Chapter 537: Death Begins

"Oh?" Chu Tianqiu feigned surprise, raising his eyebrows. "Did someone dig into Qi Xia's brain? Could it have been a mouse?"

"A mouse...? Is there anything else alive here besides us?"

"Then who do you think dug into Qi Xia's brain?" Chu Tianqiu slowly approached Zhao Yisheng. "Tell me, who exactly... cut open Qi Xia's brain, dug out a piece, fried it in a pan, and then swallowed it down?"

Chu Tianqiu's words sent a chill through Zhao Yisheng's entire body.

"And you can see it too, right?" Chu Tianqiu continued to step forward, forcing Zhao Yisheng to back away repeatedly. "It's not just a piece of brain that's missing. I've tried swallowing everything I could, even digging out the eyes."

"So what on earth are you doing...?" Zhao Yisheng frowned and asked. "Your cellar is full of food... You shouldn't be so desperate as to resort to cannibalism, right?"

"That's true." Chu Tianqiu nodded, a profound smile spreading across his face. "In this place... some people eat others to stay alive and remain human. But others devour people to stop being human altogether."

"No longer being human..." Zhao Yisheng looked into Chu Tianqiu's eyes and took a slow breath. He couldn't help feeling that joining "Tian Tang Kou" had been a rash decision.

"Zhao Yisheng, I told you before, if you help me with this, I'll make you the deputy leader." Chu Tianqiu reached out and patted Zhao Yisheng on the shoulder. "Now, you and Zhang Shan are my right and left arms. That's a great honor—cherish it well."

Zhao Yisheng showed no expression upon hearing this; he merely nodded blankly and turned to walk out the door.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Chu Tianqiu called after him. "Zhao Yisheng, don't go back to your room later. Call Zhang Shan, and let's the three of us head to the playground for a meeting."

"What?"

...

As the black lines approached the game field of Di She, Li Xiangling was the first to notice something was wrong.

An unusual sound came from the sky outside, resembling a flock of birds flying overhead or a light drizzle starting to fall.

"Sisters..." Li Xiangling called out to the group who were clearing the ruins, making them stop what they were doing and listen carefully. "It seems like... it's raining outside?"

Lin Jian, who was resting nearby, furrowed her brow at the words "it's raining," her expression changing noticeably.

In "Zhong Yan Zhi Di," the sky was always eerily silent, but anything falling from it was invariably deadly.

"Wu Shi...?" Lin Jian calculated the time and sensed that something terrible was about to happen. "Get out now, all of you!"

"What?" Zhang Chenze paused.

With rain sounding outside, who would run straight into the streets?

"Though I'm not entirely sure what will happen..." Lin Jian said, "the changes during 'Wu Shi' mean we have to run for our lives! Staying in the house will get you killed!"

Zhang Chenze glanced down at Lin Jian's broken right leg, which Li Xiangling had just stabilized with a wooden board. If they needed to escape, what would happen to her?

"Don't worry about me." Lin Jian shook her head, knowing what everyone was thinking. "No matter what disaster is coming down, I won't be able to run anyway."

"Then we..."

"Don't hesitate! Go!" Lin Jian urged. "Every extra day you live is a day gained. Don't forget your plan—if you get the chance to see Qi Xia, make sure to tell him about Wen Qiao Yun!"

Yun Yao, Tian Tian, Li Xiangling, and Zhang Chenze exchanged heavy looks upon hearing this, then nodded.

Yun Yao knew that Lin Jian retained memories longer than her own, and for her to show such panic meant something catastrophic was unfolding. Besides, they were now fully united, so there was no reason for Lin Jian to deceive them. They grabbed a few personal items and headed toward the door, pulling Tian Tian along.

Before they could get far, a faint rustling sound emerged.

Multiple small holes suddenly pierced through the windows of the building, and strange black lines drifted in through them, hovering in front of the group.

Fortunately, the black lines moved slowly, like floating fluff in the air.

"Don't touch them..." Lin Jian warned the others. "Hurry and get out to escape while you can."

The group skirted around the eerie black lines and reached the door, then turned back to look at Lin Jian.

Lin Jian sat in the deepest part of the building, seemingly surrounded by the black lines.

"Everyone, 'Wu Shi' is the time of 'Tian Ma'," Lin Jian said calmly. "This will be a two-hour desperate flight. I suspect you'll need not just speed, but exceptional endurance as well."

"We understand..." Yun Yao nodded, her expression somber. "Take care of yourself. See you next time."

Lin Jian leaned back, relaxing into a comfortable position to face her death.

"Goodbye," she said.

Yun Yao nodded and added before leaving, "Lin Jian, you've really changed my view of 'Ji Dao'."

"It doesn't matter about changing views," Lin Jian replied. "'Ji Dao' has always been like this."

Yun Yao noticed a black thread slowly drifting toward Lin Jian, gently pointing toward the space between her eyebrows.

Lin Jian didn't flinch as the thread pierced her forehead like a toothpick into tofu, and her eyes lost their life.

Yun Yao's pupils contracted. Before she could react, the black thread swung downward sharply, slicing Lin Jian's body neatly in half from her forehead. A pool of blood spilled out like a burst dam.

Lin Jian's corpse lay like a discarded, rotting banana peel on the ground, her body split into two halves except for the connected skull.

The horrific sight made everyone's eyes widen in shock, and they bolted out the door.

The black lines weren't fast, so a normal person could escape by jogging. But once outside, they saw the lines pursuing from different directions. After a brief eye contact, the four quickly decided on a tactic: scatter and run.

"If we survive... we'll meet back here," Yun Yao said.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Tian Tian, stay safe," Yun Yao added.

Tian Tian nodded expressionlessly, but Yun Yao could see what was on her mind.

"Try to stay alive this time," Yun Yao said, pursing her lips. "Someone will be waiting for you at the end."

"Yes," Zhang Chenze said, tears in his eyes as he nodded to the group. "We've been through more hardships than most, so we deserve a better future."

The four confirmed their directions and fled in different ones, chased by the strange black threads.

As Yun Yao ran, she glanced up at the sun in the sky, from which countless black threads were emanating, dancing toward various parts of the city.