Chapter 47.2 Real and Fake
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“Xiao He?” Zhuang Lao’s voice came from above.
Lin Zhaohe looked up and saw Zhuang Lao.
“What are you doing?” Zhuang Lao’s voice was gentle as his fingers lightly brushed over the wounds on Lin Zhaohe’s face, wiping away the blood. “Why do you look so disheveled?”
It was Zhuang Lao’s face, and it was Zhuang Lao’s voice. However, in almost an instant, Lin Zhaohe deduced that the person before him wasn’t his boss but something else… some kind of creature. Every hair on Lin Zhaohe’s body stood on end, and he struggled abruptly, breaking free from the person’s embrace. Due to his exertion, he nearly stumbled to the ground.
“Who are you?”
“I am Zhuang Lao.” The thing that looked exactly like Zhuang Lao smiled. “What’s the matter? Are you so afraid that you don’t even recognize me?”
“You’re talking nonsense. I’m not familiar with Qi Ming and Lu Xiaotian, but can I not be familiar with my boss? What are you, pretending to be my boss—what do you want?”
The smile on Zhuang Lao’s face gradually vanished as Lin Zhaohe spoke, replaced by a cold and indifferent expression. He stared at Lin Zhaohe, as if considering something.
The people around slowly closed in on Lin Zhaohe. He turned around, attempting to run, only to find that his body wouldn’t budge.
“How strange,” the creature that looked identical to Zhuang Lao said. “You seem so timid, yet you dare to speak these words.” He walked slowly toward Lin Zhaohe, gazing down at him with a superior stance.
Lin Zhaohe: “What… are you?”
The creature: “If you don’t resist soon, you’ll die.”
Lin Zhaohe: “You…” Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a chilling sensation in his chest. Soon after, intense pain surged through his body. Lin Zhaohe lowered his head and saw a ꜱɴᴏᴡ-ᴡʜɪᴛᴇ ʙʟᴀᴅᴇ ɪᴍᴘᴀʟᴇᴅ ɪɴ ʜɪꜱ ᴄʜᴇꜱᴛ. ᴄʀɪᴍꜱᴏɴ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ɢᴜꜱʜᴇᴅ ꜰᴏʀᴛʜ ᴀʟᴏɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴀᴅᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪᴍɪɴɪꜱʜɪɴɢ ᴡᴀʀᴍᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴅʏ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ʀᴀᴘɪᴅʟʏ ᴅʀᴀɪɴᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ.
“Why won’t you go down?” the creature said, moving closer. He reached out and gently embraced Lin Zhaohe. “So stubborn.”
The act of their embrace pushed the blade in even deeper, suffocating Lin Zhaohe. Darkness clouded his vision, and an indescribable rage surged within him. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, “Don’t use my boss’s face for such things!” The vision was gradually engulfed in a blood-red hue, and Lin Zhaohe roared, “Get away—”
The creature smiled with satisfaction as it witnessed a snow-white rabbit mask appear on Lin Zhaohe’s face.
The power that bound Lin Zhaohe seemed utterly powerless. He raised his axe and swung it down, the heavy blade landing directly on the creature’s shoulder, creating a gruesome wound.
Despite the damage to its body, the creature remained unfazed. It admired the mask on Lin Zhaohe’s face, reaching out and grasping the edge of the mask before pulling forcefully—
It didn’t budge. The mask clung tightly to Lin Zhaohe’s face, unmoving no matter how much force he exerted.
Another swing of the axe, and Lin Zhaohe ᴄʟᴇᴀᴠᴇᴅ ᴏꜰꜰ ʜᴀʟꜰ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ’ꜱ ʜᴇᴀᴅ. However, even without a head, the creature remained unaffected. Its hand continued its relentless attempt to forcefully remove the mask from Lin Zhaohe’s face.
Lin Zhaohe didn’t give it another chance. With the axe in his hand, he effortlessly ʜᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ʜɪᴍ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇꜱ. His body was covered in blood, and his bloodshot eyes resembled those of a deranged rabbit, sending shivers down the spines of those who witnessed it.
The faceless tourists surrounding him swarmed in, tearing at Lin Zhaohe’s rabbit mask. Their fragile bodies were no match for him. Within moments, they were all cut to pieces.
Lin Zhaohe, donning the bloodied axe and the rabbit mask, appeared more like a monster than the creature itself. He vaguely heard a voice, his mind exploding, and then his eyes closed, consciousness slipping away.
“Lin Zhaohe, Lin Zhaohe.” Someone called his name.
“Lin Zhaohe, are you alright? Lin Zhaohe?” Another person tapped his face.
Hold on, who the hell was slapping his face? Lin Zhaohe opened his eyes and saw three faces—Zhuang Lao, Qi Ming, and Lu Xiaotian.
“Stop hitting…” Lin Zhaohe mumbled, “Qi Ming, why the f*ck are you slapping me like a watermelon?”
Qi Ming: “Lin Zhaohe, you finally woke up! You scared the shit out of us!”
Lin Zhaohe: “What happened to me…?”
Qi Ming: “You suddenly transformed into Joseph and started chopping people with an axe. Mid-swing, you suddenly passed out.”
Lin Zhaohe sat up and realized he was lying on the deck. In the distance stood a group of terrified passengers, their eyes filled with fear, staring in their direction.
After taking a moment to collect himself, Lin Zhaohe felt a pounding headache. He said, “Was I dreaming just now? Dreaming of…”
Qi Ming: “Dreaming of what?”
Lin Zhaohe stuttered as he recounted the details of his dream.
After hearing him out, everyone fell silent.
“You said the creature that took on my appearance wanted to rip off your mask?” Zhuang Lao asked softly.
“Yes,” Lin Zhaohe replied, “It had incredible strength. I thought my head was going to be twisted off…,” he rubbed his neck, still shaken by what had just occurred. Even seeing Qi Ming and Lu Xiaotian’s faces again made his chest tremble. Choking up, he continued, “That creature was cunning, pretending to be my boss and inviting me out to see the moon. I knew my boss would never do something so romantic.”
Zhuang Lao hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back.
“Let’s go back to the room first,” Qi Ming suggested. “We’re starting to attract unwanted attention.”
Lin Zhaohe nodded in agreement.
The group lifted Lin Zhaohe from the ground and supported him as they slowly made their way back to the room. Along the way, Qi Ming provided a detailed account of what had just occurred.
At the time, Qi Ming had already fallen asleep when he heard a series of loud thuds coming from outside his door. Intrigued by the noise, he opened the door and saw Lin Zhaohe standing there, his back turned towards him.
Qi Ming sensed something was off and softly called out. “Lin Zhaohe?”
Lin Zhaohe turned his head, and Qi Ming saw a rabbit mask covering his face.
Luckily, Qi Ming had also participated in the project Lin Zhaohe and Yun Yuzi had been involved in recently, so he immediately recognized the owner of the mask, which was even more striking than Lin Zhaohe’s own mask. And, of course, he noticed the axe in Lin Zhaohe’s hand.
Lin Zhaohe had already shattered his room door into pieces and now stood in the corridor, emanating a strong sense of oppression as he stared at Qi Ming.
That glance was terrifying. Qi Ming felt like a rabbit locked in the gaze of a wolf, frozen in place and unable to move. He even wondered if Lin Zhaohe were to come over and attack him at that moment, he wouldn’t dare to run. He would helplessly let Lin Zhaohe swing the axe and end his life, tears streaming down his face.
Fortunately, it seemed that Lin Zhaohe had no interest in him. After giving Qi Ming a glance, he turned around and walked away.
Lu Xiaotian rushed out upon hearing the commotion. She saw Lin Zhaohe’s resolute figure as he departed and had no idea what had happened. Perplexed, she asked, “What’s going on? Did Lin Zhaohe have a fight with his man?”
Qi Ming was puzzled. “Man?”
Lu Xiaotian corrected herself, “Oh no, I meant his boss.”
Qi Ming squinted at Lu Xiaotian, sensing that her thoughts were dangerous. However, he didn’t have time to dwell on that now. He watched Lin Zhaohe move further away and quickly took out his phone to call Zhuang Lao. Qi Ming didn’t dare confront Lin Zhaohe in his current state, as a single swing of the axe could be relentless and unforgiving.
After Zhuang Lao arrived in response to the call, the three of them hurried to the deck. They witnessed Lin Zhaohe herding the moon-gazing passengers around as if they were ducks.
The ship’s security personnel also arrived but hesitated to take action. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to intervene, but after they discovered that bullets bounced off Lin Zhaohe’s body, they didn’t know how to handle the situation. They silently surrounded him, neither daring to approach nor launch an attack.
Fortunately, Lin Zhaohe’s aggression wasn’t overly intense. He repeatedly swung his axe at the deck, each strike embedding the blade deeply into the floor, leaving grim marks behind. It was clear that a single blow from that axe would likely render one unemployed for the rest of their life.
“Boss, what should we do?” Qi Ming anxiously asked Zhuang Lao.
Zhuang Lao said, “Step aside, everyone.” He approached Lin Zhaohe with measured steps, quickly reaching his back.
Sensing the presence behind him, Lin Zhaohe swiftly turned around, his hand gripping the axe. The enormous weapon, accompanied by a rushing sound, seemed destined to crash upon Zhuang Lao’s head. Qi Ming couldn’t bear to watch and instinctively closed his eyes. However, the anticipated tragedy never unfolded. When Qi Ming opened his eyes again, he saw Zhuang Lao’s slender fingers firmly grasping the axe handle. The sharp blade only managed to sever a few strands of his hair before abruptly halting. He had actually stopped Lin Zhaohe barehanded.
Qi Ming murmured incredulously, “Boss, you’re so strong…”
Bowing his head, Zhuang Lao leaned in close to Lin Zhaohe’s ear, seemingly whispering something. Following that, Lin Zhaohe’s body went limp, collapsing into Zhuang Lao’s embrace. The rabbit mask on his face and the axe in his hand gradually faded away, returning to their original forms.
With his memory restored, Lin Zhaohe bewilderedly asked, “Why did this happen? What did I encounter?”
“Your description sounds vaguely familiar,” Qi Ming remarked. “It feels like I’ve heard this storyline somewhere before, but I can’t quite recall… I’ll think about it some more.”
Lin Zhaohe wondered if he had inadvertently merged with a character. However, they lived in such close proximity, so why was he the only one affected? It simply didn’t make sense.
Moreover, the illusory Zhuang Lao seemed particularly interested in removing the rabbit mask from his face, as if he desperately wanted to tear it off.
“Rest for now,” Zhuang Lao advised. “We’ll discuss the rest tomorrow.”
“Boss,” Lin Zhaohe hesitated, struggling to find the right words.
Zhuang Lao said, “Speak.”
Lin Zhaohe asked, “Do I need to compensate for the door I damaged?”
Everyone: “……”
A moment of quiet filled the room, and then Lu Xiaotian burst into laughter. She said, “Lin Zhaohe, Lin Zhaohe, you are the perfect blend of the three-dimensional and two-dimensional worlds. After the protagonist defeats the monster, do they also have to help the person whose house got wrecked by the monster with their insurance? And if the protagonist smashes a newly bought car, do they still have to keep making car loan payments?”
Lin Zhaohe ignored her and anxiously stared at Zhuang Lao. If he had ears, they would probably be drooping by now.
Zhuang Lao was accustomed to such situations and calmly said, “The company will reimburse you.” This reassured Lin Zhaohe and alleviated his worries.
Qi Ming, standing nearby, couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. This, he thought, must be what indulgence feels like. No matter what Lin Zhaohe said, their boss could calmly respond with perfect replies.
Lin Zhaohe’s drooping ears perked up again, and behind his back, his invisible tail wagged happily. “Boss, you’re really kind!”
[A/N]
Zhuang Lao: Lin Sefu (Seph from Joseph), you have to compensate for damaging their ship.
Lin Zhaohe immediately woke up.
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