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Published at 15th of September 2021 06:03:36 PM


Chapter 16

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Chapter 16 – матрёшка 16

Xu RenDong turned his head and saw a vague black mist floating on top of the mass of meat in the fireplace. The black mist gathered and formed at an extremely fast speed, and countless twisted black lines could be vaguely seen in the black mist. The black lines were like a dark graffiti made on a sketch paper by a child with a mental problem.

Of course no one was going to wait for it to take shape. Xu RenDong reacted first and pulled Lian Qiao backwards. Lian Qiao couldn’t help hiccuping but his reaction was quick and both he and Xu RenDong both retreated towards the door.

At the same time, Yuan XueMing also ordered an evacuation. Everyone was happily collecting the boss’ corpse just now but they didn’t expect the boss would cheat death and escape from the corpse in the blink of an eye. Obviously, the rabbit’s current state was more fierce and terrifying than before. After only listening to their heart ping-ponging for a second, the cleaning tools in everyone’s hands fell out one after another and everyone screamed and fled.

Lian Qiao, who had reached the door first, stretched out his hand to push the door  but his expression changed. Xu RenDong asked: “What’s the matter?”

Lian Qiao almost cried : “I can’t open it!”

Xu RenDong made a decisive decision: “Break it down!”

Lian Qiao understood, and quickly yelled out “1-2-3!” The two men rushed the door together. However, the quality of the wooden door, which doesn’t look too strong, was surprisingly good at the moment. No matter how hard the two people tried, the door remained motionless.

Looking closely, there was also a faint black line around the door. It seems that this only exit has been controlled by the black mist and it didn’t want them to run away.

When everyone saw this, their hearts became even more desperate. Looking back at the black line, the outline of a rabbit could be seen. It looked a lot bigger than before and was not about the size of a human adult. Add to that frantically twisting black threads, densely packed like a snake and it was extremely disturbing.

The eyeballs that were smashed into meat sauce just now turned into two black spirals, which were bottomless and were filled with a neurotic morbidity. Those chaotic and dark eyes remind people of the dangerous beasts that are quietly approaching in the dark cave without the fire and light. It was a primitive fear imprinted in the depths of human genes, the fear of the unknown and of darkness.

Everyone was crowded around the door, which was very convenient for the rabbit’s attack. They saw the black mass rush forward and it bit the shoulder of the nearest person with just one bite. It didn’t use much force and easily tore the man’s entire arm from the shoulder joint and swallowed it into his mouth, chewing it like a chicken drumstick.

The man screamed in pain, clutching his broken arm tightly, turning his head to escape. Unexpectedly, the black threads behind him stretched out suddenly, drawing him into the black mist with tentacle-like arms. The dense lines were like maggots, gnawing his flesh and blood quickly. The man screamed again and again but within a few seconds, he had lost all his flesh and blood and had been turned into bones. He fell to the ground with a snap.

The others were shocked to see their companion die tragically in front of them. Yuan XueMing yelled, “Everyone scatter!” Everyone woke up and ran as far as possible from the mass-like dark shape.

Xu RenDong looked around and found that Lian Qiao’s crowbar had fallen not far from the dining table. He was about to pick it up but he didn’t expect that the black rabbit aimed at him at the next target and rushed at him at a speed far beyond that of humans!

Xu RenDong couldn’t dodge but just as he was about to be swallowed by the shadow, a strong force came from behind as Lian Qiao violently pushed him aside. Lian Qiao himself took advantage of this recoil to avoid the black rabbit’s menacing pounce. However, the push at this critical juncture allowed Xu RenDong to avoid the rabbit’s attack but he lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.

He was about to get up when he discovered that the crowbar was just within reach of him. Xu RenDong did not hesitate to reach out and picked up the crowbar. With a backhand throw, he pitched it towards Lian Qiao and yelled: “Lian Qiao!”

The crowbar rotated 360 degrees in the air and as though it were in slow motion, everyone watched it closely holding their breath.

It was unknown if it was Lian Qiao’s quick reaction or if he and Xu RenDong had some kind of tacit understanding. When Xu RenDong called out his name, Lian Qiao immediately raised his land and caught the crowbar steadily.

Joy flashed through Lian Qiao’s expression on his face. He became determined and his hiccups finally ceased. He clenched the crowbar tightly and had just made up his mind to kill the violent black rabbit again when a tightly controlled, pained sound made by Xu RenDong came from beside him.

“Uh!”

It turned out that Xu RenDong threw his weapon just now but failed to escape the second attack by the black rabbit. The group of frantically twisting black threads had climbed up his calves and quickly began to bite his flesh and blood like a maggot attached to his bones. Even the thick winter pants could not prevent the erosion of the black threads and his white, porcelain skin was quickly eaten up, revealing bright red muscles and pale tendons.

Blood poured out like a broken faucet. Xu RenDong was sweating with pain and struggling to move backwards. The black threads wrapped tightly around his calf, moving along with his body, without any intention of letting go. Instead, it followed the calf and spread upward at a terrifying speed.

“Brother RenDong!” Lian Qiao’s eyes were red, and the scream ripped out from his throat. He held the crowbar high and waved it at the black rabbit. At the same time, Yuan XueMing also pulled at Xu RenDong’s upper body, desperately trying to drag him back.

Lian Qiao almost exhausted all his strength and hit the black rabbit hard on the forehead. However, what he didn’t expect was that his hit hit the rabbit’s head accurately but it seemed to be swept away and the crowbar passed directly through the black twisted threads. The reaction force of the crowbar swing was so great that Lian Qiao almost lost his balance and nearly fell directly into the black rabbit.

He staggered a few steps and as soon as he looked up, he saw that Xu RenDong’s calf had been chewed to the point that only bones were left. The picture was so cruel that Lian Qiao almost went mad and struck the rabbit a few more times. It’s a pity that the physical attack has completely lost its effect on the black rabbit right now. No matter how hard he hit, the black lines were like mist, dissipating slightly when the crowbar passed by and soon gathering again without suffering any harm.

“Lian Qiao run!” Xu RenDong had already bit his lips under the severe pain and it was swollen and bleeding. He pushed Yuan XueMing too: “You get out of here, don’t worry about me.”

Yuan XueMing hesitated but Lian Qiao said with a strangled cry: “I won’t!”

In that instant, the black rabbit had completely eaten Xu RenDong’s calf and the black thread was about to reach his knees. Xu RenDong knew that every second counted. Since he couldn’t convince Lian Qiao to leave, he could only think of another way. In an instant, something flashed into his mind like lightning. Xu RenDong cruelly gritted his teeth and said: “Break my leg, hurry up!”

At that moment, Xu RenDong clearly saw tears welling up in Lian Qiao’s eyes. Huge teardrops ran across his cheeks and dropped to the floor.

However, Lian Qiao did not hesitate. He bit his lip, stepped forward and raised the crowbar high.

Bang! 

The metal crowbar hit Xu RenDong’s leg bones heavily. The leg bone has been chewed out of shape and only a layer of translucent fascia is connected. At this time, it was hit hard by a crowbar and broke easily.

Fortunately, the pain nerves were mainly concentrated on the skin and just breaking the leg bones did not cause too much pain. Xu RenDong watched as his left leg was amputated and at the same time felt lighter. Yuan XueMing dragged him away quickly.

Xu RenDong’s half amputated limb couldn’t help dripping blood, leaving long blood stains. The black rabbit lay on the ground, sucking his flesh and blood and even made a sound of swallowing.

Lian Qiao’s eyes were red and he didn’t even look at the black rabbit. He ran straight towards Xu RenDong.

The others scattered, fleeing for their lives. Some raised chairs and madly hammered at the fragile windows. However, the window glass has also been entangled with black thread and had become as solid as a rock. Some panicked and ran up to the second floor and the floor made a thumping sound of running back and forth, but unfortunately they could not find a way to escape and soon ran down again with a desperate expression.

While the black rabbit was still licking the floor greedily, Xu RenDong, supported by Yuan XueMing, stood up with difficulty on one foot. Lian Qiao had already rushed in front of him, bent over and pulled him over his shoulders.

Xu RenDong was shocked: “Lian Qiao, you…” He subconsciously hoped that Lian Qiao would leave him behind and run for his life but Lian Qiao was holding his waist with one hand and his other intact calf with one hand. Xu RenDong felt that his hands were shaking slightly but the three words “just leave me” were useless anyway.

Xu RenDong felt guilty. He felt that he shouldn’t have sustained such a serious injury in front of Lian Qiao, let alone ask Lian Qiao to personally break his leg. He knew very well that this guilt did not stem from his dragging down Lian Qiao but another, very complicated and deep emotion.

The severe pain of a broken leg gave Xu RenDong no time to think about it. He suppressed the pain, gritted his teeth and said to Yuan XueMing: “Go to the basement! There is a skylight in the basement which leads directly to the outside!”

Without saying anything,  Lian Qiao ran towards the stairs while carrying him. Yuan XueMing followed closely and ordered everyone: “Go to the basement!”

Unexpectedly, at this critical juncture, someone asked: “Isn’t the basement door locked? How do we…”

Xu RenDong was about to explain but saw the man had already screamed and was gnawed into his arms by the black rabbit. Xu RenDong knew that there was no time to waste at this time. He immediately took out the key in his arms and shouted: “Lian Qiao!”

Lian Qiao accepted the key with great understanding and at the same time he had already ran to the basement door. His movements were extremely fluid and very quickly he opened the closed door of the basement.

He rushed in carrying Xu RenDong. His eyes quickly fixed on the skylight in the corner. Probably because this window is a bit far from the black rabbit, it has not been affected by the black fog yet. Yuan XueMing also noticed this. He quickly picked up the debris on the ground and slammed it against the skylight.

Clang! 

The sound of glass shattering was extremely harsh but at this time it became everyone’s hope. Everyone swarmed the basement one by one and the two behind were captured by the rabbit, screaming endlessly.

Xu RenDong said: “Find something to step on!”

Lian Qiao looked up at the skylight which was the height of two people: “You go up first!”

Xu RenDong was silent but this silence only lasted for a short while. He quickly said: “Okay.” So Lian Qiao held his waist and let him step on his shoulders. Xu RenDong climbed onto the skylight.

Xu RenDong has only one leg left. The part below the knee of the left leg was empty and only the torn piece of cloth was slowly drifting.

“Is it safe up there?” Lian Qiao held Xu RenDong’s remaining right foot with both hands. He raised his head and the blood from the severed limb dripped onto his face. The warmth was shocking.

Xu RenDong, who climbed out of the skylight, looked around quickly and confirmed that the surrounding snowfields had nothing unusual so he immediately turned around and reached out to Lian Qiao below: “Safe! Grab onto me!”

Lian Qiao had already found something to step onto. With Xu RenDong’s help, he braced with both hands and easily jumped out of the skylight. Then he turned his head and stretched out his arms to his friends: “Quick! Next one!”

Beyond the skylight are two anxious faces looking up but neither of them belonged to Yuan XueMing. Both of them stretched out their hands towards him, like birds waiting to be fed, with the same desperate eagerness. Lian Qiao didn’t know which one to grab first. At the same time, Yuan XueMing’s roar came from deep below: “Hurry up! The door will not hold for long!.”

Lian Qiao’s expression changed: “Brother Yuan is blocking the door?!”

“Yes! He said he will stay behind  and let us go first!” The speaker looked at the partner next to him anxiously and then made a move that no one could have imagined- he pushed the person next to him to the ground and then jumped up. He forcibly held Lian Qiao’s hand, “Hurry up and pull me up!”

Lian Qiao was caught off guard and was almost dragged back into the basement by him. Fortunately, Xu RenDong quickly grabbed him. Lian Qiao was dragged tightly by the man and from this position, Xu Rendong couldn’t pull him up. When the man saw this, he became more anxious, clinging to Lian Qiao’s arm with both hands, using him as a life-saving rope and wanted to climb up over him like this.

Lian Qiao shouted: “Let go first! I’m going to be dragged down by you! You let go first and I will pull you up right away!”

The man was panicked and had lost all his reason. All he could think about was climbing up. But after all, he was physically weak and apart from dragging Lian Qiao down bit by bit, he couldn’t climb up much.

At the same time, the teammate who had just been pushed away suddenly screamed. The man turned his head, not knowing what he saw and his face instantly turned pale.

Xu RenDong and Lian Qiao also changed their expressions: Has the black rabbit come in?! So Yuan XueMing might have already–

“I’m going to fall!” Lian Qiao was almost begging, “Seriously, you let go first and I’ll pull you up right away! You will die like this!”

Xu RenDong used his own body to hold Lian Qiao down firmly. He had lost a leg and the snow beneath him gave him no support. The thick white snow even began to melt in the warm blood and it became slippery. He saw that even half of Lian Qiao’s body was dragged back into the skylight and he yelled anxiously: “Lian Qiao! I can’t hold on much longer!”

Hearing Xu RenDong’s call, Lian Qiao remembered that he was still pressing on him. If he falls, Xu RenDong will definitely be dragged down by him. At this point, Lian Qiao’s expression became fierce and his eyes burst out with a beast-like murderous intent. He yelled at the man below: “You fucking won’t let go? If you don’t let go, I’ll come down and kill you!”

Before the words fell, he heard a scream. Xu RenDong only felt that something became loose and then Lian Qiao pulled his arm back. The killing intent in his eyes was gone and only a deep panic was left. Xu RenDong still didn’t understand what had happened and then he saw tremblingly that attached to Lian Qiao’s arm was a severed hand. It was a wrist that belonged to a man, the broken blood vessels and bones were clearly visible, and the five fingers were still tightly clasped as if he was unwilling to let go of the life-saving straw until he died.

Lian Qiao’s face was pale and he threw the broken wrist on the ground. Then he bent down in silence, put Xu RenDong up on his shoulders again and began to run wildly into the snow.

The screams in the basement had all stopped. Xu RenDong lay on Lian Qiao’s back and said, “They are all dead.”

Not a question, but a statement.

“Yes…only…we are left…” Lian Qiao gasped violently. Just like this, he carried an adult man who was approximately the same height and body shape as him to run in the snow. Even though Lian Qiao was physically strong, he gradually became weak.

Xu RenDong: “En.”

At this time, Lian Qiao didn’t have the ferocious look on his body at all and his expression was as fragile as a newborn baby cat. He sniffed and then said in a crying voice, “Brother RenDong, you…Don’t be afraid, we’ll be fine…”

Xu RenDong was silent. He had already seen a black shadow floating in the snow in the distance. The frantically twisting black lines are particularly eye-catching in the white snow, like a clumsy and crazy children’s painting, like the most primitive fear in the human heart.

Lian Qiao was clearly frightened to death himself and was about to cry but was still comforting him: “Brother RenDong, when we find a hiding spot, I will bandage you right away… It’s okay… I heard Brother Yuan said that when we escape this world, our body will be restored to its original state… You won’t be disabled… Don’t be afraid… We will be fine…” 

The shadow kept approaching.

Xu RenDong listened to Lian Qiao’s unconvincing, even pitiful sound words of comfort and for some reason, he was really not afraid.

Last night’s snow had fallen all night and the snow on the ground was already thick. Lian Qiao carried Xu RenDong and every step he took left deep footprints in the snow. Xu RenDong lay on Lian Qiao’s back, feeling very warm. He looked down at these two rows of footprints and suddenly remembered that when he first came into this world, the first thing he saw was Lian Qiao’s footprints.

At that time, how could he think that he, a big man measuring 1.85 meters, could be carried like a sack and that the other person could still run wildly?

Lian Qiao was like a broken recorder, madly repeating himself : “We will be fine…We will be fine…” 

Xu RenDong listened to Lian Qiao’s violent panting, and his body followed Lian Qiao’s body to move up and down. He suddenly thought this scene was quite interesting but it was a pity that no one would see it except him and Lian Qiao.

Except for him, no one would remember it.

Xu RenDong didn’t feel any regret. He even raised the corner of his mouth slightly, touched Lian Qiao’s hair and said, “You keep running forward, don’t look back.” 

The repetition finally cut off as Lian Qiao screamed: “No!”

Xu RenDong said again: “Don’t be afraid, you’ll be fine, don’t look back.”

Lian Qiao didn’t hear the deep meaning of these words for a while. When he reacted, Xu RenDong pushed him away hard and fell heavily into the snow. Lian Qiao was taken aback and stopped immediately.

Xu RenDong yelled: “Run!”

Lian Qiao turned around. His eyes, which were always smiling with curved brows, were now overflowing with countless complex emotions. Sadness, pain, despair…and anger.

Xu RenDong had no time to think about where the anger was coming from. He shouted again: “Lian Qiao run! Be good!”

Lian Qiao stood still and was motionless. He didn’t leave him to run away. He just stood there, trembling all over, glaring at him with extremely angry eyes.

“Liar!” Lian Qiao shouted with red eyes.

Xu RenDong was scolded inexplicably. He wanted to ask: How am I a liar? But he suddenly felt a chill in the back of his neck. The familiar and terrifying sound of teeth grinding came from the back of his neck. Then, there was a sharp pain in the neck. His skin, muscles, and even cervical spine were all bitten off.

Under this tremendous force, he fell backwards and saw the gray sky and the heavy snow fluttering in the sky. The black twisted lines obscured his vision like dark clouds, and he soon couldn’t feel his face. Only a piece of blood red was seen.

Before the whole world was shrouded in darkness, the last voice he heard was Lian Qiao’s screaming cry ripped from a bloody throat.,

“Didn’t you say that we were going to go out together?! Xu RenDong, you’re a fucking liar!”

***

The author has something to say: 

It’s all the fault of there not being a save point before the boss battle.

***





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