C12 — Strange Tales By The Lakeside

 

In the nick of time, the bedroom doorknob was actually twisted.

 

“Ellie, why did you lock the door?”

 

Mayor Marcus’s voice came from outside the door. He knocked on the door, but Mrs. Ellie, who had long since fainted, couldn’t hear him at all. He realised what was going on and immediately went from knocking to banging on the door.

 

Soon, the banging stopped as well, and the mayor was fetching the key.

 

“I don’t have any more grid space; take all the information!” Zhuo Yu grasped the edge of the window and used his upper arm to support his body. There was no time to climb down a little bit now, and with Liu Jingyun’s boost, Zhuo Yu’s entire body folded down.

 

He was falling.

 

The good thing was that this was only the first floor; the worst that could happen was that a bone would be broken, and the way he was falling, there was a great probability that the injury would be to his legs. This was even less concerning; his legs weren’t sentient, and even if all of them were broken, it wouldn’t affect anything. At most, the bloo-d loss would lead to physical exhaustion and dizziness, but his character would definitely not be so useless. How could someone who had died die again so easily?

 

In the twinkling of an eye, Zhuo Yu had already thought of the worst possible outcome and ways to cope with it, and just as he was planning to curl up his body to reduce the impact with the ground, what he felt was not hard stone bricks but a hot, thick chest.

 

The boss had him in his arms.

 

The crocodile-headed man’s arms tightened as if he were holding a fragile object—a lost treasure.

 

“It hurts… ” Zhuo Yu only felt his shoulders being squeezed by the hug until they were about to break, and he couldn’t help but hiss.

 

The boss’s hands instantly relaxed. He looked at the building, not wanting to stay here for long, so he let Zhuo Yu sit on his arm and picked up the wheelchair with his other hand, ready to take him away.

 

Liu Jingyun also landed on the ground; she fell on her face, and before she stood up and had time to rub the sore spot, she realised that there was a high mountain standing in front of her.

 

She instantly stiffened.

 

“Don’t strike at her!” Zhuo Yu spoke in a hurry, as he could feel that the boss’s muscles were tightening as if he wanted to attack Liu Jingyun. That girl’s physique was too small; she couldn’t withstand any of the boss’s blows, and she would be ki-lled outright.

 

The boss was a bit reluctant, but he stopped his attack, allowing Liu Jingyun to keep her life.

 

He also stopped looking at this weak human, turned his head, and left in the direction of the town’s exit. Zhuo Yu also understood at this moment why the other party was called a monster, because just by its speed, the BOSS was already far beyond the normal category.

 

Although his body size was tall, it wasn’t at all bulky; on the contrary, it was sensitive and terrifying. No matter how complex the terrain was, he could walk on it like it was flat ground under his feet. His running speed made Zhuo Yu hear the sound of the whistling wind.

 

No wonder Zhou Wu couldn’t get rid of the boss even when he was driving.

 

And Liu Jingyun, who was left in place, stretched out her hands in vain and watched dumbfounded as the boss hijacked her dawn, her hope, and her good teammate!

 

That inhuman speed caused Liu Jingyun to feel the wind pounding on her face, and she didn’t even have time to open her mouth.

 

But now wasn’t the time to freeze; the town mayor had already entered the bedroom.

 

Liu Jingyun hurriedly ran away from the visible range of the window and rushed towards the direction of the caravan.

 

On the outskirts of Spring Town, Zhuo Yu bizarrely experienced the joy of riding a horse. Because of the headache from sitting on his arm and being blown by the wind, he took the initiative to wrap his arms around the neck of the boss and hang on his back, and the boss just rushed along without a word, as if he were a silent and swift mount.

 

The scenery flew backwards on both sides, and Zhuo Yu’s hair and clothes fluttered in the wind.

 

 

Zhuo Yu thought that even if he wasn’t disabled and was able to run like a normal person, he wouldn’t be able to experience this kind of exhilarating feeling, right? If not for Asha, he would never have known that running too fast could cause a stinging sensation when the wind blew on his face.

 

Asha could always bring him surprises and new experiences.

 

Zhuo Yu had no fear at all, and he didn’t want to think about where he would be taken; he just wanted to open his voice and scream a few times. Just like those young people driving around in convertibles, his heart was full of excitement and happiness.

 

[Plot Reached: The four students who were attacked by the crocodile-headed monster fled in all directions, while the traveller took the opportunity to arrive at Spring, a town that is secretly bizarre. The traveller was surprised to discover that he was the one who died fifty years ago and that he was the one-time owner of the Golden Lake, who transferred the land to Mayor Marcus before he died. This made the traveller feel that there was definitely an evil plot behind all of this.]

 

Zhuo Yu ignored the system’s broadcast; he wanted to simply enjoy the moment.

 

“So fast! Can you go any faster?”

 

Zhuo Yu laughed out on BOSS’s back; he was a bit reserved after all; he didn’t scream out, but his cheerful laughter wasn’t withheld, making Asha hear it clearly.

 

The boss’s mood also got better; he accelerated his pace and indeed heard Zhuo Yu’s even more open and crisp laughter.

 

The actor, who was robbed by the monster and should have been shivering, was now jumping for joy. The monster that should have executed the player didn’t do it but instead tried desperately to make the actor happy. This was an unprecedented rarity on the set, and even the audience watching this film was deeply shocked by this scene.

 

[This isn’t right, is it?]

 

[Do you all feel that Boss really likes Zhuo Yu?]

 

[I’m sure he does. Didn’t you read the storyline? Zhuo Yu’s character has been supporting BOSS for a long time, so it’s understandable that he doesn’t do anything to him.]

 

[I still remember the scene in the third playback when a guy tried to talk to BOSS and was chopped apart by BOSS with an axe. Is this still the same brutal boss?]

 

[Anyways, as much as I want to see plasma, the current scene isn’t bad, right?]

 

[+1, who doesn’t like to see the story of Beauty and the Beast?]

 

[The upstairs is off, isn’t it? What Beauty and the Beast? Zhuo Yu is a male, although he is good-looking.]

 

[The picture style is getting strange; hahaha, I’m sorry, I’ll go first.]

 

 

[Me too!]

 

 

The boss had already left the range of Spring Town at this moment; he was weaving in and out of the dense forest next to the highway. If there was a car passing by on the highway at this moment, if they took a look out the window, they’d be able to see a black shadow driving alongside the car.

 

Zhuo Yu felt that his physical strength was being replenished back in a steady stream; that feeling of weakness originating from his soul subsided quite a bit, and as the boss and the destination got closer and closer, the strength brought by his character followed suit.

 

“You run so fast; why do you go so slow when you catch someone? You can’t be doing it on purpose.” Zhuo Yu blurted it out next to his ear.

 

“…… Well.” BOSS muttered, his voice as hoarse as if he hadn’t opened his mouth for decades. “Yes.”

 

Although he only got a “yes” answer, it made Zhuo Yu overjoyed that BOSS was able to communicate with people.

 

“Why? Won’t it be better to just ki-ll them all?” Zhuo Yu pushed forward and hugged him even harder. The morning air was humid and a bit chilly, but the boss was really warm. He couldn’t help but press his face against the boss’s neck, like a lazy cat basking in the sun.

 

The boss resisted the urge to stroke Zhuo Yu’s head. He thought for a moment; after all, some words were a bit too complicated for him, who hadn’t spoken for half a century.

 

“They… haven’t had enough… penance.” The boss pulled the crocodile mask down and said, “I’m going to make fear their last memory.”

 

Hiss-

 

He didn’t expect BOSS to hold such a grudge.

 

Zhuo Yu thought about it; from the perspective of those few surviving actors, this film was purely an intimidating horror film. The boss would always be able to catch up with them, but whenever they thought they managed to escape, unbeknownst to them, it was just a hunting game for the boss.

 

If he wanted to, he could ki-ll them in a flash, but he didn’t; he wanted to torture them one by one until these people’s hearts were left with an indelible fear of the boss. For the survivor who died at the end of the day, how desperate would he be?

 

“What kind of grudge?” Zhuo Yu smiled and said, “If I weren’t this character, would I be hunted down by you like this too? It doesn’t feel too bad.”

 

He didn’t expect the boss to answer this question because the boss probably wouldn’t understand what he said about roles and such.

 

“No, Zhuo Yu is unique.” The man finally reached his destination; he stopped in a bush and solemnly said, “No matter where you are, you are the only one.”

 

The boss’s speech was slow, and his words were a bit jerky, but he was very serious, as if he were telling something important to Zhuo Yu.

 

“Nonsense.” Zhuo Yu murmured, “After this film is over, another traveller will come next time, and you’ll forget everything by then.”

 

The boss suddenly let out a low chuckle, his voice changing briefly. “No, because… Asha is special too.”

 

 

Zhuo Yu snapped his eyes up but realised that the boss was no different from earlier; was it just an illusion?

 

“Arrived.”

 

The boss stepped into the jungle, and what met his eyes was the Golden Lake.

 

He didn’t expect to escape in the middle of the night and be brought back at the crack of dawn. Did BOSS consider this place a home?

 

Zhuo Yu was placed on the sofa in the cabin. The boss looked at the messy living room somewhat silently; he recalled how clean and tidy this place used to be, as did the person holding the fountain pen under the writing desk.

 

It was great that Zhuo Yu could come back.

 

Zhuo Yu looked at the frozen boss and hooked his finger towards him, completely disregarding the fact that the other party was a vicious monster; instead, it was as if he were calling out to a big, cute dog.

 

The boss’s reaction was also really like that of a big dog; he came close to Zhuo Yu’s side, squatted down, and put his face on Zhuo Yu’s hand.

 

 

As he got closer, he realised that the boss had many scars on his body, as if he had been burned. Some parts of his skin were cracked, while others were covered in large patches of fire. This body, which was even more perfect than the Apollo statue, was covered in scars.

 

These recent injuries were nothing; Zhuo Yu saw that on the boss’s skin, there were still some signs of ageing.

 

“Take off your clothes and show me.”

 

The boss hesitated for a moment but finally obeyed Zhuo Yu’s order and took off the clothes on his upper body, revealing his muscles and the scars.

 

“Gu-nshot wounds, three rounds in the chest. Chopping wounds, intensively appearing at the spine…” Zhuo Yu couldn’t bear to look any further; he felt that he was really like that traveler,  who was like an old father. He felt a bit heartbroken for the boss.

 

 

Although humans all had preferences, or perhaps it was just an illusion created by love at first sight, Zhuo Yu felt that he was probably really suitable to be a villain. Compared to the exhausted actors, he felt pity for the stronger side.

 

 

This kind of emotion was wrong, but Zhuo Yu let it spread.

 

 

“How did you survive such heavy injuries, huh?”

 

 

Zhuo Yu stroked up these random scars that could have k-illed him, his white fingers wandering through these gnarled undulations as he traced his fingertips across the knot of the boss’s throat and probed into the edge of the mask.

 

“Can I see your face?” Zhuo Yu asked.

 

Unbeknownst to him, the boss’s reaction was fierce; he stood up and pulled back several steps at once, even shaking his head, and even his fists clenched nervously.

 

Zhuo Yu knew that underneath his ultra-violent appearance, Asha had the same scarred heart and low self-esteem.

 

 

Wasn’t his former self the same?

 

Zhuo Yu sighed. “I’ve said before, you don’t need to be so concerned at home; you can’t scare me.”

 

The boss silently said, “I am not the same as before.”

 

 

Thinking about it, Zhuo Yu traced the boss with his eyes; compared to how he looked in his memories, the boss had grown up quite a bit, and his body didn’t stop growing in that year; his body shape and voice were more mature.

 

 

“I told you, I won’t be afraid of you.” Zhuo Yu looked fixedly at the other’s mask. “You don’t believe me?”

 

 

“Not ……”

 

 

“Then come here; I just want you to have someone to open up to and trust with all your heart in a world full of prejudice and intrigue.” Zhuo Yu seemed to be talking about Asha, but also seemed to be talking about himself: “A person who has been living strongly for so long, isn’t it lonely?”

 

 

The boss’s heart was greatly shaken within him; he was silent for a long time, then he stopped stumbling.

 

 

He lifted the crocodile’s head mask in a sharp, desperate move.

 

---

TN:

See ya tomorrow ✌️