Chapter 74.2 Savage Expansion (7)
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Stepping on the stairs, Lin Zhaohe approached the bottom of the building. The entrance on the ground floor was unlocked, allowing the bright moonlight to illuminate the flowerbeds and various classrooms inside.
Lin Zhaohe vaguely remembered that his classroom was on the fourth floor. He slowly ascended the stairs, with each floor becoming slightly brighter as the sky lightened. By the time he reached the fourth floor, the moon had set, replaced by bright sunlight.
There was no mist, no monsters. Students in school uniforms moved back and forth, seemingly oblivious to Lin Zhaohe’s presence. Girls held hands while boys walked arm in arm. They hurriedly ran towards the classrooms when they heard the bell ring.
Lin Zhaohe saw himself and, by his side, was Lu Feihe.
Lu Feihe held a basketball, complaining to Lin Zhaohe about yesterday’s game. He said that if it weren’t for that decisive shot, the team he supported would have won.
Lin Zhaohe laughed and said, “Your taste is not good.”
Lu Feihe snorted, feeling unconvinced.
The two youths walked into the classroom and began their classes.
However, teenage minds were not calm enough to focus. Resting their chins on their hands, they half-heartedly listened to the ABCs of their English teacher. They couldn’t help but feel drowsy. Lu Feihe, sitting at the back, showed no respect and simply lay his head on the desk, fast asleep. Lin Zhaohe, sitting closer to the front, didn’t dare misbehave under the watchful eyes of the teacher. After looking around for a while out of boredom, he discreetly took out a small notebook and pretended to take diligent notes while secretly writing something else.
“Lin Zhaohe.” A voice gently came from behind, like a bolt from the blue. Startled, Lin Zhaohe reached for his gun and fired.
The person seemed to anticipate Lin Zhaohe’s reaction and effortlessly evaded his attack. With a smile on his face, he remarked that it had been a long time and he never expected Lin Zhaohe to revert back. That Zhuang Lao indeed had some abilities…
Yes, it was none other than Lin Yan, who had previously turned Lin Zhaohe into a dog. He had a smiling expression on his face, but his eyes revealed little amusement.
“Long time no see,” Lin Zhaohe’s ears twitched.
Lin Yan: “I didn’t expect to find you here too.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Too?”
Lin Yan shrugged, offering no explanation. It seemed he had voluntarily appeared here, and Lin Zhaohe keenly sensed that he had some ulterior motive. He stared at him cautiously and asked, “What do you want?”
“Why are you so forgetful?” Lin Yan said, “Last time, turning you into a dog was letting you off easily. This time, I might turn you into something even worse.” His tone was gloomy, clearly not joking.
Lin Zhaohe knew that the person before him had killed many people, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he became the next victim. However, miraculously, he felt no fear. He recalled the memories he saw at the witch Qi Mola’s place, his lips pressed into a straight line, and said, “I saw your memories.”
The smile on Lin Yan’s face turned into gloominess. “Oh?”
“You killed Lu Feihe with your own hands,” Lin Zhaohe stated. “I saw it all.”
Lin Yan stopped smiling. He turned his head to look at the classroom behind Lin Zhaohe. Inside the classroom, there were two familiar faces—one sound asleep, and the other furrowing his brow while rapidly writing. “Have you ever wondered why there are two drastically different Lin Yans?”
Of course, Lin Zhaohe had wondered countless times. Fan works, two-dimensional props, even personality splitting—none of those wild ideas were the correct answer.
“I was also curious before, why I and that Lin Yan are identical,” Lin Yan said. “Same appearance, same strength, even our souls and bodies were indistinguishable. But our personalities were completely different, as if written by two different people.”
These words hit Lin Zhaohe’s ears like a thunderbolt. The answer he had sought countless times was now plainly laid before him. His eyes widened as he looked at himself diligently writing in the classroom.
“When you helped Lu Feihe with the opening, did you ever think,” Lin Yan said, “that your goody-two-shoes protagonist would become so popular?”
Lin Zhaohe trembled all over. He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but no sound came out.
“The author’s soul is the soul of the work. When two people write the same book and merge together, there will be two protagonists,” Lin Yan said. “It seems like you forgot about that.”
Lin Zhaohe couldn’t accept this cruel reality. He deliberately ignored it in his mind.
Back then, Lu Feihe had tried everything to get a publishing contract. Countless opening chapters he wrote were rejected by editors. So, he turned to his talented friend, pestering and begging him to write an opening for him.
“Please, Xiao He, I really want to sign a contract. Just help me with the beginning, and I’ll handle the rest myself!”
“Xiao He, Xiao He, Xiao He—please—I wasn’t even mad when I found out you were writing novels behind my back—”
After years of persistent requests from his friend, Lin Zhaohe abandoned his principles and sighed as he agreed to Lu Feihe’s request. Thus, on a sunny morning, Lin Zhaohe typed a line of words.
“My name is Lin Yan, just an ordinary high school student.”
And so, this was the beginning of the story.
“The ordinary high school student, Lin Yan, hahahaha!” Lin Yan burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face. His laughter was filled with mocking irony as he pointed at Lin Zhaohe, as if witnessing the greatest joke. “You tell me, if it wasn’t for the opening you wrote, would none of this have happened? So, you’re the one who caused Lu Feihe’s death, and you’re also the one who caused the death of your parents. Lin Zhaohe, you are undoubtedly the culprit.” Lin Yan’s words struck deep into the heart.
Lin Zhaohe felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if someone had stabbed him with a sharp weapon and was forcefully stirring it. He could barely breathe. The images before him began to blur. With his last ounce of strength, he whispered, “I’m… sorry.”
Lin Yan fell silent, looking at Lin Zhaohe and sighing. “Dying here is a relief for you. You should thank me.”
He walked up to Lin Zhaohe, grabbed his neck, and lifted him high into the air.
Lin Zhaohe was no match for him. Helplessly, he grasped at Lin Yan’s hand as he was effortlessly choked and lifted high. With wide eyes, he gazed at the person before him.
Lin Yan laughed. “The best thing I ever did in my life was to seek out Qi Mola.”
By selling love, one would never feel sadness again.
Lin Zhaohe struggled to speak, reaching out his hand to touch Lin Yan’s cheek. On that cheek, there was a cold, mocking smile, yet it was damp. Lin Yan, who shouldn’t have felt any sadness, was unaware that tears were streaming down his face.
Tears, the name given to those continuously flowing drops from his emotionless eyes, resembled the body’s effort to expel some harmful liquid.
Lin Zhaohe couldn’t break free from Lin Yan’s grasp. Oxygen was cut off, and black spots appeared in his field of vision one after another. His struggles weakened, as if he was on the verge of giving up.
Lin Yan’s grip remained tight. He stared intently at Lin Zhaohe. Feeling the touch of Lin Zhaohe’s fingertips, Lin Yan expected resistance and even the use of weapons, as before. But Lin Zhaohe did none of that. He gently used his own fingers to caress Lin Yan’s cheek, with a warm and gentle touch that wiped away the tears streaming down his face.
Like a father comforting a child who had done something wrong, his eyes held a sorrowful compassion.
Suddenly, Lin Yan let go.
Lin Zhaohe, with a weakened body, fell to the ground. Oxygen rushed into his lungs, and he struggled to cough, unable to speak a word.
“I should kill you,” Lin Yan whispered softly.
Lin Zhaohe looked at him.
As their eyes met, Lin Yan seemed to have no intention of making a move. He slowly took out a cigarette, lit it, and within the swirling smoke, his features became somewhat blurry. “I don’t feel like doing that anymore.”
Lin Zhaohe stared at him with a fixed gaze. In theory, at this moment, Lin Yan should have had the upper hand. However, under Lin Zhaohe’s scrutinizing gaze, he felt as if he had lost the advantage and grew irritated. “What are you looking at?”
“How did you learn to smoke?”
The tone was filled with heartache, like a father who saw his own son going astray.
In the original work, Lin Yan, the well-behaved character, not only didn’t smoke but didn’t even chew gum. He was obedient to the core.
Lin Yan replied, “Not only do I smoke, but I also kill.” He half-squatted down and ᴘʀᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪᴛ ᴄɪɢᴀʀᴇᴛᴛᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴꜱᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴄᴋ of Lin Zhaohe’s hand.
The scorching ember fizzled out. Lin Zhaohe’s body trembled with pain. He gritted his teeth and defiantly looked at Lin Yan. “You’ve really turned bad!”
Upon seeing this, Lin Yan sneered, dismissing the consequences of turning bad. In the next moment, a bright light illuminated before his eyes.
“Yellow Banana Girl Transformation!” accompanied by a furious voice from Lin Zhaohe.
Lin Yan stood still for two seconds, unable to react. Suddenly, he felt something strike his body with great force, sending him flying. He crashed heavily into the wall, shattering it into pieces behind him. As he lay amidst the debris, he caught a glimpse of the enormous… banana that had landed on him.
Yes, it was a banana formed by the radiance.
In the original story, Lin Yan was impervious to any weapons. However, when struck by the banana that Lin Zhaohe somehow managed to acquire, he nearly passed out. Groaning in pain, he struggled to rise from the ground. He felt intense pain between his chest and abdomen. He reached out, discovering that at least two ribs were broken.
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this novel sometimes goes astray (what the hell was that eating competition arc for) but theres something so curious about the plot lying underneath it all. the font changes, the world setting, the characters… its all so mysteriously interconnected somehow and im so desperate to uncover the truth. thanks so much for the translation & all of your hard work!