20demayo Chapter 13: The Cellar
Chapter 13: The Cellar
"Uncle Li, I'm here."
Xiao Zhou called out to Li Yang, who noticed the two people in the bedroom and was quite surprised. "How did you find this place?"
"We'll follow the tire tracks eastward until we reach this point," Zhang Ze replied. "It seems this little cabin, like the tree hollow, is a starting point for newcomers."
Li Yang nodded. "That's right. My memories begin in this little cabin. Before that, I lost all my memories."
"Old Zhou and I originally planned to inspect these two spawn points so that we could lend a hand to the newcomers when they enter the world behind the gate."
Zhang Ze glanced at the bathroom in the cabin.
Since Li Yang initially entered the world of the painting from here, it means that one of the entrances to the door is in the bathroom.
Have you checked this area?
"No, this place is dirty and smelly, why would I need to inspect it?" Li Yang said, puzzled.
Zhang Ze did not answer him.
Instead, we went into the bathroom, which was very small. It contained a toilet, a shower head, and an upside-down wooden bathtub. If there was anything else, it was a toilet stand in the corner.
Zhang Ze ignored places like toilets, shower heads, and water pipes, and focused his inspection on the more spacious areas.
For example, walls, mirrors, window paper, and even the cabinets in the washbasin area.
The result was nothing.
Li Yang looked completely bewildered throughout.
I don't know what Zhang Ze is looking for.
Zhang Ze finally turned his gaze to the overturned wooden bathtub. Compared with the rest of the bathroom, this bathtub was the most suspicious item and the only one that had not been inspected.
If Zhang Ze can't find what he wants inside, it means he guessed wrong.
Zhang Ze flipped the bathtub over and positioned it so that the light could reach the bottom.
At the bottom of the bathtub, you can see several rows of dense engravings, like words carved in little by little with a knife.
"My name is Lin Wan. I've been in this hellish place for a day now. Thanks to a senior's reminder, I know that if I die once, I will also die in reality, and all my memories will be erased, except for the memories that started from the world in the painting."
"I'm very lucky to have survived to this day and still retain my memories, but I feel like I don't have long to live. The crows are appearing more and more frequently, and I feel like something is watching me. I have to leave a message behind. If anyone sees this in the future, please remember it. It may be your only hope of survival."
"We all bought paintings by an artist named Lingling. That's right, if you remember, she was the most famous and talented young artist in Hanjiang City. It was her last painting before she died."
"This painting is cursed. There are ghosts in the world. Lingling has become a ghost. We have all been captured and become her objects of torture. She will keep our numbers fixed at four and launch an endless hunt until new people join."
"At first, I didn't know how to leave, but a senior told me that among the first few wealthy people who entered the world of the painting, one person found a way to leave."
"Perhaps Lingling's hand was cut off, or for some other reason, her control over the world in the painting was not complete. This gave that senior an opportunity to create a cellar hidden deep in the forest and leave the world in the painting through the cellar."
"Little Bear, that dwarf, they're all ghosts from the painting. They don't seem to harm living people, but they do attack crows. Don't stay near them for too long, or Lingling will come after you personally."
"My hands are numb from writing this. Remember this cellar. I'm going to find it now. If I can get out alive, I'll report the truth about this painting through the media. Good luck, please make sure you survive."
After reading these lines, Zhang Ze had a general idea of what was going on.
I showed it to Li Yang.
Li Yang looked shocked. "I was resurrected here, and I didn't even know there was a passage here."
How did you know?
"I guessed," Zhang Ze said. "If someone was careful enough to know that memories could be erased, they would definitely tell the next person to record the information in advance."
I saw Li Yang come back to life from the bathroom.
He then realized that if someone wanted to leave a message for his amnesiac self, or for someone who came after him, they would definitely leave the message in a place where everyone could find it.
As for where it is, it's a place that everyone can find.
Naturally, it's the respawn point.
So he searched around with a try-it-and-see attitude, and actually found some useful information.
"The cellar is the only way out, and I guess this cellar might be some kind of door," Zhang Ze said.
"Are you sure? If this person named Lin Wan successfully left through the cellar, why hasn't the rumor of the cursed ghost painting spread in Hanjiang City?" Li Yang countered.
Zhang Ze: ……
"Dude, are you kidding me?"
"It's out! How come it's not out? Before I entered the world of the painting, the news was already buzzing about it, saying that this painting is a cursed painting and that anyone who buys it will definitely die a tragic accident."
"It's all because of you bunch of idiots. You knew the mountain was haunted, yet you still went there just for the thrill. Now you regret it, don't you?"
After Zhang Ze finished speaking...
Li Yang looked embarrassed.
It really is.
Although he lost his past memories, it didn't mean he lost his personality. He could tell from his personality that he used to be quite wealthy and liked collecting all sorts of supernatural and ghostly items.
He's like those rich kids in horror movies who won't die if they don't court death.
"No matter what, the chances of the door opening in those short ten seconds or so after the newcomers enter the world of the painting are too slim. We need to find this cellar."
"Take Xiao Zhou with you, find the cellar and send him away. I'll distract Lingling."
Zhang Ze said.
Upon hearing this, Li Yang took another look at the young man in front of him and was immediately filled with emotion.
They are all the same age.
Zhang Ze was actually willing to rescue Xiao Zhou.
If it were someone else, upon hearing that the cellar was the only exit, they would be eager to use it secretly for themselves, and would never give up their precious chance of escape to someone else.
Especially Zhang Ze.
He actually said he was willing to act as bait to lure Lingling away.
What a magnanimous spirit!
Li Yang was impressed by Zhang Ze.
Little did they know, Zhang Ze was secretly planning something else.
"Lingling... Okay, we know the ghost's name now."
"If you're going to learn Chen Ge's persuasive style, it would be too fake if you couldn't even remember the names of ghosts."
"Knowing the ghost's name, plus Boss Chen's unique combination of warm-hearted charm, should be enough to convince Lingling."
Zhang Ze entered the world within the painting, naturally not to escape.
He was trying to complete the system task and conquer this scene with a screaming index of 2 stars.
The reason he didn't go all out as soon as they met was twofold: firstly, too many people would make things too complicated and ineffective; secondly, he knew too little about Lingling, only her background, and didn't even know her name, which showed a lack of respect for her.
Everything is ready now.
Zhang Zelian had already mentally prepared his speech.
"I didn't come here to harm you..."
"I understand your pain..."
"To help you get through this..."
He refused to believe that Boss Chen's combination of warm-hearted tactics, which had won over Xu Yin and Zhang Ya, couldn't handle a mere Lingling.