She Was Sentenced to Life Imprisonment [Unlimited] - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: The Art Room [Eleven]

I’m coming to find you.

Jiang Nan looked out the window at the sky. A flash of bl00d-red light streaked across her eyes and vanished so quickly she thought she was seeing things. She rushed to the window, but no matter how hard she looked, she only saw a rampant, arrogant black mist coiling over the school.

“An illusion or a surprise?”

Jiang Nan’s fingertips rested on the cool glass, but a purple light, not her own, gradually appeared in her eyes. The sudden sting made her frown, but she didn’t close them. A flicker of shock crept into her pupils.

She saw the world collapsing and crumbling, just like her past dungeons. But she only saw it for a fleeting second before her eyes couldn’t bear it and closed. Her brows furrowed, and her hand gripping the walkie-talkie was deathly white.

Whose eyes had she borrowed to see a collapsing world?

“He…”

She cut herself off, immediately understanding, then rubbed her temples and said, “I’m fine.”

“Good.”

On the other end, He Nas had already realized what Jiang Nan had seen. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, but no warmth could be seen. He turned his head and looked at the sky outside, at the falling clouds and the all-consuming mist that came from a distance, slowly encroaching on this world.

The black and red colors were like an ominous prophecy, and this school had become the safest place at that moment. Just then, the office door opened. He Nas withdrew his gaze, the coldness in his eyes fading into a smile. “Are you here?”

After a moment of relief, Jiang Nan sat down at a new easel, seeing the two students beside her already drawing.

“Do you know Fang Yuan?”

The two students looked at each other, confused. “Didn’t she disappear after offending those people?”

Jiang Nan’s eyes flickered. “Who did she offend?”

At that, they clamped their mouths shut, their eyes filled with fear. They shook their heads, indicating they didn’t know. Jiang Nan watched as they turned their attention back to their drawings, their expressions numb and hollow as if they had accepted their fate. Thinking she couldn’t get any answers, she stopped looking at them.

Just then, the display case glass was tapped. The slow, steady tapping felt like it was knocking on their hearts, filling them with dread. When Jiang Nan turned to look, the shadow behind the display case vanished, as if playing a deliberate joke. She ignored it, and after a moment of thought, she picked up a soft charcoal pencil from the sharpened ones nearby.

The white paper on the drawing board had been taped on from the beginning, but before they arrived, these were just decorations. She didn’t know what to draw in a place that could be dangerous at any moment, but as her pencil touched the paper, she had a rough outline in her mind.

Jiang Nan’s drawing time was short. With just a few strokes, she had already captured the person’s face. She carefully peeled off the tape and held the paper up to the light. The somewhat translucent paper made the person’s slightly upturned, bewitching eyes even more pronounced. The perpetually smiling face made it impossible to tell if the smile was real.

Jiang Nan looked at it for a moment and unconsciously pouted. She couldn’t figure out why she had drawn He Nas. “Why did I draw her?” she asked herself mockingly. She couldn’t find an answer, and as she looked at the face, she wondered if the blurring was from her eyes being strained. The image was getting more and more indistinct.

Finally, she blinked, trying to clear her vision, but no matter how she looked, the person’s face was still blurred. She considered throwing it away, but as she was about to, she couldn’t bear to crumple or tear it. After a moment of hesitation, she muttered to herself, “Forget it, I’ll keep it as a good luck charm.” She carefully folded the drawing and put it in her pocket.

After she put her things away, the glass was tapped again, but this time with such force that the display case shattered instantly, scattering glass everywhere. Luckily, they were far enough away to avoid being cut. The two students shivered uncontrollably as they looked at the glass shards on the floor.

“Is it coming?” “I knew it, we can’t escape this…”

Their voices were full of terrified sobs, and they stood frozen in place. Jiang Nan’s gaze fell on the glass, her eyes holding an unreadable emotion. She went to check, but as expected, the severed hand had disappeared. As she picked up a piece of glass stained with charcoal, she felt a gaze on her—a chilling, eerie one that made her uncomfortable.

Darkness gradually enveloped the entire art room, swallowing all light. The two students, terrified, tried to rush out but found that the door wouldn’t open. “Help! Help!” Their cries were muffled, and soon Jiang Nan couldn’t hear their voices anymore, as if she were the only one left in the art room.

The breathing of another person filled the dark space. The rhythmic sound made her skin crawl. A cold sensation touched her neck, and it felt like something stiff was holding her from behind. Jiang Nan’s expression didn’t change, but what she said made the unseen person freeze. “Fang Yuan.”

The person’s body stiffened, then she laughed, but her vocal cords were damaged, making the sound strange and hoarse. “It’s me.”

Jiang Nan’s fingers soothed the restless long blade, then she put it away. Fang Yuan, seeing that Jiang Nan hadn’t responded, thought she was scared and laughed again with her broken voice. The sound echoed in the darkness, terrifying and macabre. Suddenly, a bl00d-red, bloodthirsty light flashed in her eyes. A violent aura grew wildly, almost enveloping Jiang Nan.

“Didn’t I tell you? Don’t draw, and there’s no need to draw.”

Hearing this, Jiang Nan remembered the drawing in her pocket. She was about to explain, but the moment she opened her mouth, her vision was completely consumed by darkness, and the pain at the back of her head almost made her pass out. The moment she fell, the art room returned to normal. The blurriness in front of her made it impossible to see the person’s face.

She wasn’t completely unconscious, but she didn’t react, pretending to be knocked out. Since she couldn’t see, she could only hear a rustling sound of something being dragged nearby. Instinctively, she thought of the person wrapped in bandages and covered in an unknown white liquid at the bottom of the teaching building. That was… a mixture of plaster powder and water. They were going to be made into plaster statues and placed on that playground.

While she was thinking, footsteps came to her, followed by another rustling sound. The person struggled to move her but didn’t use too much force. She even pinched Jiang Nan’s face and then complained in that hoarse voice, but not about Jiang Nan. “Oh, I have to be careful with this one. She’s obviously been sick and overworked. Look how pale her face is.” The person grumbled, then put her into a sack.

Jiang Nan: …

On the other side, the other students arrived at the playground filled with dozens, even hundreds, of white statues in strange poses. Their faces looked down on them with pity, as if from above. There were so many statues that they formed a human-like maze, filling them with dread.

“How long will it take to find them?” Yan Xin grumbled. She turned to see why Yang Yi hadn’t answered and found an empty space behind her, with a new statue in its place.

Yan Xin: …

At that moment, the others also found themselves alone.

“A-Xin, I see you! Wait, I’m coming to find you!” A voice came from a distance, but even though Yan Xin responded, she and Yang Yi couldn’t find each other in the gaps between the statues. It was as if they could never reach one another.

At least it was daytime. At night, the statues’ expressions of fear and pain would be even more terrifying. They clearly realized this problem. After calming down, Yan Xin waved to Yang Yi, whom she could just barely see. “Don’t look for me right now. These statues can move. Let’s find Fang Yuan’s body first and then figure out how to get out.”

Yang Yi was clearly worried. “You be careful, and don’t touch the statues.”

Yan Xin was a bit annoyed by the statues but still had to carefully observe them for any differences. She waved a hand toward Yang Yi. “I know, I know.”

Su Yue looked at the statue in front of her with cold eyes. It was the director. His body was covered in plaster powder, his limbs stiff, and his face was twisted and horrifying. The director seemed to have landed headfirst when he fell, breaking half his skull. Even as a statue, half of his head was missing. It seemed to have memories of its death, or maybe it was unwilling to die. It dragged its stiff body, struggling to survive, and begged Su Yue to save him in a terrible voice.

Seeing the inhuman thing trying to get closer, a sharp glint flashed in Su Yue’s eyes. She took a step back, and more statues followed her, as if to force her into a corner. The next moment, a bright flash of light erupted. Before the statues could see what it was, their consciousness was scattered, and their bodies froze in place.

The item in Su Yue’s hand turned to dust and scattered with the wind. But it only dealt with a few statues. With every step she took, more and more statues followed her. The walkie-talkie in her hand rang. It was Lin Jia’s worried voice. “Hello, hello, Su Yue, is something happening over there?”

Lin Jia and He Nas were standing at the office window, which overlooked half of the playground. They had just seen Su Yue and the others wandering around in the pile of statues. Su Yue glanced at the statues and said, “I’m lost.”

Her deadpan tone made Lin Jia want to laugh, but she knew this was no time to make fun of her. He Nas, who had just placed a plaster head part on the desk, walked over to Lin Jia and motioned for the walkie-talkie. Lin Jia didn’t hesitate, afraid that something might happen to Su Yue. She hoped this person, who seemed different, could find a solution.

He Nas took the walkie-talkie, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the playground that resembled a forest of statues. “You’re lost, right? Kick the statues over. When they’re all broken, you can get out.”

Hearing this, Lin Jia frowned, surprised that He Nas would suggest such a violent solution. He Nas then looked into the distance, a serious expression replacing his usual smile. “You need to hurry. Time has been moved up. It’s going to get dark soon, and you’re running out of time.”

Lin Jia hadn’t even fully processed what He Nas meant when she saw the sky in the distance turn from twilight to night at a visible speed.

“Little Jiang Nan, I’m coming to find you.” He Nas spoke into the walkie-talkie, but there was no response. Lin Jia watched him go silent for a moment, his grip on the walkie-talkie tightening.