Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Haozi
A hint of satisfaction crossed Song Jianguo’s face as she watched Zhang Wenda rummage through the writhing intestines, picking out the round, white, centipede-legged bugs one by one.
She had asked Coal, and these things really could be sold for money. It wouldn’t be long before she saved up enough to buy a Superpower.
"Not bad. Keep at it. You’re not sleeping tonight. You’ll be working until dawn."
Song Jianguo obviously hated this place, but she tolerated it for the sake of getting a Superpower as quickly as possible.
She issued some compulsory commands to Zhang Wenda—do not attempt to attack her, do not leave—and then began to doze off. It was already midnight, and she was getting drowsy.
Before long, inside the Go room, a black bug flew into the air. Then a second, and a third.
As the air around her grew increasingly hot and stuffy, the drowsy Song Jianguo suddenly felt that something was wrong.
She opened her eyes and glanced in confusion at Zhang Wenda, who still had his head down, working. She thought it must have been her imagination.
But a moment later, when she saw five black Go pieces floating in the air, she finally realized something was wrong.
"Wait! Stop what you’re doing!" Song Jianguo snapped. Her face taut with anxiety, she glanced around nervously before rushing toward the door.
A chuckle played on Zhang Wenda’s lips. He released all the now-living white Go pieces from his hand and sat down on the flesh to wait for Song Jianguo’s return. ’My plan succeeded.’
A few dozen seconds later, Song Jianguo finally returned, a trace of panic in her eyes. "The door?! I’m asking you, where the hell did the door go!"
"Door? What door? I didn’t see a door when I came in," Zhang Wenda said, his face a mask of innocence.
"Do you have a death wish?! Answer me! Where is the door!!" Song Jianguo aimed the spear in her hand directly at his neck.
Yet, faced with her death threat, Zhang Wenda seemed completely unfazed. "That’s right. I do want to die. And I’m taking you with me."
"Allow me to make a grand introduction. This is the Youth Palace, an underground creature. It’s alive now, and it’s about to take us hundreds of meters back underground, where we will die together."
Hearing this and seeing the flesh around them begin to writhe, Song Jianguo completely panicked. She never imagined he could set a trap for her while under her control!
Pointing at Zhang Wenda, she ground out through clenched teeth, "Now! I command you! Find the door for me, immediately!"
Although it was a compulsory command from Song Jianguo, Zhang Wenda’s body didn’t move. He just chuckled.
"I’m sorry, but if you can only control my body, you can’t force me to find the door. It’s no use ordering me to do something I can’t do."
Song Jianguo tried to pry the way back out of Zhang Wenda, but no matter what she tried—even torturing him—he remained unmoved, simply lying on the ground and refusing to cooperate.
The more anxious Song Jianguo became, the calmer Zhang Wenda grew. He even felt a sense of thrill from having conned her.
As the oxygen inside the Youth Palace dwindled and the temperature rose, Song Jianguo’s expression turned ugly, and her heart began to burn with anxiety.
"Don’t forget! If this continues, you’ll die here too!" Song Jianguo said, baring her canines and grinding her teeth.
"That’s right, I’ll die here. But my life is worthless. Trading my life for yours? That’s a huge win for me." Zhang Wenda sat up with perfect composure, facing Song Jianguo.
"Then I’ll kill you right now!" Song Jianguo tightened her grip on the spear, pressing it hard against Zhang Wenda’s neck.
"Heh. You think that threat is going to work now? I was already planning on dying with you." Zhang Wenda watched her with the taunting smirk of a cat playing with a mouse.
With a surge of force in one hand, Song Jianguo started to thrust the spear in, but she stopped herself after it only broke the skin.
Zhang Wenda suddenly grabbed the spear with one hand and guided it directly toward his own neck. The sight terrified Song Jianguo, and she quickly snatched the spear back.
’Zhang Wenda had anticipated this. No matter how much of a brat she was, she was still just a brat. She didn’t have the stomach for a true life-or-death struggle. Since she couldn’t play for keeps, she was destined to be wrapped around his little finger today.’
Seeing he was for real, Song Jianguo’s grip loosened. In the end, she caved.
Panting heavily, she said, "What do you really want! I don’t believe you actually want to die!"
"Simple. Take this off me, or we all die together." Zhang Wenda pointed a finger at the collar on his neck.
"Fine! You have my word! I’ll take it off for you after we get out of here!"
Zhang Wenda looked at her with contempt. "Do you take me for an idiot? Unlock it now, or we’re all done for."
"No! What if I unlock it and you don’t look for the door!"
"If the door can’t be found, I’ll die here anyway. I just want to be free of your control. Once we’re out, the Superpower ticket is yours, and we’ll be completely even," Zhang Wenda said, his tone decisive.
"No!" Song Jianguo refused outright. However, the increasingly oppressive atmosphere was gradually crushing her nerves.
’Zhang Wenda had been through this once before. He knew what this feeling of being slowly surrounded by death was like. She wouldn’t be able to handle it.’
When Song Jianguo started to feel light-headed, she finally began to yield. She understood now that he wasn’t joking. If she didn’t unlock it, he would really drag her down with him!
"Give me the ticket first!"
After taking the ticket from Zhang Wenda, Song Jianguo calmed down slightly. ’At least I’m getting something out of this,’ she thought. ’Even without this guy as my pack mule, I can figure out a way to earn the ten bucks on my own.’
She pulled a copper key from her hair and inserted it into the edge of Zhang Wenda’s collar.
Though she was incredibly reluctant, the collar opened with a CLICK.
But in that exact instant, something completely unexpected happened.
The already-prepared Zhang Wenda suddenly lunged, grabbing the collar as it came off. With another CLICK, the collar snapped tightly around Song Jianguo’s neck.
The second the collar was on her neck, Zhang Wenda immediately commanded, "Give me the key!"
As Song Jianguo watched in despair, her body moved uncontrollably, handing the key to Zhang Wenda.
Zhang Wenda wouldn’t leave the same opening. He snatched the key and threw it directly into the fleshy folds of the Youth Palace nearby.
Looking at the now-collared Song Jianguo before him, Zhang Wenda’s face broke into the exact same smile she had worn two hours earlier.
"What’s the matter? Does it feel like you’ve suddenly fallen from Heaven into hell? Good. This is exactly what I wanted."
Then, Zhang Wenda reached out and brazenly stroked her cat ears.
"I hear they call you ’Vile Cat,’ right? A pleasure to meet you. Let’s reintroduce ourselves. I’m Haozi."
"Oh my~ why is your head so pointy? Does that mean people with pointy heads aren’t very bright?"
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