Paintings of Terror

Chapter 198: The Most Terrifying Aspect of Death Is Powerlessness

Mu Yiran thought for a moment, and said, “Luo Bu’s watch was made of metal and machinery. The lighter could be regarded as a small and simple mechanical combination, but in the painting, it is impossible to identify such complex mechanical properties, so they are directly degraded.”

“Therefore, the watch only retained its ring shape and metal texture, and was reduced to a metal bracelet. After all, a watch can be regarded as a kind of jewelry. The lighter only retains the attribute of lighting, so it is reduced to stone and tinder.”

“It can be seen that the painting will use the time period and the clearance requirements to change the properties of the ‘out-of-time’ items we carry. While keeping them in line with the time period as much as possible, it will also try to retain the original function of the item, unless it must be erased due to customs clearance.”

“But among them, the mobile phone is a relatively special existence. It is composed of electronic components with technologically advanced materials and functions. The ‘painting’ cannot recognize or degrade this, just like in the Human Studies painting that we experience. In that painting, mobile phones took on a bug-like existence.”

“Among all the functions of the mobile phone, lighting is probably the best recognized function. Therefore, in this painting, only this function can be used and is allowed to be used during the day. The appearance and internal components of the mobile phone are probably due to the fact that they had no regressed identification. We are allowed to keep them but their primary function is unuseable. Therefore, they are like scrap metals in our hands.”

“That makes sense.” Ke Xun nodded. Suddenly, the corners of his lips rose. “I have an idea.”

Mu Yiran looked at him, smiled slightly, and said, “You can try it.”

Luo Bu looked at them dully, spit out the handful of dog food that was forcibly stuffed into his mouth, and asked Wei Dong, “What are they doing?”

Wei Dong also spit out the dog food in his mouth. “Don’t bother asking what they’re doing. Learn from me and just eat dog food quietly. Do you know what this is called? This is called two hearts beating as one. There’s no other words for it. The love of real dog men don’t need to be done with the mouth. With just one glance, they know what the other is thinking. This is faster than copying and pasting.”

Luo Bu understood. With a sigh, he said, “This is love. As a straight man, I am envious.”

Wei Dong hooked one arm around his shoulders. “You have it too. Don’t you especially love your little girlfriend?”

“I love her in general. I have nothing better to do so I just found someone to play with.” Luo Bu put on the look of “I don’t care too much and it’s actually a little bit annoying.”

Wei Dong slapped his head. “Stop talking about it like it’s cheap. This single dog is no match for those two big guys and no match for you! Especially compared to this Ke person, who has been bent since childhood.”

Everyone could see how much this rich second generation actually loved his girlfriend.

In the illusion last night, some couples fell into suspicion, some broke up decisively, some showed their true feelings, and some showed that their “hearts are linked as one, and words need not be spoken.”

The green and heavy sea was surging with pale waves. Standing on the side of the ship, looking down, it was difficult to see beyond the waves. The water underneath seemed very muddy, like a pile of thick and greasy, lifeless dirt.

Everyone admired Fang Fei’s courage. Under such seawater, who knew what terrifying or disgusting things were hidden. Yet, she courageously bounded herself with a long rope and jumped down without hesitation.

Yu Long’ face was sullen, but he dived into the deep green water with her.

Qin Ci, Mu Yiran, Ke Xun, and Luo Bu stood by the ship’s gunwales, ready to pull the two people up from the sea and rescue them if the situation turns bad. Meanwhile, the others continued to check the cabins for clues.

Luo Bu looked at the water below and couldn’t help asking Ke Xun, “Brother, do you think that Li Yi’s body is still in the sea? Will they see him in there?”

“Maybe.” Ke Xun also looked at the sea, “If this sea is just ordinary sea water.”

“In ordinary sea water, Li Yi’s body will surface in about ten hours,” Qin Ci said next to him, “But I don’t think this is ordinary seawater. For people like Fang Fei and Yu Long that are good with water, it wouldn’t be a problem to fall into the sea in the middle of the night. They would just need to wait for dawn to be rescued. But once you are selected by death in the painting, there’s no chance of survival. Therefore, once we fall into the sea, what we will encounter will probably be more than just drowning.”

“Uncle, don’t scare me, especially when I wasn’t even asking.” Luo Er quickly stepped back and left the ship’s side.

Qin Ci: “…”

Why was Ke Xun the brother and he the uncle…

Fortunately, Fang Fei and Yu Long didn’t encounter any terrible things in the sea. They dived several times and came back up several times for air. When noon arrived, they were dragged back up to the ship.

“We haven’t checked everything,” Yu Long said through heavy breathing. He took the towel Qin Ci passed over and wiped the water from his head and face. “The visibility underwater was too poor, so it was really difficult to check thoroughly. Even with the phone’s flashlight, it was still very hard to see if there was anything at the bottom of the ship that resembled a seal.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Change your clothes first.” Qin Ci knew that this kind of thing couldn’t be rushed and so he tried to comfort the two courageous newcomers.

“We’ll continue in the afternoon.” Fang Fei didn’t say much, but she was a person of great perseverance and personal conviction.

Yu Long felt helpless about her decision, but he only shook his head and said nothing.

Ke Xun went to the kitchen and saw Xue Ge and Chen Xinai preparing to cook. “Do you need any help?” he asked.

Xue Ge handed him the knife. “You cut the meat.”

Ke Xun took the knife, glanced at the ingredients on the short table, and picked out a few pieces of meat from it. “Roast pork belly. We can add in a cold dish, a hot dish, and a fruit platter. We can also make meatball soup with some vegetable rice balls. This’ll be living.”

The room went quiet. When he looked up, he saw Xue Ge and Chen Xinai looking at him silently. He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Have you never seen a man who knows how to cook before?”

“I have never seen a man who lives so exquisitely until he dies,” Xue Ge said. “You can even cook meat as much as you like and make four dishes and one soup.”

“I can’t let my boyfriend suffer.” Ke Xun began to slice the pork belly. “I don’t know if I will be able to live through tomorrow. I have to eat and drink and be comfortable before I die. After experiencing a few paintings, your mentality will become as calm as mine.”

Chen Xinai’s eyes became a little complicated when she heard these words. She lowered her head and began to fiddle with the things in her hands.

But Xue Ge smiled, and there was a hint of temperature in her always cold voice. “It makes sense. Unfortunately, I won’t have the opportunity to experience a few more paintings.”

“Don’t give up hope, beauty.” Ke Xun didn’t persuade her too much. Dispensing spiritual chicken soup wouldn’t work well in the painting.

Xue Gue smiled again. “Even if I don’t enter the painting, I won’t be able to live more than a few months. I have leukemia.”

After she said this, she stared at Ke Xun, waiting for him to look surprised or sympathetic like everyone else when they heard about her condition, looking at her like she was already a dead person.

But he didn’t. He merely concentrated on cutting the meat in his hand. Even after she finished speaking the last three words, he didn’t even blink, as if he had heard the words “caught a cold” instead. When he spoke, his words were as casual and natural as before. “How about making leopard fetus? I saw it in the lower deck. You won’t be able to eat this kind of thing outside the painting. In ancient times, the leopard fetus dish was considered a treasured delicacy. Although I don’t know how to make it, I can try. If it comes out tasting bad, we just won’t eat it. How about it?”

This time, Xue Ge laughed. “Leopard fetus? Leopard fetus? Wouldn’t that be too cruel?”

“Being uncultured really is terrible. Leopard fetus is actually the placenta of the leopard, not an actual fetus, okay?” Ke Xun said. “It’s not cruel. Anyway, this is the painting. Maybe what you eat in your belly may not be the real thing. It might just be paint or paper.”

“I don’t want to eat. The more you talk about it, the more I’m losing my appetite.” Xue Ge’s voice finally had a bit of vitality.

She hated being treated like a dead person while she was still alive. She would rather be treated like normal before she died.

The cruelest part about dying wasn’t just impending death. It was that people sympathized and pitied her, but could not help in any way, so she was full of her own despair and resentment as she slowly died.

She felt that Ke Xun’s emotions were somewhat more comfortable.

He looked carefree, but in fact, he was more sensitive and thoughtful than others.

In contrast, Chen Xinai was absent minded. After darting glances at Ke Xun a few times, she finally gritted her teeth and walked over to him. While choosing the ingredients, she asked in a low voice, “In your illusion last night, who was the one talking to you?”

Ke Xun looked at her and replied, “My boyfriend.”

Chen Xinai’s expression was a little stiff, and she asked, “Then your boyfriend…was it you in his illusion last night?”

“I didn’t ask. If you want to know, ask him yourself,” Ke Xun said.

“Aren’t you curious?” Chen Xinai gave him a strange look. “If you’re not in his illusion, doesn’t that mean the person he loves and trusted the most is someone else?”

“Then the person in your illusion, is it Liu Yanlei?” Ke Xun looked at her from the corners of his eyes.

“Of course it is!” she exclaimed, as if he’d stepped on her foot.

Ke Xun shrugged and said nothing to her.

Chen Xinai frowned, lowered her head and chose a few dishes in silence. Finally, she no longer held back—perhaps because the man next to her had a trustworthy temperament, or maybe he felt reliable. In short, Chen Xinai didn’t know why. She just wanted to tell him the things that she’d been holding in her stomach. “I’ve asked a few people, and the illusions they had last night were, without exceptions, about their favorite person.”

Ke Xun began to chop meat. His brows moved slightly, and he guessed what Chen Xinai meant.

So, since she was now certain that the person who appeared before her boyfriend last night was his favorite person, she began to hesitate more and more about whether this person was her.

Chen Xinai seemed to want to say more, but seeing Mu Yiran walk in through the door, she closed her mouth and walked aside with the food.

Mu Yiran didn’t say anything to Ke Xun, but merely stood by his side, watching him handle the ingredients.

Ke Xun’s hands kept moving, but he crossed his foot with Mu Yiran’s leg, connecting them like human-shaped handcuffs.

Chen Xinai couldn’t stand this wave of dog food. She threw aside the vegetables and left the room. When Ke Xun finished cooking and went outside to call everyone to come and eat, he heard Chen Xinai and Liu Yanlei arguing at the corner of the deck.

As they ate, everyone exchanged information about the outcome of inspecting the hull this morning. The conclusion was that there was no gain.

“Then, we have to discuss the matter of who will light the rhinoceros horn tonight,” Shao Ling said.

“It can do it.” Ke Xun took out his phone and put it on the low table.

The newcomers looked confused, but the veteran members were full of tacit understanding. They all said in unison, “Let’s try it!”