Chapter 8: Killing Game

Frost Street.

Two embarrassed figures stood at the door of their house, their faces full of hesitation.

This house that once belonged to them has now been occupied by a resurrected person... or "thing". The mass grave was polluted by the gray world last night, so the one in the house is most likely a disaster disguised as Chen Ling.

"What should I do now..." Li Xiuchun swallowed his saliva.

"What can I do?" Chen Tan took a deep breath, "Go in, quickly take all your belongings, and then run! Run to District 5 or District 6, anyway, the farther away from here, the better!"

"But it's still inside, what if I wake it up?"

"It's already left."

Chen Tan looked at the mud footprints at the door of his house and said firmly.

Hearing this, the woman finally breathed a sigh of relief. She opened the door with the key, and the two rushed in quickly.

"Only take coins and valuables! Don't take anything too heavy!"

"I'll go to the bedroom, you go to the living room!"

"Hurry up! Hurry up! We don't know when it will come back!"

The two hurriedly took out two sacks and started to pack their things.

The man opened the drawer and stuffed all the money into his pocket. Just as he was about to leave, he saw the axe for self-defense at the head of the bed. After a brief hesitation, he stuffed it into the sack as well.

Their family was not well-off and had few valuable things, but it was precisely because of these two reasons that the two were reluctant to give up the only belongings they had earned with their own hands.

Li Xiuchun stuffed three cotton and linen clothes into his pockets at once, confirmed that there was nothing left, and hurried to the living room.

The two carried the sacks on their shoulders and were about to leave when Li Xiuchun suddenly said:

"We are leaving. What if Ah Yan comes back?"

"Then let's go to District 2 first! After picking him up, we'll run with him!" Chen Tan answered decisively.

"He will definitely look for his brother..."

"His brother is dead."

Chen Tan said as he was about to open the door. At this moment, the rustling sound of a key being inserted into the lock was heard.

The two people froze in place!

The door was slowly opened, and a teenager walked in.

Chen Ling saw the two people carrying sacks, and was slightly stunned. She asked in confusion:

"Dad, Mom, where are you going?"

Chen Tan and Li Xiuchun looked as if they had seen a ghost, their faces pale.

At the same time, a horse galloped past the window, and the shouts of the law enforcers echoed over the street:

"Suspected high-risk disaster! All three areas are blocked! No one is allowed to enter or leave!!"

"Pay attention to all suspicious signs around you, such as roads or buildings that appear out of thin air, mysterious creatures with strange looks, and even humans with abnormal behavior!!"

"If you find anything unusual, report it to the law enforcers immediately..."

The voice of the law enforcers gradually faded away.

In the narrow house, the atmosphere fell into a strange silence.

"We..."

Hearing the voice outside, the two of them trembled in their legs. They looked at the boy in front of them in horror, and in a trance, they turned into fanged evil ghosts from hell!

Chen Ling's eyes fell on the two big sacks, and he thought of what the law enforcer had just shouted, and comforted him:

"Don't worry too much, that disaster doesn't seem to be nearby, isn't the street still fine?"

Chen Tan: ...

Li Xiuchun: ...

Chen Ling was also helpless.

Originally, he didn't think much about the news of the "world-destroying" disaster invasion, but when he saw the audience's expectations soaring, he immediately felt that things were not good...

Zhao Yi was beaten for an afternoon, and his expectations barely increased by more than ten points. The law enforcer just shouted, and the expectations soared to more than sixty!

According to Chen Ling's current understanding, this means that they have found some very exciting fun.

Unfortunately, this fun... may be himself.

Doctor Lin had mentioned the intersection of the gray world and the disaster before, and it just so happened that he traveled through last night, and the original owner's memory of that night disappeared again... Putting all the clues together, who else could this disaster be but him?

Chen Ling guessed that what these law enforcers were looking for was probably the audience in his mind.

Chen Ling also thought about whether to surrender directly to the law enforcers and let them find a way to deal with the audience in his mind, but judging from their attitude towards the disaster, it is more likely that they will kill him together.

In short, try to avoid this storm first and observe the situation first.

Seeing that the two were still tense and looked very nervous, Chen Ling sighed and took the initiative to help Li Xiuchun take the sack.

"Mom, where can you go at this time?"

"Districts 2 and 3 are blocked, and we can't get out at all. Are we going to sleep on the streets?"

When she heard the first sentence, Li Xiuchun was shocked. After hearing the rest, she barely came to her senses and laughed dryly:

"Yes... you are right."

"Dad, you should let it go too. Don't be too nervous... If we escape, what will happen to Ah Yan?"

Chen Tan swallowed his saliva and stared at Chen Ling, trying to find even a trace of strangeness and murderous intent on the latter's face... but he failed.

Chen Ling's every move did not seem like a "disaster", and there was no difference between him and the Chen Ling in his mind.

But Chen Tan knew very well in his heart... He was not Chen Ling.

Chen Ling was dead.

"You sit down for a while, I'll go to the kitchen to get you a glass of water." Seeing that the two were still pale, Chen Ling pulled the chairs beside the table away, then turned and walked into the kitchen.

Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan looked at each other, and finally sat down honestly...

While pouring water in the kitchen, Chen Ling thought about how to ease the atmosphere, and said casually:

"By the way, mom, the grilled sausage you left for me this morning smells very good, how did you make it?"

"Grilled... grilled sausage?"

Li Xiuchun was a little confused.

She and Chen Tan went to the mass grave last night, where was the grilled sausage left?

"It's the one on the chopping board." Chen Ling replied.

The confusion in Li Xiuchun's eyes became more and more intense. She tried hard to recall, and finally seemed to think of something, her face was as pale as paper!

"When did you leave a sausage for him?" Chen Tan asked in a low voice.

"I... I didn't leave it." Li Xiuchun also lowered her voice and answered tremblingly, "There was a bone-cutting knife on the chopping board...

But when I was collecting things just now, I found that the knife was gone."

Chen Tan's face also changed suddenly!

At the same time, Chen Ling, who was standing in the kitchen with her back to the two of them, continued slowly:

"The sausage smells very fragrant, but it seems a little hard... Mom, remember to make it softer for me tomorrow."

The living room was dead silent.

Chen Ling poured water and handed it to the two of them, but found that their faces seemed to be even paler...

"Are you all right? Are you feeling unwell?" Chen Ling sat opposite them puzzled.

"...It's okay."

Chen Tan took a deep breath, and quietly pulled the sack on the ground to his feet with his foot, and his voice was a little calmer:

"A Ling."

"Hmm?"

"What happened yesterday... do you remember?"

"Yesterday?" Chen Ling tried to recall for a while, shook his head, "I can't remember... what happened?"

"... It's okay." Chen Tan gently sipped his saliva, as if he had made up his mind, looking directly into Chen Ling's eyes,

"What do you think... how we treat you?"

"Very good." Chen Ling said as a matter of course, "If you hadn't taken me in back then, I would have frozen to death on the roadside... My biological parents didn't want me, but you raised me up, and worked hard from dawn to dusk to send me to school. Everything I have is given by you."

Everything I have is given by you.

Hearing this, a trace of relief flashed in Chen Tan's eyes...

"Then if one day, A Yan is sick... Only your heart can save him... Are you willing to save him?"

Chen Ling was stunned.

At this moment, he felt that this sentence was somewhat familiar.

Fragmented memories emerged from the original owner's mind, and Chen Ling's head hurt again... He suddenly remembered that the original owner seemed to have heard similar words last night.

"I... I..." Chen Ling held his head, his expression showing pain.

"Ayan is our own flesh and blood. In order to conceive him, your mother took medicine and her body was ruined... We worked hard for ten years before we finally had such a unique child..."

"A child who truly belongs to us!"

"Now he is sick, we can't watch him die... The witch in District 2 said that as long as we get another young heart no older than 20 years old, we can replace Ayan's dying heart."

"Ayan has called you brother for so many years, and you have been our biological son for so many years. Mom and Dad have never asked you for anything, but only this time... We beg you to save Ayan."

"Tell me... you are willing, right?"

Chen Tan's body trembled slightly, and his eyes looking at Chen Ling were full of pleading and expectation.

He was like a child who had done something wrong, waiting for a belated forgiveness.

At this moment, Chen Ling gradually recalled the incomplete memories buried in the rainstorm last night. He endured the pain of a headache, took a deep breath, and spoke hoarsely:

"So... you killed him..."

"Him?"

"... Did Ah Yan know?"

"He doesn't know. If he knew that the heart he was about to receive was yours... he would rather die than agree."

Chen Tan came back to his senses from the struggle and guilt deep in his heart, reached into the sack under his feet, and slowly took out a sharp axe.

"Ah Ling, you are dead, you shouldn't be here." Chen Tan's eyes were red, he tightly grasped the axe, and spoke hoarsely,

"No matter what occupies your body... I will set you free."

A low thunder flashed across the dark sky.

A sharp axe was raised high...

Swept down hard!

Bang——

A warm splash splashed on Chen Tan's face.

The scarlet blood bloomed like a bouquet of flowers on the floor, and Chen Ling's body fell straight to the ground with a muffled sound.

The axe was embedded in his neck, almost cutting off his entire head. His pupils were dilated and staring at nothingness, and there was still pain and confusion on his face...

He was dead.

No heartbeat, no breathing, his body gradually became cold, like a martyr falling in a bush of bright red flowers.

Chen Tan's chest rose and fell violently, he stared at the dead body, sweat soaked his clothes...

"Dead, dead...?" Li Xiuchun slumped in the chair and trembled.

"...Dead."

"What about the disaster?"

Chen Tan paused, "...I don't know."

Li Xiuchun stared at the corpse blankly, and suddenly said, "You say...Is it possible that he is not a disaster...but God has given us another chance to atone for our sins?"

"If so..." Chen Tan laughed bitterly, "Then we really should go to hell."