Conceiving a Plan

"Rumble!"

The violent tremors and the thunderous sound of the earth's crust splitting gradually brought Yu Jing back to consciousness.

As his blurry eyes slowly opened, Yu Jing immediately felt a sharp pain in his back. At that moment, two iron hooks had pierced his shoulder blades, suspending him in midair. Hanging around him were similarly suspended objects—one white pig carcass after another.

Yu Jing moved slightly, and the hooks grinding against his flesh sent searing pain through his body.

"Ah..." Yu Jing suppressed his cry.

So they're not planning to kill me yet? But what was that tremor just now? I don't know how much time is left before the test ends, and I don't know how Jiang Tian is doing.

Yu Jing did his best to calm down and analyze the matters in his mind one by one. His eyes swept across the surroundings, but he found no trace of the butcher in the slaughterhouse.

"Boom!"

Another powerful tremor struck, shaking the entire slaughterhouse. Two white pig carcasses even fell from their hooks.

Yu Jing suffered as well. The hooks embedded in his back tore at his flesh with every tremor, making the veins on his forehead bulge.

What's going on? Is this part of the test area, or is there really an earthquake outside? I can't keep going like this. If there's another aftershock, my body really won't be able to endure this pain.

Yu Jing slowly felt around his body and found two usable items. One was the military knife he had found in the room in the Interactive Area, and the other was a bottle of healing spray he had discovered while investigating the other test areas.

The spray can regenerate even severed limbs, so it should be able to heal my injuries. Next, I need to use the knife to cut open the wound in my back and let the hooks slide out. Otherwise, once the butcher returns, I won't have any chance of surviving.

As Yu Jing considered his only means of escape, he could not help swallowing.

I have to survive, then go home.

The test lasted only four hours. Not knowing how long he had been unconscious, Yu Jing prepared for the worst. He first tore off his ruined clothes, twisted them into a bundle, and clenched them between his teeth to keep himself from crying out from the coming agony.

Once everything was ready, he flicked out the straight-edged blade and aimed its sharp edge at where the hook had entered his back.

Without giving himself a chance to hesitate, Yu Jing drove the blade into the flesh around the embedded hook and cut upward with all his strength. His arm kept trembling from the excruciating pain radiating from his back, but he gritted his teeth and continued cutting.

Blood splattered everywhere, and at last, the hook slid out from within.

Yu Jing's face was flushed bright red, while blood poured from the gash in his back.

There's still one more!

Just as Yu Jing prepared to deal with the remaining hook, the one lodged in his left shoulder blade seemed unable to bear his weight and began tearing through his flesh.

"Slash!"

The hook ripped free from Yu Jing's back along with flesh and bone, and his entire body crashed heavily to the ground from a height of two meters.

The cloth clenched in his mouth fell out, and he coughed up a great deal of blood.

Because of the sudden turn of events and massive blood loss, Yu Jing's eyes began to lose focus as black spots formed in his vision.

By then, the pain reaching Yu Jing's brain had become extremely faint. He was standing at the brink of death.

Can't die...

Yu Jing's trembling hand grabbed the spray and pointed it toward his back, but his fingers no longer had the strength to press the nozzle.

At that desperate moment, a figure jumped down from the ventilation opening above Yu Jing's head and swiftly circled behind him.

"Hissss!" The sound of spraying rang out.

Yu Jing's completely torn-open back healed at a visible rate. At the same time, warmth seeped into his veins and spread throughout his body. Renewed vitality flowed into him, and his breathing slowly returned to normal.

"Can you stand? I lured that big guy to a ventilation duct entrance farther away, then crawled through the ducts to find you. Yu Jing, it's really great that you're okay."

Seeing that Yu Jing was still alive, Jiang Tian spoke with obvious excitement. She opened her arms and hugged him tightly.

"My back still hurts a little. Let's get out of here quickly! That butcher may be stupid, but since he couldn't catch you, he'll definitely come back here to check on me!"

Enduring the pain, Yu Jing supported himself against Jiang Tian as the two prepared to leave and return to the Interactive Area room.

"Sniff... sniff..." Heavy snorting came from the hallway outside, accompanied by ponderous footsteps.

There was nowhere to hide in the slaughterhouse. They would be spotted easily. Yu Jing looked at the ventilation opening two or three meters above the ground, and an extreme idea arose in his mind!

"Jiang Tian, I'll get you up there! There's no way back now. We can only gamble!"

"What about you?"

Jiang Tian swept her gaze around the slaughterhouse. Other than the suspended pig carcasses, there was nothing here that could provide cover.

"The only option now is to risk our lives and kill the butcher here! Make some noise from the vent to draw his attention. I'll look for the meat grinder's switch..."

Trying to slip past the butcher and escape was far too dangerous. They could only make a desperate stand here.

There was no time to waste. Yu Jing stepped onto the table holding the pig carcasses, then used all his strength to lift Jiang Tian onto his shoulders. This allowed her to reach the ventilation opening and crawl inside.

"I think I can pull you up!"

"There's no time! Be careful, and make some noise to draw the butcher's attention!"

Yu Jing immediately took off his bloodstained coat, trying to reduce the scent of blood coming from himself, then hid his thin body in a shadowy corner of the slaughterhouse.

"Big guy, I'm over here!" Jiang Tian shouted as loudly as she could.

Following Jiang Tian's voice, the butcher quickly came beneath the vent. He raised his terrifying head toward the opening and stood there without moving.

Yu Jing seized the chance to move along the dark corner as silently as possible, reaching the meat grinder at the far end.

"This is the meat grinder. I hope the switch is here!"

In the darkness, Yu Jing felt along the metal surface of the meat grinder before him. Fortunately, his fingers touched a round button that could be pressed inward.

Is this the meat grinder's button?

Despite finding the switch, Yu Jing showed no trace of excitement.

At first glance, the opening of the meat grinder before him appeared large enough to accommodate the butcher's enormous body.

Yu Jing stared at the butcher, whose dull-looking head was still turned toward the center of the room, captivated by Jiang Tian's voice. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yu Jing began devising a way to "kill" him.