Paintings of Terror

Chapter 175: Rain

The pufferfish was still alive, still constantly emitting deep panting sounds.

But the story of its host, Lion, had come to a dead end.

No one knew about the issue that had accumulated into the beast, and no one knew exactly what Lion was so angry about.

The cruel reality was that what people wanted to know most was how Lion, who previously had a clean forehead, could grow such a bright red beast mark overnight, allowing this pufferfish to quickly mature and break out of its cocoon.

Wei Dong subconsciously touched his neck. “In the case of the sudden growth of a beast, whether it would have the ability to suddenly attack the host…”

The previous assumption was that people who didn’t have beast marks were relatively safe, but now, their existence had suddenly become like ticking time bombs…

At present, except for Qin Ci, who was performing surgery, and Xiao Qinxian, who was undergoing treatment, the rest of the group were all concentrated in the hallway outside the operating room.

“The call that Luo Wei received was very important,” Mu Yiran said.

Luo Wei had just briefly told everyone about the phone call last night, and they all agreed that this strange “telephone spoiler” was terrifying.

Luo Wei obviously hadn’t slept well, for there were large, dark circles on his thin face. “The call Xiao Qinxian received the night before was also an unclear male voice, and it mentioned a key word: left hand. It should be alluding to Zhi Chun’s incident, specifically about that snail-like beast that was parasitizing Zhi Chun’s left wrist.”

Everyone thought about it and couldn’t guess who could be calling. Zhu Haowen had the most imagination. “Could it be that this call was from the beast itself?”

Su Benxin heard this and her face turned pale with fright. “How is that possible? The beast should be in the body of the deceased, how is it possible for it to make a call?”

Zhu Haowen said, “This is the painting. Anything can happen as long as it meets the author’s creative inspiration.”

Su Benxin nodded thoughtfully. “I was just thinking, it was Xiao Qinxian who received the call the night before yesterday, and Luo Wei who received the call last night. Is it possible that each of us will receive such a call?”

“I don’t know why, but from the moment the phone rang, except for the person who answered the phone, everyone else was blocked,” Luo Wei said with a cold expression. “In the call to Xiao Qinxian the night before yesterday, none of us heard the phone ring. Last night, I was the only who could hear the phone call.”

“But, what is the caller’s purpose?” Zhao Yanbao also joined in the discussion. “Regardless of whether the caller is a man or a beast, there has to be a purpose. Why did he take the initiative to notify us? Since he decided to notify us, why did he block it from others? Is it only for the person who answered the phone, and only that person can hear and no one else?”

“There is really no reason to keep secrets among us members.” Zhao Yanbao continued to think, and looking at the other members, said, “I am thinking now that this phone call is so secretive and vague, could it be that the person called on his own initiative?”

“What do you mean?” Zhu Haowen asked.

“It’s like an information leak,” Zhao Yanbao expressed her thoughts.

Su Benxin thought for a while, then frowned and said, “It seems that it can only be explained like this. Otherwise, it’s impossible to explain the other party’s purpose.”

Zhao Yanbao continued to speculate, “But it’s really difficult to guess who this person is exactly? Is it the painting itself or someone in this world?”

“Maybe all of this is a loophole.” Su Benxin shrugged. “Because this matter is too random and irregular, I can’t help but make this kind of speculation.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Ke Xun said abruptly. “This kind of phone whistleblowing behavior is too similar to Luo Wei’s ability to see red marks. And what you mentioned just now regarding the shielding, the rest of us also can’t see red marks. So, isn’t this also equivalent to a kind of shielding as well?”

These two things were indeed surprisingly similar, very much like the deliberate actions of some behind-the-scenes figure.

Zhu Haowen nodded. “That is the most reasonable explanation.”

“But…” Su Benxin wanted to say something, but couldn’t think of what to say after a while.

However, Mu Yiran followed Su Benxin’s words and continued, “However, why is only a part of this information leaked? Two people died the night before last, but the phone call to Xiao Qinxian only mentioned the left hand. Of course, this doesn’t rule out the possibility that Xian Qinxian might not have heard the entire thing because she hung up too early. But last night, Luo Wei was on the phone and he accurately heard the statement about the trachea, then something happened to Lion.”

“I think that if the person continues to listen to these two calls, there may be other contents.” Su Benxin thought seriously and said, “Maybe the next message would be about the other person that would be killed, but we can’t hear all of the contents due to various reasons.”

This explanation was also reasonable.

Su Benxin added, “There’s still my original question. From this perspective, will each of us have the opportunity to receive such a call? What preparations should we make for the next time one of us receives this call?”

Zhao Yanbao was more stubborn. “This question has returned to the original point. If everyone may receive such a call, then there is no need to set up a shield. Why not just disclose the information to all of us?”

“…..” Su Benxin bit her lip and nodded slowly. “Yanbao is right.”

Zhao Yanbao continued, “If this speculation is rejected, then the person selected for this call must be someone within a certain range. Currently, Xiao Qinxian and Luo Wei were the only two who had received the call. What do they have in common? If we could figure this out, maybe we can infer who would answer the phone next?”

The others nodded secretly, thinking that this statement was on point.

“These two people really have nothing in common.” Wei Dong racked his brains to think. “Xiao Qinxian, even the position of her beast mark is different from everyone else…Also, Xiao Qinxian doesn’t even like Luo Wei. So maybe it’s based on opposites instead?”

Luo Wei smiled bitterly and said, “I have a very obvious characteristic, and that is my status as an outsider, which sets me apart from everyone else. Because I’m an outsider, I can see the red marks on everyone’s forehead, and because I’m an outsider, I received such a call. If we explain it like this, it makes sense. But with Xiao Qinxian mixed in, it makes it much harder to figure out.”

“Also, the location of Xiao Qinxian’s beast mark is a mystery,” Mu Yiran said. “I have already looked through the relevant information yesterday, and of all the beast marks recorded in the history of Heart City, there has never been one that is not on the forehead.”

“What is Xiao Qinxian’s mark? Could it be that it’s not actually a beast mark?” Wei Dong felt that this was beyond the scope of his IQ.

Mu Yiran listened to him but didn’t say anything more.

“I think we can consider it from another angle. At present, this speculation has reached a dead end,” Su Benxin said. “We need to guess who might be the person to answer the phone next. Then maybe we can prevent problems before they happen.”

“Excuse me. You can go ahead and talk first.” Mu Yiran seemed to be going to the bathroom.

Ke Xun thought about it and decided to follow.

In the bathroom, Ke Xun asked, “When we first arrived at the hospital, I saw that you were whispering to the nurse?”

“I asked the nurse to pass a message to Dr. Qin. Xiao Qinxian needs a more detailed examination,” Mu Yiran said.

“About that red tear mole?”

“It’s not exactly that. According to Luo Wei’s remarks and what we saw previously, there seems to be a problem with Xiao Qinxian. I don’t know if she has a split personality or what.”

It was a strange phenomenon in itself that a woman who could smoke a whole pack of cigarettes at night would not smoke at all during the day.

“Furthermore, this woman’s eyes and personality are also inconsistent with the daytime.” Mu Yiran recalled Xiao Qinxian’s behavior from last night. “Although Xiao Qinxian in the daytime is not likeable, she is not indifferent nor is she hysterical.”

Hearing Mu Yiran put it this way, Ke Xun also felt that this was true. “Is she schizophrenic?”

“It shouldn’t be that simple,” Mu Yiran said. He took out a key from his pocket and added, “Let’s go to Qin Ci’s room first and take a look around.”

“….” Ke Xun didn’t know what expression to make for a while. “Damn big boss, when did you get a hold of Dr. Qin’s key? When did you get this ability…”

Mu Yiran said, with black lines on his face, “The nurse gave it to me earlier, saying that before entering the operating room, Dr. Qin told her to give us the key so that we can take a look at the scene of the incident.”

“Oh, that’s right. We’re still part of the Criminal Investigation Department, and that makes us criminal investigators. We need to take a look.”

Once they left the bathroom, they turned a corner. Following the information the nurse had provided, they took the elevator directly to Qin Ci’s bedroom.

After opening the door, Ke Xun subconsciously felt the wall for the light switch, because the room was really dark.

“Since things happened so suddenly, the room is probably in the same state it was in last night.” Mu Yiran walked to the window and opened the heavy curtains.

Under the morning light, they were able to see the entirety of the dormitory. There were two beds in the room, with the bedding unfolded, as if its occupants had just abruptly left.

“This should be Qin Ci’s bed.” Ke Xun looked at the medical books beside the bed and then looked at the slippers beside the other bed. These two slippers wouldn’t never again see their owner in this lifetime. “That should be Ju Yi’s bed.”

Looking at the room now, they could see what happened last night. Yu Ji suddenly fell ill with pain. After waking up, Qin Ci hurriedly tried to give first aid, only to find that he was unable to do anything at all, and so he immediately called for someone.

Mu Yiran gently lifted Yu Ji’s comforter. “There’s some blood on the pillow. Su Benxin said that Yu Ji’s internal organs were bleeding, so Ju Yi may have vomited out blood.”

Ke Xun frowned and walked over. He picked up the corner of the pillow and moved it aside. Then, as if he’d found something, he moved his body closer to the bed and pulled the comforter to the side.

Mu Yiran also frowned and stepped forward to help Ke Xun move the bedding out of the way, exposing the entire wall.

There was a blood-red word written on the wall: Rain.