Paintings of Terror

Chapter 116: Reality was suddenly beautiful, and memories were forever precious

Everyone calmed down unanimously and looked at this person with such low presence. Right now, no one could ignore him.

The hoarseness in Huang Pi’s voice wasn’t a magnetic kind of hoarseness; rather, it was the hoarseness peculiar to old smokers. This, coupled with the low tone of voice, made him sound like some kind of weird owl.

Since this person entered the painting, he’d hardly ever spoken, let alone communicate with others. At this moment, he suddenly faced everyone and spoke, so that they ended up paying extra attention to him.

Seeing everyone was looking at him, there was no expression on his yellow-skinned face. He only focused on looking at Qin Ci. “Let’s draw lots.”

Since a person who never expresses an opinion suddenly gives instructions at this time, there must be a reason.

Qin Ci thought for a moment, but did not object.

No matter the time, they will have to draw lots to determine the order of taking numbers. It didn’t matter if it was now or later. If Huang Pi created discord, it would only cause trouble.

So, he cut the paper that was leftover yesterday on the table into strips and wrote numbers on them.

After he’d pushed the chopstick holder with the papers into the middle of the table, Huang Pi took the initiative to reach in and take the first piece. But he didn’t open it. He threw it on the table and looked at everyone gloomily.

After everyone had drawn out their numbers, Qin Ci placed the last one in the tube in the empty seat at the table, representing Zhang Hanrui’s lottery.

Although she was no different from a vegetable at the moment, she was still alive. If she didn’t enter the basement tonight, she would definitely die.

As the saying goes, it is better to live than to die. As long as you live, there is hope… even if the hope is really slim.

Everyone opened their papers to reveal their numbers.

Li Yaqing drew No. 1, which was equivalent to confirming that she would be in Laboratory A tonight.

Qin Ci drew No. 2, followed by Ke Xun, Qi Qiang, Xu Zhen… This time the last three unlucky numbers were Zhu Haowen, Wei Dong, and Mu Yiran.

So this was equivalent to confirming that at least Mu Yiran would be in Laboratory D tonight, that crazy laboratory that had performed the frontal lobotomy on Zhang Hanrui.

Ke Xun looked at him and Wei Dong, but did not say anything.

Breakfast was prepared by Qin Ci, which consisted of heating up the porridge and the mixed beans that Ke Xun had made yesterday so that they could fill their stomach.

Cai Xiaoyan’s death and Zhang Hanrui’s experience left everyone in no mood to say extra words. Qin Ci called Zhu Haowen and Wei Dong and they all went to the archives room to bring in all the documents. Then, everyone sat at the table, going through files.

Ke Xun flipped over and fell asleep until he was awakened in a daze. “Get up and eat something.”

Struggling to lift his heavy eyelids, his gaze met Mu Yiran looking down at him. Ke Xun moved his lips, saying, “Ha, this your heart, ah.”

…Fuck, sleep had made his tongue all stiff.

“What did you say?” Mu Yiran’s usually expressionless face still had no expression, but his voice wasn’t as cold as usual. Instead, it was just calm, making it difficult for people to hear the emotions underneath.

“I said,” Ke Xin ran his hand over his face and struggled to sit up straighter. “You cared about me. What time is it?”

“One in the afternoon.” Mu Yiran put a bowl of porridge in front of him.

“Why are you only eating at this time?” Ke Xun looked at the bowl of rice porridge that looked freshly cooked, and then he smelled a mushy smell.

“Ah,” Qin Ci answered with some embarrassment. “This was the first time I cooked porridge and so I didn’t manage the heat well. So let’s just take this as a soup to drink.”

“Yes, Dr. Qin. It’s much better than when I made porridge for the first time.” Ke Xun took up the bowl and drank nearly half of it in one go. “My first time, I ended up boiling the porridge directly into crispy rice.”

Qin Ci smiled slightly self-deprecatingly. “Thank you, Your words are very effective in comforting me. I think you’re very skilled in cooking. This is rare in families with boys. When did you start learning how to cook?”

Ke Xun also smiled. “Dr. Qin, you must still be living in the last century. Now it’s the men who have to cook. Girls are only responsible for beauty and eating.”

“It seems that your father also cooked in your house?” Qin Ci asked with a smile.

“The old couple used to do it together, now I do it.” Ke Xun didn’t explain much. He only took a few mouthfuls to finish the porridge, put down the tableware, and asked them, “What clues have you found this morning?”

Qin Ci shook his head. “Kang Lai is not in the staff files.”

Ke Xun thought for a moment. “Where are the files of the person who is the test subject? Have you looked for those?”

Zhu Haowen answered, “We didn’t find any files about the test subjects. However, we did find a few documents that were burned in the toilet. There was half a black and white one-inch ID photo on a piece of paper. We suspected it might be related to the experiments because the photo was obviously on the upper right corner of the page. Usually archived materials have the photo in the upper left hand corner of the paper.”

“Oh? Where did you find it? I’ll take a look.” Ke Xun stretched out his hand.

Zhu Haowen looked at his hand, then raised his eyes to meet his gaze. “The toilet squats is a pit on the floor. If you want to go look, help yourself.”

“…” Ke Xun retracted his hand and touched his hair.

The toilet in this research institute was just a pit, as it was many years ago. There was a partition in the middle. The pit at the foot was open, like a trench. When flushing, it rushes from one end to the other and into the sewer.

This kind of pit was quite unsanitary. Dirt would accumulate where the water couldn’t wash away, making it extremely disgusting.

“Who was so talented that they could find the paper in the pit?” Ke Xun couldn’t help asking.

The opposite Wei Dong raised his hand. “My artist’s eyes are sharp.”

“We suspect that the abandonment of this research institute happened suddenly,” Mu Yiran said. “The personnel were evacuated very hastily, and it was too late to take away more important documents. Or in other words, it was impossible to take important documents out of the research institute, so they resorted to burning those deadly things.”

“If all these informal studies that the institute was engaging in were exposed, let alone whether the researchers would be subject to legal sanctions and public criticism, family members of those chosen to be experimental subjects would not give up easily on demanding recourse.”

“So for researchers, the most deadly thing was records of the test subjects. Destroying the archive was akin to destroying evidence of the victims.”

“In addition, the important thing is the experimental log. Of the four experimental areas below, only Laboratory D kept a part of the experiment log. I guess this was not destroyed in time. Looking at the other three laboratories, there were no paper records. They were probably burned like the files of the test subjects, thrown into the toilet, and flushed away.”

“So in this way, Kang Lai, the author of this painting, is very likely a test subject?” Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran.

“He may also be an external person who knows everything inside,” Zhu Haowen answered, “For example, the person responsible for handling this matter.”

“Regardless of whether he is a test product or a handler,” Xu Zhen suddenly grabbed her hair and stared at several people with some signs of breaking down, “we can’t get any information about them anymore, right?! How can we find the signature? Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?!”

“The painting won’t give us a dead end,” Mu Yiran said lightly. “So, there must be a way to find a signature.”

“How to find it?!” Xu Zhen yelled, “Is it possible that we’ll have to get into the sewer to collect the archive fragments?!”

No one answered her. There was a moment of silence in the room. Suddenly, Qi Qiang pounded the desk hard, gritted his teeth and said, “Look! You have to find them in the sewer! You!” He pointed at Xu Zhen, “Go look!”

Xu Zhen was astonished. “Why should I go?!”

“If I tell you to go, then just go. Stop your fucking nonsense. Don’t make me kill you!” With a fierce face, Qi Qiang stepped forward and grabbed Xu Zhen by the front of her shirt, lifted her from her chair, and dragged her out.

“What are you doing?! You let me go!” Xu Zhen screamed, kicking Qi Qiang desperately. Qi Qiang slapped her across the face and a broken tooth flew out of her mouth.

“Stop.” Ke Xun stood up from the chair, stepped out in front of Qi Qiang, and looked at him coldly.

“Boy, I warn you. Don’t fucking get in the way, otherwise the knife in my hand won’t have eyes,” Qi Qiang said, showing the knife in his other hand.

It was a knife from the cafeteria, with a narrow blade and a sharp tip. He’d discovered it and hidden it on his person at some point.

Ke Xun acted as if he hadn’t seen the knife, and only stared coldly at his fierce eyes. “The drain is too small for people to pass through. It’s useless if you let her find it. Let her go.”

“She’s thin, she can squeeze through it. Get out of my way!” Qi Qiang said with a wave of the knife in his hand, making a gesture as if to slice Ke Xun’s neck.

This was just a threat. The actual tip of the knife was still two or three inches away from Ke Xun’s flesh. Qi Qiang wanted to make Ke Xun retreat in fear, but unexpectedly, this kid didn’t even take the usual path. He grabbed his wrist and with a tug, Qi Qiang somehow felt that his wrist no longer belonged to him. The knife fell from his weak hand, and his whole hand was shaking like it was just hanging on his arm.

Ke Xun’s movements didn’t stop. He stretched out his hand and knocked on the tendons of Qi Qiang’s elbow that was holding Xu Zhen. At the moment Qi Qiang lost his strength, Ke Xun dragged Xu Zhen from his grip, breaking her free.

After pushing Xu Zhen to a safe distance and then kicking the knife on the ground away, Ke Xun looked at Qi Qiang’s frightened expression. “Stretch your hand over, and I’ll re-attach it for you.”

Only then did Qi Qiang know that this kid had dislocated his hand. He wanted to kill him directly, but he glanced at this kid’s physique. He was so tall and his reaction speed was very fast. His movements were also very neat. If Qi Qiang really tried to do it, he might not have an advantage. So he had to back down.

Qin Ci watched the whole process and couldn’t help but say, “Xiao Ke’s technique is almost as good as a professional osteopath.”

“They practice sports. Dislocations, fractures and injuries are common, and they become doctors after so many injuries,” Wei Dong said. “What’s more, the group of wild animals in their physical education department fights with foreign schools all day long. Knowing how to treat a dislocation will allow them to create a dislocation, and this trick is perfect for everyone.”

Zhu Haowen glanced silently at him. “I couldn’t imagine Ke Xun as a school ruffian.”

“Then you may have misunderstood him,” Wei Dong said. “Ke’er never took the initiative to make trouble, but couldn’t hold back everyone from the same school and from his department. You couldn’t bow your head all the time and never look up, especially if the other school came to look for trouble. He couldn’t leave his classmates and brothers behind. He usually would go to support them, providing them with a lot of power, unless someone hit him on the head…sigh.”

When Wei Dong said this, he couldn’t help sighing, and didn’t say more.

Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen didn’t ask any more. They knew the meaning contained in this sigh.

The lives of those normal people had long been far away from them. At this time, it seemed like those memories that were once considered boring, naive, or meaningless, now seemed so precious, peaceful and beautiful.