With the previous checkpoint as the boundary, the city was a lush green expanse, while outside it was a desolate wasteland.
Luo Wei's gaze remained fixed on the large suitcase, somewhat incredulous: "You've already moved the beasts? When did you do that?"
"Sorry for keeping it from you. You're friends with those people, and telling you sooner might have made things worse," Su Benxin said, still sitting on the suitcase. "I started planning this when the Gui Mei hexagram appeared. Luckily, everyone was out and about this morning, so I had a chance to act."
"You didn't watch Xiao Qinxian's video today?"
"I didn't have time. The key to the cold storage room was secretly copied yesterday. Even if I approached it, no one would suspect anything. My current identity is that of a hospital employee and one of the owners of these beasts, so no one will suspect me." Although Su Benxin was somewhat anxious, she patiently explained to Luo Wei, hoping he would fully understand and leave with her.
"How did you get it out?"
"I dressed up as a sanitation worker collecting medical waste, put it in a big bag, and carried it out. Six kilograms wasn't heavy; I could even lift it." Su Benxin smiled.
"And then you just put these things into a suitcase and left it at a suitcase shop?" Luo Wei felt that if he were to do these things himself, he probably wouldn't have done them so perfectly.
"Building relationships with people isn't difficult. The girls at the suitcase shop were already familiar with me yesterday; a few boxes of super moisturizing cream from the hospital pharmacy were enough to win them over." Su Benxin was dismissive of these claims.
Luo Wei looked at the woman before him, pressing his hand to the painful spot on his heart, as if it could alleviate some of the pain. "You seem shrewd, but you're actually muddle-headed. Neither inside nor outside the city is our final destination. Our goal is to find the signature and then leave this painting."
"Yesterday, Sister Lin already checked the list of people on the computer for me, and Yu Bei Kingdom wasn't on it at all. They're searching for it now using the map, which is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Chu Zhiyong wants the delivery to be made tonight, which means more people will die tonight. Who knows if it will be you or me?" Su Benxin's tone finally softened.
"..."
"Besides, who knows if the name Yu Bei Kingdom is inside or outside Heart City! Anyway, this is all part of the world within the painting!" Su Benxin gently placed her hand on Luo Wei's chest. "My heart is already aching unbearably. We can't wait any longer. Even if the beast doesn't come out, we'll die from the pain of losing our hearts."
"The pain of losing our hearts? Why do our hearts hurt?" Luo Wei couldn't understand.
Su Benxin's bright eyes were fixed on Luo Wei: "Because we are outsiders to Heart City, we don't belong here. Why can we see everything here clearly? Why aren't we confined here? Why are we never addicted to this place?
Because our hearts aren't here at all.
Our hearts aren't in this city."
These words were heavier with each sentence, striking Luo Wei's heart like the tolling of bells. Luo Wei murmured to himself, "Our hearts aren't here?"
"Yes, that's the difference between locals and outsiders. The reason Qin Ci and the others lingered in Heart City was because their hearts were bound. It takes a lot of willpower to break free. Because their hearts were lost, they were blinded and even confused in their memories. If it weren't for your reminder, they wouldn't have remembered to look for autographs."
Su Benxin had always been clear-headed, even more so than Luo Wei.
"I desperately want to find the autograph, but we really can't wait any longer. I've already had two heart attacks in the middle of the night, and the third one will probably be the end of me." Su Benxin looked at his "comrade-in-arms." "I doubt your situation is much better."
Luo Wei didn't answer. He had always thought the beast was inside his heart, which was why he felt that discomfort. The pain was getting stronger and stronger, and he even thought the beast was about to burst out of his heart.
Luo Wei hadn't told anyone, because it wouldn't make a difference. It was impossible to surgically remove the heart beforehand; if something went wrong, he would die.
"But once we leave here, we won't be able to come back," Luo Wei said.
"Why did you come back? Maybe the signature is outside the city. We can call Ke Xun and the others and have them come outside the city." Su Benxin continued, "Life and death are predestined. Whether they can get the signature depends on their fate."
"I have a feeling there's something wrong with this," Luo Wei's mind was in turmoil. "At the very least, we should have told them."
"Then we can't leave. No one will agree to us taking 6 kilograms of beasts. This is theft. They are also waiting to use 13 kilograms of beasts to make a deal with Chu Zhiyong. Those beasts are their lives. We've taken their lives. No one will agree to that."
The more Luo Wei thought about these things, the more his heart pounded, each beat feeling like a needle piercing his heart: "Putting everything else aside, these beasts haven't been released from their suffering yet. Their owners were once our partners."
"Stop being a saint! Our lives are in danger, why bother with these dead ghosts?! We didn't kill them!" Su Benxin's patience was also limited. "Luo Wei, once the Gui Mei hexagram appears, our lives will be on a countdown. If you don't leave with me now, you won't make it back to the hospital!"
Luo Wei grabbed the suitcase: "No, I have to call Ke Xun and the others!"
The wind whipped Su Benxin's hair into a clump of black seaweed, and her face was as pale as if it were underwater: "Don't be foolish, you can't take the suitcase from me, and I'm not going to give you a chance to make a call."
At this moment, several burly men walked over from a distance, and the leader even greeted Su Benxin.
"They're in charge of receiving the goods and also escorting us," Su Benxin said. "It's too late to say anything now. The goods are already here. Even if the two of us defect together, we can't beat those big men."
Su Benxin added, "I thought you were a decisive person, but who knew you'd be so indecisive! Anyone in your position would have made a decision earlier than you! Whether it's Wei Dong or Mu Yiran, Zhu Haowen or Ke Xun! How could you be so stupid!"
Luo Wei was still in turmoil, but when he suddenly heard Ke Xun's name, he calmed down immediately: "Give me 10 minutes. There's a phone booth over there. I'll go make a call!"
Su Benxin then said something louder, but Luo Wei couldn't hear her at all. He only wanted to tell his companions about this as soon as possible. They couldn't leave without knowing the situation.
…
At the hospital, in Qin Ci's office.
Everyone had a map and was looking at it. Rather than searching blindly, it was better to define the search area first.
Zhao Yanbao watched Xiao Qinxian's video from the previous night on the computer. She had learned some lip-reading techniques and thought that whatever Xiao Qinxian had said might be helpful.
Suddenly, the phone rang. Ke Xun, closest to the phone, thought it might be news from Luo Wei and answered casually: "Hello, hello, who are you looking for? Is this Luo Wei? Luo Wei!"
Everyone's attention turned to him. Ke Xun, holding the receiver, said, "That's strange. The other person didn't speak, just said 'hello,' and it sounded like Luo Wei."
Zhu Haowen immediately took the receiver, but there was no sound. The other person hadn't hung up, but remained silent.
When Wei Dong picked up the receiver again, a commotion erupted—"Murder! Someone died in the phone booth! Murder!"
Just as everyone was extremely anxious, Zhao Yanbao, who had been staring at the computer screen, suddenly said, "Xiao Qinxian spoke! Although she was in a dazed state, she spoke very clearly!—The words are on her forehead!"
...
It was as if night had fallen early, and everyone felt that this afternoon was dark.
Luo Wei's body was sent to the cold storage room and placed next to Lion.
Su Benxin disappeared.
The first person to react was Mu Yiran: "Are those beasts still there?"
Of course they were gone. Everything could be seen by checking the corridor surveillance, but there was no need for that now.
"Find the autograph. There's no need to look for Chu Zhiyong anymore. Now, the only thing to do is find the autograph." Zhu Haowen said this with his head slightly lowered.
A rhythmic thumping sound continued down the corridor; it was Ke Xun pounding his fist against the wall. Wei Dong, his eyes red, reached out to pull Ke Xun away: "Ke'er, Luo Wei is gone, Ke'er! We promised him that if he couldn't get out, we'd help take care of his mother. The old lady isn't well..."
Ke Xun lowered his head, staring at the corridor floor, which was now a blur—Luo Wei was someone he could call a comrade, a friend, a comrade-in-arms, a friend for life. Even though he had thought about the loss of a friend countless times before, the reality was still devastating.
"I just can't stand Luo Wei dying so inexplicably! We still don't have a single clue! We don't even know how he died!" Ke Xun's expression was twisted beyond recognition as he looked at Wei Dong, who was crying like a fool. All he could see was the scene of Luo Wei coming to find him before he entered the painting.
—Luo Wei, reserved and still carrying a lingering melancholy, entered Ke Xun's house: "Tell me about the circumstances surrounding the first few paintings. It never hurts to know more. I'm new here and don't want to hold you back." Luo
Wei, you didn't hold me back. Just as Ke Xun felt everything around him grow cold and bitter, a wave of warmth enveloped him. Mu Yiran pulled Ke Xun tightly into his arms, the strength astonishing, yet his voice incredibly low and soft: "What we can do is get out of here as soon as possible, help Luo Wei take care of his mother, and handle Luo Wei's funeral arrangements for the old lady. Luo Wei said that
if something happened, he wanted to buy a burial plot next to Li Yaqing's so they could keep each other company."