《Saving Cannon Fodders with the Villain》 CH 1.1 Monka Town is a remote small town located at the junction of M State and L State. The town is not large, with a permanent population of less than 10,000. It was originally an ordinary remote town, but it became famous throughout the country because of a hospital in the town. St. Philip¡¯s Hospital, located in Monka Town, once dominated all the headlines in the entire S country. This is not because the doctors in the hospital have extraordinary medical skills, but because it is a psychiatric hospital, a hospital that detains the youngest murderer in the country. Julian Cole, also known as the ¡°devil¡¯s son¡±, is from Monka Town. He is the youngest murderer in Monka Town¡¯s 100-year history and the youngest murderer in the entire S country. Julian¡¯s parents were members of a cult. Many people say that the reason why the Cole couple gave birth to this child was to use him as a sacrifice to the evil god. Whether these rumors are true or false is unknown. The only thing known is that 14 years ago, six-year-old Julian killed a total of 13 cult members, including the Cole couple, with a fruit knife at a cult gathering held in their house. The next morning, the neighbor found little Julian sitting at the door covered in blood. In shock, they called the police, which led to this horrific case being made public. Whether it was the police, the residents of Monka Town, or the investigators sent by the state, no one could believe that a six-year-old child could kill 13 adults. But under the ironclad evidence, they had to admit this fact. Although the details of the case were not made public for various reasons, the final verdict by the prosecutor¡¯s office to send young Julian to a psychiatric hospital for strict supervision has revealed the answer to people. From that day on, the little boy named Julian Cole had another name ¨C ¡°devil¡¯s son¡±. Today is the 20th birthday of the ¡°devil¡¯s son¡± Julian Cole. In the 14 years he has lived in the mental hospital, Julian has been extremely docile. Although he is a bit withdrawn and doesn¡¯t like to talk, he never causes trouble for others. He spends most of his time sitting quietly reading or doing handicrafts, and he often gives the medical staff small gifts that he made himself. Julian Cole in Saint Philip¡¯s mental hospital shows no trace of the ¡°devil¡¯s son¡±. Everyone who has met him likes this cute and quiet child. Compared to other crazy patients, he behaves like an angel. Although the case from 14 years ago remains fresh in people¡¯s memory, humans tend to believe only what they see. After all, no one saw Julian commit the murders, right? He was just a six-year-old child. The investigators at the time must have made a mistake. Most people in St. Philip¡¯s Psychiatric Hospital think this way too. They like Julian. However, the majority of people referred to here does not include the new doctor, Zheng Wei. Only Dr. Zheng knows that Julian Cole¡¯s seemingly docile and gentle behavior is all a fa?ade. He never changed; he was just waiting for the right moment. When the time comes, he will pick up the butcher knife again and give the world a big gift. As for how Dr. Zheng knows all this, well, that¡¯s a long story. Not long ago, Zheng Wei was not yet a doctor, he was just an unmarried middle-aged man who had been kicked out of his parent¡¯s house. He was waiting for the red light at a crossroads near his home when he was extremely unlucky to be hit and killed by a car that ran a red light. In fact, Zheng Wei wasn¡¯t really sure whether he had died or not. Because when he woke up, he found himself lying in a pure white space, with mechanical electronic sounds in his ears. ¡°Number 1045, name Zheng Wei, male, 30 years old, examination completed, safe.¡± What the heck? When Zheng Wei heard this sentence upon opening his eyes, his brain stalled for a few seconds. ¡°Number 1045 has been detected awake, please respond, Number 1045.¡± The electronic voice continued to ring in his ear. ¡°Number 1045? ¡± Zheng Wei pondered for a moment before realizing that it was referring to him. ¡°Who¡¯s speaking?!¡± Zheng Wei was completely awake now, and he tried to sit up, but he found that he couldn¡¯t move his body. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where am I? How did I get here?¡± Zheng Wei was completely confused. ¡°This is System Space No. 72. I¡¯m Little Eleven. Congratulations, Zheng Wei, the 1,024th lucky human selected by System No. 72,¡± the mechanical voice replied in a flat tone. ¡°System No. 72? Space?¡± A series of nouns made Zheng Wei even more confused. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°System No. 72, also known as the cannon fodder protection system, is mainly responsible for selecting lucky individuals from various worlds to protect the cannon fodder who silently dedicate themselves, sacrifice themselves, but never leave their names.¡± The mechanical voice explained. CH 1.2 System space? Protecting cannon fodder? Zheng Wei was completely confused. He tried to recall what had happened before he lost consciousness and struggled to understand what was going on now. ¡°Am I dead?¡± He remembered being hit by a car before losing consciousness. Was this situation a dream or a hallucination before dying? ¡°Your physical body in the real world has been severely damaged, strictly speaking, you are already dead.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Hearing someone telling him that he was already dead, Zheng Wei didn¡¯t know how to react. ¡°But¡­¡± The mechanical voice continued, ¡°Because you are the lucky one chosen by the 72nd system, you are fortunate enough to continue living.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°As long as you accept the mission of the 72nd system and become a task taker, the system will help you repair your physical body in real life and allow you to continue living.¡± ¡°What is a tasker?¡± Zheng Wei was confused. ¡°Shuttle through various worlds to complete the system¡¯s tasks is what a tasker does. So, are you willing to accept the mission and become a tasker?¡± ¡°What task?¡± Zheng Wei certainly didn¡¯t want to die, although his life in the real world was a mess, he never thought about dying. ¡°System 72, also known as the Cannon Fodder Protection System, as the name suggests, is to protect those cannon fodders who died, calm their resentment, and rewrite their lives.¡± Zheng Wei finally understood it now. He had read a few online novels before and had a general idea of what a system and a task were. ¡°Why should I believe that you can make me live?¡± Although he understood, Zheng Wei was still skeptical in his heart. ¡°You can only trust us in your current state,¡± the robotic voice said coldly. The system¡¯s words left Zheng Wei speechless. After a moment of silence, he asked, ¡°What kind of worlds do I have to travel through? Is there any danger?¡± The system assumed that he had come around to the idea and explained, ¡°The 72nd system is divided into 3000 sections. For human Zheng Wei with serial number 1024, you will be assigned to the horror story world.¡± Little eleven added, ¡°But don¡¯t worry, although it¡¯s the horror section, the system will ensure your safety. No matter what, you won¡¯t be in danger.¡± ¡°Serial number 1024, human Zheng Wei, do you accept the task?¡± Zheng Wei looked quietly at the white space in front of him and did not speak. The silence dragged on so long that the system thought Zheng Wei wouldn¡¯t agree. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Of course, if you don¡¯t like this section, we can help you switch to another section¡­¡± Two voices spoke at the same time. ¡°Did you agree?¡± After a pause, the system¡¯s voice sounded again. Although it was still a flat electronic sound, it could be heard that it was a bit cautious. ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Zheng Wei lay there and tilted his head. He could now only understand with his IQ, ¡°You just said that I can switch sections, right? Even with switching, I don¡¯t have any problem.¡± ¡°Good, Tasker of the Horror Section, Human Zheng Wei, No. 1024, please confirm again that you accept the mission.¡± Little Eleven automatically ignored the latter half of Zheng Wei¡¯s words. ¡°Yes, I have thought it through.¡± Zheng Wei was quite calm. If he could live better in the end, it wouldn¡¯t be bad to experience a different kind of life if he couldn¡¯t survive. Moreover, he urgently needed a place to escape the pressure of the real world, and this system came at just the right time. ¡°If you confirm, you cannot change it, so I¡¯ll ask you again, have you thought it through?¡± Thinking of the real world, Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help but sigh. He didn¡¯t want to die, but his own life was really too exhausting for him. ¡°Okay, the mission is in progress.¡± ¡°One minute until the mission starts.¡± little eleven whispered in Zheng Wei¡¯s ear, ¡°We will give you an auxiliary system that will assign tasks to you and help you complete them.¡± As soon as it finished speaking, Zheng Wei noticed a page flashing with blue light in his mind. ¡°This is an intelligent control system that you can access at any time in your mind. You can ask it any questions you have.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Zheng Wei nodded. He followed the operating guide on the screen and tried it out. He felt that this thing was just like the voice control system on his phone, except he didn¡¯t have to speak. He was having fun playing with it in his mind, when suddenly he heard a clicking sound, like the sound of something being knocked over. ¡°*!¡± He heard the guy who called himself little Eleven let out a scream. Although the voice sounded mechanical, the content was very human. ¡°Oops.¡± ¡°Coordinates confirmed. Countdown starting now, 3, 2, 1.¡± Along with some electric buzzing sounds, a more flat mechanical voice started counting down. Accompanying this voice was also the voice of little eleven, ¡°Wait, it¡¯s wrong! Stop it quickly!¡± Just as Zheng Wei was about to ask little eleven what was wrong, he lost consciousness. When Zheng Wei woke up again, he had become Dr. Zheng, wearing a white coat and sitting in a clean office by the window. Having suddenly come from an unknown space to the normal human world, Zheng Wei was stunned for a few seconds. After realizing his current situation, he called up the task assistant system that little eleven had given him in his mind. He read the text on it carefully and was stunned for a few seconds. ¡°What?!!¡± CH 2.1 When Zheng Wei woke up again, he found himself sitting in a bright office by the window, wearing a white coat as Dr. Zheng. Confused for a few seconds after suddenly being transported from an unknown space to the human world, he accessed the task assistance system given to him by Little Eleven after clarifying his current situation. After reading the text in the task release column carefully, he was stunned for a few seconds. ¡°What?!!¡± The system¡¯s task release bar read: ¡°[Devil¡¯s Son] Julian Cole has finally decided to escape from the mental hospital on his 20th birthday and become the most terrifying urban legend in the town of Monka. Before Julian¡¯s escape, he will massacre the St. Philip Hospital where he has been imprisoned for 14 years. Tasker 1024, please save all medical staff at St. Philip Hospital during the massacre starting in 15 minutes.¡± Fifteen minutes? Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help but look and confirm that the timer was indeed showing 15 minutes until Julian Cole¡¯s hospital massacre. Strictly speaking, there were only 14 minutes and 32 seconds left. ¡°How can I save everyone in such a short time?!¡± Even Zheng Wei, who considered himself to have a good temper, couldn¡¯t help but jump in frustration. But there was no one to answer him, and the numbers on the screen in his mind were ticking away coldly. Other people¡¯s systems can act cute, sell moe, and even fall in love (?), why is his just a cold screen? Zheng Wei felt a sense of unfairness. It¡¯s no wonder Little eleven said that something was wrong. Is his system really so unreliable? Zheng Wei deeply felt that he had been deceived. However, whether or not he was deceived was not something he could think about at the moment. Seeing that a minute had passed on the timer, Zheng Wei had to hurry and take action. ¡°Well, this is good too. If I had come too early, they would have made me see patients and I would have a headache.¡± He comforted himself with his own words and was about to rush out. However, when he reached the door, he turned back. If he was going to save people, he might end up facing the ¡°Devil¡¯s Son,¡± so he needed something to defend himself. Zheng Wei rummaged through the cabinets in the office and finally found a surgical knife. The surgical knife, although small, was sharp enough. Zheng Wei nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the bloodstain on his thumb. He wrapped the knife in some tissue paper, put it in his pocket, and then opened the door and walked out. The personnel in St. Philip¡¯s Hospital were too scattered, and notifying them one by one was definitely not possible. Even if he could, they wouldn¡¯t believe him, and might even think he was crazy. In this situation, if he wanted to save people, he could only keep an eye on Julian Cole, who was the perpetrator. But Zheng Wei was new to the hospital and was completely unaware of where Julian Cole was. ¡°Tell me where Julian is,¡± he could only turn to the screen in his mind for help. ¡°On the 18th floor, turn left at the third room,¡± the screen in his mind displayed a three-dimensional map with labels in text. St. Philip¡¯s Psychiatric Hospital was an 18-story high-rise building. And Julian Cole, the most vicious prisoner, was housed on the 18th floor. ¡°18th floor.¡± Zheng Wei felt slightly relieved when he realized the screen was somewhat useful. He put his right hand in the pocket of his white coat, tightly gripping the handle of the cold surgical knife, and walked quickly towards the elevator. Zheng Wei is currently on the 13th floor, only five floors away from the 18th floor. He arrived at the elevator and pressed the button to go up. ¡°Ding.¡± The elevator quickly arrived at Zheng Wei¡¯s floor. He took a deep breath and stepped in. There were two people in the elevator, a man and a woman, both wearing white coats, and they were both doctors at St. Philip¡¯s Hospital. The man looked about forty or fifty years old, with a big belly, messy reddish-brown hair, and a red nose. The woman was a typical blonde beauty, around 30 years old, with a beautiful face and a tall figure. With high heels on, she was even taller than Zheng Wei. ¡°Oh, you must be the new guy Zheng, ah, your surname is really difficult to pronounce.¡± The red-haired male doctor, Andrew Thompson, was the first to greet Zheng Wei. ¡°I work on the eleventh floor, you can call me Andrew.¡± The doctor named Andrew¡¯s personality was as enthusiastic as his hair. ¡°Hello, Andrew.¡± Zheng Wei nervously shook the hand that Andrew extended to him. He rarely interacted with foreigners before, so his movements were somewhat stiff and unnatural. Maybe because of the system, Zheng Wei found that there was no language barrier between him and the other doctors. But after all, it wasn¡¯t his native language, and he still felt awkward speaking. ¡°Don¡¯t be so shy, Zheng,¡± Andrew attributed Zheng Wei¡¯s awkwardness to the shyness of Asians. ¡°The people at St. Philip¡¯s Hospital are all very friendly.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it right, what do you say, Dr. Garcia?¡± Andrew laughed loudly and turned to the blonde standing next to him. ¡°Andrew is right,¡± Dr. Garcia, wearing glasses and with her hair loosely tied back, exuded a mature and intellectual beauty. ¡°Hello, Mr. Zheng, I¡¯m Rosie Garcia from the 17th floor. Nice to meet you.¡± Garcia¡¯s voice was slightly hoarse, and her shallow blue eyes gave people a gentle and reliable feeling. ¡°Nice to meet you, Dr. Garcia,¡± Zheng Wei lightly shook Garcia¡¯s extended hand. ¡°I really can¡¯t understand, Zheng, why are you so restrained in front of a beauty? Is it the modesty of Asians?¡± Andrew patted Zheng Wei¡¯s shoulder and chuckled. Andrew¡¯s enthusiasm made Zheng Wei feel a little uncomfortable. He awkwardly smiled and didn¡¯t know what to talk about. ¡°Andrew, you¡¯re being too enthusiastic,¡± thoughtful Garcia noticed Zheng Wei¡¯s discomfort and reminded him, ¡°I think Zheng is just new here and still adjusting, right, Zheng?¡± Zheng Wei nodded and smiled awkwardly, ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know most of the people here. The people whose names I know include only you two, and I can count them on one hand.¡± That was true. He only knew these two people in the entire hospital. CH 2.2 ¡°Oh! I almost forgot about this.¡± Andrew slapped his forehead. ¡°We should throw a welcome party for you, I promise you Zheng, that way you¡¯ll get to know all of us and all of our embarrassing stories in just one night.¡± ¡°What do you think, Garcia?¡± Andrew got excited at the mention of a party. He was a party animal. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a good idea. What do you think, Zheng?¡± Garcia asked for Zheng Wei¡¯s opinion. She was a smart and beautiful lady, and it was hard to refuse her. ¡°Uh, okay, I like parties.¡± Although Zheng Wei knew that the party was definitely not going to happen in such a short time, he felt that he should celebrate with a party if he could really complete the task in such a short time. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s settled then. Let¡¯s meet at the restaurant at 10 pm tonight, and I¡¯ll let everyone know,¡± Andrew made the appointment as if he was afraid Zheng would change his mind. ¡°Okay.¡± Watching Andrew¡¯s enthusiasm, Zheng Wei was also infected by his emotions. ¡°Ding.¡± The elevator made a soft sound as it reached the 17th floor, and Garcia and Andrew got off. ¡°Zheng, are you going to the 18th floor?¡± Garcia asked as she noticed that Zheng Wei didn¡¯t seem to be getting off. ¡°Oh, yes. I have some questions to ask Professor Rodriguez,¡± Zheng Wei replied. Professor Rodriguez¡¯s office was on the 18th floor, and he was a well-known psychoanalyst in the industry, with a particular interest in autism and schizophrenia. Of course, Zheng Wei didn¡¯t know him and had only found out about him from the map provided by the system. The map provided by the system was quite detailed, clearly indicating the room distribution on the 18th floor, as well as any notes to be aware of. ¡°Is that so?¡± Garcia looked at Zheng Wei and smiled, her slightly raised eyes carrying a hint of unknown meaning. Zheng Wei felt a bit uneasy under her gaze, he chuckled a few times and lowered his head. He felt like Doctor Garcia could tell that he was lying.¡±Oh, that grumpy old man.¡± When he heard that Zheng Wei was going to see Professor Rodriguez, Andrew¡¯s face twisted into a knot, probably thinking of some painful past experiences. ¡°Why are you so pessimistic, Zheng?¡± Andrew looked at Zheng Wei, seeming to be distressed. ¡°Okay, Andrew, Professor Rodriguez is a respected scholar. You can¡¯t have a bias against him just because he failed you in his class.¡± Garcia looked at Andrew¡¯s appearance and shook her head with a smile. After finishing speaking, Garcia looked at Zheng Wei again and winked at him. ¡°If you can get some information from him, I guarantee you will become the star of the party.¡± Garcia smiled and emphasized the word ¡°him¡±. She seemed to be very clear about who Zheng Wei really wanted to see on the 18th floor. Zheng Wei immediately became nervous, but fortunately, Garcia did not continue to dwell on the topic. She just nodded gently at Zheng Wei and said with a smile, ¡°Good luck to you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Zheng Wei smiled awkwardly and nodded to them, ¡°Goodbye, Andrew and Dr. Garcia. It was nice meeting you.¡± ¡°Goodbye, Zheng, don¡¯t forget about the party.¡± Andrew reminded him not to forget the evening party. He added, ¡°If you still feel like it after meeting Professor Rodriguez.¡± ¡°I will go, Andrew.¡± Zheng Wei looked at his mockingly frightened expression and said seriously, ¡°Maybe by then, we¡¯ll have more to talk about.¡± ¡°Alright, take care, Zheng.¡± Andrew winked at him and waved goodbye. ¡°Goodbye.¡± Zheng Wei smiled at the two of them and then pressed the elevator door. The elevator doors slowly closed, and Zheng Wei¡¯s smile quickly disappeared. He unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt to let himself breathe. He wasn¡¯t good at interacting with people, even with warm-hearted people like Andrew and Dr. Garcia. Moreover, there was a more important thing weighing on his mind right now. Zheng Wei stared at the pulsing screen and unconsciously reached for the surgical knife in his pocket. ¡°Ding,¡± a light sound, the elevator arrived on the 18th floor. CH 3.1 The 18th floor had nothing special about it. There were no dim corridors, no flickering lights. It looked clean and bright, just like any hospital. Sunlight filtered through the long hallway, bringing up the white curtains by the windows, making it feel warm and peaceful. But Zheng Wei dared not relax in the slightest. Perhaps it was his preconceived notions playing tricks on him, but this ordinary hospital corridor gave him an ominous feeling. Zheng Wei checked the screen in his mind and found that he only had 11 minutes and 2 seconds left. The decreasing time made Zheng Wei very nervous, and he felt his palms begin to sweat. He clicked his tongue, ran his hand through his hair, and headed toward the location marked on the map. Rooms in the St. Philip¡¯s Mental Hospital housing patients with violent tendencies and self-harm tendencies all had a small glass window with a curtain, making it convenient for doctors to check on these patients¡¯ safety at any time. Although Julian Cole showed no signs of violence, because of his special status, there was also a small window on his room door. The small window had a curtain on both the outside and inside, with the outside made of opaque canvas and the inside made of semi-transparent white gauze. This design was meant to protect the patient¡¯s privacy while ensuring their safety. There was no one in front of Julian Cole¡¯s room. There weren¡¯t many people on the entire 18th floor, besides Julian, there were only the director and two famous professors. Zheng Wei stood in front of Room 3, staring at the small canvas, hesitating whether or not to lift it. What kind of person was a serial killer who could kill 13 people at the age of six? This made Zheng Wei both curious and fearful. He stood in front of the door for a while but ultimately reached out his hand to the blue curtain. ¡°Hey, who are you? What do you want?¡± Just as Zheng Wei was about to lift the curtain, a voice stopped him. Zheng Wei quickly retracted his hand and turned to look at the person who had just arrived. It was an old man in a police uniform with white hair, who had a similar build to Andrew from earlier. Due to Julian¡¯s special status, since the day he arrived at St. Philip¡¯s Hospital, the local police station has dispatched two officers to be stationed at the hospital to guard him. However, later on, due to Julian¡¯s harmless behavior and the shortage of police manpower, the two officers became one, and those sent were all old police officers who were ready to retire. ¡°Oh, officer, I¡¯m a doctor from St. Philip¡¯s Hospital, I came here to¡­¡± Zheng Wei looked at the suddenly appearing officer and explained stutteringly. The system had already told Zheng Wei about this situation, and he had prepared a cover story, but this was his first time lying to a police officer, and Zheng Wei inevitably stumbled. ¡°Enough, shut your mouth, I know what you¡¯re here for.¡± The old police officer walked over with fierce momentum as if he was going to arrest Zheng Wei. Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help but take a step back. ¡°Since I¡¯ve been here, I¡¯ve seen a lot of young people like you sneaking around, all wanting to come and see the ¡®devil¡¯s son¡¯ Julian Cole.¡± The chubby police officer walked up to Zheng Wei and stared at him as he spoke. Zheng Wei tightly pursed his lips, not knowing how to respond. In a way, what the officer said was not wrong. ¡°Hey hey, you¡¯re new here, aren¡¯t you?¡± Just as Zheng Wei was wondering whether to run away, the police officer suddenly changed his attitude. He patted Zheng Wei¡¯s shoulder and smiled, ¡°I know all the doctors in this hospital, you know why?¡± Zheng Wei was confused by his attitude and shook his head blankly. ¡°Because every one of you doctors, the first thing you do when you come here is to come over and see Julian Cole, without exception. Yesterday I heard that a new doctor had arrived at the hospital, and I was wondering when you would come over. It seems you¡¯re more patient than I imagined. I thought you would come over last night.¡± Zheng Wei looked at the smiling fat police officer and thought to himself, ¡°Officer, you¡¯re not wrong. I did come up here as soon as I arrived.¡± ¡°Hello, little Easterner, you can call me Old John. I¡¯m a police officer. What about you, what¡¯s your name?¡± This police officer not only had a physique like Dr. Andrew but also a similar personality, very enthusiastic. ¡°Hello, Officer John.¡± Zheng Wei smiled awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m a new doctor, you can call me Zheng.¡± ¡°Okay, Zheng.¡± Old John sat down on the bench. ¡°Tell me, what are you here for?¡± Zheng Wei thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth, ¡°Just like you said, I want to meet the famous Julian Cole.¡± ¡°Hahaha, everyone wants to meet little Julian.¡± Old John laughed and said, ¡°I mean, why do you want to see him? To study his mind? You doctors all like to do that.¡± ¡°No, just want to take a look. I¡¯m not curious about his mental state, just curious about him as a person.¡± Zheng Wei spoke truthfully. He didn¡¯t have the ability to study someone¡¯s mind. He just came to see what Julian was doing and keep an eye on him to prevent him from killing anyone. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s strange.¡± Hearing what Zheng Wei said, Old John scratched his head. ¡°Are you a so-called ¡®devil worshipper¡¯?¡± As he spoke, Old John¡¯s eyes changed, showing a mix of curiosity and caution. ¡°I know some people have established a religion around that guy, and some even want to marry him or sacrifice for him. Tsk tsk, people these days.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t worship any demons or deities.¡± Zheng Wei quickly shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m an atheist.¡± Although Zheng Wei¡¯s current situation could be described as unreal, he still didn¡¯t believe in ghosts and gods. ¡°Oh, you little easterner.¡± Old John looked disapprovingly at Zheng Wei after hearing his answer. He said, ¡°I know, easterners, and doctors like you, don¡¯t believe in the existence of gods. But let me tell you, that¡¯s wrong.¡± CH 3.2 Uh-oh. Seeing the look on Old John¡¯s face, Zheng Wei suddenly realized that he shouldn¡¯t have said that. As expected, Old John began to earnestly explain the existence of gods to Zheng Wei. ¡°You atheists are just blinded by everything in front of you, thinking that you have seen the essence of the world. Actually, you haven¡¯t. Those are just superficial and shallow. God exists, and he is watching us. Zheng, you should go to church once, where God will guide you and open your eyes to the fog in front of you. You will discover that the world is not just made up of cold numbers and all kinds of little bacteria but has many parts that we do not understand, and that is the power of God.¡± ¡°Uh, okay, okay.¡± If this goes on, it will never end. Zheng Wei quickly interrupted Old John¡¯s incessant speech. ¡°I will go when I have time, but now I have something to do.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t you still want to see Julian Cole?¡± Old John asked, puzzled. ¡°Not now. I¡¯ll have another chance later. I have to go see Professor Rodriguez now. Goodbye, Officer John.¡± Zheng Wei finished speaking and waved to the devout officer before running away. ¡°Goodbye then, Zheng,¡± Old John watched him leave in a hurry, standing up to bid farewell while still trying to promote his own faith. ¡°Remember to go to church, okay?¡± Zheng Wei waved his hand without turning back, indicating that he understood. ¡°Kids these days,¡± Old John rubbed his nose and muttered to himself as he watched Zheng Wei leave. He then turned around and looked at the room where Julian Cole was being held. After a moment of thought, he reached out and lightly lifted a corner of the curtain. ¡°Ah, Julian.¡± Caught off guard, Old John met a pair of pale, glass-like, cold, and clear eyes. ¡°What are you doing, Julian? You scared me.¡± Seeing that it was Julian, Old John calmed down. ¡°How long have you been watching like that?¡± Old John pushed aside the curtain, revealing an expressionless face behind it. ¡°Did we disturb you?¡± Julian Cole didn¡¯t answer, he had never been one to waste words. His butterfly-like long lashes drooped slightly, giving him a quiet and obedient look. ¡°That was the new doctor, Zheng, he¡¯s a little Eastern guy.¡± John was used to Julian¡¯s silence because this way Julian wouldn¡¯t get into any trouble. Standing in front of Julian¡¯s door, John prattled on to himself, ¡°He¡¯s curious about you, you know? He doesn¡¯t believe in God, oh God, please bless poor Zheng and guide him to the right path.¡± John, who was worried about Zheng¡¯s atheism, didn¡¯t notice that Julian¡¯s icy blue eyes were staring directly in the direction where Zheng had left, with strange scrutiny hidden behind his long lashes. Finally out of John¡¯s sight, Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help but wipe the sweat from his forehead. He would remember from now on not to say he was an atheist in front of believers. But with all the coming and going, the time given by the system was now only 6 minutes and 12 seconds left. Damn it, Zheng Wei slapped himself in the face. His mind was now a mess. ¡°Calm down, don¡¯t panic.¡± Zheng Wei rubbed his face. He was too hasty, rushing around like a headless fly, wasting a lot of time and accomplishing nothing. He needed to calm down and think about what to do. As time passed second by second, Zheng Wei paced back and forth at the corner of the 18th floor. Suddenly, he saw something and had a moment of inspiration. CH 4.1 ¡°Please tell me where the fire alarm is in this building,¡± Zheng Wei had seen foreign TV shows before, where everyone in the building would run out as soon as the fire alarm went off. The three-dimensional model of St. Philip¡¯s Hospital appeared on the screen, constantly zooming in until it focused on the elevator entrance of this floor. According to the map, the fire alarm button was located above the elevator button. Zheng Wei immediately walked towards the elevator entrance and found the red button. At this time, there were five minutes left before the massacre began. Five minutes was just about enough time. Zheng Wei looked at the button and pressed it hard. The sharp sound of the alarm echoed throughout the entire building. All the medical staff who heard the alarm immediately took well-trained action, evacuating the building with patients through the fire stairs. After pressing the button, Zheng Wei turned around and walked towards the room where Julian Cole was located, coincidentally meeting Old John who was getting ready to open Julian¡¯s room door with a key. ¡°Officer John, it seems like there¡¯s a fire, do you need help?¡± Zheng Wei ran over to Old John, pretending to be anxious as he asked. ¡°Oh, Zheng, I¡¯m fine, but it¡¯s good that you¡¯re here. Let¡¯s leave together,¡± Old John said as he opened the door and shouted inside, ¡°Julian, come out quickly, we need to leave here as soon as possible.¡± The door slowly opened from the inside, and Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help but take a few steps forward. As an ordinary person, he was full of curiosity about this so-called ¡°devil¡¯s son.¡± First, a slender hand reached out from the room. This beautiful hand lightly rested on the door frame, like it was meticulously carved out of marble. The fingers were long and the knuckles were distinct, presenting a clear, shimmering white with a coldness to it. The door opened and Julian Cole, the legendary ¡°devil¡¯s son,¡± appeared in front of Zheng Wei. He really didn¡¯t look like a murderer at all. That was the first thought that came to Zheng Wei¡¯s mind as he looked at Julian standing there. Perhaps due to staying indoors for too long, Julian Cole looks a bit lacking in pigmentation. His skin is pale, and even his hair is pure white without any impurities. The translucent strands of hair shimmer in the sunlight, making him look like an elf who has just stepped out of a fantasy movie or an angel depicted on a church window, beautiful yet unreal. ¡°He¡¯s so beautiful,¡± Zheng Wei thought, staring blankly. Forgive Zheng Wei¡¯s lack of vocabulary, he couldn¡¯t think of better words to describe the person in front of him. Julian Cole may not be the true ¡°devil¡¯s son,¡± but when it comes to appearance, his face definitely meets people¡¯s romanticized fantasy of a demon. Perfect facial curves, sculpted features, shoulder-length silver hair softly falling on his shoulders, and his pale, bloodless skin make him look like he was carved out of ice and snow. Embedded in his flawless face is a pair of ice-blue eyes, like a deep winter pool. The faint blue is covered with a layer of crystal-clear ice, clear and pure yet bottomless. Anyone who meets his gaze will be attracted to him and can¡¯t help but want to explore what lies beneath the surface. Unintentionally, Zheng Wei met his eyes, and in an instant, he felt like he had touched a piece of icy jade, cool and inviting. Is this the Devil¡¯s son? Zheng Wei¡¯s heartbeat halted for a moment, but he quickly forced himself to sober up. He carefully observed the person in front of him, trying to find some clues on him. Zheng Wei saw Julian standing quietly there, with the ill-fitting patient gown loosely draped on him, making him look somewhat thin and delicate. The sunlight in the corridor shone on him, and he looked like a piece of white paper that had been penetrated by the sun, almost transparent. In fact, Julian had nothing to do with being thin and delicate. He was very tall, and his shoulders were broad enough. Zheng Wei was 1.76 meters tall, but Julian looked a head taller than Zheng Wei. Standing in front of Zheng Wei, he enveloped Zheng Wei in the shadow cast by his body. ¡°Julian, there may be a fire somewhere in this building. We need to leave quickly and go to a safe place,¡± said Officer John to Julian, who had come out of the room. As he spoke, Old John pulled out a pair of handcuffs and snapped them on Julian¡¯s wrist with a ¡°click.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± After the handcuffs were fastened, Old John turned to Zheng Wei and said, ¡°Zheng, you help Julian and follow me.¡± ¡°Help Julian?¡± Zheng Wei was taken aback and lowered his gaze, only to notice that Julian was wearing shackles on his feet. ¡°Zheng?¡± Seeing Zheng Wei¡¯s lack of response, Old John asked again. ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Zheng Wei took a few steps forward and walked to Julian¡¯s side. ¡°This is Zheng, the little Easterner, I told you about before. You haven¡¯t met him yet,¡± Old John said to a bowed Julian. ¡°Zheng will walk with us.¡± Zheng Wei stood next to Julian and stiffly nodded toward him. He looked at Julian nervously and unconsciously greeted him. ¡°Hello.¡± Julian did not answer. He lowered his head and looked at Zheng Wei. His not-so-pliant silver long hair mischievously hung on both sides of his face, covering most of his face. In fact, as he approached, it was discovered that Julian Cole¡¯s cheeks were not as angular as those of typical white people. His face had a bit of baby fat, which softened his facial features and added a bit of youthful vigor to him. Zheng Wei and Julian just stared at each other for a while, and no one spoke. Zheng Wei swore that he had never encountered a more awkward situation in his life. Julian stood right in front of him, with slightly lowered eyelids, and his long and dense white eyelashes were like thick snowflakes, covering his icy blue eyes. His eyes were clean and clear, and Zheng Wei felt that the way he looked at him was like a deer that had just walked out of the forest. He had not yet seen the world outside the forest, so everything made him curious. CH 4.2 Zheng Wei greeted the baptism of these eyes without expression, and his heart was full of agony. He didn¡¯t want to look into these eyes, but for some reason, he dared not avoid his own eyes. ¡°Hello.¡± This opening remark is really stupid. As soon as the words were spoken, Zheng Wei regretted it. He didn¡¯t expect Julian to answer him, he just wanted to ease the embarrassment. But now he feels even more awkward. Just when Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help but want to hide, Julian spoke and broke the long and unbearable eye contact. Julian¡¯s voice is not pleasant. Unlike his delicate appearance, Julian¡¯s voice is a bit hoarse. It should be because he doesn¡¯t speak often, and his pronunciation is also a bit strange, similar to a child¡¯s mumble. Faced with this unexpected response, Zheng Wei was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to react. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± Old John just noticed that the two were still standing in place. ¡°Zheng, what are you dazing about? Quickly help Julian and let¡¯s leave here quickly.¡±Old John¡¯s shout woke Zheng Wei up like a dream. He quickly reached out to Julian and held his arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Zheng Wei smiled at Julian and lowered his head, leading him toward Old John¡¯s position. He gently put his hand on Julian¡¯s elbow, and Zheng Wei¡¯s eyelids drooped slightly. Even through a layer of clothing, he could feel the strong and powerful muscles under his hand, which didn¡¯t seem like the arm of someone who had been in a hospital ward for a long time. Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help but look at Julian beside him. Unlike his nervousness and anxiety, Julian was calm. His expression was gentle and there were no signs of madness. Under John¡¯s guidance, Zheng Wei supported Julian and they entered the fire escape. As soon as they entered, they heard the noise downstairs. Everyone on each floor was evacuating nervously. The people on the top few floors had already left, so the three of them were able to come down smoothly. Time was passing second by second, and it had been less than three minutes since the slaughter began. Zheng Wei felt extremely nervous, and the hand placed on Julian Cole¡¯s body was stiff. As if sensing his unease, Julian Cole turned his head to look at Zheng Wei and smiled at him. His smile was like any other smile that someone his age would have, clean and sunny. He looked at Zheng Wei with a kind and comforting expression in his eyes. Dazzled by his smile, Zheng Wei hesitated for a moment. Was this really the ¡°devil¡¯s son¡± who would really bloodbath the hospital? He couldn¡¯t help but question the system in his mind, wondering if it had made a mistake. ¡°Question exceeds the answer range.¡± A line of big characters appeared in Zheng Wei¡¯s mind, along with a countdown of 2 minutes and 12 seconds. Zheng Wei, ¡°¡­¡± After some reflection, Zheng Wei decided to trust the system. However, he couldn¡¯t help but sneak glances at Julian Cole. Although Zheng Wei thought he was being discreet, his peeping technique was not very sophisticated. There were several times when he met Julian Cole¡¯s gaze. Sensing Zheng Wei¡¯s scrutiny, Julian Cole did not show any dissatisfaction or other emotions. He just smiled slightly, with a relaxed expression that showed he didn¡¯t care. Zheng Wei, ¡°¡­¡± Is this really the serial killer who killed 13 people? I always feel like the system is fooling me. Julian Cole is only 20 years old. Since the age of six, he has spent 14 years in this small room at St. Philip¡¯s Hospital, facing all kinds of curious humans. What was he doing at the age of 20? If those things hadn¡¯t happened 14 years ago, what would Julian be like now? Thinking like this, a soft feeling of inappropriateness suddenly rose in Zheng Wei¡¯s heart. The three of them walked to the 13th floor, and more and more people appeared. With over 400 people consisting of doctors and patients in St. Philip¡¯s Hospital, this number was not small for the relatively narrow fire escape staircase. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, damn staircase.¡± Standing on the 13th floor and looking down at the crowd on the floor below, Old John finally felt a little relieved. He stopped to catch his breath and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his police uniform. These stairs were not very friendly to the overweight Old John. He was already sweating profusely and his police uniform was soaked with sweat after only five floors down. ¡°There are a lot of people ahead, let¡¯s wait here for a while until the crowd thins out before we go down,¡± Zheng Wei said to the panting Old John. Old John leaned against the wall and nodded vigorously, fully agreeing with the proposal. Zheng Wei helped Old John and Julian stand on the platform between the 13th and 12th floors, watching the crowd below. Zheng Wei¡¯s proposal was not only for Old John¡¯s benefit but also for another reason. He wanted Julian to stay away from the crowd. There were less than two minutes left before Julian would go on a killing spree, and if he suddenly erupted in the crowd, no one would be able to stop him. Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t even stop him, let alone he himself wasn¡¯t that powerful. However, how could Julian carry out a massacre with his hands and feet shackled? Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help but look Julian up and down. The handcuffs and ankle cuffs were all fine, and there seemed to be no problem at all. Sensing Zheng Wei¡¯s gaze, Julian tilted his head and smiled at him. Then he raised his cuffed hands and pointed to the pocket on his chest. ¡°Is there something in there?¡± Zheng Wei asked, watching his movements. The pocket was bulging, as if there was something inside. Julian nodded. ¡°Are you asking me to help you take out something from your pocket?¡± guessed Zheng Wei. Julian nodded again with a calm expression. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do it.¡± Zheng Wei said cautiously, after getting Julian¡¯s permission. He reached into the pocket and took out something from it. It was a small doll with the size of a palm. Though small, the doll had everything from hair to facial features, and even hands and feet. Its hair was sewn with black thick cotton thread, its eyes were made of buttons, and its mouth was stitched with two black lines, forming a smiling face. Though not very refined, the doll was quite cute. ¡°Here you go,¡± Zheng Wei didn¡¯t know the meaning behind the doll, he just took a quick look and handed it to Julian. But Julian didn¡¯t take it. He pushed the doll towards Zheng Wei, then smiled. ¡°It¡¯s for you,¡± Julian said in a somewhat unclear voice. He looked at Zheng Wei, his eyes and eyebrows slightly curved, and his lips gently raised. Zheng Wei was stunned. He looked at the doll in his hand and then back at Julian in front of him, unsure of what expression to make. Julian smiled at him, his icy blue eyes sparkling. Zheng Wei was at a loss, but he lowered his head and looked at the little doll in his hand, the small black-haired figure smiling dumbly. The numbers in his mind continued to decrease, and the time until the system¡¯s predicted massacre drew closer. Looking at the smiling face, Zheng Wei inexplicably felt a sense of regret. He sighed in his heart and put the small figure in his pocket. ¡°Thank you, I really like it,¡± he said, looking up at Julian with a smile. But there was a hint of sadness in his eyes that he couldn¡¯t explain. The small doll and the surgical knife lay together in Zheng Wei¡¯s pocket. He held the surgical knife in one hand and lightly placed his other hand on Julian¡¯s arm, his expression becoming serious. CH 5.1 There were only 58 seconds left. As the time dwindled down, Zheng Wei became calm. He placed one hand on Julian¡¯s arm and the other in his pocket, scanning the 12th floor anxiously. There were still many patients and doctors on the 12th floor, and the only police officer, Old John, was still catching his breath. The main perpetrator of the massacre was standing next to Zheng Wei, bound by handcuffs. Thinking of this, Zheng Wei¡¯s eyes darkened, and he turned to look at Julian beside him. Julian noticed his gaze and gave him a shallow smile. Zheng Wei also twitched the corner of his mouth, returning a stiff smile. Should he stab Julian now? Zheng Wei toyed with the handle of the surgical knife in his hand. Yes, his initial plan was to strike first and kill Julian Cole to ensure safety. This was a conclusion he had reached after watching numerous horror movies. But, should he really go through with it? Zheng Wei stared at Julian, his gaze unfocused. There was a difference between imagination and reality. He could criticize the protagonist on TV for not striking first and killing the boss. But if he were to enter the TV and kill someone, it would be a different matter altogether. Zheng Wei¡¯s left hand still rested on Julian¡¯s arm, and he could feel the warm skin beneath the fabric. Even though none of this was real, Julian was a living, breathing person in front of him. In the end, Zheng Wei didn¡¯t take out the knife. He wasn¡¯t a saint, he was just an ordinary person. He couldn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t stab someone to death before anything had even happened. Overcoming his psychological barrier was impossible for Zheng Wei, so he could only take a step back and comfort himself that he would act without hesitation if Julian showed any sign of aggression. Although this didn¡¯t make much of a difference, it would at least ease Zheng Wei¡¯s conscience. With this in mind, Zheng Wei slightly distanced himself from Julian. His body was tense, his hand in his pocket tightly gripping the surgical knife handle. He was ready to act at any moment. With a plan in mind, even if Julian was strong, as long as he was human, Zheng Wei still had a chance of winning. Zheng Wei thought optimistically. However, things didn¡¯t go as smoothly as Zheng Wei had imagined. There was suddenly a commotion among the crowd evacuating from the 12th floor. A man in restraints burst out from the crowd. The man was strong and looked insane. He roared in the crowd and knocked down several people who tried to stop him. Then he rushed towards Zheng Wei and the others. Zheng Wei saw that his eyes were bloodshot, his neck veins bulging, and saliva dripping from his wide-open mouth. His mouth was full of blood, and he didn¡¯t know if it was his own or someone else¡¯s. It was obviously a patient with a mental illness, and he looked extremely aggressive. ¡°Officer John, stop him, stop him!¡± someone shouted on the 12th floor. John reacted and reached for his waist, trying to draw his gun. But the more he rushed, the more chaotic he became, and he couldn¡¯t pull out his damn gun. ¡°Oh, damn it!¡± Old John cursed repeatedly, but he could only watch the crazy patient rush towards him. The man was very strong, and Old John was knocked down at once. He rolled under the stairs and passed out. Seeing Old John being knocked under the stairs, Zheng Wei didn¡¯t have time to panic, and the countdown of the system began. ¡°10, 9, 8¡­¡± ¡°Oh, damn it!¡± Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help but curse. He had no time to worry about the so-called countdown now. He quickly grabbed Julian beside him and moved to the side, ¡°Quick, let¡¯s go up.¡± He had to get Julian away from the crowd. ¡°5, 4, 3¡­¡± But Zheng Wei didn¡¯t pull Julian. He didn¡¯t even have time to turn around before he heard a light sound of ¡°swish,¡± and something flew over his head. Then, a scream rang in Zheng Wei¡¯s ears. ¡°Ah!¡± A silver metal handcuff fell from above Zheng Wei and landed on the porcelain tile. The two collided and made a series of crisp noises. Zheng Wei raised his head in horror and only had time to see a spray of red gushing out of the neck of the crazy man. The strong white man let out a scream and then fell down the stairs. The red blood sprayed in the direction he fell, leaving a shocking arc on the white wall. Someone was humming a song softly, with a gentle melody and a low, hoarse voice, with a hint of pleasure in the tone. It was Julian, the angelic Julian. He stood there with a relaxed expression and a happy look in his eyes. He looked no different from before, still clean and sunny. But in his right hand, there was a homemade-looking slender knife, and it was dripping with red blood. The numbers jumping in Zheng Wei¡¯s mind had reached zero. The countdown was over, and the slaughter began. The crowd seemed to be silent for a while, or maybe not. By the time Zheng Wei reacted, the 12th floor had been engulfed by continuous screams. Julian Cole, standing on the 13th floor, watched the panicked crowd and lifted his hand to leisurely wipe the still-dripping knife with his fingers. He looked calm, but Zheng Wei could see the fiery light flickering in his blue eyes. Julian was enjoying their fear. He was still humming the unknown tune in his mouth, seemingly providing accompaniment to his own festival. The cheerful melody mixed with the terrified screams downstairs, causing Zheng Wei to tremble all over as he watched everything. The moment the blood spurted out, Zheng Wei felt like his legs were about to give way. This was his first time seeing someone being killed. Up until this moment, Zheng Wei realized that he had greatly overestimated himself. He didn¡¯t have the courage or ability to confront a real killer head-on. But now that things had come to this, he couldn¡¯t just run away. Anyway, he wouldn¡¯t die. With this thought in mind, Zheng Wei gritted his teeth and shouted at the crowd below who were scared stiff by the sudden event, ¡°Run, get out of here!¡± CH 5.2 The people who were standing still and screaming just woke up from their dream and rushed to flee in all directions. As he spoke, Zheng Wei also quickly moved away from Julian and ran towards the 14th floor. He stood on the stairs and looked at Julian, who was still standing in place. Julian was also looking at Zheng Wei, smiling up at him with his head tilted back. He stood there, like an angel carved from marble in a church, with a smile on his face, pure and beautiful. Looking at Julian like this, Zheng Wei stepped back step by step, forgetting to react. He watched in amazement as Julian squatted down in front of him, holding a thin wire that he had somehow obtained, and tinkered with the lock hole of the handcuffs for a few moments, and the handcuffs opened with a sound. Julian took off his own shackles, stood up, and gently threw the little thing that had been holding him captive for 14 years out of the window next to him. The silver little thing disappeared into the dazzling sunlight outside the window. With the handcuffs resolved, Julian stood up straight. His eyes lowered, and he looked at the people on the 12th floor who had not yet completely left, his expression like that of a chef selecting ingredients for a banquet. He was about to start. Seeing Julian¡¯s expression, Zheng Wei didn¡¯t have time to think anymore. He knew he had to divert Julian¡¯s attention to himself. ¡°Hey!¡± He cleared his throat and shouted at Julian. Julian looked up and saw Zheng Wei still standing in place, seeming puzzled as to why he was still lingering here. However, he didn¡¯t seem in a rush to deal with Zheng Wei, so he just smiled slightly and patiently waited for him to speak. Facing Julian¡¯s light-colored eyes, Zheng Wei swallowed hard, feeling his legs trembling. He had no idea what to say. That outburst earlier was purely impulsive. As Julian grew bored waiting for his answer, he once again turned his gaze to the 12th floor. Most people on the 12th floor had already left, but some were still there, such as Old John and that patient lying there, their lives hanging in the balance. Julian took a step forward, intending to go down and deal with Old John and the medical staff below first. Naturally, Zheng Wei also noticed Julian¡¯s movements. He had to divert Julian¡¯s attention to his side, he thought. Old John was unconscious and had no mobility. If Julian was allowed to go down, he would undoubtedly die. But how could he attract Julian¡¯s attention to his side? Watching Julian lock his gaze on the lower floors, Zheng Wei was sweating profusely with anxiety. ¡°If only there was something to throw over there.¡± Zheng Wei thought, but there was nothing on the empty fire escape. If all else fails, he would have to go up and fight him head-on. Zheng Wei reached into his pocket, intending to take out his surgical knife. His hand reached into his pocket and touched something soft. It was the doll that Julian had given him. Looking at the doll, Zheng Wei had a sudden idea. ¡°Hey, Julian!¡± Hearing his name called, Julian stopped in his tracks and looked up at Zheng Wei in confusion. ¡°Look here!¡± He waved the doll in his hand vigorously toward Julian. Julian looked at the doll in his hand, tilted his head slightly, and smiled at Zheng Wei. His smile had a hint of shyness and childish pride, and he seemed quite satisfied with his handmade creation. ¡°Here you go!¡± Zheng Wei threw the little doll at Julian with the force of throwing a sandbag. The doll hit Julian¡¯s right cheek and then fell down to his feet. Right after throwing it, Zheng Wei regretted it. He retreated nervously, unable to take his eyes off Julian. The doll was soft and didn¡¯t hurt when it hit his face, but it did manage to wipe the smile off Julian¡¯s face. He slowly lowered his head and stared at the doll at his feet, as if he was stunned. After a while, he bent down and picked it up. After the doll was thrown, Zheng Wei felt like the atmosphere had suddenly become tense, and there was an ominous feeling in the air. Julian picked up the doll and slowly straightened his body, looking up at Zheng Wei standing above him. His blue eyes were like frozen ice. Zheng Wei was scared by Julian¡¯s gaze, and he immediately turned around and ran upstairs. Julian didn¡¯t hurry to catch up with him, instead, he carefully put the small doll in his pocket in front of his chest. Then he raised his knife in his right hand and gently rubbed it against his cheek. The smell of iron and blood mixed together slightly comforted him. He squinted his eyes and walked toward the direction where Zheng Wei was leaving. Now, all he could see was the fleeing Zheng Wei, and nothing else could catch his attention. ¡°Quick, help me design an escape route.¡± Zheng Wei asked the system for assistance. A route quickly appeared in Zheng Wei¡¯s mind. It led to the 18th-floor dean¡¯s office, where there was a private elevator that went directly to the underground parking lot from the dean¡¯s office. Following the map¡¯s instructions, Zheng Wei ran to the 18th-floor dean¡¯s office. The red wooden door was not locked, and he quickly pushed it open and rushed in, then locked the door behind him. ¡°Where is Julian now?¡± he asked in his mind. The screen showed Julian¡¯s coordinates, and he was moving in the opposite direction to Zheng Wei. ¡°Thank goodness,¡± Zheng Wei breathed a sigh of relief. But now was not the time to relax, he needed to find the elevator. Zheng Wei glanced around the dean¡¯s office. There were not many furnishings, only a large desk, and a few big sofas. ¡°Where is the elevator?¡± The floor plan of the room appeared on the screen, showing that the elevator was in a lounge inside the dean¡¯s office. Following the map¡¯s instructions, Zheng Wei walked towards the lounge and found a white door. He pushed it open and found a lounge, with another door opposite. The elevator was behind that door. He pushed open the last door, which led to a cloakroom. Inside were several rows of cabinets and a dressing mirror with lights. Next to the dressing mirror, on the wall, was the elevator that went directly to the parking lot. Zheng Wei walked over and found that the elevator required a password to open. ¡°I don¡¯t know the password,¡± Zheng Wei thought with frustration. ¡°What¡¯s the elevator¡¯s password?¡± The system provided the route, so only the system could know the password. ¡°994067,¡± a string of numbers appeared on the screen. Zheng Wei lifted his hand to enter the password, but before he could touch the button, he heard a ¡°beep¡± and the elevator indicator¡¯s light went out. Not only the elevator indicator light but also the small table lamp in the room went out. The power was out. ¡°*!#¡± Zheng Wei was stunned for a moment and couldn¡¯t help but curse. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The system showed that the entire St. Philip¡¯s Hospital power system had been destroyed. Zheng Wei immediately thought of Julian¡¯s smiling face. ¡°Tell me Julian¡¯s location.¡± Zheng Wei felt that the power outage was definitely related to Julian. Sure enough, Julian, who was originally in the opposite direction from Zheng Wei, was moving toward his direction. ¡°*!¡± Zheng Wei cursed again. It seemed that Julian finding this place was only a matter of time. Zheng Wei thought for a moment and ran back to the room where he started. He didn¡¯t want to go outside. Based on his and Julian¡¯s positions, he would be walking into a trap if he went out now. Moreover, there was only one exit on this floor, which was the previous fire escape stairwell. The fire escape stairwell was also in Julian¡¯s direction, so even if Zheng Wei went out, he had nowhere to run. He couldn¡¯t go outside, and according to Julian¡¯s route, hiding in the dean¡¯s office would be discovered sooner or later. Zheng Wei felt like a trapped turtle waiting for Julian to catch him. At this point, Zheng Wei had no other choice. He could either rush out and fight Julian or stay put. Zheng Wei looked at the large sofa next to him. He pushed the sofa behind the door, blocking the black solid wood door. After doing all this, he stood behind the door, gasping for breath. His eyes were fixed on the door. The door looked sturdy and was blocked by so many things. Julian shouldn¡¯t be able to come in. Just as Zheng Wei finished placing the sofa, the map displayed that Julian had arrived at the door of the Dean¡¯s office. ¡°Click, click.¡± Two light sounds. Zheng Wei hid behind the desk and saw the door handle shake a few times. ¡°If he catches me, will I die?¡± Zheng Wei asked the system. Although the previous little eleven had said that he would protect his safety, he had not made it clear, and Zheng Wei still felt uneasy. The screen flickered a few times. ¡¾If the task taker is severely injured or automatically gives up the task, it will be considered a task failure. After the task fails, the task taker will return to the system space and wait for the next task to begin.¡¿ After all, the system is a rigid machine, and its answer is a bit evasive. But this is enough, and Zheng Wei probably has a bottom line in his heart. Dr. Zheng might die, but Zheng Wei wouldn¡¯t. Zheng Wei was feeling complicated, but he didn¡¯t have time to think about it now. There were already slight noises coming from outside the door, and Julian had found this room. Zheng Wei took out his surgical knife and held it in front of his chest, staring nervously at the black wooden door in front of him. CH 6.1 Perhaps prayer had worked, as the door shook twice and then there was no movement. Zheng Wei saw on the system map that Julian had left. Zheng Wei breathed a slight sigh of relief, put down the surgical knife, leaned back, and lay on the thick carpet. Those few seconds had almost drained all his strength, and now he didn¡¯t even want to lift a finger. After lying there for a while, Zheng Wei suddenly thought of something else. Did Julian go to find the medical staff downstairs? Wasn¡¯t he going back again? Wasn¡¯t all the effort Zheng Wei had just put in to lure him away in vain? Zheng Wei scratched his head anxiously, staring at the map, planning to rush out as soon as Julian was far away. As for what to do when he got out, he hadn¡¯t figured that out yet. Anyway, he couldn¡¯t stay here waiting for Julian to kill all the hospital staff. But Zheng Wei found that Julian hadn¡¯t gone far at all. He walked into a nearby room, stayed there for a while, and then walked back in Zheng Wei¡¯s direction. Julian¡¯s movements made Zheng Wei alert, and he quickly picked up the surgical knife from the ground, his eyes fixed on Julian¡¯s position. Julian arrived at the door, just one door away from Zheng Wei. What is he thinking? Zheng Wei stared at the door, his body stiff with fear. Julian stopped in front of the door for a while, just when Zheng Wei was filled with uncertainty. With a loud bang, the black solid wood shook, as if something had hit it hard. With this loud noise, Zheng Wei saw a crack appear in the door, revealing fine white wood shavings. Bang! Bang! Bang! Before Zheng Wei could react, there were successive knocks on the door outside. The huge noise made Zheng Wei feel like he was being shaken. The gap in the door became bigger and bigger. Through the split, Zheng Wei could already vaguely see Julian¡¯s shaking white hair and the sharp axe tip gleaming with cold light. Julian was using an axe to smash the door. No matter how thick the wooden door was, it could not withstand the metal chopping. Soon, the black wooden door in front of Zheng Wei was riddled with holes. Zheng Wei looked at the axe occasionally protruding from the door and then looked at his own small surgical knife in his hand. He immediately turned and ran into the inner resting room. Trying to resist the axe with this small knife would just get him chopped up before he could even get close. Zheng Wei ran into the resting room and looked around, hoping to find a more suitable weapon. There was definitely no sharp weapon in the resting room. Zheng Wei searched for a while, and the only thing he found that was somewhat useful was a tall wooden stool. At this point, the outer door was already full of holes and could not provide any resistance. Julian put down the axe, lifted his foot, and kicked the door and the sofa behind it open. With a creak, along with the sofa¡¯s scream, Julian stepped into the office. This series of sounds made Zheng Wei, who was hiding in the resting room, tense up. Zheng Wei leaned against the wall next to the resting room door, tightly gripping the wooden stool in his hand. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his own pounding heart. Calm down, calm down. He admonished himself in his mind, but he couldn¡¯t stop trembling. Julian slowly walked into the room and twisted his neck. He glanced around the office and quickly spotted the door leading to the resting room. He looked at the door, revealing a silent smile. Then he took steps towards the resting room, still wearing the patient shoes provided by the St. Philip Hospital, soft and light, making no sound when he stepped on the soft carpet like a cat. He began humming a tune again, walking slowly and swaying the axe in his hand with each beat of his song. The almost indiscernible humming of Julian was more terrifying to Zheng Wei than a death sentence. Even though he didn¡¯t believe in God, Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help but pray silently in his heart. ¡°God, please protect me, please protect me.¡± As the humming drew closer, Zheng Wei lifted the wooden stool in his hand. Sweat dripped down his face, itching, but he dared not raise his hand to wipe it. Julian arrived at the door of the rest area, tilted his head, and looked at the door for a while, then gently pushed it open with his hand. The door slowly opened, and he stepped into the room. ¡°Ah!¡± As soon as Julian¡¯s half-body entered the room, he heard a series of screams. He instinctively looked up and saw a solid wooden stool smashing down toward his face. Zheng Wei didn¡¯t care about any rules and lifted the stool to relentlessly hit Julian¡¯s head. Julian was slammed against the opposite wall, and the axe in his hand fell to the ground, making a muffled sound. Seizing the opportunity, Zheng Wei kicked the axe far away, then pursued Julian and kept hitting him with the stool, even with his eyes closed, until Julian stood unsteadily. The wooden stool was heavy, and Zheng Wei didn¡¯t hold back at all. After a few hits, Julian was lying in a corner with blood all over his face. Zheng Wei stopped slowly only when the man in front of him was completely motionless. ¡°Hoo.¡± Zheng Wei took a deep breath, and the sweat had soaked through his clothes. His arms were heavy and tired. The stool slipped from his hands, and he didn¡¯t have the strength to pick it up. Finally, he could take a breath. Zheng Wei thought, but before that, he had to check on Julian¡¯s condition. He bent down and looked at Julian, who was leaning against the wall. Julian¡¯s head should have been injured in the attack just now. He closed his eyes and leaned quietly against the dark wallpaper on the wall. The red blood flowed from his hair, passed through his eye sockets, and left a bloodstain on his pale cheeks. Just like tears. Looking at Julian¡¯s face, Zheng Wei was stunned, and then he instinctively reached out to wipe away the glaring bloodstain. Suddenly, he met a pair of blue eyes, cold and transparent, like the lakes in march, seemingly covered with a thin layer of ice. When a large hand tightly gripped his throat, Zheng Wei suddenly remembered a sentence he had read in a post called ¡°Survival Guide in Horror Movies.¡± ¡°If you knock down a killer, don¡¯t turn around and run, or check if he¡¯s dead. Just pick up your weapon and finish him off.¡± CH 6.2 Fucking, careless!! But reality left no room for regret. Julian stood up slowly with one hand gripping Zheng Wei¡¯s throat, as easily as holding a doll. Zheng Wei¡¯s toes slowly left the ground, his face turning red from lack of oxygen. He had to reach out and tightly grip Julian¡¯s arm to make himself feel less miserable. But even so, Zheng Wei still felt dizzy due to lack of oxygen. Just when he thought Julian would slowly strangle him, he felt his vision spin. Zheng Wei¡¯s back slammed into the wall heavily, and Julian pressed against him. ¡°Cough, cough, cough.¡± The pressure on his neck disappeared, and the sudden influx of air caused Zheng Wei to cough uncontrollably while bending over. Before he could recover, a hand grabbed his hair, and the tremendous force made him involuntarily stand straight, his back against the wall and his head tilted back. This posture also left his vulnerable neck completely exposed to Julian. ¡°Ah.¡± The pain in the back of his head made Zheng Wei moan weakly, his head throbbing, and his vision beginning to blur. Julian started humming the song he had never heard before again. The joyful melody was hummed by him in a hoarse voice, revealing an indescribable strangeness. Then, Zheng Wei felt something cold sliding up and down around his neck. ¡°It¡¯s a Knife.¡± Zheng Wei immediately concluded from the touch of metal, his brain constantly on alert, but he had no way out. He could only raise his hands and weakly lean against Julian. I¡¯m going to die, I¡¯m definitely going to die. This was the only thought in Zheng Wei¡¯s mind. The scene he saw on the stairs kept replaying in his head, but this time, the person with the blood spilling in the air had become himself. The knife sliding on his neck suddenly stopped. Julian seemed to remember something and stopped. Zheng Wei saw him use his left hand, which was holding the knife, to take something out of the pocket of his shirt. It was the doll that Zheng Wei had used to hit him before, and also the ¡°gift¡± that Julian had given to Zheng Wei. Julian stuffed the doll into Zheng Wei¡¯s shirt collar and looked satisfied as the little figure smiled stupidly and lay on Zheng Wei¡¯s chest. Zheng Wei saw his pink lips opening and closing, hoarse and grating. ¡°Gift.¡± As the word ended, Zheng Wei caught a glimpse of Julian raising the knife in his left hand. No! Strong survival instinct made Zheng Wei widen his eyes. He didn¡¯t have time to think. He leaned forward and coincidentally, his lips met with Julian¡¯s. Julian¡¯s left hand, held high, froze stiffly in midair. Feeling the sensation on his lips, Zheng Wei was stunned. Subconsciously, Zheng Wei licked his lips twice, feeling that his lips were pressed against something soft. Feeling the warmth that belonged to humans, Zheng Wei was stunned after realizing what he had done. He widened his eyes, staring at the blue eyes that were so close, his whole body stiff, not daring to move. The two of them remained frozen with their lips touching, and after a while, the blue eyes staring at Zheng Wei blinked. Long eyelashes swept over Zheng Wei¡¯s face, making his heart tremble. The hand grabbing Zheng Wei¡¯s hair slowly loosened its grip, and the lips pressed against Zheng Wei¡¯s mouth tentatively pursed. Then they quickly parted. Julian raised his face and pulled away from Zheng Wei. His right hand was still behind Zheng Wei¡¯s head, but the left hand holding the knife had been put down at some point. He looked down at Zheng Wei, trapped between himself and the wall, and his eyelashes trembled like the wings of an injured butterfly. Julian¡¯s gaze was fixed on Zheng Wei¡¯s face, carefully scrutinizing this eastern face as if he were looking at an alien. His icy blue eyes did not blink, surveying every inch of Zheng Wei¡¯s face as if he wanted to firmly remember the position of every mole and every hair on his face. After watching for a while, he extended his left hand that still held the knife, and started tracing the contour of Zheng Wei¡¯s face with his index finger, starting from his forehead. Zheng Wei¡¯s mind went blank, and he didn¡¯t even dare to breathe. His body was pressed tightly against the wall behind him, letting Julian do as he pleased. The knife, which had just been stained with fresh blood, swayed back and forth near Zheng Wei¡¯s cheek, and he felt a nauseating smell of blood in his nostrils. Zheng Wei looked at the flashing blade with a sidelong glance, and the shadow of death once again enveloped his heart. He couldn¡¯t wait to die like this. Zheng Wei¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbed up and down as he forced himself to look at Julian¡¯s face. Julian met his gaze, lowered his eyelids, and his fine eyelashes covered his eyes, making it difficult to see where his focus was. Perhaps he was considering where to cut himself. Zheng Wei thought, feeling that he had already seen the grim reaper smiling at him. It¡¯s a matter of life and death, and he had to take a chance. Zheng Wei made up his mind, gritted his teeth, and suddenly reached out to embrace Julian¡¯s neck, pressing his lips against his. This kiss was different from the previous one, it was a real kiss. The two lips pressed together and Julian stopped moving. He stood there, letting Zheng Wei take the lead. A long time ago, when Zheng Wei was watching horror movies, especially those with decent-looking villains, he had this thought, ¡°What would happen if the protagonist kissed the villain when the knife was about to pierce their body in the corner?¡± The villain would be stunned, right? Then the protagonist could seize the opportunity to fight back. With a sense of determination, Zheng Wei closed his eyes and kissed Julian, enjoying the moment. Whether it worked or not, he didn¡¯t lose out with Julian¡¯s appearance. Zheng Wei chuckled to himself. In the messy room, the two of them kissed like a pair of soulmates who understood each other¡¯s hearts. With his guidance, Julian gradually relaxed. He reached out and gently wrapped his arm around Zheng Wei¡¯s waist, starting to respond to Zheng Wei¡¯s movements. Julian¡¯s lips were very soft, deceptive like his appearance. His kiss carried a cool freshness that reminded Zheng Wei of dewy grass in the early morning and pine needles bathed in the moonlight at night. Zheng Wei¡¯s kissing skills were not particularly impressive, but they were still better than Julian¡¯s. Moreover, in a life-threatening situation, Zheng Wei was particularly devoted to his kiss. He held onto Julian¡¯s neck, tilted his head, and their lips continued to entangle, exuding a taste of death and romance. Julian was also captivated by the atmosphere, he gently closed his eyes and gradually immersed himself in this beautiful and charming moment. Suddenly, Julian¡¯s body stiffened, and his eyes opened wide. Zheng Wei, who was kissing him, pushed him back two steps. CH 7.1 Julian looked down at his chest, where a small surgical knife was stuck. The knife was small but sharp enough to easily pierce someone¡¯s heart. The handle of the knife was already halfway inside Julian¡¯s chest, indicating how much force was used when it was thrust in. It turned out that Zheng Wei¡¯s method was somewhat useful. Red blood flowed out of the wound, quickly staining Julian¡¯s hospital gown. Julian looked at the spreading bloodstain and gently pressed it with his hand. His hand was covered in red. He looked at his bloodied palm and then raised his head to look at Zheng Wei, whose face still had a blush from their kiss. His blue eyes showed obvious confusion as if waiting for an explanation from Zheng Wei. Zheng Wei tightly pursed his lips and pressed himself against the wall, not daring to move. His eyes were fixed on Julian, and he slightly opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He couldn¡¯t explain it to Julian. They were opponents who fought for their lives, not truly knowing and loving each other. Even if he had stabbed Julian, there was nothing to explain. Although Zheng Wei thought that way in his heart, he couldn¡¯t avoid feeling guilty when facing Julian¡¯s eyes. Looking at those clean blue eyes, Zheng Wei felt like he had done something wrong again. Maybe he shouldn¡¯t have done that. He thought dazedly. But now it was too late to say anything. Julian, who had waited for an answer for a long time, straightened his body, and his expression began to lose warmth. Julian¡¯s eyes visibly changed, from a light ice blue to a gloomy and profound deep blue. Zheng Wei felt something emanating from Julian, covering the entire room with an inexplicable coldness. Julian slowly reached his hand to his chest, grasping the handle of the surgical knife protruding from his chest, and pulled it out bit by bit under Zheng Wei¡¯s horrified gaze. As the knife came out, a few drops of blood spattered onto Zheng Wei¡¯s face. He felt a warm liquid slowly sliding down his face, and his nostrils were filled with a pungent and sweet smell. As Zheng Wei watched Julian¡¯s movements, his mind went blank. He looked at everything in front of him and even forgot to blink. Without the obstruction of the knife, blood rushed out from Julian¡¯s wound and quickly dyed the carpet under his feet red. Despite losing so much blood, Julian seemed unaffected. He dropped the surgical knife still stained with his own blood and picked up the axe that had been kicked away by Zheng Wei earlier. With the axe in hand, he smirked at Zheng Wei who was still standing frozen at the door, startling him. Zheng Wei turned and ran, but it was too late. Before he could look back, he heard the sound of something flying toward him. A strong impact knocked him down to the ground, and then he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder, causing him to scream in agony. ¡°Ah!¡± Zheng Wei suddenly realized that he had only asked if he would die or not but has forgotten to ask if he would be hurt or in pain if something happens. The most serious injury he had ever suffered was getting his foot caught in the spokes of a rotating bicycle wheel, but the pain he was feeling in his right shoulder now was incomparable. He lay on the ground, his head pressed against the carpet, screaming in pain that echoed through the entire floor. He felt like something sharp had struck his right shoulder, cutting through his flesh and piercing his bone. ¡°This hurts too much.¡± Zheng Wei buried his head into the thick carpet, arching his body. His right shoulder was not only in pain but also had lost all feeling as if all the bones and tendons in his right shoulder were broken. This kind of pain made Zheng Wei wish to die immediately. With a deep breath, Zheng Wei glanced at his right shoulder, where an axe was firmly embedded. Warm blood oozed from his shoulder, wetting his clothes. The pungent and sweet smell became even stronger, making Zheng Wei almost vomit. But he didn¡¯t even have time to scream, because he could hear the sound of Julian¡¯s footsteps behind him. Zheng Wei gritted his teeth and, using his left hand to support himself, slowly turned around. Just as he turned around, he saw Julian approaching him with a knife in his hand. Julian¡¯s hair, face, and body were all stained with bloody red, but he didn¡¯t seem to care at all. His eyes were fixed on Zheng Wei. Listening to Zheng Wei¡¯s heart-wrenching cries, a faint smile appeared on Julian¡¯s beautiful and calm face. He was very angry, so angry that he had to do something to calm the boiling anger in his chest. Zheng Wei¡¯s face, mixed with fear and despair, greatly pleased Julian. His eyes, which had turned from a frozen lake into a deep sea, were always fixed on Zheng Wei. Julian followed Zheng Wei, watching him with interest as he retreated on all fours on the dark red carpet. He still hasn¡¯t decided how to deal with Zheng Wei. Zheng Wei saw the bloodstain on Julian¡¯s chest was expanding, and if it were an ordinary person, they would probably have died with such a wound. But Julian seemed relaxed, walking steadily without any tremble. This kind of pressure from Julian was more than a hundred times greater than before, which made Zheng Wei feel oppressed. Unconsciously, he felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest as he watched Julian approaching him step by step. Is this person really human? How could someone be stabbed in the heart and still not die? Various thoughts collided in Zheng Wei¡¯s mind, and in his eyes, Julian had become a non-human creature wearing a beautiful skin. ¡®The Devil¡¯s Son Julian Cole¡¯, Zheng Wei now truly saw his fangs. Unknown fear almost made Zheng Wei give up the idea of resistance. He just wanted to leave quickly, far away from here. Julian looked at Zheng Wei wriggling on the ground, as if watching a bird that had its wings clipped. Maybe it was intentional, maybe he was still considering how to deal with Zheng Wei. Julian walked slowly, with a feeling of indifference, but every step he took felt like he was stepping on Zheng Wei¡¯s heart. CH 7.2 His tall figure cast a shadow, as if the grim reaper was draped in a black cloak. Now, in Zheng Wei¡¯s eyes, Julian Cole was truly no different from the grim reaper. The fear in his heart overpowered the pain in his body. Zheng Wei gritted his teeth and stood up, continuing to flee. Julian made no move, allowing him to stumble towards the door. But after only a few steps, Zheng Wei felt a huge force hit him from behind, and he was kicked to the ground by Julian. Once again falling to the ground, Zheng Wei had lost all strength and courage to escape. He lay face down on the thick carpet, his heart beating violently due to fear, making it difficult for him to breathe. Julian looked down at Zheng Wei, struggling beneath him, and kindly flipped him over so that he was facing him. In the process, he pulled at the wound on Zheng Wei¡¯s shoulder, causing him to gasp in pain and break out in a cold sweat. Julian squatted beside him, pinching his face and making him face him. Zheng Wei looked up at Julian, knowing that if nothing unexpected happened, this was probably the end for him. He closed his eyes, gasping for breath, waiting for death to come. But after a while, Julian didn¡¯t make any moves. He just stared at Zheng Wei, as if he was looking at something magical, his eyes filled with curiosity and probing. Zheng Wei didn¡¯t know what he wanted to do. He just felt that the current situation was too unbearable, and he couldn¡¯t help moving his arm. Sensing his movement, Julian¡¯s gaze sharpened, and he lunged forward with his knife, precisely pinning Zheng Wei¡¯s moving hand to the floor. ¡°Ah!¡± The severe pain in his hand almost made Zheng Wei jump up, but he was firmly held down by Julian. ¡°Shh.¡± Julian pressed one hand against Zheng Wei¡¯s chest and put the index finger of his other hand to his lips, indicating that Zheng Wei should be quiet. Zheng Wei trembled his lips, stiffened his body, and dared not move again. Seeing that Zheng Wei was no longer moving, Julian showed a satisfied smile. His hand moved up and finally stopped at Zheng Wei¡¯s lips, slowly tracing the pale lips that had turned white due to blood loss. Zheng Wei lay on the ground, trembling all over, allowing Julian¡¯s fingers to wander on his face. He felt every hair on his body trembling with him. Suddenly, Julian¡¯s fingers stopped. Zheng Wei saw him lift his hand and reach toward his own eyes. Zheng Wei¡¯s heart skipped a beat and he quickly closed his eyes. The expected pain did not come. Zheng Wei felt something cold gently wipe his forehead, wiping away the cold sweat on his forehead. Zheng Wei opened his eyes and stared at Julian who was looking down at him with a gentle and comforting expression. Julian¡¯s lips curled up, and he slowly combed Zheng Wei¡¯s sweat-soaked hair with his hand, as if he were treating his most intimate lover. What is happening? Zheng Wei looked at Julian in confusion. Why? wasn¡¯t he going to kill me? But Julian¡¯s next move shattered Zheng Wei¡¯s illusion. He smiled slightly at Zheng Wei, revealing his white teeth. Then, before Zheng Wei could react, he reached out and grabbed the long-handled axe that was still stuck in Zheng Wei¡¯s shoulder, and pulled it out forcefully. ¡°Ah!¡± In Zheng Wei¡¯s screams, the blood that spurted from the pulled-out axe dyed his clothes red. Zheng Wei subconsciously reached out his left hand to protect his right shoulder, but he forgot that his left hand was still pinned to the ground by the knife. This pull caused the knife to pass through his left hand¡¯s palm. ¡°Ah!¡± Zheng Wei arched his body and let out a piercing scream, his throat almost feeling like it had been cut by a knife. However, compared to the pain in his body, the pain in his throat was nothing. The pain made his vision darken, and he kept rolling and struggling until Julian straddled him and suppressed his movements. Watching Zheng Wei still rolling under his suppression, Julian suddenly became excited. He bent over, pinched Zheng Wei¡¯s neck with his hand, and rubbed his forehead with his lips a few times. The pulsation under his palm and the salty sweat smell on his lips both revealed a tremendous vitality. Sniffing that scent, Julian¡¯s eyes narrowed with satisfaction. He didn¡¯t dislike this, on the contrary, he liked it, very much. Julian didn¡¯t plan to kill Zheng Wei, he liked this strange person. But, despite liking him, wrong actions still needed to be punished. Julian opened his eyes, and his lips left Zheng Wei¡¯s forehead. He sat up straight on Zheng Wei¡¯s body and reached out to straighten Zheng Wei¡¯s bangs, his expression showing a strange tenderness. Zheng Wei was already too weak to figure out what Julian was up to. Those two screams had almost exhausted all his strength. Whatever Julian wanted to do, Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t stop him. Zheng Wei felt his vision blur, he couldn¡¯t see Julian¡¯s actions clearly, only felt a heavy and bloody axe swinging over his body from his chest to his shoulder, finally stopping at his wound. The cold metal pressed against the exposed wound, and even though Zheng Wei was now in a semi-conscious state, he knew that nothing good was going to happen next. ¡°System, system.¡± Zheng Wei¡¯s eyelids became heavier and heavier, and he desperately called out to the system in his mind. ¡°Kill me, or let me enter the next mission, whatever method, just get me out of here.¡± The pain made Zheng Wei¡¯s consciousness begin to blur, and he had only one thought in his mind now, which was to leave here. He thought this was a good place to escape reality, thought it was just a simple task, and it was fake, so there was nothing to be afraid of. But now he realized that he, as an ordinary person, was simply unable to cope with this magical world. Then Zheng Wei heard an electronic sound. [Number 1045, human Zheng Wei, mission judged as a failure, proceeding to the next mission point in five seconds.] In the last few seconds of staying in this world, Zheng Wei saw Julian lifting the axe high above him. It was a good thing he was leaving early. This was Zheng Wei¡¯s last thought in this world. CH 8.1 Zheng Wei returned to the white space. ¡°Welcome back, Mr. Zheng,¡± a voice immediately sounded in the space. It was the system called little eleven that he had encountered before. As soon as he entered the space, all the pain and fatigue on Zheng Wei¡¯s body disappeared. He finally had the time and energy to confront the system. He walked back and forth in the empty space, trembling all over. ¡°Who can tell me what the hell is going on?¡± Zheng Wei questioned the empty space with an excited and hoarse voice. The mental state of a person who has survived a disaster is usually not very stable, and Zheng Wei is already considered restrained. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry.¡± System Eleven seemed very ashamed and quickly apologized. ¡°We put you in such a dangerous situation due to our work errors. I¡¯m really sorry.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use of apologizing, what¡¯s the use?!¡± Zheng Wei took a deep breath. He found that he couldn¡¯t calm down at all. He walked back and forth in this vast system space, unable to control himself. Anyone who has experienced all of this would not be able to remain calm. The feeling of impending death is so real. Although Zheng Wei is physically unharmed now, his psyche has suffered great damage. Zheng Wei also felt that his current emotional state was not right, but he couldn¡¯t stop himself. His mood now was like a boiling pot of oil, with various mixed thoughts that made him want to tear down this ghostly place. As if sensing his restlessness, the space changed. The bright white turned into a dreamy soft blue. A beam of light shone down on Zheng Wei¡¯s head, enveloping him. This light seemed to have magical power. Zheng Wei bathed in it and felt as if his mind and body had been washed. His mind gradually regained clarity, and his restless mood began to calm down. After staying in the blue light for a while, Zheng Wei took a deep breath, as if he had also exhaled all his negative emotions. His face became more relaxed. ¡°Do you feel better now?¡± After a while, System Eleven asked cautiously. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Zheng Wei let out a long sigh. The blue light had made him feel much better, and now he was finally calm enough to discuss the situation calmly. He stretched out his hands and covered his face, finding a place to sit down casually. He was too tired, not physically exhausted, but mentally exhausted. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, Mr. Zheng.¡± Seeing Zheng Wei like this, System Eleven also panicked. His mechanical voice was mixed with some noises that sounded like crying. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, please forgive me.¡± ¡°Tsk.¡± Zheng Wei lifted his head. ¡°Are you crying?¡± ¡°That sounds terrible.¡± Now that he had recovered, he felt like teasing the system. The system didn¡¯t say anything, but the sharp static noise told Zheng Wei that the strange system was indeed crying. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for losing my temper just now.¡± Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t stand someone crying, so he wiped his face and apologized to System eleven. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay.¡± Surprised that Zheng Wei would apologize, System eleven quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, I should be the one apologizing to you.¡± ¡°Okay, I accept your apology.¡± Zheng Wei also smiled. ¡°Stop apologizing and let¡¯s move on to other questions. I have many more questions for you.¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± System eleven answered carefully. ¡°Firstly, why couldn¡¯t Julian be killed?¡± ¡°Julian is not human.¡± System eleven thought for a moment before explaining, ¡°As the mission background stated, Julian Cole was a sacrifice intended for the evil god by his parents.¡± ¡°But the sacrifice failed, right?¡± Zheng Wei was puzzled. Didn¡¯t all the people who participated in the gathering get killed? He recalled the background information he had read and thought that Julian had escaped unscathed. ¡°Not exactly. The sacrifice had already begun long before Julian Cole was born,¡± System eleven explained. ¡°Strictly speaking, Julian¡¯s parents did not offer him to the evil god but offered themselves to the evil god. They willingly sacrificed their wombs to become the bearers of the evil god, using the birth of the evil god to bring its arrival into the human world.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying Julian is a god?¡± Zheng Wei furrowed his brow. No wonder he was so shocked. If he had known Julian was a god, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to provoke him. ¡°No,¡± System eleven denied Zheng Wei¡¯s conjecture. ¡°The sacrifice failed, and the evil god did not fully descend into that world. Julian is a failed product, not entirely human, but not a god either. He is a tainted soul, an evil spirit that walks among humans.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like Jason in the horror movie ¡®Black Friday the 13th¡¯ in your world,¡± System eleven felt that language alone was not enough to describe it, so it gave an example to Zheng Wei. ¡°Mm, I understand. But speaking of which, Julian looks much better if he looked like Jason, maybe I could have taken action earlier,¡± Zheng Wei joked with System eleven, now that his emotions had calmed down. However, he suddenly realized that if it were Jason, the small surgical knife he was carrying wouldn¡¯t be of much use. Thinking about this, he remembered the unexpected kiss and his expression became somewhat awkward. System eleven didn¡¯t know what Zheng Wei had done in that world. If he knew, he would probably short-circuit immediately. ¡°Okay, next question,¡± Zheng Wei shook his head and shook off those random thoughts. ¡°Will every task I encounter in the future be like Julian, an evil spirit?¡± ¡°Not necessarily, there are all kinds of things in horror stories, evil spirits, ghosts, monsters, and even humans are possible,¡± System eleven thought for a moment and said. ¡°I¡¯ll remember to remind you in every world from now on. This time was my mistake, I¡¯m sorry,¡± he apologized to Zheng Wei again sincerely. Now Zheng Wei understood. He nodded and compared the movie¡¯s masked killer, Jason, to Julian. ¡°No, there won¡¯t be a next time,¡± interrupted Zheng Wei. ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t make a mistake, I wouldn¡¯t have succeeded.¡± System eleven was confused and didn¡¯t understand what he meant. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to ask you,¡± Zheng Wei¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°Why did the system choose me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not smart, not strong, and don¡¯t have any special abilities. Even if you put me in that world with a system, I wouldn¡¯t be able to become a hero and save the world.¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to protect cannon fodder, right? Then why did you choose me? I can¡¯t even protect myself, let alone them.¡± Zheng Wei became somewhat emotional. He had thought things were so simple, but the fact proved otherwise. He was still the ordinary Zheng Wei, and just because he had been sent to another world with a system didn¡¯t mean he could become a hero, protect the world, and slaughter enemies. ¡°I can¡¯t protect them, so sending me to that world was useless. It just gave the devil¡¯s son one more head to collect. What¡¯s the point of that?¡± The blue light soothed Zheng Wei¡¯s emotions, but couldn¡¯t heal the scars in his heart. Everything he had experienced at St. Philip¡¯s Hospital had filled him with fear and self-blame. He had lost the courage to undertake the next mission. ¡°Choose someone stronger, I cannot complete the mission nor save them,¡± Zheng Wei said, his throat tight as he buried his head in his knees. ¡°We have already signed a contract. If you give up now, you will die,¡± System Eleven said to Zheng Wei after a moment of silence. ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Zheng Wei said, trying to sound nonchalant. ¡°I was already dead in the real world anyway, wasn¡¯t I?¡± He remembered the System telling him that his body had died in a car accident. System Eleven fell silent, and the space grew quiet for a while. ¡°We didn¡¯t choose you,¡± System Eleven spoke up again after a long pause. ¡°The world you are assigned to execute the mission in chose you, not us. We are merely executors and do not have the right to choose the mission¡¯s performer.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zheng Wei furrowed his brows. ¡°The mission worlds have their own protective mechanisms. Anything that does not belong to their world will be rejected.¡± ¡°Only souls that match with these worlds can travel through them to perform the mission. But such souls are very rare. For example, in the Horror world sector where you are, we searched for a long time in all the worlds before finally finding you as a suitable candidate.¡± ¡°If we had the authority to select taskers, we would certainly want to choose someone who can solve all of this, rather than an ordinary person like you.¡± ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Zheng Wei suddenly remembered something: ¡°You told me before that I could switch to a different section? If soul compatibility is necessary, then how does switching sections work?¡± ¡°Oh, that.¡± System Eleven hesitated for a moment, and then began to speak evasively, ¡°That was just a lie~¡± ¡°If you request to switch sections, we¡¯ll change the name of the horror section to something you can accept, but in the end, you still have to go into these horror worlds to perform the tasks.¡± Zheng Wei was shocked by the shamelessness of the system and forgot to criticize it. CH 8.2 ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about these details.¡± System Eleven quickly changed the subject: ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the issue of task worlds.¡± ¡°We know that this failure has dealt a heavy blow to you, but we still hope that you can pick yourself up. Suitable taskers are hard to come by, and if you give up now, we don¡¯t know when the next tasker will appear.¡± ¡°I know you think you¡¯re ordinary and don¡¯t have the ability to do these things, but regardless, your appearance is a hope for those who are destined to sacrifice in the horror worlds.¡± ¡°And, I bear a great responsibility for the failure of this task.¡± System Eleven¡¯s tone was full of shame. ¡°I not only set the wrong time coordinates but also the wrong world coordinates. You were supposed to start the mission in a world with difficulty level D, but I accidentally placed you in a world with difficulty level A. It¡¯s all my fault, and I¡¯m truly sorry!¡± It¡¯s no wonder that a novice is sent to fight the boss alone. ¡°Is this really how you guys work?¡± Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, really sorry. I¡¯ve already been punished. Please forgive me,¡± System Eleven said, now even using a whiny voice to try to soften Zheng Wei¡¯s heart. In order to make Zheng Wei more sympathetic, it even changed its voice to that of a child. It was really shameless. Zheng Wei was amazed at System Eleven¡¯s behavior. ¡°Please continue with the mission. I promise there won¡¯t be any more problems this time,¡± System Eleven pleaded again. Before Zheng Wei could refuse, System Eleven said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so quick to say no. Complete one more task and then decide. This time it¡¯s a D-level mission, and you¡¯ll succeed.¡± ¡°Please, Mr. Zheng, if you don¡¯t agree, many people will die. You¡¯re their only hope,¡± System Eleven said, trying to appeal to Zheng Wei¡¯s emotions. Hearing System Eleven¡¯s words, Zheng Wei hesitated for a moment and looked conflicted. ¡°You can¡¯t give up just because of one failure. These missions are also a matter of life and death for you. Although you say it doesn¡¯t matter, think about your parents and family. Maybe if you die, it¡¯s all over for you, but can you bear to let your parents age prematurely?¡± The system continued to try to persuade and deceive Zheng Wei, finally touching his heart. Saying that life and death don¡¯t matter is just an emotional outburst. Life and death are serious matters, and now that he has calmed down, Zheng Wei is no longer as indifferent as before. ¡°I want to ask you, do you have anything to protect me?¡± After a moment of silence, Zheng Wei cleared his throat and asked. In other words, he was ready to continue with the mission. ¡°You¡¯re agreeing?¡± System Eleven was thrilled to hear this. Of course, it doesn¡¯t have a face, so whether it¡¯s happy or not depends entirely on its tone. Its voice still uses the loli tone it used to apologize, which is very lifelike. Hearing that Zheng Wei has agreed, its sweet voice is almost too much to handle. ¡°You go ahead and tell me if there¡¯s anything that can help me.¡± Zheng Wei¡¯s teeth ached when he heard the voice of System eleven. ¡°As you can see, I¡¯m just an ordinary person. My intelligence is not higher than others, and I can¡¯t win a fight against others. A person like me, not to mention facing evil spirits, even facing an ordinary serial killer is a death sentence. You guys didn¡¯t come to me just to make me die in every world, did you?¡± If natural talent is lacking, one must make up for it with external help. Since he is a weakling, his cheat item must be strong enough. ¡°Yes, yes, of course, there is.¡± The system quickly said. ¡°In fact, after each mission, you will be rewarded according to your performance.¡± System eleven explained, ¡°Although this mission was not successful, as compensation for our negligence, the system has decided to give you a mission prop.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Zheng Wei became interested, ¡°What is it? Where is it?¡± As soon as he asked, a picture of a silver metal whistle and its functional introduction appeared in his mind. [¡®Assembly Whistle¡¯: Blow this whistle, and companions within a radius of one thousand meters centered around you will return to your side within ten minutes. The cooldown time is one hour.] ¡°Ah,¡± Zheng Wei exclaimed disappointedly, ¡°It¡¯s just a whistle.¡± Zheng Wei would rather have a defensive prop. His combat power was too low, he was even at a disadvantage against ordinary people, let alone non-humans. ¡°Because you failed the mission this time, we can only give you some auxiliary tools,¡± System Eleven also felt that the whistle was a bit disappointing. Seeing that Zheng Wei was still very disappointed, it quickly comforted him, ¡°Originally, there would be a punishment for your failure this time, but because we also have some responsibility for this failure, we canceled the punishment.¡± But for Zheng Wei, this was not comforting at all. ¡°What? There¡¯s still punishment?¡± Zheng Wei was shocked, his voice raised a few degrees instantly. ¡°Y-yes.¡± Eleven began to stutter again. ¡°You don¡¯t pay me and now you want to deduct my salary too?¡± Feeling exploited, Zheng Wei was indignant. ¡°Is there any justice in this world?¡± ¡°Uh.¡± Zheng Wei¡¯s questioning left System Eleven at a loss for words. ¡°It¡¯s not that we didn¡¯t pay you, once your task score accumulates enough, we will help you fulfill any wish you have,¡± the system explained in a whisper. ¡°You may say that now, but how do I know how much is enough?¡± Zheng Wei remained dissatisfied with the punishment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry,¡± System Eleven quickly explained. ¡°We are a legitimate enterprise with organization and discipline, and we absolutely dare not withhold your labor income.¡± ¡°Every time you complete a task, I will tell you the score you earned, and different wishes correspond to different scores. As long as you have enough points, you can immediately withdraw them.''¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Zheng Wei sighed helplessly. ¡°How many points do I need to return to my world?¡± ¡°Oh, let me calculate,¡± System eleven fell silent for a moment. ¡°Your body is considered dead in your world, so I calculated that you will need about 1048 points. Among them, 800 are for repairing your body, 200 are for modifying time, and the remaining 48 points are for preserving your body.¡± ¡°Then how many points for each task?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. It depends on your completion rate, ranging from 20 to 100 points. This is calculated based on the task completion rate and the difficulty level of the world.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Zheng Wei sighed again. It seemed that he still had some time to wait before he could go back. Actually, Zheng Wei didn¡¯t want to go back so soon. When he thought of facing his parents, he felt that he would rather fight monsters here. Thinking of his parents, Zheng Wei sighed deeply. He lowered his head, pressed his temples with both hands, and suddenly remembered something. ¡°System eleven, does mission failure mean that the medical staff at St. Philip¡¯s Hospital have been killed by Julian?¡± Andrew, Dr. Garcia, and old John¡¯s faces flashed before Zheng Wei¡¯s eyes. Thinking about the possibility of their deaths, Zheng Wei bit his lips tightly and looked unhappy. ¡°Not exactly,¡± System eleven understood what Zheng Wei was thinking. ¡°Mission failure doesn¡¯t necessarily mean they¡¯ve all been killed. As a member of the medical staff, your mission is to protect all medical personnel. If you die, the mission has already failed.¡± ¡°Although we don¡¯t know why, after you died, Julian Cole did not go after the remaining people.¡± System eleven thought for a moment and decided to tell Zheng Wei about this. ¡°Why?¡± Zheng Wei was puzzled. ¡°We¡¯re not exactly sure of the specific reasons,¡± System eleven was also full of confusion. ¡°Does this mean that the hospital staff have escaped danger?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not sure yet,¡± System eleven replied. ¡°We¡¯ll keep a close eye on Julian¡¯s movements, and if he harms anyone at St. Philip¡¯s Hospital, we¡¯ll know. I¡¯ll let you know then.¡± The fate of the hospital staff is still unknown. After thinking for a moment, Zheng Wei suddenly asked, ¡°Can I have another chance?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± System eleven didn¡¯t understand what Zheng Wei meant. ¡°Let me go back to St. Philip¡¯s Hospital again. This time, I¡¯ll definitely save them,¡± Zheng Wei said seriously. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we can¡¯t do that,¡± System eleven said apologetically. ¡°As I just told you, accessing the world of a mission is not something we can do on a whim. It requires the right time, place, and people, which is why we need taskers to execute our missions.¡± ¡°The portal to St. Philip¡¯s Hospital¡¯s world is now closed, and we don¡¯t know when it will open again. Even if it does, it¡¯s not certain that it will lead to the time before the slaughter. That¡¯s how all worlds are.¡± The implication behind System eleven¡¯s words was clear to Zheng Wei. This was not a game where you could simply reload and start over again after a failure. The reality of this weighed heavily on Zheng Wei¡¯s heart, leaving him silent. ¡°Promise me,¡± after a moment, Zheng Wei said to System eleven, ¡°if Julian continues to pursue the remaining people, you must tell me.¡± Hearing his slightly hoarse voice, System eleven fell silent for a moment before replying, ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Are you ready to move on to the next world?¡± System eleven continued, ¡°Of course, you can rest for a while longer if you need to. We still have time.¡± ¡°No need, let¡¯s go,¡± Zheng Wei stood up and said to System eleven. After hearing what System eleven had to say, he didn¡¯t feel like resting anymore. Although he wasn¡¯t a brave superhero, he felt that he had a responsibility to the people of the task world since he had taken on the task. If he couldn¡¯t save them, it would be his own failure. ¡°Alright then,¡± System eleven said, ¡°let¡¯s get ready to go. 3, 2, 1.¡± A blue light flashed by and Zheng Wei lost consciousness. At the same time, in the St. Philip Hospital in another world, an Eastern man in a white coat lay quietly on the floor, with a sharp axe inserted into the floor to his right. A white male patient in a hospital gown was looking closely at his face, which was vastly different from his own. Julian¡¯s hand was still on Zheng Wei¡¯s chest, and his hand, separated by a layer of fabric, could no longer feel the sound of his heartbeat. The Eastern man had closed his eyes and stopped breathing, quietly entering eternal rest. When he had just lifted the axe, he could feel something leaving the body of this small Eastern man. Then his heart stopped beating, and he became a boring corpse. What was that thing exactly? Julian lowered his head, his face only a palm¡¯s distance away from Zheng Wei¡¯s face. His gaze slowly scanned Zheng Wei¡¯s face and finally stopped at his well-shaped thin lips. What was it exactly? He stared at those pale lips, his blue eyes filled with exploration. CH 9.1 ¡°Drip, drip.¡± In the darkness, Zheng Wei heard the sound of water drops. The sound came and went, echoing around him. He wanted to find the source of the sound, but all around him was pitch black, and he couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°Hello, is anyone there?¡± Zheng Wei groped forward in the darkness, his voice echoing in the blackness. ¡°Hello?¡± Zheng Wei kept calling out, but no one answered him. He seemed to be alone, trapped in this darkness. The boundless darkness made Zheng Wei panic, and he ran forward desperately, trying to get rid of everything. But even when Zheng Wei was exhausted, his surroundings were still dark. He leaned against the wall, panting, almost despairing. At this moment, he suddenly noticed a flash of white light ahead, and a figure moving in the light. ¡°Hello! Hello!¡± The light made Zheng Wei ecstatic, and he shouted and waved his arms in the direction of the light, ¡°Save me!¡± The figure seemed to hear his plea, hesitated for a moment, then walked through the light and slowly towards him. Zheng Wei also forced himself to walk toward the figure. The distance between the two of them got closer and closer, and the light on the figure gradually dissipated. Zheng Wei saw a pair of familiar icy blue eyes. Quiet, cold, like the winter lake. Zheng Wei let out a startled cry and sat up in bed. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and placed one hand on his chest. His heart was still racing from the dream, and he felt almost suffocated. ¡°Ding Dong.¡± The sound of the doorbell suddenly startled Zheng Wei, bringing him back to reality. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table, it was already 7 o¡¯clock in the morning. ¡°Good morning, Zheng.¡± Allen, a tall black man, pushed open the door and grinned at Zheng Wei, revealing a row of neatly arranged teeth. ¡°My friend, are you ready to start our spring break trip?¡± [Allen, a 22-year-old M-country man, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 260 pounds, a freshman at K Law School, and the school¡¯s football cornerback.] The basic information of this person appeared in Zheng Wei¡¯s mind. ¡°Oh, Allen, good morning.¡± Zheng Wei tried to force a smile, making himself look less distant. ¡°I¡¯m ready, let me change my clothes first.¡± ¡°Sure, do you need help with your luggage?¡± Despite his burly appearance, Allen was very friendly. He wore a pair of glasses, spoke gently, and behaved politely. ¡°No, no thanks. I¡¯ve already packed, let me go get it,¡± Zheng Wei shook his head and declined Allen¡¯s offer. ¡°Okay.¡± Seeing Zheng Wei being so polite, Allen looked a bit puzzled. But he didn¡¯t say anything, just took a step back to give Zheng Wei enough space. According to the system¡¯s settings for Zheng Wei, he and Allen were supposed to be childhood friends. However, Zheng Wei¡¯s current behavior was still quite distant from being a good friend, which made others feel uneasy. But Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t help it. He didn¡¯t have the talent for acting, nor was he outgoing. For him, Allen was just a stranger he had just met. Perhaps next time when the system selects a task taker, it should add an item for outstanding acting skills. Zheng Wei silently complained in his heart. ¡°Hey, Zheng, do you have something hidden in your room?¡± At this moment, a blonde head popped up behind him. ¡°Come on, bro, spill the beans.¡± The blonde-haired person blinked at Zheng Wei, looking mischievous. [Martin, 20 years old, 6 feet 1 inch tall, 220 pounds, a freshman in K Photography Department, and the captain of the school¡¯s football team.] Martin was a handsome blonde, the charming ¡°bad boy¡± type that every high school had. He was outgoing and sociable, the kind of party star who never let the conversation run dry. ¡°Good morning, Martin.¡± Martin¡¯s appearance broke the awkwardness, and Zheng Wei greeted him before making an excuse to leave. ¡°You guys go to the car first, I¡¯ll go get the luggage and join you in a bit.¡± After speaking, Zheng Wei hurriedly walked into the room. ¡°Let me help you!¡± Martin shouted and wanted to follow him in, but he was stopped by Allen. ¡°Don¡¯t you think something¡¯s off with Zheng today?¡± Allen asked Martin in a low voice, while his eyes looked towards the room. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Martin didn¡¯t feel anything. ¡°Isn¡¯t Zheng always like this? It¡¯s called Oriental restraint, right?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s different.¡± Allen shook his head and furrowed his brows. He carefully recalled Zheng Wei¡¯s appearance in his memory but found that there was only a symbol with labels in his mind. ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it, my bro.¡± Martin slapped Allen¡¯s shoulder in a carefree manner. ¡°Maybe he just broke up, maybe something happened, or maybe he¡¯s just not feeling well. Don¡¯t think too much. If you¡¯re really worried, you can talk to him when we get there.¡± Martin¡¯s words made sense, so Allen had to temporarily set aside his doubts. Zheng Wei was unaware that Allen and Martin were discussing him. He walked into the bedroom, quickly changed his clothes, picked up his luggage, and grabbed the metal whistle that he had packed last night. This was a reward that the system had mentioned, a gathering whistle that could call for companions. The gray rope and silver body of the whistle looked no different from an ordinary whistle. Zheng Wei looked at the whistle lying in his palm, thought for a moment, and hung it around his neck. He put the whistle inside his T-shirt and covered it with his clothes. The cold whistle was tightly pressed against his chest, which made him feel a little more at ease. Zheng Wei didn¡¯t have much luggage, just a travel bag. He walked out carrying his bag and found Martin and Allen still standing at the door. ¡°You don¡¯t have to wait for me here. You can go ahead,¡± Zheng Wei tried to play the role of a good friend, although it wasn¡¯t very successful. ¡°What are you talking about? We would never leave a friend behind,¡± Martin put his arm around Zheng Wei¡¯s shoulder and gave him a firm pat on the back. Then he turned to look at Allen and winked, ¡°Right, Allen?¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Allen looked at Martin and shook his head helplessly, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up, the ladies must be getting impatient.¡± CH 9.2 ¡°Are you all ready, boys?¡± As soon as Allen finished speaking, a blonde beauty wearing a white embroidered crop top that exposed her midriff and light blue denim shorts got off the car and walked towards them. [Diane, female, 20 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 130 pounds, a freshman in the photography department at K University, Martin¡¯s girlfriend.] Diane was a typical blonde beauty with long legs, a slim waist, a hot figure, and a great personality. ¡°Need me to arrange a tea party for you guys?¡± Diane stood in front of the three of them and exaggeratedly spoke. Obviously, she was very dissatisfied with Zheng Wei and his friends¡¯ procrastination. ¡°Let me remind you that we need to get there before it gets dark,¡± Diane frowned her slender eyebrows and pursed her lips, which were even more charming than the red roses on her clothes. Her tight outfit showcased her body¡¯s advantages perfectly, and she stood there so casually, just like a model on the runway. ¡°Oh, sorry, honey.¡± Martin let go of Zheng Wei and walked to his girlfriend¡¯s side, took her hand, and kissed it. ¡°But you look so beautiful when you¡¯re angry,¡± Martin whispered softly in diane¡¯s ear. ¡°Don¡¯t even try to sweet-talk me,¡± Diane pushed Martin¡¯s face away with a slap, but there was a hint of a smile on her face. Allen and Zheng looked at the lovebirds and then laughed together, looking like good friends. The four of them arrived at a small camper van parked by the roadside. There were already two people inside. ¡°Good morning, Zheng,¡± the female among the two greeted Zheng Wei first. ¡°Good morning, Ellie,¡± Zheng Wei also greeted her with a smile. [Ellie, female, 20 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 128 pounds, K University computer science major top student] Ellie is a quiet girl with fluffy red long hair, pale skin, and some small freckles on her face with a soft smile. After greeting Ellie, Zheng Wei looked at the sleepy long-haired man with glasses next to her and said, ¡°Good morning, Jin.¡± ¡°Well, I think I might not be feeling so good,¡± Jin grumbled, then lay back and closed his eyes. [Jin, male, 20 years old, 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 180 pounds, K University design major student.] ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, let him sleep a little longer. He went to the bar yesterday night and we just picked him up at the door this morning,¡± Allen explained as he followed Zheng Wei onto the van. ¡°Okay.¡± Zheng Wei nodded and walked into the car to put his luggage away. ¡°Alright, everyone¡¯s here.¡± Martin was the last one to get in the car, and he was the driver. Martin jumped onto the driver¡¯s seat and turned around to look at the people in the car. He said, ¡°Now I announce! The 11th collective trip of Cherry Tree Team officially begins.¡± Cherry Tree is the name of their community. Allen, Martin, Diane, Ellie, Jin, and Zheng¡¯s homes are all in this community. They grew up together since they were kids, from kindergarten to middle school, high school, and even college. Although they were not always in the same class, they were still very close. The relationship between the few people who grew up together is very intimate, and the annual collective trip is their traditional program. This year, they are going to a farm that Martin¡¯s late grandmother left to his mother. It is located in a remote countryside, close to the western mountains, with beautiful scenery. With two loud honks, the car slowly started. There was a burst of cheers in the car, and even Jin, who was lying on the chair, raised his arm in cooperation. A blonde beauty, a handsome athletic man, an African-American man, a straight-A student girl, and a drunkard, a college student combination, on a trip far away from the city. Is there a more standard horror movie setup than this? ¡¾After a long month of exams, the Cherry Tree Team, consisting of Allen, Martin, Diane, Ellie, and Jin, decided to embark on a spring break trip to Martin¡¯s grandma¡¯s scenic farm. However, little did they know that buried beneath the farm was a terrifying evil spirit. This spirit had gradually awakened with the death of Martin¡¯s grandma and was now thirsting for the blood of young people. Come on, Zheng Wei, the task of killing the evil spirit and saving the lives of the five people is in your hands!¡¿ Zheng Wei watched the people immersed in the joy of the trip and involuntarily grasped the whistle hanging around his neck. The metal whistle had already warmed up from the heat of his body. This mission was different from the last one. Zheng Wei not only had to protect the people but also had to kill the evil spirit. If it were only to save the lives of the five people, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult; all he had to do was not go. However, the difficulty lay in having to kill the evil spirit. An evil spirit, it was another evil spirit. Zheng Wei rubbed the whistle on his chest through the fabric and couldn¡¯t help but think of Julian. Whenever he thought of that person, who looked like an angel but wielded an axe, he couldn¡¯t help but tremble. It¡¯s already in the past, it¡¯s already in the past. Zheng Wei comforted himself in his heart, trying to push aside the memory of those beautiful yet cold blue eyes. ¡°If they don¡¯t go, what will happen?¡± Zheng Wei asked the system. ¡°If they don¡¯t go, will the evil spirit still awaken?¡± Zheng Wei had watched some horror movies, and evil spirits usually didn¡¯t leave their territory. If the five people didn¡¯t go, they wouldn¡¯t die. He didn¡¯t have much confidence in himself, and if possible, he would rather fail the mission than let the five risk their lives. [The mission will be automatically abandoned by the mission taker, and the mission will be deemed a failure. After the mission fails, the mission taker will be forcibly sent out of this world, and the world will return to its normal trajectory. The evil spirit will appear, and the five people will die.] If they didn¡¯t go, the mission would be deemed a failure, and these people could only follow the predetermined route, which meant they could not avoid their fate of death no matter what. Faced with such a result, Zheng Wei had to accept the mission, at least there was some hope that way. ¡°How can I kill the evil spirit?¡± Zheng Wei learned from the last lesson that the evil spirit cannot be killed by ordinary means, so he must be prepared before facing it. [The thing that can kill the evil spirit is the thing that created it. The tasker needs to find the weapon to kill it.] This sounds easy, but it¡¯s actually not that simple. Zheng Wei frowned. The range of weapons was too wide. Anything in life could be a weapon if someone wanted to kill someone. ¡°How would I know what can kill it?¡± [When the tasker comes into contact with the task-related items, the system will give prompts.] Does he have to touch everything in that farm to find the weapon? Zheng Wei recalled the information he received from the system yesterday and felt a little headache. ¡°Hey.¡± Someone walked up to Zheng Wei and interrupted his thoughts. Zheng Wei looked up and found it was Allen. He was holding two bottles of beer and standing in front of Zheng Wei. ¡°Want one?¡± Allen handed a bottle of beer to Zheng Wei. ¡°Um, thank you.¡± Zheng Wei took the beer and thanked Allen. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Allen smiled and revealed his white and neat teeth. The two of them clinked their beers together and started drinking silently. Zheng Wei observed Allen and felt like he had something to say to him. Sure enough, after drinking a few sips of beer, Allen hesitated before speaking, ¡°You don¡¯t seem very happy. Do you not like this trip?¡± ¡°No,¡± Zheng Wei quickly denied, ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Of course, that wasn¡¯t the truth. ¡°I thought so. I remember you love the countryside and the mountains.¡± Allen nodded. In his memory, Zheng Wei was someone who loved nature. ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Zheng Wei took a sip of beer and forced a smile. After that, the two of them didn¡¯t know what else to say, and the atmosphere became a bit awkward. ¡°Zheng, is something bothering you?¡± After some thought, Allen put down his beer and asked Zheng Wei, ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that you seem to be lost in thought since earlier. Are you troubled by something?¡± Upon hearing his question, Zheng Wei paused in his drinking. He knew he had been too cold and distant, which was not what a good friend should do. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to pry into your privacy. I¡¯m just¡­¡± Seeing that Zheng Wei didn¡¯t answer, Allen explained, ¡°I¡¯m a bit worried about you. If you encounter any bad situations, you can always talk to me. I believe that both Martin and I would be happy to help you.¡± Allen looked at Zheng Wei, speaking earnestly with a hint of concern in his coffee-colored eyes. ¡°Um¡­¡± Zheng Wei scratched his head, not knowing how to respond to Allen¡¯s words. He wasn¡¯t very good at facing others¡¯ goodwill, especially in the current situation. ¡°Of course, if you don¡¯t want to talk about it, you don¡¯t have to.¡± Allen smiled at him, ¡°Everyone has things they don¡¯t want to say, and I understand.¡± ¡°I just want to tell you that if you need someone to talk to in the future, you can always come to me.¡± Allen patted Zheng Wei¡¯s shoulder, his smile sincere. ¡°I¡¯m not just your friend, I¡¯m also your family. If you really encounter any trouble or have any worries, I would be happy to help you,¡± said Allen, sincerely. Allen¡¯s words came from the heart and Zheng Wei could feel it, but he didn¡¯t know how to respond. He looked at Allen, who was unaware of the danger they were about to face, and lowered his head to take a sip of beer. ¡°Thank you, I will,¡± Zheng Wei finally replied. CH 10.1 An old camper van swayed on the empty road. Streets and houses gradually gave way to bushes and weeds, and the sun became increasingly scorching from the coolness of the morning. After lunch at a rest area by the roadside, a group of five people set off on their journey again. Jin was still sleeping, so they didn¡¯t disturb him. The excitement of the trip had gradually faded, and the atmosphere inside the vehicle had become somewhat dull. Each person was quietly doing their own thing, except for the hoarse female voice on the radio, which was still singing tirelessly. The driver had been changed from Martin to Allen. Martin and Diane were resting at the back of the car, Ellie was sitting by the window reading a book, Jin was still sound asleep, and Zheng Wei was sitting at the table, looking out at the scenery flying by and twirling the whistle hanging from his chest absentmindedly. This was his only reliance, and although it didn¡¯t have much practical use, it still made Zheng Wei feel a little bit more at ease holding onto it. ¡°Ah~¡± Jin lying there murmured and slowly sat up. Jin¡¯s shoulder-length curly hair had been swept into a mess. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, then sat there dazed for a while before asking slowly, ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°We still have over three hours until we reach our destination,¡± Allen, who was driving, looked at Jin through the rearview mirror and said, ¡°You finally woke up, I thought you were going to sleep all the way.¡± Jin didn¡¯t answer. He stood up and rubbed his stomach, asking, ¡°Is there anything to eat? I feel like I haven¡¯t eaten anything in a long time.¡± ¡°When we had lunch earlier, we packed a burger for you and put it on the cabinet over there,¡± Ellie said, ¡°But it¡¯s probably cold now, you should heat it up in the microwave.¡± Jin stood up, but instead of getting the burger, he walked to the refrigerator, opened it, and took out a can of beer. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m alive again,¡± he said, taking a big sip of the cold beer, then squinting his eyes and smiling. ¡°Do you guys want some?¡± he asked Ellie and Zheng Wei, holding up the can of beer. ¡°No, thank you,¡± Ellie shook her head and declined. ¡°I don¡¯t need it either,¡± Zheng Wei looked at him and couldn¡¯t help but advise, ¡°You should eat something first before drinking, it¡¯s not good for your body.¡± Jin shrugged, walked to the cabinet and took the burger without heating it up, then ate it in big bites. After being full and satisfied, Jin sat back in his seat, lounging lazily. ¡°Ellie, you should put down your books.¡± Holding a can of beer in his hand, legs crossed high, Jin said to Ellie, ¡°This is a trip, we should put aside everything from school and enjoy ourselves.¡± ¡°For me, this is my pleasure,¡± Ellie raised the book in her hand, ¡°and it¡¯s just a novel.¡± ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t want to touch any paper with words now. I¡¯ve read enough.¡± Jin shrugged. ¡°What¡¯s the name of this novel?¡± Zheng Wei asked casually. ¡°The Hunting on the Farm,¡± Ellie said, showing the cover to Zheng Wei. The black cover is printed with red letters, with a background of a farm surrounded by thick fog. Zheng Wei, ¡°¡­. ¡± He seemed to see a fluttering flag. ¡°The cover doesn¡¯t look so good,¡± Zheng Wei laughed awkwardly, ¡°what¡¯s the story about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a story about several college students staying overnight on a farm, and then being caught by the farmer and offered to an evil god,¡± Ellie smiled suddenly, ¡°speaking of which, the beginning of this book is quite similar to us.¡± Zheng Wei, ¡°¡­¡­ ¡± Please, sister, stop it! Don¡¯t jinx us!¡± ¡°What, are you afraid?¡± Ellie noticed Zheng Wei¡¯s strange expression and couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a novel. There are no evil gods or demons in the real world.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Jin, who was drinking beer next to them, let out a disapproving scoff. He looked at Ellie with a slanted eye and said, ¡°How do you know they don¡¯t exist?¡± Jin¡¯s words drew the attention of Ellie and Zheng Wei. However, Ellie¡¯s eyes showed surprise and amusement, while Zheng Wei¡¯s eyes showed some curiosity. ¡°Oh, Jin, don¡¯t tell me you believe in this. You don¡¯t even believe in gods,¡± Ellie laughed and said to Jin, ¡°I thought you would believe in science more.¡± ¡°Of course, I believe in science,¡± Jin took a sip of beer. ¡°But there are too many things in this world that cannot be explained by science. And, not believing in gods and believing in non-human entities in this world are not contradictory,¡± Jin continued. ¡°But there is no evidence to prove that their existence is real, right?¡± Ellie didn¡¯t believe in these things, ¡°So far, all the supernatural events that have occurred have been found to be just mental illnesses and human factors. If these things really existed, humans would have discovered them by now. ¡°Because those with evidence are all dead. Those non-human entities are not friendly at all, and humans are no match for them.¡± Jin raised an eyebrow. ¡°And the government also helps to cover up the truth. They won¡¯t let the facts be exposed.¡± ¡°Are you trying to scare people with conspiracy theories again?¡± Ellie sneered and dropped her book. ¡°If there really is such a thing, let it appear in front of me. I¡¯ll only believe it when I see it with my own eyes.¡± Zheng Wei, ¡°¡­¡±, You¡¯ll be able to see it soon. ¡°Whatever.¡± Jin shrugged. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t scream and run away like those brainless big-breasted women in movies. Those things won¡¯t be lenient with you just because you¡¯re a beauty.¡± ¡°Thanks for the compliment.¡± Ellie rolled her eyes and ignored him. Zheng Wei watched the two of them go back and forth, making all sorts of claims and increasingly felt that this was a dangerous business. But Jin was an interesting person. It seemed that just like in horror movies, the more seemingly unclear a person was, the more clear-headed they actually were. ¡°Zheng.¡± While Zheng Wei was pondering about how to deal with the evil spirit, Ellie turned to him. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Zheng Wei looked puzzled when he met Ellie¡¯s light-colored eyes. ¡°Do you believe it?¡± Ellie asked, ¡°Do you believe that there are non-human beings in this world like what Jin said?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± I certainly believe. I met one not long ago. Of course, this is something that cannot be said. Even if I say it, no one will believe me. Zheng Wei replied ambiguously. ¡°Although I believe in science, I think there are some forces in this world that science cannot reach. Just like what Jin said, there are indeed some phenomena that cannot be explained by science.¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± Hearing Zheng Wei¡¯s words, Jin laughed. He raised the beer in his hand and made a toasting gesture to Zheng Wei. ¡°Good bro.¡± Looking at Ellie, who continued reading her book and ignoring them, Zheng Wei and Jin glanced at each other and shrugged at the same time. The car left the wide road and turned into a twisted and winding small road. The car window was occupied by an endless expanse of greenery, and the traces of civilization slowly disappeared before Zheng Wei¡¯s eyes. ¡°There¡¯s a gas station up ahead.¡± Allen, who was driving, said, ¡°We need to refuel the car.¡± As he spoke, he slowed down the car and parked it in front of a building. ¡°I¡¯ll go check if the owner is there or not. You guys can stay in the car or go to the restroom or something,¡± Allen said, before jumping out of the car. ¡°I want to stretch my legs a bit.¡± Ellie stood up and yawned. ¡°If I sit any longer, my joints will rust.¡± She looked at Zheng Wei and Jin. ¡°Are you guys getting out?¡± ¡°No.¡± Jin lay back on his seat and declined. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go anywhere.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Ellie nodded and then turned her gaze to Zheng Wei. ¡°What about you, Zheng?¡± Zheng Wei looked out the window at the gas station for a while. In the wilderness, the gas station¡¯s existence was quite abrupt. In horror movies, such small gas stations usually have a quirky old owner who knows something about the supernatural. He might be able to gather some information about the evil spirit from him. ¡°I also want to get out and walk around,¡± Zheng Wei said, nodding at Ellie. As for Diane and Martin, they were still resting at the back of the car. They didn¡¯t want to disturb the young couple. So, only Ellie and Zheng Wei got out. ¡°This looks like a junkyard.¡± As soon as she got out of the car, Ellie exclaimed in a low voice, ¡°Can we really get gas here?¡± Ellie¡¯s words were not exaggerated. The gas station was littered with piles of metal and plastic, as well as some broken wooden boards. The two shabby gas pumps were standing alone in the garbage pile, looking like they were part of it. ¡°Afternoon, young lady.¡± Just as the two were observing the gas station, a white middle-aged man walked over. He greeted Zheng Wei and Ellie with a friendly smile. ¡°I¡¯m Landon, the owner of this gas station.¡± The man said with a grin. Then he winked mischievously at Ellie. ¡°Although this place looks more like a garbage dump, I assure you that every liter of oil is genuine.¡± Ellie understood that Landon had overheard her words just now and felt a bit embarrassed, so she lowered her head. ¡°I¡¯m going to the restroom.¡± Ellie made an excuse and left awkwardly, leaving Zheng Wei alone to face the gas station owner named Landon. CH 10.2 ¡°The restroom is right around the corner,¡± looking at Ellie who fled, Landon said cheerfully and then turn around to face Zheng Wei who was standing aside. ¡°Hello, young man.¡± Landon looked at Zheng Wei curiously but didn¡¯t come off as offensive. ¡°Hello, Mr. Landon.¡± ¡°I heard from the young man named Allen that you guys are here on vacation, is that right?¡± Landon finished greeting and went to get the gas pump, preparing to refuel the car. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re going to Hersman Farm. Do you know where it is?¡± Zheng Wei asked as he watched Landon¡¯s back. Hersman was Martin¡¯s grandmother¡¯s last name. ¡°Hersman Farm? Of course, I know. It¡¯s a big farm, and you¡¯re getting close to it,¡± Landon replied curiously. ¡°What are you going to do at Hersman Farm? Hersman passed away, and there¡¯s no one there.¡± ¡°And even if Hersman were still alive, the farm has been abandoned since she fell seriously ill eleven years ago and didn¡¯t have the energy to manage the farm,¡± Landon added with a hint of sadness in his voice, as if lamenting the abandoned farm. ¡°Ms. Hersman is my friend¡¯s grandmother. We want to see the place before it gets sold,¡± Zheng Wei answered. ¡°Ms. Hersman had a daughter?¡± Landon was surprised. ¡°Of course she did,¡± Zheng Wei was also surprised by Landon¡¯s reaction. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t mean anything by it,¡± Landon scratched his head and said, ¡°since the incident forty years ago, Hersman never left the farm. Except for some workers who came and went during planting and harvesting, I¡¯ve never seen anyone else enter. And I haven¡¯t heard of her having a husband or family, so we¡¯ve always thought she was single.¡± ¡°Something happened forty years ago?¡± Zheng Wei caught the point and asked, ¡°What happened forty years ago?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Landon looked puzzled at Zheng Wei. ¡°I don¡¯t really pay attention to my friend¡¯s family matters,¡± Zheng Wei said half-seriously. In fact, before this, none of them, including Martin himself, knew that he still had a grandmother. ¡°But since you brought it up, I¡¯m naturally curious. So tell me now,¡± Zheng Wei said, not willing to let go of the opportunity now that he had a lead. Landon didn¡¯t hide anything and started talking, ¡°It¡¯s not really a secret, as it was big news that caused a sensation throughout the state and made the headlines.¡± ¡°Forty years ago, when Ms. Hersman¡¯s father was still alive, something happened on the farm,¡± Landon chose his words carefully. ¡°Some bad things.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°One night forty years ago, someone broke into Mr. Hersman¡¯s house and brutally murdered Mr. and Mrs. Hersman and their three children, twin sons Jamie and Paul, and their daughter Colleen, who was only 17 at the time. Only their youngest daughter, Roland Hersman, who is now Ms. Hersman, survived by hiding in the basement.¡± Although Landon¡¯s words were simple, the content was shocking. ¡°Who did it?¡± Zheng Wei immediately asked. The creation of a malevolent spirit is often related to bloody murder, and it seems to be the case this time. ¡°I don¡¯t know, the police never found the killer,¡± Landon shrugged. ¡°You know, they can¡¯t do anything, they just go around handing out tickets.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t there even a suspect?¡± Zheng Wei persistently asked, ¡°Someone who had a conflict with their family or something like that?¡± ¡°No, the Hersmans were all good people,¡± Landon frowned. ¡°Mr. Hersman was an educated and respectable man who studied medicine in a big city before returning to inherit the farm after his father¡¯s death. He and his wife Miranda were generous and had helped many people here.¡± ¡°Their children were also excellent, although they didn¡¯t talk much, they were polite and well-behaved,¡± Landon said. ¡°No one would hate such a family, and if they did, I would definitely know.¡± He added, ¡°We don¡¯t have many people here, and neighbors take care of each other. If there¡¯s any conflict between two families, we would know about it.¡± Landon¡¯s words made Zheng Wei frown. Could it be that the one who killed the Hersman family was a malevolent spirit? That means the malevolent spirit they were dealing with existed before the Hersman family tragedy happened? ¡°Did anything terrible happen on the Hersman farm before the tragedy occurred?¡± Zheng Wei asked, ¡°I mean, before the Hersman family¡¯s tragedy, did anything terrible happen here? Like a massacre or murder?¡± ¡°No, why would you even think that?¡± Landon widened his eyes. ¡°Nothing like that has ever happened in this small town.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Zheng Wei persisted, ¡°What about hundreds of years ago? Didn¡¯t your ancestors experience anything like that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re implying,¡± Landon¡¯s expression turned sour. ¡°This place used to be a wasteland until my grandfather¡¯s generation settled here and cultivated the land with their own hands. We¡¯ve been rooted here ever since.¡± ¡°I can assure you that our land is pure and clean, and nothing terrible has ever happened here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to offend you.¡± Zheng Wei apologized immediately, feeling embarrassed. Landon¡¯s words made him confused again. Landon didn¡¯t seem to be lying, but then where did the malevolent spirit come from? Could it be that the tragedy of the Hersman family was really caused by humans? Zheng Wei suddenly thought of Julian Cole, the evil spirit created by the cult. So, is this world also related to these things? ¡°Did the Hersman family participate in any strange and illegal religions?¡± Zheng Wei asked. ¡°Impossible.¡± Landon denied Zheng Wei¡¯s speculation, ¡°The Hersman family were devout believers, and they would not have any connection with any strange and unusual religions.¡± ¡°This incident has always been a mystery around here.¡± Landon sighed, ¡°Poor Hersman family, no one knows what they experienced that night.¡± ¡°After that, Ms. Hersman fortified her house like a fortress,¡± Landon said. ¡°She installed electric fences, raised hunting dogs, and reportedly bought a lot of weapons. When hiring workers, she wouldn¡¯t even let them step into her house. Poor woman, she lived a very difficult life in the second half of her life.¡± ¡°You said your friend is the son of Ms. Hersman¡¯s daughter?¡± Landon turned to Zheng Wei and asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Zheng Wei nodded, not sure why Landon was asking this. ¡°Will he come back to inherit the Hersman Farm?¡± Landon asked. ¡°He probably won¡¯t.¡± Zheng Wei remembered that Martin had said before that the farm was going to be sold. ¡°True,¡± Landon nodded, looking a little dejected. ¡°You guys have always lived in the big city, so you¡¯re definitely not going to stay.¡± ¡°In the blink of an eye, it¡¯s been 40 years since everything happened, time really flies,¡± Landon sighed. ¡°Now, the only surviving Ms. Hersman has also passed away, and the Hersman family has disappeared completely from here.¡± Men of Landon¡¯s age always seem to have some sentimentality about life, especially after reminiscing about the past. ¡°But it¡¯s good that they¡¯re gone. Even for us neighbors, Hersman Farm is a terrible scar. I hope that scar can disappear with the disappearance of Hersman Farm.¡± As Landon was in a low mood, Zheng Wei also felt a little heavy-hearted. Even for unrelated people, everything they had just heard was enough to make them feel sorry. ¡°Hey, Zheng,¡± while Zheng Wei and Landon were lost in thought, Allen came out of the gas station carrying a bunch of things. ¡°Hey, Mr. Landon,¡± Allen greeted Landon who was standing by the side. ¡°Is our gas filled up?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been filled up a long time ago,¡± Landon had already recovered from the heavy memories and replied with a smile. ¡°Okay, thank you, the money has already been paid inside.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Landon waved to him. ¡°Have a good trip and enjoy yourselves.¡± ¡°Why are you standing here, Zheng?¡± After Landon left, Allen turned to Zheng. ¡°Where is everyone else?¡± ¡°Only Ellie and I got off,¡± Zheng replied. ¡°Ellie just went to the restroom, and I had nothing to do, so I chatted with Mr. Landon and asked him some questions.¡± ¡°What did you ask?¡± Allen asked curiously. ¡°Some things about the Hersman farm,¡± Zheng thought for a moment and said. There was nothing to hide about these things. It would be better for them to know earlier. ¡°The Hersman farm?¡± Allen frowned. ¡°Martin¡¯s grandmother¡¯s farm? What happened there?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it upstairs.¡± Zheng looked at the camper van next to him. ¡°I think they¡¯d like to know too.¡± CH 11.1 After everyone got in the car, Allen and Zheng Wei gathered the people inside the car and sat together. ¡°What¡¯s up? Have we arrived already?¡± Martin yawned. He had just been woken up by Allen. ¡°Zheng just found out something,¡± Allen said. ¡°He thinks you all need to hear it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Everyone was curious, and all ten pairs of eyes looked at Zheng Wei. Zheng Wei briefly repeated what Landon had said earlier. ¡°Oh my God!¡± After listening to Zheng¡¯s story, everyone took a deep breath and showed expressions of disbelief. ¡°This is too scary.¡± ¡°Martin, I can¡¯t believe you didn¡¯t tell us about this,¡± Diane turned to Martin. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that,¡± Martin said somewhat annoyed. ¡°I just found out too.¡± ¡°Come on, bro.¡± Jin didn¡¯t believe Martin¡¯s words. ¡°That¡¯s your grandmother.¡± ¡°Forget it, you all know it anyway.¡± Martin stood up, frowning. ¡°I didn¡¯t know I had a grandmother until the lawyer showed up. I haven¡¯t seen her before neither does my mother know about her. She always thought she was an orphan.¡± The others remained silent. They grew up together and had some understanding of each other¡¯s family situations. Martin was telling the truth. ¡°Why?¡± Ellie didn¡¯t understand. ¡°If your grandmother was still alive, why didn¡¯t she contact you all these years?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± Martin shrugged indifferently. ¡°As Zheng said, maybe everything that happened scared her and gave her psychological problems. She no longer trusts anyone, including her own daughter, just like in TV dramas.¡± Although Martin acted like he didn¡¯t care, those who knew him could hear the dissatisfaction in his tone. Martin had seen his mother cry because of her parentage, so he had some resentment towards the grandmother who abandoned her own flesh and blood. Martin couldn¡¯t understand his unseen grandmother¡¯s thoughts, but he was also very curious. That¡¯s why he proposed to travel to this remote farm. Martin wanted to go to the place where his grandmother had lived, to see what kind of person she was and why she could heartlessly abandon her own blood and never meet them. ¡°What about now?¡± Zheng Wei looked at the people in the car and asked, ¡°Now that you know what happened on the farm, what are your thoughts?¡± Zheng Wei secretly hoped they would turn back. The car fell silent, and everyone looked at each other without speaking. ¡°Zheng, what do you mean by asking this?¡± Martin didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Do you want to go back?¡± ¡°I think we should be careful, after all, what happened on the farm is too unusual,¡± Zheng Wei said. ¡°If we go back now, it might be a good idea.¡± ¡°Am I hearing this right? Zheng, are you planning to go back?¡± Martin looked at Zheng Wei in shock, as if he was looking at a hamburger with legs. ¡°Are you scared?¡± Martin exaggerated his expression. ¡°Come on, that was forty years ago. Are you scared of something that happened forty years ago?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Zheng Wei opened his mouth but didn¡¯t know what to say. He was scared, but he couldn¡¯t say why. ¡°Oh, come on.¡± Martin rolled his eyes. ¡°It was just a murder case. What¡¯s so scary about it?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t say that,¡± Allen¡¯s eyes flicked back and forth between Zheng Wei and Martin. ¡°The case hasn¡¯t been solved yet, and the killer hasn¡¯t been caught. It really makes people uneasy.¡± ¡°If the killer is still alive, he¡¯s probably too old to move now. Martin¡¯s grandmother has lived there for forty years without incident, so nothing will happen to us either,¡± Jin shrugged and disagreed with Allen¡¯s statement. ¡°But¡­¡± If possible, Zheng Wei still wanted to persuade them to go back. ¡°Zheng, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Martin interrupted him, ¡°It¡¯s just a death, it happened so long ago, we¡¯ve come this far, we can¡¯t turn back now.¡± ¡°Come on, bro.¡± Seeing that Zheng Wei still looked uneasy, Martin sneered, ¡°Are you afraid of a house where someone died?¡± ¡°¡­¡±, You would be afraid too if you knew the truth. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re such a scaredy-cat.¡± Seeing that Zheng Wei didn¡¯t deny it, Martin walked over and patted his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re still as timid as when you were a kid, do you still believe there are monsters under the bed and need to hug a teddy bear to sleep?¡± Hearing Martin¡¯s ridicule, Zheng Wei¡¯s facial muscles twitched, but he still didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, little Zheng, there are no monsters in this world.¡± Martin made a face at Zheng Wei. ¡°Martin.¡± Diane looked at Martin dissatisfied. ¡°Zheng is just worried.¡± ¡°Okay, sorry, Zheng, I was just kidding.¡± Martin immediately stopped laughing, but his mouth was still stretched wide. ¡°Here¡¯s the deal, Zheng, we¡¯ll vote by raising our hands. If there are more people who are as scared as you, then we¡¯ll go back.¡± Martin raised his eyebrows and looked at Zheng Wei. ¡°Come on, everyone who wants to go back, raise your hand.¡± Without waiting for Zheng Wei to object, he shouted to the people around him. No one moved, no one raised their hand, including Zheng Wei. ¡°Bloody stories are the most inspiring for creativity.¡± Jin drank his beer and mumbled, ¡°After hearing this, I want to go to that farm even more.¡± ¡°Yes, although terrible things happened on the farm, I¡¯ve come all this way, and I don¡¯t want to go back.¡± Ellie shrugged. ¡°I also want to go see it.¡± Diane smiled apologetically at Zheng Wei. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, dear, I¡¯ll protect you.¡± Martin hugged Diane¡¯s shoulder and planted a kiss on her face. ¡°Okay, sorry Zheng, I was just kidding.¡± Martin immediately stopped laughing, but his mouth was still stretched wide. ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do, Zheng. Let¡¯s vote by raising our hands. If there are more people who are afraid like you, then we¡¯ll go back.¡± Martin raised his eyebrows and looked at Zheng Wei. ¡°Come on, everyone who wants to go back, raise your hand.¡± Without waiting for Zheng Wei to object, he shouted at the people around him. No one moved, and no one raised their hand, including Zheng Wei. CH 11.2 ¡°Blood-curdling stories are the best inspiration for creativity.¡± Jin drank his beer and mumbled, ¡°After hearing this, I want to go to that farm even more.¡± ¡°Yes, although terrible things happened on the farm, I¡¯ve finally made it here, and I don¡¯t want to go back.¡± Ellie shrugged. ¡°I also want to go and take a look.¡± Diane smiled apologetically at Zheng Wei. ¡°Dear, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll protect you.¡± Martin hugged Diane¡¯s shoulder and gave her a kiss on the cheek. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back either.¡± Allen said, ¡°I think since Martin¡¯s grandmother has lived there for 40 years without any problems, then it shouldn¡¯t be dangerous.¡± ¡°Okay, then that¡¯s settled.¡± After hearing everyone¡¯s opinions, Martin clapped his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll go and get the car.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll all be by your side.¡± Allen walked up to Zheng Wei and patted his shoulder. He thought Zheng Wei was upset because of personal issues and didn¡¯t feel like traveling. ¡°I promise you, this trip will be great, and you¡¯ll forget about those unhappy things.¡± After hearing Allen¡¯s words, Zheng Wei forced a smile and stopped talking. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll protect you all, including you, boy.¡± Martin also jumped up, hugged Zheng Wei, and punched him twice while showing off his muscles. ¡°See, Uncle Martin will definitely beat up the monsters hiding under your bed.¡± Martin¡¯s playful actions livened up the atmosphere in the car, and everyone showed different levels of laughter. ¡°Martin shut up.¡± Seeing that Zheng Wei was still troubled, Diane stopped Martin¡¯s antics. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Zheng. You know, he¡¯s just like that.¡± Diane comforted Zheng Wei softly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. There won¡¯t be any problems, and even if there are, the six of us can handle it.¡± The other people in the carriage also echoed their agreement. Zheng Wei looked at them and stopped talking. He didn¡¯t have any evidence to convince them, and even if he did, they might not go back. Most young people in their twenties still have some childish bravery and a spirit of adventure. In the face of this spirit of adventure, any worries and dissuasion would be seen as cowardly excuses. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s hit the road.¡± Martin walked towards the driver¡¯s seat: ¡°But it looks like our spring break trip can be renamed as a farm exploration trip.¡± ¡°Good, I like that name.¡± Jin exclaimed, ¡°Maybe we can find the killer from 40 years ago.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s toast to the upcoming adventure.¡± He jumped to the refrigerator and took out a few cans of beer. ¡°Hey, here you go, Zheng.¡± He raised his eyebrows at Zheng Wei and threw a can of beer at him, ¡°This might help you relax a bit.¡± Martin ran to the driver¡¯s seat and started the car. The other people gathered together and opened their beers. ¡°Cheers!¡± They cheered and clinked their glasses. Zheng Wei looked at the happy crowd, holding the cold can of beer in his hand, and didn¡¯t say anything. The incident at the Hersman farm not only didn¡¯t scare them off but instead made them even more excited. Zheng Wei touched the whistle hanging around his neck, looked at the cheering people in the car, and pursed his lips. He wasn¡¯t confident, but he would risk his life to protect them. Anyway, he wouldn¡¯t really die. Thinking like this, he felt a little more relaxed. The car slowly left the gas station and headed towards the Hersman farm, bouncing along the way. On this somewhat bumpy ride, Zheng Wei fell asleep. He had a dream. He dreamed of a two-story house with a brick red roof, white walls, and a withered tree at the door. The tree, deprived of moisture, stood in front of the house with a twisted shape, and every dead branch pointed straight up to the sky. Large clouds flew rapidly across the sky, and in the dim light, someone gently took Zheng Wei¡¯s hand. Zheng Wei followed the hand¡¯s gaze upward and saw a girl holding a doll. The girl¡¯s face was shrouded in a layer of yellowish haze, and Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t see her features clearly. All he knew was that she was wearing a floral dress, and her brown curls were curled up on her chest like waves. Zheng Wei widened his eyes, trying hard to see the girl¡¯s face, but he couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°Follow me.¡± The girl¡¯s voice was ethereal and indistinct, and she pulled Zheng Wei forward. Zheng Wei felt dizzy and disoriented. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a clean and tidy dining room. In front of him was a white long dining table, filled with steaming dishes, and five people were sitting at the table, bowing their heads in prayer. ¡°The poor will have food and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise Him, their hearts will live forever. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.¡± The low, ethereal voice filled the small space, and the sacred prayer turned into an eerie incantation that rang in Zheng Wei¡¯s ears. He had to raise his hand to cover his ears, trying to block out the terrifying sound. As he raised his hand, he realized that he was holding something, a blonde doll. The doll¡¯s round apple face had a strange smile on it. Zheng Wei looked at the doll in his hand, and the doll looked back at him with its eyes made of blue glass balls. Then, those eyes came alive, and the mischievous doll blinked. When it opened its eyes again, the blue eyes had turned as black as ink. ¡°Ah!¡± Witnessing all of this, Zheng Wei let out a scream and instinctively threw the doll away. The doll made an arc in the air and landed on the table full of delicacies with a ¡°bang¡±, causing a mess with dishes and cups scattered all over the place. All sounds stopped abruptly. ¡°Drip, drip.¡± The juice from the dishes flowed down the table and made a loud splashing sound as it dropped onto the floor. Zheng Wei looked up and saw the five people who had just been praying with their heads down now all looking at him. Their faces had no features, only a pair of all-black eyeballs placed abruptly in a patch of flesh color, staring coldly at Zheng Wei, who had ruined their dinner. Stared at by five pairs of black hole-like eyes, Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t even scream. He took a few steps back and turned around to run away from this horrible place, but he bumped into a chest emanating cold air. A cold hand gripped Zheng Wei¡¯s throat, and he struggled to look up and saw a familiar icy blue color. ¡°Found you.¡± Before losing consciousness, Zheng Wei heard a satisfied sigh. Then Zheng Wei woke up. He gasped for breath and jumped out of his seat, his heart pounding in his chest so loud that he couldn¡¯t hear the sounds around him. ¡°Zheng, Zheng!¡± Zheng Wei vaguely heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw the concerned faces of Ellie and Jin. ¡°Zheng, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Ellie placed her hand on his back and asked, ¡°Did you have a nightmare?¡± Zheng Wei didn¡¯t answer her. He covered his face with his hand, which was covered in sweat. It was only then that he realized his clothes were soaked with sweat. But Zheng Wei didn¡¯t have time to worry about his clothes. He closed his eyes, turned to the side, and curled up. The intense heartbeat just now made his chest ache. ¡°Brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Zheng Wei¡¯s face was too pale, and Jin couldn¡¯t help but worry, ¡°Don¡¯t scare me, okay?¡± ¡° Zheng, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Martin and Diane, who heard the commotion, also came over, ¡°Do you feel unwell?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Zheng Wei gradually calmed down and spoke slowly, his voice hoarse, ¡°I just had a nightmare.¡± It was just a dream, he comforted himself. But the blue eyes in the dream kept flashing in his mind like a hook, tightly hooking onto his heart. ¡°Oh, no way, brother.¡± Martin thought Zheng Wei was still afraid of what happened forty years ago. He was about to mock Zheng Wei, but when he saw his pale face, he changed his tone, ¡°How about you lie down for a while in the back?¡± Zheng Wei¡¯s face was as pale as a dead man¡¯s, and he looked very weak. ¡°I¡¯ll just rest here for a bit.¡± Zheng Wei weakly smiled and turned his head to look outside the window. Seeing that he didn¡¯t seem to want to talk, the others didn¡¯t say anything either. They each returned to their own seats, but their eyes still occasionally glanced at Zheng Wei leaning against the window. Facing the scenery outside the window constantly retreating, Zheng Wei¡¯s eyes had no focus. The eerie dream had cast another shadow on Zheng Wei¡¯s already uneasy heart. Recalling everything in the dream, Zheng Wei tightly gripped the clothes on his chest. The girl, the house, and the people praying around the dining table. Zheng Wei¡¯s intuition told him that these were vaguely related to his current mission. However, these were not what Zheng Wei cared about the most right now. He was more concerned about the familiar blue eyes that appeared at the end of the dream, as well as the ambiguous words spoken. Julian, Julian. Zheng Wei silently repeated the name that made his heart tremble in his mind, his expression somewhat dazed. CH 12.1 As the setting sun dyed half of the sky red, the group finally arrived at the outskirts of the Hersman Farm. As described by Landon, the farm was protected by a fence made of wire mesh, with only a rusty gate left for people to pass through. Martin used the key he had taken from his mother to open the gate, and then the car slowly drove into the farm. The Hersman Farm could no longer be called a farm now. It had been abandoned before its owner died, and now it looked more like a fenced wasteland. ¡°Oh my god, there¡¯s no signal here at all,¡± Jin held his phone over his head and let out a cry of despair. ¡°This is a mountainous area, the signal was never good here,¡± Ellie said to Jin. ¡°Put down your phone, you should let it rest too.¡± Jin pouted and threw his phone aside, turning to look out the window. The land outside was barren, covered with lush weeds. Rusty agricultural equipment was scattered sparsely among the overgrown grass. They stood alone in the no longer neat fields, like abandoned children. ¡°You know, I¡¯m starting to regret not agreeing with Zheng¡¯s proposal.¡± Jin looked at the scenery outside the window and muttered, ¡°This place looks like it¡¯s the filming location of a doomsday movie, not fun at all.¡± Zheng Wei didn¡¯t answer, frowning as he looked at the abandoned farm outside the window, a strange feeling lingering in his heart. The sound of the wheels turning startled the blackbirds hiding in the grass, they flapped their wings and let out a piercing cry. The car slowly moved forward and arrived at Martin¡¯s grandmother¡¯s house. It was a two-story wooden house with white walls and a red triangular roof. Some privets and Osmanthus had been planted in front of the house, but they had not been trimmed for a long time and were all intertwined with wild grass in a wild posture. There was also a dead tree in front of the house, with black bark and dry branches standing there. ¡°We¡¯re finally here!¡± As soon as the car stopped at the door of the house, Martin cheered and ran down the car towards the front door of the house. ¡°To be honest, this is much better than I imagined.¡± Diane was the second person to get off the car, and she looked at the white cottage in front of her, nodding in approval. Following her, Ellie smiled in agreement, her impression of this place was also good. Zheng Wei stood in front of the car door, staring blankly at the house in front of him. This house was exactly the same as the one in Zheng Wei¡¯s dream, even down to the shape of the dead tree at the entrance. ¡°Zheng, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Jin, who was trying to get out of the car, was stopped by Zheng Wei, who was staring at the house strangely. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°No, nothing.¡± Zheng Wei snapped out of his thoughts and apologized to Jin with a smile before lowering his head and getting out of the car. During this time, his hand never left the whistle hanging around his neck. What did that dream represent? Could it be related to the evil spirit this time? And what about the appearance of Julian at the end? Zheng Wei¡¯s mind was a mess. Just as Zheng Wei was feeling unsettled, a hand landed on his shoulder. He was startled and quickly turned around, only to find it was Jin. ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Jin was also taken aback by Zheng Wei¡¯s reaction. ¡°I just wanted to say hello. Did I scare you?¡± ¡°No, no.¡± Zheng Wei shook his head quickly, even though his heart was still pounding. He knew he was being too jumpy. Blaming the dream, Zheng Wei looked at the cottage that was identical to the one in his dream and thought of the eyes that were haunting him in his mind. Would everything in the dream come true? He gazed blankly at the house before him. ¡°Zheng, what are you looking at?¡± Allen noticed Zheng Wei¡¯s vacant gaze and patted his shoulder. ¡°Your face looks very pale, are you feeling unwell?¡± Allen asked with concern. Since the morning, he had noticed that his friend¡¯s behavior was a bit off. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Zheng Wei shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m really fine, I just didn¡¯t sleep well last night.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Allen was skeptical and thought for a moment, ¡°You seem a bit uneasy.¡± Uneasy? Zheng Wei hesitated for a moment, then said, ¡°I am a bit uneasy.¡± He looked around and his expression became serious, ¡°I feel very uncomfortable about this place.¡± CH 12.2 Zheng Wei was not lying, although he didn¡¯t know whether it was due to psychological factors or some other reason, this farm did give him a very oppressive feeling. ¡°Is it because of what we heard at the gas station?¡± ¡°Not just because of that,¡± Zheng Wei didn¡¯t know how to explain it to him. ¡°This farm gives me a sense of foreboding, I always feel like something is going to happen.¡± After thinking about it, Zheng Wei decided to attribute it to his sixth sense. Allen chuckled, intending to comfort Zheng Wei with a few words, but seeing his serious expression, he couldn¡¯t help but become serious as well. Perhaps it was because Zheng Wei looked too serious, or perhaps it was because of the desolate environment of the farm, but Allen looked around and suddenly felt a bit eerie as well. ¡°Alright, boys, don¡¯t waste any more time. Let¡¯s quickly move our stuff in. We¡¯ll be spending the next two weeks here,¡± Diane shouted from the corridor. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Allen.¡± Zheng Wei looked at Allen, who still seemed like he wanted to say something, and smiled, ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just overthinking it. Let¡¯s go get our luggage together.¡± Allen nodded and patted Zheng Wei¡¯s shoulder, ¡°After we finish packing, take a good rest.¡± The group started to move their luggage. Martin had already opened the door to the house and they carried their luggage straight into the house. Although there was a layer of dust in the house, it was not dilapidated. All the furnishings were covered with dust-proof cloth, and with just a little cleaning, they could be used. [The tasker has arrived at the destination. A map of the cottage has been obtained and stored in the inventory for reference at any time,] As soon as Zheng Wei stepped on the floor of the house, a notification sound from the system rang in his mind. Map? Zheng Wei nodded. He really needed it now. The system had told him before that if he wanted to eliminate evil spirits, he had to find causality where the evil spirits appeared. If nothing unexpected happened, the cause of the evil spirit should be in this house. With the map, he should be able to save some time searching. Martin was the first to run into the house. He opened the curtains and windows, letting the warm light of the setting sun shine into the room, revealing everything inside. Because there was no owner, the furniture in the room was covered with dust covers. But even so, Zheng Wei could still see the layout and furnishings of the room, which were exactly the same as in his dream. He remembered the uncomfortable dream and furrowed his brow. According to the usual horror movie routine, that dream must have some significance, and maybe it contained clues to eliminating the evil spirit. But what were those clues? Zheng Wei tried hard to recall the details of the dream but couldn¡¯t come up with anything. While he was standing at the door lost in thought, his friends had already begun to explore the house. ¡°I want to go upstairs and take a look. Who wants to come with me?¡± Allen stood at the bottom of the stairs and asked. Zheng Wei thought for a moment and said, ¡°I¡¯ll come with you.¡± He followed Allen up the stairs and opened the map in his mind. The map showed that there were three bedrooms upstairs, each belonging to someone forty years ago, which was marked considerately. Allen opened the door on his right, which was Ms. Hersman¡¯s room. ¡°It¡¯s cleaner than I thought,¡± he said, as the room was also covered with dust covers. Allen walked over and lifted the cloth covering the bed, raising some dust, but not much. Meanwhile, Zheng Wei went to the bedside table and lifted the cloth there, where he found a photo. The photo showed two young girls snuggling up to each other. They looked very much alike, probably sisters. Zheng Wei was surprised to find that the girl in the photo looked almost identical to the girl in his dream. They were wearing the same floral dresses, and both had wavy brown hair. These were probably Roland Hersman and her sister Colleen Hersman. Zheng Wei picked up the photo and examined it carefully, trying to figure out which one was holding the doll in his dream. However, he couldn¡¯t tell, as the person in the dream had blurry features, and he hadn¡¯t seen her face clearly, making it impossible to identify her. ¡°This is probably the Hersman sisters, but I don¡¯t know which one is Martin¡¯s grandmother, they both look quite similar to Martin,¡± Allen walked over and looked at the photo in Zheng Wei¡¯s hand. The two girls in the photo looked somewhat similar to Martin, indicating that they were related by blood. ¡°Do you know? The lawyer said that the old lady left all her property to her daughter,¡± Allen said, ¡°that is, Martin¡¯s mother.¡± ¡°She seems to love her daughter very much, but why didn¡¯t she contact her once in all these forty years?¡± ¡°She may have her own reasons,¡± Zheng Wei put down the photo in his hand and replied, ¡°after all, having gone through such an ordeal, if it were me, I wouldn¡¯t even know if I could survive.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Allen nodded. Such an experience looked like a nightmare to outsiders, let alone those who had experienced it. ¡°Let¡¯s go see other places,¡± this room didn¡¯t have much in it, most of the small items had already been cleared out, leaving only large pieces of furniture and some bedding. Zheng Wei nodded and followed Allen to open the doors of the other two bedrooms upstairs. The map showed that these two bedrooms were once Roland and Colleen¡¯s, as well as their twin brothers Jamie and Paul¡¯s. On the left side of the second floor living room was the room of Jamie and Paul. Allen and Zheng Wei opened the door and were surprised by what they saw. The room was very clean and tidy, with two wooden beds placed on opposite sides of the room, each covered with a dust cover. The dust on the covers was similar to that in Ms. Hersman¡¯s room, as if the owner had just left not long ago. Allen lifted the dust cover on the bed and found neatly folded bedding underneath. Zheng Wei opened the wardrobe and found a row of men¡¯s clothing inside. ¡°Martin said his grandmother was a solitary old lady,¡± Allen was very puzzled. This room looked like someone lived here, and there were even two young men. ¡°This is the room of Hersman¡¯s brothers,¡± Zheng Wei examined the clothes in the wardrobe. They were all old-fashioned men¡¯s clothing, and they were all in pairs. ¡°These should be her brothers¡¯ things,¡± Zheng Wei noticed that although the clothes were well-maintained, they were very old and showed signs of time. ¡°But didn¡¯t they die forty years ago?¡± Allen¡¯s expression was a bit strange. ¡°This room doesn¡¯t look like it has been vacant for forty years.¡± ¡°Perhaps this is Ms. Hersman¡¯s way of commemorating her brothers,¡± Zheng Wei said, walking over to the table where a photo was also placed. In the photo, two young men with nearly identical faces smiled at the camera. But for some reason, looking at their smiles, Zheng Wei felt that something was off. He looked at the photo carefully for a long time but couldn¡¯t figure out what it was, so he gave up. ¡°Take a look,¡± Zheng Wei handed the photo to Allen. Allen took the photo and looked at the two young faces. Compared to Hersman and Martin, the two men in the photo looked more like Martin. ¡°They look so young, and they look almost exactly like Martin.¡± ¡°They died when they were only in their twenties,¡± Zheng Wei said. ¡°Maybe they weren¡¯t even as old as Martin.¡± But their age was frozen forever in their twenties, and they would never grow any older. At this, Allen sighed, with a hint of regret on his face. He put down the photo and looked around the room. ¡°I think I can understand why Ms. Hersman isolates herself like this,¡± Allen said, looking at the well-preserved objects. ¡°Their siblings¡¯ relationship must have been very good, and she must have had a hard time accepting what happened.¡± Keeping a room unchanged for forty years is indeed a very challenging thing to do. Without deep emotions to support it, most people would find it difficult to persist. ¡°Yes,¡± Zheng Wei said. Although he didn¡¯t have any siblings, he could imagine that kind of pain. ¡°Let¡¯s go check out the other room.¡± said Allen. They opened another room, which had a similar layout to the previous one but was more feminine. The room had lace and floral curtains and a large dressing table. ¡°This is probably Ms. Hersman and her sister¡¯s room,¡± Zheng Wei said, pushing the door open. Allen nodded. This room, like the previous one, was kept very clean, almost as if its owners had only left forty years ago. Faced with such a room, even strangers like Allen and Zheng Wei, who knew little about what happened forty years ago, couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of regret. This was such a happy family. ¡°Look at what I found.¡± Just as Zheng Wei and Allen were feeling sentimental about the room, they heard Jin¡¯s voice downstairs. CH 13.1 Zheng Wei and Allen walked down the stairs and saw everyone gathered at the bottom of the stairs. ¡°What happened?¡± Allen asked. ¡°Jin found a basement,¡± Ellie replied. ¡°Oh, well, I thought something happened,¡± Allen laughed. ¡°Just a basement, that¡¯s hardly a discovery.¡± ¡°This basement can¡¯t be opened,¡± Jin crouched in front of the basement door, studying the door. ¡°Does Martin not have the key?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have the key to this basement,¡± Martin said. ¡°We¡¯ve tried all the keys, but none of them can open it.¡± ¡°Maybe your grandmother forgot to give it to you,¡± Diane shrugged. ¡°After all, she¡¯s almost seventy, and it¡¯s understandable if she forgets some things.¡± ¡°Even if there¡¯s no key, I can still open it,¡± Jin said, taking a piece of wire from his pocket and carefully inserting it into the keyhole on the door. ¡°Oh my god,¡± Ellie looked at Jin in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re carrying lock-picking wire on you?¡± ¡°Ellie, don¡¯t get the wrong idea,¡± Jin quickly explained. ¡°Listen, I¡¯ve never used it for anything illegal.¡± He pointed to the thin wire in his hand. ¡°I just use it to satisfy my curiosity, you know, there are many things you have to use some special methods to see.¡± After speaking, he continued to try to open the door with the wire. But his technique was too amateurish, he stood there fiddling for a long time, but still couldn¡¯t open the door. ¡°Forget it, Jin, don¡¯t waste your energy,¡± Allen stood next to him and watched for a while, and said, ¡°We don¡¯t need the basement.¡± ¡°No, I have to open it,¡± Jin was unwilling to give up. ¡°Just wait and see, I¡¯ll definitely be able to open it.¡± As soon as Jin¡¯s words fell, the wire in his hand broke off in the lock hole on the door. The broken wire left a blood streak on the back of his hand. ¡°Oh, damn it!¡± Jin shook his hand and jumped up. ¡°Hahaha,¡± Martin couldn¡¯t help but pat Jin¡¯s back, and squeezed his eyebrows at him, ¡°Brother, it seems your skills aren¡¯t that great.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because this lock is too complicated,¡± Jin defended himself. ¡°I really don¡¯t understand why someone would install an anti-theft lock in the basement.¡± ¡°This is bad,¡± he covered his hand and leaned close to the lock hole, looking at the half-broken wire stuck in the lock hole, and muttered with some disappointment, ¡°Now it¡¯s even harder to open.¡± ¡°Martin, why don¡¯t we just use an axe to smash this door open?¡± he shouted to Martin behind him. ¡°Do you know where there¡¯s an axe?¡± ¡°No way, are you serious?¡± Martin looked at Jin in surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, brother, why do you have to struggle with this door?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± Jin¡¯s expression became mysterious. ¡°I feel like there¡¯s something strange about this basement.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so strange about it?¡± ¡°I just checked, all the locks in this building are ordinary locks, only this basement has an anti-theft lock, so it must have a problem,¡± said Jin seriously. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Jin looked at them, ¡°isn¡¯t that enough?¡± ¡°Come on, man,¡± Martin thought Jin would reveal some secret, but it turned out to be just because the lock was different. ¡°What kind of reason is that?¡± Ellie, who had been listening seriously, couldn¡¯t help rolling her eyes, ¡°I mean, let¡¯s not waste time here, okay? Let¡¯s not worry about this door for now, we still have a lot of things to tidy up.¡± ¡°This is a very solid reason!¡± Jin argued, ¡°And you know what? Martin told me that his grandmother¡¯s will states that the farm must be sold and this house must be demolished. So there must be something strange about this house, and that strange thing must be hidden in this basement.¡± ¡°Martin, did your grandmother leave a will?¡± Zheng Wei, who had been quietly listening, asked Martin, ¡°Did she say anything about the farm in the will?¡± ¡°No,¡± Martin thought for a moment and said, ¡°She only mentioned some things about property distribution. She wanted my mother to sell this farm after her death, and she must clean up this house and leave nothing behind.¡± After hearing Martin¡¯s words, Zheng Wei frowned. Why did she specifically mention clearing this house? Could there really be something strange in this house? His gaze fell on the door of the basement. ¡°What do you think?¡± Leaning against the door, Jin looked at them and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange too?¡± ¡°Maybe she just doesn¡¯t want anyone to touch her house,¡± Allen thought of the scene he had just seen on the second floor and said, ¡°After all, these are all memories of her family. She would rather have them leave with her than sell them to a stranger.¡± ¡°What you said is possible, but I still want to open this basement and take a look,¡± Jin nodded and said, ¡°A house where a tragedy occurred, and a basement that cannot be opened. If this were a horror movie, it would mean that this house definitely has some secrets, and there must be clues in the basement.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Allen neither agreed nor disagreed. He looked at Jin and asked, ¡°What do you think there might be inside?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll only know when we open it,¡± Jin shrugged. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s a corpse hidden or a demon sealed inside.¡± ¡°Forget it, Jin.¡± Hearing Jin start talking about these things again, Ellie couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re repeating the same old stuff. If there really are ghosts, why don¡¯t you call them out and introduce them to us?¡± ¡°How do you know there aren¡¯t any?¡± Jin paused and his expression became eerie. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m a ghost myself, I killed your friend and hid him in this basement, then disguised myself as him and mingled among you. As soon as you open the basement, I will reveal my true face.¡± Jin lowered his voice and looked at the group with an evil smile. Everyone, ¡°¡­¡± Zheng Wei, ¡°¡­¡± Young man, you have a wild imagination. Are you interested in doing missions with me? ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m so scared,¡± Martin, standing next to Jin, patted his back hard and then locked his arm around Jin¡¯s neck. ¡°Quickly give my brother back, you evil ghost.¡± ¡°Hey, hey¡­ be gentle,¡± Jin shouted and wrestled with Martin. ¡°Alright, stop it, you two.¡± Diane shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s already dark, let¡¯s pack up and not waste any more time here.¡± The sun was almost setting, and the room was getting dark. ¡°Diane is right.¡± Allen nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s leave the door for tomorrow. I¡¯m exhausted after driving all day. Jin, listen, no matter what you want to do, let¡¯s talk about it after I¡¯ve had a good sleep.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jin shrugged off Martin¡¯s arm and curled his lips indifferently. The group left the entrance of the basement and began to pack up. Zheng Wei was the last one to leave, and before leaving, he looked at the door of the basement, secretly pondering. He had to go to the basement, but not now. If there was something really down there, opening it in front of everyone would only cause trouble. If he could avoid them and open it alone, that would be better, Zheng Wei thought. The group began to clean up the house. The electricity and water in this house were still functioning, and all they needed to do was sweep away the dust. When cleaning, Zheng Wei opened the bedroom door on the first floor and was hit by a strong musty odor that made him cough. After stopping his cough, he looked at the scene in the room and his expression immediately turned strange. Because the room was so dirty. It looked old and dirty, completely out of place with the rest of the house. The ceiling of the bedroom was covered in large black stains, and the wallpaper around it was also peeling off. The yellowed walls were covered in mottled marks. There weren¡¯t many things in the room, only a bed and a dresser. Although the bed was also covered with a dust cover, it had turned completely black with dust compared to the living room. The system map showed that this was the room of the Hersman couple, the parents of Ms. Hersman. While the rooms upstairs belonging to Colleen, Jack, and Paul, who were also deceased relatives of Ms. Hersman, were carefully maintained, the Hersman couple¡¯s room looked like it hadn¡¯t been entered in forty years. This obvious difference in treatment made Zheng Wei suspicious. He stood at the door and thought for a moment before stepping inside. The room was permeated with a decaying musty smell, and Zheng Wei walked into the room while covering his nose. As soon as he stepped onto the dusty floor, a black footprint was left behind. He lifted the dust cover on the bed and shook off a cloud of dust. The mattress underneath the dust cover had turned yellow and was covered in dark spots. Zheng Wei turned around and opened a row of cabinets next to the bed, but they were empty and contained nothing. There were no photos, no clothes, nothing about the former owner, and it was completely different from the other rooms upstairs. CH 13.2 He frowned and looked around, his eyes scanning the wall above the head of the bed, where he found a wooden cross hanging there. This was the first and only cross Zheng Wei had seen in this house. ¡°The Hersman family were devout believers.¡± Looking at the cross, Zheng Wei remembered what Landon had said. How could a devout believer¡¯s house have only one cross? Zheng Wei walked over and touched the cross. The black wooden cross was covered in dust, and his handprint was clearly visible after he touched it. Nothing happened, the system in his mind didn¡¯t respond. Zheng Wei was a bit disappointed and put his hand down. He thought this might be the key item. ¡°Zheng, how¡¯s the cleaning going?¡± Ellie walked to the door with a cloth in her hand. ¡°Do you need any help?¡± ¡°Ellie, don¡¯t come in.¡± Zheng Wei quickly said, ¡°This room is full of dust, it can¡¯t be cleaned out.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Ellie sneezed several times while standing at the door. ¡°Ah-choo, ah-choo, ah-choo!¡± She covered her nose and shouted, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this room?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Hearing Ellie¡¯s voice, everyone gathered around and saw the bedroom. ¡°Nothing, I just can¡¯t believe this room looks like this,¡± Ellie pointed to the bedroom with a look of disbelief and disgust. ¡°What¡¯s going on with this room?¡± Jin couldn¡¯t help but sarcastically comment, ¡°Is this room meant to be a mold cultivation farm?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather die than sleep in a room like this.¡± Martin took a step back, not even wanting to go in. ¡°Allen,¡± Diane asked, ¡°did you go upstairs and see if the rooms up there are the same? If they¡¯re all like this, we might as well sleep in the car.¡± ¡°No, the rooms upstairs are all very clean, hardly any cleaning is needed,¡± Allen shook his head, ¡°completely different from this one.¡± ¡°Yes, Allen is right,¡± Zheng Wei came out and said, ¡°the rooms upstairs are all well-maintained, but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with this one. It seems like no one has been in here for a long time.¡± ¡°What were you doing in there?¡± Allen looked at Zheng Wei, who was covered in dust. ¡°I was going to clean up in here,¡± Zheng Wei patted the dust off himself, and said with a wry smile, ¡°but even a professional cleaning company probably wouldn¡¯t be able to clean this room.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing in here, but I guess this used to be the Herman couple¡¯s room,¡± Zheng Wei said to the people standing at the door. ¡°Why are the rooms of Ms. Hersman¡¯s siblings upstairs preserved so well, but her parents¡¯ room is like this?¡± Allen was puzzled. ¡°Who knows.¡± Zheng Wei looked at the dilapidated room behind him, lost in thought. Faced with such obvious differential treatment, Zheng Wei had a faint suspicion in his heart. The culprit of the tragedy forty years ago was most likely the owner of this bedroom. Whether possessed by an evil spirit or for some other reason, the person who acted should have been one of them or one of their parents. Zheng Wei silently pondered, trying to find some clues from the information he knew, but he was completely clueless. ¡°Forget about that for now,¡± Ellie said. ¡°This room can¡¯t be used today. Now we only have three rooms. How should we allocate them at night?¡± ¡°The upstairs has three rooms, one of which is the master bedroom, and the other two have two beds each, which can accommodate two people,¡± Allen said after thinking for a moment. ¡°The beds are still enough, but we have to squeeze a bit.¡± ¡°No matter how we divide it, I¡¯m going to sleep with my baby,¡± Martin said first. After saying that, he pulled Diane into his arms, held her hand, and kissed it, saying affectionately, ¡°My dear, no one can separate us.¡± Diane rolled her eyes and pushed his fluffy head away. ¡°Of course, we can also share a room with someone else, but don¡¯t complain that we¡¯re noisy,¡± he raised his eyebrows and showed a sly smile. ¡°Oh, enough from you guys,¡± Jin said, unable to take their teasing. ¡°Then you can sleep in the master bedroom, it¡¯s spacious enough and you can have all the ¡®fun¡¯ you want.¡± ¡°If they sleep in the master bedroom, then how will Ellie sleep?¡± Allen shrugged. Although there were still four beds left, it wasn¡¯t convenient for Ellie, a girl, to sleep in a room with any of the remaining people. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep on the downstairs sofa,¡± said Zheng Wei before Ellie had a chance to respond. ¡°I saw some extra bedding upstairs, I¡¯ll just grab a set.¡± Zheng Wei didn¡¯t really want to sleep upstairs. It would be easier to detect if anything happened if he slept downstairs. Plus, it would be more convenient if he wanted to do something on his own. ¡°Zheng, you don¡¯t have to do this, I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Ellie thought Zheng was sleeping on the sofa to take care of her, and quickly refused. ¡°Are you shy?¡± She blinked and joked, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, we used to sleep together a lot when we were kids.¡± They did sleep together frequently when they were in kindergarten. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jin interjected, ¡°If you both don¡¯t want to, I¡¯ll reluctantly sleep with little Ellie.¡± He placed his hand on Ellie¡¯s shoulder and gave her a flirtatious look. ¡°Darling, I won¡¯t dislike you.¡± ¡°Get lost.¡± Ellie threw the cloth in her hand onto Jin¡¯s smiling face. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep on the sofa, and Zheng, you can go upstairs and sleep with Jin,¡± Allen remembered Zheng¡¯s uneasy demeanor earlier and was a bit worried about him sleeping alone. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be like this.¡± Zheng Wei laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not a baby who needs to be taken care of.¡± ¡°I just prefer to sleep alone,¡± Zheng Wei made up an excuse. ¡°I can¡¯t sleep if there are others in the room.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to sleep downstairs alone?¡± Martin looked at Zheng Wei with a sneer. He still remembered Zheng Wei¡¯s behavior in the car earlier, ¡°Don¡¯t come crying to Uncle Martin upstairs if something happens.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Zheng Wei had spent some time with them and was no longer as awkward as before. He smirked at Martin, ¡°Even if something does happen, I won¡¯t bother you and Diane.¡± Zheng Wei¡¯s tone was meaningful, and the others burst into laughter. ¡°Okay then, there are two rooms left. Jin and I will share one, and you can use the other. Is that okay, Ellie?¡± Allen asked for Ellie¡¯s opinion. ¡°Of course,¡± Ellie nodded. ¡°Okay, the rooms are sorted out now. Everyone can take their luggage and go to their own rooms.¡± Allen said, ¡°The sooner we finish packing, the sooner we can rest. I¡¯m sure everyone is tired.¡± After Allen finished speaking, everyone took their luggage and went to their own rooms. Soon, only Zheng Wei, who was staying on the first-floor, was left in the living room. Zheng Wei watched them go upstairs, and when everyone had left, he walked to the door of the Hersman¡¯s bedroom. Standing at the doorway, he looked at the empty and dark room and furrowed his brows slightly. CH 14.1 ¡°It¡¯s late at night, and everyone else has gone back to their rooms upstairs, leaving Zheng Wei sitting on the sofa in the downstairs living room, pondering the current situation. Two questions are before him now: is the evil spirit something that was already present or did it arise from the tragic events forty years ago? And where can he find something that can kill it? The most important of these two questions, and also the most difficult, is the latter. Zheng Wei has no clue and doesn¡¯t even know if the thing is in this house. ¡°System, when will the evil spirit appear? Will it come out tonight?¡± Zheng Wei suddenly remembered an important question. [Sorry, This question can¡¯t be answered at the moment.] If even the system doesn¡¯t know when the evil spirit will appear, then this is trouble. Zheng Wei has no confidence in the current situation. ¡°How will I know when the evil spirit will appear and where it will appear?¡± What if it¡¯s lurking in this house and catches him off guard? [When the evil spirit awakens, the system will automatically notify the host] Is the evil spirit still dormant? That¡¯s good news, but it will eventually awaken, and before that happens, Zheng Wei must find a way to destroy it. ¡°Is the thing that can destroy the evil spirit in this house?¡± Zheng Wei asks tentatively, unsure if the system will answer him. This portable system is too rigid, like a search engine. To get help, he can only rely on himself. Zheng Wei can¡¯t help but daydream that the system in his mind could be as intelligent as Little Eleven. [Yes.] The system responded as laconic as ever, unwilling to add any more words. But this is already a significant breakthrough. Zheng Wei immediately followed up, ¡°Where specifically in this house?¡± If the system knows, that would be even better. This time, the system didn¡¯t answer him immediately. After a long time, two words appear on the screen. [Downstairs.] ¡°Downstairs?¡± Although the range has been significantly reduced, Zheng Wei was still not entirely satisfied. ¡°Which room specifically?¡± he asked, refusing to give up. [This question cannot be answered], the system didn¡¯t know either. ¡°Okay,¡± he sighed, feeling defeated. ¡°Can you at least tell me what it looks like?¡± It would save him a lot of time and effort to know what he was looking for. [This question cannot be answered] Looks like I¡¯ll have to go around and feel everything, Zheng Wei sighed, feeling tired at the thought. In fact, when he was cleaning earlier, he had almost touched everything downstairs that could be used as a weapon. There was only one place he couldn¡¯t get into, and he had no idea what was inside. It was the locked basement. There must be something wrong with that basement, and as Jin had suggested, it might contain an important clue. Zheng Wei didn¡¯t know where the key to the basement door was. He thought about it but had no clue. Should he break the door down now? He pondered. But after a moment¡¯s thought, he gave up. Breaking the door down now would disturb the people upstairs. They were tired today, so he decided to let them rest tonight before trying to break in. In fact, Zheng Wei was also exhausted and didn¡¯t have the energy to continue. He decided to put these things aside for now. With that in mind, Zheng Wei yawned and stood up, planning to go upstairs and get some extra bedding to get through the night. He went to knock on the door of the bedroom on his right on the second floor. He had seen some spare sheets and bedding in the closet of this room today. Martin and Diane lived in this bedroom. Diane opened the door when Zheng Wei knocked. ¡°Hey, Zheng, are you here to get the bedding?¡± She smiled and invited him in. ¡°Come in and get it yourself.¡± ¡°Thank you, Diane,¡± Zheng Wei greeted her and walked in. ¡°Where¡¯s Martin?¡± ¡°Oh, Martin¡¯s taking a shower,¡± Diane looked towards the direction of the bathroom. Zheng Wei could hear the sound of water coming from the bathroom faintly. ¡°The cabinets in this room are filled with these things. You can take as many as you want,¡± Diane opened the cabinet filled with bed sheets and covers and let Zheng Wei choose. ¡°Okay, thank you,¡± Zheng Wei walked over and picked up a few blankets casually. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± After moving the blankets away, Diane noticed that the wooden board behind the blankets seemed a bit strange. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zheng Wei heard Diane¡¯s words and quickly put down the blankets. He squatted down in front of the cabinet door and found a red string in the empty cabinet. It seemed to be wedged in the gap between the cabinet panels. Curious, Zheng Wei pulled it, and the wooden board opened like a door, revealing what was inside. It was a secret compartment, and the contents inside made Zheng Wei widen his eyes in surprise. ¡°Oh my God,¡± Diane couldn¡¯t help but exclaim when she saw what was inside. ¡°Why are there so many guns here?¡± There was a hidden compartment in the wardrobe, filled with guns and ammunition. Although guns were not uncommon in this country, most people would never keep so many at home. Zheng Wei estimated that there were at least six or seven guns in there, along with countless boxes of ammunition. These weapons were just too much for an ordinary family. Diane had only seen a small pistol in her father¡¯s desk drawer before, and Zheng Wei had never even seen one. Faced with so many firearms for the first time, both of them didn¡¯t know how to react. ¡°Hey, guys,¡± at this moment, the bathroom door opened and Martin came out wrapped in a towel. ¡°What are you guys doing standing in front of the cabinet?¡± he walked over to Diane and Zheng Wei while drying his hair. ¡°Martin, I think you should come over and take a look at this,¡± Diane said, nodding towards the cabinet. ¡°What¡¯s up, honey?¡± Martin walked over and peered into the cabinet. ¡°Wow,¡± Martin exclaimed when he saw the guns, ¡°cool!¡± Most boys have a dream of owning firearms, and Martin was no exception. As soon as he saw what was inside the cabinet, he immediately dropped the towel in his hand, half-knelt in front of the cabinet, and was as happy as if he had found some incredible treasure. ¡°Winchester, Ruger, and Kentucky! This is so cool, I love this!¡± Martin buried himself in the pile of guns and ammunition, occasionally making excited noises. ¡°And this one even has a bump stock?!¡± Martin took out a magazine and exclaimed in surprise, ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen the real thing, who modified it, they¡¯re a genius!¡± ¡°This is like a mini arsenal!¡± Martin was ecstatic, buried in the pile of guns and ammo, exclaiming, ¡°I love this so much.¡± Zheng Wei and Diane were not at all infected by Martin¡¯s excitement. They did not like firearms and did not feel excited when they saw them. Especially Diane, she looked at so many weapons and felt a bit panicked. ¡°Stop playing, Martin,¡± she shouted to her boyfriend, ¡°Put these things back.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Martin still had his head buried in the pile of firearms, without looking up. ¡°Why are these things here, and how should we deal with them? Should we call the police?¡± Diane asked anxiously. ¡°Why call the police?¡± Martin turned around to look at Diane and exclaimed, ¡°Dear, these are guns!¡± ¡°It¡¯s precisely because they¡¯re guns that we need to call the police,¡± Diane frowned and said, ¡°These things are very dangerous, and we should hand them over to people who can handle them.¡± ¡°Oh, come on, baby, I don¡¯t want to give it to the police.¡± Martin frowned at the remark. Martin was obsessed with firearms, he dreamed of having a gun of his own, but his parents didn¡¯t allow him to do so. ¡°You don¡¯t even have a gun permit, you can¡¯t carry a gun.¡± Diane didn¡¯t agree with his approach. ¡°I think we should hand it over to the police.¡± ¡°But this is a gun, baby, I¡¯ve been dreaming of having a gun of my own.¡± Martin really didn¡¯t want to part with the gun in his hand. ¡°No.¡± Diane¡¯s attitude was still firm, and she didn¡¯t intend to let Martin act recklessly. ¡°Hey, Zheng, my good bro, help me out here.¡± Martin turned to Zheng Wei, who had been standing beside him. ¡°These things are dangerous and will bring you trouble.¡± Zheng Wei hesitated for a moment and said. CH 14.2 Zheng Wei had originally intended to keep these things, but based on his experience of watching movies before, these weapons would not only be useless in their hands but could also become the push toward their deaths. So he didn¡¯t know what to do for a moment and his words were ambiguous. ¡°You heard that, Martin.¡± Diane looked at the guns. ¡°Put them back.¡± ¡°How can you do this, bro?¡± Zheng Wei¡¯s refusal was unexpected for Martin. ¡°Zheng, look at this, it¡¯s an old-style Kentucky, look at how beautiful its gun body is, can you bear to hand over such a beauty to the ruthless police?¡± Looking at Martin¡¯s pleading eyes, Zheng Wei awkwardly turned his head and looked at Diane. ¡°Don¡¯t make a scene, Martin,¡± Diane sighed and put her hand on her forehead. ¡°Put it back.¡± ¡°Oh no!¡± Martin wailed and refused to let go. ¡°No one can separate me from it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± someone at the door asked. Zheng Wei looked over to the open door. Allen, Jin, and Ellie were standing there, looking curious. ¡°You came at the right time, come on in,¡± Diane greeted them and asked for their help. She was really at a loss with her childish boyfriend. ¡°We heard Martin¡¯s voice from the room, so we came to see what¡¯s going on,¡± Allen explained. ¡°What happened exactly?¡± Ellie asked. ¡°I came to get the blanket,¡± Zheng Wei explained. ¡°After I moved the blanket, Diane found a hidden compartment in the cabinet, and it was filled with guns.¡± ¡°Guns?¡± Allen, Jin, and Ellie said in unison. ¡°Yes, guns,¡± Zheng Wei pointed to the cabinet. ¡°There are quite a few of them.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The three looked at the guns in the cabinet and were stunned. ¡°This is really¨C¡± Jin shook his head in disbelief and then uttered a word, ¡°Cool.¡± ¡°This is too much.¡± Allen was also a bit scared. ¡°Yeah, I was shocked too.¡± Zheng Wei looked at those guns. This was his first time seeing real guns. ¡°Allen, Martin wants to keep these guns.¡± Diane pointed to Martin sitting in the cabinet, ¡°But I think it¡¯s safer to report it to the police or hand them over to someone else who can handle them.¡± ¡°No!¡± Martin protested, ¡°These are my grandmother¡¯s guns, and she left them to me as an inheritance. I have the right to own them.¡± ¡°No, they belong to your mother.¡± Diane pointed out the loophole in Martin¡¯s words, ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your mother if she agrees to let you keep these things?¡± ¡°Martin, I agree with Diane. These things are too dangerous.¡± Although Allen also loved these charming little things, his reason suppressed his desire. ¡°When did you guys become so timid?¡± Martin stood up and looked at his companions. ¡°Look at these little things.¡± He raised a small box in his hand, ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious, don¡¯t you like them?¡± The remaining five people fell silent. To be honest, even Zheng Wei felt a bit tempted by these things. ¡°We¡¯re on a farm surrounded by forests now. We can do a lot with these guns,¡± Martin continued, ¡°We can go hunting in the woods, shoot some deer and birds, and who knows, we might even get lucky and shoot a wolf or bear. It¡¯ll be so thrilling.¡± ¡°Forget it, guys. No one will find out. It¡¯s a remote area and the police won¡¯t come. We can have some fun,¡± Martin continued to persuade them when they still didn¡¯t answer, ¡°Allen, I remember you know how to use a gun, you can teach us, I promise we won¡¯t mess things up.¡± Allen didn¡¯t answer, but his expression visibly relaxed. Allen enjoyed hunting, his uncle was an excellent amateur hunter. Allen would go to his uncle¡¯s place every year for a period of time and he had taught Allen how to use guns. ¡°Well, if you ask me, we can come up with a compromise.¡± Ellie, who had been silent all this time, spoke up. ¡°We can¡¯t stay here for long anyway, so you guys can use these guns to go hunting during this time. There¡¯s no danger of hurting anyone, and when we leave here, we can hand these guns over to the right people, whether it¡¯s the police or whoever else.¡± ¡°Ellie, how come you¡­¡± Diane looked at Ellie in disbelief. Ellie had always had the image of a good, obedient student among them, and Diane thought she would side with her. ¡°Well, this way it¡¯s not illegal,¡± Ellie shrugged and showed a mischievous smile. ¡°After all, it¡¯s a once-a-year spring break trip, we should relax and be a little bold, right?¡± ¡°This is a good idea!¡± Martin immediately jumped up and interrupted Diane¡¯s words. ¡°Babe, please.¡± He made a crying face at Diane. There was no other choice. Diane wasn¡¯t the kind of stubborn person. She rolled her eyes at Martin. ¡°Okay, okay, but only during spring break.¡± She emphasized the last few words. ¡°Yes!¡± Martin excitedly jumped up and spun in a circle with his girlfriend. ¡°I love you so much, babe.¡± ¡°Okay, then it¡¯s settled. Does anyone have a different opinion?¡± Allen looked at everyone and asked. Jin and Ellie shook their heads indifferently. Allen looked at Zheng Wei again, ¡°What about you, Zheng?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about these things. If Martin really likes them, then let him keep them. As Ellie said, it¡¯s spring break, it¡¯s okay to be a little wild.¡± Zheng Wei thought about it and decided to keep the guns. There was no need to spoil their fun, and besides, Zheng Wei thought of the evil spirit that might appear at any time. Even if guns couldn¡¯t cause any harm to the evil spirit, it was still a weapon and better than nothing. The matter was resolved, and the group agreed to meet with Allen tomorrow morning to practice shooting and then went back to their rooms. Zheng Wei returned to his room with his blanket. After washing up, he lay on the bed, too tired from the trip to think much, and soon fell asleep. However, Zheng Wei didn¡¯t sleep well. He heard some noises around him while half asleep. This startled him, and he sat up from the bed. It wasn¡¯t an illusion, there was really something strange going on around him. Zheng Wei sat up from the couch and listened carefully. He heard some rustling sounds, like a group of people talking or some mice running. The sound made him uneasy and he couldn¡¯t help but want to take a look. Zheng Wei checked the system and found it quiet, showing that the evil spirit had not awakened. So he stood up and followed the sound to the door of a room. It was the bedroom of the Hersman couple. The sound came from here. Because it was only separated by a door, the sound was clearer, and indeed, someone was talking. Zheng Wei swallowed and looked down at his feet. The shadows in the room crept in through the crack in the door under the moonlight, making it a bit eerie. There were definitely people inside, more than one. They were huddled together, speaking in low and fast voices that were impossible to make out. Zheng Wei approached the door stealthily and pressed his ear against the cool wooden board, trying to listen to what they were saying. The voices inside belonged to both men and women, and they seemed to be arguing about something. Their voices were hushed, and combined with the obstruction of the door, Zheng Wei only caught a few words. ¡°Confession,¡± ¡°it¡¯s too late,¡± ¡°killed her,¡± ¡°save her,¡± ¡°sister.¡± The conversation was intermittent and Zheng Wei couldn¡¯t make much sense of it. Furthermore, the voices were very unfamiliar to him. Zheng Wei was certain that they didn¡¯t belong to anyone he knew. Normally, at this time of night, there shouldn¡¯t be any strangers in this house. If there were, they were definitely up to no good. Zheng Wei looked at the thin door panel in front of him and nervously grasped the whistle hanging from his chest. Just as Zheng Wei was feeling anxious, the voices from inside the room stopped. It seemed like those people had all left, and the only sound left was the quiet buzzing of insects outside the window. Zheng Wei waited for a while and noticed that there was no movement inside the room. He looked down at the crack in the door, but the shadows had disappeared. Did they leave? Zheng Wei was uncertain. He looked at the door and pressed the whistle on his chest before summoning up the courage to slowly push open the tightly closed door. Anyway, it couldn¡¯t be an evil spirit, so there shouldn¡¯t be any danger. Zheng Wei comforted himself and swallowed before tremblingly opening the door a little. As Zheng Wei leaned closer to the crack in the door to peer into the room and assess the situation, a flash of cold white light suddenly pierced through and into his eyes. A knife had stabbed through the gap in the door, directly into Zheng Wei¡¯s eye. He could feel the sharp blade piercing through his eyeball and penetrating his skull, filling his nostrils with the metallic and bloody scent. ¡°Ah!¡±