Chapter 56 - 54: Indirect Killing

Chapter 56: Chapter 54: Indirect Killing

"Piss me off, and I’ll cut you down, you damn fool."

Xie Shaokun said with a ferocious look on his face.

Combined with his recent feat of killing several Mutants, it was quite intimidating.

Everyone was startled.

The bald man regained some of his composure.

Xia Yu couldn’t be bothered with these people. Her gaze flickered as she glanced at the spot where the little boy and girl lay. Recalling the events, she realized that the final spot where they both stopped was the same distance from the *Autumn Mountain Fisherman Painting*.

Roughly three adult paces away.

’In other words, I have to figure something out from more than three paces away.’

She made a mental note and turned her gaze back to the painting.

It was still.

Mountains.

Water.

Trees.

People.

A boat.

It didn’t look like anything had changed, but a closer look revealed that it had changed again.

"Point your flashlights at this painting!"

Xia Yu blurted out.

Xie Shaokun immediately did as she said, while Zhao Xianghe and the others were stunned.

STEP.

Just then, the Disordered Man began to move, his face full of misery.

He looked just like one of those people who bet a huge sum of money on a game, lost, and then walked to the roof.

Instantly, everyone’s attention was fixed on this man; no one did as Xia Yu had said.

The next moment.

"Hm?"

Using the light from Xie Shaokun’s flashlight, Xia Yu discovered a chilling sight: "The people in the painting... they’ve changed!"

One of the fishermen now looked a bit like the little boy!

After the little girl died, she had sensed a change in the painting. And while she hadn’t been able to pinpoint what it was at the time, she had deliberately memorized every detail.

This ability wasn’t an essential skill in the Apocalypse, but Xia Yu had honed it to perfection.

’As a weak person, there were too many people I couldn’t afford to offend, too many monsters I couldn’t defeat, too many... In short, to survive, I had to avoid all danger as much as possible.’

’So I memorized them all, just to avoid them.’

This trained ability was one of the key factors in her survival for ten years in the Apocalypse!

Now, that ability was proving its worth once again.

Looking at the other fisherman now, she saw that his originally rugged face had become somewhat feminine. Xia Yu’s eyes narrowed. ’He looks a bit like the little girl from before?!’

The implications of this discovery were terrifying.

’After all, the little boy and girl were lying on the floor. How could they also be in the painting?’

’An illusion?’

She shook her head.

’I can see through an Illusion Technique of this level without any effort.’

’So, it’s the rules!’

’Does a new rule allow the appearances of the dead to merge into the fishermen’s faces?’

Xia Yu glanced at the little girl and boy on the floor. The way they died was also strange. One moment they were fine, the next they were completely dead.

’No, that’s not right!’

’They weren’t fine the moment before.’

’Their eyes were glazed over, their expressions strange... This...’

’Could it be... their souls?’

’The painting... it stole their souls?’

’And their souls gave life to the fishermen in the painting?’

Xia Yu had a bold theory, and horror washed over her. ’In that case... are the dead really dead?’

’To be able to affect souls... This new rule is terrifying.’

THUD.

Just as she came to this conclusion, the Disordered Man had already fallen to the ground, motionless.

Once again, three paces away from the *Autumn Mountain Fisherman Painting*.

Other than his expression, the manner of his death was identical.

"What are we going to do? At this rate, we’re all going to die!"

"Hurry, think of something! I don’t want to be next, *sob sob*..."

...

The others instantly panicked.

Because, following the pattern, a fourth person would soon be ’lured’ over by the painting and die.

STEP.

As expected, a fourth person began to move.

"My sister."

The bald man went berserk. "She fainted from fear! She never even looked at the painting, so how could she be chosen?"

"Why!"

"WHY!"

His family of four had come here for a day out.

His wife turned into a monster and was killed.

His son died, too.

And now his own little sister was going to die?

NO!!!

*Phew.*

Seeing this, the others all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The danger wasn’t over, but at least they weren’t the ones dying this time.

"Damn you to hell!"

The bald man suddenly grabbed a nearby stool and smashed it violently against the counter.

CRASH.

The counter shattered.

Everyone jumped in fright, and the more timid ones screamed.

Xia Yu’s train of thought was broken by the commotion. She frowned and looked over.

The bald man pulled a rusty sword from the shattered counter, hurled it fiercely at the *Autumn Mountain Fisherman Painting*, and roared, "I’ll destroy you! Let’s see you work your evil now!"