"Rumble—!"
A violent tremor and the cracking roar of the earth's crust gradually pulled Yu Jing's consciousness back.
As his blurry eyes slowly opened, a sharp pain surged through his back. At that moment, two iron hooks were embedded deep into his shoulder blades, suspending him in midair. Hanging nearby, also hooked by iron, were several carcasses of white pigs.
Yu Jing twitched slightly, and a searing pain flared where the hooks pierced flesh and bone.
"Ah…" He suppressed the scream.
"It seems they still don't intend to kill me yet. But what was that tremor just now? How much longer until this test ends? And what about Jiang Tian's situation?"
He forced himself to stay calm, analyzing each thought carefully. His gaze swept the surroundings—the slaughterhouse showed no sign of the butcher.
"Boom!"
Another powerful quake shook the entire slaughterhouse. Two pig carcasses dropped from their hooks with a heavy thud.
Yu Jing's back ached fiercely; the hooks tearing at his flesh with every jolt, veins bulging on his forehead from the pain.
"What's happening? Is this a built-in tremor from the test zone, or is there a real earthquake outside? I can't endure another aftershock like this—my body won't take it."
Slowly, Yu Jing searched his body with trembling hands for anything useful. He found two items: a combat knife from the interactive room, and a bottle of healing spray he'd discovered while exploring other test areas.
"The spray can even regenerate lost limbs… it should help heal my wounds. But first, I have to use the knife to cut open my back and slide out these iron hooks. If the butcher returns while I'm still hooked, there won't be a chance to survive."
Swallowing hard at the thought, he steeled his resolve.
"I have to live… and get home."
The test was only four hours long. Yu Jing, unsure how long he'd been unconscious, prepared for the worst. He tore his tattered clothes into a wad and bit down hard to stifle any cries of pain.
With everything ready, he flicked open the blade. The sharp edge aimed squarely at the iron hook embedded in his back.
Refusing to hesitate, Yu Jing drove the blade into his flesh, slicing upward along the path of the hook. His arm trembled violently from the sharp pain radiating through his back, but he gritted his teeth and pressed on.
Blood poured out as the hook finally slid free from inside him.
His face flushed crimson, blood streaming down the gaping wound in his back.
"There's still one left!"
Just as Yu Jing prepared to free the second hook lodged in his left shoulder blade, the hook suddenly gave way under his body weight, tearing flesh and bone.
"Shhhk!"
The hook ripped free, pulling a chunk of muscle and bone with it, and Yu Jing crashed heavily to the floor from two meters above.
He spat out the wad of cloth from his mouth, choking on a gush of blood.
The sudden trauma caused massive blood loss; his vision blurred and scattered with black spots.
Pain signals to his brain faded, and Yu Jing found himself teetering on the edge of death.
"I can't die…"
His trembling hand reached for the healing spray on his back, but his fingers lacked the strength to press the nozzle.
Just then, from the ventilation shaft above, a shadow dropped down and swiftly circled behind him.
"Hissss!"
The hiss of spray filled the air.
Yu Jing's torn back visibly began to knit itself shut at an astonishing speed. Warmth spread through his veins, flooding his body with renewed vitality. A surge of new life energy entered him, calming his breathing back to normal.
"Can you stand up? I led that big guy away to a distant ventilation shaft entrance. I crawled through the ducts to find you. Yu Jing, I'm so glad you're alive."
Jiang Tian's voice was filled with relief as she saw Yu Jing still breathing, throwing her arms wide to embrace him tightly.
"My back still aches faintly. Let's get out of here quickly! That butcher may be slow-witted, but since he couldn't catch you, he'll definitely come back to check on me!"
Ignoring the pain, Yu Jing and Jiang Tian helped each other as they prepared to leave, heading back toward the 'interaction zone' room.
"Hss—hss…" Thick, heavy breathing echoed down the outer corridor, accompanied by heavy footsteps.
There was nowhere to hide inside the slaughterhouse; they would be found easily. Yu Jing's eyes flicked up to the ventilation shaft about two or three meters above the floor, and a desperate idea formed in his mind.
"Jiang Tian, I'll send you up! There's no way out now — we have to take this chance."
"What about you?" Jiang Tian scanned the room. Apart from the hanging white pig carcasses, there was nothing to hide behind.
"There's only one way: we have to kill the butcher here, even if it costs us our lives! You make noise at the vent to draw his attention; I'll find the switch for the meat grinder…"
Trying to sneak past the butcher was too dangerous — they had to fight to the death here.
No time to waste, Yu Jing climbed onto the table where the pig carcasses lay. Summoning all his strength, he lifted Jiang Tian onto his shoulders so she could reach the vent and climb inside.
"I think I can pull you up."
"There's no time! Be careful — make noise and attract the butcher's attention!"
Yu Jing quickly stripped off his blood-stained jacket to reduce the scent of blood and melted into the shadows of the slaughterhouse.
"Big guy, I'm here!" Jiang Tian shouted, straining her voice as loud as she could.
The butcher entered, swiftly moving toward the vent where Jiang Tian's voice echoed. He turned his terrifying head upward toward the vent, standing perfectly still in that position.
Yu Jing seized the chance, sticking close to the shadows, moving silently toward the meat grinder at the room's far end.
"This must be the meat grinder," he whispered. "Hopefully the switch is here."
In the darkness, Yu Jing's fingers found a recessed circular button on the metal wall of the grinder.
"The button for the meat grinder?"
Yu Jing's face showed no excitement despite discovering the switch.
A quick look revealed the grinder's opening was large enough to accommodate the butcher's bulky body.
Yu Jing's gaze fixed on the butcher, who stood dumbfounded at the center, drawn by Jiang Tian's voice. In that moment, Yu Jing began plotting in his mind how to 'kill' this enemy.