ID No. 019 - Chapter 10.1

Zhou Xiaoxiao and Huang Qing lost their minds. Their expressions were wild as they argued and yelled, their voices grating on the nerves.

Chen Yang had first planned to investigate the cave with the man. The next step was to question Zhou Xiaoxiao and Huang Qing after exiting to see if they could find anything. Suddenly, he heard the sound of two muffled thuds from behind, both within a few seconds of each other.

Then came Zhao Yuan’s terrified scream.

Next was the sound of something heavy falling and the strong smell of blood.

Chen Yang quickly turned around only to see the two people, who had been crazily shouting at each just moments before, now lying on the ground with their necks spewing bright red blood.

The image of his sister’s death suddenly gripped his heart.

Chen Yang’s breathing stopped for a moment; his face went pale and his body swayed.

A crutch pressed against his back, preventing him from falling.

Blood kept dripping off the metal piece Lin Yue held. Some from her own palm where it was cut, but mostly from Zhou Xiaoxiao’s and Huang Qing’s necks.

Zhao Yuan trembled uncontrollably from witnessing the sudden murder. “You—you killed them!”

Lin Yue looked down silently.

“The blood flowing from their bodies is red. There weren’t any changes.” Zhao Yuan pointed at Zhou Xiaoxiao and Huang Qing, who lay in the pool of blood, his eyes wide and face tear-streaked. “They are human. They’re both human!”

“So what?” Lin Yue looked up, her eyes wild with madness. “Huh, so what?”

She’d gone mad.

This demented woman had completely lost her mind!

Zhao Yuan was hit with a surge of panic and instinctively ran toward Chen Yang, stumbling as he went. He lunged forward, only to be knocked to the ground by a swing of the crutch.

After this little event, Chen Yang slowly recovered from the shock and powerlessness he felt from Zhou Xiaoxiao’s and Huang Qing’s deaths. He silently glanced at Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan could no longer pretend to be invisible and finally spoke up, looking at Lin Yue in disapproval. “Both of these people have shadows at their feet. Ghosts don’t have that. Why did you attack them?”

Lin Yue combed through her long hair with her free hand, her demeanor much more restrained than it had been with Zhao Yuan. “They have shadows, true, but they’re also somewhat suspicious, aren’t they? Just because they’re not ghosts doesn’t mean they can’t be monsters or something else entirely. Who really knows?”

Zhang Yan frowned. “But you can’t just kill them without investigating. Now look—both of them were living humans. That’s two lives.”

“Investigate?” Lin Yue stepped on the withered blood-stained leaves and let out a cold laugh. “How can we investigate? I’ve been to the cave and there was nothing unusual inside. Zhang Yan, you were there too—don’t you know it too?”

Lin Yue sneered at Zhang Yan. “What are you pretending to be a saint for? I killed these two suspicious useless newcomers, and deep down, you must be thrilled!”

Zhang Yan’s thoughts had been exposed and his face turned extremely grim.

Chen Yang pursed his lips together seeing Zhang Yan being stripped of his facade and turned to Lin Yue, saying, “At the very least, let Zhou Xiaoxiao meet Ah-Wu.”

Lin Yue stared back at him for a few seconds. She took a deep breath and said, her tone no longer hysterical, “Ah-Wu only brought her here. How could he know what happened afterward?”

Chen Yang’s face was serious and cold. “That is something we should say after they meet.”

“Well, they’re dead now,” Lin Yue said, glancing at the bodies at her feet and let out a nervous laugh. “They couldn’t even explain why they were hiding in the same cave for so long without knowing the other was there. Who’s to blame for that?”

“Better to mistakenly kill them than let them go.” Lin Yue added, as she wiped the blood off the metal piece and her hand onto a tree, “I absolutely have to complete the task and return.” With that, she turned and walked away.

Zhao Yuan’s teeth chattered as he stared at Lin Yue’s back. He knew this was not the real world but a task world filled with ghosts and monsters. Those who undertook the missions could die at any moment. However, he still couldn’t accept that two living people had died right in front of him.

“That woman killed them so quickly. Isn’t it because she feels guilty?” Zhao Yuan was starting to lose it. “She must be the real monster.”

Zhang Yan crouched down to check Zhou Xiaoxiao and Huang Qing’s breathing, confirming they were dead. He let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief. There had been problems during the time these two were missing; they couldn’t be allowed to live.

However, Lin Yue had killed them a bit too early. He still had a few questions that were left unanswered.

Chen Yang had been watching Zhang Yan and noticed his brief sigh of relief, which sent a chill down his spine.

Zhang Yan and Lin Yue didn’t kill him even though he was cursed. Perhaps they decided it wasn’t right to kill him? Was there still use for him? With the curse spreading, who would find the clues if everyone was killed?

Chen Yang had been wary of them since boarding the boat and had been keeping a close eye. They weren’t much of a threat. If they attacked him, then he would defend himself.

“Will the bodies disappear on their own if we just leave them for a while? Like in a game?” Chen Yang asked calmly.

“It depends on the situation,” Zhang Yan said.

Chen Yang resisted the urge to pull out and break his ID card. “Then let’s bury them.”

Zhang Yan cast a discreet glance at the cave. He had already been inside and found nothing.

“Alright,” Zhang Yan said, pointing to Zhao Yuan. “I’ll bury the bodies with him. You go to the cave and look for clues.”

While Zhang Yan and Zhao Yuan handled the bodies outside, Chen Yang led the young man into the cave. It was pitch black inside, but the phone’s flashlight revealed almost everything.

The cave was even smaller than Chen Yang had imagined.

Chen Yang used the man’s phone to explore every corner of the cave. He found a small pink gem that had fallen off of Zhou Xiaoxiao’s shoe and a piece of fabric from Huang Qing’s clothes that had snagged on the rocks as he crawled in.

This was quite strange…

Zhou Xiaoxiao and Huang Qing had indeed been here, but they didn’t know about each other!

“There’s no issue with the people or the cave, so what’s the problem?” Chen Yang muttered to himself, holding the pink gem and the scrap of fabric. He felt as though a cloud of mist hung before him with the truth just beyond it.

The young man impatiently urged him, “Let’s go.”

Chen Yang, disappointed, put the items into his pocket and handed the phone back to him. “Did you see what happened when Lin Yue attacked?”

The man didn’t answer.

Chen Yang knew the answer was yes. “Your leg is injured, so don’t provoke her. Your safety comes first.”

“Why would I provoke her?”

“It’s hard to say for sure, but just be cautious.” Chen Yang added, pointing to his head, “For people who have problems here, sometimes just looking at someone the wrong way can set them off.”

The man turned off the phone’s flashlight and the light disappeared. His voice echoed in the darkness, sounding emotionless and cold like ice. “You seem to know a lot about mental disorders.”

Chen Yang replied, “Not really.” He felt an inexplicable chill down his spine and added, “I just read a few random books on it.” The family members of the friends he made at the ward would buy books on the topic, and his friends would then pass them on to him once they were done. He just read whatever he got his hands on.

Zhang Yan called for them from outside the cave.

Chen Yang walked out and asked, “Did you finish burying the bodies?”

“We didn’t have any tools. The only thing we could find was a stick, so the hole is very shallow. Since we couldn’t bury them properly, we covered them with grass.” Zhang Yan said, sweat pouring down his face. “What about you? Did you find anything?”

Chen Yang told him about the pink gem and the fabric.

Zhang Yan outwardly appeared lost in thought, but was internally surprised that the cave truly held some mystery.

Zhao Yuan jumped up from the ground. His eyes red as he laughed aloud, “They weren’t lying! Both of them were telling the truth!”

“To die like this, for no reason…” He staggered forward. “People who come into this world become less than human. They lose their minds. There’s no hope in this terrifying place. Even if we survive this mission, there will be another one. Life will become unbearable, and it’ll only get worse…”