Vol 4: Chapter 2-1.

No time was wasted after their discussion. Everyone packed their stuff and checked out. Then they went to the park.

The time was evening and the park was still rather crowded. The six of them found some empty seats. Then Zero and Yinkong went to scout the place without a word, while the other four people kept a lookout of the surroundings.

As the sky gradually darkened, people began to leave the park. By the time there were only a few people left, Zero and Yinkong came back.

Zheng smiled and said, “Thanks for your work, have you checked the whole area? Did you get attacked?”

Zero nodded. Yinkong replied, “Nothing happened to the charms. We’ve gotten most of the area down. There are several retail buildings west from here suitable for sniping. The other three sides are wide streets. If our gunshots attract the police after we’ve eliminated the Ju-On, we should run east. There’s a manhole to the sewers... That’s all we have for now. It will take another day or two to get everything down.”

Zheng laughed. “No, that’s enough. We’re only afraid of the Ju-On. Once we’ve eliminated it, we can surrender to the police. We will go back to God’s dimension after seven days. So we don’t have to be afraid of the police.”

Zheng and the others sat together with their backs to each other. A few groups of patrols had walked pass them already. Of course there were no laws prohibiting people from sitting in the park at night. So the patrols didn’t do anything but they still glanced at the six people occasionally.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

“I placed two charms in between us. We will take turns guarding through the night, two people at a time. If you see the charms start to burn, wake everyone up immediately. If there are no objections, I will assign the groups.”

When the clock reached twelve, everyone started to feel a bit sleepy. They had lived the past few days in constant fear after all. Aside from that night they had the scriptures, how could they have slept in peace?

“Then Zero and Yinkong in a group, Jie and Tengyi will group, Lan and me will group. Jie and Tengyi will start with the first shift. I will take the second, and Zero will take the third. Three hours each shift. Is that alright with everyone?”

Zheng was cautious when he assigned the groups. He put a veteran into each group. Jie could handle Tengyi if something were to happen. Even though Zero was a bit weaker than Yinkong, he would wake everyone if Yinkong acted in any way strange. Things like the scriptures being stolen shouldn’t happen again.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye, especially when one was sleepy. Zheng felt as though they woke him up right as he lay down. He slapped his face to wake himself up. Though Lan didn’t have such willpower. She tried to open her eyes but those eyelids felt so heavy. The sight looked so pitiful to Zheng.

“Lan, you can continue sleeping. I can take guard alone. It’s only paying attention to see if the charms start to burn, one person is enough for this,” Zheng smiled and said tenderly.

Lan shook her head with half open eyes. “No, talk to me. I will wake up when I start talking.”

“Then we’ll have a chat...” Zheng thought for a bit but smiled bitterly. “But what should I say? I’ll tell you a cold (lame) joke. A polar bear was bored so it starts pulling its fur. By the time all its furs are gone...”

“No, no, don’t tell cold jokes. That’s all you ever say to me but they aren’t funny at all...” Lan shook her head and sat beside Zheng. Then she slowly moved into his arms.

Zheng froze, and without moving an inch he said, “Okay then... Then we will talk about our current situation. Do you think I look like an idiot? I imagined I am like a savior, but in reality I can’t even guarantee the safety of my own life. Yet I was trying to save this and save that person. I almost put my own team in danger for the newbies. No, I’ve already put us in danger. If it wasn’t me, those scriptures...”

“If it wasn’t you, maybe we wouldn’t have went to look for the scriptures.” Even though her eyes were still cloudy, she was starting to wake up. She leaned against his chest and muttered.

“I don’t know how the others think but I feel safe when I am at your side... I’ve seen so many similar things happened in the real world. People act indifferent when they see someone getting robbed, but when they are the victims, they will complain about everyone being apathetic... In this world, no one should have trusted anyone. People should suspect and even attack each other. But the five of us sincerely followed you. We all believe that if any of us are in danger, you will definitely do your best to save us. That’s why this team exists.”

Zheng laughed bitterly then shook his head. “I’m not as great as you think. I just want to combine everyone’s power to survive the horror movies... Compared to my idiotic kindness, Xuan’s methods are more effective. He can lead the majority back alive but I may be leading you toward an abyss. Isn’t that it?”

Lan shook her head lightly. “I don’t know why but I felt pity toward Xuan. Every time I see his emotionless face, it makes me feel like he’s very tired... Enough about him, your kindness isn’t idiotic. It got a hold of our hearts. You just have to choose the newbies more carefully next time. Please keep that kindness... If I or any other team member were in danger, will you come save us?”

Zheng nodded seriously. “Yes, I will... I said I won’t leave behind any member that I acknowledged. If it is his fault that he got in danger, I will put the team’s safety first, but if he got in danger for the team, I will go save him even if I am the only one left!”

“Really? You’re...” Lan started crying on his chest. She muttered. “Why are you so similar to him? You’re an idiot, baka. Why do you have to act like a Samaritan... why!? No one will remember you. Even I will forget about your face, your height, your smell after a few years... Even I will forget about you, you idiot. Why are you a nice person...”

Zheng couldn’t move a bit. He just sat there in silence. Lan’s tears had soaked his chest. Not only that, her hands held onto him tightly.

Time passed, when her crying started to fade, Zheng said, “If you want to talk, I will listen quietly...”

Lan shook her head. Even though she had stopped crying, she still didn’t let go of Zheng, as if this was the only way she could feel any safety. It wasn’t until they heard a cough from behind them that she let go of him. Then she lay down on a chair without looking at Zheng.

Zero and Yinkong had woken up. As they stared at Zheng quietly, he blushed and also found a chair to lie down. Yet Lan’s crying still filled his mind.

They basically stayed together the whole time the next day. They ate some meals in a restaurant then cleaned themselves up in a nearby hotel. Then they came back to this park. When the sun set, it was the same routine, guarding through the night in groups. By the time it was Zheng’s turn, Lan sat next to him without a word and held onto him.

Time flew by... It was already the seventh day. They just had to last seven more hours, then they could go back to God’s dimension. Even though it was pity that they couldn’t kill the Ju-On’s main body, at least they could go back alive.

The park was crowded during the evening. They were all exhausted after these few days of guarding throughout the night. That was why they’d started to rest during the evening.

Zheng was sleeping peacefully when he got woke up. His mind was still a little fuzzy then he heard Jie’s voice, “Zheng! Lan is gone!”

“What’s gone?” Zheng jumped up and yelled, “Lan’s gone? Wasn’t she sleeping here? How can she disappear suddenly? Where is the charm? Is it burning?”

Zero and Yinkong also woke up from the yelling. Jie replied hastily, “Tengyi and I didn’t even take a break. We were paying full attention to the surrounding. The two charms are also intact. There were a lot of people here before, did she go away with the crowd?”

Zheng had noticed the sky had darkened. The time should be about eight or nine pm. When he was about to ask more questions, the communication device vibrated. “Lan? Where are you? Why didn’t you tell us when you left? We are worried about you... Lan?”

He heard Lan’s crying through the device. “I don’t know what happened. I just suddenly woke up from a chill and found myself in that room in Sunlight Hotel. I don’t know how I got here, I was sleeping on the chair... Zheng, the charm I am carrying is burning. I am scared...”

Zheng shivered. The charm was burning... that meant...