V1C19

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Pulling open the heavy rooftop doors, darkness hid the path down, leading to places that even he was unsure of.

The wind behind him brought over the slight smell of blood and smoke, rushing into the gap he had opened, the moon casting his shadow onto the ground, alone.

“How long do you think you’ll be able to keep on living, Lin Jue? There are too many hidden betrayals in this game with your life on their price tag. There’ll come a day where you’ll have to choose, and you’ll betray Song Hanzhang. No, he’ll abandon you before that. He’s that kind of person after all.”

Lin Jue turned back, the scattered droplets of half-dried blood still on the ground as if hinting towards the death of the undead.

Just a few minutes ago:

“Let’s make a bet, Lin Jue. Let me see how good your luck will be this time.”

Almost the instant Zhou Yuxiu had finished speaking, Lin Jue suddenly moved, his wooden pole knocking down the full gun in Zhou Yuxiu’s left hand. Zhou Yuxiu had been dazed and had instinctively shot twice with the gun in her right hand—— Lin Jue would never have been able to dodge those two, he had been simply betting on his luck.

He won. Both shots were empty.

Before the third shot had been fired, Lin Jue had already thrown his wooden pole aside and picked up the fallen gun. Even though he had never touched one before, he knew how to point his weapon at his enemy.

Zhou Yuxiu stared at him viciously, her blurry eyes bloodshot.

“You were still lying to me! Even that apology was a lie!” Zhou Yuxiu gritted her teeth and growled, the zombification slowly spreading from her exposed chest until even the arm which was holding onto the gun became nothing but rot and bone, her pretty face breaking down, revealing a half-bitten monstrosity.

More vicious than ghosts, more terrifying than demons.

“It was true. Just like what you were feeling when you lent the shovel to Song Hanzhang, it was all true, but…” Lin Jue paused, the cold wind blowing into his throat as he rasped, “but, that guilt was towards Zhou Yuxiu, and she’s already dead. What’s standing in front of me is some hateful demon that wants revenge. Sorry, but I can’t die here. I made a promise with someone that I would keep on living.”

Bang, bang.

The first shot landed in her chest, the bullet going through her broken body, the recoil making Lin Jue stumble.

The second hit her jaw bone, shattering her entire chin. Lin Jue stood back up as Zhou Yuxiu’s body slammed against the roof railing, unmoving.

Lin Jue maintained his stance and stared straight at her. The remaining half of Zhou Yuxiu’s head continued spraying out blackened blood, but her eyes stared unblinkingly at Lin Jue.

She suddenly laughed strangely, struggling to open her mouth with only half of her bottom jaw remaining. “You’re committing a murder.”

Lin Jue’s hand twitched.

Zhou Yuxiu giggled, her loose jaw almost tearing itself off her weakened muscles. “Do you still believe that you’re a good person? That you’re doing this all out of self defense? Don’t lie anymore, you’ve adjusted to this game better than anyone else. You’re a born killer, a natural murderer. After me, you’ll kill even more. Now I understand, the reason I lost to you was because compared to you, I really can still be counted as a good person.”

“How long do you think you’ll be able to keep living, Lin Jue?” Her broken jaw made her voice sound even more like the curse of a shade, the madness and irony of it all written in her eyes. “There are too many hidden betrayals in this game with your life on their price tag. There’ll come a day where you’ll have to choose, and you’ll betray Song Hanzhang. No. He’ll abandon you before that. He’s that kind of…”

With a bang, a bullet pierced through Zhou Yuxiu’s forehead, cutting her words short. The force of the bullet pushed her backwards until slowly, she fell over the railing of the roof.

Her falling body was like the slow motion scene of a movie. Lin Jue could clearly see that mocking smile on her ruined face, so clear that it stung his eyes.

He stayed in that shooting position and slowly lowered his arms.

The wind from the bloody night brushed past his face, covered in the smell of rust.

Lin Jue stood still for a while before picking up the two revolvers serving as the Russian Roulette from the ground, one bullet in each.

It was just like what Zhou Yuxiu had said.

He fell silent for a moment before he suddenly laughed at himself.

Compared to him, Zhou Yuxiu really was a good person.

Yes, he felt sympathy, yes, he felt guilt, but he did not feel regret.

Pushing the bullets back into the half-used up gun and slinging the wooden pole over his back, Lin Jue placed his hand onto the metal door of the roof.

Whether it was killing people or zombies, there really wasn’t much of a difference- in the end, both would die.

He didn’t do anything wrong, he didn’t.

***

Heavy footsteps resounded in the narrow stairwell as it went endlessly down level by level.

Lin Jue suddenly paused.

He had walked at least ten levels but as he looked down, it appeared as if there was still no end to them.

Where was this heading to?

The safety sign on the wall emitted an eerie green light, shading the entire stairwell in a cold palette.

A sourceless wind rose up, freezing his ankles.

Just what was underneath?

Lin Jue looked down over the handles only to see more stairs, gradually fading into the darkness.

The thought suddenly popped into his head that if he just kept walking like this, maybe he would walk all the way to hell. No, he was already in hell, somewhere that was even more fearful than that.

No longer hesitating, he walked straight down, levels after levels of stairs repeating themselves, the taps of footsteps echoing in the stairwell with a strange sense of rhythm.

Finally, the endless stairs vanished, but it was no longer aboveground, the moon having disappeared from the high window of the stairwell at some point.

The iciness of a storage room surrounded him, rushing in through every little pore and crevice in his body, like a parasite squirming under his skin.

An ordinary wooden door showed itself to Lin Jue, the doorplate reading ‘6/13’.

There was a line of small letters underneath the tablet, glimmering with the special shine of metal.

“The lucky traveler who will soon leave the maze, place your card on the seat that belongs to you. The undead is reluctant to see you depart; if there are no sacrifices, there will be no peace. Remember to feed the poisoned apple to the extra friend and bring either fortune or misfortune, the choice will be yours.”

Lin Jue held the gun in one hand, the other holding onto the door handle and gently twisting. His eyelids suddenly jumped without warning1.

The next second, a gush of cold wind blew out from within and a sudden pain erupted from his forehead. Lin Jue stood unmovingly as something cold pierced through his skull and into his brain, a warm liquid slowly pouring out, the pungent smell of blood filling his nostrils. He tasted the blood in his mouth, bitter like rust.

In that dimly-lit room, there was a familiar figure.

“I’m sorry.”

Through the mist, Lin Jue heard an apology.

Just like what he had said to Zhou Yuxiu.

I’m sorry.

***

Vera’s Notes:

Oh boy was that an omen and a half! Don’t worry, it doesn’t end here, there’s much more to this series, another 2 entire books in fact! See you all next week to find out what happens in the next chapter of… [Easter Egg Game: Deadly Joker]!

***

1When your eyelids jump, it’s meant to mean that something bad will happen.

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