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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 13: Lin Field's Terror
Fang Huai'an's call was like a death warrant, igniting the fuse of desperation within me.
The "Feast at Hongmen" was set for eight-thirty tomorrow morning... I had to act before then! I needed to find something that would not only allow me to survive but also turn the tables on those bastards!
Lin Field. That abandoned Lin Field, marked with a red cross. The only clue left by Old Wang, my last hope, and possibly a one-way ticket to hell.
I had no time to hesitate or be afraid. A near-manic exhilaration replaced my previous fear, adrenaline coursing through my veins, sharpening my mind and making me reckless.
The sky was still dimly lit, but I had to set off immediately.
How should I go? The car from the beginning? No, too conspicuous and surely traceable. A taxi? In such a small Luoshui County, the taxi drivers probably knew the police station too well, making it even easier to expose myself.
The only option was the most primitive and inconspicuous method—by bicycle!
Behind the guesthouse was a shed with several dusty old bicycles, likely left by staff or previous guests. I sneaked over and picked one that looked rideable. The chain was a bit rusty, and the tires were flat, but I couldn't afford to be picky. I found a pump and struggled to inflate the tires.
After hiding the cloth bag containing the film and sketch, I hopped on the bike and sped out of the guesthouse's alley like a gust of wind.
The streets were still quiet in the early morning. I kept my head down, following the route I had studied yesterday, trying to avoid main roads and areas with potential surveillance cameras as I pedaled toward the outskirts of town.
The wind howled in my ears, and the cold air filled my lungs, yet it did nothing to cool my inner turmoil and madness. I knew how reckless my actions were, how much they resembled those of a gambler betting everything on one last throw. But I had no other choice.
After riding for about an hour, daylight broke fully, and the outlines of the suburbs became clearer. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and vegetation. Finally, at the end of a fork in the road, I spotted the abandoned ancient tower that appeared on my sketch.
The tower was weathered and overgrown with vines, exuding an air of desolation and eeriness in the morning light.
This was close!
I hid the bicycle in a thicket of dense bushes and pulled out the hastily drawn sketch to carefully discern my direction.
On the sketch, the area marked with a red cross for Lin Field lay to the northwest of the ancient tower; I needed to cross an expanse of wasteland and venture further in.
I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on the cold steel pipe in my pocket, plunging into the waist-high thicket of wild grass.
The grass scratched at my cheeks, and the ground beneath my feet was uneven and pitted. After about twenty minutes of careful navigation, I emerged into a clearing that revealed a sparse grove of trees. The trees appeared to be quite old, but many were dead or had been cut down, leaving only bare stumps behind. The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves and twigs, which crunched loudly underfoot, echoing in the eerie silence of the forest.
This must be the Abandoned Forest Farm.
A foul smell of decay hung in the air, and the surroundings were hauntingly quiet, save for the wind whispering through the treetops, sounding like ghosts murmuring secrets.
My nerves were on high alert; each step was taken with utmost caution. My eyes scanned the area like radar, while my ears strained to catch any unusual sounds. I had an unsettling feeling that countless eyes were watching me from the shadows, ready to pounce at any moment.
The red cross on the map marked a spot next to a structure resembling a "warehouse" or "cabin." I followed a narrow path nearly overrun by wild grass, stepping gingerly as I moved forward.
Finally, deep within Lin Field, I spotted the building.
It was a dilapidated little cabin, half of its roof caved in and its walls rotting away. The windows were nothing but dark holes. Scattered around the cabin were rusty tools and scraps of wood.
This place looked like it had once been a temporary resting spot for lumberjacks but had clearly been abandoned for a long time.
The location marked by the red cross was just behind the cabin, near a denser thicket of trees.
I cautiously approached the cabin, my heart racing. My intuition told me that something extremely important lay buried at the spot marked by the red cross!
I circled around to the back of the cabin. The ground here was relatively flat but still covered with thick layers of leaves. The area marked by the red cross was about several square meters in size.
I examined the ground closely. The leaves here seemed... looser than elsewhere? Moreover, several patches of soil appeared slightly darker than their surroundings, as if they had been recently disturbed?!
My breathing quickened!
I discarded the steel pipe and began to dig through the leaves and loose dirt with my hands. The soil was soft and carried a damp, metallic scent.
After digging about ten centimeters deep, my fingers brushed against something… hard and rough!
It wasn’t a stone!
I felt a surge of excitement as I quickened my digging. Soon, the outline of an irregularly shaped object wrapped in dirt began to emerge!
It looked like… a tattered burlap sack?!
The sack was so corroded by the soil that it was barely recognizable, but I could still make out its original shape. It was bulging, as if something inside was pressing against it.
I held my breath and mustered all my strength to drag the heavy sack out of the ground.
The opening of the sack had rotted away, and I could see that it seemed to be stuffed full of… bones?!
No, not just bones! There were also some… metal and plastic fragments?!
My scalp tingled with shock! A chill shot up from my feet straight to the top of my head!
With trembling hands, I tore open the decayed mouth of the sack.
The contents spilled out, exposed to the morning light.
There were some… animal skeletons! They looked like bones from dogs or some other medium-sized mammals, still caked with dirt and decaying tissue.
But! Mixed in with these animal remains were some… clearly non-animal items!
Several charred and deformed pieces of mobile phone wreckage!
A shattered glass ashtray stained with dark brown smudges!
And… there were also a few broken pieces of hard drive fragments that seemed to have been corroded by strong acid!
These items… had definitely been deliberately destroyed and buried here among the animal remains, an attempt to cover something up!
Destroying phones and hard drives… was meant to eliminate evidence! That bloodstained ashtray… was it a murder weapon?!
This was no simple accidental death! This was murder! And it was a meticulously planned act, aimed at destroying evidence!
Zhou Dahai? Li Guifen? Or is it someone else entirely?!
I widened my eyes, staring at the shocking pile of "garbage" before me, feeling as if all the blood in my body had frozen. The truth... the truth was buried right here! This was more direct and conclusive than any autopsy report or photograph!
If I could just take these things back and hand them over to someone reliable...
Suddenly!
A change occurred!
I was so focused on examining the remains that I completely failed to notice a shadow, like a ghost, silently appearing at the edge of the woods behind me!
It wasn't until a fierce gust of wind rushed past my head that I jolted back to reality!
Not good!
I instinctively threw myself to the side!
"Bang!"
A dull thud erupted where I had just crouched! A thick, muddy stick slammed into the ground, sending dust and fallen leaves flying in all directions!
If I had reacted half a second slower, it would have been my skull that took the hit!
I broke out in a cold sweat, scrambling to my feet while gripping the steel pipe I had thrown down earlier, fearfully looking at my attacker!
It was a man dressed in a dark jacket, wearing a cap and a mask. He was tall, his face obscured, but his eyes glinted with a cold and fierce light beneath the brim of his hat!
He missed his first strike and showed no hesitation as he raised the stick again, lunging toward me with force! His movements were swift and decisive, clearly well-prepared!
Damn! It was an ambush!
Old Wang's arrow was indeed a trap?! Or had I been followed all along?!
Without having time to think, the instinct for survival kicked in, and I raised the steel pipe, swinging it wildly at my opponent!
"Clang!"
The steel pipe collided violently with the wooden stick, producing a piercing sound! The tremendous recoil made my hands go numb, and I nearly lost grip on the pipe!
This person was incredibly strong! I was no match for him at all!
His gaze was icy as he swung the wooden stick again, targeting my head, chest, and other vital areas, striking down relentlessly! Each blow was deadly!
I could only awkwardly dodge and block, maneuvering in the cramped space, narrowly avoiding hits several times! The whoosh of the stick passing by sent chills down my spine!
I knew that if this continued, I wouldn't last long! If I got hit, it would definitely be the end for me!
I had to escape!
Feigning a move, I suddenly turned and sprinted desperately towards the edge of the forest!
"Trying to run?!" The man's low, hoarse roar echoed behind me as his footsteps pursued relentlessly!
I couldn't think of anything else; I poured all my strength into weaving through the trees. Dry branches and thorns continuously tore at my clothes and skin, but I felt no pain! My mind was consumed by a single thought—run! Survive!
Just as I was about to burst out of this Lin Field area and saw the expanse of barren grass ahead, my foot suddenly caught on something!
I didn’t know who had laid a nearly invisible tripwire here!
"Thud!"
I lost my balance and fell hard to the ground! My cheek scraped against the rough surface, burning with pain! The steel pipe flew out of my hand!
Before I could struggle to get up, that dark figure had already caught up to me!
A large foot clad in a hard-soled shoe brutally kicked me in the lower back!
“Ugh!”
The intense pain made me scream, feeling as if my insides were about to shift! I curled up like a shrimp, completely helpless.
The man stood before me, looking down with an icy gaze, as if he were staring at a corpse. He slowly raised the wooden stick in his hand...
It’s over... I’m really going to die this time...
Just as I closed my eyes, preparing to face the final blow of death, a sudden and urgent ringtone pierced through the silence of Lin Field!
It wasn’t my phone!
It was the attacker’s!
His movements froze. He seemed surprised and pulled out his phone to take a look.
Then, his body jolted violently! The hand holding the wooden stick dropped limply!
He answered the call, his tone frantic and incredulous: “What?! Fang... Teacher Fang... he... is dead?!”
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