Chapter 17 It Has Arrived

The paper figure’s first reaction upon seeing Jiang Cheng wasn’t surprise, but rather an instinctive step back, as if worried that getting too close would harm him.

Only Fatty would have such a thought process. Jiang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Fatty, hurry, this isn't the place to talk. Come back with me, I know your identity."

There was less than a minute left, but fortunately, Fatty's vision as a paper figure didn’t seem to be affected by the fog. The paper figure led Jiang Cheng along the shortest route back to the room.

Just as Jiang Cheng turned to close the door, he could see another paper figure standing not far away through the fog, staring intently at them.

The paper figure ghost didn't knock on the door again, turning and disappearing into the fog.

Back in the room, Fatty was still in his paper figure form, not having returned to his body. Jiang Cheng reassured him that he might have to wait until the end of the mission for his body to be returned to him.

"Doctor," the paper figure said in a hoarse voice, sitting awkwardly on the chair, "you took too much of a risk. What if the first paper figure you encountered wasn't me, but another one?"

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Ah, you're talking about that? Since I dared to go out and find you, I must have confirmed your identity, and I also knew your exact location."

Jiang Cheng sneered twice, narrowing his eyes and saying, "You didn't think I would go out without any certainty, did you? I'm not you, don't limit my IQ with your thinking."

The paper figure's face didn't show any expression, it just nodded its big head once. Since being rescued back to the room, the paper figure was much better than before, both in terms of agility and voice, "Doctor, you're the best, you're really amazing!"

Jiang Cheng took a sip of tea and looked at the paper figure rather formally, "So... Fatty, since you know my abilities, next time you just need to trust me. I'm not worried about this kind of small situation at all."

After a pause, Jiang Cheng added, "Although I know you meant well and didn't want to implicate me, objectively speaking, your behavior this time was particularly stupid in my opinion, and it actually increased my burden."

"If your stupidity kills me, I won't let you go even as a ghost." Jiang Cheng tapped the table lightly with one hand, his gaze fixed on the paper figure Fatty, which gave the latter a lot of pressure. "Do you understand?"

The paper figure Fatty lowered his head in shame, making a muffled sound, "I understand, next time I won't... it won't happen again."

...

Inside another厢房 (xiāngfáng, wing room), a candle was placed in the middle of the table, emitting a dim light.

Under the candlelight, the exaggerated expression on the paper figure's face became even more eerie.

"How do you feel?" Paper figures naturally don't need to drink water. Jia Jinliang poured himself a cup of tea with his good right hand, sat at the table, and took a gentle sip.

"Not bad." The paper figure made a hoarse voice, with a very recognizable tone, belonging to Abiao.

Abiao had entered the room 10 minutes ago.

"Don't worry about your body, I think it will be returned to you after the mission," Jia Jinliang comforted him after looking at Abiao's paper figure body.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jia Jinliang shook his head vigorously, as if only in this way could he make himself more awake. He kept drinking tea, the tea was very strong, because he needed to stay awake.

Seeing the paper figure Abiao's confusion, Jia Jinliang pinched the sides of his nose and exhaled, "Just say what you want to say directly, there's no need for formalities between you and me."

"Boss, how did you know that the paper figure outside… was me?" The paper figure Abiao's body arched slightly. He didn't make any particularly special moves to attract Jia Jinliang's attention, because he was also thinking about countermeasures at the time. After all, the paper figure competing with him… had very superb acting skills.

The next second, Jia Jinliang shook his head, "Abiao, I don't know which one is you."

"You... what?"

"You heard right, I don't know which one is you." Jia Jinliang raised his head and said frankly, "I only know that a total of two paper figures came to knock on the door, and you are definitely one of them."

Jia Jinliang pointed to his wound, "There's something I didn't tell you, I used that kind of medicine, the one… the one that the doctor said would affect the brain's thinking after use." Jia Jinliang sighed, "There's no way, I don't know how long we have to stay here, if I don't use that kind of medicine, I will definitely die once the wound gets infected."

"The doctor didn't tell you the truth. After you left, I used some tricks, and he told me the truth. My injury is more serious than I thought."

"And the cost of using this medicine is that my brain has problems. My thoughts are very chaotic, and I'm sleepy. Not long ago, I almost fell asleep. I couldn't distinguish which of the two paper figures was you, so… I'm sorry, I can only guess one."

"If I guess right, you and I brothers will go out together. If I guess wrong, I'll accompany you on the road." Jia Jinliang smiled, "Fortunately, I'm pretty lucky."

Hearing this, the paper figure trembled a few times, and finally only a sigh remained.

...

Inside another wing room, two people were nervously squatting behind the door. Du Moyu took out his mobile phone, then put it back with an unwilling look.

"Still no luck?" Chen Hao lowered his voice.

Du Moyu shook his head, "No, there's a signal, but I can't contact anyone."

They tried to contact Jiang Cheng, and even Jia Jinliang and Yu Chengmu, who were staying in the room, but without exception, they were all out of contact. Needless to say, the mission rules were restricting them.

"It seems that we can only use the method you said." Chen Hao stared outside the door through the crack. The really fatal thing was time. They didn't have enough time. Just now… just now, thunder had already rumbled in the sky.

In another 15 minutes at most, it would rain.

And by then, it would all be too late.

"It's coming..." Du Moyu suddenly reminded.

Through the crack, they could see a paper figure swaying over, its speed more than twice as fast as before. They could even see a hint of anxiety on the paper figure's stiff face.

It seemed that the paper figure also realized that if it didn't enter the door, it would die.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The knocking on the door became louder.

But no matter how the paper figure knocked or how painfully and unwillingly it wailed, the two people behind the door were unmoved. They were waiting, waiting for the last chance.

A minute passed quickly, and the paper figure slowly retreated with extreme unwillingness. This feeling was like the paper figure didn't want to leave, but a powerful, irresistible force was pushing it away.

Now!

Chen Hao and Du Moyu cooperated very well. One opened the door, and the other, holding a candle, quickly put a piece of rhinoceros horn on the candle flame to burn.

In an instant, a strange smoke rose, and the surrounding scene was enveloped in a blue light.

Under the blue light, the appearance of the paper figure changed.