Chapter 12: Statue Party (4)
Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
Shu Yushuang secretly made up her mind to find a chance to check out that room.
There must be something crucial hidden inside to complete the mission.
Every resident in this small town seemed to have ulterior motives toward them, the Executors, but they were certainly restricted and could not harm Executors at will.
Connecting it to what happened last night, Shu Yushuang initially guessed that Executors would only be harmed after entering a resident's room.
But she immediately dismissed her own thoughts.
No, that could not be right. If simply entering a resident's room led to death, then where would clues be found?
The people in the hallway gradually dispersed, each returning to their own room.
Only then did Shu Yushuang dare to step out again.
She planned to go downstairs to find the person who had spied on her last night.
Just as she stepped out, the door of a room four or five doors away from hers also opened.
A delicate-looking girl walked out.
She noticed there was someone else in the hallway and instantly became panicked.
But after seeing Shu Yushuang dressed in casual summer clothes, with her arms and legs exposed, the girl visibly relaxed.
The girl smiled shyly at Shu Yushuang. Shu Yushuang just nodded to her and turned and walked downstairs, not intending to talk to the girl.
The girl froze for a few seconds, then jogged a few steps to catch up with Shu Yushuang.
“Hello, you’re an Executor too, right? Can we team up? I’m…”
“Sure, but I might not be much help. This is my first time doing a mission. I don’t have any experience.”
Hearing Shu Yushuang agree, the girl’s tone noticeably brightened.
“That’s fine! It’s my first time too. We can help each other. My name is An Lin. What’s yours?”
"Shu Yushuang."
The two of them walked downstairs together.
When they reached the door, An Lin suddenly stopped and pulled Shu Yushuang back as well.
An Lin asked, “Did you go out yesterday?”
“Yes, why?”
“You’re so brave,” An Lin said, looking at Shu Yushuang with admiration. “Weren’t you afraid of those people outside?”
“You can’t just stay in your room because you’re scared, right? If we never go out, what would we eat? How would we complete the first mission?”
“Even though that’s true, you’re still really brave…”
Shu Yushuang nodded and silently accepted the compliment.
As soon as the two of them walked out of the door, An Lin screamed and hid behind Shu Yushuang.
Shu Yushuang was startled, thinking something terrible had appeared outside.
But when she looked around, not only did she not see anything scary, but even the weird look from last night disappeared.
Pedestrians on the road came and went in a hurry, and no one glanced at them.
Shu Yushuang asked helplessly: "What's wrong?"
"L...look, in their...hands, is that...skin?"
"It's the currency here."
"How do you know?"
"I came out yesterday, have you forgotten?"
An Lin carefully poked half of her head out from behind Shu Yushuang.
She saw a man hand two pieces of skin to another man and take half a bag of apples from his hand.
An Lin asked Shu Yushuang: "Do you think that is human skin?"
"Human skin?"
Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
Shu Yushuang took out the wallet that did not belong to her and pulled out a few pieces of skin to examine them closely.
“Ah!”
An Lin let out another startled cry. This time, she jumped to the side, putting some distance between herself and Shu Yushuang.
Shu Yushuang asked in confusion, “What’s wrong with you now?”
“You… why… why do you have the currency from here? Don’t tell me you’re…”
Shu Yushuang felt helpless again. This temporary companion did not seem very reliable.
She sighed softly, her patience already worn thin. “Last night when I came out, I realized my wallet was gone and had turned into this. I am indeed an Executor. If you don’t believe me, we can part ways here.”
With that, Shu Yushuang strode off to the left.
An Lin hurriedly followed after her. “No, I didn’t mean I don’t believe you. By the way, do you think this is human skin?”
“I don’t know.”
“…”
Shu Yushuang suddenly stopped and looked at the other side of the road.
An Lin followed her gaze and saw a person using a leash to secure a large stone, slowly dragging it forward. The stone, of course, had been carved into the shape of a dog.
An Lin clicked her tongue in wonder. “Walking a stone? The people in this city sure have unique hobbies.”
"There are no other animals here, this skin..."
Shu Yushuang's focus was obviously completely different from An Lin's. She looked down at the skin in her hands and felt a little nauseous.
An Lin then realized and asked, “So, this is human skin?”
Shu Yushuang didn’t reply. She simply stuffed the pieces of skin back into the wallet.
There was one thing she couldn’t understand: the residents of the small town could use Executors’ skin to become “normal,” which meant human skin was quite valuable and rare to them.
Where could they possibly have extra human skin to turn into currency?
If the currency was really made of human skin, why would the residents of the small town be so kind as to give it to the Executors?
Shu Yushuang's mind was in chaos.
All the information known so far seemed completely unrelated to the first mission.
The only possible breakthrough seemed to be the man who had been spying on her last night.
Shu Yushuang asked An Lin, “Did anyone sneakily watch you from the window last night?”
“No… I don’t think so. That’s the third floor, so high up. How could anyone be watching me from the window?”
Shu Yushuang suddenly felt like her question was pointless.
An Lin was really just a complete beginner. She had no sense of guard at all.
Shu Yushuang walked to the area directly below her room, where there was a small stall selling fried noodles.
However, it was daytime, and the stall owner wasn't there. Only a signboard and a few sets of tables and chairs remained.
Shu Yushuang approached the tables and chairs and found a large pool of blood on one of the tables.
The bloodstains stretched all the way to the building ahead.
It seemed that the man from last night was now in that building.
Shu Yushuang walked toward that building with large steps, while An Lin hurried a few steps, barely managing to keep up with her.
When the two reached the base of the building, An Lin was already out of breath.
"Ha... ha... Why are you walking so fast?"
Shu Yushuang didn’t answer her, but instead, she focused intently on the building in front of them.
Seeing her like this, An Lin's curiosity was piqued. "Is there something in this building?"
"This building might be dangerous. You should go back."
"Dangerous? Is there a clue inside?"
"Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t."
An Lin looked at Shu Yushuang, then at the building in front of them, which didn’t seem to pose any danger.
She gritted her teeth and made up her mind, saying, "I’ll go in with you."
"There will be danger."
"I’m not afraid."
Though she said she wasn’t afraid, An Lin’s voice clearly trembled.
Shu Yushuang noticed An Lin’s fear but said nothing.
She never interfered with others’ decisions, as long as it didn’t affect her.
Shu Yushuang stepped forward into the building. An Lin clearly hadn’t expected her to walk in so fearlessly just after mentioning the danger.
"Wait... wait for me! You said there’s danger inside, shouldn’t we prepare for it first?"
Shu Yushuang glanced at her and asked, "Prepare for what?"
"Like, preparing some weapons..."
Shu Yushuang waved the stone knife in her hand.
"Prepared."
"But... but such a small knife, what good is it?"
Shu Yushuang frowned. "It’s the only weapon I could find in the room. If you’re afraid, just go back."
"I... I..."
An Lin looked at the back of Shu Yushuang, feeling a little hesitant, but she still shook her head.
"No, this is a rare opportunity. I want to go with you."
Shu Yushuang was starting to get impatient. She coldly said, "Since you want to come with me, then don't criticize my actions."
"I understand. Sorry."
Seeing that An Lin was sincere, Shu Yushuang did not say anything more.
The structure of this building was almost identical to the one they had been staying in. As soon as they entered the main door, they came to the stairs.
There were some dried bloodstains on the stairs. Shu Yushuang carefully followed the trail of blood upstairs, and An Lin, imitating her, quietly followed behind.
The trail of blood ended in front of a room on the third floor. Shu Yushuang noticed that this room's door didn't have a peephole, unlike the other rooms, which all had one.
This uniqueness, coupled with the problematic rooms in that building, made Shu Yushuang feel that coming here directly today was indeed a bit hasty.
She slowly walked towards the stairs, signaling An Lin to leave with her.
However, at that moment, the scene that Shu Yushuang had hoped to avoid occurred.
The door slowly opened.
An Lin gently tugged on Shu Yushuang's sleeve and pointed at the room.
Shu Yushuang could only glance in that direction. Although the door was open, there was no one at the entrance, and the inside was pitch dark, with nothing visible.
An Lin whispered, "Should we go in and take a look?"
Shu Yushuang remained silent, instead, she tiptoed toward the room again.
When she reached the doorway, Shu Yushuang stopped.
There were lights in the hallway, but they failed to illuminate this room.
Shu Yushuang still couldn't see anything.
Similarly, she didn't smell the bloodstains at the doorway of this room.
Maybe both of these rooms lacked peepholes just by coincidence?
Shu Yushuang gathered her courage and asked, "Is anyone there?"
No one answered her.
At that moment, An Lin said again, "Shall we go in and take a look?"
"Alright, there's no other way now."
After Shu Yushuang agreed, she was about to step inside when she noticed that An Lin's expression was off.
An Lin's face suddenly twisted into a fanatical and distorted smile. This smile was so familiar; it was exactly like the one from that woman before.
Shu Yushuang immediately became alert.
She now understood that they absolutely could not enter this room.
Shu Yushuang quickly ran toward the exit, but An Lin grabbed her tightly.
"Where are you going? Didn't you say you would come in with me?"
An Lin's strength was terrifying. She forcefully dragged Shu Yushuang, trying to pull her into the room.
Shu Yushuang, someone who had practiced martial arts for years, could not break free from An Lin's grip.
It was then that she noticed An Lin had somehow changed into a long-sleeved shirt and pants.
She immediately grabbed the stone knife and cut through An Lin's sleeve.
The moment her wrist was exposed, An Lin let out a scream and loosened her grip.
Without any hesitation, Shu Yushuang immediately ran toward the exit.
After running out the door, she didn’t even have time to calm down when she saw An Lin walking toward her from another direction.
Shu Yushuang didn’t have time to think about why An Lin was coming from that side. She turned and ran without a second thought. An Lin, confused, shouted from behind, “Why are you running? I was just tying my shoes. When I looked up, you were gone. Why do you run as soon as you see me now?”
Tying shoes?
Shu Yushuang had no memory of that event at all.
So, An Lin must have been switched at that time?
But Shu Yushuang couldn’t be entirely sure. The An Lin in front of her right now might not really be An Lin.
She silently distanced herself from her.
An Lin still wore a confused expression. "Why are you staying so far away from me?"
But Shu Yushuang didn’t answer her question. Instead, she stepped even farther away.
She couldn’t afford to take any chances now.
In the end, Shu Yushuang simply started running, leaving An Lin far behind.
She ran back to her room in one breath.
Looking through the small hole in the window, Shu Yushuang saw An Lin standing there, bewildered, looking completely at a loss.
Could this An Lin be the real one?
After a long time, An Lin finally went back into the building.
A few minutes later, footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Shu Yushuang held her breath, listening warily to the sounds outside the door.
