Chapter 34.1 Kill That Joseph
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Jiang Nan looked at the hexagram array and the small cottage in front of them. He dragged Jiang Guan and asked with breathlessness, “Should we go inside? My sister seems to be waking up…”
Lin Zhaohe approached the wooden house and peered through the window. It was dark inside, but he could vaguely make out a person sitting in the center of the room. He attempted to push the door but couldn’t budge it. “There’s someone inside.”
Zhuang Lao spoke up, “Let me handle this.”
He raised his leg and delivered several swift kicks to the wooden door. It soon started to tremble and creaked, eventually collapsing onto the ground with a loud thud.
As the door fell, the interior of the room came into view.
An elderly woman sat on a chair, dressed neatly, her head slightly bowed, obscuring her features.
Lin Zhaohe cautiously walked inside and only then discovered that it was a corpse. The old woman seemed to have been dead for quite some time, with her skin dried up.
Lin Zhaohe muttered, “Is the diary on her body?”
“Let’s search and see,” Zhuang Lao said.
“Sorry to disturb, please forgive us,” Lin Zhaohe showed great respect for the deceased. If it weren’t for the sake of survival, he would never have bothered her.
He reached out to examine the corpse when, all of a sudden, the body, which should have been dead for a long time, jerked up and grabbed hold of Lin Zhaohe’s wrist.
“Holy crap!” Lin Zhaohe was startled, jumping up like a spring.
The corpse held onto him, its skeletal face approaching menacingly, almost touching Lin Zhaohe’s face. It let out a hoarse roar, “#^&%!$*&%￥&@%…”
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhaohe cried out, “What is it saying? I don’t understand English!”
The others: “…”
Zhou Ze, who initially intended to help Lin Zhaohe, almost broke character upon hearing that, coughing abruptly. “She says not to try taking Joseph away…”
Lin Zhaohe broke down, “Stay away from me! I’m an old man. Where would I find the strength to take away your son?” Despite there being so many people searching together, why was he the one being targeted?
Zhuang Lao felt that in this game, the most effort he exerted was not in fighting monsters but in holding back from laughing at his subordinate.
He reached out and pulled with all his strength, finally freeing Lin Zhaohe from the grasp of the corpse… The only downside was that the entire arm of the corpse was torn off, yet its hand remained tightly gripping Lin Zhaohe.
Lin Zhaohe felt like he was going insane and angrily said, “What are you all laughing at? Quickly find the diary!” He shook his arm several times but couldn’t shake off the hand that held onto him. He gave up and decided not to bother with it anymore.
Smiles wouldn’t vanish. They would only shift—from Lin Zhaohe’s face to someone else’s face. How delightful it was to build pain upon someone else’s happiness.
Under Lin Zhaohe’s furious accusation, the others finally remembered their purpose and held down the old woman’s corpse, trying to find the last page of the diary.
Just as they began their actions, the once bright sky instantly darkened. Pea-sized raindrops fell to the ground, accompanied by consecutive peals of thunder that made people’s ears ache.
In the next moment, the small wooden house was surrounded by countless Josephs. They held axes, resembling wandering spirits, silently closing in on the people inside the house.
Lin Zhaohe peered through the window and witnessed this horrifying scene.
What was even more terrifying was that among these murderers, there were Yun Yuzi and Jiang Guan’s several bodyguards.
Jiang Guan, who had been knocked unconscious by Zhuang Lao, also regained consciousness at this moment. She struggled to break free from her restraints and continue attacking them. Jiang Nan, knowing she had no fighting ability and not wanting to cause trouble for everyone, could only hold onto Jiang Guan and cry out, “Sister, Sister, don’t get involved… They’re already troublesome enough…”
She spoke while trying hard to remove the mask from Jiang Guan’s face, hoping that once the mask was off, her sister would come back. She didn’t know if she exerted too much force, but the mask actually came off, and Jiang Nan exclaimed happily, “Look, I’ve taken off my sister’s mask… Sister…?”
Her joy lasted less than a second before her smile froze on her face.
After the mask was torn off, Jiang Guan’s face didn’t return to its original appearance. Instead, it turned into an empty void. Jiang Nan felt dizzy and almost fell to the ground.
“Sister—” Jiang Nan wailed loudly, “Why is your face gone?” She cried and tried to cover Jiang Guan’s face with the mask again, but it was evident that it was futile.
“What’s going on?” Lin Zhaohe was also shocked by this scene. How could Jiang Nan just rip off Jiang Guan’s face in the blink of an eye?
“What do we do if Sister’s face is gone?”
Nobody knew what to do, and at the moment, there was no time to think. The murderers surrounding them were getting closer and closer. Lin Zhaohe could already hear the jarring sound of the axes dragging on the ground.
“Boss, what should we do?” Lin Zhaohe was desperate, sweat dripping down his forehead. He couldn’t transform into the freezing beam anymore, and his combat power was greatly reduced when facing the attacking Josephs.
Zhuang Lao said, “I’ll go out and hold them off. You all continue searching. The clues must be in this house.”
Without waiting for Lin Zhaohe’s answer, he turned around and headed towards the door, carrying the axe. Lin Zhaohe hesitated, watching Zhuang Lao’s figure disappear into the dark curtain of rain. Soon, sounds of a fight came from outside. No matter how formidable Zhuang Lao was, he was still human and couldn’t resist those almost invincible monsters.
Lin Zhaohe searched through the room but couldn’t find the last page of the diary. He grew more anxious and worried, muttering, “Where could it be hidden?”
Zhou Ze was sweating in his anxiety. “Should we beat up this old lady?”
Lin Zhaohe: “What’s the use of beating her up? She still won’t let go of my hand… Hey, what is she mumbling about? Translate it quickly!”
Zhou Ze: “She’s cursing, using foul language… Saying that her son Joseph is immortal, and we will never find the last page hidden by Joseph himself. We’re all going to die here…”
After translating, Zhou Ze angrily cursed the old lady for her lack of humanity, saying that even in death, she helped her son do evil things.
The room became chaotic, filled with Jiang Guan’s wailing and Zhou Ze’s cursing, blending into a symphony of chaos.
Lin Zhaohe searched every corner again, practically turning the cabin upside down, but still found no trace of the last page.
Whether it was due to his extreme nervousness or an illusion, Lin Zhaohe suddenly heard Zhuang Lao’s agonized scream from outside. The scream shook Lin Zhaohe to the core, and he shouted loudly, “Zhou Ze—”
Zhou Ze replied, “Brother Lin!”
“Translate her words again,” Lin Zhaohe said hoarsely.
Zhou Ze stuttered as he translated the old lady’s curses and angry remarks, “She wishes for us to die… She also said her son will never die…”
“What about the rest?” Lin Zhaohe asked.
“We will never find… the diary… hidden by Joseph himself…” Zhou Ze continued translating.
Lin Zhaohe froze in place. He took a deep breath and said, “The fifth page was personally hidden by Joseph. Only he can find it.”
“What do we do then?” Zhou Ze was sweating with anxiety. “We can’t just go and ask him!”
Although the entrance of the cabin was blocked by Zhuang Lao, the surrounding murderers grew in numbers. Looking out through the window, they could see the terrifying masks worn by the monsters. The walls of the cabin had numerous marks from knives and axes. It seemed that they couldn’t hold on for much longer, and the monsters breaking through the walls was only a matter of time.
Lin Zhaohe said, “Jiang Nan, give me the mask.”
Jiang Nan was taken aback. “Huh?”
“Give me the mask,” Lin Zhaohe said.
Hearing this, Jiang Nan handed over the mask she had taken off Jiang Guan’s face. She looked at her sister’s empty face and felt a sense of helplessness. “Brother Lin, what are you planning to do?”
“First, tie me up,” Lin Zhaohe said. “Zhou Ze—”
Upon witnessing the scene, Zhou Ze already had an idea of what Lin Zhaohe intended to do. He clenched his teeth, wanting to dissuade him, but upon seeing the expression on Lin Zhaohe’s face, he knew that his words would be futile.
“There’s no time left,” Lin Zhaohe said. “No matter how formidable Zhuang Lao is, he’s still just a human.” He remembered Zhuang Lao mentioning that the mask would have some effect on a person when he removed it. If that’s the case…
Zhou Ze weakly said, “Alright…”
He swiftly bound Lin Zhaohe and then gently placed the mask onto his face.
The moment the mask touched his cheek, Lin Zhaohe felt a pull, as if his consciousness was instantly being drawn away. Countless memories that didn’t belong to him flooded into his mind, overwhelming him.
“Haha, this foolish giant,” someone let out a piercing laugh.
“Kill him, kill him…” someone stabbed him with the first blow.
“Monster, monster, he’s a monster! Why has he resurrected again?” people screamed in terror.
“He’s immortal, he’s immortal! Burn him, burn him along with his mother, that will surely prevent his resurrection!” The crowd was filled with malicious cries, leading to a tragic outcome.
Flames soared into the sky, accompanied by the searing pain of his body being burned.
Lin Zhaohe experienced intense agony, unable to hold back his screams, “Aaaaaaaah—”
“My dear Joseph, the one your mother loves the most,” the woman’s voice was incredibly gentle, whispering and murmuring in the ear, relieving the burning anguish of the soul. Her words were like an enchantment, enticing one to draw closer to her, easing the torment. “My precious, my undying one, you are immortal. No one can kill you, no one can destroy you.”
As the vision shifted, a thick aura of murderous intent rose from the depths of his heart, staining everything within his sight with a blood-like red hue. Zhou Ze stood by his side, his mouth moving, uttering words that Lin Zhaohe couldn’t make out a single word of.
Echoing in his ears were the voices saturated with intense hatred, “Kill them, kill them, kill them, kill them…” Each word was enunciated with a deliberate pause, looping endlessly, plunging his already clouded mind into a deeper chaos.
In a trance, a tall figure appeared before Lin Zhaohe’s eyes. He held an axe and wept in his mother’s embrace. His mother wiped away the blood and tears from his face, offering gentle comfort, “Don’t cry, Joseph. They have hurt you, all of them deserve to die…”
Joseph sobbed.
“Where is your diary?” His mother, so tender as a mother, gently brushed her fingers across her son’s cheek. “Record the sorrowful things, my dear. Mother will keep it safe, hidden in the most secretive place… Mother will protect it with her life, and no one will ever guess its whereabouts…”
After saying these words, she let out a piercing laughter, as if mocking those trapped in a state of fear. As long as Joseph remained alive, these pitiful rabbits would never escape from their nightmares. This place would become their final resting ground. And she, with her life, would safeguard Joseph’s vulnerability, ensuring that no one could ever discover it.
The most secretive place… protected with her life… Lin Zhaohe’s gaze suddenly changed.
Zhou Ze, standing beside him, didn’t dare to breathe. From the moment Lin Zhaohe donned the mask, his entire demeanor underwent a tremendous transformation.
If Lin Zhaohe had previously given Zhou Ze the impression of a clean-cut, sunshine-filled neighbor, then now he resembled a henchman of a merciless serial killer.
Bound to the chair, he neither struggled nor moved, yet Zhou Ze couldn’t help but feel an immense sense of dread… He even felt that Zhuang Lao wasn’t as terrifying as Lin Zhaohe.
“Brother… Brother Lin,” Zhou Ze quivered, his voice trembling. “Are you alright?” He had to ask, seeing the look in Lin Zhaohe’s eyes.
Lin Zhaohe coldly glanced at him. “Untie me.”
Zhou Ze: “B-but…”
Lin Zhaohe: “Untie me.” He repeated the words coldly for the second time.
His tone was flat but chilling, causing goosebumps to rise on Zhou Ze’s arms. He even had the eerie illusion that if he didn’t untie Lin Zhaohe immediately, he would be killed on the spot. This sensation prevented him from further questioning and instead obediently stepped forward to release the restraints.
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