Paintings of Terror

Chapter 121: The Cold, Self-Assured Big Boss

Zhu Haowen was a bit speechless again, not at Ke Xun, but at himself.

This may be the repercussion of paying too much attention to the rules. Several days of selecting numbers to determine the group placements in the experimental area had boxed him into habitually thinking that it was the only way. In addition, in the previous few times, they still needed to leave the underground laboratories to look for clues about the whereabouts of the signature. Now that they’re already 70-80% certain that the signature was in the underground laboratories, there was no need to go above ground.

As long as they don’t leave the underground area, their number cards would not refresh, and they wouldn’t be required to get a new card.

It must be said that, even if Ke Xun was given a dubious eye roll, he would still manage to surprise people.

Wei Dong returned with Qin Ci and Li Yaqing. Although their faces weren’t very good, at least they were still alive.

“Xiao Ke’s method is very useful.” Qin Ci returned the headset to Ke Xun. “I’m glad to see that you’re all safe and sound. Did you find anything last night?”

Zhu Haowen briefly explained in a few words, and then said, “So we decided to stay here from now on.”

Qin Ci’s eyes moved slightly, and his voice lightened. “I don’t think Huang Pi and Qi Qiang will agree. Moreover, there won’t be four people in Lab C. I don’t know if this non-compliance will result in a backlash.”

“Dr. Qin,” Ke Xun said, looking at him as if looking at a patient with sequelae, “the two machines in Laboratory C both do the same kind of experiment. It doesn’t matter if there are two people less, there is still one machine that can be used. This is not a violation of the rules.”

“Moreover, even if there is no one in Laboratory C, I think this is also not a violation of the rules. If we can’t leave the painting within a few days, then people will die more and more. When there are only four people left, there will always be an experiment in a laboratory that cannot be performed.”

“Furthermore, we used induced unconsciousness to escape the experiment in the two Laboratories B and D, which resulted in something equivalent to ‘lack of test subjects and unable to conduct experiments.’ There was no backlash, so there’s no need to worry about the number of people.”

“That’s right.” Qin Ci nodded slightly.

Suddenly, they heard Qi Qiang’s voice at the door. “What are you doing? Why aren’t you hurrying up?!”

Ke Xun raised his gaze and saw him and Huang Pi standing outside the door. As expected, it was Zhang Hanrui and Xu Zhen who died in Lab C last night.

Ke Xun turned to look at Mu Yiran and the others. “Tell me, if these two people leave the underground area and return, which laboratory number card will they get?”

“Maybe it’s the number card for Lab C,” Qin Ci said thoughtfully. “After all, the other laboratories are still occupied. If they both draw again, they can only fill up the vacancy in Lab C.”

“It may also issue number cards for Lab A and B,” Zhu Haowen said. “Even if the cards in our hands haven’t been refreshed, the number machine might refresh anyway and reissue new cards starting with Lab A.”

“The worst outcome is that, once someone leaves the underground area, the cards in everyone’s hands will be invalidated, thus forcing us to take new numbers,” Mu Yiran said.

“What are you talking about?!” Qi Qiang looked at everyone warily.

“We don’t plan on going up and wanted to stay here instead,” Ke Xun answered him in a straightforward manner, not wanting to tiptoe around him. Regardless, he would eventually find out anyway.

Taking into account what had been said earlier, Qi Qiang could make a vague guess as to why, and his expression darkened with uncertainty. When he had a sudden realization, his face sank even more. Li Yaqing was standing by the door, and so he grabbed her hair and yanked her in front of him. Staring at everyone, he cursed, “Fuck you all. I’m going up to get a new number! If you dare play around, I’ll kill her first and then I’ll kill all of you.”

Ke Xun could guess that Qi Qiang was afraid that if he didn’t go up and get a new number, he would remain in Lab C, which would result in a life and death battle between himself and Huang Pi.

Li Yaqing’s scalp was about to be ripped off by Qi Qiang. Trembling with pain, she looked tearfully at Ke Xun. “Brother Ke…Help me…Help me…”

“Qi Qiang, how much weight do you attach to yourself that you don’t know how to calculate in your heart?” Ke Xun looked at Qi Qiang blankly. “Not to mention whether it’s you against all of us, even if it’s just one on one, you’re not my opponent at all. Let her go first, and we’ll find a way out together. If we’re all dead, you can’t escape alone. You have to realize this.”

The tense stalemate stretched on for a while, but finally, Qi Qiang slowly released Li Yaqing. Li Yaqing staggered as she fled toward Ke Xun and buried her face in his arms.

Ke Xun held Li Yaqing while guarding against Qi Qiang. Suddenly, he felt that a piece of clothing was thrown over his shoulder from behind, and he heard Mu Yiran’s low voice, “Put it on.”

He turned his head and saw that it was the shirt he’d wrapped around the mop head last night. Then he looked at his naked upper body and saw that there was a gleam of water on his chest. It was Li Yaqing’s tears.

As Ke Xun threw the shirt over his head to put it on, he heard Mu Yiran said to Qi Qiang and Huang Pi. “You have two choices. One, go up and get another card, where you might possibly be assigned to Lab A or B. Second, stay underground and continue with Lab C tonight. You’ll have a good chance of survival in Lab A and B, but you should know that if you choose to stay in Lab C, I have a way for you both to survive. You can decide after some careful consideration.”

“What way?” Qi Qiang asked vigilantly.

“If we destroy the machine outright, we’ll suffer a backlash,” Mu Yiran said. “But if we destroy the machine with something that this world doesn’t recognize, there might not be a problem.”

“Good idea!” Ke Xun instantly grabbed hold of Mu Yiran’s thoughts. “If we use a mobile phone to short-circuit the machine, it might explode, rendering the machines useless.”

Qi Qiang’s expression fluctuated for a moment before he finally said through gritted teeth, “Okay, I’ll stay in Lab C, but you’re responsible for destroying the machine!”

Ke Xun glanced at him and knew what this guy had done some calcuations–Even if the method of connecting a phone to short-circuit the power failed, he must have believed that his quick hand speed would save his life.

Huang Pi, who had not spoken at all this entire time, turned and left. It seemed as if he was planning to go above ground.

Wei Dong couldn’t help being taken aback. He turned and complained to the boss, “He must be going upstairs to get a new number!”

Without a change in expression, Mu Yiran stepped forward. Worried, Ke Xun made as if to follow, but MuYiran turned and said, “Stay here. Two people might increase his vigilance.”

Ke Xun stopped and said, “Be careful. That guy’s no good.”

Mu Yiran made a sound of cknowledgement and walked out.

“If the signature is really in Lab D, then what about the people in the other labs?” Zhu Haowen shifted his thoughts to more important matters.

“What will happen if a person runs out of the labs halfway?” Qi Qiang asked Qin Ci with a gloomy face.

“This will usually result in a backlash to that person, but this was just a rule in previous paintings,” Qin Ci replied. “We haven’t tried testing this painting, so we can’t be certain what will happen if we leave our assigned space.”

“I think something would happen.” Zhu Haowen pointed to the timer on the wall. “One minute before 11 o’clock, this thing will start counting down. It’s obviously to remind us to go back to our respective laboratories. This is quite an obvious hint that our movements will be restricted.”

“Then…what can we do?” Wei Dong was a little worried. He would be in Lab B alone and had been able to survive it by losing consciousness once night fell.

Everyone fell into deep thoughts. This lasted until Mu Yiran and Huang Pi returned from outside.

Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran, who remained silent. He didn’t know what Mu Yiran had told Huang Pi to convince him not to go up and get a new number. Now, all the surviving people were gathered in Lab D, and everyone began to discuss the issue of how to enter Lab D from the other laboratories.

During this period, Ke Xun went to Lab C.

Zhang Hanrui and Xu Zhen had collapsed on the machine.

It was unknown if Xu Zhen was too frightened, too hurt, or if the electric shock had caused her to relax her bowels, but the smell of urine and feces floated out from under her skirt. The slender, white collar worker had died without dignity.

Zhang Hanrui’s black hair was spread out under her head, her young and beautiful life ruined by this inexplicable world of the painting.

Ke Xun was no longer a newcomer to these paintings. Along the way, he’d seen all kinds of death. The anger, the reluctance, the helplessness, these could no longer influence his emotions.

But that didn’t mean that he had become numb and used to the death of others. His father had told him that to respect life was to respect himself.

Ke Xun moved Zhang Hanrui and Xu Zhen’s corpses to the corner of Lab C, placing them with the corpses of Cai Xiaoyan, Deng Guang, and Zhou Youyi. Then he went over to Lab A, took the sheets from the cribs, and used them to cover the head of these corpses.

When he turned around, intending to leave Lab C, he saw Mu Yiran standing by the door, quietly watching him.

Ke Xun patted the machine next to him, gave Mu Yiran a smile, and said, “I really hate and fear this laboratory, but it also gave me an unspeakable feeling. I suspect that I may be a deviant in my bones. Sometimes, when I think about the last time I stayed here overnight, I even have a little bit of willing satisfaction.”

Mu Yiran lowered his eyelids. Not responding to what Ke Xun had said, he entered the room and began to observe the machine with a flashlight.

Ke Xun took over holding the flashlight for him. After sneaking a glance at the door, he asked in a low voice, “What did you say to Huang Pi?”

“I just told him,” Mu Yiran answered as he continued to check the machine with his head lowered, “commiting public anger is the most unwise decision. It is absolutely impossible for him to leave the painting on his own. Therefore, he could either obey or he could die.”

Thus, Huang Pi decided to be obedient. Ke Xun chuckled twice. His family’s big boss was exactly this kind of cold, self-assured type.

“Go to Lab D. There’s a toolbox in one of the drawers. Bring it over,” his family’s big boss ordered coldly.

“Of course.” Ke Xun took his orders and left.

In Lab D, everyone had found a place to sit, and they were all silent, with some caught in a daze while others were thinking.

Ke Xun found the toolbox and walked out. Zhu Haowen got up and followed him.

Wei Dong whispered to Qin Ci, who was sitting next to him, “Comrade Xiao Zhu doesn’t get it. He always plugs in between the two of them like a large 100-watt light bulb.”

Qin Ci thought to himself that it was a good thing he hadn’t inserted himself in the middle, otherwise he would have resembled a floor lamp.