Chapter 1 - Beginner’s Instance (1) (1/2)

Cheng Zhi Chu was awakened by a bout of violent shaking.

He opened his eyes and found himself faced with darkness. Cold wind filled with the scent of grass and wood stimulated his senses and instantly cleared his mind up. To his surprise, he noticed that his arms were firmly tied up by a rope behind him and his legs were also tied together. Like this, he was rendered immobile.

The sky was dark and there weren’t any stars visible. There were only dim streetlights that lightly illuminated the surroundings allowing him to make out that he was currently being tied up inside the rear compartment of a truck. The truck sped through a quiet road nestled inside a forest of trees. There were no signs of human life and the truck appears to be going though a mountain road and heading to the peak.

“Recently there have been many vicious murders occurring in the city. Police believe that it is the work of the same murderer………”

“The murderer’s method of crime is extremely cruel. Before their death, victims underwent horrendous torture. Organs, limbs and reproductive organs were mutilated and missing to different degrees……The police force is currently working hard to solve this case……….”

“We once again remind the public to pay attention to personal safety and to avoid venturing outside at night…….”

Accompanying the loud engine sounds, an intermittent radio broadcast could be heard from within the car. Cheng Zhi Chu realised that something wasn’t right and started to panic. He didn’t know what had happened —– Clearly, he was in his dormitory with his roommates earlier. He was struck suddenly with sleepiness and, when he woke up again, he had found himself on this truck.

This wasn’t a dream. He was certain about this because he could feel it with all his senses. If this wasn’t a dream, then how did he end up here? Only a few seconds ago, he was still in his dormitory. How did he suddenly end up deep in the middle of the forest and tied up on the back of a truck?

Everything had happened too suddenly, and Cheng Zhi Chu’s mind was a complete mess. It took him a while for him to reluctantly accept his current predicament.

Although he didn’t know what was going on, but seeing that he is tied up, it seemed likely that he was kidnapped. If he didn’t do something now, there would definitely be something worse awaiting him later. He must escape!

“Thunk—-Thunk——”

The truck made a heavy sound as it rumbled along. Cheng Zhi Chu pushed back his fear and started examining the back of the truck. Finally, he found a small piece of metal that stuck out and desperately moved over. Using the sharp edge of the metal, he repeatedly grinded the rope around his hands against it.

…………Faster! Must hurry!

The temperature in the mountains in the middle of the night is very low but, in a blink of an eye, Cheng Zhi Chu was covered in sweat. He clenched his teeth and endured the pain as he repeated grinded the rope against the metal.

About ten minutes had passed but for Cheng Zhi Chu it felt like the longest ten minutes he had ever experienced. When the rope was finally cut, he struggled a few times and succeeded in freeing himself.

“Huff, huff……………”

Cheng Zhi Chu was already exhausted at this point and his arms were sore, but he didn’t dare to delay things any longer. Enduring the pain, he quickly pried off the rope around his legs and then touched his body. Sure enough, his phone and wallet are missing. It must’ve been taken away by the person driving the truck.

If he could, Cheng Zhi Chu would want to just jump off the truck and run off without a care but unfortunately this desire of his could not be realised. Although the back of this truck is open-aired, it is surrounded by iron frames that formed a metal cage around him. It was one of the trucks that was used to transport livestock, so the frames were particularly sturdy. It would be impossible for him to pry it apart and escape.

The only way out would be to open that door at the back………

Cheng Zhi Chu climbed over on his hands and knees and anxiously tugged at the lock on the metal frame, but the lock was very strong and he couldn’t pull it apart. The keyhole was also very small and he didn’t have a wire to use. Even if had one, he didn’t have the ability to open a lock using a wire. After struggling for a long time, the lock still remained motionless on the door.

Cheng Zhi Chu was anxious to the point that his hands and feet felt cold. At this point he started to think; if he cannot escape then he should choose to obediently cooperate with the kidnapper. Afterall, the other party probably kidnapped him for money. As long as he is obedient, he may still be able to guarantee his safety. However, at this moment a faint smell of blood reached his nose.

The truck slowed down, and a light lit up in front of it. The truck slowly drove into a spacious yard as the smell off blood in the air got more and more intense.

Large patches of blood, both old and new, were scattered across the floor. Some were brownish-red while others were still of a fresh, bright red. Cheng Zhi Chu was stunned for a moment and subconsciously thought that this was probably a livestock slaughterhouse but when he once again examined the scene before his eyes, his face suddenly became pale.

On the ground not far from the truck was the body of a young woman. The expression on that corpse was filled pain and agony and at this point its skin had already started to rot. Her limbs were twisted at awkward angles and her chest was cut open all the way down to her stomach exposing her white ribcage. Her internal organs were missing, and the body emitted a strong stench that attracted a swarm of flies. Maggots wriggled about as it feasted on the rotting flesh.

Seeing this horrible scene, Cheng Zhi Chu’s legs went soft. He fell back onto the floor of the truck with his face covered in cold sweat and covered his mouth to stop himself from vomiting.

He suddenly recalled the radio broadcast that he had vaguely heard from within the truck and instantly realised that his current predicament was worse than what he had thought it was ——– This isn’t just an ordinary kidnapper. This is a crazy murderer. If he doesn’t escape……..only death awaits him!

Alarm bells went off like crazy inside Cheng Zhi Chu and his mind went almost completely blank. He only had that one thought in his mind. Despite the desire to escape, his body couldn’t cooperate. He trembled violently and every muscle in his body was stiff to the point that he couldn’t even make the simplest of movements.

“Creak———Thunk!”

At this moment, the truck stopped at the centre of the courtyard and he heard the forceful noise as the truck door was slammed shut. The heavy crunch of footsteps against the gravel on the floor could be heard, alarming Cheng Zhi Chu who was still in a state of deep panic and allowing him to restore a bit of his reason.

It was just one person’s footsteps. It probably belonged to the driver. There probably was just that person alone in the car; the murderous maniac, but that also doesn’t mean that there aren’t any other accomplices inside the building………

These thoughts flashed through Cheng Zhicu’s mind, but he didn’t have the time to think too deeply into it. He immediately hid the rope that he had cut apart behind him and returned to the position that he was in when he woke up initially. He closed his eyes and suppressed the trembling of his body as he pretended to still be out cold. He hoped that like this, he could allow the other person to lower his guard and find an opportunity to get away.

“Clack, clack……….”

A dark shadow moved around slowly under the pale light. One by one, the terrifying sound of his footsteps seemed as if it was stepping onto Cheng Zhi Chu’s heart. The hands hidden behind him stiffened up and he did his best to suppress his quickened breathing to hide the fact that he was awake.

The dark shadow moved over to the front of the cage door. Cheng Zhi Chu peeked out though a small opening in one eye and was stunned. The driver’s body was even more well-built than he had imagined. He was almost two metres tall and his figure was like those of a brown bear. With just one hand, he could easily render him dead.

………How is he going to escape like this?!

Cheng Zhi Chu was a little at loss. At this moment, the driver opened the door with a key. With a loud creak, the door to the cage was opened and he held onto the metal frame on the side before jumping onto the truck. The moment he got onto the truck, the entire truck sank down.

Seeing that the driver was getting closer and closer, Cheng Zhi Chu’s nerves were extremely tense and he could no longer hold back. He quickly rolled over and jumped up before proceeding to try and slip through the gap on side of the driver to escape.

He had originally thought that the driver was large built so his reactions would probably be slow, and he wouldn’t be able to immediately turn around in such a narrow space to chase him. But what he didn’t expect was that the driver didn’t even need to turn around and just directly threw his arms back to hit him in the head and render him unconscious. His body softened up and he collapsed directly to the ground.

………It’s over.

This was the last thought that went through Cheng Zhi Chu’s mind before he lost consciousness.

…….