Nightmare Assault

Half a second later, Wu's dark voice came from behind. "Tell me." He paused. "How did you tell?"

Jiang Cheng didn't answer. Instead, he picked up the paintbrush on the floor and stabbed it at Lin Chen. The blunt brush easily pierced Lin Chen's chest. As Lin Chen looked on in disbelief, the blood gushed out and stained Jiang Cheng's face. However, he laughed.

"As I expected." The blood didn't smell coppery. Jiang Cheng licked the blood on his face, and the smell diffused in his mouth. Paint. It was the taste of paint. It was not blood…

This was a painting. They were inside a painting.

Since it had been exposed, Lin Chen's expression slowly returned to normal. Then, the woman dissolved into a pool of random colours. Jiang Cheng moved away so that his shoes wouldn't be stained.

"Did you not hear me?" Wu's voice changed for the first time. "How did you tell that we're in a painting?"

The situation started to change. Jiang Cheng gained more confidence. "I'm not dead." He turned around to address Wu. "Based on your ability, you could have easily killed me when I ran towards Lin Chen," He looked at him. "But you didn't. If Lin Chen were real, you wouldn't let this happen. You and I both know what will happen if Lin Chen sees the drawing I have."

Another emotion appeared in Wu's eyes. "Continue. I know there is more than that."

There were not many people who could make Jiang Cheng feel challenged. Chen Ran was one, and Lee Lu was another. The middle-aged man who followed Xia Meng counted too. However, they were powerful because they were cunning and strategic. The man before him was a completely different type of strength. Jiang Cheng couldn't find a trace of fear in his eyes.

"That's right." Jiang Cheng slowly backed away. "I've seen Lin Chen's drawings before. Her last was this room. This is exactly the same, except… the mirror is missing." Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. "Someone in my group paid close attention to that mirror because it once showed the real you. The dark side of you. You were worried about the trap being exposed, so you removed the mirror." Jiang Cheng moved to the canvas and sighed. "This is not because you're dumb but because I'm too clever."

Then, Jiang Cheng smashed his head into the canvas. The world changed. He staggered before he found the firm ground. When he opened his eyes, he was still in Room 808, but the strange feeling around his heart was gone. The grey filter that enveloped the room was taken away. This was… the real world, in a way.

Just as Jiang Cheng sighed and planned to find the real Lin Chen, a magnetic voice came from behind him. "Well done." Jiang Cheng's body froze.

Wu lounged on the old couch. He leaned lazily and studied the man who had escaped from death silently. His eyes glowed as if anticipating more surprises from Jiang Cheng.

"Why?" Jiang Cheng stood there without turning his head around. "Why are you here?"

The painting was drawn by Lin Chen, but Wu was different. He was a ghost from the painting. Even if he could escape from the painting, it shouldn't be so fast. When everything was connected, it felt like the man had been waiting for him. Everything Jiang Cheng did was within the man's calculations.

He knew that Jiang Cheng would see through the trap and escape from the canvas. He had calculated everything…

He didn't give Jiang Cheng the chance to react. After all, he had calculated everything.

0.01 second.

Just as Jiang Cheng turned around, a force came from behind him and knocked him into the wall. He spat out blood. It was mixed with green balls of flesh. They looked like broken organs. Wu, who represented despair, slowly backed away.

Jiang Cheng lowered his head. Blood dripped down his face. In his red sight, a blade entered his chest. A powerful force impaled his body to the wall.

"You didn't need to suffer like this." Wu's eyes were coloured with impatience. "Everything would be simpler in the painting. You wouldn't need to suffer." Wu said blankly, "You made things complicated. This is your fault. So…" Wu paused before raising his eyes. "You have to learn to pay for your actions."

Wu's eyes turned redder. They looked like a stormy sea of blood. Jiang Cheng saw innocent people struggling in them. The sea was filled with severed limbs. Voices he hadn't heard before appeared in his ears. They sounded like a call or like the lamentation of time.

He saw a giant book appear behind Wu.

No.

It was not just a book!

It was a door. A door made from copper.

The majesty pinned Jiang Cheng to the wall. He couldn't move, but his limbs trembled uncontrollably. The door was scarier than the knife on his chest.

Wu slowly reached out to Jiang Cheng's chest. The next second, Jiang Cheng felt a hand enter his body. Inch by inch.

The pain threatened to tear his body apart. However, Wu didn't want to kill him. He was… looking for something.

"You should give the door inside your body to me." Wu's voice carried some kind of power. Jiang Cheng's consciousness faded away.

Broken images appeared in his mind.

The corners were charred black.

They were dyed by blood and fire.