ID No. 019 - Chapter 13.2

Chen Yang wasn’t about to harm himself, so he brightly sidestepped the question. “Ah Wu is misleading you. He wants to use you to kill me.”

Lin Yue laughed scornfully at his evasiveness.

Chen Yang ignored her and continued in a serious tone, “There’s an overlapping space in the stone cave. Ah Wu knows this secret. He must have seen Huang Qing enter the cave first, then led Zhou Xiaoxiao inside so that they wouldn’t be able to explain themselves. This would stir up distrust and lead to infighting within the group. His plan worked and our team of seven is now down by two.

“So you killing Zhou Xiaoxiao and Huang Qing was also part of Ah Wu’s plan,” Chen Yang said.

The mention of the overlapping space caught Lin Yue off guard. She had truly misjudged those two; they’d simply been unlucky. She struggled to sit up, supporting herself on the ground. “And why would he do that?”

Chen Yang replied, “We’re the variables on this island. He wants to eliminate us.”

Lin Yue retorted, “But he brought us food. If he wanted to harm us, wouldn’t slipping us some poison be enough?”

Chen Yang pondered this. “He might have some restrictions imposed on him.”

Lin Yue lowered her head, silent. It looked as though she believed him.

“The point where the space overlaps has been found. All we need now is to wait until the right time to go in. The mission’s almost complete,” Chen Yang struck while the iron was hot and stated his purpose. “Ah Wu is key to this. Tell me where he is—we have to find him.”

Lin Yue ran her bloody, slime-covered hand through her hair. “That story about him turning into a radish was just something I made up. He isn’t dead, but the curse in him did erupt. I don’t know where he went and I didn’t keep track. Just because someone mutates doesn’t mean they’ll die.”

After all the effort Chen Yang put in to subtly coax Lin Yue, he hadn’t expected this result. His face darkened slightly. “How do you know he mutated? When did you last see him?”

“I saw him sleeping in a dirt pit,” Lin Yue said curtly, then raised her head, pleading bitterly. “Chen Yang, if you could just help me, even a little—just let me take a few bites. I don’t need much. That way, I might be able to retain some of my consciousness. Then I could blend in with the monsters at the base of the mountain and get close to Old Madam Qi.”

She spoke in a submissive manner, but a flash of vicious determination crossed her eyes.

The same as when she’d killed Zhou Xiaoxiao and Huang Qing.

Just a few bites? Not much? Chen Yang resisted the urge to stab her with the iron nail and moved closer to Chao Jian. “Didn’t Zhang Yan say that we can go back as long as we’re still alive? Turning into a plant isn’t a true death, just a different way of living.”

“How is that the same? How can a plant return?” Lin Yue screamed, her voice shrill. She clawed at her hair, scratching her scalp before nervously trying to regain a calm tone. “Chen Yang, I don’t want to fully suppress the curse—I just want to stay a human. That would give me a slightly better chance of going back.”

“If you help me this time, and if we’re still in a team next time, I… I… cough… hah hah…”

Lin Yue’s throat seemed to close up and she couldn’t let out a single sound. She clutched her neck in a tight grip and spat out a large amount of seeds.

Chen Yang felt a chill down his spine and moved closer to the young man, only for the crutch to lightly nudge him away.

Chao Jian was letting out hot exhales and his voice was hoarse. “I caught a cold. Don’t get too close or you’ll get infected.”

Seeing how unfazed he was by the seeds, Chen Yang couldn’t help but admire him. “Let’s go back to the stone cave. Bear with it a little longer. Without medicine, you’ll have to rely on your immune system.”

He gave up getting information on Ah Wu’s whereabouts from Lin Yue. They’d have to find him themselves.

The sound of retching resumed, accompanied by the rustling of hands digging into the dirt as Lin Yue began burying herself and the seeds together. Her body would turn into more seeds and they would soon sprout and grow tender leaves.

Chen Yang kept walking. Had he not been on guard against Lin Yue and reacted quickly, kicking her aside with precision, he would’ve been devoured and mangled.

I won’t strike unless provoked. But if I am provoked, there’s nothing more to say.

Chen Yang had barely taken a few steps when Lin Yue’s weak voice called out from behind him. “In my last mission, there was a senior; it was his fourth mission. He said that in every mission, there’s always one person who receives an item with a hint. Zhang Yan mentioned it when we first boarded the ship, but everyone shook their heads.”

“We really didn’t get anything, but you lied. That item for this mission is in your hands. That’s why you weren’t cursed. You used the hint to avoid it!” Lin Yue grew hysterical toward the end.

Chen Yang’s steps halted. Back on the boat, he’d thought of mentioning it but wasn’t sure how to explain. What would he say? That he’d just received a piece of bread that had digested in his stomach and nothing else?

Later, he’d been afraid to bring it up. If he’d told them, they’d all have realized they were cursed, while he remained human and would not mutate. Would he still have been able to live till now?

But honestly, what information could a nasty piece of bread provide? He figured it only gave him immunity, nothing more. As for avoiding a curse and whatnot, that was just pure nonsense.

Lin Yue didn’t speak to Chen Yang again but instead directed her words to the young man beside him. “He hid it from you too?”

Chao Jian appeared indifferent.

Lin Yue’s hands moved uncontrollably toward the dirt. Her bloodshot eyes strained as she struggled, but she managed a mocking smile at the man. “He never told you, did he?”

“Turns out, he never trusted you that much. He just stood by while you got cursed. Ha ha. And I thought you two were close.” Lin Yue gave him a pitying smile.

Chen Yang had been keeping an eye on her, wary of what she might do. When he heard what she said to the young man, he instinctively turned to him to explain with an urgent tone, “She’s just trying to drive a wedge between us. Don’t—”

His voice came to an abrupt stop as a sharp pain tore through his hand.

Lin Yue had bitten down on Chen Yang! Her body seemed to have been hollowed out – bones, organs, flesh and all – leaving only an empty shell. Rather than leaping at him, it was more like she’d flown at a terrifying speed.

Chen Yang’s vision went black from the pain, and before he could react, a cane swung down at Lin Yue’s temple. She was sent flying, carrying with her a chunk of bloody flesh she’d bitten straight off the back of Chen Yang’s hand.

Lin Yue convulsed on the ground, desperately trying to swallow the torn flesh. But the crutch struck her again, hitting squarely on the crown of her head.

Thud.

She stopped breathing entirely.

The chunk of flesh fell from her mouth, landing near her face, along with some sticky seeds.

Chao Jian continued to brandish the crutch, precisely striking her head, blow after blow.

Cruel. Ruthless. Merciless.