite with them: since there wasn¡¯t enough time to bid farewell to the Master Shaman who provided the stone, they left all their valuable items to her.

    Guided by the light of the fluorite, they sessfully reached the top floor.

    ¡°Thinking about leaving through the window where Sister Xi and Lu Hen¡¯s burials urred, I don¡¯t feelfortable¡­¡± Mai Peng¡¯s emotions wereplex: both the joy of finding the exit and a certain inexplicable sense of loss.

    ¡°There¡¯s no other way. The time they left for themselves was too little.¡± Zhu Haowen knew his words might sound heartless, but the things that needed to be said had to be said, ¡°Some decisions are made in an instant, but just like the butterfly effect, they can result in earth-shattering changes.¡±

    Mai Peng stopped talking. Certain decisions were determined within a very short time. If they could have gritted their teeth and endured a little longer at that moment, they might have changed their fate.

    The darkness on the top floor was slightly thinner, perhaps because of the reflection of the surrounding ss windows. Outside the windows was the snowy world.

    Everyone silently approached the familiar window. Ke Xun opened it, and a fierce gust of wind, apanied by snowkes and ice crystals, rushed in. The sudden coldness took their breath away.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the weather outside to be so harsh. Is this a snowstorm?¡± Cao Youning shrank his neck. Though they had taken the cold-resistant Shaman medicine, it was not as if they could not feel the cold at all: the medicine merely mitigated the cold to a bearable level.

    Du Lingyu stood at the back, her expression somewhat timid.

    Fang Fei still wore her white mask. She stood by the window and looked for a while: ¡°The passage is right here. I can see it clearly. The snowstorm might actually help us get to the Cold Night Inn faster.¡±

    Fang Fei turned to look at Du Lingyu. ¡°On the day we attended the funeral for Xi Shengnan, did you stick your head out of the window?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember if I stuck my head outpletely, but I did lean out and experience a hallucination¡­¡± Du Lingyu moved closer to the window step by step. ¡°Actually, they weren¡¯t hallucinations. The twelve coffins I saw were not hallucinations at all.¡±

    Those twelve coffins held the members of the other timeline who had sacrificed themselves.

    This thought left everyone ufortable.

    They were going to gain a new life from the ce where ¡°they¡± were buried. How ironic, going towards death to seek life. This path of life was built using the bodies of their other selves as a bridge!

    Fang Fei¡¯s tone remained calm. ¡°I brought some incense. I want to offer them a tribute here before we leave.¡±

    No one objected. They silently watched Fang Fei light the incense and insert them into the solid snow outside the window.

    Each person sped their hands together to pray for sce to the souls of their other selves in the afterlife.

    The strong wind quickly burned the incense, and it burned out within a few minutes.

    ¡°Koharu, get ready.¡± Fang Fei patted Koharu¡¯s head. Koharu stared with bright eyes and nodded seriously.

    Luo Bu had an urge to pick up Koharu again. ¡°What, get ready what? What¡¯s Koharu going to do?¡±

    ¡°Koharu has the instincts of a spirit dog. It knows what it needs to do.¡±

    Suddenly, Koharu leaped up, like a streak of white light drawing a beautiful arc, and jumped out of the window.

    ¡°Koharu¡ª¡ªmy Koharu¡ª¡ª¡± Luo Bu almost went crazy, leaning on the window. If not for Wei Dong and others holding him back, he probably would¡¯ve fallen out.

    ¡°Can you see Koharu?¡± Wei Dong was also concerned.

    ¡°Why does it feel like the ground outside has risen? It¡¯s a big snowfield outside the window!¡± Luo Bu stared at the scene outside, ¡°Where¡¯s Koharu? Why can¡¯t I find Koharu!¡±

    ¡°That snowfield is Koharu¡¯s back,¡± Fang Fei said.

    ¡°What, what, what? What are you saying? It¡¯s Koharu¡¯s what?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Koharu¡¯s back.¡±

    ¡°Woof, woof, woof¡ª¡ª¡± A series of barking resounded through the world.

    Luo Bu felt dizzy and weakly grabbed Wei Dong¡¯s hand. His voice was slightly choked, ¡°Really, Brother Dong, even if my future son gets into Tsinghua, I wouldn¡¯t be this excited¡­ Really, my Koharu¡­ I¡¯ve never felt this proud in my life¡­¡±

    ¡°Understand, understand.¡± Wei Dong said beside him.

    ¡°I understand, I understand,¡± Wei Dong said beside him.

    ¡°Woof, woof, woof!¡± Koharu responded as if frolicking in joy to Luo Bu.

    ¡°Strange, why can Koharu suddenly bark?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°Because the tunnel is outside the four Inns, so time is normal.¡± Fang Fei exined.

    Luo Bu immediately took out his phone and held it outside the window: ¡°It¡¯s here, it¡¯s here! There¡¯s time now! 10:40, it¡¯s 10:40 now!¡±

    Everyone was quite amazed. The next step was to fasten their bags and prepare to enter the tunnel.

    Fang Fei walked towards Du Lingyu and extended her right hand: ¡°Hold my hand tightly. I¡¯ll try to see if I can bring you through the window.¡±

    ¡°Through the window?¡± Du Lingyu was a bit scared.

    Fang Fei¡¯s voice was very serious, ¡°Because your twin-born phenomenon urred in the Lantern Inn, I¡¯m afraid you might be trapped within it and unable to leave.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s hearts sank upon hearing this. However, Du Lingyu, upon hearing these words, gained some courage. This was theirst attempt, and if she managed to break free, there might still be hope.

    Fang Fei and Du Lingyu held each other¡¯s hands tightly. Their hair was blown by the snowstorm like ck gs. Fang Fei pulled Du Lingyu forward and leaned out the window: ¡°Follow me!¡±

    Du Lingyu followed Fang Fei and climbed onto the windowsill, closed her eyes, and jumped out together.

    With a terrible scream, everyone watched as Du Lingyu was flung back by an invisible force, flying back quite a distance.

    What surprised them even more was that Du Lingyu was no longer just herself. There were two of her now.

    On the groundy two identical Du Lingyus, twopletely identical Du Lingyus.

    The only difference was that one of them looked as she normally did, while the other was covered in blood.

    Fang Fei climbed back along the windowsill again. Despite wearing the cold, rigid white mask, it seemed that her disappointment was palpable even through it.

    Everyone present was greatly astonished, but none more so than Du Lingyu herself.

    At this moment, the two Du Lingyus stared at each other inplete astonishment. One of the Du Lingyus turned to the other who was covered in blood, and said, ¡°You are¡­ you are the other me? The me from the false timeline?¡±

    The blood-covered Du Lingyu sobbed sadly, her crying filled with boundless regret, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t have the courage to face death. I had no confidence in everything that happened. I thought I was the real, living me, not some imaginary character from a false timeline¡­ I didn¡¯t want to die, and I didn¡¯t dare to die¡­ I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    Meanwhile, the other Du Lingyu stood up and slowly walked over. She embraced her other self who was stained with blood. ¡°You are me, and I am you. No one understands you better than I do¡­What you don¡¯t dare to do, I don¡¯t dare either. This is our personality, and this is our destiny.¡±

    The bloodied Du Lingyu wiped her face, now cleansed of blood by her tears. ¡°In fact, in the end, I summoned a lot of courage. After killing Xiayu, I drew the seventh line on the wall. I was prepared to jump from the ninth floor¡­ The corridor was so dark at that time, and I only had the dim light of my phone to guide me. I was groping to climb over the railing. Who knew that suddenly, someone hit the top of my head with a great force, and then I don¡¯t know what happened afterwards.¡±

    Du Lingyu was crying herself but wiped the tears for her other self. ¡°That was the moment we entered the painting. The twin-born phenomenon urred. The passing Shaman hit us on our heads and merged us into one.¡±

    ¡°Why did you kill Xiayu?¡± Shao Ling couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    The other Du Lingyu tried to adjust her emotions so she wouldn¡¯t sound so choked up. ¡°She traveled with us all along and knew too many secrets. But her ultimate goal was different from ours. She wanted to find the door to eternal life.¡±

    ¡°The door to eternal life? Does this ce really have the door to eternal life as written in the book?¡± Du Lingyu asked.

    ¡°Fang Fei said, once the door to eternal life is opened, everything in this world wille to a stop. Time won¡¯t be chaotic, nor will it be orderly. Instead, it will forever stay still. We will never be able to find the signature again,¡± the other Du Lingyu said with a bleak expression. ¡°We only discovered her true purpose in thest two days. Originally, Sister Xi was nning to confront her with me, but she ended up consuming the poison hidden by Lu Heng and left us like that.¡±

    ¡°Lu Heng¡¯s poison? What exactly happened?¡±

    ¡°After everyone left one by one, Lu Heng and Sister Xi agreed to die together. The poison was prepared by Lu Heng ording to a form in a medical book. Sister Xi couldn¡¯t bring herself to kill herself, so she asked Lu Heng to find a way to end her life without her knowing. Lu Heng used the poison to kill himself and then secretly put the remaining poison in the hot sauce Sister Xi usually ate¡­¡±

    ¡°Sister Xi left her knife to me before she died and urged me to do whatever it takes to stop Xiayu. In case Xiayu seeded, what everyone has done would be in vain,¡± the other Du Lingyu spoke firmly. ¡°So I secretly followed Xiayu until she was about to open the hidden door behind the waterfall near the rockery on the second floor¡­ I didn¡¯t know what to do, so I had no choice but to kill her¡­Even though I stabbed her numerous times, she wouldn¡¯t die¡­¡± Du Lingyu chuckled sarcastically, ¡°I had the courage to kill other¡­but why am I so afraid to kill myself¡­¡±

    Ke Xun grew anxious and asked Fang Fei, ¡°Is it really impossible for Xiao Du to leave? Is she going to stay in the Lantern Inn forever?!¡±

    Fang Fei¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t hide her sorrow: ¡°I¡¯m afraid she won¡¯t even be able to stay in the Lantern Inn. She, has already seen her.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The living Du Lingyu has seen the other living Du Lingyu. This is the most taboo of the twin-born.¡± Fang Fei sighed, ¡°The ultimate oue, is probably to disappear forever.¡±

    The two Du Lingyus, both with tear-streaked faces, lifted their heads simultaneously, their voices sounding in unison, ¡°Disappear forever? Disappear forever¡­¡±

    Their bodies slowly began to fade at a speed that could be seen by the naked eye. Fang Fei walked forward and pressed the crown of their heads together, ¡°Maybe you canst longer this way¡­¡±

    Du Lingyu, now fused as one, had a sliver of peace amidst the despair in her eyes, as if she had seen through everything after losing all hope. ¡°I never thought, I would leave in this way¡­Right, there¡¯s one most important thing I haven¡¯t told you. The signature is on the white fish. At the end of the water source in the Cold Night Inn, there¡¯s an exit. The white fish there are different from those in other ces. The signature is on the white fish there. We marked it back then. You¡¯ll know when you go.¡±

    Ke Xun felt his vision blur. He had only spent two days with Du Lingyu, but she had talked the most with him.

    He stepped forward and gently helped the semi-transparent Du Lingyu to her feet. ¡°If there¡¯s anything unfinished you want me to do, tell me.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing,¡± Du Lingyu smiled faintly, her smile as light as a feather. ¡°Ke Xun, if I had met you a few days earlier, I would have trusted you without hesitation. You are truly a person worth trusting and entrusting.¡±

    Ke Xun watched as his hands slowly passed through Du Lingyu¡¯s body, as helpless as melting snow in the warm spring sun.

    Du Lingyu smiled again, even lighter this time, like a bubble about to burst. ¡°I smell it. I smell the fragrance. It¡¯s my ¡®Voleur de Roses¡¯. It smells so good. I once watched a movie called ''Time, the Thief''¡®. Ha, time really is like a thief.¡±

 Chapter 249: Racing Against Time

    <h4>Chapter 249: Racing Against Time</h4>

    As Du Lingyu disappeared, the snowstorm outside raged even harder, as if it could bury this tiny Lantern Inn at any moment.

    ¡°Woof, woof, woof¡ª¡± From outside the window came Koharu¡¯s barking, as if urging everyone to go.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re running out of time,¡± said Zhu Haowen.

    Fang Fei climbed back onto the windowsill. ¡°Follow me, jump down!¡±

    Fang Fei¡¯s figure quickly disappeared through the window, and her voice came from outside, ¡°All of youe down!¡±

    Everyone didn¡¯t waste any more time and jumped from the window one by one until theynded safely on Koharu¡¯s back. Only then did their suspended hearts find solid ground.

    Luo Buy on Koharu¡¯s furry back, feeling the familiar warmth. ¡°Koharu, save up your strength, don¡¯t tire yourself out!¡±

    ¡°Woo, woof, woof¡­¡± Koharu responded to its owner. The warm breath it exhaled was particrly visible in the snowy night, like steam from a train.

    ¡°Why¡¯s there one person missing?!¡± Ke Xun counted the number of people. ¡°There should be ten people, but why are there only nine?¡±

    Everyone was stunned for a moment and quickly realized that Mai Peng was missing.

    ¡°What happened? Where¡¯s Mai Peng?¡± Ke Xun¡¯s gaze swept between them. He couldn¡¯t believe that a living person just disappeared. ¡°I was thest one to jump down just now. I clearly saw Mai Peng jump down too. He was behind Qin Ci and in front of Cao Youning.¡±

    Cao Youning waspletely frozen. He shed a lot of tears just now because of the departure of hispanion Du Lingyu. Now, those cold winds had frozen his tear streaks. His expression was stiff. ¡°Mai Peng? Mai Peng clearly jumped down, he was right in front of me when he jumped down! I saw him jump with my own eyes!¡±

    Cao Youning¡¯s voice broke from anxiety.

    Fang Fei¡¯s snowy white mask stood out in the night. She looked back at the window¡¯s location. ¡°We¡¯vepletely entered the tunnel, and the tunnel¡¯s entrance has closed. It won¡¯t open again until tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°But, Mai Peng, he, where did he go?!¡± Cao Youning was frantic and helpless. He clumsily crawled toward the edge, trying to find clues below. But below was an abyss, shrouded in the howling wind and snow, making it impossible to see anything.

    Mu Yiran¡¯s hair was also disheveled by the wind. ¡°It seems that Mai Peng¡¯s deaths intersect at this moment. This was inevitable.¡±

    Cao Youning turned his head back, his voice trembling with extreme sadness. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Everyone else jumped down safely. Why did it happen to Mai Peng only¡­ Are you saying Mai Peng died at this moment?!¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was somber. ¡°We should be entering the third night of our timeline now. It seems that in another timeline, Mai Peng died at the end of the fourth day. This world may seem like it has a chaotic sense of time, but it actually follows an extremely strict temporal boundary. Faced with predetermined death, there¡¯s no room for even a second of dy.¡±

    Cao Youning¡¯s voice wavered weakly in the cold wind. ¡°So, you mean¡­ Mai Peng just now¡­he fell just now? Where is his body? Where is he now?¡±

    No one answered this question, and no one could answer it.

    ¡­

    Mai Peng felt himself descending slowly. When he had jumped out of the window a while ago, he had never touched the solid ground. He had been falling continuously, unable even to call for help.

    The speed of falling didn¡¯t seem particrly fast. At least Mai Peng could see the coffins hanging below the window. The first coffin held Xi Shengnan, and the second one was Lu Heng.

    Thinking about that night before Lu Heng had left, he had repeatedly said to Mai Peng, ¡°Mai Peng, promise me, if something happens to me here, you¡¯ll carry my coffin. Promise me.¡±

    Mai Peng had assured him, ¡°Okay, I promise you. If something happens to me, you¡¯ll carry my coffin too.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a deal.¡±

    A deal it was.

    Mai Peng felt like he had been falling for a long time, but there was still no end in sight.

    Until he saw someoneing toward him from the opposite direction. Right, there was someone falling on the other side, but in apletely opposite direction as him.

    Mai Peng suddenly realized he wasn¡¯t afraid. He widened his eyes, trying to see the other person clearly.

    In fact, even before he could see clearly, he had already expected it. The person was himself.

    It was the Mai Peng from the false timeline. He had chosen to end his life by jumping out of the window.

    The two Mai Pengs looked at each other, both suspended in mid-air. The other Mai Peng asked, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that we would meet here. Did you carry Lu Heng¡¯s coffin?¡±

    Mai Peng heard his voiceing into the cold air: ¡°Yes, I carried his coffin.¡±

    The other Mai Peng smiled: ¡°Then we are even. After my death, it was Lu Heng who carried mine.¡±

    Mai Peng felt pain in his heart. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t find the signature in time. If only we could have found it a day earlier¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to apologize for. We¡¯re in this together.¡± the other Mai Peng smiled.

    After death, one would meet the other version of themself.

    Mai Peng believed in this now.

    ¡­

    In another world, where Mai Peng could not see, Koharu was speeding toward a ce filled with hope.

    Everyone tried to maintain a safe position and held onto the fur on Koharu¡¯s back to avoid being thrown out at this dizzying speed.

    Only Cao Youning remained trembling uncontrobly. Ke Xun crawled over to him and patted his shoulder, but it didn¡¯t calm him down.

    It became increasingly bright in the front, and the snow-coveredndscape glowed like moonlight.

    Finally, Koharu stopped on arge protruding ice rock. Fang Fei surveyed their location, ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the Cold Night Inn.¡±

    Everyone dismounted from Koharu¡¯s back one by one. They hadn¡¯t had a clear look at the giant dog Koharu¡¯s entire form before it returned its originalpact size and jumped into Luo Bu¡¯s arms while making sounds of ¡°woo¡±.

    Qin Ci nced at his phone, ¡°The time has disappeared again.¡±

    Shao Ling said, ¡°We can use our phones to determine whether we¡¯re still within the four Inns. After all, the exit where the signature lies is outside the four Inns.¡±

    Wei Dong also felt it was reasonable, ¡°So once our phones disy time again, that means we¡¯ve found the exit?¡±

    Shao Ling: ¡°That¡¯s the idea. Koharu was very fast just now. I checked my watch when we were close to our destination. The journey took less than an hour.¡±

    Currently, everyone was standing on an ice-covered tform. In front of themy a vast cier, with an ice cave atop it.

    Every time they spoke, their breath appeared as white puffs in the air. Ke Xun looked around: ¡°The pictures of the white fish were taken in a very dark ce, and the fish were in water. I think we should check out this ice cave.¡±

    Everyone agreed, so they entered the nearest ice cave.

    Cao Youning couldn¡¯t control his trembling: ¡°Is death really unpredictable and unavoidable? Once your timees, no matter how safe a ce you¡¯re in, you¡¯ll still meet your end?¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°Unless you¡¯re outside the painting.¡±

    Cao Youning¡¯s expression was filled with agony. When they had arrived, there were five of them, but now only he remained.

    Wei Dong tried to encourage him, ¡°We must hurry. Once we find the signature, we won¡¯t be manipted by the timelines anymore. Let¡¯s quickly go look for it, don¡¯t waste a single second!¡±

    Cao Youning¡¯s gaze was vacant, and his voice trembled, ¡°I think I saw it, I saw that knife¡­¡±

    ¡°What knife?¡± Wei Dong was confused.

    ¡°The knife used to cut my wrist. I saw it. I used that knife to cut my wrist¡­¡± Cao Youning sounded like someone who had lost his mind. His soul was gone, leaving behind only a lifeless body.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare me. Are you hallucinating from the cold?¡± Wei Dong patted his shoulder and then looked at Fang Fei, ¡°Master Shaman, maybe you should p him?¡±

    Fang Fei walked over, her white mask staring at Cao Youning for a while. She shook her head without saying a word.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving forward, we can¡¯t afford to dy,¡± Shao Ling had a premonition of something but didn¡¯t say it out loud. For now, he could only ask everyone to pick up the pace.

    As they ventured deeper into the cave, the light grew dimmer, and the air became gradually warmer. In the depths of the cave, there was barely any ice and snow.

    Some of the icicles at the top of the cave began to melt and drop one by one.

    Wei Dong was hit on the head by one of these icicles and felt a little painful: ¡°Everyone, be careful, wear your hats. These things hurt when they hit¡­¡±

    Before Wei Dong could finish his sentence, a sudden scream came from Cao Youning, ¡°Ah! No!¡±

    Everyone rushed over and saw Cao Youning clutching his left wrist, which was spewing blood continuously. On the groundy a broken icicle in several pieces.

    ¡°It¡¯s an icicle?¡± Shao Ling couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°The icicle was as sharp as a knife¡­ it cut through my artery¡­¡± Cao Youning could hardly believe it himself. ¡°Help me, I don¡¯t want to die.¡±

    ¡°First aid! We need to quickly bandage it!¡± Qin Ci took off his medical kit and started preparing tools.

    But the blood from Cao Youning¡¯s wrist gushed out like a fountain, and even bandaging it did not help.

    ¡°No! No!¡± Cao Youning¡¯s voice gradually weakened. Just when Qin Ci thought he had finally controlled the bleeding from the wound, another bloody fissure suddenly opened near the wound, and blood gushed out again¡­ it was unstoppable.

    ¡°It¡¯s fate. It¡¯s death caused by the convergence of timelines.¡± Fang Fei¡¯s voice sounded helpless.

    Ke Xun began performing CPR on Cao Youning. As long as there was a glimmer of hope for a teammate¡¯s life, they couldn¡¯t let him die.

    Cao Youning¡¯s eyes were gradually losing their light. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve seen the other version of myself¡­ You shouldn¡¯t have hesitated. You should have made the decision earlier. Just one day earlier, even a few hours earlier, maybe we would have made it out¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you died instantly in another timeline. Wrist cutting is a slow process,¡± Ke Xun tried to keep him conscious. ¡°You won¡¯t die that quickly. Hang in there!¡±

    ¡°No time left, hurry and go find the signature,¡± Zhu Haowen turned away, trying to sound ruthless. ¡°There¡¯s water ahead, the white fish must be in the water.¡±

    Ke Xun decided to carry Cao Youning on his back. ¡°Go, move out!¡±

    They could only go forward, racing against time to find the signature.

    Ahead was a stretch of water that, under the cave¡¯s light, appeared ck.

    In the water there were fish swimming. They were exactly the white fish from the photos.

    ¡°These fish are alive, they don¡¯t have the stiffness in the photos,¡± Zhu Haowen observed the fish in the water.

    ¡°Keep walking along the water, pay attention to every corner,¡± Mu Yiran said to everyone, scanning their surroundings. ¡°Keep an eye on your phones. Once the time reappears, stop immediately.¡±

 Chapter 250: Leaving the Painting

    <h4>Chapter 250: Leaving the Painting</h4>

    The group continued along the water. Ke Xun was carrying Cao Youning on his back, who had fainted from losing too much blood, with Wei Dong helping to support him from behind.

    Everyone had their designated tasks. Some observed the water, some checked out the cave walls, some surveyed the ceiling, some kept a close eye on their phones, while Mu Yiran and Fang Fei oversaw the overall progress¡­

    The environment around them was gradually changing. The temperature seemed to rise, and the ice and snow almost vanished. The number of fish in the water decreased, and the light in the cave was getting dimmer. Suddenly, Shao Ling stopped in his tracks.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did you find something?¡± Qin Ci, who was walking behind him, asked.

    Shao Ling¡¯s voice sounded hesitant. ¡°No, nothing.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s sharp gaze shot towards him. ¡°Shao Ling, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Shao Ling had a grim expression and took a few deep breaths. ¡°It seems like, my time is running out.¡±

    All the members were shocked and couldn¡¯t believe that Shao Ling would be next so soon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it, hurry up and find the signature!¡± Ke Xun, carrying Cao Youning, quickened his pace. ¡°There¡¯s no path ahead, we¡¯ll have to wade through the water!¡±

    Mu Yiran approached Shao Ling: ¡°Don¡¯t be distracted by illusions. We¡¯re close to finding the signature.¡±

    Shao Ling snapped out of his daze. ¡°What? Where is the signature?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s right at the end of this water,¡± Mu Yiran never thought he could speak such a baseless statement so confidently.

    Everyone listened to Mu Yiran. Despite not understanding Mu Yiran¡¯s reasoning, they believed him wholeheartedly. So they regained their spirits and continued, wading through water that was about knee-deep.

    Ahead was a low cave entrance that everyone had to bend down to pass through. Ke Xun, carrying Cao Youning, had to bend extremely low to make it through.

    After Ke Xun passed through the cave entrance, he suddenly felt a lightness on his back. When he turned around, he saw that it was Mu Yiran, with the help of Wei Dong, who took over the ¡°heavy luggage¡± he had been carrying.

    Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran. In the past, he only thought that he was slowly changing during the process of entering the paintings, but he never thought that the Mu Yiran was also changing, albeit subtly.

    Mu Yiran carried Cao Youning effortlessly. Even though he didn¡¯t speak, his gaze seemed to say, ¡°Ke Xun, don¡¯t look at me like that. If not because this guy hadn¡¯t stopped breathing, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to care.¡±

    Ke Xun grinned widely, disying his typical corgi smile, and then immediately turned around to continue searching for the signature.

    ¡°There¡¯s time on my phone! We¡¯re out!¡± Luo Bu waved his phone.

    Everyone felt a sliver of relief, but much of the urgency remained.

    Since passing through the cave entrance, the environment had changed significantly. The water was nearly dried up in this area, and the surrounding cave walls were severely eroded by the wind.

    ¡°Something¡¯s in the cracks of the rocks!¡± Wei Don eximed loudly.

    Indeed, there was something in the cracks¡ªthings that looked like smooth, white stone slices, wedged into the crevices.

    Ke Xun plucked one of the stones. ¡°It¡¯s the white fish? A stone white fish?¡±

    ¡°So strange, could these be fossilized fish?¡± Wei Dong was extremely puzzled.

    However, Shao Ling said: ¡°Fish fossils don¡¯t form like this. These stone white fish seem more like¡­ those white fish hardened and turned into stone.¡±

    ¡°Shao Ling, it¡¯s great that you¡¯re so strong-willed.¡± Wei Dong changed the topic.

    But Shao Ling couldn¡¯t muster a smile. He was busy extracting the stone fish from the crevices. ¡°Now we can be sure that the fish in those photos are these stone fish. That¡¯s why they look so stiff. But why were these stone fish in the water? The water here is almost dry, and there¡¯s hardly anything in it.¡±

    Zhu Haowen said, ¡°That should be a hint ¡®they¡¯ gave to us, telling us to follow the water and find these white fish. The photo with the side view of the white fish should what we¡¯re seeing on this wall. So, I think the answer should be on these white fish on the walls.¡±

    Ke Xun gazed at the groups of white fish on the walls. ¡°Have you noticed that these white fish seem to form arrow-like shapes?¡±

    The way the white fish stones were arranged indeed appeared to be in the shape of arrows, guiding everyone forward.

    ¡°This is the information they¡¯ve given us. Let¡¯s hurry and follow these arrows!¡± Luo Bu hurriedly walked forward.

    The cave became darker, and gradually, they realized that it was a dead-end, with the path blocked by apletely sealed stone wall.

    The white fish-shaped arrows disappeared at this point.

    Shao Ling¡¯s steps became increasingly unsteady, and he had to lean on the stone wall: ¡°I can¡¯t hold on much longer¡­ The way I chose to die was very fast. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to hold on like Cao Youning¡­¡±

    ¡°Thatst white fish at the end¡­¡± Ke Xun said as he gazed at the white fish inserted into the stone wall high up. He looked at the stones piled up beneath. The arrangement and the height felt simr to his own handiwork. ¡°I¡¯m going to climb up and take a look.¡±

    When Ke Xun reached the white fish stone and easily removed it, he already knew in his heart.

    This was it.

    When his fingers touched the fish, he could clearly feel traces of words engraved on it.

    This was it.

    Everyone gathered around Ke Xun, and in the light of their phones and the fluorite, they could clearly see a few characters on the white fish: ¡°1995 Spring¡±.

    Turning the white fish over, on the other side were the two words everyone had been eagerly anticipating: ¡°Bi Di¡±.

    The white fish stone gradually disappeared from Ke Xun¡¯s hand.

    Suddenly, at the end of the cave, a light burst forth. There were faint traces of a picture frame around the light.

    At this moment, the entire cave started shaking, as if there was an earthquake.

    ¡°Hurry! Shao Ling and Cao Youning go first!¡± Qin Ci gave Shao Ling a push, and soon he disappeared into the frame.

    Mu Yiran also quickly pushed the unconscious Cao Youning, who was on his back, into the frame.

    Following suit, Luo Bu, Koharu, Zhu Haowen, and Qin Ci all exited one after the other.

    Just as Wei Dong was about to leave, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, sensing that something was wrong.

    Mu Yiran appeared to have no intention of leaving. He was staring at Fang Fei, who stood not far away.

    Meanwhile, Fang Fei stood still, wearing her white mask, and gazing at everyone.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go Fang Fei! We need to hurry! That piece of white fish stone seems to be sealing this ce. Removing it might cause something to happen!¡± Wei Dong anxiously called out to hispanions.

    Mu Yiran looked at Fang Fei: ¡°You can¡¯t leave?¡±

    Fang Fei remained silent and took out a knife from her cotton robe. ¡°In this world, you can only take off a Shaman¡¯s mask once. After you¡¯ve worn it the second time, you can no longer take it off. The other me has already worn the mask. This is my second time.¡±

    Wei Dong was so anxious that his voice was bing hoarse. ¡°Then just leave with the mask on!¡± He said as he pulled Fang Fei towards the exit of the cave. However, as soon as Fang Fei touched the light at the cave¡¯s exit, she was forcefully pushed back inside.

    ¡°I can¡¯t leave. I¡¯ve transcended beyond the cycle of reincarnation. To leave, I must leave behind one of the Shaman¡¯s tokens,¡± Fang Fei pointed to her mask and the bracelet on her wrist.

    ¡°How do you leave it behind?¡± Ke Xun gazed at Fang Fei, determined to get her out even if he had to demolish this cave.

    ¡°Take it off by force,¡± Fang Fei looked at Ke Xun. ¡°The mask is too close to my brain, and I¡¯m afraid it might be dangerous. The bracelet is almost fused to my wrist and it¡¯s impossible to get it off. It has to be chopped off. Ke Xun, help me out here.¡±

    ¡°Wh-wh-wh-what¡­¡± Ke Xun suspected that he heard it wrong, and when he was about to ask again, he suddenly heard a scream.

    The scream came from Wei Dong.

    Fang Fei raised a knife with her right hand and chopped off her left hand, Blood gushed out in an instant.

    Fang Fei took a few breaths, her trembling voice filled with resolution: ¡°I don¡¯t owe them anything anymore. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The three men, including Mu Yiran, were left shocked by Fang Fei¡¯s fearless act. They quickly followed her out of the cave with their heads lowered¡­

    All of them reappeared in the familiar exhibition hall. Wei Dong went to check Fang Fei first: ¡°Are you okay? Are you okay?!¡±

    Fang Fei touched her face and felt it was fine. ¡°The mask is gone.¡±

    ¡°I mean your hand!¡±

    Fang Fei examined her left hand, which had turned purple. ¡°It seems like I can¡¯t move it.¡±

    Wei Dong grabbed Fang Fei¡¯s left hand. ¡°What should we do? We need to hurry to the hospital. I feel your hand is still warm, so it should be fine¡­ Ouch, aw aw aw¡­¡±

    Wei Dong felt a sudden force from Fang Fei¡¯s left hand, twisting his wrist as if in an arm wrestling. ¡°Look at the situation, I know you are strong¡­¡±

    ¡°I was just testing if I can still use this hand.¡±

    Cao Youning began to gradually wake up, but he felt extremely dizzy and showed signs of low blood sugar. He needed to be sent to the hospital immediately.

    Shao Ling¡¯s conditions were somewhat better, aside from his paleplexion, he didn¡¯t seem to have any other issues.

    ¡°Are you okay there?¡± Luo Bu asked.

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the¡­the ce where you choose to end things¡­where was that?¡± Luo Bu looked at Shao Ling but couldn¡¯t tell where he might be most vulnerable at that moment.

    ¡°Not telling you.¡± Shao Ling stretched his shoulders. ¡°By the way, where¡¯s Koharu?¡±

    Luo Bu slowly picked up his pure white electric scooter. ¡°It¡¯s here, my mythical creature is here¡­ From now on, I¡¯ll just hold it and won¡¯t step on it anymore¡­¡±

    Although everyone felt lucky to have survived their ordeal, thinking about their fourpanions who remained trapped in the drawing left them feeling particrly ufortable.

    Mu Yiran and Ke Xun stood in front of this drawing, observing the subtly changing content. It was still the same house, but now there were windows, and shadows of people could be seen through them¡ªtwo young men and two young women.

    One of the young women was reading a book, while the other held a small bottle up to her nose, sniffing it. The two young men were both holding cameras and looking for angles to take pictures, with one capturing the woman reading, and the other aiming his lens out of the window, seemingly trying to capture whaty beyond the drawing.

    ¡°They¡¯re each doing their own things.¡± Ke Xun heard Mu Yiran say.

    Ke Xun said nothing and took a picture of this drawing with his phone.

    ¡°Is yourpanion there okay? He looks like he got sick.¡± the museum administrator walked in and asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s fine, just low blood sugar,¡± replied Wei Dong.

    ¡°I think it might be due to the recent renovation in this exhibition hall. The smell hasn¡¯tpletely dissipated yet. I hope it¡¯s not formaldehyde poisoning. I advise you all to head out first. We¡¯ll temporarily close this exhibition hall.¡± the administrator said.

    No one said anything, as there was nothing they would miss about this exhibition hall. They left the hall together.

    ¡°Brother Qin and Haowen Er are taking Xiao Cao to the hospital. We should go to the hospital too.¡± Wei Dong looked at the message Zhu Haowen sent to him.

    ¡°I should go as well, to check on my hand,¡± Fang Fei nced at her purplish left hand.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to check. Your arm is almost like Astro Boy¡¯s iron arm¡­¡± Wei Dong held his own arm and looked at Fang Fei with a tilted head.

 Chapter 251: Eating Dumplings

    <h4>Chapter 251: Eating Dumplings</h4>

    Fang Fei¡¯s hand was mostly fine, and Shao Ling¡¯s condition was also optimistic.

    Cao Youning needed to stay in the hospital for a day. Qin Ci voluntarily stayed to apany him, while the others went home.

    Everyone still left by train, but their mood waspletely different from when they came.

    This time, Luo Bu apanied them, but he spoke less. He held his electric scooter, gazing at the scenery outside the window, and only spoke after a long silence. ¡°I feel it¡¯s getting harder. This time, our fate waspletely in the hands of another group of people. We had no control.¡±

    Fang Fei stretched her left wrist. The purple color was gradually fading, and the pain was easing. ¡°And we¡¯re forced to do role ying. We had no control over that either.¡±

    There were very few people in the train cabin at the moment. The few of them sat together, so their conversation couldn¡¯t be overheard.

    Shao Ling had been resting with his eyes closed and now he opened his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m thinking, can we filter out useful information from the experiences we¡¯ve had in each painting? If webine these pieces of information together, could they be rted to important clues regarding ¡®entering the paintings¡¯ itself?¡±

    ¡°But what information can be considered useful?¡± Wei Dong asked. ¡°Should we filter out a main theme for each painting? Like in ¡®Inn¡¯, time is the main theme?¡±

    ¡°Then what about ¡®Burning Rhinoceros at Sea¡¯? Is the main theme the illusions, or our emotions?¡± Luo Bu also felt that it was difficult to figure out this main theme.

    Mu Yiran was looking up information on hisptop. ¡°As a photographer, Bi Di has always been dedicated to recording historicalndscapes through photographs. He was especially interested in historical remains.¡±

    ¡°No wonder, the Lantern Inn looked neither modern and ancient¡­¡±? Luo Bu said.

    ¡°When Bi Di was 13, he won a city-level photography award. During summer vacation, he visited his uncle who was an archaeologist and took some valuable photos of fish fossils in the area. It was precisely these photos of fish fossils that won him the award,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes fixed on theputer screen. ¡°It was also because of this award-winning experience that Bi Di was determined to be a photographer.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why his signature was on those white fish stones?¡± Luo Bu listened to this new information,bined with the various hardships in the paintings, and suddenly felt somewhat defeated, even ridiculous.

    It was just a photographer¡¯s bizarre idea, yet it formed an unbreakable world. Any twisted and unrealistic scenarios could exist as a matter of course, and all who entered the paintings were imprisoned, forced to follow his pace to be able to move forward.

    ¡°After Bi Di became terminally ill, he was unwilling to ept it because he was preparing for a very important photography exhibition.¡± Mu Yiran said, ¡°Some of his works before his death were rted to time, as if he really wanted to make time linger a little longer.¡±

    This coincided with some of the things said by Mai Peng earlier. Bi Di had ambitious aspirations for photography, so when his body copsed, he became extremely desperate, hence he came up with this ¡°absolute fair concept¡± of time cycle.

    ¡°Is this a coordinate map?¡± Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran¡¯sputer screen. ¡°With this painting, we have twoplete letters, ¡®TN.¡¯ Is this really an abbreviation of some name?¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s an abbreviation for ¡®TNND.''¡± Wei Dong said with a serious face.

    Everyoneughed, but in thatughter, there was an indelible sadness.

    ¡°Let¡¯s use all the time we can. We must find a way to figure out the painting in the next art museum. Although the painting instigator has done everything possible to keep us in the dark, it seems that there is another force opposing them.¡± Shao Ling seemed to have learned a lot from this painting, such as ¡°let¡¯s use all the time we can¡± ¡ª ¡°In any case, we have to try. It would be fine even if we only just figure out the theme of the exhibition hall.¡±

    Everyone nodded in agreement, and the next step was to divide the work to investigate the situation of the next art museum, trying to learn as much as possible about those damned paintings.

    Qin Ci¡¯s call came to Ke Xun¡¯s phone. Ke Xun¡¯s expression was somewhat strange as he answered, ¡°You mean, he left the hospital early? And he didn¡¯t say goodbye to you? Oh, he left a message on WeChat.¡±

    At this moment, all their phones simultaneously rang, and they opened the chat group ¡°People Who Are Going Into Painting Theory¡± to find a new member had joined ¡ª Gazing At The World.

    In the group, Gazing At The World left a long message¡ª

    ¡°Thanks to everyone for never leaving my side, especially thanks to Ke Xun and Brother Mu, who didn¡¯t abandon me even when it was a matter of life and death.

    Just now, at the hospital, I tried to contact Mai God and others. They¡¯re all still there. They said they got separated from me at the art museum and couldn¡¯t reach me by phone.

    You guys probably can¡¯t imagine. When I received their call, I heard Mai God, Sister Xi, Lu Heng, and Xiao Yu. I heard their voices. I was so grateful and yet desperate.

    They were worried about me, asking where I am right now.

    But who would have known, I am the sole survivor among the five of us! I can¡¯t believe it. The four of them will all leave me in a few days, leaving this beautiful world!

    I¡¯ve made up my mind. I won¡¯t let them leave with regrets! I¡¯ll go with them to a ce we¡¯ve always wanted to visit, the five of us together, with our cameras, capturing thendscapes we¡¯ve most longed for! No regrets in this life!

    I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t travel with you all because there are more important people who need mypany.

    Please forgive my stubbornness and cowardice.

    Wish you all good luck!¡±

    Wei Dong was thinking of saying something but found that Cao Youning had already left the group.

    For everyone, the only means of contact with these people was Cao Youning¡¯s WeChat, and now it waspletely cut off.

    Cao Youning¡¯s departure made everyone¡¯s mood even heavier.

    ¡°Everyone has the right to choose their own way to leave, maybe this is the best for him,¡± Shao Ling said.

    ¡°So, that means we are still 8 people, and in the next painting, we will wee 5 new people,¡± Wei Dong scratched his head, ¡°I thought thebination this time was the best. They did so well, a hundred times better than I was at the beginning. Sigh¡­ this damn painting.¡±

    The atmosphere in the car was a bit gloomy. Everyone divided the tasks for researching information, and booked tickets in advance to go to City C. The next art museum was in this city.

    When they arrived at their destination, City B, the weather suddenly seemed much colder. They felt the coolness on their faces, and only then did they notice snowkes falling from the sky.

    This kind of weather once again coincided with the world inside the painting.

    Fang Fei stamped her slightly cold feet and said, ¡°Whenever it snows, I crave dumplings.¡± It was as if she was deliberately trying to lighten the mood, which was quite hard for the usually reserved Fang Fei.

    ¡°That¡¯s easy. Come to my ce and let¡¯s make dumplings!¡± Ke Xun made a generous invitation.

    Everyone looked at each other and confirmed that they all had the time.

    Only Luo Bu hesitated, ¡°Um¡­Brother, aren¡¯t you and my brother-inw going to spend some private couple time together?¡±

    ¡°No matter how many rotations Earth makes, the two of us are forever a couple.¡± Ke Xun replied with a slight smile.

    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s go eat dumplings! My favorite is radish withmb fillings! Eating them in winter helps ward off the cold. How about you guys?¡± Luo Bu hugged his Koharu scooter and sneezed.

    ¡°You¡¯re called Radish and you still eat radish filling?¡± Wei Dong teased, ¡°Back in our ss, there was a girl named Yu Lan who never ate sliced yn and there was a guy surnamed Niu who was born in the Year of the Ox and he never ate beef!¡±

    ¡°Then how about you, Brother Dong, do you eat winter melon?¡± Luo Bu teased back.

    ¡°They are not the same ¡®Dong¡¯~¡± Wei Dong nced at Fang Fei. ¡°What filling do you like? I¡¯ll buy it when we get there!¡±

    Fang Fei replied, ¡°I like the Sanxian fillings, chives, shrimp, and wood ears.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I love this filling too~¡± Wei Dong smiled. ¡°How about you two? Do you guys eat dumplings?¡±

    Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing tranted novels from the original source at [  ]

    Zhu Haowen and Shao Ling: ¡­

    Shao Ling: ¡°I like vegetarian fillings, like zhini and egg or carrot and egg.¡±

    Zhu Haowen: ¡°I like meat fillings,mb with scallions or pork with scallions or beef with scallions are all fine.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have a lot of people and yet so many different preferences¡± Wei Dong looked at Mu Yiran and Ke Xun standing together. ¡°Ke Er likes the ssic pork and cabbage, right? And what about Boss Mu?¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Same.¡±

    Ke Xun grinned, ¡°It¡¯s really fate, even our tastes match.¡±

    ¡°Extra ginger?¡± Wei Dong asked reluctantly.

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Two drops of mustard oil in the vinegar for dipping?¡± Wei Dong asked further, ¡°I still don¡¯t believe it, such a weird way of eating¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran: ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°Oh my oh my. It¡¯s a match made in heaven.¡±

    So, they all went to Ke Xun¡¯s home in City Z and bought various ingredients before heading back to make dumplings.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep it simple. There are too many types of fillings. Let¡¯s just separate them into meat and vegetarian,¡± Fang Fei suggested as she watched Ke Xun chop chives.

    ¡°No, no. Everyone must have the dumplings that they like. We can¡¯t be careless about this,¡± Ke Xun said with a smile. ¡°Brother Qin even ordered some flounder filling¡­¡±

    Luo Bu couldn¡¯t find ways to help out at all. He was just thinking of pulling Zhu Haowen aside to y some games, but he saw Zhu Haowen kneading the dough. Although his movements were somewhat clumsy, he eventually got the dough together, and after some kneading, it actually started to look like what it was supposed to be.

    When Luo Bu noticed that Mu Yiran was also peeling shrimp nearby, he voluntarily joined in to wrap the dumplings: ¡°Being together like this with everyone feels just like a family, even closer than rtives,¡±

    ¡°Rtives, those are sometimes the most unnecessary people,¡± Fang Fei shrugged as she beat eggs.

    ¡°We¡¯ve all read each other¡¯sst words, who else could have a bond like ours?¡± Wei Dong energetically chopped up napa. ¡°Is President Shao crying?¡±

    ¡°Leave me alone, I¡¯m chopping onions¡­¡± Shao Ling wiped his tears and turned his head away, sneezing twice.

    ¡°What kind of conspiracy do you think will be in the next painting? We¡¯ve covered literature, religion, history, and even animal protection. This time, we got to experience time. What¡¯s next? Any guesses on what the painting instigator will challenge us with next?¡± Wei Dong started squeezing water from the napa.

    ¡°Now we¡¯ve done time, maybe it¡¯ll be space?¡± Luo Bu boldly spected.

    ¡°Speaking of that, are you bringing Koharu next time? I¡¯m really curious about what Koharu will turn into in the next painting,¡± Wei Dong asked earnestly.

    ¡°I can¡¯t bear to part with it. Koharu is fine the way she is,¡± Radish grated some radish, almost grating his hand, ¡°As long as she stays outside the painting, that¡¯s good. It would be troublesome if she couldn¡¯te out.¡±

    There was some silence among the group. ¡°As long as she stays outside the painting¡±, that really was some big heartfelt truth.

    ¡°Just checked the weather forecast,¡± Ke Xun changed the topic, ¡°There will be heavy snow in City C in theing days, so make sure to dress warmly and avoid getting cold! We don¡¯t know what the situation will be like inside the painting, so let¡¯s be well-prepared.¡±

    ¡°Haowen Er, what are you doing?¡± Wei Dong suddenly yelled out, ¡°Why did you ferment the dough? We¡¯re eating dumplings not buns!¡±

    ¡°I see my mom add yeast into it every time¡­¡± Zhu Haowen appeared quite innocent.

 Chapter 252: Impending Winter

    Chapter 252: Impending Winter

    A cold breeze gently slipped into my cor.

    The summer sneaked away without a sound. Fq geD

    The days rushed by, filling me with a myriad of emotions.

    My thoughts always returning to that vivid scenery.

    Following the wind that blew gently, you stepped into my heart.

    In an instant transformed my entire life. 0dVNpw

    No matter how much sincerity I pour forth, I can never truly measure it.

    But theres no need to be frightened as the wind and rain move in

    Shao Ling watched speechlessly as Ke Xun, Wei Dong, and Luo Bu, far in the distance on the snowynd, bathed in the sunlight, singing loudly, and running wild in the cold wind.

    The Impending Winter Art Museum, just from the name, one could tell it was a newly established gallery that was built just a few years ago. It was situated in a ce of profound poetic beauty in City C. Of course, if one were to visit in autumn, one would enjoy the splendid sights of golden gingko leaves and crimson maple trees. However, it was the middle of winter right now. It was either the gnarled, bare branches of trees or the vast expanse of white snow everywhere. NLmn0C

    The art museum was nestled deep within thisndscape of white snow and ck branches.

    The snow on the ground was thick enough to cover the feet. Despite the clear and sunny morning, there was no sign that it was going to melt anytime soon.

    It was early in the day, just around 8 AM, and there were no visitors to the area yet. The chaotic footprints in the snow all came from the three idiots in the distance.

    These three built three robust-looking snowmen, but for some peculiar thoughts they had, they were now all sitting on top of these snowmen, shouting out Cantonese songs with a Lao suburban ent at the top of their lungs. rJwAnN

    Its as if theyre celebrating the end of the world or releasing their pent-up emotions before death.

    Whats thisa doomsday carnival? Releasing pressure before death?

    Shao Ling walked over steadily with a look of disapproval.

    Let it blow, let the wind blow. Wipe away, the shining tears in your eye FXrMe4

 Chapter 253: Abstract

    Chapter 253: Abstract

    Based on the research they conducted about the Impending Winter Art Museum, it was noted that the gallery mainly disyed the works of rtively unknown artists. There was, however, one masterpiece by a renowned artist valued at 18 million yuan, a hyper-realistic portrait.

    In addition to this, there were two rtively famous pieces, one depicting a still life of fruits and the other showcasing flowers. gf0Nap

    As for the other artworks, they spanned various styles, including ssicalndscapes and futuristic fantasies.

    Everyone had done in-depth studies about artworks they could find information on. However, considering the unpredictable nature of these paintings, it was highly likely that they would end up entering a new painting that would mysteriously emerge mid-journey for various reasons.

    But when the inexplicable light shone on the painting they were about to enter this time, the veteran members were surprised. This time, the painting was one of the existing exhibits in the museum. They had also previously studied its content and its creator:

    <em>Schrodingers Cat</em> by Chen Shi. erNaIv

    However, this did not bring a sense offort or joy to them, because this painting was quite hard to describe.

    After the guiding light that led them into the painting gradually disappeared, they found themselves in a room with white walls on all sides and above and below.

    There were no doors or windows in this room, as if it was apletely sealed white box. The six white walls are bare. Despite theck of any light source, the room was brilliantly illuminated from within.

    Everyone stood in the center of this box, looking at each other in silence. No one spoke for a long time. xNSMX

    Schrdingers cat, when sealed in a box, was simultaneously alive and dead.

    This was a concept that Mu Yiran had exined to the less knowledgeable members while they were researching information about this painting.

 Chapter 254: The Newbiesâ€™ Demeanor

    Chapter 254: The Newbies¡¯ Demeanor

    Qin Ci finished his exnation, but instead of the expected barrage of questions, angry outbursts, or fearful responses that neers typically had, the two handsome individuals remained surprisingly calm. They even smiled and nodded, actively expressing that they understood.

    Everyone: ? pFclbg

    Qin Ci began to doubt whether what he said was just a fairy tale. In a cautious tone, he reiterated with a serious face, Please, both of you, believe that everything Ive said is real. This concerns life and death, so we cant afford to be careless.

    Yes, understood. The two handsome individuals continued to nod and smile.

    Everyone: ??

    Qin Ci wasnt sure what else to say. It seemed like these two individuals werent taking the situation seriously. So, he could only proceed with the next step. Well, lets get to know each other first. Uj8Xgv

    As he spoke, he introduced the names of the veteran members and then looked towards the two.

    The pretty woman was very sociable, her gaze sweeping over everyone as she spoke with a smile: Hello, everyone, Im Dong Yao. Im delighted to be here and share this unforgettable and exciting seven days with all of you. I hope we can cooperate happily in the future!

    Everyone: ???

    The man spoke right after, with a suave and pleasant voice, Hello, everyone, Im Qi Muhuan. Please take good care of me, big brothers and sistersand little brothers. kbvBJ

    Everyone: ?!?!

    Whats going on Ke Xun turned to look at Mu Yiran, Why are they so excited?

    Mu Yiran was about to respond when he heard Wei Dong talking in a low voice next to him: This Dong Yao I feel like Ive seen her somewhere before. She seems like an actress?

    Brother Dong, youre right, Luo Bu stealthily moved closer to them, She is an actress. I think she just recently rose to the B-list in the past year or two. When she wasnt famous yet, she tried to climb up by finding a wealthy sponsor. My dads business partner sponsored her for over a year, spending money to help her get into shows. Slowly, she made a name for herself. Recently, I heard she found an even more powerful big shot, whos more willing to spend money and use connections for her. Shes booked for all sorts of roles, big and small. 9hcOH6

    Thats right, its her.  Wei Dong remembered too now,  Ive seen her in an 18+ film. No wonder she looks familiar.

    Ke Xun:

    Luo Bu: Before she became famous, she was all about selling her looks and showing her body.

    Wei Dong: And this Qi Muhuan guy, I think hes a rtively well-known new young idol thats gained poprity recently. hpBJS5

 Chapter 255: Schrodingerâ€™s Cat

    Chapter 255: Schrodinger¡¯s Cat

    A ripple-like notification sound rang. One side of the room suddenly lit up like a huge screen.

    Wowthats amazing! Dong Yao and Qi Mu Huan praised with slight exaggeration. GTj6fN

    Among the three newbies who had been embroiled in emotional disputes, one of them let out a gasp, but now the veteran members were too engrossed to pay attention. Because at this moment, this massive screen was disying a series of text.

    Dad, I dont like school.

    Oh, why dont you like it?

    I dont like rote memorization, and I dont like teachers forcing us to answer questions ording to a set form. I think, as long as we can provide answers that can capture the core and the true essence of a problem, it should be enough. Just like what you told me, Dad, to seek the real and eliminate the false, to see the essence through the appearance. All those flowery and superficial things are meaningless burdens. Whether its a question in the humanities or the sciences, concise and refinednguage is the essence, and getting rid of the routines and cumbersome steps is practical. sHTd1z

    Youre absolutely right, my child.

    But schools and teachers dont teach us like this. In the humanities, they demand rote memorization, not a single word can be wrong. In the sciences, we have to answer ording to the forms and routines in the books. They dont allow you to take a different path. I believe that what we should really be learning in school is how to think correctly and flexibly about every question, not how to memorize every question and its answer in order to get a good grade.

    My child, the phenomenon youve mentioned is indeed a problem. Its a characteristic of exam-oriented education, and the overall environment makes it difficult to change in the short term

    But Dad, you always tell me not to curb my imagination and creativity, but I feel that my imagination and creativity are being stifled. OgtkhU

    I dont like school. The teachers often consider my ideas as weird and unruly. They always feel that I am deliberately going against them and causing trouble. My ssmates also thought that Im a weirdo and that my thought processes are not on the same wavelength.

    But I feel like theyre turning into a group of rigid robots who only know how to apply the forms and sentences from the textbooks verbatim to everything  I dont want to be like them. Dad. I feel like I cant breathe in this environment. I hate teachers stuffing me with those theorems, axioms, rules, and texts

    I cant take it anymore, Dad! I want to die. I dont like them, I dont like this. Im too depressed, I want to break free, I want to leave here!

    No! No Son Son, be good. Open your eyes, son, look at Dad You havent left Dad, have you? You must still be here, son. Wait for Dad, son. Dad is going to find you and read with you, y with you, explore fantastical ideas with you Dad will go find you right now 9jDL2V

    Below these lines of text, there were several lines of handwritten text that exuded chaotic emotions:

 Chapter 256: Words and Language

    Chapter 256: Words and Language

    The dice spun rapidly on the screen, making it difficult to discern which side was showing, but it didnt take long to spin,sting just over ten seconds. Then it gradually came to a halt.

    The side facing up showed 2. ingKyI

    The senior members held their breath, attentively surveying every corner of the room. Suddenly, a wave-like sound echoed, and the original text on the big screen disappeared, reced by a new string of words.

    Dad, I really dislike the teachers forcing us to memorize every word of those texts. Isnt it enough to understand the core concept? Isnt it fine as long as I understand the meaning? Why do I have to memorize them in such a rigid manner?

    As for those text, I think whats important is learning how to structure an article, how to be logically rigorous, how to be bnced in terms of details, how to express things I want to express clearly,prehensively, fluently, and with reason, rather than memorizingrge passages word for word and getting penalized for missing even a single irrelevant word. I dont understand the purpose of this.

    I want to appreciate the power of thought and the beauty ofnguage, using the imagination and creativity of others to inspire my own, instead of simply just copying others. Testing our memory with someone elses words to evaluate our learning ability and intellectual merit, isnt that quite strange? hOk5Qr

    After these paragraphs appeared, they gradually disappeared, reced by new words. Several bold characters with coarse strokes appeared silently on the lifeless white screen:

    Language World<ol><li>  Topic: Within a set time, everyone must engage inmunication as required.</li><li>  Requirements:</li><li>  There must not be any void ofnguage every 30 seconds.</li><li>  It is not permitted to consecutively utter 5 homophones or homonyms.</li><li>  It is not permitted to merely open the mouth without uttering sounds.</li><li>  It is not permitted to repeat someone elsesnguage, to have repetitive sentence structures, nor to recite strings of numbers.</li><li>  It is not permitted to use a foreignnguage. Dialects will be recognized as Mandarin. Written textmunication is prohibited.</li></ol>

    Ktf cewyfgr, lc ktlmt 180 rfmbcvr vlrqijsfv, kfgf mbcrajcais vfmgfjrlcu lc j mbecavbkc.

    Qbk, ktja vbfr atlr wfjc? P vbca ecvfgrajcv. Qtja jgf kf reqqbrfv ab vb? Gbcu Tjb rffwfv ab yf vfilyfgjafis vlrqijslcu j rfcrf bo qjclm bc tfg ojmf, ktlmt jqqfjgfv df fzjuufgjafv. 8hYkJG

    Dea ja atlr wbwfca, cb bcf qjlv jaafcalbc ab tfg. Ktf rbifwc nblmf bo Ze Tlgjc gjcu bea. Llr abcf kjr cba ibev yea mifjgis gfjmtfv fnfgsbcfr fjgr: Kb mea j ibcu rabgs rtbga, yjrfv bc ktja Jtfcu Vtlr rbc tjv rjlv jcv atf abqlmr gfdelgfwfca, rffwr atja atlr afra lr jybea atf glubg bo ijcuejuf. Snfgsbcf, gfwfwyfg cba ab qjclm. Gbca atlcx jybea jcsatlcu lggfifnjca. Mbmer bc ktja sbe kjca ab rjs jcv xffq sbeg tfjv mjiw. Rbk, fnfgsbcf qifjrf  vbkc. alcu lr yfaafg atjc rajcvlcu, mjc gfvemf jczlfas. P jvnlrf fnfgsbcf ab wlclwlhf qtsrlmji wbnfwfcar ab jnblv vlragjmalcu batfgr jcv begrfinfr. Efwfwyfg, abb wjcs kbgvr mjc ifjv ab ojliegf. Po atfgfr cb kbgv mbeca gfdelgfwfca, rqfjx jr aif jr qbrrlyif. Po atfgf lr j gfdelgfwfca, atlcx yfobgf rqfjxlcu.

    The veteran members hurriedly sat down, facing the big screen. The three young people who had arrivedst, seemed a bit flustered. When they saw everyone sitting, they quickly followed suit. Dong Yao and Qi Muhan, on the other hand, walked a few steps forward and sat in front of everyone, closest to therge screen.

    As the 180-second countdown entered its final moments, new text appeared at the bottom of the screen:

    1. Participants take turns speaking. Each person must speak 200 words within three minutes. Among them, the words you, I, and he are not allowed. o1d 8v

    When the countdown reached 0, a small window appeared on the screen. It disyed Zhu Haowens face and, below it, two boxes with numbers. The left box showed a new 180-second countdown, currently counting, while the right one disyed 000.

    Zhu Haowen was taken aback for a moment, but quickly reacted and spoke: The countdown has now begun.

    The number in the right box instantly changed from 000 to 005.

    This indicated that he had spoken five words. V7k4HX

    Everyone understood the rules now. Just as Zhu Haowen was about to continue, Qi Muhuan, seated at the very front, interrupted with a smile, So thats what it is, I understand, its asking us to

    Ke Xun jumped up and hurried over to cover Qi Muhuans mouth, but it was toote. A small window on the left side of the screen popped up, showing Qi Muhuans face with a -20sbel above.

    Ke Xun was so angry that he wished he could knock out Qi Muhuan. Not only was he doing stupid things, but he also interrupted Zhu Haowen, but if Zhu Haowen did not speak within the next thirty seconds, it would deduct ten seconds. Furthermore, his interruption might disrupt Zhu Haowens train of thought.

    Qi Muhuan struggled beneath Ke Xuns grip. His eyes, visible beyond Ke Xuns palm, stared at him with a mixture of shock, anger, and disbelief, as if he was saying, What are you doing? Who do you think you are, daring to cover my mouth? Let go! l0 Cim

    Ke Xun certainly wouldnt release him now. If he let go, this kid would definitely open his mouth and talk. Ke Xun simply pressed him to the ground, using one hand to continue covering his mouth and the other to control his body to prevent any erratic movements.

    Meanwhile, Dong Yao, who was seated beside them, was stunned by the situation, and took a while to react. She was about to scream when Fang Fei, who was sitting behind her, suddenly rose to her feet and covered her mouth. Like Ke Xun, Fang Fei turned Dong Yaos face towards the ground and pressed her down.

    Fortunately, Zhu Haowen wasnt really affected. Within the three-minute timeframe, he managed to say 226 words without using the words you, I, or he.

    When the three-minute countdown reached 0, the small window changed from Zhu Haowens face to Qin Cis face, and the two numbers in the boxes reset to 180 and 000. 5w84 T

    The counters started up again, and this time it was Qin Cis turn to speak.

    For those who have not had their turn yet, think now about what to sayter, Qin Ci spoke slowly. The counting box jumped to 21. Consider reciting some technical terms, generally, that wont involve those three words. Also, Dong Yao and Qi Muhuan, please listen carefully, Qin Ci said, looking towards the two people still struggling on the ground while being pressed down. Dont interrupt while other people are speaking, and dont treat this as if filming some variety shows. Everything happening right now is real. Those who break the rules will die. Its a real death. Even if these two individuals dont want to believe it, please try to follow the instructions on the screen. This will not do any harm.

    Qin Ci quickly reached 200 words, and when the countdown reached zero, the small window switched to Shao Lings face.

    If afraid of making a mistake and breaking the rules, Shao Ling said calmly, then recite ancient poems. Most ancient poems rarely involve these three subject pronouns. But please note, do not recite the same poem twice. The requirement mentioned to not have repeated sentence structures should mean not reciting the same verse. Alternatively, one can list the names of a certain category of items, such as all fruits, vegetables, grains, everyday items, and so on. Also, Dong Yao and Qi Muhuan, it seems that there is a misunderstanding. This is not a TV variety show. One should realize that theres no working staff here that a production crew should have. Cameras, lighting, on-site sound recording, cue cards, and the like, there are none of them here. Take a moment to consider everything that has been told about the world inside the paintings. Reminding the two individuals again: it is all real. Not following the instructions will result in death. GHmSVN

    When the small window switched again, it was Luo Bus turn. Luo Bus voice trembled as he recited, Apples, oranges, bananas, cantaloupes, radishes, green beans, potatoes, durians

    Thanks to Shao Lings reminder, Luo Bu narrowly passed this round. The next one was Deng Lin, who, although not entirely convinced, followed the rules obediently: Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, argon, potassium, calcium

    Next was the girl with shoulder-length hair, who chose to recite ancient poems. There were moments when she recited incorrectly and forgot words. She was so nervous that her lips were trembling. She nced at a few veteran members helplessly, and her gaze happened to fall on Wei Dong, who was closest to her. Wei Dong took a moment to react, remembering himself when he first entered the first painting.

    All the confusion, helplessness, and fear seemed like just yesterday, but also as if they had all been left behind in yesterday. As for himself today, who knew if he had truly be brave or gradually grown numb? Sometimes he thought, if a person no longer could even sense fear, would that person be still considered a normal human, a person with flesh and blood and various emotions? B6gi8l

    Schrdingers cat was both dead and alive. So were they, the people trapped inside the paintings, like that cat, no longer truly living from the moment they entered the first painting?     But rather they were in a superposition of states where they were both dead and alive? And when observed by the evil force of the paintings, some died, and some survived.

    And before that moment of death, right before when they were observed, were they all just living dead?

    A wave of indescribable sadness washed over Wei Dong. When he received the panicked look from the girl with shoulder-length hair, he felt she was especially pitiful, and he also felt that he and his fellow buddies were just as pitiable as her.

    Wei Dong raised his hand, gave the girl a thumbs-up, and offered her a reassuring smile. lEg3PX

    This gesture, this expression, if it were done by Ke Xun, would certainly be more handsome, more infectious, moreforting. Wei Dong knew he was just an incredibly ordinary person and didnt seem to have the right to pity others. However, at this moment, he still wanted to do so. In this hopeless and endless despair, he would rather beforted to die or encouraged to live than be a living dead who had even lost the feeling of fear.

    The girl with shoulder-length hair was clever. She understood Wei Dongs intention. Making mistakes while reciting the poem and forgetting lines didnt matter. The thing that was being tested was not memorization skills nor knowledge of words, as long as she didnt vite the topics requirements, it counted as a correct answer.

    She rxed a bit and continued to recite ancient poems, skipping lines that she couldnt remember and reciting those she could. Finally, she managed to say 200 words.

    Next, it was Ke Xuns turn. uoq FA

 Chapter 257: You, I, He; At, This, That

    Chapter 257: You, I, He; At, This, That

    Listen, Ke Xun was still holding down Qi Muhuan, who struggled until he was exhausted, It will bethy turn soon. No matter what thou want to do or how angry thou are and want to hit someone, do not mention those three words specified on the screen. We have been warning thou. If thou dont believe it, the one to suffer will be thou.

    After warning Qi Muhuan again, Ke Xun raised his head and looked at hispanions. Me think the dice might be the key to this problem. If it can roll a 2, it can roll other numbers as well. Maybe the other numbers represent more of these challenges? If thats the case, when will it end? We should look for clues in the previous parts of the text. The phrase Does God y dice could be rted to this dice. Also, Cheng Shi kept mentioning about finding the son. Me believe this is a hint. Finding the son might lead to finding the signature? 8nsB2F

    After Ke Xun finished talking, the small window switched to Qi Muhuan.

    Ke Xun shook his head slightly and released Qi Muhuan. 20 seconds had already been deducted for breaking the rules, leaving him with only a 10-second period to speak. In other words, if he didnt speak within the next 10 seconds, he might not get another chance to speak ever.

    As soon as Ke Xun let go of him, Qi Muhuan struggled to get up from the ground. He stared at Ke Xun with wide eyes, filled with anger, shock, and disbelief. He gnashed his teeth and eximed, Whats wrong with you guys

    Beep An rm sound rang out in the room, and Qi Muhuan suddenly screamed. His upper and lower lips seemed to sprout countless fleshy fments between them, connecting the two lips and growing longer, thicker, and tighter until they firmly sealed his mouth. The fleshy growth became a single mass, covering his original lip color, turning the ce where his mouth used to be into a smooth, flesh-covered surface. His entire mouth disappeared from his face. jCvuDJ

    Qi Muhuan, in extreme panic, tried to use his hand to pry open his mouth, but he could only make muffled, miserable groans in his throat. He was so terrified that he rushed towards the wall of the room, seemingly attempting to escape, but there was no door on the wall. He ran frantically throughout the room, pounding the walls with all his might, even using his head to strike the walls, leaving a jarring ssh of blood on the walls in no time.

    Ke Xun chased after him, pinching his neck at a spot that could make him faint, causing him to temporarily lose consciousness. Then Ke Xun carried him back to the original spot and ced him on the ground.

    The small window on the screen had already switched to Fang Fei after the rm sounded. Fortunately, Qi Muhuans frantic running did not affect her. She had reached the end of her speech, and she looked down at Dong Yao, who was already in tears, and said, See what happened to Qi Muhuan just now? One final warning: all of this is real. Follow the instructions on the screen, do not say those three words. Dont believe it? Its fine. Qi Muhuan serves as an example.

    After saying this, she let go of the hand she had been using to cover Dong Yaos mouth. w8kOGc

    Dong Yao waspletely frightened. As soon as Fang Fei took her hand away, Qi Muhuan raised her own hand to cover her mouth. Her makeup was smeared, and her face turned into a mess of tears. However, she dared not make a loud sound and struggled to suppress her sobs in a low voice.

    Fortunately, it was not Dong Yao after Fang Fei, but the girl with long hair. The three newbies were terrified by what Qi Muhuan had just experienced. At first, they also screamed in fear, but quickly, they each covered their mouths.

    The girl with long hairs voice was trembling with fear, unable to form coherent words, let alone think about what she was going to say. She reached out in panic to grab Deng Lins hand for encouragement andfort. However, Deng Lin didnt have a chance to react. He was startled and even moved back when her hand reached towards him.

 Chapter 258: God Doesnâ€™t Play Dice?

    Chapter 258: God Doesn¡¯t y Dice?

    Everyone passed the second round of thenguage test. Of course, this everyone no longer included Qi Muhuan.

    Ke Xun tested his pulse and found that he was still alive. However, Ke Xun couldnt determine if sealing Qi Muhuans mouth was merely a punishment or if it would eventually lead to his death. Nevertheless, at this point, everyone was too preupied to be concerned about him. Because after the second round of the test, they quickly moved on to the third round. iB 7yW

    In this round, there were more restrictions on the words, adding the words not, and, and is.

    Everyones mental state was already stretched to the limit, even Mu Yiran and Shao Ling refrained from saying additional words. Every time they opened their mouths, they carefully considered their words. As for the others, they had already started reciting names of people.

    Despite this, Deng Lin was still deducted 10 seconds for viting the rules, because among the names he read, there was someone named Lu He

    After this, everyonested for several more rounds, words like have, of, now, want, to were also added to the restricted list. AiC5Qr

    As everyone ran out of names of people they were familiar with, they began reciting names from books, movies, TV shows, and even titles of books and animated series. The group struggled within the harsh constraints of the rules.

    Several more rounds passed, the girl with shoulder-length hair, the girl with long hair, Dong Yao, Luo Bu, and Wei Dong identally made mistakes and were deducted 10 seconds or even 20 seconds. Until eventually, Dong Yao, who had already been deducted 20 seconds, made another mistake and became the second person to receive punishment.

    Dong Yaos lips, like Qi Muhuans, were sealed tightly with fleshy fments, forming a lump of flesh on her face. Her exquisite makeup was washed away by her tears, creating a bizarre and grotesque appearance. Dong Yao cried bitterly and copsed on the ground, but everyone expressed their helplessness.

    The test continued, and this time, even Ke Xun, Zhu Haowen, Fang Fei, and even Qin Ci made errors or, rather, they struggled to think of suitable words and phrases as the avable vocabry dwindled. WOTFNA

    There were more than 100,000 Chinese words, but practical daily use only involved 5,000 to 7,000 characters. Coming up with different wordbinations within 10 to 30 seconds appeared easy but was quite challenging. This was especially true after extended periods of extreme tension, where their focus, concentration, and mental acuity inevitably waned.

    For the first time, they realized that usingnguage became such an arduous task under rigid and strict rule constraints.

    People often said thatnguage and writing were among the most beautiful creations of humanity.

 Chapter 263: Qinggong Water-Walking

    Chapter 263: Qinggong Water-Walking

    Ke Xun put on his clothes and furrowed his eyebrows in contemtion.

    There were already two methods, swimming across and floating across on ice. What other way could there be to cross the water? Unless he really would need to fly? What kind ofws allowed people to fly? Upward lift from spinning? This wasnt Doraemons Bamboo Copter. If machines for flying were needed, he would have to know the correspondingws. 3i62uc

    What other methods could there be?

    Time passed by  or, in this chaotic painting of distorted time, several hours might have passed already. Every next second could potentially be the end of the night here.

    Whenever he thought about this, Zhu Haowen felt frightened. He looked at Ke Xun, who was squatting by the pool lost in thought, and couldnt help but shout, Ke Xun, keep calm. Ill figure out a way!

    Ke Xun raised his eyes, looking over, his face showing no signs of anxiety. Instead, he even gave Zhu Haowen a dog-like smile, No rush, take your time thinking. Im also thinking of things. Ive even thought about getting across on a flying sword or using Iron Palm to walk on the water! 8j6J0t

    Seeing that he still had the mood to make jokes, Zhu Haowen also quieted his mind. Suddenly, a sh of inspiration crossed his mind, and he couldnt help blurting out, Iron Palm water-walking  Ive got an idea.

    What idea? Ke Xun heard it with his sharp ears and shouted over.

    Non-Newtonian fluids shear-thickening property! Zhu Haowen said.

    Ke Xun:  Y7sFjr

    Ke Xun:  What happened to Newton?

    Zhu Haowen looked at him and for some reason, felt like lifting up the corners of his mouth, Dont worry about that now. Just do as I say. If thew passes, open up the item box and request cornstarch.

    Ke Xun followed his instructions. Thew was approved, and he got cornstarch. Following Zhu Haowens instructions, he poured arge amount of it into the pool.

    The items provided in the item box had no quantity limits, and thanks to Ke Xuns superhuman stamina, he continued pouring cornstarch incessantly, something an ordinary person would have copsed doing from exhaustion. v89qOu

    While he was pouring, Ke Xun suddenly received a help request.

    Huh? Who could it be? Someone actually sent a help request to him.

    Ke Xun clicked on the light bulb icon and saw that the pop-up dialog box disyed Mu Yirans profile picture, with a text prompt beside it: [Profile Picture] has sent you a help request, ept or reject?<strong></strong>

    Ker Xun was startled and quickly clicked to ept. 75aibO

    Mu Yirans face appeared on the interface.

 Chapter 259: Orthodox and Classical

    Chapter 259: Orthodox and ssical

    Ke Xuns question suddenly plunged everyone into confusion. Trying to exin a supernatural event using scientific theories seemed incongruous, yet the question was profound and unsettling.

    If supernatural forces truly existed in this world, then was there any significance in scientific research? Was it possible that, as some scientists had once feared, if everything in the universe were genuinely random, unpredictable, or beyond the scope of naturalws, then science became apletely futile endeavor? kjPcKM

    People who pondered this couldnt help but shiver. Deng Lin clenched his teeth and said, No, although I cant exin everything Im witnessing, I still believe in science. Unexined phenomena dont necessarily mean theyre beyond the realm of nature. It might be that our knowledge is simply insufficient. Our current knowledge is minusculepared to the vastness of the universe. So, for things that are beyond our knowledge, they might be considered supernatural, but I believe that everything is part of the natural phenomena!

    Zhu Haowen nodded and exined, Your perspective, in a way, is simr to Einsteins viewpoint. The core problem of the debate between the two factions in the physicsmunity is right here.

    The orthodox faction, the ones who support randomness, believes that physical quantities in the microscopic world inherently contain a certain degree of randomness and can not be urately predicted. All measurement results are considered only probabilistic. The orthodox faction argues that if we cant predict even the quantum state of individual particles, how can we predict the macroscopic world?

    For instance, this world contains many unpredictable events, like the oue of a lottery draw, the winds speed and direction, tomorrows weather, and even the next roll of dice. Zzyv4k

    Einstein, on the other hand, believed that these phenomena arent truly random, rather, its because of our current limited knowledge. We have not acquired enough knowledge to be able to predict these oues.

    Take lottery draws for example, as if we know the forces acting on each point of a lottery ball during a draw and the airflows speed and distribution, we can predict the results of the lottery balls. Or if we grasp the movement of each air molecule, we can precisely determine the future weather.

    So, ording to Einstein, there isnt true randomness in the world. The idea of randomness results from ourck of knowledge and insufficient data.

    And the reason these phenomena appear random now is that we dont have enough knowledge to grasp them andck a sufficient amount of data to support them. Therefore, in Einsteins view, there is no true randomness in the world. The so-called randomness is merely a manifestation of insufficient knowledge caused by humans cognitive limitations. imx42

    So, you mean, Shao Ling turned to Zhu Haowen, that what we have experienced might not necessarily be supernatural forces but rather another type of scientific phenomenon existing in this world, one that humanity has not yet understood, along with the knowledge rted to it?

    I dont think so, Zhu Haowen replied calmly. The mechanical determinism, which Einsteins idea represented, gave rise to fatalism in some peoples interpretations. Fatalists believe that, since Einstein imed that everything in the universe, like machinery, follows certain rules and trajectories and the previous moment determines the next moment, it implies that the fate of every one of us has been predetermined. Everything is following a program scheduled in advance. Our life and death are also determined in advance. So, no matter how hard we try now, those who are destined to die will die? But I am not a fatalist. I dont believe in fate.

 Chapter 260: The World of Laws

    Chapter 260: The World of Laws

    The World of Laws<ol><li>  Topic: Reach the destination usingws.</li><li>  Requirements:</li></ol><ul><li><ol><li>Allws are true.</li><li>Applicable to any physical phenomenon.</li><li>No empirical evidence required, only imagination is needed.</li><li>Take turns rolling the dice to determine the number of steps forward.</li><li>Each person has only three opportunities to seek help from others, with a three-minute time limit each time. Each person has only three opportunities to ept those who seek help. One can refuse if they do not want to ept, and the seekers opportunity is considered used up. If the person sought for help is unable to help the seeker, both parties will be punished together.</li></ol></li></ul>

    What What does this mean?! Deng Lin panicked. These rules are so cryptic, I, I didnt understand them at all! 4p0qFE

    The girl with shoulder-length hair and the girl with long hair also look panicked.

    It mentioned groups in there; its likely that this time well be splitting up, Shao Ling said.

    The three chances for seeking help are important, Mu Yiran added. Although we dont know what will happen, everyone, remember that you must use these three chances carefully and do not seek help randomly. Choose people based on their expertise when asking for help.

    Then lets quickly introduce our areas of expertise that we are rtively familiar with for everyones reference, Shao Ling said. I can provide help rted to history and certain aspects of literature. HaWXFU

    Sports-rted things for me, Ke Xun added after a pause, and also food, fitness, and brawling.

    Everyone:

    Wei Dong: Fine arts for me. Also anime and movies.

    Everyone:  G48v53

    Luo Bu: For, for me, ga-games probablyand postpartum care for cats and dogs

    Everyone:

    Were these three really about to face a life-or-death quiz? Were they really not just a bunch of bored funny folks who brought snacks, drinks, and a pet dog to roam the streets?

 Chapter 261: Three Ways to Cross the Water

    Chapter 261: Three Ways to Cross the Water

    In the center of the interface, a picture of an open box appeared, followed by a line of text: After stating the correspondingw, you can take out items rted to thew here.

    The book icon requires stating thew, and the box icon requires stating thew first and then taking out the item, Ke Xun said. These two icons have mutually rted functions. It seems that thew and item need to be used together. BbxsUw

    While speaking, he clicked on the light bulb icon, and the avatars of the others appeared in the center of the interface, with a line of text above: Please choose the person you want to seek assistance from.

    Now its clear. Ke Xun closed the assistance interface and looked at Zhu Haowen. This is forcing us to use thews of physics to cross the water.

    And not without malice, Zhu Haowens face turned slightly cold. We have a total of three people. ording to the rules, one person can swim across, and the person who swims across should be the safest. Whoever swims across first, the remaining two people can only choose other methods. If they cant think of other ways, the oue is likely death. So, swimming has be the most sought-after method. If it were someone else, it would probably lead to a life-and-death dispute and fight right here.

    Hearing this, the girl with long hair took two steps back in fear, looking cautiously and anxiously at Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen. N6mR29

    Dont be afraid, Ke Xun smiled. We are not that kind of people. By the way, we still dont know your name?

    The girl with long hair answered softly, My name is He Tang.

    He Tang as in He Tang Yue Se, a nice name, Ke Xun said. What is your major?

    Music. He Tang rxed her tense nerves slightly, looked up at the tall and handsome guy in front of her. Although this person always had a mischievous look, for some reason, he also gave people a sense of security and trust. So, her emotions rxed a bit more. Unfortunately, my major cant really help out much. I was terrible at science in high school. IKNGTb

    No worries. Our group is luckily blessed with a STEM male god, Ke Xun said, looking at Zhu Haowen. Male god, its all up to you!

    Zhu Haowen: You have quite a few male gods.

    Ke Xun winked and smiled, Yiran has been promoted from my male god to my man. Currently, you are my only male god. Happy, right?

    Not happy at all. cyhi4z

    Zhu Haowen didnt want to pay attention to this idiot anymore and lowered his head in thought.

 Chapter 262: Ice

    Chapter 262: Ice

    Fortunately, the interface remained silent and stayed that way until He Tang swam to the other side.

    Can you hear us over there? Ke Xun shouted towards the other side. qCyriI

    Yes! He Tangs voice sounded farther than the actual distance they could see, very faint but still audible.

    Look into that hole toward the exit. Can you see anything? Ke Xun shouted.

    He Tang turned her head to nce into the terrifyingly dark hole and shivered a few times. She shook her head towards Ke Xun, I cant see anything, its too dark!

    Alright, then go change your clothes. Well turn around, and let us know when youre done. 4sLmhH

    He Tang took off her soaking wet undershirt, put on the outer coat that was wrapped in Ke Xuns waterproof jacket and called out to them.

    Ke Xun and Zhu Haowen turned around and exchanged a nce. Ke Xun said, Now lets try the method of freezing. Lets start.

    Zhu Haowen nodded, waiting for Ke Xun to operate. However, he saw Ke Xun looking at him and said, You do it, you do it. I dont know the specifics of thatw.

    Zhu Haowen was speechless, feeling that this guy must be thinking about something else. Ignoring it for the time being, he opened his own interface. The book icon popped up with a dialogue box saying: Please state the content of thew you want to apply. SBoDdG

    At standard atmospheric pressure, water freezes below zero degrees, Zhu Haowen said with uncertainty.

    A line of text appeared below the dialogue box: Law epted. Please go to the item box to choose the item you want to use.

    Zhu Haowen opened the box-shaped icon, and a dialogue box also appeared. It said: Please state the name of the item you want to use.

    Seeing Zhu Haowen taking no action, Ke Xun hurriedly asked, Whats wrong? He could see Zhu Haowens interface through his own. The interfaces of team members could be shared. s3SMam

    Zhu Haowen turned to him, We overlooked an important issue. Rome wasnt built in a day. Regardless of what item we use, making this pool of unknownpletely freeze would probably take a very long time. However, our time is limited, and the time flow in this painting is different from the real world. If time here is chaotic, then it might not be long before nighttime. If we cant get through the pool by then, death might be waiting for us.

    Then just make one piece of ice, Ke Xun said. We dont need to freeze the entire pool; we just need enough ice to hold one person. This person can sit on the ice and paddle across.

    Zhu Haowen couldnt help but admire Ke Xuns quick thinking. He then said to the dialogue box, Ice.

    A line of text appeared in the dialogue box: Ice is a type of transport. This vites the rules and is not allowed. Obpzn2

    Hey hey, ice is formed from freezing water. This is basically the same as using water. How is it a vition?! Ke Xun eximed in surprise. Moreover, this is entirely different from swimming. None of this goes against the requirements.

 Chapter 264: Teppanyaki

    Chapter 264: Teppanyaki

    Unaware of the situation, Ke Xun was still squatting there, spreading out his wet clothes one by one for drying. He said, We can take advantage of a loophole in the rules, right? Our clothes shouldnt be considered as items, right? After all, they are our own things, not items. We can wrap our own clothes around our feet, wrap them thick, run faster, and maybe we can run to the other side without injuries. This doesnt count as using items, right? Its using ourselves. This way, we need toe up with one less method. What do you think, Yiran?

    Mu Yiran: Hm. 5LoJMq

    Then we need another heat-insting item. We can get one person across using this item. Well think of thest methodter. We will eventuallye up with something, right? Ke Xun said.

    Mu Yiran: Hm.

    Ive got it! Ive figured it out! Ke Xun snapped his fingers. We let the person using the heat-insting item carry the third person on his back, and thats it! Hahaha, right?

    Mu Yiran: Hm. QEbfzu

    Qin Ci:  Master Mu, pleasee back to your senses.

    We better think of one or two more different ways, Master Mu finally returned to his senses. The three methods you mentioned may not all be allowed. First, we cannot be sure whether our clothes will be considered as part of ourselves and not as items, or will they be counted as a type of heat-insting item. Second, even if our clothes are considered as part of ourselves, then do we count as one entity together? If clothes andpanions are both considered as part of ourselves, then after we use clothes to go across, we cannot use the method of carrying apanion on our back. So its safer toe up with a few more ways.

    Makes sense. Ke Xun praised his boyfriend.

    With Xiao Mus analysis, the difficulty seems to be greater, Qin Ci said. If we must use differentws to get across the scorching iron te, besides running, the only way might be to fly over it. q4zDso

    Hard to say, Ke Xun said. In the previous round, we needed to use three ways to cross the pool. We also thought about flying, but if you want to fly, you need a machine to help you fly, right? As soon as machines are involved, you must state all thews involved in the operation of the machine. Even STEM male god Haowen couldnt handle this, so we might not

    Male god? Mu Yirans voice came down coldly.

    Ke Xun felt a chill down his neck and the survival instinct made him bite back his words desperately, I said STEM male guy, Yiran, you misheard. So, the flying method is hardly viable.

 Chapter 265: Regain the Initiative

    Chapter 265: Regain the Initiative

    Qin Ci chose a very thick wooden board. He sessfully crossed the iron te and reached the exit on the other side.

    On this side, Ke Xun wrapped his arm around Mu Yirans shoulder, brought his face close to his and kissed his cheek. I run faster than you, you admit that right? WrmpRh

    Mu Yiran understood what Ke Xun meant. Although the Leidenfrost effect had real-world examples, an untrained person might still have psychological barriers stepping on a scorching iron te barefoot. If they ran slow, it could be even more dangerous.

    Mu Yiran pinched Ke Xuns neck and said, Okay, you can use the Leidenfrost effect, but theres one condition: if wrapping clothes around your feet or piggybacking arent allowed, you cant ask to switch the Leidenfrost effect to me.

    Hey.. Ke Xun didnt expect Mu Yiran to y this card.

    He also understood Mu Yirans intention. If these two methods werent allowed, they would need toe up with a new one, but new ideas werent easy toe by. What if they couldnt think of one? What if the one they thought of still wasnt allowed? In that case, Mu Yiran would be the one in the most danger. i1PVDa

    Ke Xun didnt respond to Mu Yirans words and furrowed his brows in contemtion. Yiran, what if we use ice as a footpad? Does that work? Running over it quickly before it melts, wouldnt that work?

    Mu Yiran shook his head slightly, The requirement asks for different phases of matter. Solid, liquid, and gas are the three phases of matter. Old Qin already used the solid, and ice is also a solid. It wont be allowed. Dont think about it. Lets first try the existing methods.

    Saying this, he was about to take off his clothes, but Ke Xun stopped him, Your clothes are too heavy; use mine. Down jackets are lighter.

    Mu Yiran still took off a fewyers of his own clothes, Keep at least two for yourself; otherwise, youll get cold when youe out of the painting. gctXUL

    Ill make sure to bring more clothes next time and store them in the storage locker in the museum. Ke Xun said. Otherwise, who could bear getting stripped naked every time they entered the painting?

    The two of them worked together, wrapping all the clothes they were going to use around Mu Yirans feet. Then, Mu Yiran turned around and faced away from Ke Xun, saying, Get on.

    If you feel your feet burning halfway through, dont just tolerate it, Ke Xun reminded, I can use that effect halfway, and Ill carry you the rest of the way.

    Okay. Mu Yiran agreed. 7kj3Ds

    The two wasted no time. Ke Xun crawled onto Mu Yirans back and Mu Yiran decisively stepped onto the scorching iron te.

 Chapter 266: Wave-Particle Duality

    Chapter 266: Wave-Particle Duality

    I feel I need to learn some more about this quantum physics, Ke Xun sighed with his hands on his hips. I never expected that in a painting controlled by supernatural forces, we would be talking about science? Is this someedy show?

    The water on Mu Yirans body had dried. He put on his clothes again and pointed to the void above his head, Particles are the smallest and most basic units that make up matter. All matter isposed of particles. Some physicists believe that all microscopic particles exhibit wave-particle duality. For example, light has characteristics of both a wave and a particle. Qi4Ovp

    Ke Xun nodded, I understand this part.

    Regarding this, I must bring up the double-slit interference experiment then. Did you learn about it in school? Mu Yiran asked him.

    Ke Xun scratched his head, You know, I once scored an amazing 13 points on a physics exam. Those 13 points were all from guessing on multiple-choice questions I basically readics or slept through physics ss. Now thinking back, all I can remember about physics is the rosacea on the physics teachers nose

    Mu Yiran shook his head helplessly. He reached out to pinched Ke Xuns neck, and then rubbed his head, Light isposed of photons, which are also particles. JE C5T

    The double-slit interference experiment is where you ce a candle in front of a piece of paper A with a small hole. Behind paper A, there is another paper B with two parallel slits. Behind paper B, there is a curtain to be used as a screen.

    Light passes through the small hole in paper A, then through the two slits in paper B, and finally, it projects onto the screen. What shape do you think the light spot projected onto the screen will be?

    Ke Xun smiled, As soon as you asked this way, I knew the answer wouldnt be what I thought. But Ill answer based on what I thought  ording to my ignorant and bottom-tier students usual thinking, the light spots projected on the screen should be two long and narrow light columns like the slits on paper B.

    Light isposed of many light particles. Indeed, ording to the usual idea, a bunch of light particles passing through the slits should form two long and narrow light columns on the screen. Qin Ci interjected. Sj5Mzc

    Mu Yiran nodded and continued, However, what actually appears on the screen is a fence=like pattern, alternating between light and dark stripes. This kind of light pattern is caused by the superposition of different brightnesses of light. And this phenomenon is caused by waves constructive interference and destructive interference property. This is the double-slit interference phenomenon of light.

    This phenomenon and experiment precisely proved that light has both particle-like and wave-like attributesbecause waves exhibit constructive interference and destructive interference phenomenathis is what we call the wave-particle duality of light.

 Chapter 267: Matter and Consciousness

    Chapter 267: Matter and Consciousness

    Thats impossible. Qin Ci firmly denied, Our current physiological state is that of the living. There cannot be a state of both life and death.

    What does Cheng Shi intend to do by creating all this? Ke Xun pointed to the wave and particle-like patterns above their heads. U2DyS0

    Whether its the name of this painting or the wave-particle duality patterns of the particles shown in each room, it seems to point to the phenomenon of quantum superposition, Mu Yiran exined. In the field of physics, the equation used to describe this superposition of multiple indeterminate states is called the wave function.

    In simpler terms, you can think of the wave function as a list that outlines all possible states of a quantum superposition system. At the moment of measurement or observation, this wave function, representing multiple states, immediately copses into one specific state.

    The wave-particle duality of particles is a wave function, and Schrdingers Cat in the eyes of Cheng Shi is also considered a wave function. So, I believe the location of the signature must be rted to the wave function.

    Does that mean Ke Xun was about to speak when he received a help request. He quickly opened itcurrently, only Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen could still send requests for help. Whats wrong? Did you encounter any difficulties? rMZ5kY

    As Ke Xun asked, the other side was also asking him, Whats going on with you bunch? Are you facing any problems?

    It was Zhu Haowens voice.

    Ke Xun was taken aback, Ah, no, weve already cleared this level. How about you?

    The response from the other end seemed to carry a string of ellipses,  If you cleared the level, why havent youe out yet. Dpq X3

    Ke Xun: What about you all? Did you clear the level?

    Zhu Haowen: We passed, already outside.

    Ke Xun, Why you send a help request if you passed. You scared me. I thought something happened to your group.

    Zhu Haowen, Im the one whos scared. When are you alling out? rjOenU

    Ke Xun, Wereing out right now.

    After hanging up with Zhu Haowen, Ke Xun turned to Mu Yiran and Qin Ci, It seems like everyone has cleared this level. We need to hurry and get out to continue rolling the dice.

    The three of them didnt dy any longer and immediately exited to return to the room. Other groups had also gathered, and everyone was present.

    Ke Xun nced at the time on his phone; it was currently 11:32 at night. eda37

    This was usually the most dangerous time inside the painting.

 Chapter 268: Quantum Immortality

    Chapter 268: Quantum Immortality

    Ke Xun shared his thoughts with Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen. Even with his eyes closed, he could sense their silence, as if they were suddenly enlightened.

    You know, Zhu Haowen finally spoke with a somewhat peculiar tone, to mock the orthodox factions uncertainty principle, Schrdinger proposed the Schrdingers Cat theory. At that time, it indeed put the orthodox physicists in a difficult position because they couldnt exin the superposition state of life and death of the cat. tBVfsi

    This problem became a puzzle that countless physicists wanted to solve. It wasnt until a physicist named Everett came up with the Many-worlds Interpretation,monly known as parallel worlds.

    Using the double-slit experiment as an example, when a single electron is emitted, how does it simultaneously pass through both slits? The Many-worlds Interpretation suggests that when the electron passes through the double slits, two worlds with superimposed states are created. In one world, the electron goes through the left slit, and in the other world, the electron goes through the right slit.

    Thus, the wave function doesnt need to copse to randomly choose whether it goes through the left or right slit. Because there are multiple universes, in the world of Universe A, the electron goes through the left slit, while in Universe B, people observe the electron going through the right slit.

    So, this theory can be used to exin Schrdingers Cat. ording to Everett, the two cats, one alive and one dead in the box, both exist in the real world. Its just that they are in two parallel and different worlds, disying a superposition of states. LHAdfq

    Using this to exin Cheng Shis suicide, then it bes quite easy to understand. Cheng Shi treated himself as Schrdingers Cat. When he was alive, he lost his son, so he put himself in a state of superposition. At this point, parallel universes were created. The dead him existed in this universe, and the living him went to another universe to find his son, whos still alive there.

    Wait a minute, Ke Xun said, Cheng Shi died in the manner of Schrdingers Cat, but his son didnt. He jumped directly from the building. How does that superimpose?

    The principle is the same, Zhu Haowen exined, Rece Schrdingers Cat with a person, and the hammer with a gun. If a person shoots themselves, because the bullet isposed of particles with the property of wave functions, then there will always be a very, very small possibility that all the particles will copse into one particr statenamely, they all avoided the persons head, ensuring the person remains unharmed.

    Although the possibility of this situation is extremely minimal, due to the existence of the Many-worlds Interpretation, every universe disys one of the states of superposition. Then, in billions of parallel universes, there will always be one universe where all particles that make up the bullet avoided the persons head. yLBMnY

    The same goes for other methods of suicide, whether its jumping off a building, cutting wrists, poisoning, electrocution, or hanging. There will always be some parallel universe where the person is still alive. In a certain universe, the personmitting suicide can never die.

    This situation is called quantum immortality.

 Chapter 269: Menâ€™s Responsibility and Womenâ€™s Courage

    Chapter 269: Men¡¯s Responsibility and Women¡¯s Courage

    Anyway, everyone still decided to give it a try.

    After the veteran members discussed for some time and made some arrangements, Ke Xun opened his eyes. 3yjhwQ

    The dice rolled for a while and slowly came to a stop, showing a two.

    The countdown on Mu Yirans interface started.

    He selected the book ofws, and this time, he would be the one experimenting: The dualism of matter and consciousness.

    Law epted. Please go to the item box to choose the item you want to use. DegVUq

    Sure enough, when the resources were temporarily not used, other operations could be carried out.

    Mu Yiran looked at the item box, and said in a deep voice, Cheng Shis consciousness.

    Request approved.

    In that instant, everyone held their breathit worked? It actually worked? tuGnya

    Consciousness could indeed be used as an item! Cheng Shis consciousness could actually be obtained through the item box!

    But everyone quickly realized that they might have been too happy too soon.

    Because after the request to obtain the item was approved, there was no change in the surroundings.

    Consciousness is invisible. Even if Cheng Shis consciousness is around us, we cannot perceive it! Wei Dong realized. KxvclS

    Is there any way to make consciousness manifest? Luo Bu asked.

 Chapter 270: Consciousness Particles

    Chapter 270: Consciousness Particles

    Remember those conversations disyed on the big screen in the initial room between Cheng Shi and his son? Ke Xun said, Although Im not good at readingprehension, I can probably understand one meaning that Cheng Shis son tried to convey. Because when I was in school, I also had simr doubts, that is, why should the views of so-called experts, scientists, and professionals in books be considered certainly to be correct?

    At that time, I felt that unless there was a person who mastered all the knowledge in the entire universe, only such a persons views would be qualified to be regarded as real theorems and truths. yCd sp

    Its like the universe is a big watermelon, and humans live on the watermelon seeds. They know nothing about the fleshy part of the watermelon outside the seeds. So, we say the entire universe is just a watermelon seed, ck and hard. But in reality, there is the fleshy part of the watermelon in the universe, red, sandy, and sweet. However, humans have never seen it, so they define the essence of the universe as the watermelon seed, but in reality, the main part of the universe is the watermelon flesh, with a few watermelon seeds in between.

    So what I mean is, there are things beyond peoples cognition. People cant define them, cant describe them, or analyze them. Just like human consciousness, people cannot exin how it is born, so they cannot describe its essence. Unlike matter, which can be described using those particles and quantum things.

    So, just as people living on the watermelon seeds cannot exin the watermelon flesh, they cannot define the watermelon flesh using the ck and hard qualities that define watermelon seeds, because in the world of watermelon seeds, there are no properties like red, sandy, and sweet.

    So I wonder if watermelon seeds and watermelon flesh are analogous to matter and consciousness. People cannot exin the nature of consciousness, due to their limited cognition. Perhaps, when looked at from the macroscopic scale of the universe, consciousness is like the watermelon flesh. It can actually be measured and defined with various chemical elements, just that people have never recognized these elements, so they cannot define it. mNfi 0

    So, can we also assume that consciousness is actually another kind of matter, or element, made up of matter and elements that people have never discovered? Maybe hundreds or thousands of yearster, when technology has advanced to a certain level, people will discover that consciousness is actuallyposed of an element called consciousness particles. They could be smaller than those photons, quarks and what not, billions of times smaller, but can still be represented by quantum, bing the smallest quantum, and then being incorporated into the system of matter. In that case, can some of thews of quantum mechanics also be applied to consciousness?

    After Ke Xun finished speaking, he found that everyone was looking at him in silence. Unable to help himself, he scratched his head with a red face and said, Ahem, well I just randomly thought and said that. As a study cker, its not like I know all that monohydrogen dioxide stuff. Just treat it as me talking nonsense. Lets all brainstorm and continue thinking

    Luo Kang: for real? Monohydrogen dioxide? Brother, can I ask you about your best chemistry score?

    Ke Xun: Get lost, get lost. No point in asking about that! Be serious! Exert yourself! Hurry up and think! l7PJ W

    Luo Exert Himself Bu:

    A very imaginative idea. Mu Yirans voice, with a hint of almost imperceptible amusement, came from behind. Ke Xun turned around and huddled close. Although Mu Yiran had his eyes closed, it seemed as if he could see this guy wagging his tail and blinking his puppy eyes in front of him.

    The term consciousness particles is quite interesting, Mu Yiran continued. Currently, the smallest known particle of matter for humans is the quark, and before scientific technology reached a certain level, the smallest particles known to people were atoms, electrons, and protons. It wasnt until 1932 that neutrons were discovered, and after that, several hundred more particles were discovered one after another. So, how can we be sure that there isnt a particle smaller than a quark in the universe that humans have not yet measured? This particle could very well be the consciousness particle that constitutes the matter of consciousness.

 Chapter 271: The Last Problem

    Chapter 271: The Last Problem

    The rooms ceiling, like the previous two rooms, was a ck void with matters floating around that resembled both particles and waves. However, in front of them was not water or an iron te, but a massive canvas blocking the path to the exit.

    On the left side of the canvas, there were seven solid squares of red, yellow, green, blue, purple, ck, and white, each of the same size. In the middle of the canvas, there was a tray seemingly connected to a series ofplex mechanics below. The entire painting resembled a design diagram of some mechanicalbination, constructed entirely from lines. dONJmu

    Above the canvas, a line of text read: ce the heaviest color block on the tray to clear the level. cing it incorrectly will result in elimination.

    How can we know which color block is the heaviest? He Tang asked anxiously, as the countdown on the interface mercilessly disyed the passing seconds. They all look the same size to me! And theyre t, how can they have weight?

    Dont panic, Ke Xun reassured, patting her shoulder. Imagine this, this is just a t image. Theics we read are also t images, right? Yet, we can mentally visualize them as three-dimensional. Simrly, with this image, if you imagine them as three-dimensional, theyll all have weight.

    He Tang bit her lip, concentrating on distinguishing which of the seven colored blocks might appearrger. Meanwhile, Wei Dong reached out and tapped the ck block. The color block was like an icon on a phones touchscreen, ready to be moved once selected. oHt4NE

    Between a ck and white block of the same size, the ck one appears to be 1.8 times heavier than the white one, Wei Dong exined. Thats why safes are usually dark-colored. It adds a psychological weight and has certain anti-theft effects.

    Wei Dong was about to release his finger from the selected block when Ke Xun stopped him: Dont rush it. Drag out the time a bit more.

    Wei Dong understood and kept an eye on the countdown. He prepared to release it when the countdown reached thest five seconds.

    Thankfully you are here. Why did this crazy painting suddenly throw in a color-rted challenge? Ke Xun said. dDOY7c

    Whats the big deal? In the previous two challenges, one was rted to history, and the other was about physical health  it was so thrilling, Wei Dong replied.

    Oh? Ke Xun raised an eyebrow, then turned to He Tang and asked, What about the challenge you just passed?

    He Tang was pondering how these two were so easygoing in such a situation and still had time to chat. Hearing Ke Xuns question, she responded, In thest challenge, we dealt with a music-rted challenge. Fortunately, it was within my professional expertise, so we didnt encounter many obstacles.

    Ke Xun gave her a thumbs up. This girl probably yed a significant role in getting through thest challenge. mRJBZt

    Encouraged, He Tangs mood stabilized considerably.

    Ke Xun turned to Wei Dong and said, I understand now. All the challenges here are based on school subjects. The first major section was Chinese, and within this section, we had physics, chemistry, and physical health, and also history, music, and now art. Cheng Shi blended all the subjects his son studied at school into this painting.

    Thats a lot of resentment. As Wei Dong spoke, the countdown had entered the final five seconds. He took a deep breath and released his finger.

    The ck block fell onto the tray as if carrying immense weight. The entire canvas in front plummeted down, revealing a section of the pathway. It was only about ten or so meters long. At the far end, there was another upright canvas blocking the path. L9wRd1

 Chapter 272: Imagination is More Important Than Knowledge â€“ Einstein

    Chapter 272: Imagination is More Important Than Knowledge ¨C Einstein

    While everyone was taking time to calm down, Mu Yiran and Ke Xun once again looked at the Schrdingers Cat hanging on the wall.

    The painting remained the same as before entering. There were only some particle- and wave-like dots on a ck background. There was no sign of Qi Muhuan, Dong Yao, and Deng Lin, who remained in the painting. sFW5qv

    The arrangement of the dots on the painting has changedpared to before, Mu Yiran said, pointing to the upper right corner of the painting. Before entering the painting, I identally nced here and saw three particles arranged in a triangr shape. But now, it has be a disorderly distribution.

    Ke Xun suddenly realized, So, could it be that those three people are represented in particle form in the painting. So those three are actually in this painting, but just not in human form?

    Mu Yiran nodded slightly, That should be the case.

    Wei Dongs voice suddenly interrupted from the side, ssmate Ke, Ive nailed Newtons coffin lid shut for you. Nowe and exin why left foot stepping on the right foot can make you fly for real. t5Cdr3

    Ke Xun turned around and smiled with a wink, I told you that not understanding the question is a fatal mistake, you know. Do you remember the rules disyed on the big screen in the initial room? All scientific phenomena, theories, forms, and so on, and also any theoretically based hypotheses, logically consistent inferences, paradoxes,monly epted views, and well-known phenomena. Notice paradoxes,monly epted views, well-known phenomena. What does that indicate? As long as they are widely epted, it can be true in the painting.

    I get it now! Wei Dong suddenly understood. Left foot stepping on the right foot is just like the moves often used in those kung fu movies. Many people are familiar with it. Even though it contradicts thews of Uncle Newton, people still ept it because its portrayed that way in movies and TV shows. After all, it has some theoretical support, like leveraging force or something.

    Yeah,rade, you werent doing too well, Ke Xun patted his shoulder. Your brain power is too limited; even your hairline is not even willing to help you cover it.

    Get lost, hairline and brain have no blood rtion you know! Wei Dong said. y4Pp7b

    He Tangs emotions had already settled down. Hearing that, she also added, But Ke Xun, your imagination is also too wild. Left foot stepping on the right foot is probably something only you coulde up with. I was feeling so embarrassed when I was doing that motion.

    This is not too bad, Wu You chimed in with a nasal voice, My challenge in that level was: how to jump over a ten-meter-long pit without using any items. The sand in the pit was quicksand, and once you fell in, you would sink immediately. I thought Ke Xun, being a physical education major, might have a solution, so I asked him for help. Can you guess what idea he gave me?

    What idea? Zhu Haowen asked calmly.

    He told me to use the buttered catw! Wu You didnt know whether tough or cry. ok14 w

    Everyone:

 Chapter 273: Strength

    Chapter 273: Strength

    Ke Xun, Mu Yiran stood up and sat next to Ke Xun, extending his arm to hold him and cing one hand over his head. I know what youre worried about. Youre worried that this world is controlled by the consciousness of some force, and that this force happens to be the mastermind behind the paintings. In that case, all our resistance, all our struggles, might be in vain, and in the end, we all will inevitably face death.

    Mu Yiran gently rubbed Ke Xuns messy hair, his voice soft and soothing. Last night, after you fell asleep, I also gathered some information. I have a discovery that mightfort you. nPWToa

    The so-called quantum is a basic entity in which a physical quantity is divided to the point that it cannot be divided again. It is the smallest unit capable of exhibiting the characteristics of a substance or physical quantity. So why can it be divided? Because its energy is not continuous.

    And through research, it has been found that human consciousness, like matter, is not continuous either. Every 0.042 seconds, there is a tiny disconnection. In this way, our consciousness can be considered as units of quantized consciousness in intervals of 0.042 seconds.

    So, Ke Xun, perhaps the reality is indeed as you imagine. Consciousness is also a form of matter, and also a quantum phenomenon. Conscious particles arepletely different from particles like photons, electrons, and gravitons, but it doesnt mean its not a unique particle or substance.

    Maybe we cant exin why consciousness can have subjective agency while matter doesnt, but, Ke Xun, dont forget, as long as we are alive, our consciousness wont leave us. If the force behind the scenes is also a form of consciousness, then in a battle on the level of consciousness, we might not necessarily be weaker than it. fZA3gd

    Theres something you might have forgotten, but I remember it clearly. It was the third night after entering the painting Faith. You were alone in a tent and did not meet the conditions to avoid death. ording to the rules, you should have been chosen by Heishitian and died, but it observed your tent for a long time and ultimately did not choose you.

    Weter thought it was because you had the correct offering, purple jasmine, on you at that time. But now thinking about it, why did Heishitian linger on top of your tent for so long?

    At this point, Ke Xun turned his face around and blinked, Right, since I had the right offering, why didnt it quickly turn around and look for the other two who didnt meet the conditions?

    It might sound absurd. Mu Yiran smiled, Purple jasmine is an offering to the benevolent god. Its purpose at that time was to expel the malevolent god, hence the malevolent god couldnt harm you. But at the same time, your spiritual strength also emitted a messageyou dont believe in gods, and you would rather die than believe in them. 0PKXca

    However, this gods, besides the malevolent god, also includes the benevolent god. So, this powerful willpower simultaneously resisted both the malevolent and benevolent god, which was originally one entity. Along with the purple jasmines power of offering, your will matched the power of the malevolent god, but also restrained the power of the benevolent god.

    With the benevolent god restrained by you, the power of the malevolent god increased. Suddenly, a bug appeared on the top of your tentthis god, who embodies both benevolence and malevolence, was caught in this delicate bnce of wills. It couldnt leave nor stay and lingered outside your tent.

    Bringing up this matter now is just to make you understand, Ke Xun, powerful willpower can resist gods and demons. As long as our own will is strong, we might not necessarily be weaker than that mastermind behind the scenes. What kind of person is truly strong? Is it someone with limitless strength, steel muscles, and is unbeatable throughout the world? No, its not.

    Spiritual will represents the inner self. Inner strength is true strength. JaN47c

    Yiran Ke Xun turned around, hugging him and burying his head in his neck. He took a deep breath of the faint soap fragrance mixed with cedar. Yiran, with you by my side, Im not afraid of anything. Ill surely be that strong as what you hope me to be. Yiran, I dont want to be so passive anymore. Lets work together from now on. We couple will get rid of that sneaky thing that only knows how to hide behind the scenes!

    Mu Yiran gently curved his lips. He held the back of Ke Xuns neck to turn his face, and leaned in to kiss him.

    When Ke Xun was awakened by the notification sound of WeChat messages, his entire bodys muscles were still in a state of stiffness and soreness. It was difficult for him to even turn over in bed. z82RYO

    Opening his eyes and ncing around, there was no one next to him. He heard some slight noises from the kitchen.

    He opened his phone to check the  People Who Go Into Painting Theory group chat, and saw that messages were rapidly appearing.

 Chapter 274: Bigshot

    Chapter 274: Bigshot

    Ke Xun received all kinds of answers after collecting the connect-the-dots homework from everyone in the group chat.

    After all, with fourteen coordinate points, any connection was possible. 7zmpoM

    Members of the People Who Are Going Into Painting Theory group chat were in unprecedented confusion.

    Wenxin Company Shao Ling: It seems that the clues are even more chaotic now. This wont work; we need to find a new breakthrough.

    Corgi: President Shao, how is the essay contest organized by your literary tform? Have you found anything useful?

    Wenxin Company Shao Ling: We have received a huge number of submissions and need time to filter them. So far, we havent found any relevant information. AmtnNU

    Corgi: Brother Qin, what about your side?

    With Courage and Wit: I asked a few old ssmates to help me ask around, but I havent received any replies yet.

    Mooney: @With Courage and Wit, if you have old ssmates working in a psychiatric hospital, I think you can focus on asking them.

    With Courage and Wit: Okay, I know some. Ill contact them now. qwdpkW

    Corgi: Haowen, Dongzi, how is your progress with online searches?

    ZHW: Not looking good. Theres a mixture of real and fake information online, and there is too much information. However, I have posted on several major forums and blogs and created some fabricated stories, hoping to get information from thements.

    The Odes of Wei_A Fellow: I now hang out in supernatural event forums every day. As a result, the graphic designs I make for clients are all developing a supernatural theme. The owner of a horror-themed restaurant even wanted to hire me. [Today, I am still so charming.jpg]

    Corgi:  DAHK96

    Corgi: @Deep Sea Feish, @Ximen Worry-Free, @Little Radish Pulls White Rabbit, @Lotus Pond Serenade,dies,e on, tell me, what social connections do you have? Lets use them all.

    Little Radish Pulls White Rabbit: Brother, I am a boy! Look at me! [Selfie.jpg]

    Corgi:

 Chapter 275: Screening

    Chapter 275: Screening

    Mu Yiran ced his hand on Ke Xuns ankle and squeezed it for a while: Lets consider one scenario first. If the first painting that Qin Ci and I entered was thest painting entered by the previous group, then perhaps there is a way to investigate.

    What way? Ke Xun quickly asked. SubiJ8

    It may require Haowens help. Mu Yiran put down the teacup in his hand and dialed Zhu Haowens number.

    Can you hack into the surveince system of the art gallery? Mu Yiran asked straightforwardly.

    Ke Xun quickly sat up and leaned his ear over.

    Yes, its possible, Zhu Haowen on the other side replied in a monotone, as if answering a simple question like Can you climb to the third floor in one go? BlQUwd

    Time Art Gallery, the date is before March 13th of this year, you can go back about three months, Mu Yiran said, I need all the surveince videos inside the art gallery during this period.

    The premise is that the art gallery still retains the surveince videos from that time period. If they do, Ill give them to you by tomorrow morning at thetest, Zhu Haowen replied crisply.

    After hanging up, Mu Yiran said to Ke Xun: Maybe we can find some suspicious people from the surveince videos.

    Your head runs quick, Ke Xun praised him. WCePxQ

    The results may not be too optimistic, Mu Yiran said very cautiously. We cannot determine the extent to which the force behind the paintings can do. If it can erase or modify even the surveince videos, it will be even more difficult for us to make a breakthrough.

    Take one step at a time. If this path is blocked, we can take another path. Ke Xun was unusually optimistic. From the sixth point of your summary just now, the force behind the paintings wants to kill us, but it also wants to leave us a chance at survival. What is the purpose of doing this? Just to test our ability to pass the challenges? Whats the significance? I think, since the force behind the paintings can forcibly change a ce that was not originally meant to be an art gallery into an art gallery, it shows that it is a force with capability to think. So, setting up this painting event is definitely not to just purposelessly test us. The kind of set up that wants us to die and also wants us to live must have some meaning and purpose.

    Mu Yiran lowered his gaze in contemtion. Youre right. So, we need to analyze the meaning and purpose of this setup. In fact, the painting Schrdingers Cat gave me some inspiration.

 Chapter 276: Symbolism

    Chapter 276: Symbolism

    The light, which appeared after everything plunged into darkness, shone on a painting that had a dark tone. It depicted a decaying human hand emerging from dry soil, twisted and ferocious. Its bone-exposed fingers reaching upward towards the murky sky above.

    Even with just a hurried nce, everyone could sense the infinite sense of despair emanating from the entire painting. hZTbzd

    As the light faded, the first thing everyone felt was a rush of heat. Not far ahead was a cluster of standalone residential buildings, scattered within a radius of around ten miles. Behind the residential areay a dense and extensive forest.

    It should have been a vibrant and lively ce, but what everyone saw was an eerie silence.

    All the houses were tightly shut with doors and windows closed. Every inch of the houses was covered in dust, and the window ss was obscured by umted dust, making the interiors appear dark when looking from the outside, as if they were entrances to hell.

    Everyone observed in silence for a while until Luo Bu shivered and stammered, I feel like there might be something not so good in this painting oMvSEB

    Has anyone seen the title and the artist of this painting? Wu You also asked anxiously.

    The veteran members already had an unspoken understanding. Usually, the ones responsible for examining the visuals were the artist Wei Dong, the sharp-eyed Ke Xun, the rational and objective Zhu Haowen. Those in charge of examining the textual annotations were the ones involved in textual work, Shao Ling and the meticulous Qin Ci, while Luo Bu could just look wherever he could, and Mu Yiran was responsible for overseeing the overall painting.

    So after Wu You asked, Shao Ling and Qin Ci had already answered her:

    The title of the painting is Restart. K74OeT

    Artist is Abel.

    Wei Dong was puzzled, A foreign painting?

    Did the painting incident spread to other countries? Wu You was nervous, If so, how long will it take us to search for the clues, a scope of the entire world is too big

    Mu Yiran shook his head slightly, I have instructed my people and industry friends to keep an eye on developments in some foreign art galleries. So far, we have not found any signs of rted incidents. Its unclear if this painting is from the hands of a foreign painter. Even if it is, it may only be because the painting was exhibited in this art gallery that it gained the ability to create a world within the painting. In any case, this is not important for now. We should not be distracted now; the most important thing at the moment is to figure out how to exit the painting. GwAX3t

    Yiran is right, Ke Xun said, Restart, the meaning of starting everything over. Lets first look for clues from the title and the painting.

    Shao Ling looked at Mu Yiran, Have you ever heard of this painting and its artist?

    Mu Yiran sinctly uttered two words: Never heard.

    It seems that the title and the image may not be rted, Zhu Haowen continued with Ke Xuns topic, A decaying hand struggling to reach the sky may seem like a desperate fight for survival. Bbgdso

    But if the hand is decaying to that extent, the person should already be dead Luo Bu shivered.

 Chapter 277: Bloodstains

    Chapter 277: Bloodstains

    The young man named Xiao Kai was apparently more outgoing. He seemed to be unable to tolerate such silence, so he pulled Tian Yang aside and asked him in a low voice, Do you know those two people?

    Tian Yang nodded slightly. 5fa7TI

    You had grudges with them? Xiao Kai had already noticed that the expressions of these three individuals were not quite right.

    Tian Yang pursed his lips, looked up at him, and whispered, Dont ask anything for now. Ill tell you in detail after we leave here. And our rtionship dontdont let them know.

    Xiao Kai looked at him, then turned to look at Ke Xun and Wei Dong, then turned back to Tian Yang and lowered his voice even more, I understand, dont worry.

    Okay. Tian Yang seemed to have a lot of things on his mind and only responded with a faint voice. s4Ufti

    Fortunately, not much time had passed, and the white light finally lit up again. This time, a girl came in, her age not easy to determine. Although she was dressed quite inly and maturely, there was still a youthful student-like air about her, with a pair of round-framed sses perched on her nose.

    The girl looked shocked at everything in front of her, it took her a while to find her voice, This I I isekaied?

    No, you havent, Wu You looked at her with sympathy, Youve entered the world inside the painting.

    The girl was speechless for a while, turned to look behind her, found no way back or any doors, only deste soil. She turned back abruptly and said with a stiff expression: Inside inside the painting? How is that possible? This is impossible  this is unscientific  this, this doesnt make sense - SWKybv

    Whats your name? Wu You sighed.

    Gu Gu Qingqing

    Alright, now that everyone is here, Ill be brief, Qin Ci said, Everyone, please believe that everything you see in front of you, and everything you are about to hear, is real.

    Perhaps because he was used to exining  Qin Ci had mastered how to convey the most essential information in the most concisenguage, so it didnt take much time. While the three neers were still in a state of shock and incredulity, Qin Ci finished speaking. I5vKJA

    All of the above is true, Ke Xun took over expressionlessly. Whether you believe it or not, if you want to try to leave here alive, its best to cooperate with us. Time waits for no one; we act now.

    As he spoke, he reached out and took Mu Yirans hand and stepped forward.

    The veteran members followed suit with Xiao Kai and Tian Yang falling at the end.

 Chapter 278: Large Amount of Blood

    Chapter 278: Large Amount of Blood

    The room Ke Xun entered seemed to be a small living room, with only a sofa set and a wardrobe covered in thick dust.

    Walking to the side of the sofa, Ke Xun carefully examined it with his phones shlight. He saw that the sofa cover, which had lost its color due to age, still had wrinkles from being sat andid on. On the coffee table in front of the sofa were a teapot and several teacups, the bottoms of which were covered in dust and dead insects, and the sides of the cups were stained with tea marks. Ofbsxj

    Ke Xun opened the wardrobe and searched inside and out, only finding various bottles and jars. He even moved the sofa and checked the floor underneath, and finally used his phones shlight to inspect the ceiling and walls inch by inch.

    Coming out of the room, he saw that Zhu Haowen and Mu Yiran had also finished their inspections and returned to the hall. The three of them exchanged their findings.

    If we dont consider the bloodstain at the door and this trail of bloody footprints, the feeling this room gives me is just an ordinary living scene. Ke Xun said.

    I wonder what happened to bring this scene to an abrupt end, Mu Yiran added, As if all processes were suspended in an instant, leaving everything frozen in this moment. DSCfLY

    Whats bizarre is, Zhu Haowen said, In these living scenes, theres no discovery of any person, or rather human body. It feels like they have been erased from the picture. Of course, if we find something on the second floor, forget what I just said.

    So, shall we go upstairs? Ke Xun looked at the two, asking if they were ready.

    The terrifying trail of blood footprints came from the second floor.

    Lets go up, the two men said. To0Nne

    So Ke Xun, as usual, walked at the front, Mu Yiran in the middle, and Zhu Haowen at the back. They maintained a distance of two to three steps between each other, neither too close nor too far, ready to lend a hand at any time or retreat as needed, and ascended the wooden staircase leading to the second floor.

    CreakCreak

    Even with the three of them being extremely cautious and trying to step lightly, the old stairs still made crumbling sounds, and the echoes were longsting. Whenever their footsteps left the stairs, the echoes dragged out a long string of clucking clucking dull sounds.

    Like the dying moans of someones throat filled with sawdust, desperately trying to speak but unable to say anything. c5PrEH

    The bloody footprints on the stairs looked very precarious, with blood smears on the nearby walls. These blood marks included handprints, sttered blood drops, and imprints of faces rubbed on.

    How much blood did this person lose? Ke Xun eximed once again, stopping in front of a rtivelyplete human-shaped bloodstain on the wall, pointing it out to Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen, Look at this mark, this person was almost covered in blood from head to toe.

 Chapter 279: Question About Time Period

    Chapter 279: Question About Time Period

    Shao Ling said, Theres not a single person in the entire residential area. The area isnt veryrge, and after a short walk, you can get to the forest behind. We wandered around the outskirts of the forest and found out its not a dead forest. There are many living animals inside, and theres quite a rich variety of nt species.

    Qin Ci added, On the streets in the residential area, outside the houses, and in some other corners, we found a lot of bloodstains. Theyve been there for a while. There were no signs of fighting, not even signs of escaping after being injured. It seems like blood was just flowing out while people were simply walking around. In a few ces, we found signs of someone falling and knocking over nearby objects while bleeding. Strangely, these knocked over objects remained untouched, with no oneing to clean up afterward. 9xEkMd

    Wei Dong said, In this residential area, besides regr houses, theres also a smallmunity clinic. Theres another road leading to a distance, but its blocked by barriers. We tried walking along the road, only to find that the road disappeared after a while, and ahead was a void, just like the painting The Funeral. The areas on the boundary have been blurred. So obviously this is also a painting of limited areas, restricting us to the range inside this residential area and the forest.

    Ke Xun also recounted what he and the other two had just seen to everyone. After listening, Shao Ling said, From the looks of it, this residential area seems to have experienced a strange and even bizarre incident, causing peoples daily lives to suddenlye to a halt in an instant. All scenes remain unchanged, and in this process, many people suffered injuries of varying severity.

    These are all preliminary spections for now, Mu Yiran said, We only checked one house, and we need to inspect the interiors of other houses to obtain more evidence to prove that.

    So lets continue and make the most of our time, Ke Xun said, looking at everyone, What about you guys? rMsQ3j

    Qin Ci said, Ill check the houses with you.

    Shao Ling, Wei Dong, and Fang Fei also nodded in agreement.

    Xiao Kai scratched the back of his neck, nced at Tian Yang, then looked at the veteran members, finally settling his gaze on Ke Xuns face. I have an off topic question: How did you guys deal with eating and drinking when in the world of paintings before?

    Some paintings provide those resources, while others wont let you feel hungry or thirsty, Ke Xun answered. NpK2Pk

    Then which category do you think this painting belongs to? Xiao Kai asked uncertainly, At least for now, I feel a bit thirsty, which shouldnt fall under the second category you just mentioned, right? So if its the first category, where would the resources be?

    I think, while finding the signature is important, but first, we need to ensure that we can survive in the painting. In this hot weather, food and water are crucial. After all, we might have to survive for seven days in the painting, right?

 Chapter 280: Question About Water Source

    Chapter 280: Question About Water Source

    Both the veteran and the new members nodded in agreement.

    If were ready, then lets proceed. said Ke Xun, ignoring the silent gaze cast by Tian Yang. He turned and, with Mu Yiran, took the lead into the dark and eerie forest. M0HSR

    Ke Xun pulled out his phone and attempted to use thepass, only to find it unusable. He said to Mu Yiran, This function has been disabled. I think we need to be extra cautious in the forest. Its obvious that the forest is being used as a challenge level, and if we lose our direction, we might meet the criteria for death.

    Mu Yiran nodded without adding anything.

    Now, Ke Xun had grown remarkably perceptive and thoughtful and almost did not need his advice and guidance anymore. The two of them now supported each other,plemented each other, fought side by side, and shouldered responsibilities together.

    Guys, pay attention, be sure not to fall behind, Ke Xun turned his head and reminded the group. LRsNgO

    Since thepass function is unavable, we better determine a direction beforehand, said Shao Ling, from the middle of the group.

    Its simple the direction with denser foliage is the south. We learned this in elementary school Xiao Kai said weakly.

    Then please help us figure out which side of the trees has denser foliage. Wei Dong said.

    Xiao Kai looked up for a while but saw trees and branches above intertwined and densely packed. It was impossible to tell which side had denser foliage. mZKMqd

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    Um Xiao Kai scratched the back of his neck, then, lets find a tree stump. The side with sparser growth rings should be the south

    By the time we find a tree stump, we might already be lost, Wei Dong said.

    And the density of growth rings on trees in the northern and southern regions is different. They will also point to different directions, Shao Ling added.

    Unfortunately, its noon now. Even if we try to determine the direction by the suns shadow, we might not be able to, Wu You said, trying to find the sun through the gaps in the branches. zbJLYB

    Doesnt matter if its not noon, He Tang shook her head. The entire sky is gray. I cant see the sun at all.

    Ehits broad daylight, we cant even use the Big Dipper to determine direction, Wei Dong said.

    Look at ant nests, Luo Bu suddenly said. The opening of ant nests all face south.

 Chapter 281: Primitive Dilemma

    Chapter 281: Primitive Dilemma

    That reallyes down to luck said Gu Qingqing, pushing up her sses and speaking as if reciting from a book, Willow trees generally only grow in the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere. There are fewer of them in the cold zones and even less in the subtropical and tropical regions. And where we are now, I dont know if its the Southern or Northern Hemisphere, but judging by the vegetation in this forest, it seems somewhat like a subtropical or tropical area.

    Even if its down to luck, we should try our best, Qin Ci was a doctor. Saving patients was an instinct deeply ingrained in his bones. fR2

    In that case, lets continue to divide our tasks, Shao Ling said, Dr. Qin, take Xiao Kai, Tian Yang, and the few girls back to the residential area first. See if there are any usable medical supplies in the clinic.

    Girls, please help prepare some daily necessities and process the moss, vines, and bird eggs we just collected earlier. Also, pick a house for us to shelter in at night, tidy it up a bit, and if possible, gather some firewood at the edge of the forest for starting a fire.

    The rest of us will stay in the forest to find willow trees. Well definitely return before dark, but if we cant make it back, you dont need to wait for us. Just lock the doors and windows and protect yourselves.

    Everyone agreed to this arrangement and immediately set off. nifEep

    This time, the people remaining in the forest paid particr attention to the types of trees. They discovered hundreds of trees, some with known names and others unknown. It was a treasure trove of natural resources.

    While searching for willow trees, everyone didnt forget to continue to collect moss, vines, and edible items. Ke Xun even found several more nests of bird eggs until Zhu Haowen called a halt.

    Dont forget, our most important task is to find clues rted to the signature, Zhu Haowen remained rational and calm, almost to a callous extent, Although Xiao Kais safety is also important, theres not much time left until nightfall, and who knows how many more people will be affected tonight. So far, we havent even had a clue.

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    Shao Ling seemed to have been pondering the issue of clues all along. When Zhu Haowen mentioned it, he spoke up, It seems that in the previous paintings, we never faced difficulties in finding water or food. Especially in the previous one, even basic physiological needs like sleep and relieving oneself didnt even arise. But this painting seems different, seemingly emphasizing sensory experiences such as heat, thirst, hunger, and even illness. I suspect that this may be the challenge of this painting. qFdUuS

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    Heat, thirst, hunger, illness Why does it sound a bit like wilderness survival? Luo Bu said, Those wealthy friends of mine, who dont need to work and have nothing but time on their hands, love seeking thrills when theyre free to pass time. They formed a club specifically for wilderness survival. They often set a time to get everybody together and roam all over the world, especially in wild uninhabited areas. They bring along basic equipment, sometimes they even stay there for one or two months. But Im too scared. I dont dare to go to ces that are too dangerous. They just took me to a few rtively safe and simple ces. What Brother Shao mentioned just now sounds a lot like the challenges often encountered in wilderness survival.

    By that logic, could it be that this painting is testing us on wilderness survival? Wei Dong said.

    It makes sense, Shao Ling said, In this painting, we have lost all readily avable resources. We need to obtain food, water, and medicine on our own. It feels like were in a dilemma, and its a primitive dilemma that requires rtively primitive means to solve our most basic needs.

    I think your line of thought is skewed, President Shao, Ke Xun spoke, The so-called primitive dilemma were facing now may indeed be a clue, but I think its only a supplementary clue. The important clues lie in those blood-filled houses in the residential area and what caused these bizarre incidents. lChxfs

 Chapter 282: Quesiton About Clues

    Chapter 282: Quesiton About Clues

    Everyone took paper and pens, thinking about the clues in their minds. Since there werent enough pens for everyone, they shared them. Whoever thought of something would write it down first.

    Midway through, Tian Yang came out of the living room to fetch the water boiled with willow bark, while Ke Xun cooked a pot of moss and vines juice, then put the bird eggs they found into it. After they were cooked, everyone managed to eat a few to fill their stomachs, leaving some for Qin Ci, Tian Yang, and Xiao Kai. 63ejaw

    It took about half an hour for everyone to finish writing.

    Lets go through what weve written one by one, Shao Ling said. People who havent had their turn to read, pay attention if someone else has already mentioned what youve written, cross it out. Theres no need to repeat it, so as to not disrupt our thoughts and waste time. If you have additional details or more clues to add to what the current person is reading out, feel free to do so any time. Then, Ill start.

    With that, he picked up his paper and read slowly and clearly, I think ces that could be clues are: firstly, the blood incidents that urred in every house in the residential area, lets call them blood cases. What caused these blood cases in every house?

    Secondly, the question regarding the dates. Anything that would disy the year has the year blurred out. I think this is a means by which the painting wants to conceal clues. If we can find a way to determine the years, we might make a breakthrough in the clues. g8Nw 7

    Thirdly, the issue and difficulties of survival. After entering the painting, we face the most primitive survival challenge: obtaining food, water, and dealing with illness. Is this also a hint rted to the clues?

    These are the three areas Im particrly concerned about. Now, please continue to add.

    Im more concerned about the climate, Zhu Haowen chimed in. Perhaps the three points that Shao Ling summarized had already mentioned almost all the clues that everyone obtained so far, so Zhu Haowen only added one extra point. I feel the presence of the climate in this painting is too strong, and heat might be one of the clues.

    Ive thought of something, not sure if it counts as a clue, Luo Bu unusually offered his own independent insight. I just feel that finding such water-rich vines in the forest is an unexpected surprise. Originally, I had little hope, but of course, its normal to find such vines in the forest. But I just feel how should I say it, its so lucky, I didnt expect the painting to be so cooperative with us this time thats all, Im done. 1DbwE

 Chapter 283: Gu Qingqing and He Tang

    Chapter 283: Gu Qingqing and He Tang

    This is a list of nts I saw in the forest just now, Gu Qingqing spoke with a student-like tone and demeanor, as if exining a literature question to everyone. She pointed at the notebook with the tip of her pen and said one by one, Cyathea lepifera, can grow in tropical, subtropical, and temperate zones, but moremonly in tropical regions; Araucaria cunninghamii, a tropical nt; Bauhinia variegata, a tree native to tropical rainforests; eis guineensis, a tropical nt; Typha, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Musa, Sansevieria, Spathiphyllum, and Strelitzia all tropical nts; Abies, mainly found in cold zones; Larix decidua, a nt native to the cold zone; Quercus, a nt native to the cold zone; and the willow you guys found in the forest, which is mostly found in temperate and cold zones, very rarely in tropical areas. Furthermore, these nts I circled here should all grow in cold, sub-cold, or temperate zones.

    At this point, Gu Qingqing looked at everyone with an incredulous expression, This cant be possible I mean, this doesnt conform to thews of nature. Tropical and cold zone nts are both growing in the same area. If this forest were artificially nted, it would somewhat make sense, but its obviously a natural wild forest. How could these nt species, which should grow in different temperature zones, all appear here at the same time? AQqOX1

    Her words left everyone looking at her face with a peculiar gaze. Gu Qingqing couldnt help but feel a bit nervous, pinching the leg of her sses, and hesitantly asked, What is there something wrong with what I said?

    No, you said it very well. This is indeed a very suspicious problem, Shao Ling said, We are just marveling at the deduction Mu made before entering the painting.

    Um Can I ask what it is? Gu Qingqing very much had the eagerness of a good student who was keen of learning.

    For every painting, it seems like the force behind the painting is deliberately selecting individuals suitable for that painting, Shao Ling looked at Gu Qingqing meaningfully, Clearly, for this painting, you might be the suitable candidate. sOWF8v

    I I dont quite understand Gu Qingqing was startled by this statement, her face slightly pale.

    Ill exin this to you in detail after we leave this painting. For now, lets focus on the clue you discovered, Shao Ling said, I think this is indeed a very important discovery. This vition of naturalws may exin the question Fang Fei raised earlier: why this forest became part of the main subject of the painting? Obviously, the disorderly state of the vegetation inside is a clue.

    What can it prove? Wei Dong said, Have the nts mutated? Damn, does that mean those who died in the blood cases also mutated, turning into zombies or something? And when manifested in the nts, its shown as this phenomenon of random growth that defies naturalws?

    I think Brother Dongs statement makes sense, Luo Bu nodded repeatedly. 9dwaiv

    He Tang? Ke Xun looked at He Tang, who had been silent the whole time, Feeling unwell?

    Yeah He Tang looked up at Ke Xun. She knew that this person was very observant, but she hadnt expected him to be so sensitive to subtle changes in others. She nodded and said, I do feel very ufortable, but this kind of difort Im afraid everyone will think Im making a big deal out of nothing if I said it out loud. At such an important moment, lets not worry about me

    Where does it feel ufortable? It was Mu Yiran who asked, his calm and cool gaze sweeping over, making He Tang not dare to evade any of his questions.

 Chapter 284: Question About The Scum

    Chapter 284: Question About The Scum

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare me!¡± Wei Dong and Wu You said in unison to Ke Xun.

    ¡°What I mean is, let¡¯s all decide whether to stay inside the house tonight or outside,¡± Ke Xun pointed outside, ¡°It¡¯s getting dark soon.¡± hijlr7

    Tension suddenly gripped everyone¡¯s hearts. This question indeed left them conflicted. After some thought, Shao Ling said, ¡°Conventionally speaking, staying outside is more dangerous than staying inside the house. Since that¡¯s the case, then I think we should stay inside.¡±

    Wei Dong also nodded, ¡°Staying inside the house might not protect us from the attacks of the force behind the painting, but think about the paintings ¡®The Funeral¡¯ and ¡®Faith¡¯, staying inside might not guarantee survival, but staying outside would surely lead to death. So, even if the house isn¡¯t safe, we have no other choice, right?¡±

    No one objected. Everyone unanimously decided to stay inside the house at night.

    Wei Dong and Luo Bu were still worried about zombies appearing at night, so they reinforced all the doors and windows of the house. During that time, Qin Ci came out of the living room, sweating profusely, his clothes were also soaked with sweat. Hv0xie

    Everyone asked about Xiao Kai¡¯s condition, and Qin Ci shook his head, ¡°If we can¡¯t leave this painting soon, his condition will be very dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Take a break, drink some water,¡± Ke Xun handed him a cup of nt juice, recounted the clues they had just summarized to him, and then asked, ¡°Do you have any other discoveries?¡±

    Qin Ci gulped down some water, cleared his throat, and said, ¡°Regarding the cause of Xiao Kai¡¯s illness, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s caused by infrasound waves.¡±¡°When I was wiping down his body with alcohol, I found a mosquito bite on the back of his neck. I¡¯ve seen many cases of virus infections caused by mosquito and bug bites, usually presenting symptoms simr to mria. Xiao Kai¡¯s symptoms also resemble mria. udgQzd

    ¡°But, I can only say it¡¯s simr because mria patients usually feel cold all over, have a rapid rise in body temperature, and suffer from severe headaches and persistent vomiting. I asked Xiao Kai, and thetter three symptoms all fit, but he didn¡¯t feel cold all over, which puzzled me.

    ¡°The current problem is, without corresponding medical equipment, I can¡¯t examine his internal condition and can only judge from his outward physical condition. He¡¯s still running a high fever, which could easily lead to someplications. However, I believe we can basically rule out the spection that his symptoms are caused by infrasound.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we need to be careful,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to guard against mosquitoes and bugs, so it¡¯s best for everyone to cover exposed skin with clothes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s going to be too hot. Plus, we don¡¯t have much water to drink now,¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°I suggest we look for mosquito repellents or something simr in the house.¡± gKNwFA

 Chapter 285: They Are Coming!

    Chapter 285: They Are Coming!

    ¡°I¡­ I have diarrhea¡­¡± Xiao Kai groaned in pain weakly. ¡°Help¡­ help me to the¡­ the bathroom¡­¡±

    Seeing his legs trembling uncontrobly, Tian Yang didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately lifted Xiao Kai onto his back. He strode quickly towards the bathroom which was in the corner. VoBeFf

    ¡°Is¡­ is it safe to go to the bathroom?¡± Wu You asked herpanions fearfully.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go check.¡± Ke Xun stood up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go instead,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°I can also assess the symptoms through his excrement.¡±

    Ke Xun lit up his phone and went to the bathroom with Qin Ci. Qin Ci knocked on the door and entered, while Ke Xun waited outside. NGw zd

    Inside the bathroom, Xiao Kai seemed to be experiencing more than just diarrhea; he was also vomiting uncontrobly and didn¡¯te out for a long time. Ke Xun stood outside the door. His gaze turned towards the staircase opposite the bathroom door leading to the second floor.

    The narrow wooden staircase led into the dark depths of the second floor. The darkness there didn¡¯t seem peaceful; there was something that seemed to about to move.

    Ke Xun stared at the darkness for a moment, listening intently. Amidst Xiao Kai¡¯s painful vomiting sounds behind the door, he barely discerned a faint sound, like something lightly rubbing against the floor.The sound came from the second floor, from the darkness that seemed to conceal unimaginable horrors. 129lpF

    Ke Xun discreetly took out a spare phone and a foldable fruit knife from his pocket. The knife was found in the kitchen and he had taken off the spare phone¡¯s casing before entering the painting. The phone¡¯s battery was exposed. If he stabbed it with the fruit knife, the phone could be made to explode at any time.

    Ke Xun slowly tucked the lower half of the spare phone into his shirt cor, revealing the upper half. With one hand holding the spare phone and the other holding the fruit knife, he activated the shlight on the phone hidden in his cor.

    A beam of white light illuminated the unsettling darkness on the second floor. In that infinite darkness, a human-like, ghastly pale face suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs!

    The face was horrifyingly pale, like a wrinkled white paper soaked in water that had been pasted on its face, or the face of a corpse drained of every drop of blood. However, in itspletely white eyeballs, several strands of ck blood of various thickness trickled down its cheeks and flowed into its stiff mouth below, which seemed to contain a piece of flesh. KWdqci

    This eerie and terrifying pale face, embedded in the darkness filled with dust lit by the light behind it, appeared so abruptly, as if a ghostly face had emerged from another world, creeping at the top of the stairs, ¡°watching¡± Ke Xun downstairs expressionlessly with the whites of its eyes soaked in dark blood.

 Chapter 286: The Invasion of Blood

    Chapter 286: The Invasion of Blood

    The sofa that everyone had just moved was blocking the door. The light from Ke Xun¡¯s phone fell on the floor next to the sofa, and the bright light clearly illuminated the cracks and textures of the dark yellow wooden floor, where microorganisms and dust in the air danced chaotically in the light.

    And on this floor, a pool of thick, murky ck blood slowly seeped in from the tiny gap under the door behind the sofa. It gathered more and more until the bloodstain gradually coalesced on the floor, forming a stain resembling a human face. 4FZhzn

    The face formed by this bloodstain had arge, gaping mouth. Due to the winding of the bloodstain, it was impossible to tell whether the expression was a smile, a cry, or a scream of agony.

    ¡°Damn!¡± Ke Xun was startled, not expecting that while the door and windows could block the human skins but not the blood. Blood could still seep in as long as there was a small gap.

    Ke Xun reacted quickly, grabbing a cushion from the sofa and throwing it onto the blood face on the floor, then stomping on it fiercely.

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡± 5je9ni

    ¡°Watch out for the window seams,¡± Mu Yiran reminded everyone. Wei Dong and Fang Fei, who were closest to the window, immediately went to check the seams and saw thin streams of blood beginning to seep into the room. Without hesitation, they tore down the curtains, bunched them up, and quickly wiped away the bloodstains.

    Wu You, He Tang, and Gu Qingqing went up to help, while Mu Yiran reminded again, ¡°Be careful, do not touch these bloodstains with your skin, just in case. The curtains will soon be soaked with blood, don¡¯t use them for too long.¡±

    ¡°This won¡¯t do. The curtains and cushions will eventually be soaked with blood,¡± Shao Ling said, ¡°and we don¡¯t have many things we can use!¡±¡°Our clothes can hold out for a while!¡± Ke Xun said. 19lWPs

    Shao Ling: ¡°¡­¡± <i>You trying to trick me into taking off my clothes again</i>.

    ¡°We need toe up with a solution quickly. Xiao Kai¡¯s condition is not good¡­¡± Qin Ci and Tian Yang had been supporting Xiao Kai, who was still vomiting. His whole body was bent over like a hunched shrimp, vomiting up and down. He looked like he was almost out of breath.

    Tian Yang patted his back while looking anxiously and nkly at Ke Xun.

    But Ke Xun didn¡¯t pay attention at all to him, still stomping on the cushion and rubbing it on the floor with all his might. As the bloodstains were wiped away, they quickly gathered again, forming a weird and twisted face each time. As the blood seeped in faster and faster, the bloodstain gradually formed the neck and upper limbs of a person. One arm stretched forward desperately, fingers flexing, as if trying to grab Ke Xun¡¯s ankle. GKfoay

    ¡°Everyone, get on the coffee table!¡± Mu Yiran raised his voice.

 Chapter 287: â€œHumanâ€ is the Key

    Chapter 287: ¡°Human¡± is the Key<em>Trigger warning/mild spoiler</em>

    Mild gore (someone exploded into pieces)

    7oODFw

    Just at that moment, Xiao Kai suddenly convulsed violently, his back snapped forward as if broken, and he mmed into Tian Yang¡¯s chest. Immediately, he vomited a huge amount of ck blood from his mouth, thick and viscous like asphalt, gushing continuously from his mouth and nose.

    ¡°¡ªXiao Kai!¡± Tian Yang hoarsely shouted, wanting to lift Xiao Kai up. However, as soon as he grasped his arm, he was horrified to find that Xiao Kai¡¯s ck jacket had been soaked through with blood for some time. He subconsciously looked down, only to see blood dripping steadily from the hem of Xiao Kai¡¯s pants. rmONpC

    ¡°¡ªWhat¡¯s happening to him? ¡ªWhat¡¯s happening to him?¡± Tian Yang, with blood all over his hands, held onto Xiao Kai, who was still convulsing violently, and turned his head, asking Qin Ci in despair and helplessness.

    But Qin Ci stared with a frown at Xiao Kai¡¯s dark blue face. The situation with his face was too bizarre; the subcutaneous connective tissue seemed to have lost its cohesion and connection, causing his facial skin to appear as if it was hanging on his skull. And between his facial skin and skull, it was filled with liquefied substance¡ªto be clear, it was blood and dissolved subcutaneous tissue.

    At this moment, blood began to spurt from Xiao Kai¡¯s eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and even from all the pores on his body. He convulsed and copsed on the sofa, bing entirely a figure made of blood.

    Tian Yang wanted to help him up, but Xiao Kai¡¯s entire body seemed to have melted and turned into mud, and Tian Yang, caught off guard, lost his bnce and sat down on the sofa. rg1SyM

    Without Tian Yang blocking in front of Xiao Kai, now everyone standing on the coffee table could see Xiao Kai¡¯s terrible state. He Tang, Wu You, Gu Qingqing, and Luo Bu screamed out loud a few times from the shock for a moment. However, Mu Yiran suddenly raised his voice: ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t let the blood spray onto exposed skin!¡±Everyone snapped back to reality and quickly tried to cover their exposed skin as much as possible. However, Tian Yang was already in a daze, covered in blood, like a soulless shell, sitting next to Xiao Kai, staring nkly at him.

    Xiao Kai, lying on the sofa, suddenly began to convulse violently, his limbs thrashing involuntarily. Arge amount of thick blood sprayed from his anus, sshing onto the sofa backrest behind him, onto Tian Yang¡¯s body, and even onto higher ces like the door, the wall, and the ceiling.

    Amongst this blood, there were even fragments of internal organs mixed in. T7cupe

    The few girls and Luo Bu were so scared by this scene that even their screams changed tone. He Tang even fainted on Shao Ling¡¯s back.

    The other men, although they did not scream, were also shocked into silence by the scene before them.

    Xiao Kai¡¯s blood sprayed for a long time, and the entire sofa had already been soaked in blood. When he finally stopped, he looked like a pile of melted blood mud on the sofa.

 Chapter 288: Look Ahead, Live Through With All Your Might

    Chapter 288: Look Ahead, Live Through With All Your Might

    Throughout the entire morning, the group rummaged through the houses in the residential area, conducting a thorough search.

    However, with limited manpower, even after Fang Fei, Gu Qingqing, and Wu You joined inter, the progress remained slow. v9IqQo

    By noon, Qin Ci, Wei Dong, and Luo Bu returned with some water-containing nts and two rabbits. ¡°The rabbits were caught by Radish,¡± Wei Dong handed the rabbits which were still moving and struggling to Ke Xun. ¡°This kid is quite skilled. He¡¯s very professional in setting hunting traps. We¡¯ll go back into the forest in the afternoon. There are still several traps we haven¡¯t checked. Maybe they caught some other animals. We came back early because we don¡¯t want you all to get worried.¡±

    ¡°People are good at different skills.¡± Hearing this, Shao Ling praised Luo Bu, who was wiping sweat on the side. ¡°Each person has their ce where they shine.¡±

    Ke Xun took the rabbits to process them. He skinned them, drained the blood, and removed the innards. Meanwhile, Luo Bu and Wei Dong had already set up a fire outside. Ke Xun took the meat over to roast.

    ¡°The blood on the meat can¡¯t be washed off, so it might taste quite gamey,¡± Ke Xun crouched by the fire, sweating so much his clothes were soaked, so he took off his shirt and went bare chested. VBGQv9

    The others didn¡¯t like the heat and stayed far. Some were squeezing water from the nts into containers, some were inspecting suspicious items brought out from the houses, and some were using bedsheets and branches to build a makeshift awning from the sun ¡ª considering the tragic events ofst night, nobody wanted to stay indoors, even if it was hot outside.

    Tian Yang was still sitting in a daze outside the house fromst night, and Wei Dong brought him a cup of nt juice, looking at his face withplex emotions.

    He was covered in that ck blood, and no one knew what the consequences might be. But no one dared to take the risk of letting hime into contact with everyone else, so he was just silently and tacitly excluded¡­ but what else could be done?Wei Dong felt this painting was exceptionally cruel. yBN QZ

    It wasn¡¯t just the method of death, but the feelings of loneliness, helplessness, and abandonment caused by hispanions avoiding him, were even worse than death itself.

    To even have to suffer such psychological torment even before death.

    ¡°Let me help you build an awning,¡± Wei Dong tried to make his tone sound normal, as to treat Tian Yang the same as he treated everyone else.

    Tian Yang slowly raised his head to look at him, then smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m not worthy of your pity¡­ You still hate me¡­¡± AIzBdS

 Chapter 289: Once Cowardly Fleeing, Now Bravely Bidding Farewell

    Chapter 289: Once Cowardly Fleeing, Now Bravely Bidding Farewell

    Tian Yang pulled the corner of his mouth, as if he was crying and smiling bitterly at the same time. He pulled out his phone from his pocket. ¡°You don¡¯t need tofort me¡­ I know, I can¡¯t make it out¡­¡±

    Ke Xun didn¡¯t respond to his words. He just said, ¡°Record your message. Qin Ci and the others are back. I¡¯ll go get some food,¡± and walked away. 5anUpg

    Qin Ci, Wei Dong and Luo Bu returned with water and food; it was still a few rabbits. Wei Dong said, ¡°There are still two big ones in the traps, not sure if they¡¯re water deer or just deer. We were worried there wouldn¡¯t be enough time for you to deal with those, so we only brought the rabbits.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you twoe and help.¡± Ke Xun called Wei Dong and Luo Bu over. Seeing this, Fang Fei also came over to help.

    Qin Ci walked over to the still unconscious He Tang, squatted down, and reached out to touch her forehead, his brows furrowing.

    Zhu Haowen followed and asked him softly, ¡°How is it? Is it the same as Xiao Kai¡¯s condition?¡± FRZdMt

    Qin Ci nodded slightly, with a hint of confusion on his face. ¡°I can¡¯t understand the reason behind this. He Tang¡¯s body didn¡¯te into contact with that ck blood at all, so how was she ¡®selected¡¯¡­¡±

    ¡°How do you think Xiao Kai was selected?¡± Zhu Haowen asked.

    Qin Ci said: ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about Xiao Kai¡¯s case all day. Initially, I thought he had mria due to mosquito bites transmitting the virus through blood. This kind of condition develops quickly, with the body temperature rising rapidly within a short period of time.¡°But it turned out not to be mria, or perhaps not even a disease, but rather the method of death set by this painting. If that¡¯s the case, then the reason why Xiao Kai was selected is hard to say. Simrly, the reasons why Tian Yang and He Tang were chosen may also have nothing to do with the ck blood. 3FvMTC

    ¡°But I don¡¯t understand, to put it bluntly¡­ they¡¯re going to die anyway, why make them have a fever before they die? Isn¡¯t that redundant?¡±

    ¡°Could it be because the three of them have rtively weak physical constitution, and this time, the criterion of death is based on the strength of one¡¯s physique from low to high?¡± Zhu Haowen suggested.

    ¡°But Xiao Kai¡¯s physical condition seemed to be quite good,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°When I wiped him with alcohol, I found that he seemed to be someone who exercises regrly, much like Little Ke.¡±

    Zhu Haowen fell silent for a moment and said, ¡°If the selection criteria for death are not based on physical condition, then it may be rted to the infrasound waves that Yiran mentioned.¡± UnRLpe

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Qin Ci said, unable to be sure.

    Zhu Haowen turned to look at Tian Yang and saw that he was speaking at a low volume into his phone, so he didn¡¯t go over to disturb him. Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn¡¯tpletely dark yet, he hurriedly looked through the books found in the houses with Mu Yiran and Shao Ling.

 Chapter 290: Doctor Qin Ci

    Chapter 290: Doctor Qin Ci

    Blood began to spew from Tian Yang, much like Xiao Kai didst night.

    From his mouth, below, every pore, he quickly transformed into a figure made of blood, then melted from a person full of blood into a pile of bloody mud. W8JOno

    Yes, melted. This process was akin to melting a living person.

    Despite wearing raincoats, it couldn¡¯tpletely prevent the sttering of his blood and his melted organs. Ke Xun had already retreated to a distance, standing with everyone else in the corner, using several tables prepared in advance to shield around Tian Yang to protect themselves as much as possible.

    Since the entire room was already filled with tables and there was a considerable distance between the tabletops and the floor, everyone couldn¡¯t be sure if blood had seeped in from outside the door at this moment. The window seams were sealed inside and out with twoyers, and they hadn¡¯t seen a sign of blood yet.

    Nothing seemed to be happening to He Tang for now, who was lying nearby, but herplexion had gradually turned bluish-ck. Wu You, probably in shock again due to Tian Yang¡¯s gruesome death, couldn¡¯t help but cry out, breaking down and whimpering, ¡°Why¡ªwhy do we have to suffer like this¡ªwhy are they treating us like this¡­¡± rQSEja

    Fang Fei hugged her shoulders, and Wu You suddenly realized that even someone as strong and calm as Fang Fei began to tremble slightly under such cruel visual and psychological impact.

    This kind of death was probably the worst that could be inflicted upon humans.

    As long as one was a flesh-and-blood person, they couldn¡¯t remain unmoved by it.Suddenly, He Tang, lying there, convulsed and woke up from hera. tR7HdG

    ¡°It hurts¡ª¡± she cried out in tears.

    ¡°He Tang¡ª¡± Wu You couldn¡¯t help but call out to her with tears.

    Thepanion who was sleeping together with her in the same room at the hotel a few days ago, the lively and vividpanion, soon¡­she would die in such a tragic way before her eyes. Wu You felt she couldn¡¯t hold on any longer. She sat on the table in despair, covering her face and crying in pain.

    ¡°Hurts¡­it hurts¡­¡± He Tang struggled to sit up, and when she saw all herpanions standing far away, looking at her with pitiful eyes, He Tang suddenly understood everything. She cried out in a shrill and harsh voice, desperately trying to get up, but fell back weakly onto the table. 6OdZD7

    ¡°No¡ªplease¡ªyou guys¡ªplease help me¡ªhelp me¡ªI don¡¯t want to die¡ª¡± He Tang trembled, reaching out to herpanions like a drowning person grasping at straws on the water¡¯s surface, ¡°What about my mom and dad¡ªwho will take care of them¡ªI can¡¯t die¡ªwhat should I do¡ªwhat should I do¡ª¡±

    ¡°He Tang,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s voice was no longer cold, but calm and gentle, each word clearly flowed into He Tang¡¯s ears, ¡°If I have the fortune to leave this painting, I will take care of your parents. I will hire the most professional psychologists to provide counseling for them and arrange for the most professional institutions to take care of them when they are old. You can rest assured.¡±

    Trembling, He Tang took a while to recover, finally managed to pull a smile, as if thanking Mu Yiran, yet also seemed resigned to her fate. Her voice hoarse, she looked at Qin Ci, ¡°Qin <i>Ge</i>¡­please¡­please find a way to let me die without pain¡­I don¡¯t want to die like them¡­I¡¯m afraid of pain¡­while¡­while I¡¯m not in such a dire state¡­please let me die in advance¡­I don¡¯t want to suffer that torment, please¡­¡±

 Chapter 291: More Terrifying Than Ghosts and Gods.

    Chapter 291: More Terrifying Than Ghosts and Gods.

    Biologicalboratories are scientific institutions dedicated to experimenting and researching pathogenic microorganisms.

    These institutions focus on studying pathogens, developing treatments and drugs, and providing protection for the safety of human lives. GfuM2t

    Biologicalboratories are divided into four biosafety levels based on the degree of biological risk of the research objects. Level oneboratories have the lowest requirements for biological safety istion, while level four has the highest.

    Level oneboratories work with pathogens that pose almost no harm to healthy adults, such as chickenpox. Personnel working in level onebs only need to wear gloves and facial protective equipment. Some workstations are open, and somebs may not even be isted from the public.

    Level twoboratories work with pathogens that only cause mild illnesses in humans. They typically have preventive and treatment methods, such as measles. Level twobs are isted from the public, and only authorized personnel can enter.

    Level threeboratories deal with pathogens that can cause severe or fatal diseases in humans and can spread through droplets. These diseases may have preventive and treatment methods, but constant vignce is required. For example, rabies, HIV/AIDS, and SARS coronavirus, an atypical pneumonia, which once ravaged the world and still make people frightened when mentioned, fall under level three. KaoAN

    Personnel conducting research and working in level threebs, even if experienced, must undergo specialized training for the pathogens beforehand. Theb must bepletely sealed and under negative pressure to prevent gas leakage.

    During experiments, rigorous protective measures must be taken. Personnel must wear protective clothing in the anteroom before entering theb, and all experiments must be conducted within biological safety cabs.

    Level threebs already have such strict safety precautions.Level threebs already handle pathogens at the level of HIV/AIDS and SARS. UD8njk

    Then, what about level fourbs?

    Level fourbs areboratories with the highest biosafety level globally.

    They handle pathogens that are little known to humans, extremely deadly, airborne, and have no preventive methods. Once infected, there is no cure for the pathogens.

    That¡¯s why people also call level fourbs ¡°Devil¡¯s Lab.¡± 4r0svY

    Level fourbs need to bepletely isted from nearby buildings. They require special air conditioning systems with a filtration efficiency of 99.999%.

 Chapter 292: Regeneration, Recreation, Restart

    Chapter 292: Regeneration, Recreation, Restart

    ¡°He made this gesture to me before he died.¡± Ke Xun raised his hand and made an OK sign.

    Wei Dong saw it, first surprised, then shocked, ¡°Ah! This is¡ªthat time at the city sports meet¡ª¡± xwktmd

    ¡°Right, it¡¯s that time.¡± Ke Xun nodded slightly. ¡°During that city sports meet, our school¡¯s sports field was used as the main venue, so the audience was mostly our school¡¯s students. At that time, Dong Zi, Tian Yang, and the others rallied the whole crowd to cheer for me, and everyone made this gesture. It doesn¡¯t mean ¡®OK¡¯. This gesture represents the number I had on my back at that time. ¡®O¡¯ represents 0, the index finger represents 1, and the ring finger and pinky represent 2. Hence, my number at that time was 012.¡±

    ¡°¡ª2012!¡± everyone eximed in unison.

    ¡°We¡¯ve seen some food packaging bags with dates starting with 2. Combining that with the number 012 Tian Yang showed, it seems clear that the events depicted in this painting undoubtedly took ce in the year 2012,¡± Shao Ling said.

    ¡°But it¡¯s so strange,¡± Gu Qingqing said, ¡°if the artist depicted events of the real world that urred in 2012, why have we never heard any news reports about such terrible things happening?¡± hctykS

    ¡°Not all events are reported,¡± Zhu Haowen said sharply, as usual.

    ¡°No, the contents of this painting are not absolute real events,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°The chaotic vegetation in the forest doesn¡¯t seem like a mistake caused by the painter¡¯s negligence. I¡¯m more inclined to think that this was intentional on the part of the painter. So, from this perspective, this painting seems more like what Wei Dong said, a piece of Symbolism art, where everything happening and depicted has symbolic meaning ores from the painter¡¯s imagination and metaphor.¡±

    ¡°So, the blurred-out timeline, rather than intentionally making it difficult for us to find clues, might actually be pointing us in the right direction,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°This is indeed the case, now that we know the year¡ª2012, different from any other year in this century, it¡¯s a number with many rumors and spections.¡±¡°2012, the end of the world?¡± Luo Bu widened his bloodshot eyes. ¡°I feel like the painting instigator is escting things. It used to be just small-scale, but now it¡¯s escting to the entire Earth¡­¡± 6Ie38F

    ¡°But the 2012 as the end of the world is just a rumor,¡± Wei Dong, with his eyes also red and tired from two days and nights without sleep, said. ¡°Are we going to search for clues in rumors?¡±

 Chapter 293: Antivirus

    Chapter 293: Antivirus

    Mu Yiran gently stroked Ke Xun¡¯s back, helping him rx as much as possible, and spoke in a calm manner: ¡°I think your analogy with antivirus software is quite apt. There are indeed some people who are like tumors on this Earth.

    ¡°They pollute the air,nd, oceans, and freshwater, cut down forests, ughter animals, disrupt the ecosystem. For power and profit, they manufacture chemical and biological weapons, leaving the remnants of war to gue generations. For desire and pleasure, they produce drugs, engage in excessive promiscuity. Theyck responsibility and moral consciousness, leading to frequent public health issues, causing countless innocent children and adults to die from man-made disasters. Bn2ufc

    ¡°I believe these may be what the artist Abel wanted to express in his painting. Environmental pollution, ecological destruction, and epidemic transmission. Humanity not only destroys this but also leads its own species to the path of destruction.

    ¡°Artist Abel is likely an environmentalist and humanist thinker. This painting is full of irony and criticism. The title ¡®Restart¡¯ also reveals his anger and weariness. He hopes to ¡®cleanse¡¯ the Earth again through ¡®bloodshed,¡¯ killing all human viruses active in the system of Earth, and then restarting it, making the system look anew and restoring normal and high-quality operation.

    ¡°In fact, the most unexpected thing about this painting is the name of the artist, Abel. I think it might be the artist¡¯s pseudonym, and this pseudonym is actually a very important clue. Abel is a character in the Bible. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of it. In Hebrew, the word ¡®Abel¡¯ also means ¡®breath¡¯ and ¡®life.¡¯

    ¡°So when we first saw this painting and the name of its creator, we actually got the hint for the first clue. cSGEHk

    ¡°And if we associated it with the Bible, then the second clue also appears. In the New Testament of the Bible, the Book of Revtion describes a story about the ¡®Judgment Day.¡¯

    ¡°The gist of the story is that when the worldes to an end, there will be four horsemen of the Apocalypse riding white, red, ck, and pale horses descending upon the earth, bringing gue, war, famine, and death to humanity, who will receive the final judgment. At that time, the heavens and the earth will be disordered, and the sun and moon will change their colors, followed by the destruction of the world.

    ¡°In this light, the ¡®Judgment Day¡¯ in the Book of Revtion, the ¡®Regeneration of the Earth¡¯ in the Mayan prophecy, and the ¡®Heaven and Earth, recreated¡¯ in the ¡®Tui Bei Tu¡¯ all have simr meaning. Likewise, Abel¡¯s painting ¡®Restart¡¯ also signifies this.¡°The four horsemen of the Apocalypse representing gue, war, famine, and death are actually what we just talked about: environmental pollution, ecological destruction, and epidemic transmission. The disorder and chaos of all things in the Book of Revtion are almost the same as the disorderly and mixed vegetation in this ¡®Restart¡¯ painting. 1wqe8K

 Chapter 294: Green Signature?

    Chapter 294: Green Signature?

    ¡°We¡¯ve entered that forest more than once, but haven¡¯t found any signs of a signature,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°The forest is too vast. Even if we don¡¯t sleep nor rest and keep searching, we probably won¡¯t be able to cover the entire forest before the seven days are over. I think we need to narrow down the scope. Searching aimlessly wastes time and energy and may not be effective.¡±

    The others pondered, the clues were all deciphered, but the final step remained difficult. Searching for a signature that they didn¡¯t know would appear in what location and in what form, was like finding a needle in a haystack. QOiTJ9

    ¡°About the issues this painting wants to reveal,¡± Zhu Haowen spoke up, ¡°environmental pollution, ecological destruction, and epidemic transmission, among these three, the most deadly to us is epidemic transmission.¡±

    ¡°And that is what¡¯s happening. Ourpanions have all suffered from this issue. So I wonder, perhaps the artist wants to focus more on epidemic transmission among the three major problems destroying the earth? In other words, he is more concerned about the direct harm to humanity from environmental destruction?¡±

    ¡°Yiran said he might be a humanist thinker, so perhaps beneath the surface of the intense and extreme satirical critique he presents, there actually hides a heart ofpassion for the fate of humanity who always do stupid things and get themselves in trouble?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, maybe we can focus more on a ¡®people-oriented¡¯ approach when looking for the signature,¡± Shao Ling agreed with Zhu Haowen¡¯s idea and nodded. ¡°Perhaps in these houses, we can find some clues rted to the forest that point to the signature?¡± P1dYCx

    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility,¡± Ke Xun said, looking at Qin Ci, who was lying still in the distance without moving. ¡°Time is of the essence. Let¡¯s split into two groups. One group stays here and continues to search for clues in the residential area, while the other group goes to the forest to find the signature!¡±

    The group quickly divided into two, with Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, Wei Dong, Luo Bu, and Fang Fei, who had better stamina, heading to the forest. The rest stayed behind, and Qin Ci also got up to search the residential area with the remaining group. The two groups agreed to meet back at the original location at noon.

    Before setting off for the forest, Mu Yiran reminded, ¡°Put on thick clothes and cover your face. We were lucky not to be bitten by mosquitoes or insects the previous times we entered the forest, but now we have to guard against the power of the painting, which might use insect bites to select the next round of victims. Remember, this is a world within the painting, not reality, and supernatural forces are always the main culprit for our demise.¡±The four quickly began to dress up. Ke Xun and Wei Dong even went into the houses to gather hats, scarves, masks, gloves, and even sunsses to fully equip everyone. drvtZp

    The primeval forest was as deep and dense as it was on the first day they entered the painting. No matter how many generations of humans rose and fell, these ancient beings always stood silently and resiliently on Earth.

    Humans, who considered themselves at the top of the food chain, were actually pitifully weak and insignificant in nature.

    The five of them searched the forest frantically.

    Some observed the canopy, some observed the tree trunks, and some observed the ground. 8zSHkl

 Chapter 295: Breath, Life.

    Chapter 295: Breath, Life.

    ¡°The signature should be conspicuous. Even if we can¡¯t recognize it at first nce, or it doesn¡¯t catch our attention, it must still be conspicuous,¡± Mu Yiran repeated Ke Xun¡¯s initial spection. ¡°With the various species of vegetation in the forest, whether it¡¯s flowers, grass, or trees, no matter how conspicuous they are when ced outside, once submerged in a vast jungle of this magnitude, even the most conspicuous won¡¯t stand out for their uniqueness.

    ¡°So I think that this ¡®conspicuousness¡¯ shouldn¡¯t refer to color or shape, and it¡¯s unlikely to be a special species either. After all, the species in the forest are now mixed and there are nts from all regions. Any kind of nts growing there is no longer considered special. SsCDWt

    ¡°So there¡¯s another possibility, which is height. But the tallest buildings here are only three stories high. Even if we stand on the roof, it¡¯s difficult to overlook the entire forest from a bird¡¯s-eye view and find the tallest tree.

    ¡°ording to the basic rule that the painting won¡¯t lead us to a dead end, if this ¡®conspicuousness¡¯ is difficult to discern from the outside, then I think the location of the signature shouldn¡¯t be too far from us. Because it being hard to discern is already quite challenging, putting the signature far away and difficult to reach would be almost the same as a dead end.

    ¡°Based on the above deductions, the signature should be in a ce rtively close to the outskirts of the forest, not too deep inside. It¡¯s very likely that it¡¯s a ce we¡¯ve already passed through, but because we stillck the final hint to uncover the truth, even if the signature is right in front of us, it would be difficult for us to discover it.

    ¡°And this signature won¡¯t have conspicuous colors or special shapes, nor will it have obvious thickness or height. It could be a tree, a flower, grass, moss, or vine. But I think, it must be very ancient, representing the long history of the earth, and it must be very resilient, representing the tenacity of all life.¡± 38cgTQ

    ¡°Life¡­¡± Ke Xun rested his chin on the shovel handle, his eyes lowered in thought. ¡°You mentioned the name Abel, which means ¡®life¡¯ in Hebrew. So, if we were to choose from among flowers, grass, trees, and vines, I think a tree should be the thing with most ¡®life¡¯, right? Its leaves can store water, its roots can stabilize the soil, its body can provide habitat for birds, beasts, and even humans, its fruits can feed many creatures, it can produce oxygen for creatures to breathe¡­ Abel also means ¡®breath,¡¯ so, could the manifestation of the signature be a tree? A tree full of life?¡±

    ¡°¡ªThe tree of life,¡± Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes shed with enlightenment, as he analyzed while thinking, ¡°The concept of the tree of life exists in various countries or religions. In ancient Egypt, the tree of life is the Acacia tree, said to grow on the sacred mountain, separating the realms of life and death, symbolizing the beginning of creation¡­ In Jainism, wood is considered the original substance that constitutes all things in the world, and the Bodhi tree is honored as the tree of life¡­

    ¡°And speaking of Hebrew, the Kabbh relied on Hebrew to secretly pass down teachings orally between teachers and students. In this sect, there is also the tree of life, but it¡¯s not a real tree, it¡¯s a tree-shaped diagram used to analyze the different levels that make up the universe and everything in the world¡­¡°And in our country, the peach tree, Egypt¡¯s sycamore fig tree, Iran¡¯s apricot tree, and other trees such as olive, palm, and pomegranate trees in the Middle East or Semitic traditions¡­ Deciduous trees that bear many fruits have been called trees of life and considered incarnations of mother earth. Bearing many fruits symbolizes many offsprings. The attributes of blooming, fruit-bearing, and leaf-falling also symbolize the cycle of seasons and life¡­¡± kSl0B5

    Ke Xun blinked, silently watching Mu Yiran, feeling as if he could hear the buzzing sound of his brain¡¯s search engine running.

    Mu Yiran listed many options for himself, but as for which one was the right one, he seemed to be still analyzing and judging. Ke Xun didn¡¯t interrupt his train of thought, instead going to the side to quickly shovel the blood off the wall, continuing to search for relevant clues beneath the blood.

    The walls of this room were covered with European-style patterned wallpaper, now worn and peeled off, revealing the stered walls underneath.

 Chapter 296: Hand

    Chapter 296: Hand

    Gu Qingqing looked up from below and saw Ke Xun breaking off and throwing down several thick and long branches from the tree.

    Ke Xun jumped down from the tree, removed the twigs from these branches, and then one by one, he tightly bound them together with torn pieces of cloth, connecting them into a long branch that stretched several tens of meters. Finally, he secured his phone to the very top of it. 4LuaQg

    ¡°I¡¯ll climb as high as possible, and then you hand me the branch,¡± Ke Xun said as he began to ascend the tree again.

    Gu Qingqing understood his intention and quickly asked, ¡°But will the phone camera capture it clearly? Everything is green here, it might be hard to distinguish with their colors blending together.¡±

    ¡°My phone has a 40-megapixel camera, equivalent to a five-fold zoom. The rity should be fine,¡± Ke Xun replied as he climbed to the highest point possible. Gu Qingqing handed him the long branch and Ke Xun turned on the camera mode. He raised the phone-equipped end as high as he could to extend above the entire canopy, slowly and steadily rotating 360 degrees.

    Withdrawing his hand, Ke Xun brought down the end with the phone and had Gu Qingqing unfasten it. ¡°Check the photos we just took, see if you can see any kapok tree.¡± YNBO 2

    Following his instructions, Gu Qingqing carefully reviewed the images, pausing frequently, then shook her head. ¡°No.¡±

    Ke Xun climbed down from the tree and pointed towards the direction they were heading. ¡°We don¡¯t need to scrutinize this section anymore. Let¡¯s head straight to the farthest point shown in the picture and take another round of photos there. This¡¯ll save more time.¡±

    Gu Qingqing looked at him in surprise, finding his idea quite flexible and amazing.The two continued their method of running, stopping, swiftly climbing trees for photo-taking, and checking the photos below. This indeed was saving a significant amount of time. hOXQat

    However, time waited for no one.

    The sky gradually darkened, casting a gloomy shadow overhead. The once serene and quiet trees turned into dark silhouettes under the dim light. There was no breeze; the branches and leaves remained unmoving. Only asionally did mncholic cries of birds and beasts echo from deep within the dark and dense forest.

    ¡°It¡¯s already the time we agreed upon¡­¡± Gu Qingqing reminded Ke Xun in a low voice. Everyone had agreed to return to where Qin Ci and Wu You were before it gotpletely dark, and then go back to the residential area together.

    The sweat on Ke Xun¡¯s face was like water rushing out of a floodgate, incessantly dripping down. 4ulWIn

    Gu Qingqing had lost count of how many trees he had climbed. He had long reached his physical limit, but he continued searching desperately without a moment¡¯s rest.

    Gu Qingqing was somewhat afraid¡ªafraid that he wouldn¡¯t want to go back, afraid of the determination in his eyes that had never wavered from beginning to end.

    Ke Xun wiped his face. Using his phone to shoot scenes in the distance was no longer possible; the sky had darkened, making it difficult to distinguish the shapes of leaves on the screen. He also saw the concern in Gu Qingqing¡¯s eyes, not just for herself, but for Qin Ci and for him as well.

    Ke Xun closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 4sFvli

    If facing apanion¡¯s death was also a kind of courage, then he¡­ must summon that courage now.

 Chapter 297: Bad Things

    Chapter 297: Bad Things

    Qin Ci was being carried on Shao Ling¡¯s back. He had already started uncontrobly vomiting thick blood with waves of spasms. Shao Ling was almost unable to carry him any longer.

    ¡°Qin <em>Ge</em>¡ªQin <em>Ge</em>, hold on! We¡¯re almost at the signature! We¡¯re almost there!¡± Wei Dong and Luo Bu shouted desperately. 47k6Nq

    Qin Ci struggled to suppress the upheaval in his stomach, with thick blood flowing into his mouth from his mouth, he spoke intermittently in a muffled voice, ¡°Put¡­ put me¡­ down¡­ don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t drag¡­ you all down¡­ I¡­ won¡¯t make¡­ it¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªThere¡¯s enough time! We¡¯re almost there! Almost there!¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice cracked with sobs. He was running just behind Shao Ling, and under the light from his phone, Qin Ci¡¯s clothes were soaked with blood, dripping continuously.

    Nothing was more unbearable than watching arade who had fought by one¡¯s side struggle and die painfully before their eyes. Wei Dong choked up uncontrobly, while Luo Bu and Wu You were already crying their hearts out.

    Finally, Qin Ci could no longer speak. Blood was pouring out of his entire body as he vomited and convulsed violently, making it difficult for Shao Ling to move forward. NplOyd

    Mu Yiran stopped and looked at Wei Dong. ¡°Do you still have the strength to hold on?¡±

    ¡°¡ªYes,¡± Wei Dong shook his tears away and nodded vigorously.

    Mu Yiran set Ke Xun down and handed him to Wei Dong. ¡°I entrust Ke Xun to you. You carry him and continue to run ahead. Don¡¯t wait for us, just get out of the painting first.¡±¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Wei Dong didn¡¯t waste any words. He hoisted Ke Xun onto his back and sprinted forward. sFPV7

    ¡°Wu You, Fang Fei, Luo Bu, follow,¡± Mu Yiranmanded. The three didn¡¯t hesitate and ran with Wei Dong. ¡°Shao Ling, put Old Qin down and help me get him on my back. Take off his clothes. Haowen, help tie his limbs to me with the clothes, quickly.¡±

    The three swiftly moved, soon securing Qin Ci, now a blood-soaked figure, onto Mu Yiran¡¯s back.

    Qin Ci couldn¡¯t help but convulse violently and with great strength, but fortunately, it was Mu Yiran carrying him. Each step Mu Yiran took was steady and firm. He ran quickly, with a trusting and reliable strength, towards the trees of life in front.

    Just as Qin Ci felt hisst bit of consciousness slipping away, a bright white light pierced through his eyelids that he could no longer open and onto his retinas. The overwhelming pain engulfing his body vanished instantly, though the aftertaste of that agony remained etched in his flesh and bones like maggots on a corpse. 1bg5Sv

    ¡­¡­

    The security guard at the Tercet Art Gallery thought he hade to the wrong ce.

    In front of the bizarre painting of a zombie hand, a group of men and women behaved even more bizarrely than the artwork.

    They were all in thin clothing, as if they¡¯d juste from a tropical region. One of them was even shirtless! The women were at least somewhat decently dressed, but the men appeared utterly exhausted and slumped on the ground¡ªone even seemed to be asleep on the floor?! btlIDB

 Chapter 298: Used to It

    Chapter 298: Used to It

    The snow in City C was exceptionally heavy, covering everything in a nket of silver. Rednterns hung from the bare branches of the trees on both sides of the streets, giving off a festive atmosphere with the approach of the New Year.

    Wu You, ever the bold one, borrowed a 7-seatermercial van from a friend and waited at the airport to pick everyone up. ql2wp

    Ke Xun and Wei Dong were the first to arrive, bundled up like bears with down jackets, scarves, hats, and face masks.

    Ke Xun peeked out from between his mask and hat, his eyshes covered in moisture. ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s freezing at your ce! I¡¯m wearing my thickest clothes, and I still almost pissed myself from the cold when I stepped out of the airport.¡±

    Wu You, with her short haircut and no hat, seemed more resistant to the cold than the two men. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s cold here, but rarely does anyone die from freezing. Most deaths are from people licking the iron railings on the street.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡± qU9FJz

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­¡±

    The three of them climbed into the car to warm up and continued waiting for the others.

    ¡°Where are you staying? Have you booked a hotel?¡± Wu You asked.¡°We¡¯ve booked it already, don¡¯t worry,¡± Ke Xun said. WUJnij

    ¡°Where? I¡¯ll book a room there for Fang Fei too,¡± Wu You said, pulling out her phone.

    ¡°Fang Fei ising too?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    Wu You nodded. ¡°She contacted mest night, said she was on vacation. She saw our group chat, and said she woulde over.¡±

    ¡°Running around in this freezing weather? We have enough people as it is,¡± Wei Dong shrank his neck into his cor. 2EG Zv

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t need to visit any rtives anyway. I¡¯ll take care of her when shees, and we can go shopping together,¡± Wu You said.

    ¡°How do you know she doesn¡¯t have any rtives?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°She mentioned it when we chatted in private,¡± Wu You said. ¡°She seems to have been living on her own and rarely contacts her family.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Wei Dong thought about Fang Fei¡¯s usual demeanor. She was quite independent. ydzCTr

    After waiting for an hour, they picked up Luo Bu, Zhu Haowen, and Fang Fei, and Wu You started driving.

 Chapter 299: Gu-xiang

    Chapter 299: Gu-xiang

    ¡°Granny, what do you mean by innate bone structure?¡± Ke Xun decided to ask step by step.

    ¡°Here, right here,¡± the olddy extended her wrinkled, orange peel-like hand and shakily touched Ke Xun¡¯s forehead. ¡°The skin of a person is called the <em>pi-xiang</em>. The bones inside are called the <em>gu-xiang</em>, the innate bone structure. When judging a person and their fate, <em>gu-xiang</em> reveals most of it.¡± RmQA97

    From behind, Wei Dong muttered quietly, ¡°Can this olddy¡¯s street-side fortune-telling really be urate¡­¡±

    He would rather she be inurate, rather she be like those street-side fortune-telling scammers¡­ all lying.

    Zhu Haowen spoke unemotionally, ¡°It is said that in the scientificmunity, there is research and theory that suggests ¡®one can judge a person¡¯s character, adaptability, and psychological functions based on the shape of the skull.¡¯ So using skull shape to judge and tell fortunes isn¡¯tpletely baseless.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know whether to feelforted or rmed by what you said¡­¡± EVFNJR

    Zhu Haowen ignored him, his gaze continued to fall on Ke Xun¡¯s full, round forehead under the old woman¡¯s withered hand.

    ¡°Are you referring to the shape of the bones when you say <em>gu-xiang</em>?¡± Ke Xun continued to inquire further.

    The old woman shook her head, her finger pointing at the center of Ke Xun¡¯s forehead, ¡°The shape of the bones is also called <em>gu-xiang</em>, but what I mean by -<em>gu-xiang</em> is the essence, energy, and spirit of the bones. Bones are the fundamental root of the physical body, so they manifest in the face. The essence, energy, and spirit shown on a person¡¯s face are actually those of their bones. However, some essence, energy, and spirit can be seen through the <em>pi-xiang</em>, while some are rooted deep within the bones. What I see in your <em>gu-xiang</em> is the root appearance deep in the bones¡­ Unfortunately¡­ my old eyes are dim, my skill not enough, I can see but not clearly, and what I see clearly, I do not recognize¡­¡±¡°What do you mean by not recognizing?¡± Zhu Haowen also walked a few steps forward to the bedside and asked. BXnwu0

    The old woman looked up at him, then withdrew her hand from Ke Xun¡¯s forehead, making a gesture in the air, ¡°There is something on your <em>gu-xiang</em>¡­ ck and blurry, covering it all¡­¡±

    Wei Dong, Luo Bu, and Wu You shivered upon hearing this. ¡°That gave me shivers,¡± Luo Bu said as he rubbed his arms.

    ¡°Do you mean the bones themselves are ck, or is there something ck on the surface of the bones?¡± Zhu Haowen continued to ask.

    ¡°Not on the surface,¡± the old woman shook her head, her cloudy eyes intently fixed on Ke Xun¡¯s face, ¡°inside the bones.¡± ZLWnpF

    ¡°Are the entire bones ck?¡± Ke Xun, feeling ufortable under the old woman¡¯s gaze, couldn¡¯t help but rub his face.

 Chapter 300: Bookshop

    Chapter 300: Bookshop

    A strange heaviness weighed on everyone¡¯s hearts.

    If those people from a hundred years ago had also been entering the paintings, then when did this entire series of events begin? Would it continue endlessly and indefinitely in a cycle? rgGd3U

    What would their fate be? Would they also endlessly struggle between life and death? Either dying in some painting along the way, or struggling until they were old, until they couldn¡¯t struggle anymore, ultimately dying in exhaustion and despair.

    That was just¡­too miserable.

    Everyone returned to the car and sat quietly for a long time before Ke Xun broke the oppressive silence: ¡°I n to stay here a few more days to specifically investigate the bookshop that Granny¡¯s master mentioned. Since her master¡¯s family lived here for generations and those people sought him out for a reading, then that bookshop should be in this city.¡±

    ¡°What if her master followed them to another ce?¡± Wei Dong considered all possibilities. NfvZdQ

    Ke Xun shook his head: ¡°It¡¯s unlikely. That era was the most chaotic and disorderly time in the country. Didn¡¯t you hear what Granny said? People could be shot in the streets. In such a chaotic era, her master, no matter how curious, wouldn¡¯t follow them to another ce. So I think that bookshop is local.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Wei Dong nodded.

    ¡°But it won¡¯t be easy to find, right?¡± Wu You worried. ¡°A bookshop from a hundred years ago might not have survived even back then. After all the wars and chaos, not to mention so many years have passed.¡±¡°Even if it¡¯s hard to find, we must try. This is the only clue we have now,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°As for the <em>gu-xiang</em> the Granny mentioned, Wu You, you should go back and ask Granny if she has taken on any apprentices or knows anyone who¡¯s as good as her. She can¡¯t see clearly, then we just need to find someone whose eyesight is good to help us take a look.¡± 1PzmFC

    Wu You wanted to give herself a bone-scraping treatment at the thought of her <em>gu-xiang</em> being covered in dense ck patterns. She shuddered several times and nodded repeatedly.

    ¡°What about you four? What are your ns?¡± Ke Xun asked the others.

    ¡°<em>Ge</em>, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯d be anxious if I just stayed at home. I¡¯ll stay here with you.¡± Luo Bu raised his hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay too,¡± Zhu Haowen said simply. Mdyx Z

    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything else to do, I can spend the New Year here,¡± Fang Fei said.

    Wei Dong thought for a moment and picked up his phone to call hispany. After some discussion, he hung up and said, ¡°Alright, I was nning to save my annual leave for after the New Year. My brain really short-circuited. What¡¯s the point of annual leave if your life is at stake? I¡¯ll take the time off now.¡±

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯re all staying then,¡± Ke Xun said, signaling Luo Bu to start the car. ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the hotel, drop off our luggage, and make some ns.¡±

    On the way to the hotel, Zhu Haowen briefly summarized what they had learned today and posted it in their group chat. Ke Xun called Mu Yiran directly, exined everything in detail, and told him about their decision to stay in City C for further investigation. rKHMoc

 Chapter 301: Same Place, Different People

    Chapter 301: Same ce, Different People

    ¡°¡­¡± The owner answered the phone and ryed Ke Xun¡¯s question. The other side talked for a long time. The owner listened patiently for a while until the other side finished, and said to Ke Xun, ¡°My grandfather said that when he was a child, this area on the outskirts of the city was a county town. There was a road right outside our house, and across the road was a row of shops selling cloth, grain, furniture, books, and¡­¡±

    ¡°Books!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Boss, please ask if the shop selling books sold paintings too?¡± xdJDLR

    The owner gave Ke Xun a strange look and ryed the question again into the phone. ¡°Yes, my grandfather said the bookshop indeed sold both books and paintings. They also sold antiques¡­¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t wait for this back-and-forth ry. He grabbed the phone from the owner¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Grandpa, can you describe the book shop? Do you know the shop owner¡¯s name?¡±

    The grandfather on the other end didn¡¯t realize this ¡°grandson¡± was different. He coughed while replied, ¡°He was a fat man, surname Li. I had long forgotten his full name¡­ The book shop was two stories high, books downstairs, paintings upstairs. Paintings covered three walls. Some paintings were only for viewing, not for sale. They said they were the genuine works of so-and-so, but I don¡¯t really know anything about them¡­ The book shop owner was wealthy, butter went mad for some reason. He ran into the street and was hit by a horse carriage. The hoofnded right on his neck, and ¡®crack¡¯, he died on the spot¡­¡±

    Ke Xun, touching his neck, left the caf¨¦ with Luo Bu, then called Zhu Haowen and Wei Dong to briefly exin their findings. On the way back, he also shared the information in the group chat. jUQ7rp

    When they got back to the hotel, Wei Dong and Fang Fei hadn¡¯t returned yet. Zhu Haowen said, ¡°So you think that this suggests all the art galleries we visited may have existed in a different form in the same ces hundreds of years ago, forcing a previous group of people to go into the paintings like us?¡±

    Ke Xun nodded, ¡°That¡¯s what I feel. But to be rigorous, we should investigate the cities where the other art galleries are located.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s going to be difficult,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°It¡¯s been almost a hundred years. With wars and upheavals in between, it¡¯s unlikely that every ce will have an elderly person who can provide us with memories of the past.¡±Ke Xun looked at the snowkes falling outside, his voice a bit down. ¡°Say, even if we confirm that whatever was there before each gallery was also an entry point into the paintings, what good would it do? If those people were really the previous group who entered the paintings, even if someone got through it all, they¡¯re probably long dead by now. We have no way to get more clues. What we get may only be more sadness and despair.¡± hlLRa

    Zhu Haowen and Luo Bu were both silent until their phones all buzzed with WeChat notifications simultaneously.

    Mooney: We need to find out if other art galleries have the same situation.

    Corgi: [Shut up and kiss me! .jpg]

    Zhu Haowen, holding his phone: ¡°¡­¡± <i>Was your earlier mncholy an illusion of mine?</i> dejkOQ

    Luo Bu, holding his phone: ¡°¡­¡± <i>My Ge¡¯s rapid recovery to full HP makes me understand the meaning of love and passion.</i>

    Mooney: When are you all nning to leave City C?

    Corgi: We n to stay another day to see if the Granny that Wu You knows can find someone who can read <i>gu-xiang</i>.

    Mooney: Okay. 1NeZMU

    ZHW: Why do we still need to check other art galleries?

    Mooney: If other art galleries are in the same situation, it suggests these locations might have a direct connection to the painting incidents.

    Corgi: Makes sense! Let¡¯s keep investigating!

 Chapter 302: Gu-xiangâ€™s Patterns

    Chapter 302: Gu-xiang¡¯s Patterns

    ¡°As for how we find the origin, I think we might need to trace back further than a hundred years. I don¡¯t believe this event started only a hundred years ago. Based on what we learned about the predecessors of these art galleries, they were mostly privately run bookshops or painting shops. These people lived miles apart and were unlikely to be connected, so it¡¯s quite improbable for them to have set up such a big scheme together.

    ¡°So, I believe that thest group of people were also forced into the paintings. The people who built those bookshops or painting shops were probably influenced by that mysterious force, which led them to choose those locations to build their shops. This indicates that the force and its ¡®designated¡¯ locations existed first, and the shops came afterward. elB6cV

    ¡°Therefore, we do have reason to suspect that this force might have existed even earlier? And, in an earlier time, there might have been a third group of people who also entered the paintings through some means?

    ¡°Only by tracing back to the origin can we find a way to solve this.¡±

    Ke Xun listened carefully to Mu Yiran and said, ¡°But the further back we go, the harder it will be to investigate. How far back do we need to go to get to the end? Besides, each time only thirteen people enter the painting, and such a small number of collective deaths rarely attract much attention or get recorded. We might not even know where to start even if we want to investigate.¡±

    ¡°This is indeed the most challenging problem to solve,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°Let¡¯s put it aside for now. What we need to do now is, first, check all the surveince footage of the art galleries, and second, wait for Wu You¡¯s updates. Perhaps we can find some clues from the patterns on the <em>gu-xiang</em>.¡± Q4WRst

    Ke Xun nodded, and Mu Yiran posted his ideas to their WeChat group and asked Zhu Haowen to obtain surveince footage from the other art galleries as well.

    In the following days, everyone worked tirelessly, drowning in a vast amount of surveince video data, painstakingly searching for those simr faces that might bring a glimmer of hope to everyone.

    After two or three days like this, Wu You finally brought some slightly encouraging news¡ªGranny had a junior ¡°colleague¡± who could read <em>gu-xiang</em>.Thus, everyone in the WeChat group gathered in City C again and waited at the Granny¡¯s house for the master who could read <em>gu-xiang</em>. kBFDXt

    Granny didn¡¯t expect to find that there were so many people with such eerie and ominous <em>gu-xiangs</em>. She was a bit frightened and kept muttering under her breath, seemingly praying or perhaps¡­ preemptively offering blessings for these unfortunate souls to find peace.

    The <em>gu-xiang</em> master, who looked to be in his forties, actually had a somewhat enlightened and serene demeanor. However, when he saw the ten people standing in a row in front of him, he was also quite taken aback. He even staggered back three or four steps before steadying himself.

    ¡°This¡ª¡± The <em>gu-</em>xiang master didn¡¯t know what to say for a moment, his gaze, filled with doubt, darted back and forth over the group.

    Mu Yiran spoke first, his deep voice calmly and clearly reaching the master¡¯s ears: ¡°You need not speak for now. Listen to what I have to say and then decide whether to speak. VmezEv

    ¡°We cannot exin to you anything rted to the <em>gu-xiang</em> on us.

    ¡°We cannot be sure if helping us interpret the <em>gu-</em>xiang will implicate you.

 Chapter 303: There are Heavens Beyond Heavens and Worlds Beyond This World?

    Chapter 303: There are Heavens Beyond Heavens and Worlds Beyond This World?

    ¡°The time when the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ was written cannot be verified. But it has been mentioned in ¡®Records of the Grand Historian¡®. One theory is that it was written by people from the Chu or Bashu regions during thete Warring States period to early and mid-Han dynasty. Some even believe it was written even earlier, by Yu or Bo Yi mentioned in ¡®A Brief History of Chinese Fiction¡¯ that the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ was an ancient shamanic book. As shamanic texts were used by shamans for rituals, so its author was a shaman. This version of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯, written by a shaman, was likely the earliest and the most original version, but it has long since been lost.

    ¡°Also looking at the style of the patterns on our <em>gu-xiang</em>, the lines are simpler and more primitive than those from the Ming and Qing dynasties. There¡¯s a sense of extreme simplicity, yet it gives an extremely profound and mysterious feeling. So, I think the patterns on our bones date back to earlier, at least from the Southern Liang or Song dynasty version, and even possibly¡­the original version.¡± s6CBbt

    ¡°What kind of rituals?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°Praying and dispelling disasters, it¡¯s a type of Taoist magical practice,¡± Shao Ling exined. ¡°Praying includes praying for sun or rain, dispelling locusts, curing diseases, and eliminating gues. Dispelling disasters includes resolving fires, floods, droughts, winds, earthquakes, and bad luck.¡±

 Chapter 304: A Perfectly Matched Team Where Each Could Show Their Strengths

    Chapter 304: A Perfectly Matched Team Where Each Could Show Their Strengths

    ¡°Based on our analysis just now, I believe there are a few important points that should be circled out,¡± Mu Yiran continued. ¡°First, the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ is a painting, and it might be simr to the paintings we have entered before, capable of exhibiting a world within the painting.

    ¡°Second, we need to determine which version of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ appeared on our <em>gu-xiang</em>. Currently, there are three possible options: the Northern Song dynasty version, the Southern Liang dynasty version, and the original version. SdWoTi

    ¡°Third, we need to consider the properties of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ as a shamanic book. This is something I think we should pay extra attention to. If ¡®spiritual power¡¯ is crucial within the painting, then the shamanic book might not be an ordinary one but one infused with powerful spiritual energy. Now, we see the contents of the shamanic book on our <em>gu-xiang</em>. Is there a connection between them?

    ¡°These are the points I consider important right now. Everyone, please feel free to add more.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s start discussion around these three points,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°Too many threads can lead to confusion. We can expand our ideas as we discuss, but it would be best if someone takes notes. It will keep our thoughts organized if they are reflected into words and listed in bullet points.¡±

    This group of men nced at each other, and no one really wanted to be the record keeper¡ªmost of them had ugly handwriting. NUVrQB

    ¡°At this moment, I deeply miss ourrade Gu Qingqing,¡± Ke Xun said.

    Gu Qingqing had neat and beautiful handwriting and was good at taking notes¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s vote,¡± Ke Xun suggested. ¡°I¡¯ll count to three, and everyone points to their preferred record keeper.¡±Everyone could see that Ke Xun was trying to lighten the mood, so they nodded in agreement. nqL6c5

    ¡°One, two, three.¡± When Ke Xun finished counting, several hands simultaneously pointed at Shao Ling.

    Shao Ling: ¡°¡­¡± Feeling he had been bullied in this team¡­

    ¡°Use aptop to type,¡± Fortunately Mu Yiran gave him a more considerate solution. But Shao Ling swore he definitely saw Mu Yiran also move his finger slightly and point in his direction just now!

    Some people appear to be big shots but secretly doing things like anonymous voting, hmph. DaZWxO

    ¡°Regarding the first point,¡± the secretly cunning bigshot had already moved on to the main topic, ¡°if the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ is a painting and can exhibit a world within the painting, could this world be the original world where the painting incidents began? Or, could it be the first painting in the entire painting incident?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s the first painting, then our focus should be on this painting if we want to find the source of the painting incidents,¡± Zhu Haowen said.

    ¡°This leads to the second question,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°If this painting is the source of the painting incidents, then which version of the painting is it? Is the painting on our <em>gu-xiang</em> the same version? Why does this painting appear on our bones?¡±

    Everyone pondered for a long time, and finally, Ke Xun shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re stuck at this point. As Prez Shao said earlier, all three versions of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ have been lost to time. We can never determine its version based on the painting style alone. Let¡¯s put this question aside for now. We might be able to deduce the answer once we gather more information.¡± otISdE

    ¡°Regarding the third point, the properties of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ as shamanic book might exin Shao Ling¡¯sst question,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°If it is something imbued with the spiritual powers of shaman craft and contains supernatural energy, then the patterns on our <em>gu-xiang</em> might be influenced by this shamanic power.¡±

    ¡°We know that the previous group of people who entered the painting, like us, also had these patterns on their <em>gu-xiang</em>. This indicates that these patterns can be inherited,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°Regardless of which version the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ is, we know the previous group was certainly not thest before us. There must have been many groups before them. Perhaps every hundred years, this painting incident repeats. Tracing back, we might reach the time when this version was first created. The people who entered the painting at that time, the first group that entered the painting, what was their rtionship with the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Old Qin got to an important point,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°The first group of people who entered the painting would never have been like us,ing from all over the country and didn¡¯t know each other. Given the limitations of their era, the people in the first group must have known each other or were familiar with each other, or they were deliberately gathered together.

    ¡°Then, what kind of situation would bring thirteen possibly familiar or deliberately gathered people to the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ painting? AGhbzn

    ¡°What conditions did they trigger to start this bizarre and terrifying painting event that has persisted for thousands of years?¡±

    A series of questions shrouded everyone in a fog of confusion, and they couldn¡¯t help but begin to ponder deeply once again.

 Chapter 305: The Paintingâ€™s Hints

    Chapter 305: The Painting¡¯s Hints

    Matcha Honey Fruit<b>:</b> ¡°Golden Rope? The one used by the Golden Horn and Silver Horn Kings to bind Sun Wukong in that episode. Besides that, I vaguely remember another rope called the Immortal Binding Rope, but I can¡¯t recall its source.¡±

    Ke Xun noted down the Golden Rope and the Immortal Binding Rope, and continued to scroll through thements. After finishing the first wave, newments appeared. Upon checking again, he found another useful one. nAOFT6

    Spring and Autumn is Great<b>:</b> ¡°The Yao-Binding Rope, a treasure Nuwa gave to humans to restrain all <i>yao</i>s. The Immortal Binding Rope: a treasure of Julusun, one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Kunlun, passed to his disciple Tuxingsun. It has bound Ne Zha, Huang Tianhua, and Eng Shen. The Long Rainbow Rope: a treasure of Puxian Zhenren in ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯, which can bind people and summon Yellow Turban Warriors. The Dragon-Binding Rope: a treasure of Princess Longji in ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯.¡±

    Ke Xun noted all these down and continued to research online while monitoring thements on his Weibo post.

    As it neared midnight, Ke Xun put down his phone and suggested everyone get some rest. Rome wasn¡¯t built in a day, and clues wouldn¡¯t be all found overnight either.

    Ever since everyone came to Ke Xun¡¯s house to make dumplingsst time, he had bought severaltex mattresses and stuffed them in the guest room closet for future use. Wei Dong, who didn¡¯t live too far away, stayed over as well, joining everyone. 4N0ltb

    Shao Ling and Qin Ci slept in the guest room, Wei Dong and Luo Bu slept in the living room, and Zhu Haowen slept in the study.

    Ke Xun got into bed, wrapped himself around Mu Yiran like an octopus, one hand mischievously slipped under Mu Yiran¡¯s pajama, scratched his waist a few times, then ced his warm palm on Mu Yiran¡¯s skin, and closed his eyes in rxation.

    Mu Yiran gently rubbed his corgi¡¯s head, threading his long fingers through Ke Xun¡¯s hair and continuouslybed from front to back. Under thisfortable and reassuring caress, Ke Xun quickly fell asleep.Early the next morning, when Fang Fei, Wu You, and Gu Qingqing came over with breakfast for everyone, Ke Xun was still sleeping heavily. Wei Dong poked his head in to wake him up: ¡°If you don¡¯t get up, I¡¯m going to eat your share!¡± wsClF7

    Ke Xun groggily opened his eyes, ¡°Where¡¯s Yiran¡­¡±

    ¡°Bigshot¡¯s the one who asked me to wake you up. He¡¯s on the phone,¡± Wei Dong nced at him, ¡°Why are you so sleepy? What did you dost night?¡±

    ¡°Not only am I sleepy, but I¡¯m also eating more,¡± Ke Xun sat up and scratched his head, ¡°I think something¡¯s wrong.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wei Dong was startled. 6eZOVE

    Ke Xun frowned and looked at his stomach: ¡°I might be¡­ pregnant.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­You! Damn gay! Perv!¡± He turned and walked out.

    When Ke Xunzily came out of the bedroom, he saw everyone gathered around the dining table eating and chatting. Their focus was on their spections about ¡°The ssic of Mountains and Seas¡± painting fromst night.

 Chapter 306: The First and Second Painting

    Chapter 306: The First and Second Painting

    ¡°Then let¡¯s look at the seventh painting, ¡®Shadow,¡¯ its theme is color.¡± Zhu Haowen turned to Wei Dong, ¡°Do you have any professional insights as a reference?¡±

    Wei Dong recalled for a moment. ¡°On the surface, the painting seems to express the artist¡¯s devotion to colors, as if he cannot tolerate even the slightest contamination of color. N2vD5c

    ¡°But looking deeper, considering the artist¡¯s background and the legend of the fallen flower cavegirls, it actually implies the artist¡¯s fanatical and even extreme worship of ck.

    ¡°What gave me the deepest impression in that painting were the interweaving and visual impacts of the two extreme colors, ck and white, that appeared to us every night. It seemed like, in the artist¡¯s eyes, the world was either ck or white, and he sided with the ck.¡±

    ¡°So the hint from this painting is darkness, or the evil that darkness represents?¡± Fang Fei asked.

    Ke Xun wore a ¡°this is stupid¡± expression. ¡°The force behind the painting hints at us that it¡¯s evil? We don¡¯t even need this hint. Of course it¡¯s evil. Isn¡¯t this hint a bit redundant?¡± Sn8JBZ

    Wei Dong waved his hand, thinking aloud, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that straightforward. but if you want me to analyze the essence beyond the surface like the bigshot here, I don¡¯t have that ability. I can only think from a color-rted perspective.

    ¡°If we simply analyze ck and white, they are two extremes in color, like positive and negative poles¡­ and speaking of positive and negative poles, naturally, the plus and minus signse to mind. From the plus and minus signs, I then thought of two color-rted definitions: additive color mixing and subtractive color mixing.

    ¡°I won¡¯t get intoplicated concepts. Simply put, additive color mixing is when the lights of all the colors mix together, resulting in white light; subtractive color mixing is when all the physical color pigments mix together, resulting in ck.¡°You see, both are produced by mixing all colors, but they result in two extreme colors. The only difference is one is light, and the other is a physical substance, and the artist stands on the side of the physical substance¡­ Ah? I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m saying anymore. Anyway, that¡¯s what I can think of. What do you all think hmm?¡± EWQUZe

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­uh, quite hmm.¡±

    Wei Dong: ¡°¡­Move aside, let the bigshot speak.¡±

    The bigshot said, ¡°Wei Dong¡¯s analysis is very useful. The idea of light versus physical substance gives us a new angle. Perhaps ¡®light¡¯ represents daylight, that is ¡®sky,¡¯ and opposite to it, the physical substance is ¡®earth.¡¯ The artist¡¯s admiration for ck might suggest the painting is hinting at earth or underground¡ªof course, this is purely spective for now, it can be listed as an alternative option.

    ¡°Additionally, the concept of positive and negative poles also catches my attention. White and ck, positive and negative, easily reminds me of the yin-yang fish in the Tai Chi diagram. So, could the ck and white in this painting also imply yin and yang? If the artist admires ck, could it be hinting at¡­ the realms of yin and yang? STZDLP

    ¡°Or, ck and white, positive and negative, might suggest a struggle between two opposing forces, which once again confirms our previous hypothesis. There are indeed two forces at y, one positive and one negative, behind the painting incident.¡±

    When Mu Yiran mentioned ¡°the realms of yin and yang,¡± everyone shivered. Wu You quickly said, ¡°I feel that it should be implying two opposing forces¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, I feel the same,¡± Luo Bu nodded in agreement.

 Chapter 307: Chain of Clues

    Chapter 307: Chain of Clues

    ¡°<em>Xiao</em> Shao¡¯s analysis is very detailed,¡± Qin Ci nodded. ¡°I also think we should also refine them. Perhaps each of the fourteen paintings we¡¯ve entered has provided us with a different hint. We shouldn¡¯t overlook more clues in our search just to findmonalities across the paintings.¡±

    Everyone nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Maybe ¡®Animal World¡¯ hints at the survival of the fittest and the species swapping Shao <em>Ge</em> just mentioned?¡± Luo Bu said, looking at Ke Xun. ¡°<em>Ge</em>, do you remember in ¡®Burning Rhinoceros at Sea,¡¯ you mentioned the movie ¡®Pacific Rim¡¯?

    ¡°The monsters invade the human world from the sea, ughtering humanity¡ªif they eventually seeded, doesn¡¯t that sound like the cows in ¡®Animal World¡¯? In that painting, the cows rece humans as the dominant species, and their numbers would surely grow until theypletely rece humans, swapping out the most powerful species.

    ¡°I remember you also said it felt like ¡®humans¡¯ from another world were slowly infiltrating and recing us. At first, they only used the lowest-level members to test us, then they¡¯d send higher-level ones to continue the tests, and eventually send even more advanced ones tounch a full invasion¡­

    ¡°Brothers and sisters, do you think these fourteen paintings we¡¯ve entered might be tests sent by ¡®another world¡¯ to probe this world¡¯s most powerful species¡ªhumans? Once all thirteen of us receiving the tests fail, they might thenunch a full-scale invasion?¡±

    Luo Bu shivered at his own words and scooted closer to Ke Xun.

    ¡°Radish¡¯s idea is very possible!¡± Ke Xun suddenly pped his thigh, startling Luo Bu.

    ¡°But ording to our investigation a few days ago, weren¡¯t the previous batch of entrants all wiped out?¡± Zhu Haowen asked. ¡°If Luo Bu¡¯s theory is correct, shouldn¡¯t the full-scale invasion have started already?¡±¡°What if that group didn¡¯t all get wiped out, but¡­all seeded instead?¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes gleamed as he spoke. Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn by this statement and looked towards him. ¡°They all seeded, and the final thirteen people passed the challenge without losing a single person and stopped the invasion from that other world. Now, nearly a centuryter, the power from that world has returned, and we, the chosen ones, must once again pass a painting without losing anyone, to suppress that force again?¡±

    This theory suddenly invigorated everyone¡ªif the previous batch of participants hadn¡¯t died, that would be truly encouraging and uplifting news!

    ¡°In any case, at least the clue hinted at by ¡®Animal World¡¯ is probably what Radish said,¡± Qin Ci said. ¡°It hints at the invasion of another species, or another absolute power, and its attempt to rece the world we live in.¡±

    Everyone exchanged nces; this theory left them feeling unsure what to do.

    They had initially thought that the painting event was just a small-scoped strange, terrifying event confined to the thirteen of them. But they didn¡¯t expect¡­expect it might impact the survival of the real world.

    Yet, due to the constraints imposed by the force behind the paintings, they couldn¡¯t tell anyone outside the thirteen about it. A world-level crisis, with only a handful of them to bear the burden.

    Could they really handle it?

    This world had no superheroes.

    There were only ordinary people like them, forced into this situation.

    The slight uplift in their spirits from earlier now weighed down heavily once again.

    ¡°I have an idea about the hint in ¡®Pure Land¡¯,¡± Ke Xun was always the first to cheer back up again. ¡°In that painting, each of us selected an item, and these items were closely tied to our fate, or more specifically, our deaths. Don¡¯t you think these items are somewhat simr to the existence of the patterns on our bones?¡±

    His words were a wake-up call, and everyone was startled. We¡¯re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our trantions keep getting stolen by aggregators so we¡¯re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

    ¡°For example, Yiran, Prez Shao, and I have <em>gu-xiang</em> that resemble hemp rope-like markings, simr to the bunny ears, cat ears, or dragon horns headbands. The patterns on you guyse from the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ painting, and each of you has a different pattern. This is simr to the sword, pen, clothes, and treasure bowl¡ª isn¡¯t this like the items we were forced to choose to get through the painting?¡±

    ¡°¡ªItems!¡± Wei Dong pped his hands. ¡°That¡¯s it! Our <em>gu-xiang</em> are the items that the force behind the paintings forcefully imposed on us, meant to help us pass through the entire painting incident. At some critical moment, our <em>gu-xiang</em> is bound to y a vital role!¡±

    He had almost wanted to stay in the painting and didn¡¯t want toe out. While inside that world, the eerie and peaceful feeling and that sense of belonging he felt left him not only with lingering fear afterward but also with a trace of longing and reluctance.

    This painting really had a profound impact on him.

    ¡°Do you remember the news broadcast we heard on the radio just before we left the painting, when we were heading into the cave with the signature?¡± Qin Ci recalled every detail of the painting vividly. Seeing that some of the veteran members were shaking their heads, he continued, ¡°The news mentioned that the beasts Su Benxin had taken were intercepted by local police, and among them was a Hexagram Beast, which was said to be a crucial nutritional beast for the secret Beast outside the city. It also mentioned that if the criminals seeded in smuggling those beasts, the consequences would be unimaginable, and Heart City could very well fall again¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªDivination!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Say, do you think this has something to do with our <em>gu-xiang</em>?¡±

    ¡°I think it does,¡± Zhu Haowen licked his lips, his emotions seeming stirred. ¡°The red marks on some of us in that painting bore a simr meaning to the patterns on our bones. Coincidentally, our <em>gu-xiang </em>were identified by someone skilled in yin-yang techniques. They¡¯re a type of item, yet, like in ¡®Pure Land,¡¯ they became part of us, turning us into ¡®divination Beasts¡¯¡­¡±

    ¡°So, the ¡®nutritional beasts crucial for the mysterious Beast outside the city¡¯ means¡­¡± Wei Dong¡¯s voice was dry. ¡°We might be¡­ food for the force behind the paintings?¡±

    ¡°Or we could be sacrifices,¡± Mu Yiran suddenly said. ¡°the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ was a shamanistic painting used in rituals for ancestor worship, soul summoning, soul sending, andmunicating with the heavens and earth in ancient times. So, we might very well be living sacrifices.¡±

    After he said that, everyone was so shocked that they were momentarily speechless.

    Wei Dong recalled the horrific deaths of those who became sacrificial offerings to the Heishitian in ¡°Faith,¡± and he couldn¡¯t help but shudder. His voice became even more hoarse as he said, ¡°Then, then, the so-called fall of Heart City might be a metaphor for our world. In other words, after we be sacrifices, the ¡®mysterious Beast,¡¯ or rather the force behind the painting, will gain enough power after absorbing ¡®nutrients¡¯ to make our world fall?¡±

    ¡°¡­Well, it is giving us a lot of credit,¡± Ke Xun twitched his mouth. ¡°Are we really just random test subjects who, after being screened, possess such great power to help the painting overthrow the world?¡±

    ¡°That question might rte to the clue hinted at in ¡®Schr?dinger¡¯s Cat,''¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°Human willpower and spiritual strength are forces beyond measure. Perhaps what the painting ultimately wants to exploit isn¡¯t, or isn¡¯t only, our physical bodies as sacrifices. After enduring all these trials and screenings, our willpower is no longer weak, and that might be what the painting truly wants to harness.¡±

    The group fell silent, the atmosphere turning somber.

    Noticing this, Mu Yiran, with a calm tone that yet carried a faint, almost imperceptible note of reassurance, said. ¡°As for the remaining painting, ¡®Inn,¡¯ if it¡¯s not hinting at two worlds either, perhaps the clue it points to could help answer some of the questions we have been concerned about. All of us united together to take this step forward¡ªeven if this is a step backward, this step backward is for the sake of moving forward for longer. Although that step backward may lead to a deep abyss, we will get eternal light in return.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s gaze rested on Ke Xun¡¯s face, and Ke Xun¡¯s eyes also flickered. He immediately understood what he meant.

    Ke Xun smiled and looked at everyone. ¡°See? There will be eternal light, so there¡¯s no need to worry too much. All the clues that seem unfavorable to us now might just be a temporary ¡®step backward¡¯. It¡¯s for preparing us to ultimately defeat the force behind everything and bring about that ¡®eternal light¡¯¡ªto finally end all of this. Since we managed toe back alive from ¡®Inn,¡¯ we¡¯ll surely make it through this whole ordeal as well. Let¡¯s all stay strong!¡±

    ¡°¡ªYes, Captain Ke!¡± Wei Dong shouted, his spirits lifted.

    ¡°<em>Ge</em>, I think you¡¯d be great at running a pyramid scheme,¡± Luo Bu rubbed his ear, startled by Wei Dong¡¯s shout.

    ¡°Get lost,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s keep going. The only hint left unclear is from ¡®Burning Rhinoceros at Sea.''¡±

    Everyone perked up again, focusing on Shao Ling¡¯sptop screen.

    ¡°I have a thought¡­¡± Gu Qingqing suddenly said. ¡°Of the fourteen paintings we¡¯ve entered, ¡®Burning Rhinoceros at Sea¡¯ seems to be the only ancient painting. Could this be intentional on the part of the painting¡¯s force?¡±

    ¡°I think that suspicion is a bit of a stretch,¡± Shao Ling replied. ¡°We know that thest group of people who entered the paintings did so nearly a hundred years ago, and most of the artwork circting in our country at that time would have been ancient paintings. If being an ancient painting hinted at some clue, then what could the previous group have gleaned from the dozen or so ancient paintings they encountered?¡±

    ¡°There may be different ways of hinting at clues in different eras,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°I actually agree with Miss Qing¡¯s suspicion. Otherwise, with so many real masterpieces of famous artists disyed in the art galleries, why would we be made to enter a replica instead of getting an original for us to enter? This suggests that the painting itself holds an important hint.¡±

    Shao Ling looked at him for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Your analytical skills have grown remarkably.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°I¡¯m honored to receive praise from you, Prez Shao. Come for a kiss.¡±

    Shao Ling: ¡°¡­¡± Did I lose my mind, why did I praise him.

    ¡°Since this painting itself is important,¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°then the clues it hints at might be rted to its inherent attributes, like illusions? Mythical beasts? Immortality? Or perhaps, its era?¡±

    ¡°Era,¡± Mu Yiran and Shao Ling simultaneously said.

    ¡°There¡¯s only one ancient painting in all the paintings. The biggest difference between them is the era.¡± Mu Yiran said.

    ¡°This painting is from the Qin Dynasty, so it¡¯s very likely that the hint it gives us rtes to the Qin era,¡± Shao Ling said.

    ¡°Could this hint mean that the origin of the entire painting event dates back to the Qin Dynasty?¡± Wu You quickly asked.

    ¡°Could it really be connected to Emperor Qin Shi Huang¡¯s quest for immortality by sending people to sea?¡± Luo Bu also asked quickly.

    Shao Ling thought for a moment and said, ¡°There were many practitioners of esoteric arts during the Qin era. Just the number of them buried alive by Emperor Qin Shi Huang was over 460. TODO Secret arts, mysticism, and strange phenomena likely flourished during ancient times too. We might need to consult quite a bit of historical material. For now, let¡¯s assume that the clue from this painting points to the Qin era. Now that we¡¯ve roughly outlined the clues from all fourteen paintings, I¡¯ll organize and summarize them.¡±

    While Shao Ling was sorting out the clues, everyone else stood up to stretch. Some went to the bathroom, some got a drink of water, and others stood by the French windows, watching the snow falling from the gloomy sky.

    Ke Xun noticed it was gettingte and ordered takeout for everyone¡ªnow that they were at a critical stage in tracking down the clues, he temporarily didn¡¯t have the energy to cook for them.

    Just as he finished brewing a pot of Tieguanyin tea and brought it over, Shao Ling had finished organizing, and everyone gathered around again to look at the screen, where fourteen concise and clear lines of text were disyed:

    <strong><em>¡°</em></strong><em>Free Evaluation of Evidence<strong>¡°</strong> ¡ª The method to crack the mystery of the paintings requires using one¡¯s heart to judge right from wrong.</em>

    <strong><em>¡°</em></strong><em>Ling Shu<strong>¡°</strong> ¡ª Each painting points to a clue, and each clue points to the truth behind the scenes.</em>

    <em>¡°The Funeral¡± ¡ª The truth is rted to shamans.</em>

    <em>¡°Faith¡± ¡ª Both good and evil forces coexist within the painting and fight against each other.</em>

    <em>¡°Breaking Through the Ground¡± ¡ª The evil force is about to break into the real world.</em>

    <em>¡°Animal World¡± ¡ª Survival of the fittest: if the evil force arrives, we will be the lower rung of the food chain, reced by the evil force,pleting the swap of the species.</em>

    <em>¡°Shadow¡± ¡ª The evil forcees from the opposite of our world, like the rtionship between ck and white, or yin and yang.</em>

    <em>¡°Human Studies¡± ¡ª The good or evil forces in the painting screen the entrants, and the strong ones remain.</em>

    <em>¡°Pure Land¡± ¡ª For those who remain, gu-xiang bes an ¡°item¡± for clearing the challenge.</em>

    <em>¡°Scarlet Beast¡± ¡ª The ¡°item¡± might serve as a sacrifice to the evil force or as an energy source for the good force.</em>

    <em>¡°Burning Rhinoceros at the Sea¡± ¡ª The entire event originates from the Qin Dynasty.</em>

    <em>¡°Inn¡± ¡ª The method to defeat the evil force: in order to achieve victory, we must take a step backward.</em>

    <em>¡°Schr?dinger¡¯s Cat¡± ¡ª The weapon to achieve victory is our willpower and spiritual strength.</em>

    <em>¡°Restart¡± ¡ª If we fail, the entire world will be reced by a new one. The world will be rebuilt and turned upside down.</em>

    Shao Ling¡¯s summary was not only concise and clear, but it also connected seamlessly. Aplete chain of clues clearly emerged.

    ¡°This makes things very clear!¡± Wei Dong said. ¡°Next, we need to investigate if any strange events urred during the Qin Dynasty that could be linked to the painting event.¡±

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    Ke Xun: I¡¯m honored to receive praise from you, Prez Shao. Come for a kiss.

    Shao Ling: ¡­

    Mu Yiran: Will you praise him again in the future?

    Shao Ling: ¡­ (Should I answer ¡°yes¡± or ¡°no¡±? Please help, what do I do, urgent.)

 Chapter 308: The Power of The People

    Chapter 308: The Power of The People

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t stop investigating clues rted to the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ either,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°And also the coordinates of the art galleries¡ªthese might be crucial for getting through the final challenge.¡±

    Shao Ling nodded. ¡°You all continue with yesterday¡¯s work. Leave investigating the Qin Dynasty to me.¡±

    ¡°I can help¡­¡± Gu Qingqing raised her hand.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Shao Ling then looked at Fang Fei and Wu You. ¡°If you two don¡¯t have other ns, you can lend a hand as well.¡±

    Fang Fei and Wu You agreed.

    After dinner, the girls didn¡¯t rush to leave but instead took the time to divide the work and help with the investigation.

    Everyone was engrossed in theirputer,ptop, phones, and books. The room was filled only with the sounds of typing and pages turning.

    Ke Xun opened his Weibo and saw that thements had increased by over six thousand, with over a thousand reposts and hundreds of private messages. Checking them one by one would be time-consuming and exhausting, so he moved to sit by the window, looking out at the dark night and feeling the slight chill seeping through the window frame to cheer himself up before opening thements.

    Most of thements were either people licking the screen or teasing him. The serious answers were mostly repetitive. Later, even things like Chinese knots and Yue Lao¡¯s red thread of fate were mentioned. Ke Xun found them unreliable but noted down anything rted to ropes anyway.He kept scrolling through thements like that until his eyes grew tired. He looked at the time and it was already past 10 PM. He nced over at Fang Fei and the other two girls, who were still looking for information with Shao Ling andpletely forgot about the time. They were really working hard.

    Ke Xun stretched, preparing to ask the guys to escort the girls back to the hotel for some rest, when a message in thement section caught his eye. He quickly focused on it and read:

    ¡°¡®Huainanzi¡®, chapter Patterns of Heaven, says: ¡®The center is the Earth. Its emperor, the Yellow Emperor. His assistant, Hou Tu, holds the rope to govern the four directions.¡¯ This means that Hou Tu, holding an inked rope, assisted the Yellow Emperor in managing the affairs of the four corners of the world. The inked rope is a tool used by carpenters. Whether it has any divine power, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Ke Xun quickly noted down ¡°inked rope¡± and continued scrolling, finding that this user, ¡°Writing Papers Kills People,¡± had left not just onement. There were several morements.

    Writing Papers Kills People: ¡°¡®Readings of the Taiping Era¡¯ states: ¡®It is said that when the heavens and earth were first created, there were no humans. Nuwa molded yellow earth to create people. But the workload was too heavy, and she couldn¡¯t keep up, so she dipped a rope in mud and flung it around to create people. Thus, the wealthy and the nobles are those made by hand, and the poor, ordinary ones are those made by the rope.¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°¡­¡± So, the three of us with rope patterns on our bones are the poor and ordinary ones? We¡¯re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our trantions keep getting stolen by aggregators so we¡¯re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

    He kept reading¡ª

    Writing Papers Kills People: ¡°As for what is the Earth Cord, ¡°Liezi¡°¡®s The Questions of Tang says: ¡°Later, Gonggong fought with Zhuanxu for the throne. In anger, he rammed Mount Buzhou, breaking the Heavenly Pir and severing the Earth Cord.¡± This ¡°Earth Cord¡± is the rope that holds the earth together. The ancients believed that the sky was round, and the earth was square, withrge ropes at the four corners of the earth pulling the pir of sky, hence the name ¡®Earth Cord.¡¯

    Mu Yiran¡¯s eyes flickered as he looked at the phone screen. After a moment, he lifted his gaze to look at Ke Xun. ¡°Nuwa¡¯s rope was just a single one, but the Earth Cord consists of four ropes. Now, the three of us have rope patterns. Perhaps the fourth rope pattern will appear on one of the three people outside our group of ten. So, I also believe that the Earth Cord is most likely.¡±

    Ke Xun scratched his hair and said, ¡°A rope that holds the earth together¡ªthis is way too¡­ way too grand. We¡¯re just ordinary people among billions. Having something like that imposed on us feels¡­ like a weight that¡¯s too heavy for life to bear.¡±

    Mu Yiran rubbed Ke Xun¡¯s messy hair. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just a theme, like a tattoo¡ªa symbolic way of expression. Think of it like the door gods we put up on our doors; they¡¯re just pictures, not the actual gods. It¡¯s the same concept. There¡¯s no need to feel too pressured. What we need to figure out is what role this gu-xiang will y, or what it signifies.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at his phone screen and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s true that the power of the people is great. I never expected the answer toe out this way. Should I ask people questions about the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯?¡±

    ¡°You can.¡± Mu Yiran looked at him and smiled. ¡°It seems you¡¯re more capable than the rest of us.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you intimately aware of how capable I am?¡± Ke Xun leaned in close, his nose brushing against Mu Yiran¡¯s, and whispered.

    ¡°That could be taken in more ways than one,¡± Mu Yiran gave him a sideways nce as he pinched Ke Xun¡¯s chin and gently shook it from side to side.

    Ke Xun quickly nted a kiss on Mu Yiran¡¯s cheek, then sat back down properly. He casually said as he began typing out a new Weibo post on his phone, ¡°If four of us have the Earth Cord gu-xiang, then the rest nine people must have the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ gu-xiang. So why do the four of us have the Earth Cord instead of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯? There must be a reason for this¡­¡±

    ¡°Nine people with the the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ pattern¡­¡± Mu Yiran suddenly narrowed his eyes, and Ke Xun immediately stopped what he was doing to look at him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought of a possibility,¡± Mu Yiran said in a low voice.

    Perhaps their voices had been a bit louder in theirter conversations. Everyone paused their work and turned to look at them.

    ¡°As for the origin of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯, aside from the theory that it¡¯s a ¡®shaman drawing¡¯, there¡¯s another theory.¡± Mu Yiran said slowly, ¡°Legend has it that at the beginning of the Xia dynasty, Yu the Great divided thend into Nine Provinces. He then ordered the governors of these Provinces to contribute bronze, which he used to cast nine cauldrons that symbolized the Nine Provinces.

    ¡°Yu the Great ordered people to draw famous mountains, rivers, sceneries, and strange creatures within the Nine Provinces. He then selected skilled craftsmen to engrave these images onto the nine cauldrons.

    ¡°Since each cauldron covered the natural scenes and creatures of its respective Province, these nine cauldrons came to represent all things in the world. From then on, ¡®Nine Provinces¡¯ became a synonym with China, and terms like ¡®settling the cauldrons¡¯ and ¡®vying for the cauldrons¡¯ became metaphors for ruling thend.

    ¡°Therefore, some schrs believe that the ancient painting of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ originates from the engravings on the nine cauldrons. The painting the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ is a remnant of those cauldron engravings.

    ¡°If we are certain that there are nine entrants with gu-xiang of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯, then we might be able to determine which version of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ is on our bones¡ªYu the Great cast the nine cauldrons and had the mountains and seas engraved on them. The mountain and sea patterns on our bones are from this most original version, the Yu version.¡±

    Everyone was shocked, looking at each other without knowing what to do.

    In the vast river of history, every individual was but a grain of sand or a drop of water, insignificant and small. Yet, at the origin of that grand and turbulent river, in that mythological era that no imagination could urately describe, there existed an ancient divine artifact capable of stabilizing heaven and earth, safeguarding mountains and rivers, and engraving gods and spirits. And this artifact was inextricably tied to beings as tiny as they are.

    This really caught everyone off guard. For a moment, everyone was overwhelmed by the same feeling of panic from the ¡°weight that¡¯s too heavy for life to bear¡± that Ke Xun had felt earlier.

    ¡°Can this really¡­ really be true?¡± Luo Bu found it hard to believe that something so unimaginable would happen to him.

    ¡°There¡¯s a ny nine percent chance it is,¡± Shao Ling said, taking a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s really a case of ¡®one can¡¯t see the forest for the trees.¡¯ If Mu hadn¡¯t thought of this, I wouldn¡¯t have made the connection either. I recall some rted information from my memory.

    ¡°¡®The Zuo Tradition¡¯ records this in detail. The content was roughly this: Yu had people carve images of evil beings and ghostly beings, as well as demons, monsters, poisonous insects, harmful beasts, and strange spirits from rivers, marshes, mountains, and forests¡ªonto the nine cauldrons. This was done so that themon people could recognize these creatures and be prepared. When they go out on a long journey and travel through mountains and forests, they will have methods to handle them when encountering these things, such as warding off evil, driving away demons, and banishing ghosts. The ancients also believed that these nine cauldrons were imbued with various gods and spirits and possessed supernatural abilities.

    ¡°Yang Shen, a Ming dynasty schr, also argued that the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ was the remnant of Yu¡¯s cauldrons. He said that the images on these nine cauldrons contained the wonders of mountains, waters, nts, trees, birds, and beasts. Once the nine cauldrons werepleted, people could see the entire world through the cauldrons.

    ¡°In the Qing dynasty, schr Bi Yuan pointed out that, in the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯, only things with the names of the provinces, or with mountains, rivers, gods, and strange creatures were depicted on the nine cauldrons. The rest, such as the Great Wilderness ssic section, were added byter generations.

    ¡°So, this further confirms that the painting of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ is a super painting unlike any other paintings we¡¯ve entered before. It¡¯s a colossal world within itself and one could ¡°see the entire world¡± through it. Its world contains mountains, rivers, nts, animals, and monsters that arepletely different from our world.

    ¡°And most importantly, and surprisingly, the painting of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ was not drawn on paper or silk¡ªit was ¡®drawn¡¯ on the nine cauldrons.

    ¡°If the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ painting on the nine cauldrons is the origin of this whole ¡®entering the painting¡¯ incident, then the first group of people who entered the painting would have entered the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ painting on those nine cauldrons. As for how they entered, it might be rted to the theory that the painting is rted with shamanic drawings.

    ¡°The nine cauldrons were made of bronze, and bronze is a ¡®divine artifact.¡¯ The ancients believed they couldmunicate with the gods through it. During the Xia and Shang dynasties, bronze ritual vessels were used for worshiping spirits, conducting sacrifices, and performing shamanic rituals.

    ¡°The ritual vessels made from bronze consisted of food vessels, wine vessels, water vessels, musical instruments, weapons, etc. When using them, they must be arranged in a strict order, and this order is a rule that must be followed when performing shaman craft.

    ¡°So, can we assume that these nine bronze cauldrons, when used in a shamanic ritual, triggered divine power, and hence expanded the drawings of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ engraved on them into a real world that existed within the ¡®painting¡¯?¡±

    Shao Ling¡¯s analysis left everyone gasping for breath. Ke Xun felt like he was getting oxygen poisoning from breathing so much. He coughed a couple of times and said, ¡°Prez Shao, your analysis seems very logical. Let me summarize: Yu engraved all things of the Nine Provinces onto the nine bronze cauldrons. Because bronze is a divine artifact that couldmunicate with gods and spirits, so during some sacrifices or shaman rituals, these cauldrons were imbued with divine power, making the drawings of all the things in the Nine Provinces on them manifest¡­ Wait, that¡¯s not right. The Nine Provinces¡¯ sceneries existed before Yu engraved them on the cauldrons. Even if the cauldrons were activated by divine power, they couldn¡¯t manifest another world of the Nine Provinces because¡ªYu and the cauldrons were already in the world of the Nine Provinces!¡±

    Shao Ling was momentarily stunned, then realized that Ke Xun was bing more and more like a logic genius.

    This question left everyone deep in thought. As time passed, Ke Xun noticed Luo Bu yawning repeatedly and suggested they continue tomorrow and send the girls to their hotel first.

    They left Luo Bu at home to sleep first and headed out together to escort the others.

    Outside, the snow had piled up thickly, with kes still falling. The streetlights in the neighborhood cast a faint yellow glow on the smooth surface of the snow, like an ancient piece of rice paperid out across the earth.

    ¡°I have a question,¡± Wei Dong said, his breath forming white clouds in the cold air. ¡°The cauldrons that could hold the drawings of everything of the Nine Provinces¡ªjust how big would they have to be? I¡¯ve always thought that the stories in the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ were full of myths, and that the nine cauldrons were probably just made up in those myths. In myths, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for something to contain the drawings of all the nine provinces. But now¡­ it seems like the myth is being proven real, so we have to consider the practical side of things. Wouldn¡¯t these cauldrons have to be the size of a building?¡±

    ¡°No one knows how heavy the cauldrons forged by Yu were,¡± Shao Ling said. ¡°But since the nine cauldrons symbolize supreme power over thend, many rulers inter generations attempted to reforge a set to assert their imperial power.

    ¡°The ¡®Zizhi Tongjian records that Wu Zetian reforged the nine cauldrons, with thergest one standing over 3 meters tall, and the others 2 meters tall. The nine cauldrons together used over 567,000 catties of bronze.

    ¡°As for Yu¡¯s cauldrons, I imagine they were even heavier and more magnificent than Wu Zetian¡¯s. As you know, during the Xia and Shang dynasties, cauldrons symbolized power, status, and wealth. The number of cauldrons one possessed reflected one¡¯s status, and the weight of the cauldrons signified the extent of one¡¯s power. During rituals, only the Son of Heaven, the ruler of all under heaven, could have the honor to possess nine cauldrons. Given that Yu unified the Nine Provinces, with such god-like authority, the cauldrons that represent such power would certainly not be small.

    ¡°The ¡®Strategies of the Warring States¡¯ mentioned the nine cauldrons. A single cauldron required 90,000 men to move, meaning that all nine cauldrons would need 810,000 men to be moved¡ªthough this is clearly an exaggeration. Nevertheless, their real weight must have been considerable.¡±

    ¡°Then where are Yu¡¯s nine cauldrons now?¡± Ke Xun asked. ¡°If we can¡¯t figure out the origin of the painting incident, maybe we should investigate the cauldrons in person.¡±

    Shao Ling smiled bitterly. ¡°If it were possible to go, I would have said it long ago. The nine cauldrons forged by Yu disappeared as early as the Warring States period.¡±

 Chapter 309: Golden Finger

    Chapter 309: Golden Finger

    ¡°Ha, what do you mean? How could such massive cauldrons just disappear like that?¡± Wei Dong asked, astonished.

    ¡°The nine cauldrons were divine artifacts passed down from ruler to ruler. The ancient people deeply believed in the divine and the supernatural. They thought that whoever possessed the nine cauldrons could stabilize the nation and be the rightful ruler of the world.¡± Shao Ling exined. ¡°That¡¯s why mentions: ¡®Inter generations, sages would follow Yu¡¯s example and forge the cauldrons from generation to generation.¡¯ So, during the chaotic Warring States period, these nine cauldrons became rare national treasures that monarchs of various countries sought after.

    ¡°As for the whereabouts of the nine cauldrons, some say that during the Zhou royal family was in financial distress and heavily in debt. They melted the cauldrons down to mint coins to pay off their debts. Others im that as the Zhou dynasty weakened, the king of Zhou, fearing cmity, had the cauldrons sunk into the Si River and lied to everyone that the nine cauldrons went missing, which led to the famous historical event of Qin Shi Huang ordering people to search for the cauldrons in the river.

    ¡°But the most mystical ountes from a record in the Shiji Zhengyi, which says that King Zhao of Qin seized the nine cauldrons from the Zhou court and was sending them back to his kingdom, only for one of them to suddenly fly into the Si River, after which the other eight also vanished. Later, Qin Shi Huang sent thousands of men to search the river for the cauldrons, but they found nothing in the end. Since then, the nine cauldrons have disappeared from the world.

    ¡°From then until now, so many years have passed, and countless people have sought the cauldrons, yet all have failed. We¡¯re just ten people. If we want to find the cauldrons out of nowhere, we would need a ¡®golden finger¡¯ from the heavens.¡±

    Everyone fell silent, the only sounds were the crunch of their footsteps in the snow.

    ¡°But we do have a golden finger,¡± Ke Xun suddenly smiled.

    Everyone turned to look at him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always felt, that only people like Yiran and Prez Shao, who are truly talented and outstanding, could survive in these paintings,¡± Ke Xun continued, taking a few big steps forward, then turning back to face the group. He walked backward and smiled as his breath formed warm white puffs in the cold air. ¡°As for a newbie as ordinary as me, it¡¯s likely that I would have been taken out right in the first painting.¡°So why am I still alive now? Of course, I¡¯ve had Yiran¡¯s protection. But what about Dong <i>Zi</i>? What about Radish? What about everyone else? Why is it that people with far more ability than us have died in the paintings, while we¡¯ve managed to survive?

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t until today that I suddenly realized something. We¡¯ve always thought of ourselves as the unluckiest people in the world. This painting incident didn¡¯t choose others, but chose us. It lets us experience these terrifying life-and-death ordeals. Who could be more unlucky than us? But what if we looked at it from a different angle?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, we are actually the luckiest group of people in the world, which is why we¡¯ve managed to survive in these paintings. If we were truly someone without luck, perhaps we would have been like the others who died in the painting and got picked out by the rules of death and became the first fewb rats to verify the death conditions.

    ¡°Just like me meeting Yiran in the first painting I entered. Why did I get grouped with him when we were picking the cloth strips? Without him, I would have died on the first night. So, meeting Yiran was my luck.

    ¡°And have you noticed? In all these paintings, aside from fatal situations where we could rely on our own abilities to survive, in those scenarios where death was caused by forces beyond our control, we were never the first to be targeted. Like in the painting we justpleted, ¡®Restart¡¯, let me ask first¡ªwho among us is particrly attractive to mosquitoes?¡±

    Wu You, Fang Fei, Qin Ci, and Wei Dong raised their hands. We¡¯re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our trantions keep getting stolen by aggregators so we¡¯re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

    ¡°¡ªWhat does this mean?

    ¡°This means that we are indeed very lucky people! It means that the force behind these paintings, besides selecting the truly strong ones, is also selecting the resilient, the fortunate¡ªthose who are favored by fate. This is the ¡®golden finger¡¯ that the heavens have given us!

    ¡°So, with so many lucky people gathered together, so maybe, we really could find the nine cauldrons crafted by Yu, which have been lost for thousands of years!¡±

    Ke Xun¡¯s words were like a sudden enlightenment, causing everyone to jolt with realization¡ªyes! Whether they were lucky or unlucky, this was a question they had never tried to consider with reverse thinking.

    Perhaps they had been making a mistake all along, that was, their optimistic and positive thoughts being blinded or suppressed by the negative energy and setbacks. Just like the god of both good and evil, like ck and white, yin and yang, many things were two sides of the same coin. With the palm side up, it was joy; with the back side of the hand, it was sorrow. But once they let the hand cover their eyes, they habitually closed their eyes and passively endured the darkness, forgetting that as long as they tried to open their eyes, the first thing they could see was the palm of their hand, full of warmth and strength.

    ¡°I suddenly feel an endless surge of motivation,¡± Wu You said, waving her arm.

    ¡°I¡¯m also full of confidence,¡± Gu Qingqing said such uplifting words for the first time without her usual shyness.

    ¡°I feel like if I throw a snowball up to the sky right now, I could knock down a ne,¡± Wei Dong clenched his fist and raised his arm to flex his muscles, but all that was shown was the soft, fluffy sleeves of his down jacket.

    ¡°But it can¡¯t be denied that being sucked into the paintings is still a very unlucky event,¡± Captain Ke had always been good at striking a proper bnce between tension and rxation. When someone started to think too highly of himself, he would promptly reach out and push them back down to their original ce. ¡°This means that even if we are lucky, this level of luck still cannot ovee the hidden force behind the paintings. But don¡¯t forget, if there are two forces battling behind the scenes, at least one of them is on our side. Since they allowed us to find out about the <i>gu-xiang</i> and the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯, I think they would also allow us to find the nine cauldrons.¡±

    ¡°No matter what,¡± Shao Ling said, ¡°everyone, go back tonight and have a good rest. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll keep pushing forward. I feel like we¡¯re already at the doorstep of the gate to decrypt the mysteries. We¡¯re just missing thest threshold. Once we cross it, the truth will be fully unveiled.¡±

    ¡°Wooh! Ganbatte!¡± Ke Xun, Wei Dong, and Wu You cheered.

    The falling snow swirled several times in the air before drifting out in all directions.

    The next morning, everyone gathered again in Ke Xun¡¯s living room.

    The chain of clues that Shao Ling summarized was printed into ten copies, and everyone held one. The clues corresponding to the paintings after the ¡°Burning Rhinoceros at Sea¡± were changed to ¡°the nine cauldrons lost during the Qin Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°Apart from this set of clues in our hands, what we currently know now is: the rope patterns on me, Mu, and Ke Xun¡¯s <i>gu-xiang</i> are spected to be the ¡®Earth Cords,¡¯ while others¡¯ <i>gu-xiang</i> correspond to the Yu version of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ on the nine cauldrons,¡± Shao Ling said, attempting to sit upright on Ke Xun¡¯s beanbag sofa, but he couldn¡¯t, so he could only slump on the sofa in a particrly Ke Xun-like style. ¡°And the problem we urgently need to solve is: where are the nine cauldrons?¡±

    ¡°If the legend that one of the nine cauldrons flew into the Si River is true, then finding the nine cauldrons would likely be extremely difficult. The Si River has a total of thirty tributaries of various sizes, with five first-ss tributaries having a drainage area of over 100 square kilometers. To perform a carpet-style search within them, not to mention the enormous financial costs, we would also struggle to meet the manpower requirements.

    ¡°Moreover, Qin Shi Huang¡¯s attempt to find the cauldrons involved mobilizing national power. We are only ten people. If we tried to find the cauldrons in a conventional manner, everything we do would probably be futile efforts. Weck both manpower and time.

    ¡°So, in order to find the cauldrons, we may have to proceed as Ke Xun suggested¡ªrelying on luck. But even if we are to rely on luck, it still needs to be within a certain scope: this scope means that we must first narrow down a small area where the nine cauldrons could potentially be, and we must have at least a 50% confidence that they are indeed sunk in the Si River.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I thought about itst night,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°The nine cauldrons are physical objects that are historically documented to have existed, but what about the Earth Cords? Logically, such a thing shouldn¡¯t exist, but since this whole situation defies logic, let¡¯s assume the Earth Cords do exist. Then where would we find them? Ancient people believed the Earth was square, but in reality, the Earth is round. So, where do we look for the four corners of the Earth? If the Earth Cords are impossible to find or aren¡¯t necessary to find, then maybe the nine cauldrons are simrly impossible to find and unnecessary to find as well?¡±

    This left everyone stunned. Indeed, some of yesterday¡¯s assumptions could exin the existence of the nine cauldrons but not the Earth Cords. If the Earth Cords didn¡¯t hold up, then the nine cauldrons, as part of the same <i>gu-xiang</i>, shouldn¡¯t hold up either.

    ¡°I want to know why we need exactly thirteen people,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°If the event originated from the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯, wouldn¡¯t nine people going into the paintings be enough? Why are there four more to represent the Earth Cords? Does this mean the Earth Cords are indispensable and have certain functions when working in tandem with the nine cauldrons?¡±

    ¡°That line of thinking makes sense,¡± Ke Xun nodded.

    ¡°We said earlier that ¡®Liezi¡¯, <i>The Questions of Tang</i> chapter talks about the functionality of the Earth Cords,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°It says, ¡®The Gonggong n fought with Zhuanxu for the throne and, in anger, rammed the Buzhou Mountain. The Heavenly Pir broke, and the Earth Cords were severed. Therefore, the sky tilted northwest, causing the sun, moon, and stars to fall there. The southeast corner of the Earth copsed, causing all waters to follow there.¡¯

    ¡°From this passage, we can deduce that if even just one or two Earth Cords were broken, the Earth would copse, indicating that the Earth Cords¡¯ functionality is to keep the Earth stable.

    ¡°The nine cauldrons, inscribed with images of all Nine Provinces, have a weight that cannot be estimated. The ancients believed they possessed supernatural power, reinforced by shaman craft. One cauldron represents one region¡¯snd, and the nine cauldrons represent the entire world. The world, under heaven, is all under the king¡¯s dominion. The nine cauldrons are thend under the heavens.

    ¡°Both the Earth Cords and the nine cauldrons are rted to the Earth. The Earth Cords are to keep the Earth steady, and as for the nine cauldrons, to set the cauldrons is probably to stabilize thend.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This matches the clue from ¡®Breaking Through the Ground,¡¯ which suggests that ¡®a dark force is about to break through and enter the real world.¡¯ Maybe these nine cauldrons are divine artifacts used by shamans to suppress this force! What do y¡¯all think?¡±

    Everyone nodded repeatedly. Wei Dong said, ¡°That ties everything together! It was probably like this: The dark force was originally suppressed by the nine cauldrons, but during the Qin Dynasty, the nine cauldrons suddenly disappeared, and the force suppressed beneath the Earth began to stir, trying to break through to the human world. At that moment¡ªat that moment¡ª¡±

    At this point, Wei Dong suddenly widened his eyes in horror, staring at everyone in front of him. ¡°At that moment¡­ The power of the nine cauldrons is needed again to suppress that force, but the nine cauldrons are gone. So¡­ so the people entering the painting appeared, and their <i>gu-xiang</i> resembles patterns from the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ on the cauldrons¡­ So¡­ so we actually are¡­ are¡­ the cauldrons? We¡ªwe are the missing¡ªnine cauldrons?¡±

    Over the past few days, everyone had been gradually peeling back theyers of clues, repeatedly being shocked by the new theories and revtions. They had thought their nerves were strong enough after going through several shocks, but once again, the new theory left them stunned and disoriented.

    After a long while, Mu Yiran spoke: ¡°That theory is usible, but I have another hypothesis. As for why the nine cauldrons disappear, this remains unknown. Assuming the nine cauldrons were indeed used to suppress evil, then those who imbued them with divine power or shaman power onto the cauldrons, must have been shamans.¡±

    ¡°If the evil force truly took advantage of the nine cauldrons¡¯ disappearance to break through and invade the human world, then perhaps the people with the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ and the rope patterns on their bones might have been specifically selected by the shamans. The shamans used their power to imprint those on their bones, so that they could act as a substitute for the cauldrons to suppress that force.

    ¡°So, perhaps none of us are the actual cauldrons or Earth Cords themselves, but rather we¡¯ve inherited a kind of seal-like mark that can fulfill the same role as the nine cauldrons and Earth Cords.¡±

    ¡°¡­I feel much better after hearing that from my brother-inw¡­¡± Luo Bu exhaled deeply, patting his chest.

    ¡°Of course, all of this is mere spection for now,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°And if the <i>gu-xiang</i> seal truly works, then why have countless people over the past thousand years entered the painting again and again? So, ultimately, we still need to try our best to find the whereabouts of the nine cauldrons.¡±

    ¡°But in that case, how does the world of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ connect to that dark force?¡± Zhu Haowen suddenly asked.

    ¡°I think that with the clues we have now, we can¡¯t clearly answer that question,¡± Shao Ling replied. ¡°There¡¯s a theory that the images in the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ are actually all rted to shaman craft.

    ¡°For instance, the <i>South of the Seas</i> chapter mentions thend of the Feathered People, the Long-Armed People, and the Cross-Legged People. In the illustrations, the Feathered People are depicted wearing feathered garments, the Cross-Legged People are shown with their legs crossed, and the Long-Armed People might just be an exaggerated depiction of a particr arm-stretching posture.

    ¡°The original ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ engraved on the nine cauldrons disappeared during the Qin Dynasty, but some rubbings might have been passed down for some time. However, in the process of being passed down, it would have been easy forter generations to misinterpret or misread them, leading to the depiction of these gods and spirits in the text version of ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ as if they actually existed.

    ¡°But it¡¯s very possible that these Feathered People, the Long-Armed People, and the Cross-Legged People were originally just ordinary people or shamans. As the images engraved on the cauldrons, they are the ordinary people or shamans performing shamanic rituals. They wore unusual clothing, danced shamanic dances, and made ritual gestures. These exaggerated images and movements, after centuries or millennia, became distorted and were passed down as tales of monster-like beings from some nation.

    ¡°So, another possibility could be this: The world of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ might not have existed. Its images might all be symbols of some shaman craft, imbued with supernatural power. What truly exists is that dark force lurking beneath the Earth, and the real purpose of the illustrations of the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ might be to suppress and seal evil. This entire event of entering the painting could be an opportunity set by that dark force to break free from its bonds.

    ¡°I think the painting frame is the barrier that separates the world of ck and white, good and evil, and the world inside the painting, might be presented by that dark force, to show us how that world looks like.¡±

 Chapter 310: Blank Periods

    Shao Ling¡¯s theory gave everyone a new line of thinking, but also made the origin of the ¡°entering the painting¡± event sound even more confusing.

    Gu Qingqing summarized in her notebook:

    The first possibility: the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ was a painting and also the origin of the ¡°entering the painting¡± event. It¡¯s the first painting that people entered. The reason could be that during some shamanic ritual, for some reason, it connected to another world and also brought forth the dark force. From then on, the dark force sought opportunities to break through the barrier to enter the human world by drawing people into the paintings.

    The second possibility: the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ were shamanic symbols, or rather shamanic incantations, used along with the nine cauldrons and the Earth Cords to suppress an already existing dark force. The dark force, for some unknown reason, set up a mechanism to attract people into the painting, seeking an opportunity to break through the barrier to enter the human world.

    The group couldn¡¯t determine which of these two possibilities was true, so they all fell into deep thought. After a while, Ke Xun said, ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t need to obsess over these two possibilities for now, because no matter which one is true, we still need to find the nine cauldrons. So, we can slightly change the direction of our current investigation: gathering information about the nine cauldrons and investigating whether anything noteworthy happened during the era of Yu the Great.¡±

    Shao Ling looked at him amusingly upon hearing that, ¡°Investigating that era might be extremely difficult because no written records have survived from the Xia Dynasty. Even in the Shang Dynasty that followed closely after, all the unearthed oracle bone inscriptions did not mention the existence of the Xia Dynasty. So, some historians even believe that the Xia Dynasty may never have existed at all.

    ¡°Of course,ter on, there were some artifacts unearthed in our country that could confirm the existence of the Xia Dynasty, but regarding the entire history of the Xia Dynasty, apart from brief records in historical texts like the <i>Records of the Grand Historian</i> and the <i>Book of Zhou</i>, most of it remains nk.

    ¡°However, on Xia Dynasty pottery unearthed from the Erlitou site, there are dozens of symbols resembling characters. Some specte that these are the predecessors of oracle bone script, but some schrs argue that the people of the Xia Dynasty primarily used wood carvings and knotted cords for record-keeping, opposing the idea of treating these symbols as written characters¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªSymbols?!¡± Ke Xun suddenly raised his eyebrows. ¡°Comrades, maybe the coordinates of all the art galleries connected together aren¡¯t a signature but a¡ªsymbol?¡±¡°Haowen, is the simtor result out?¡± Mu Yiran immediately asked Zhu Haowen, almost as soon as Ke Xun finished speaking.

    Zhu Haowen reacted quickly, immediately disying hisptop screen for everyone to see. The fourteen coordinates, plus the coordinate of the next art gallery they were going to, could form thousands of possible shapes. ¡°I¡¯ve excluded results corresponding to English letters and simplified/traditional Chinese characters, and imported oracle bone script, bronze script, and seal script into the database. Any shapes matching the character forms will be filtered out.¡±

    Everyone held their breath, staring at the filtering program running rapidly on the screen and waiting for a potentially crucial deduction that mighte true to be confirmed.

    The images shed quickly, showing variousparisons of characters with the coordinate points. Then, three minutester, the screen abruptly stopped. A bronze script character ovepped with the coordinate points, and the screen showed: 90% match rate.

    This character had the highest degree of matching with the coordinate points in the entire database.

    It looked more like a pictograph than a character. The center of the character was a cross, with slightly upturned ends on the horizontal stroke, a dot on both sides. The vertical stroke connected to a shape resembling a softened ¡°bow¡± character at the bottom.

    The entire character resembled a person kneeling devoutly, raising both arms and holding up a me. We¡¯re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our trantions keep getting stolen by aggregators so we¡¯re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

    ¡°What exactly is bronze script?¡± Fang Fei asked Shao Ling.

    ¡°During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, bronze was called ¡®gold,¡¯¡± Shao Ling, trying to keep his own excitement in check, exined steadily. ¡°Ritual vessels were made from bronze, with the cauldron being the most representative. The inscriptions carved on them were called ¡®bell and cauldron script,¡¯ also called ¡®bronze script.''¡±

    ¡°¡ªCauldron! Bronze script! Light!¡± Luo Bu shouted, clenching his fists.

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between bronze script and oracle bone script?¡± Zhu Haowen asked Shao Ling.

    ¡°Bronze script evolved from oracle bone script, supposedly starting at the end of the Shang Dynasty,¡± Shao Ling said as he pondered. ¡°Although there¡¯s no written record passed down from the Xia Dynasty, the absence of unearthed texts doesn¡¯t necessarily mean there were none.

    ¡°As you know, by the Shang Dynasty, oracle bone script had developed into a mature andplete writing system, which proves that oracle bone script must have undergone a process of gradual maturation before the Shang.

    ¡°And before the Shang was the Xia. In a certain sense, it¡¯s highly likely that the Xia Dynasty already had the embryonic form of early oracle bone script. Since bronze script evolved from oracle bone script, it¡¯s possible that oracle bone script itself evolved from¡ªlet¡¯s call it ¡®Xia script¡¯ for now. So, this ¡®light¡¯ character might also be a ¡®Xia script¡¯ character!¡±

    ¡°Now I understand,¡± Ke Xun said, ¡°that the hint in ¡®Funeral¡¯ might not only be about shamans, but¡ªcharacters. This oracle bone script character formed by the coordinates of the art galleries is the clue ¡®Funeral¡¯ gave us!¡±

    ¡°Oh my god, I¡¯m getting goosebumps!¡± Wu You eximed, rubbing her arms.

    ¡°So, is this ¡®light¡¯ character here a signature or a symbol?¡± Qin Ci asked.

    ¡°¡­Feels like either is possible,¡± Wei Dong said.

    ¡°If it¡¯s a signature, it¡¯s truly terrifying to think about,¡± Zhu Haowen said. ¡°Just like Ke Xun suspected earlier, the reality we live in might actually be a painting, and this ¡®light¡¯ character could be the artist¡¯s signature on it.¡±

    ¡°Wen Er <i>Ge</i>¡ªyou¡¯re scaring me¡ª¡± Luo Bu, who was particrly frightened of hearing this idea, grabbed a down jacket someone had left on the sofa, crumbled it into a ball, and hugged it tightly in his arms.

    Shao Ling: ¡°¡­¡­¡± <i>That¡¯s mine. Let go of it.</i>

    ¡°And if it¡¯s a symbol,¡± Mu Yiran, who hadn¡¯t spoken for a long time, continued Zhu Haowen¡¯s thought, ¡°it could very well be a shamanic symbol, which might confirm another of our guesses: the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ on the nine cauldrons is actually full of images rted to shaman craft. There are shamanic dances, costumes, methods of performing rituals, and symbols representing shamanism.¡±

    ¡°Actually¡­the most incredible thing is the scale of this ¡®light¡¯ character,¡± Gu Qingqing said, with a mixture of awe and bewilderment in her eyes. ¡°If it¡¯s a shamanic symbol, who could have ¡®drawn¡¯ this symbol across such a vast expanse ofnd? For a person in the Xia Dynasty to walk through all these ces by foot, it would have taken a lifetime¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­So, are we saying this ¡®light¡¯ character really is a signature?¡± Wei Dong swallowed nervously. ¡°Which means this world is still just a painting, and someone outside the ¡®painting¡¯ simply signed their name on it, which wouldn¡¯t be difficult at all¡­¡±

    Luo Bu: ¡°Sob¡­¡±

    ¡°The program showed a 90% ovep just now, meaning that the coordinates that have appeared so far have formed 90% of the ¡®light¡¯ character,¡± Ke Xun said, stroking his chin as he thought. ¡± Qin <i>Ge</i> said that ¡®Ling Shu¡¯ hinted at the rtionship between each art gallery and the entire entering the painting event. I think that¡¯s just part of it. It also hinting at something else¡ªeach painting we ovee is like unblocking a meridian point on the Ren and Du Meridians. Now that we¡¯ve unblocked 90% of the meridians, once we unblock them all, it willplete a full signature. Maybe then, just like with each painting we¡¯ve ovee, finding the signature will allow us to leave this painting¡¯s world.¡±

    Luo Bu: ¡°Sob sob¡­<i> Ge</i>, are you saying that we might leave this world and end up in an outside world we¡¯ve never seen before? But we¡­ We were born in this world. What would we even do out there? There¡¯s no family or friends out there, and who knows what kind of creatures exist in that outside world? If we¡¯re just¡­ paper people, wouldn¡¯t we get blown away without a trace with just a gust of wind?¡±

    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡±

    Ke Xun: ¡°You¡¯ve got quite the imagination.¡±

    Luo Bu: ¡°Now¡¯s not the time topliment me ah, <i>Ge</i>.¡±

    ¡°Dumb kid, do you think we have any other choice?¡± Ke Xun looked at him. ¡°We only have two options: either we all die inside the painting, or we fight with everything we¡¯ve got to make it to the end, even if what awaits us at the end is something unimaginable. Anyway, I¡¯m unwilling to just die halfway through. So, which one do you choose?¡±

    Luo Bu rubbed his eyes. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll stick with you guys.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get back to this ¡®light¡¯ character,¡± Ke Xun turned to the group. ¡°If it¡¯s a signature, then we¡¯ll have to keep entering paintings and clearing them, working hard to finish ¡®writing¡¯ the character and see what happens next. But if it¡¯s a shamanic symbol, it might hold some kind of shaman power. Based on Yiran¡¯s earlier theory, maybe this ¡®light¡¯ character is a symbol used to seal the dark force beneath the earth. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Then, what about our nine cauldrons and Earth Cords <i>gu-xiang</i>?¡± Wei Dong asked.

    ¡°Maybe they serve as ¡®reinforcements¡¯,¡± Wu You said. ¡°My great-grandmother used to write protective charms with cinnabar on yellow paper every New Year¡¯s Eve to give to friends and family who ask for them. After writing them, she wouldn¡¯t just hand over the paper. Instead, she¡¯d sew it into little red pouches or fold it into triangles with red paper. I think those red pouches or paper wrappings reinforced the power of the yellow paper charm inside. Maybe the nine cauldrons and Earth Cords also have this functionality.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± The group nodded in agreement with this theory.

    ¡°So, to sum it up,¡± Zhu Haowen said, ¡°this giant shamanic symbol, ¡®light¡¯, formed by coordinates as nodes, originates from the Xia Dynasty. If it was used to suppress the dark force beneath the earth, it means that force existed back in the Xia Dynasty and had already caused some negative effects¡ªotherwise, there¡¯d be no need to seal it. The question is: what major event happened during the Xia Dynasty?¡±

    ¡°But Prez Shao said that records of the Xia Dynasty¡¯s history are practically nk. Where are we supposed to start looking?¡± Wei Dong worried.

    ¡°If something this extraordinary and strange happened, I don¡¯t believe there wouldn¡¯t be any relevant record of it,¡± Ke Xun said. ¡°Even if there were very few or even no written records, couldn¡¯t they at least have drawn it? If they could draw the ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯, why wouldn¡¯t they be able to draw a major event rted to shaman craft? Prez Shao, think again¡ªare there any unearthed Xia Dynasty artifacts with drawings on them?¡±

    Shao Ling shook his head helplessly. ¡°Let me tell you this¡ªthere are no written records from periods before the Xia Dynasty, only oral legends, which is why that era is referred to as the Legendary or Mythical Period. The period when written records or artifacts documenting societal conditions begin is called the Historical Period. It started from the end of the Shang Dynasty.

    ¡°The period between the Mythical and Historical Periods is known as the Semi-Historical Period. This ¡®semi-historical¡¯ doesn¡¯t mean ¡®half-believable¡¯; rather, some historical events during this period have been confirmed through archaeological discoveries, while others¡ªlike the half-human, half-god heroes and strange spirits and mythical beasts¡ªcontinue to appear in oral legends. So, the Semi-Historical Period is a period when real, verified historical events coexist with myths and oral history.

    ¡°The Semi-Historical Period serves as a transition between the Mythical and Historical Period. It¡¯s a very long transition, spanning over 1,500 years, and it has one striking feature, the presence of ¡®nk periods.¡¯

    ¡°Think of the Semi-Historical Period as a long white strip of paper. The historical events that have been verified are like scattered ink marks on this strip of white paper, appearing every few dozen or hundred meters. Most of this strip ispletely nk.

    ¡°These kinds of nk periods have urred frequently¡ªsometimessting hundreds of years without any historical record or even mythological stories. It¡¯s like a vacuum with everything sucked out, eerily quiet, and future generations have no idea what happened during these long stretches of time.

    ¡°The entire Xia Dynasty and the early Shang Dynasty fell into this Semi-Historical Period. There are far too many long gaps in history. It¡¯s not that it¡¯s difficult to research¡ªthere¡¯s simply no information to research¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­This Semi-Historical Period is so mysterious¡­¡± Wu You marveled. ¡°Thosepletely nk periods feel a kind of¡­ unnerving and deliberate silence. It¡¯s like, a few sentences in a long paragraph of words have been deliberately wiped away by someone with an eraser.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait a minute,¡± Ke Xun¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at Mu Yiran and Shao Ling. ¡°Wu You¡¯s words make sense¡ªthose nk periods, what if they were ¡®erased¡¯ from history by some kind of force?¡±

    This statement sent a shudder through the group, and Shao Ling¡¯s breath quickened slightly as he frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible¡­ but we also need to consider whether writing even existed at that time. If there was no writing, then of course no history could be recorded¡­ wait, that¡¯s not right¡­ Some historical events have been confirmed through excavated artifacts in the middle. It doesn¡¯t make sense for hundreds of years to suddenly go by without any trace of history. Those nk periods for hundreds of years¡­ really aren¡¯t normal¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran was calmer than Shao Ling. He thought carefully before speaking. ¡°Perhaps¡­ this is the real reason why Yu the Great cast the nine cauldrons?¡± Trantors¡¯ note

    This arc is wrapping up!

    The next painting will be the second tost ¡¤ ?(?? ? ? )?

 Chapter 311: Preparing to Set Off

    About the arc title (mild spoiler for future chapters)

    ºÍºÏactually has a multitude of definitions. I¡¯m tranting it based on a definition mentioned by our painting-enterers, which is the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He-He_Er_Xian ºÍºÏ¶þÏÉ. They are two gods that represent family harmony and happy marriage.

    ¡°Some force, in some way, during the long Semi-Historical era,pletely erased hundreds of years of records of human activity every once in a while. Perhaps to put an end to this, Yu had people cast nine cauldrons, inscribing shamanic patterns endowed with the power of gods and spirits, and cing the shamanic symbol of ¡®light¡¯ across the vastnd to seal this force.

    ¡°Whether it was casting the cauldrons or setting the shamanic symbol, both processes took an exceedingly long time. This act may even take hundreds of years due to various unexpected conditions. Only when it finally seeded, and the force waspletely sealed, did history, led by humans, begin to be continuously recorded.

    ¡°However, during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States periods, wars broke out and the world was in chaos, the nine cauldrons inexplicably disappeared. Without the mystical artifacts to suppress it, that previously sealed force began to stir, searching for an opportunity to re-emerge in the human world through luring people into paintings.

    ¡°And another force, which had been keeping it in check, noticed its disturbance and did everything possible to imprint images representing the nine cauldrons and the Earth Cord onto the painting entrants¡¯ <i>gu-xiang</i>. It continued to suppress that dark force through the entrants, and tried, through each painting, to give clues.

    ¡°There may be a cycle to how often this dark force reappears, and we are the people chosen during this cycle. If this theory is correct, just using <i>gu-xiang </i>may only suppress this dark force for a century. Topletely and permanently seal it, we likely need to find the actual nine cauldrons.¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s analysis rified the entire chain of clues for everyone, so their focus was now on finding the whereabouts of the nine cauldrons.

    After lunch, everyone continued to work based on their previous assignment. Wei Dong continued analyzing the <i>gu-xiang</i> images, Luo Bu delved into ¡°ssic of Mountains and Seas¡±, and Ke Xun posted on Weibo again to seek information about the nine cauldrons from the powerful onlinemunity. Zhu Haowen was responsible for posting on popr online forums and message boards, while Mu Yiran typed continuously on hisptop¡ªKe Xun guessed he was using his connections all over the world to find clues.

    The remaining members went to the library. It was not until they all returned that evening and gathered to eat dinner together, Wei Dong, rubbing his strained eyes, sat down at the table and said weakly to Ke Xun, ¡°You may not believe this, but I¡¯ve looked at these images for so long they¡¯ve started appearing 3D in naked eyes¡­¡±

    Before Ke Xun could respond, Mu Yiran asked, ¡°What did you see in the 3D image?¡±

    Wei Dong suddenly realized something, his expression startled. ¡°It looks groovy, there are mountains, valleys, and trees¡­¡±

    ¡°When you stare at the mountains and the trees, obviously all you¡¯ll see are mountains and trees,¡± Ke Xun said as he peeled a braised prawn for Mu Yiran.

    ¡°It¡¯s not t, it¡¯s 3D,¡± Wei Dong waved his hand, ¡°Remember those picture books we used to buy as kids? The pages were full of dense and tiny geometric patterns, and if you stare at one point in the middle, the image would suddenly pop into 3D with some parts protruding and some sunken.¡± We¡¯re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our trantions keep getting stolen by aggregators so we¡¯re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

    ¡°¡ªI stitched together the <i>gu-xiang</i> with ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ illustrations into one image. There are mountains, rivers, trees, spirits, birds, and beasts in it. With all these patterns put together, if you stare at them for a long time, they will be a whole three-dimensional picture. This whole picture looks like a mountain!

    ¡°¡ªNote, it¡¯s not that <i>gu-xiang</i> with a mountain showed up as a mountain; it¡¯s all of thembined together and formed a 3D mountain. The spirits, birds, and beasts stuff are all part of the mountain¡¯s outline. But this mountain is iplete, missing a part. Now that I think about it, I suspect it¡¯s because we¡¯re still missing the <i>gu-xiang</i> of the three remaining people!¡±

    ¡°This is a huge breakthrough!¡± Qin Ci was rarely this excited. ¡°Could it be that once we piece together all of our <i>gu-xiang</i>, it will reveal the exact location of the nine cauldrons?¡±

    ¡°Dong <i>Ge</i>, let me take a look at that image,¡± Luo Bu said. ¡°If this mountain actually exists in reality, I might be able to recognize which one it is.¡±

    ¡°I mean, if it¡¯s some obscure little hill or a mountain without some special features, then no,¡± Luo Bu replied. ¡°My dad was always busy with work when I was a kid, and didn¡¯t have time to spend with my mom and I. So my mom loved to take me on trips. When I got older, I continued exploring the country with my second-generation rich friends who like to have fun. We all loved climbing mountains. We even aspired to climb every mountain in China during our chuuni phase¡ªthat time, whenever we climbed one, we¡¯d take tons of pictures to prove we were there.

    ¡°And I think if this mountain really is the one where the nine cauldrons are hidden, it must be very distinctive. They wouldn¡¯t just hide nine such legendary artifacts in some tiny dirt hill. If it¡¯s a mountain with a name, I¡¯m sure I¡¯d recognize it.¡±

    ¡°Good job, little Radish head, you really give us surprises again and again.¡± Ke Xun said as he stuffed a peeled prawn into Luo Bu¡¯s mouth. ¡°Go check the picture with Dong <i>Ge</i>. If you recognize it, let us know.¡±

    Luo Bu, chewing on the prawn, followed Wei Dong to the study, as the picture was on theputer there.

    A short whileter, they returned. Luo Bu shook his head. ¡°The image is iplete, so it¡¯s hard to tell. But I feel like it should be a mountain in the Xiyuan region. I know that area pretty well¡ªI¡¯ve been there over a dozen times. Pity that the picture is missing a critical part. If we canplete the picture, I can definitely recognize the ce.¡±

    Everyone exchanged nces. Finally, Shao Ling sighed, ¡°I think this is exactly what the force behind all this intended. Without thirteen people together, we¡¯ll never be able to touch upon the final answer. Our search for clues might have to stop here for now.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about it,¡± Qin Ci consoled. ¡°Even if Radish could pinpoint the exact location right now, we wouldn¡¯t have enough time to head to Xiyuan to look for it. We¡¯re about to enter the next painting, and we still need to set aside some time to scout the local area and investigate. For now, let¡¯s leave it at this.¡±

    ¡°Look at the bright side: we are going there to gather all thirteen people, and we are closer and closer to the final answer,¡± Ke Xun said with a smile. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s eat. Don¡¯t let the feast I prepared for you guys go to waste. Eat well, recharge, and prepare to fight again when we enter the next painting!¡±

    At the mention of entering the painting again, everyone can¡¯t help but feeling a bit dejected. Despite all their various breakthroughs in unraveling the main mystery, they offered little help for the next painting they were about to enter.

    Wu You opened her phone to check the calendar. ¡°This is my first time spending New Year¡®s away from my family.¡±

    Thinking of her family, Gu Qingqing¡¯s expression also soured. ¡°I told a massive lie to get my parents to agree to let me spend New Year away from home.¡±

    Clearly, everyone had told some sort of lie to their families so they could leave their homes and hide out at Ke Xun¡¯s ce at the end of the year.

    ¡°To enter the painting on the first day of the New Year, we¡¯ll need to arrive in City K at least three days in advance to prepare,¡± Shao Ling said.

    ¡°To wee the Spring Festival, the art gallery has reced arge batch of old paintings and will be exhibiting new artworks in this uing exhibition. Though there¡¯s still no detailed information on the new works. I¡¯ve arranged with the relevant staff to get a clear floor n and the main content of each exhibition hall around the 26th of the lunar month,¡± Mu Yiran said. ¡°So, we¡¯ll likely set off on the 26th, arrive in City K on that day, and spend the next four days thoroughly analyzing the exhibition content.¡±

    Though everyone knew how cunning the painting instigator could be, Mu Yiran¡¯s words still offered some reassurance. Even if they couldn¡¯t pinpoint the exact painting, understanding the overall style of the exhibition halls would provide some advantage for entering the painting.

    Luo Bu scratched his head. ¡°Are we really in the Spring Festival time already? We are already counting days by the lunar month? Looks like it¡¯s really time for the New Year.¡±

    Wei Dong nced at the calendar on the table¡ªKe Xun didn¡¯t rely entirely on his phone for these things. Clocks, calendars, timers, cookbooks¡­ he insisted on having physical copies of them all.

    Wei Dong continued to look at the calendar, ¡°Wow, it¡¯s the 25th today? Tomorrow¡¯s already the 26th! We¡¯ve been so deep into researching these past few days that Little New Year passed without us realizing it!¡±

    ¡°Dong <i>Ge</i>, it¡¯s already thiste, you¡¯re still thinking about Little New Year?¡± Luo Bu saw Ke Xun and Fang Fei carrying food and quickly stepped in to help. ¡°Pretty soon, we¡¯ll be celebrating the New Year inside a painting together¡ªnow isn¡¯t that awesome¡­¡±

    Though they called it a feast, Ke Xun hadn¡¯t had much time to prepare ingredientstely. He¡¯d just picked up some items from the convenience store,bined with whatever was left in the fridge, doing his best to make sure everyone was well-fed.

    ¡°Main course:mb pf~ everyone, do your best and dig in~ ¡± Ke Xun stirred themb pf in the pot, filling the room with aroma. ¡°Everyone¡¯s been worn outtely. Ever since we got out of thest painting, we haven¡¯t had a moment¡¯s rest. Even machines need to recharge, right? Let¡¯s treat today as New Year¡¯s Eve!¡±

    Luo Bu was already happily eating. He was not used to eating with his hands so he used a spoon. ¡°Let¡¯s celebrate the New Year here today. We¡¯ll be going to City K tomorrow and let¡¯s continue celebrating there~¡±

    ¡°I can see everyone¡¯s nerves getting steadier these days. The way Radish talks about going to City K, it almost sounded like we¡¯re going on a vacation.¡± Wu You picked up amb rib and took a bite. ¡°Oh my God, Old Ke¡¯s cooking is lit¡ªthese onions, these cumin seeds¡ªthey each have their own soul ah~¡±

    Everyone: <i>Who¡¯s the one with steady nerves here?</i>

    After dinner, Wei Dong and Luo Bu escorted the girls back to the hotel. Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen cleaned up the dishes. Shao Ling sat awkwardly on the bean bag chair and reviewed the information he summarized today. After a while, he began to feel his neck getting stiff¡­

    Ke Xun and Mu Yiran stood on the balcony. It seemed like a rare, rxing night amidst these days.

    It seemed like nothing more than an ordinary, homey evening, yet because of its unusual brevity, it felt especially precious.

    ¡°Yiran, we¡¯ll be able to spend the New Year¡¯s together,¡± Ke Xun said, gazing at the stars in the cold night sky through the ss window, feeling even more true that everything in this world had two sides.

    The painting instigator had set their next entry into a painting for the first day of the Lunar New Year¡ªa deeply malicious choice, yet by a twist of fate, it also meant that he and Mu Yiran were about to spend their first Spring Festival together.

    Ke Xun felt Mu Yiran¡¯s arms wrap around him from behind, his chin resting at the crook of Ke Xun¡¯s shoulder. It felt tingling and warm.

    The silence from Mu Yiran made Ke Xun feel strange. He held Ke Xun¡¯s hand quietly without saying a word. Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but turn his head to look back, only to feel a sudden chill on his fingertip.

    There was an unfamiliar sensation on the ring finger of his left hand. Ke Xun seemed to realize what it was, but he couldn¡¯t help raising his hand to look. On his left ring finger was a silver men¡¯s ring.

    Instinctively, Ke Xun grabbed Mu Yiran¡¯s hand, and sure enough, on Mu Yiran¡¯s left ring finger was an identical silver ring like his.

    Mu Yiran continued holding him tightly from behind, his voice seemed muffled by Ke Xun¡¯s sweater, drifting softly into his ear. ¡°It was an old family heirloom. I had it melted down and made into two rings. It¡¯s nothing special¡ªI just wanted to make it, for us both to wear.¡±

    Ke Xun had never imagined that, as a man, he¡¯d one day be given a ring¡ªeven if it was from Mu Yiran, he¡¯d never thought of it.

    He¡¯d always considered himself a rough and straightforward guy, this kind of delicate and formal things were not for him.

    But now, this ring was firmly fixed on his finger, now warm from its initial coldness, a tangible token that seemed to encircle their future together.

 Chapter 312: New Year Pictures

    About chapter title

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year_picture

    Used as decoration during the Lunar New Year.

    In a historical town like City K, it was indeed very fitting to hold traditional Chinese New Year activities.

    The city¡¯s streets and alleys were already put up with decorations andnterns, and various New Year markets attracted citizens buying New Year goods. Almost everyone wore expressions of joy from reunion and abundance.

    As the New Year approached, the number of guests at the hotel was dwindling. Wei Dong suspected that their own group of ten might be the only ones staying there on New Year¡¯s Eve.

    To conserve energy for entering the painting on the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone went to bed early on the Eve. This was likely the most special New Year¡¯s Eve each of them had ever experienced.

    Because they couldn¡¯t sleep soundly, many of them were awakened by the fireworks and firecrackers in the middle of the night. Once woken, it was hard to fall back asleep. The outside world¡¯s festive joy only made them feel even more deste.

    Just like that, they drifted in and out of sleep, with a jumble of dreams throughout the night.

    The next day was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and everyone gradually got up before dawn. Shao Ling looked at the chilly yet lively dawn outside the window and murmured, ¡°If I were back home for New Year, I¡¯d be getting up at this time for New Year greetings.¡± Wei Dong felt a little emotional and patted Shao Ling on the shoulder, ¡°Let¡¯s get some food; Ke <i>Er</i> has cooked frozen dumplings. The hotel restaurant is closed today, so we¡¯ll have to think of something ourselves.¡±

    ¡°In the north, it¡¯s traditional to eat dumplings on the morning of the New Year¡¯s first day.¡± Qin Ci had already cleaned up and was ready to go over to Ke Xun¡¯s ce for dumplings.

    At 10:00 a.m., the activities at City K¡¯s New Year Customs Art Gallery officially began.

    The gallery they were about to enter, the Ninth Hall, was on the third floor of the gallery, opposite the Eighth Hall, where couplets were disyed. The Ninth Hall was set to feature a variety of traditional Chinese New Year pictures.

    Although the museum had not disclosed the exhibition content in advance, Mu Yiran had managed to gather some information about the Ninth Hall a few days before, so the group had spent most of their time in City K studying New Year pictures. We¡¯re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our trantions keep getting stolen by aggregators so we¡¯re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

    ¡°Is Dong <i>Ge</i> talking about the one with the big, round baby? With three heads and six arms, riding a carp and holding a lotus?¡­I think it¡¯s called .¡± Luo Bu knew what he meant as he was dodging a group of kids who were trying their hand at cotton tie-dyeing at a booth nearby.

    The ten of them took the esctor to the third floor and finally breathed a sigh of relief. They finally escaped the bustling crowd, especially away from the kids.

    Just ahead was the entrance to the Ninth Hall. The exhibition hall didn¡¯t even have a door, only a giant New Year painting of Shentu and Yulei, stood as arge screen at the doorway.

    Looking at the two imposing gods of door in the painting, the visitors instinctively felt both a sense of insignificance and safety.

    Ke Xun stood by the entrance and noticed a woman in a wheelchair preparing to enter the hall. He quickly pushed her wheelchair away from the doorway.

    The woman in the wheelchair did not look panicked; instead, she calmly nced at Ke Xun, politely inquiring with her eyes as to why he had done this. Indeed, her gaze alone was distinctively polite.

    Ke Xun exined, ¡°We just came out of this hall. There¡¯s a strong smell from the renovations¡ªthe formaldehyde is really choking, not very suitable for visiting.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± the woman nodded slightly.

    ¡°Are you all set? Do you need me to push you to another hall?¡± Ke Xun asked.

    ¡°My wheelchair is fully equipped, thank you,¡± After the woman let him know, she adeptly turned and wheeled herself in another direction.

    Ke Xun sighed in relief; if thisdy with limited mobility were to enter the painting, her chances of getting out alive would be slim.

    Hispanions were already ustomed to Ke Xun¡¯s behavior by now, and they waited in mutual understanding at the entrance.

    Though everyone was curious about the artworks in the exhibition hall, they all knew deep down that no matter how well-prepared they were, the painting instigator would never let them correctly guess which one they¡¯d enter.

    After the ten of them gathered at the entrance, they broke into smaller groups and walked inside.

    ¡°Everyone must have noticed just now, there¡¯s a massive painting of the door gods at the entrance to this exhibition hall. There is a particr significance for disying such a painting in a conspicuous space,¡± a male voice echoed in the hall.

    Wei Dong looked at the group huddled together in the exhibition hall. ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought people woulde to tour in groups¡­ In all my visits to art galleries, this is the first time I¡¯ve actually seen a tour guide¡­¡±

    ¡°Dong <i>Ge</i>, that¡¯s a docent,¡± Gu Qingqing corrected him in a whisper.

    Wei Dong nced at the middle-aged tour guide, no, docent in the crowd, and suddenly had an idea: ¡°What if we ask this person if there are any New Year paintings in this hall with special significance? Maybe it could help us?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say,¡± Shao Ling expressed some pessimism. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about significance, every painting here has its own significance. The paintings we¡¯ve entered before, sometimes just looking at the image, there¡¯s nothing particrly special.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Wei Dong¡¯s gaze shuffled between the brightly colored New Year paintings. ¡°We can¡¯t exactly go up and ask which of the artists has passed away¡­¡±

    ¡°I think, we don¡¯t need to ask. Thebels here framed the names of the deceased artists.¡± Gu Qingqing said.

    Luo Bu was examining the paintings one by one and was probably a bit shocked. ¡°Why¡­why are all of these framed¡­Does that mean every artist here has already¡­¡±

    Shao Ling remainedposed. ¡°Those framed names belong to the carvers of the woodblock New Year paintings. Most of the paintings disyed here have quite some histories. For example, look at this ¡®Kirin Delivers a Child¡¯ painting; the carving was done in 1907, so the carver from back then is surely no longer alive. And here, this ¡®God of Profitability¡¯, carved in 1931. Even if the carver is still alive, they¡¯d be over a hundred years old.¡±

    ¡°So, looking at it this way, these New Year paintings here today are all antiques,¡± Luo Bu said, staring at each painting. The vibrant, auspicious colors, under the premise of ¡°entering the painting¡±, seemed somewhat eerie. After he was startled by the lifelike ¡°Zhong Kui Looking into a Mirror,¡± he nced at hispanions. ¡°This exhibition hall is massive, and there are at least thirty people in that group over there, and more mighte inter.¡±

    Therge number of people in the hall indicated that the ce was temporarily safe; at least the painting incident wouldn¡¯t happen immediately.

    ¡°We can skip the New Year paintings we already researched about; let¡¯s focus on unfamiliar images,¡± Mu Yiran, who hadn¡¯t spoken until now, finally said.

    Everyone understood, and they began to concentrate on studying the unfamiliar New Year paintings.

    At this moment, the exhibition hall was rtively quiet, and the docent¡¯s voice carried clearly to each visitor: ¡°Thisrge sheet with added gold powder is called a ¡®Golden Gongjian,¡¯ and a triptych on a single paper is called a ¡®Golden Sancai.¡¯ The ¡®Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity¡¯ painting we¡¯re looking at now is ssified as a ¡®Golden Sancai.¡¯¡±

    Soon, an eager visitor asked, ¡°Mr. Hua, you just mentioned the difference between the Qing and Qiu editions. I see this ¡®Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity¡¯ isbeled as a Qing edition. You just said that Qing editions are works from before June¡ªis that because demand for New Year goods peaks towards year-end, so they print them early in the spring in case they can¡¯t finish the work in autumn?¡±

    The docent smiled slightly and exined patiently, ¡°Most people may have a somewhat vague idea about the New Year pictures, thinking that they are only put up during the New Year, but that¡¯s not entirely urate. New Year pictures actually have various categories. For example, <i>xi </i>paintings, also a type of New Year pictures, are used to congratte newlyweds. There are also fan paintings, which are a product to supplement the off-season for New Year paintings in summer. Additionally, images of ancient trade grandmasters andntern screen paintings used during the Lantern Festival, are all considered New Year paintings. Take this ¡®Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity¡¯ painting, for example¡ªit¡¯s a longevity-themed New Year painting, typically used to create a festive atmosphere for an elder¡¯s birthday.¡±

    The visitors listened attentively, feeling they had gained a wealth of new knowledge.

    Luo Bu said in a low voice, ¡°Why does it feel like all the New Year painting research I did was for nothing¡­ This teacher¡¯s talking about entirely new knowledge points¡­¡±

    Mu Yiran¡¯s expression, however, was a bit unnatural. After exchanging a nce with Ke Xun, the two of them gradually blended into the crowd.

    ¡°What are my <i>Ge</i> and brother-inw doing¡­?¡± Luo Bu was confused.

    Gu Qingqing and Wu You were also perplexed. Qin Ci whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t you all think that this docent seems a bit like a ¡®chosen one?¡¯¡±

    They were slightly shocked after hearing that, even though the guess was a bit grim, this Mr. Hua, who was responsible for exining the exhibition items, indeed seemed suitable for entering an artwork with a New Year painting theme¡­

    ¡°Now that you mention it, his surname is a bit strange. Why is it Hua.¡±

    The rest of the time, the group stopped specting and started studying the New Year paintings disyed in the hall.

    Roughly half an hourter, the group of visitors gradually left. Mr. Hua, the docent, apanied them to the entrance£¬ but made no sign of moving further.

    Ke Xun, who was following the crowd, stopped, ¡°Are¡­aren¡¯t you responsible for this touring group?¡±

    Mr. Hua smiled. ¡°I¡¯m responsible for the New Year painting exhibition hall. If there¡¯s anything further you two would like to ask about the exhibits, feel free to let me know.¡±

    Ke Xun couldn¡¯t help but sigh sadly in his heart: this felt like it was destined by God¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s truly an honor for the visitors today to have Director Hua personally serve as a docent,¡± Mu Yiran said politely.

    Director? Ke Xun then looked closely at the name tag on Mr. Hua¡¯s chest, which read: Hua Jiqiu, Deputy Director of the City K Folk Museum.

    This person looked at most forty, but he was already at the position of Deputy Director. Judging from hismentary just now, he seemed to possess a wealth of folk knowledge.

    Hua Jiqiu smiled modestly, ¡°I am deeply moved that you all chose to visit our humble museum on this special day of the first day of the New Year.¡±

    Ke Xun looked at Hua Jiqiu with a trace of pity but, considering his work today, there was probably little reason to persuade him to leave the exhibit.

    ¡°Excuse me, Director Hua, among the New Year paintings exhibited in this hall today, are there any New Year paintings with special significance?¡± Mu asked.

    Hua Jiqiu thought for a moment. ¡°In terms of mary value, there are indeed some rather precious pieces. For instance, therge door good painting at the entrance is made using two whole wood blocks and has already been purchased by a collector at a high price. Additionally, the row of New year paintings with gold powder at the back of the exhibit, whether they¡¯re Gongjian or Sancai, all the gold powder used were real, hence they are also quite valuable.¡±

    ¡°And what if we¡¯re talking about significance from a historical or other perspective?¡± Mu Yiran directly asked what he wanted to ask.

    Hua Jiqiu fell into deep thought, his eyes brightening slightly. ¡°There is indeed a rather unique New Year painting. Follow me.¡±

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