novel bin Chapter 15: A Heavy Blow Is Necessary
Chapter 15: A Heavy Blow Is Necessary
……
……
"You're awake."
Zhang Ze opened his eyes.
What came into view was a huge tree hole, and beside him, Old Zhou looked at him with a worried expression.
"Who are you?"
Why did I end up in this place?
Zhang Ze covered his head, trying to recall what had happened before, but he couldn't remember anything. His past memories were like a blackout, and he couldn't recall a single thing.
"My surname is Zhou, you can just call me Lao Zhou."
"You've been resurrected, which means you were killed by that woman. Sigh, it's a long story. You got involved in this to protect my son. I'm so sorry."
Old Zhou looked sad.
Zhang Ze stared at Lao Zhou for a long time, but he couldn't see any trace of acting on the middle-aged man's face.
But what Lao Zhou said... was too outrageous.
Zhang Ze found it hard to accept at first.
Unless you leave any information yourself.
Thinking of this, Zhang Ze touched his shoulder bag.
The bag contained a note and a pair of severed hands wrapped in plastic bags.
"I am Zhang Ze. When you see this sentence, it means you are already dead."
"You will lose all your memories, but you will recognize your own handwriting. I wrote this note specifically in case something unexpected happens."
"My original plan was to try to influence Lingling, the female ghost in the painting. Even if I failed, I wanted to send a friendly signal: if you see this note, it means that the other party has no intention of negotiating and will kill you directly. This is a purely malicious red-clothed vengeful ghost."
"We must strike hard!"
Please follow the steps below.
"..."
Zhang Ze finished reading the note.
His gaze returned to calm after the initial confusion.
He already knew what had happened.
As expected of him, this note was written by him in the cabin. After reading Lin Wan's message, Zhang Ze was worried that the plan might go wrong, so he left this as a backup plan.
Now it seems that the second move has come in handy.
"Old Zhou, cut off my hand."
"What?"
"Your son's fate is unknown. If you want to end all this, do as I say!"
Zhang Ze spoke with an air of unquestionable authority.
Old Zhou had no choice but to comply.
Lacking tools inside the tree hollow, Lao Zhou found some sharp stones outside and brought them to Zhang Ze without even having time to polish them.
"Let's do it!"
Old Zhou looked at Zhang Ze's hands on the ground, his face showing reluctance.
"Go ahead and do it! Do you want your son to die here too?!"
Zhang Ze said coldly.
Seeing this, Lao Zhou no longer hesitated.
He raised the stone high and smashed it hard into Zhang Ze's hand.
The stone's edge is like a blade; though not quite a real blade, it is still a sharp weapon.
"Click!"
Zhang Ze's wrist was instantly slashed open, and blood flowed all over the ground.
"Click!"
Zhang Ze's bone broke, and a crisp cracking sound came from it.
"Should we...continue?" Old Zhou asked tremblingly.
"Keep going, keep smashing it!!"
Zhang Ze said, panting heavily.
He's in pain.
He was sweating profusely from the pain, feeling as if he was about to faint. Due to excessive blood loss, even his consciousness was somewhat blurred, but the adrenaline kept him conscious.
Time is precious.
Open the bow without turning back the arrow.
"Click!"
"Click!"
……
The sound of smashing was chilling.
Such a sound has never been heard in the forest before.
The crow noticed the commotion.
Upon seeing the scene inside the tree hole, the crow flapped its wings and cawed loudly.
"Oh no, Little Bear is coming back soon."
"The return of Little Bear means that woman will be coming soon."
"Let's run away quickly."
Old Zhou looked nervous.
"Do as I say." Zhang Ze repeated. "If you chicken out, you can run away, I'll do it myself."
"But it will be very inefficient, I might die, and if we fail, your son's chances of survival will be even lower."
Hearing his son.
Old Zhou gritted his teeth.
"Click!"
Once again, the stone struck Zhang Ze's wrist.
In just a few minutes, Zhang Ze's wrist was smashed so badly that it was unrecognizable.
"Click!"
the last time.
The stone completely severed the connection between the wrist and the palm.
By this time, the crows outside the tree hole had grown into a large flock.
In a few minutes at most, the woman in red will come knocking.
Zhang Zeqiang endured the pain.
The severed wrist was used to open the plastic bag, revealing a pair of bloodless, pale, ghostly hands wrapped inside.
"The rules of the world in the painting are just like those in an animated film; no matter how badly a character is injured, they will recover quickly."
"These hands are part of Lingling."
This was Zhang Ze's trump card.
He didn't hand over the Ghost Hand to Lingling as soon as they met. That would be like handing over a bargaining chip to the other party right at the start of negotiations. Only a fool would do that.
If Lingling is successfully moved.
Zhang Ze will naturally be returned to his rightful owner by these ghostly hands.
Lingling will become whole again, and may even be freed from the previous restrictions on killing, becoming stronger.
But since Lingling killed Zhang Ze, she'll have to suffer the consequences.
Then don't blame Zhang Ze for being inhuman!
"What the hell is this?"
Old Zhou was stunned.
I can't believe my eyes.
It turns out that Zhang Ze wanted him to cut off his hands so that he could get a new pair.
Is this the kind of thinking a human could come up with?
The characteristics of the world depicted in the painting began to take effect.
When Zhang Ze's severed wrist was reattached to these ghostly hands, he clearly felt his wrist regain sensation and the pain lessen, as if every blood vessel and nerve was connected to these ghostly hands that had been dead for a long time.
Modern medicine can only reattach severed hands with clean cut surfaces.
Old Zhou broke it with a stone; even a god couldn't put it back together.
But this is a world within a painting.
Even if they die, they can be resurrected; no matter how severe their injuries, they will recover quickly.
"It's a success."
A chill emanated from the ghostly hand.
Zhang Ze opened his eyes again.
At this moment, his eyes no longer only saw what was in front of him, but could see the entire forest.
This entire forest is a painting.
The crow represents an extension of one's vision, the smallest unit of Zhang Ze.
He understood why crows always attracted Lingling.
Because this is also Lingling's perspective.
Several hundred meters away.
With the help of the crows' vision, Zhang Ze saw Lingling.
Deep in the woods.
Li Yang found the cellar.
The cellar was located next to a lake of blood.
In the animated film, the lake is where nearby animals catch fish and bathe, but in the animated world, the lake water is blood-red and viscous.
The cellar is right by the lake.
Li Yang was almost at the cellar.
However, the crow was faster than him.
Before he could even reach the cellar, the woman in red reappeared among the crows.
Li Yang's face turned ashen.
Seeing the woman in red meant that Zhang Ze was already dead; his attempt to buy time had failed, and he would have to die again.
It's fine if he dies.
Xiao Zhou will die along with him.
Xiao Zhou's life is his only chance; if he dies too, then there's no way to save him in reality.
In a moment of utter despair.
The flock of crows did not fly away when the woman in red appeared.
Instead, it continued to circle and fly.
Even the woman in red showed a hint of doubt.
Why haven't these crows disappeared yet?
She had carried out dozens of hunts, killing dozens of people in total, but had never encountered anything like this before.
"I gave you a chance, Lingling."
"I wanted to help you."
"I've changed my mind. I want you dead."