Zyklon-Säbel

Kapitel 118

"Did she really kill him, and why? It seems we'll only know the answer by asking them." Jin Min glanced at the two people outside the cave entrance and frowned. She wondered if this Party School had been cursed lately, with so many deaths occurring.

As I stepped out of the air-raid shelter, my gaze involuntarily met Ning Yuanyuan's. Suddenly, as if drawn by something, Ning Yuanyuan lunged at me, as if shouting, "Choose one! Choose one! Which one do you choose?!"

"What are you doing?" A policeman next to Ning Yuanyuan immediately grabbed her, preventing her from rushing towards me, but Ning Yuanyuan kept shouting, "Choose one, choose one! Which one do you choose?"

"What should I choose?" I asked her, but she ignored me and just kept screaming to herself.

“Choose someone… to die.” Xie Dong, who had been standing to the side in shock, suddenly glared at me intently, then spoke slowly in a voice so chilling it sent shivers down my spine.

"because……"

Volume 3, Hell's Delicacies, Chapter 64: Madness

Volume 3, Hell's Delicacies, Chapter 64: Madness

"Village Chief, what should we do about Grandma Su?" Li Yang looked at Grandma Su in the house with a troubled expression. Her house had collapsed, leaving her a homeless and destitute old woman. Although Jiang Xiaoqiao was still her relative, the village chief had no way to contact her.

"Yes, it really is a problem." Village Chief Jiang rubbed his hands together, looking troubled. Leaving Old Mrs. Su at his home was unlikely to be agreed upon by her family, but where else could they send her? The township government? Leaving an elderly person there wasn't appropriate either, but the nearest nursing home was several hours' drive away!

Just as the two were struggling to find a safe place for Old Lady Su, a child's cry suddenly rang out. Immediately, a little girl in red rushed over and threw herself into Village Chief Jiang's arms.

"Grandpa, Grandpa!" The little girl cried so hard that snot was almost running down her face. Village Chief Jiang immediately picked her up and asked kindly, "What's wrong, my little granddaughter? Who bullied you?"

"It's...it's Mom!" the little girl said, pointing to a young woman who had already entered the room. The little girl's mother hadn't expected Li Yang and Grandma Su to be in the room, so she smiled awkwardly at Li Yang and then said to Village Chief Jiang, "Take her..." "Then buy it for her!" Village Chief Jiang gave the young woman a reproachful look. It seemed that this grandfather really doted on his granddaughter.

"She wants both a doll and a puppy, she wants both! Where am I supposed to get that much spare money?" the young woman replied helplessly.

"Mom...Mom told me I can only choose...choose one!" Little Xiao pouted and complained to her grandfather. For a small child, such a choice is indeed very difficult.

"Choose one, you can choose one of the two!" The young mother seemed very unhappy that the little girl had complained to her grandfather, and said angrily to the little girl.

“Choose…choose one…one?” The old lady Su, who had been silent all along, suddenly echoed the young mother’s words, repeating blankly.

Li Yang and Village Chief Jiang looked at Old Madam Su with surprise. Why would she react to those words?

"Choose one??? Choose one??? Only one???" Old Mrs. Su's eyes suddenly stopped being dull and instead flashed with a strange light as she looked around. It was as if she had suddenly woken up from her world.

Seeing Grandma Su's condition, Village Chief Jiang put Xiaoxiao down and kindly tried to ask what was wrong. However, unexpectedly, Grandma Su, with strength seemingly from nowhere, pushed Village Chief Jiang to the ground. Before Li Yang and the young mother could react, Grandma Su had already picked up Xiaoxiao and rushed out of the room. "Wah!" Xiaoxiao seemed frightened by the almost distorted expression on Grandma Su's face and burst into loud cries.

"Xiaoxiao!" the young mother cried out in terror.

"Grandma Su!" Upon seeing this, Li Yang immediately followed her out, and the young mother quickly helped up the still-dazed Village Chief Jiang and chased after them. Perhaps it was dinnertime, as there were few people walking on the roads in the village, and Grandma Su ran headlong towards the edge of the village.

Good heavens! Is this an old woman who looks like she's already halfway to her grave? Li Yang followed closely behind Old Mrs. Su, never expecting that he hadn't caught up with an elderly woman, especially one carrying a small child. Li Yang, Village Chief Jiang, and the young mother hurriedly followed behind Old Mrs. Su, who stopped by a lake near the village with the little one in her arms. It seemed to be a small reservoir used for village water storage. The water level didn't seem shallow; falling in could definitely drown someone. So the three of them didn't dare to approach rashly, afraid of provoking the seemingly insane Old Mrs. Su. "Old Mrs. Su, what's wrong? Let's talk this out, give the child back first!" Li Yang said cautiously.

"Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao!" the young mother called out, trying to rush forward, but was held back tightly by Village Chief Jiang behind her.

"Mommy...Mommy..." Xiao Xiao cried out in fear, clearly frightened by Grandma Su's tight hug.

"Xiao Hui, Xiao Hui, don't be afraid, don't be afraid... Be good!" Grandma Su hugged the little girl's head tightly, murmuring to herself.

Xiao Hui? Could it be that Grandma Su mistook Xiao Xiao for Xiao Hui? Li Yang suddenly recalled the photo he saw at Grandma Su's house; Xiao Hui seemed to be wearing a red dress in it. Could it be because they were about the same age and wearing the same red dress? But if that were the case, Grandma Su wouldn't often suddenly go crazy; it seemed most girls that age would wear red. Why hadn't Village Chief Jiang mentioned that Grandma Su would go crazy because of this? And if she always went crazy like this, Village Chief Jiang wasn't on guard at all when Xiao Xiao came in.

So, the red dress probably isn't the main reason? Wait a minute… Li Yang suddenly remembered what Grandma Su had repeated to the young mother before she suddenly went crazy: “Choose one??? Choose one??? Only one???” Only one? Choose what? Li Yang knew, of course, that Grandma Su wouldn't choose a toy, so… what would she choose?

"Don't be afraid... good girl..." Grandma Su, holding Xiao Xiao, actually started to slowly back away, getting closer and closer to the lake water, as if she was about to fall in.

"Don't move! Grandma Su, please don't back away!" Village Chief Jiang pleaded almost desperately. "If I've ever wronged you in any way, please take it out on me and give my child back!"

By this time, the villagers seemed to have been alerted, and a growing crowd had gathered. However, the villagers dared not move. Suddenly, someone in the small group shouted, "Quick, go find the old village chief!" The old village chief? Who was the old village chief? But Li Yang had no time to worry about that. Old Mrs. Su's condition seemed worse than dementia; she was in a state of agitation. Could it be that Xiao Hui's remains being buried by the collapsed house had driven her mad?

"Grandma Su, you'll frighten Xiao Hui!" Since Grandma Su thought Xiao Xiao was Xiao Hui, then let's go along with her for now. Li Yang swallowed hard and tried to continue in a calm tone, "Look, if you go any further, you'll fall into the lake. If you're not afraid, what about Xiao Hui? Didn't you fall in too?"

"Fall...fall down?" Grandma Su glanced back at the lake behind her, then suddenly hugged Xiaoxiao even tighter, murmuring, "Fall down...no! You won't fall down."

"Hehe...hehe..." Grandma Su let out a strange, hoarse laugh, and said to Xiao Xiao, "Xiao Hui, don't be afraid, Grandma will definitely choose you this time, she will choose you...she will choose you..."

Would they choose Xiao Hui? Li Yang seemed to have guessed something, but the important thing now was how to get Grandma Su away from that damned lake.

Just when everyone was in a state of panic, someone behind them shouted, "The old village chief is here! The old village chief is here!"

Li Yang turned around and saw an elderly man with white hair, being helped by others and leaning on a cane, walking towards them. The old village chief slowly walked to Li Yang's side, looked at Old Madam Su with pity, then nodded to Village Chief Jiang and the others, and said to Old Madam Su, "Sister Su, it's me! Old Jiang!"

Grandma Su didn't seem to remember the old village chief; she just stared blankly at everyone.

“Sister Su, I know you’re heartbroken, heartbroken that you chose Xiaoqiao back then, which led to Xiaohui’s death. But what could you do then? You could only choose one!” The old village chief wiped away tears from his eyes and said sadly, “But this time you chose Xiaohui, didn’t you? That’s good, isn’t it?”

“I chose Xiaohui, yes! I chose Xiaohui!” Grandma Su nodded vigorously.

"So, you've chosen Xiaohui, that's good! Now go home and be sure to come back. Xiaoqiao is waiting for you at home!" the old village chief said patiently.

"Xiaoqiao... Xiaoqiao... waiting for us to come back at home?" Grandma Su seemed to be wavering.

“Yes, if you don’t go back soon, Xiaoqiao will cry! Listen…!” The old village chief said as he shook off the support of others and slowly walked over. Everyone held their breath, afraid of disturbing Grandma Su.

"Xiaoqiao...is Xiaoqiao crying?" Grandma Su actually took a step forward, and said blankly, "I...I want to go home to see Xiaoqiao! Xiaoqiao! Grandma will be right back!"

"Yes, you should go back and check on Xiaoqiao. I'll help you carry Xiaohui back." As he spoke, the old village chief walked up to Grandma Su and reached out his hand to her. However, Grandma Su seemed to be wary and moved aside while holding Xiaoxiao.

"What, Su family girl, don't you trust me, Old Jiang?" the old village chief said, feigning anger.

"How could I not trust you, Lao Jiang?" Old Mrs. Su actually smiled at the old village chief, stuffed Xiao Xiao into Lao Jiang's arms, and tried to run home. But before she could take a step, several young men from the village rushed over and even took out a few ropes.

"What are you doing?" Both Grandma Su and Li Yang shouted at the same time, but Grandma Su was immediately tied up tightly. The young mother and Village Chief Jiang rushed towards Xiao Xiao. The young mother's cries of joy at finding her lost child, the little girl's terrified cries, and Grandma Su's pitiful and frightened screams mingled together, giving Li Yang no chance to intervene.

"You!" Although Li Yang knew that Old Mrs. Su had a problem, he was still indignant at how the villagers treated an elderly woman who was mentally unstable and frail. He was about to step forward to stop the villagers when he was grabbed by a withered, old hand. Li Yang turned around and saw that it was the old village chief.

"Old village chief, they..."

"Come with me first." The old village chief didn't glance at Grandma Su again, but walked straight into the village. Li Yang looked helplessly at Grandma Su, who was already tied up, sighed, and finally followed the old village chief. After sitting down again, before Li Yang could even ask a question, the old village chief spoke first: "You're a policeman, aren't you?"

Li Yang nodded hurriedly.

"This incident cannot be blamed on Su's sister." After saying this, the old village chief glanced out the window and fell silent, as if recalling the past.

After a long silence, the old village chief continued, "Actually, both Xiaoqiao and Xiaohui fell into the river!"

"What? But didn't Village Chief Jiang say that only Xiao Hui fell down?" Li Yang asked.

"I remember the weather was fine that day. I happened to be passing by the lake when I heard Su's daughter's cries for help. Unfortunately, most of the villagers had gone to the market that day, and I was the only one who had returned early because of some errands. Hearing someone shout for help, I rushed over and saw that Su's daughter and two little girls had already fallen in. Su's daughter was only holding onto one child tightly in the water, while the other child was further from the shore and was about to drown; only one arm was visible. Without thinking, I immediately jumped into the lake to help." When I was with Su's sister, she pushed the child she was holding towards me and swam towards the other child. I had already taken one child and couldn't swim over there, so I had to bring one child ashore first. When I comforted the still-shaken child and tried to go back into the lake to rescue the other child, I saw that Su's sister had already brought the other child ashore as well. "What a pity... alas~~!" The old village chief shook his head regretfully and didn't continue. However, Li Yang had already guessed that the dead little girl must be Xiao Hui, and the one who had been rescued must be Xiao Qiao.

"Poor thing! Ever since that day, Su's sister has been blaming herself, feeling that she was the one who caused Xiao Hui's death. She blames herself for not choosing to save Xiao Hui first."

"But if this isn't her fault, wouldn't Xiaoqiao also have gotten into trouble if she had chosen Xiaohui?" "I've been trying to persuade her like this, but she just wouldn't listen. In the end, she kept muttering something about choosing one, choosing one, only one! Sigh... and then she slowly went crazy."

So that's how it is. An old woman living in constant self-blame—it's heartbreaking to see. Even if she had chosen Xiaohui, she would have lost Xiaoqiao; it's a choice that would be painful no matter which way she chose. Sometimes, choosing is a form of torture. No matter who she chose back then, it seems Grandma Su couldn't escape her current fate.

Volume 3, Hell's Delicacies, Chapter 65: Out of the Cage

Volume 3, Hell's Delicacies, Chapter 65: Out of the Cage

Xie Dong's eyes seemed to be cold and detached from the real world. I felt my body tremble slightly, not from fear of his eyes, but from fear of his words: "Choose someone... to die."

I don't know if I have the right to choose, to decide someone's life or death. I am no one's God, and no one can be anyone else's God. If I had a choice, I hope I would never have the privilege of having that right.

"Ring~~~!" A sudden cell phone ring interrupted my reverie. I took it out and saw that it was Li Yang, who had been missing for a long time. Great, I wonder if he had found out any useful clues.

"Hello, is this Li Yang?" I asked. "Lin Xiao, it's me." Li Yang breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to contact Lin Xiao. Composing himself, he continued, "I found Jiang Hua and Zhou Xiangrong's mother. Her surname is Su. Also, Jiang Hua and Zhou Xiangrong had twins. One was named Xiao Hui, and the other Jiang Xiaoqiao. Unfortunately, one of them died, and only Jiang Xiaoqiao is still alive." Jiang Xiaoqiao? This name seemed to touch something deep within me, but upon closer reflection, it felt utterly unfamiliar.

"How did Jiang Xiaohui die?" I asked.

“She fell into the lake and drowned!” Li Yang said. “Grandma Su has gone mad. It seems that she blamed herself for not saving Xiao Hui first and wanted to stay alive, so she went mad.”

Drowned? I suddenly remembered my strange dream, the corpse at the bottom of the water... that little girl in red, she always appeared with water, could it be her?

"Poor old lady Su, she keeps muttering about having to choose one, only one." Li Yang turned around and looked at the old lady Su with her empty eyes. After that little incident, Village Chief Jiang, who had originally planned to keep the old lady Su in his home, absolutely refused to let her stay. The villagers were even more unwilling, but unfortunately, the old village chief's family also disagreed to take her in. Helpless, Li Yang had no choice but to take on the responsibility of caring for the old lady Su. Fortunately, as long as he didn't say "only one" in front of her, she wouldn't go crazy, otherwise Li Yang might have jumped into the river with her.

"What?! What did you just say?" I think I heard Li Yang also say that he could only choose one. Did he also run into some trouble?

"I mean, all Grandma Su can say now is 'Choose one, you can only choose one.'" Li Yang began to worry about how to properly settle the crazy old lady.

Choose one, only one? Why is that question coming up again? I shook my head. "Then where is Grandma Su now?" I asked.

“She’s with me, and I’m still figuring out how to settle her down – I can only go to the local police station first and ask them to help me resolve this, otherwise how can I come back?” Li Yang said.

"Doesn't she have a home?" I asked.

“Her only relative, Jiang Xiaoqiao, isn’t here at all, and the house collapsed in the storm. She’s homeless now,” Li Yang explained.

Homeless? I suddenly had a bold idea. Since she has nowhere to go now, and judging from recent events, it must be related to Jiang Hua and his wife and their twins, why not... why not bring Grandma Su here?

I made up my mind, but I didn't know if Li Yang could successfully bring Grandma Su over. After all, it wouldn't be easy to bring a mentally unstable old woman along on such a long journey. "Li Yang, why don't you take Grandma Su back to school?" As soon as I said this, I immediately took the phone away from my ear, and sure enough...

"What?" Li Yang's loud voice still made my ears ring even though he put the phone away.

"Listen to me..."

"Listen to your nonsense! You think she's a piece of luggage? She's a living, breathing person, and a mentally unstable old lady at that! You're making things too difficult for me!" You can imagine. Li Yang on the other end of the phone practically jumped up on the spot.

"Fine, can't you just calm down and listen to me? Several more people have died at this school!" I said irritably.

"What? No way, another person has died?"

“Yes, and…” I glanced around. Jin Min seemed busy taking Ning Yuanyuan and Xie Dong back to the police station, and the other officers didn’t seem to notice me. But I still lowered my voice and said, “These things all seem to be related to that Jiang Xiaohui!”

"And that little girl who died?"

"Yes! So you'd better bring Grandma Su here obediently, because everyone involved in these matters is dead." "Oh my god! But how am I going to bring her here?" Li Yang seemed hesitant. "You'll find a way, I believe in you! Okay, that's all for now! I'll wait for you to bring her back! BEY-BEY!" Hanging up before Li Yang could even react was definitely a wise choice. As for what method he could have? That was up to Li Yang himself. Thinking of this, I let out a long sigh.

"Huh??? You...you..." Li Yang on the other end stared dumbfounded at the phone that had been hung up. Then he looked at Grandma Su behind him and suddenly thought: I really made a bad choice in friends!

Seeing that I had hung up the phone, Fang Lei asked, "Was that Li Yang?"

"Hmm, it seems we found the mother of Jiang Hua and his wife, and that they had twins." Then I told Fang Lei about the information Li Jian had gathered.

"Do you think bringing Grandma Su here will be useful?" Fang Lei asked.

"This is called 'trying anything, even if it's a last resort.' Besides this person who's still alive, it seems we have no other clues," I said helplessly. "Then... Oh my god!" Fang Lei suddenly exclaimed in surprise. I didn't know what could have made her so distraught. Following Dao's gaze, I turned around and almost fell over! In the schoolyard, where only living people should be, there were dead people? No, it should be said, the souls of the dead! These souls, like phantoms, floated in the air among the living. Although each had its own unique and bizarre appearance, their overall outlines were relatively clear.

What's going on? How could they appear in broad daylight? But it seems only Fang Lei and I saw them, because the living people around them were oblivious to these souls floating around them.

"What happened? Wasn't the Gate of Hell closed last night?" I asked Fang Lei softly.

"I don't know, this is so strange. Could it be that someone has reopened the gates of hell?" Fang Lei looked at the sky above the school, where a layer of dark clouds seemed to be pressing down, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

"Can the gates of hell be opened at will?" I asked.

"Of course not! Do you think the Gate of Hell is just any door? You can't open it whenever you want. Except for specific days, to forcibly open the Gate of Hell, you need to be a great sorcerer like the deceased Zhang Tianshi, and you also need a specific altar and ritual implements. But the Gate of Hell is easy to open but difficult to close, so unless it's a last resort, our sorcery community forbids opening the Gate of Hell without authorization." "But it's already open! Could it be that the person who set up the Big Dipper formation performed the ritual to open it?" I guessed, especially since it seemed that only this mysterious person in this school had the ability to perform the ritual to open the Gate of Hell.

"I don't know, but the Big Dipper Formation is actually used to suppress demons and exorcise evil spirits. In the hands of some sorcerers, this formation has always been used to deal with demons and monsters," Fang Lei said. "But it seems that this school's formation doesn't work that way!" "Everything has two sides. If the Big Dipper Formation is used in reverse, it can naturally suppress the magic power of demons and monsters," Fang Lei explained.

"Use it backwards? How do you use it backwards?" I asked hastily.

"I'm not entirely sure about that either; my master only mentioned it once. But when I regained control, I realized that every formation has a gate of life and a gate of death. However, what's special is that the gate of life and the gate of death in the Big Dipper Formation are together, which means that life contains death, and death contains life."