Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Song Jianguo
Seeing the ticket in her hand, Zhang Wenda’s eyes flashed with anger.
He realized her target had never been him, but the Special Ability Ticket he was holding.
"You bitch!" Zhang Wenda never stooped to the level of squabbling with kids, but now, he was genuinely pissed.
He kicked off his right foot, lunging toward her with all his might.
As Zhang Wenda closed in, Song Jianguo quickly retreated, darting toward a nearby vegetable patch.
Just as Zhang Wenda was about to catch her, a sharp pain shot through his leg. He glanced down to see a crude Beast Trap, cobbled together from metal scraps, clamped tightly around his right calf from its hiding spot in the grass.
Song Jianguo stood a short distance away, watching him struggle fruitlessly to pry it open. "My apologies," she said smugly. "I’ll be taking the ticket, and I want my weapon back. Hand it over."
Zhang Wenda stood his ground, glaring at her coldly as the rage inside him blazed. "If you’ve got the guts, come take it."
"I know you’re strong. Don’t worry, I’m not going to have a contest of strength with you." Song Jianguo waved the ticket in her hand, circling Zhang Wenda.
"Once my cats take care of those people you brought with you, I can take my time finishing you off." A trace of feral cruelty, like that of a wildcat, touched Song Jianguo’s face.
Suddenly, Zhang Wenda’s gaze shifted to something behind Song Jianguo, a smile blooming on his face. He yelled into the distance, "I’m afraid you won’t get that chance! Teacher Rabbit! Get over here! Someone’s bullying me!"
Startled, Song Jianguo spun around to look, but there was no Teacher Rabbit to be seen.
By the time she turned back, all she saw was Zhang Wenda’s face rushing toward her. He had already bent the trap on his leg out of shape with sheer brute force.
Zhang Wenda’s right hand shot out, grabbing Song Jianguo by the neck and slamming her to the ground. He balled his right hand into a fist and began raining punches down on her face.
"Still acting tough?! Huh?! Still acting tough?!"
With a series of sickening THUDS, Song Jianguo’s face instantly began to swell, her skin starting to split and bleed.
"MEOW!" With an ear-splitting shriek, an immense force struck Zhang Wenda, sending him flying. It was the Black Cat.
When Zhang Wenda staggered back to his feet, he saw Song Jianguo in the distance, her face battered and swollen. Surrounded by a pack of cats, she clutched her neck and coughed up blood.
"Give. Me. Back. The. Ticket!" Zhang Wenda snarled, his expression finally growing serious.
After a deep, wet cough that brought up more blood, Song Jianguo slowly raised her right hand. One of the cats at her side dragged a long spear over to her. She gripped the weapon and glared venomously at Zhang Wenda. She wasn’t leaving, and she wasn’t giving back the ticket. The message was clear.
At that moment, Zhang Wenda stopped seeing her as a child. She refused to back down even after a beating like that. He decided if he didn’t beat her into submission today, it would be an insult to her sheer stubbornness.
He didn’t know why she was so hell-bent on stealing his ticket, but now that things had gone this far, he was going to see it through to the end, one way or another.
"Haozi! Don’t worry! We’re back!" Pan Dongzi, his face a mess of scratches, came running back with the other classmates who had fled earlier.
"Keep her cats busy! She’s mine!" With that, Zhang Wenda charged toward Song Jianguo again.
When they were about two meters apart, Zhang Wenda aimed his flashlight at Song Jianguo’s face and, with a CLICK, switched it to its brightest setting.
The instant she was dazzled by the beam, he swung the heavy flashlight at her like a club.
Song Jianguo retreated quickly, dodging his attack. She might not have had Zhang Wenda’s strength, but she was clearly more agile.
With Fatty and the others keeping them occupied, most of the black cats were held back. Soon, it was just Zhang Wenda chasing Song Jianguo.
Although Song Jianguo was furious, her anger didn’t cloud her judgment. Facing the ferocious Zhang Wenda, she didn’t engage him directly, instead using her superior speed to kite him.
When Zhang Wenda gave chase, she would retreat. When he turned back to deal with the cats, she would close in again. As they went back and forth, time trickled by, and the sky began to grow dark.
By the roadside, Zhang Wenda stopped, panting heavily. He knew she was playing a game of attrition, trying to wear him down to exhaustion before finishing him off. But he wasn’t going to play her game. He had come prepared with an ace up his sleeve.
With a sharp CLICK, Zhang Wenda flicked his lighter open. The small flame pushed back the encroaching darkness. "I’ll say it one more time. Give me the ticket."
In the distance, Song Jianguo remained silent, her cold gaze fixed on Zhang Wenda.
"Still not giving it to me? Fine. I didn’t want to do something this extreme, but I guess I don’t need the ticket anymore. Trading it for your house seems like a pretty good deal." Lighter in hand, Zhang Wenda started walking toward Song Jianguo’s treehouse.
For the first time, a flicker of anxiety showed in Song Jianguo’s eyes, but she kept her mouth clamped shut, saying nothing.
The chase had taken them some distance from the treehouse, but it was only about a five-minute walk back.
When the treehouse came into view again, Zhang Wenda picked up his pace. But just as he was about to reach it, the hour hand on a large, square clock in the distance moved to the six o’clock position.
With a sound like tearing fabric, a long, bloody gash opened up on Zhang Wenda’s face. Before he could even react, similar wounds erupted all over his body, from his feet to his head, multiplying at an incredible rate.
’This is bad!’
The intense agony nearly made Zhang Wenda pass out. His hand trembled as he reached for his backpack, instinctively fumbling for the lollipop inside that would dissolve the pain.
Despair and loneliness instantly flooded Zhang Wenda’s mind, paralyzing him. He used the last of his strength to pull out the lollipop, about to shove it into his mouth.
Just then, a hand wearing an oversleeve reached out and snatched the lollipop from his grasp.
Zhang Wenda stiffly raised his head. The last thing he saw before blacking out was Song Jianguo unwrapping the lollipop and popping it into her own mouth.
He awoke in a daze, unsure how much time had passed. The sight of a jar of fireflies hanging from the ceiling made him sit bolt upright.
A quick scan of his surroundings revealed that he was, of all places, in Song Jianguo’s treehouse.
In the distance, Song Jianguo was surrounded by a swarm of black cats, her head bowed as she worked on something, her back turned to him.
"I put your ticket back," Song Jianguo said, her voice low.
Surprised, Zhang Wenda patted his pocket. The ticket was indeed there.
Zhang Wenda looked at her, astonished. ’Is this the same Song Jianguo? Why is she acting so different? What happened?’
"Why?"
Comments