Paintings of Terror

Chapter 91: Sudden Attack

When the five people returned to the lobby on the first floor, it was noon, and lunch was already on the table.

They raised their heads and looked at the clock on the wall. Seeing that it was still in the indigo pattern, they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After the NPC called everyone out for dinner, the people working in the four rooms came out one after another. As if planned, everyone showed their hands and turned out their pockets to prove that they had absolutely washed their hands and had no intentions of contaminating anyone’s colors.

Once everyone was sitting around the largest dining table, Qin Ci took the lead and said, “Maybe it’s because I felt a sense of pressure, so that today’s work performance is extremely productive. From morning to noon, I have completed two and a half jars.”

Everyone nodded and praised him. Wei Dong also said, “I finished more than two jars too! I wanted to finish the work quickly so that I can help look for the signature later on in the afternoon.”

Shi Zhendong was a little ashamed. “My hands are a little slow, so I only barely finished two jars.”

“That’s already pretty good,” everyone said.

Guo Lixia rolled her wrist. “Today my wrist is a little uncomfortable so I only got a little more than one jar done.”

Mi Wei looked at Guo Lixia. “We still need to finish the work soon. I don’t know what else will happen this afternoon.”

Guo Lixia was a little unhappy. “I’m not trying to speak out of turn, but your group has the most people. It was Xiao Miao who stayed behind to work yesterday morning. This morning, it was Doctor Qin. It stands to reason that Doctor Qin has experience, is a man, and has great strength. Let him go out and look for the signature! Storing berries isn’t a laborious task. It’s easier than making tomato sauce. You girls nowadays are too delicate and just wanted to avoid work!”

Mi Wei, who was suddenly criticized for no reason, shook with anger. “Sister Guo, you…Since you aren’t even working hard, aren’t you also the one who works the slowest and does the least?”

“You damn little girl!” Guo Lixia shot back rapidly. “My wrist was injured this morning. Our group leader fell and stepped on my wrist! It’s you who isn’t working and is provoking others!”

Mi Wei was so angry that she began to cry, feeling very wronged.

The remaining men hurriedly tried to console them. The first thing Ke Xun looked at was Guo Lixia’s wrist. “Guo Lixia, why didn’t you say anything earlier? Is it still painful now?”

Guo Lixia waved her hand. “It doesn’t hurt much, but whenever I work hard, it’ll become a bit uncomfortable. I feel distressed and upset at still being told that I’m not doing a good job working!”

“Sister Guo, take a good rest. Let Ke’er do the rest of the work!” Wei Dong also coaxed Guo Lixia on the sidelines, planning to help her rub her wrist.

Mu Yiran suddenly grabbed Wei Dong’s arm and pulled him aside, saying in a calm tone, “Let Ke Xun do it. He’s the one who caused it.”

“Okay—“ Ke Xun picked up Guo Lixia’s wrist and massaged it. “After all, I’m also an athlete and can professionally massage this traumatic injury.”

Guo Lixia’s face gradually relaxed.

Mi Wei was also comforted by the others and gradually stopped crying.

After lunch, Ke Xun told everyone about his discovery that morning.

“Yesterday, the other buildings in the castle were all locked. Can we enter the other buildings using the underground passageway in the maze?” Qin Ci said.

“I just don’t understand. Since the people who made the underground passageway are also people in the painting, shouldn’t these people have the keys to the castle?” Mi Wei asked.

“That jar of red paint was transported from the castle to the maze. The murderer must have done this. He’s the one who was extracting the red paint!” Guo Lixia also made a rare suggestion.

Mi Wei frowned slightly. “Since the murderer is the big boss of the painting, how could he not have the key to the castle?”

Guo Lixia sneered. “The murderer isn’t necessarily the owner of the castle. What if it’s something outside the castle?”

As everyone listened to their analysis, Wei Dong hurriedly said, “Everyone has their own deductions. We should go in through the underground passageway at dawn. Maybe we can really get into the other buildings in the castle.”

Guo Lixia smiled. “I am afraid that this kind of tunnel work is not suitable for females.”

Wei Dong hurriedly waved his hand. “I’ll go down! Ke’er and I! You all can wait outside!”

“So,” Guo Lixia said loudly, “females should stay in their respective rooms and work. It is against the rules to fail to complete the tasks.”

Mi Wei’s face turned ugly. “I think emphasizing this division of labor between men and women is itself a discrimination against women! Women’s IQ is not lower than men’s! I have always had my own thoughts on the whole case, and I can help make suggestions if I’m there!”

Miao Zipei felt that it would be bad not to help his groupmate, so he whispered next to her, “Yes, Mi Wei’s brain is better than mine…”

Guo Lixia seemed to have not heard Miao Zipei’s words. Her eyes were fixed on Mi Wei. “Since you can do it, then go do it! You don’t want to pay attention to the division of labor between men and women? Then go into the tunnel!”

Ke Xun was about to go up and persuade them with a few words, but who knew that Guo Lixia’s strength was greater than himself, allowing her to push him away at once.

Mu Yiran’s gaze was trained on Guo Lixia. Although he was full of suspicion, after they’d finished eating, he still saw no traces of anything suspicious on Guo Lixia.

“There’s nothing dangerous about her,” Zhu Haowen said quietly, “but her state is indeed abnormal.”

The so-called dangerous things would naturally be polluting the colors in this painting.

Guo Lixia was still yelling, “Aren’t you very capable? Aren’t you a strong woman? Then you go into the tunnel! Until now, I haven’t seen you solve any puzzles! Isn’t it just you trying to find a reason to be lazy? I have seen many people like you!”

Mi Wei trembled with anger. “I don’t need to use the tunnel to prove my worth! I have professional arts knowledge and rigorous logical thinking skills! I can help everyone! While some people can only do physical labor!”

“You’re just being lazy and playing at slacking off. There used to be a lot of female workers like you in our factory, and they all ended up sleeping with the deputy director so that they would have less work!” Guo Lixia’s spittles directly hit Mi Wei’s face.

“Shrew! Uncultured shrew! Abandoned shrew!” Mi Wei’s voice tore into her like a fork. She picked up an apple on the table and threw it at Guo Lixia.

Guo Lixia was definitely not to be outdone. The tigress rushed towards Mi Wei and grabbed her by the hair, causing her eyes to roll up in pain.

The men hurried over to convince them not to fight, with two people holding onto each crazy woman.

“For us to survive in the painting, the most important thing is unity,” Shi Zhendong finally said. “Now that you two are the only female compatriots left, you should be more considerate of each other.”

Mi Wei lowered her head and started crying in aggrievement.

Guo Lixia released her and threw away a handful of long hair, mulishly silent.

Everyone took a sigh of relief, and Qin Ci said, “We have to finish the rest of the work, and then we can go to the maze and try to use the passageway.”

Miao Zipei hurriedly said, “For our team, let me do it. There’s only half a can left to do. I’ll do it!”

Mi Wei wiped her tears and said nothing.

Ke Xun also said, “Sister Guo’s wrist is injured. I will do the rest of the work! Sister Guo, please rest.”

Wei Dong said, “I did it smoothly earlier, and so I’ll continue on. Boss Mu, go find that signature!”

Zhu Haowen said, “I’ll stay and finish the rest.”

After the tasks were assigned, they began to head back to their respective rooms, preparing to work harder to complete the task as soon as possible.

Mi Wei rubbed the top of her aching head, intending to go out with the rest of the people to continue looking for the signature. Who knew that when she walked by Guo Lixia, the woman suddenly turned violent. She grabbed the front of Mi Wei’s shirt, stunning her. Expression like a madman, she screamed, “Who is the abandoned shrew?! Who is the abandoned one?! Go and die!!!”

This was too sudden, and the people who had already returned to their rooms didn’t realize what was happening.

Mi Wei was violently pushed far away, causing her to slam directly into the door of the blue room, falling inside.

In the hall, Guo Lixia murmured like a sleeptalker, “You go and die, you go and die. Those people who expose other people’s scars should die!”

After Mi Wei fell to the floor of the blue room, she didn’t get up for a long time. Her face was full of terror and disbelief.

Because, in this way, she had instantly become a “polluted person.”

Ke Xun hurriedly helped Mi Wei up.

No one knew how to console Mi Wei, and for a while, they regretted being too careless. But because it had all happened so fast, they didn’t even have the mind to blame Guo Lixia.

Mi Wei was like a wounded beast, wailing at everyone. “I have polluted the color! I’m going to die tonight!” Then her expression abruptly became sullen, and she stared at Guo Lixia. “If I die, don’t even think about living!”

“Quickly, stop her!” Everyone outside the room could only watch helplessly.

Ke Xun held Mi Wei back, but he could still feel her fierce struggle. “Die. Everyone should die together. As long as I’m alive, you’ll all be polluted!”

Like this, Ke Xun pushed Mi Wei out of the blue room. After Mu Yiran had tied Mi Wei up firmly with the rope in his hands, he said, “I’m sorry.”

Mi Wei cried wildly. She stared hatefully at Guo Lixia and screamed, “You’re a murderer! You’ve killed me! I won’t let you go!”

Guo Lixia seemed to have finally woken up. Her expression became somewhat frightened, and she avoided Mi Wei’s eyes.

No one had expected that such a thorny incident would happen today, and so their original plan was nearly disrupted.

Qin Ci reluctantly said, “Let’s do the work as we’ve planned and wrap it up.”

Shi Zhendong shook his head. “At least one person must stay to look after Mi Wei. This left only three people to enter the tunnel. It’s too dangerous. Let’s stay and finish the work first.”

At that moment, Mi Wei suddenly pleaded, “Please, throw other colors on me. If this is the case, then I don’t want to be squeezed to death by the big boss…at least I can be like He Yi and Yening Chengyi, dying joyfully.”

They had been feeling uncomfortable, but now they became even more sad after hearing Mi Wei’s words. Ke Xun forced himself to cheer up. “Don’t think so negatively. Maybe we can find the signature today and so you won’t die.”

Mi Wei smiled and shook her head. “How is it possible? Even if you can enter the other rooms in the castle, it’s impossible to search hundreds of rooms in just one afternoon…Hurry up, please. Now. Let me die with peace of mind.”

Suddenly, green juice splattered all over Mi Wei—Zhu Haowen stood beside her, squeezing a green berry in his hand.

Mi Wei laughed sadly. “Thank you.”

The clock on the wall turned pure green, a mixture of blue and yellow, but everyone deliberately avoided looking at it.

“Regarding the shadow that dragged Xin Beibei away last night, I roughly have an idea,” Mu Yiran said suddenly.

Xida:?I should mention my posting schedule…Basically, I don’t have one, but unless something unexpected came up, I will post regularly. At the very minimum, I pledge to have at least two chapters per week but will aim for a chapter every other day. I should also note that double updates will be posted occasionally (depending on my productivity level) but please don’t expect it regularly.