Chapter 34.2 Kill That Joseph
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After the ropes were untied, Lin Zhaohe didn’t immediately rise. He closed his eyes, seemingly stabilizing a certain emotion. Then, he stood up and walked towards the lifeless body of the old woman still struggling and cursing inside the room.
In the instant that Lin Zhaohe approached, the old woman ceased her vehement cursing. She appeared frightened of Lin Zhaohe, attempting to get up and escape. However, Lin Zhaohe swiftly grabbed hold of her, preventing her from fleeing.
“Are you going to do it yourself, or should I?” Lin Zhaohe’s voice was gentle, with a peculiar intonation, not a threat but more menacing than a threat.
The old woman’s emotions suddenly intensified, and she blabbered on and on, seemingly in a fit of anger. It was incomprehensible to Lin Zhaohe—though he had no need to understand.
“There’s always a culprit for every crime,” Lin Zhaohe said. “Whoever killed your son, go find them yourself.” With that, he mercilessly kicked the old woman.
The nearly desiccated corpse couldn’t withstand such force. The old woman’s bones scattered on the ground, but even so, her head continued to curse incessantly, like an undead vengeful spirit.
Lin Zhaohe’s gaze wandered over the broken bones, quickly finding what he sought—a yellowed page.
He didn’t know where the old woman had hidden the diary, but it was evident that she carried it with her. In that case, tearing her apart would surely reveal the answers he sought.
Lin Zhaohe smiled, his lips curling, and bent down to pick up that final diary page.
Joseph’s Diary, Page Five.
That wasn’t my mother. My mother has already died. What lives in this world is an evil spirit just like me.
Immortality and everlasting life are not my mother’s blessings but curses from the evil spirit. Joseph no longer wants to continue. Joseph feels so sad. Mother promised Joseph that when everything ends, we can leave together and return to our beloved little cabin.
There, there will be no one else, no monsters, only Joseph and Joseph’s beloved mother.
Let everything come to an end. Joseph was tired.
The grating sound of tearing paper echoed once again as thunder rumbled outside. Lin Zhaohe walked to the window and saw Joseph in the rain, surrounded by the Josephs, with Zhuang Lao in their midst.
He held an axe, covered in blood from head to toe, except for his face, which remained clean. Under the curtain of rain, he didn’t appear disheveled. Standing there, he exuded an air of leisurely calmness, making it momentarily unclear who was the one being hunted.
Accompanied by the deafening roar of thunder, the Josephs all stopped their actions. They no longer attacked the cottage and turned slowly towards the depths of the night. The rabbit masks worn by Yun Yuzi and the bodyguard split in half with a creaking sound.
Only Lin Zhaohe’s face remained intact.
He didn’t feel anything amiss and happily waved at Zhuang Lao in the rain curtain. “Boss Zhuang—”
Zhuang Lao turned his head to look. “Are you alright?”
Lin Zhaohe replied, “I’m fine. Hurry inside and take shelter from the rain.”
Such an ordinary and warm conversation seemed completely out of sync with his current demeanor.
Zhou Ze stood by the side, not daring to make a move, fearing that if Lin Zhaohe sensed something was off, he would turn around and stab him in the waist.
Jiang Guan also woke up, and her face’s gaping hole finally reverted back to its human appearance, relieving Jiang Nan. Yun Yuzi also regained consciousness, completely unaware of what had happened. After regaining awareness, she found herself standing in the rain, inexplicably aching all over, as if someone had beaten her.
She followed Zhuang Lao into the house in a dazed state and was startled when she saw Lin Zhaohe’s appearance. “Lin Zhaohe, where did you get that mask?”
Lin Zhaohe said, “Just took it off Jiang Guan…”
“Didn’t we finish the game?” Yun Yuzi asked, confused. “Why are you still wearing it?”
“I actually want to take it off,” Lin Zhaohe said helplessly, “but it won’t come off.”
He had exerted a lot of force already, but the mask seemed to be stuck to his face, unmoving.
Moreover, he didn’t dislike wearing the mask. When he put it on, he always felt unusually clear-minded and agile, despite a lingering sense of an unexplained murderous intent in his mind. However, he could control it well, so he didn’t find anything amiss.
The only strange thing was that Zhou Ze was sitting far away from him, completely devoid of the previous cordial attitude.
“The exit has been refreshed,” Zhou Ze said. “Let’s go and find the remaining people…”
“Just find Qin Xu. Let him know,” Jiang Guan finally snapped out of her peculiar state, still feeling a bit disoriented. Rubbing her temples, she muttered, “Where is he? Taking the salary without doing any work, huh?”
Lin Zhaohe said, “We can’t be sure if he’s dead or alive.”
Jiang Guan responded mercilessly, “Well, if he’s dead, it’s a good opportunity to make you guys pay for the insurance.”
Lin Zhaohe: “…” Are you all here to commit insurance fraud?
The rain had stopped outside, and since it was nighttime, everyone decided to rest and search for the exit tomorrow. There was still plenty of time, and it gave Lin Zhaohe a chance to study the mask that he couldn’t seem to remove from his face.
“This is so strange,” mumbled Zhou Ze. “I’ve never encountered a situation like this before. Could it be a bug? Maybe we just need to go outside?”
“I don’t know,” said Lin Zhaohe. “Maybe. Why are you keeping your distance from me?”
Zhou Ze chuckled nervously. “It’s not that I want to stay away from you, Brother Lin. I just have this feeling that you might slash me with a knife.”
Jiang Nan, the little kid, nodded in agreement.
The others didn’t seem to have any particular feeling about it. Zhuang Lao tried to help Lin Zhaohe remove the mask but eventually gave up. He could have exerted more force, but he was afraid of accidentally twisting off Lin Zhaohe’s head along with the mask.
Finally, they received the prompt indicating that they had cleared the level. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and spent a relaxed night in the small cabin.
On the third day, they started searching for the exit and any remaining survivors early in the morning.
Although they tried to bring as many children with them as possible, there were some victims they couldn’t take along due to getting separated. They had to find a place to bury their bodies as a final resting place.
“It’s Lu Pingping,” Jiang Guan muttered, seeing the pitiful state of these children. She couldn’t help but direct her anger towards the initiator of this activity. “I better not catch him…”
“Who could have sent him in?” Yun Yuzi asked. “Can the props from within the Boundary be taken outside?”
“That’s not possible,” Zhuang Lao said. “The popularity within the Boundary isn’t high enough to sustain such a powerful energy. Even if we were to take a prop like the Libra outside, it probably wouldn’t be of any use unless…”
Lin Zhaohe: “Unless?”
“Unless it’s a core prop,” Zhuang Lao said.
At the same time, everyone’s gaze shifted to the mask on Lin Zhaohe’s face that couldn’t be removed. It was evident that within the third level, nothing was more core than the mask on Lin Zhaohe’s face… The problem was, it couldn’t be taken off?
With everyone staring at him, Lin Zhaohe remained cautious and said, “Please don’t try to remove it. My face is already sore enough.” His words lacked the aura of a deranged killer and instead carried a hint of pity.
They circled around within the third level and quickly found the exit—a well covered with stone slabs. Lifting the slabs revealed a radiant light emanating from within.
Jiang Nan was the first to be sent out. Before leaving, Jiang Guan instructed Qin Xu to gather any survivors from the third level and bring them along.
Qin Xu smiled and agreed. His ability seemed to be related to drawing, and he could quickly understand the surrounding structures and organisms. He was no ordinary person.
Indeed, in these times, it was difficult for an ordinary person to survive.
Lin Zhaohe followed Zhuang Lao into the exit, and as soon as they were outside, the mask on his face disappeared as expected.
However, as soon as he stepped outside, he nearly collapsed. The pain from the gash on his shoulder was excruciating, and Lin Zhaohe cried out while Zhuang Lao supported him. “Boss… It hurts so much…”
Zhuang Lao was about to comfort him when he heard Lin Zhaohe retort, “I got slashed too. Don’t I deserve a raise?”
Zhuang Lao: “…Fine, a raise.”
Lin Zhaohe’s eyes welled up with tears. “I don’t feel that much pain anymore.”
Yun Yuzi raised an eyebrow, puzzled by his response.
Realistically speaking, claiming not to feel pain was definitely a lie. After returning home, Lin Zhaohe examined his injured shoulder. Perhaps it was because his skin was exceptionally pale, but the extensive bruising looked extremely severe. Even glancing at it caused unbearable pain.
Once he came out, his body returned to its original state, no longer resembling that of an old man.
Lin Zhaohe deeply regretted his decision. He felt he should have retired and collected his pension before taking up this job. Now, things had taken a turn for the worse, and he couldn’t receive it anymore… Lin Zhaohe felt like he had lost a fortune.
However, he was too exhausted at the moment and had no energy to dwell on it. He didn’t even bother paying attention to the female ghost that clung to the wall like a mural. He collapsed on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
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