An ominous feeling settled over the group outside the painting. No one ate much; even Yuan Yuan, under Dong Dong's supervision, reluctantly gave up his beloved fries.
Meanwhile, the people inside the painting were still eating voraciously, seemingly trying to cramm every last bit of food into their stomachs. This scene inexplicably reminded Ke Xun of Chihiro's parents in *Spirited Away*, and Chihiro's classic line: "
Don't get too fat, or you'll be killed."
The group outside the painting quietly watched the people inside, wolfing down their food. Although they knew these people weren't real people, in the world of the painting, they were real, living humans. So what difference did it make whether they were inside or outside the painting? It was like the difference between Chinese and foreigners—they were all living beings with flesh and blood. Whether they died inside or outside the painting, it was the demise of a vibrant individual.
"Hey, eat less…aren't you afraid?" Bi Jing, a university student still retaining the innocent kindness of someone untouched by society, couldn't help but offer a word of advice to the people inside the painting.
A figure in the painting, mouthful of fried meat, turned and glared at him fiercely: "Shut up! Don't even think about taking my food! I'll kill you!"
"Young man, don't be so kind. They won't listen. Didn't you see the strange look in their eyes when they look at the food?" Wei Dong said. "They're already sick, like they're on drugs. You can't persuade them."
"Food might be like drugs to them, something they can't quit or resist," Qin Ci said.
"Holy crap, what if we also..." Wei Dong exclaimed in surprise.
"Try to only eat nuts," Ke Xun said. "Find the autograph as soon as possible and leave."
"Where are we supposed to find that?" Yuan Yuan looked up; the wall of this cubicle was too high to climb.
The veteran members remained silent. Based on experience, the signatures wouldn't appear in this completely exposed cubicle, and death was usually inevitable on the first night inside the "painting." However, this time everyone was gathered in the same space, and they didn't know what the selection criteria for death would be. Generally, the "painting" wouldn't wipe everyone out in one night; they just didn't know who would be the unlucky one to be caught on the first night.
The group inside the painting ate for a long time, until their stomachs were bulging, before reluctantly stopping.
But what shocked the people outside the painting the most was that—after eating, those inside the painting started defecating, squatting in the corner, shamelessly relieving themselves in public, directly blinding everyone outside.
"Damn it—" Yuan Yuan screamed, covering his eyes, "Isn't there a public toilet here?!"
"When have you ever seen a toilet provided for pigs in a pigsty?" Dong Dong also closed his eyes in disgust.
"But the room was quite clean when we came in," Qin Ci, who was used to seeing all kinds of patients and medical conditions, remained calm. "That means they clean regularly, so let's just bear with it."
"This is the most disgusting thing I've ever experienced in my life..." Wei Dong pinched his nose and looked up at the sky in despair.
Just as the group was feeling nauseous, they saw the guy in the painting who always had a provocative look on his face swagger over to Mu Yiran's side. He squatted down, looking like he was about to commit adultery, his face turned towards Mu Yiran, and he gave her a provocative smile that said, "What can you do to me?"
Before Mu Yiran could make a move, a figure had already taken a few steps forward, raised a long and powerful leg, and kicked the man in the chest. With a cold "Get lost," the man was instantly sent flying backward, landing awkwardly three or four meters away.
The man struggled to his feet, glaring at Ke Xun like a fighting rooster: "Kid, you're asking for it!"
He lunged forward with clenched fists, but before he could get close, Ke Xun kicked him away with a long leg.
"What are you all standing there for? Attack together!" the man roared, and several people in the painting—except for one or two still holding on—all surged towards Ke Xun menacingly.
"Damn it, you think you can outnumber us?!" Wei Dong had already jumped up, rushing to Ke Xun's side, ready to fight him.
Dong Dong and Yuan Yuan weren't far behind; one tall and strong, the other broad-shouldered and burly, standing side-by-side, they formed an irregular wall of flesh, quite intimidating.
Bi Jing hesitated for a long time, ultimately lacking the courage to step forward, shrinking his small body into a corner, trying to minimize his presence.
Zhu Haowen remained expressionless on the ground.
The figures inside the painting had already rushed towards Ke Xun and his companions, swarming forward and throwing punches and kicks. The alliance of figures outside the painting were not to be outdone; three long and one fat, four legs of varying lengths and colors, black and white, all lashed out simultaneously, creating a cacophony of thuds as flesh collided.
Ke Xun was pressing down on the most arrogant kid, delivering a heavy punch to his face, when he suddenly felt a whoosh of wind behind his head. Turning around, he saw Mu Yiran, a long arm outstretched, gripping the neck of one of the figures inside the painting. In less than two seconds, the man collapsed limply to the ground.
Ke Xun swung his fist away at the kid in his hand, then touched the back of his head, feeling his hair sticking up. He then realized that the kid Mu Yiran had just knocked unconscious had actually tried to ambush him.
Unable to resist turning back to look at Mu Yiran, Ke Xun saw him also staring at him coldly, muttering, "Behind you."
Ke Xun quickly turned back, bracing his arm to block a heavy punch from one of the people in the painting, then throwing a punch that struck the man squarely in the stomach with a loud thud, causing him to open his mouth and vomit.
Ke Xun jumped away, but even so, he was still sprayed on his chest and abdomen, making him wince in disgust. He could still hear Mu Yiran coldly taunting him, "Don't you use your brain when you fight?" "
My brain is full of you, I wouldn't want to use it when I'm fighting." Ke Xun tossed out a cheesy pickup line without turning his head, picked up the unconscious man on the ground, and wiped his chest with the man's wispy hair.
The cells next to them seemed to have heard the commotion, and suddenly everyone was excited, shouting and yelling, some even starting to fight. The whole... prison? farmhouse?... was in complete chaos.
In the cubicle where the people outside the painting were located, the fight didn't last long, quickly ending with the outsiders overwhelming the other side. Surprisingly, Dong Dong and Yuan Yuan were also quite formidable fighters, throwing heavy punches and striking ruthlessly, targeting the most painful spots – clearly indicating a history of delinquency.
The people inside the painting, beaten into submission, huddled in the back of the cubicle, too afraid to utter a sound. The one who had fainted on the ground was thrown over by Ke Xun. The beaten-up guys, bruised and swollen, squatted or sat, occasionally glancing furtively at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran.
These two were the most skilled fighters. Although Mu Yiran had only made one move, he had knocked out a strong man in less than two seconds – a true instant kill.
And that seemingly arrogant young man – his sleek and powerful muscle lines were practically perfect. He possessed incredibly fast reflexes, as well as exceptional flexibility and elasticity, making his movements powerful, swift, and rhythmic. "
We can't beat them, we can't beat them..." the people in the painting thought after being beaten. Even their fighting stances weren't as good as theirs.
"If you keep overestimating yourselves, I'll beat the shit out of you!" Yuan Yuan finished with his usual threats.
"Stop! Don't complain if the smell of shit in this room isn't strong enough?" Wei Dong quickly stopped him.
"I'll beat you until you vomit your bile!" Yuan Yuan corrected.
"...You're actually on their side, aren't you?" Ke Xun asked.
"Damn it, I've been spouting tough talk for twenty years, and you guys are questioning me? If you're so good, you do it, otherwise shut up," Yuan Yuan said.
"Dongzi, you give him a piece of your mind, let him see what a professional is," Ke Xun said.
Wei Dong cleared his throat and glared fiercely at the people inside the painting: "If you keep overestimating yourselves, I'll beat you up!"
Yuan Yuan: "…"
After the storm subsided, the night outside the window was deep, but the people inside the painting didn't seem sleepy at all, still buzzing around, which gave the older members outside the painting a slight feeling, as if the terrifying events that would inevitably happen every night after curfew wouldn't happen here, and they inexplicably found a sense of security in such noise.
"When will the death event you mentioned happen? What kind of death will it be?" Several newcomers huddled around the older members, asking questions incessantly, seemingly no longer believing the knowledge about the painting that Qin Ci had previously explained to them.
"Every painting is different," Qin Ci said patiently. "Some paintings might be chosen at random times and randomly by random people, but some paintings have certain selection rules. We don't know which method this painting will use yet; we can only wait and see, and while we're at it, we must remain vigilant and protect ourselves as much as possible."
"So you mean, only through death can we determine which method it is, right?" Bi Jing keenly sensed the hidden meaning in his words, his gaze sharp as he stared at Qin Ci. However, due to his severe nearsightedness, his supposedly sharp gaze appeared unfocused to everyone else.
"Yes," Qin Ci admitted calmly without hiding anything.
"So all of us are actually your test subjects?!" Bi Jing exclaimed angrily.
"You can't say that," Qin Ci's face was cold and stern, like a doctor's. "Maybe I'll be the first to die, or maybe he will. Nobody can predict these things."
"But you have experience!" Bi Jing said urgently. "You must have ways to avoid this that we don't know about. Are you not telling us so that we die first so you can find a way to avoid it? You're definitely hiding something from us, using us as scapegoats, aren't you?"
"Hey," Ke Xun reached out and covered Bi Jing's head, turning his head to face him so he could see who was speaking. "Little classmate, I'm warning you, don't talk nonsense without evidence. Do you know what the most taboo thing is in a team?"
"What…what is it?" Bi Jing was a little afraid of Ke Xun.
"First, I fear unfounded suspicion; second, I fear someone stirring things up; third, I fear incompetent teammates; fourth, I fear someone like me losing control of my short temper," Ke Xun said calmly, looking at him. "Then let me ask you, which one are you afraid of?"
Bi Jing's face clearly showed the fourth one, and he stammered, "I just… I just want to ask more clearly, otherwise I'm not sure…"
"So, do you think Dr. Qin explained it clearly just now?" Ke Xun asked.
"He explained it clearly, he explained it clearly." Bi Jing wanted to nod repeatedly, but his head was still pressed down in Ke Xun's palm, so he could only blink repeatedly.
"Don't try to wink at me, I have someone I like." Ke Xun released him.
The person he liked suddenly said from the side, "They're here."
Everyone immediately listened intently and heard the sound of hooves pounding the ground coming from the entrance of the farmhouse, slowly and steadily approaching.
Sure enough… it still couldn't escape the rule that someone would die every night?
The sound of hooves came and went, as if the bull had briefly observed each compartment before continuing its march until it stopped in front of the compartment where the people outside the scene were.
A massive bull's head hovered above the compartment, its eyes slightly shifting, observing each person.
Bi Jing, terrified, hid behind Ke Xun, seemingly trying to use Ke Xun's shadow to conceal himself completely.
Finally, the giant b
ull extended a huge hoof, nudged the group a few times, then grabbed one person and dragged him out of the compartment.
It was Yuan Yuan.