Unlimited Cycles of DeathChapter 13

Warning: Depictions of violence. This chapter is a minor cliffhanger!

The dim yellow lights flickered on and off. The light fell on Mu Qin’s somewhat pallid face. He faced the faint lighting and looked at the directions of usage on the medicine bottle in his had. The font on the medicine bottle was too tiny, and in addition, the lighting was too dark. Mu Qin could only squint his eyes with full concentration in order to not leave out any information on the effects. NfBMhT

Just as Mu Qin finished eliminating these medications one after another, he finally found the antipyretics he was looking for, causing him to be pleased beyond expectations. He tightly grasped this bottle of hard to come by medicine and stuffed it into his pocket. Soon after that, just as Mu Qin was preparing to put the other medications in his hand back onto the shelves, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps drift from outside the infirmary.

It was the sound produced by stepping on the marble flooring in the corridor outside.

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Mu Qin’s mind right now was extremely tense, tense to the point where even the slightest sound would make every hair on his body stand on end. One reason was he was worried that Xu Fu might come back at any moment. If Xu Fu’s leg was injured, there was a large chance he would come to the infirmary to find medicine, so the possibility of the gauze, bandages, and alcohol removed from the medicine cabinets being taken away by Xu Fu was very high. Mu Qin was clear on this point, but he still came. He came to the infirmary not just to find antipyretics for Han Li, but also to confirm Xu Fu’s location and state of injury.

It was best if he could test if, under the state of Xu Fu’s injured leg, Mu Qin could subdue or entrap the other party. p7RjLD

Mu Qin believed that with his speed, it was impossible for him to be unable to outrun a lame person.

But even though he had this bit of confidence, Mu Qin was still incapable of relaxing. He was 100% sensitive towards the sound of footsteps. Because he had previously undergone rigorous training, Mu Qin would instinctively remember the sound of other people’s steps. As long as it was someone he had interacted with before, the way these people walked, their physique, the size and lightness or heaviness of their stride, Mu Qin would have an approximate impression of it all. Therefore, he remembered the sounds of Qiu Zijia’s, Han Li’s, Cheng Guoxu’s, and Xu Fu’s footsteps.

Yet the sound of footsteps that suddenly arose outside, Mu Qin realized in horror… he didn’t recognize it!

Mu Qin’s first reaction was to think: It’s not Xu Fu… who is the person outside!?

Then, his second reaction was to hide. Hiding was the optimal response to the abrupt question.

Mu Qin’s body surpassed his train of thought and began to move. He quickly found a spot where he could conceal himself in this infirmary where hiding spots were scarce… there were curtains in the infirmary which were used to separate each individual sickbed. The moveable white curtains were also used to protect the patients’ privacy. Merely most of the curtains were very old and worn out. They were worn to the point where the original white was no longer distinguishable. The cloth was suffused with yellow and stained by large patches of black. Some curtains were half hanging on the frames and half laying on the ground.

Although hiding behind the curtain was really easy to be discovered, at least it would provide Mu Qin with some time to react. In addition, Mu Qin could also use the curtain to obstruct the other person for a bit… for example, using the curtain to cover the enemy’s head if the other party had hostile intentions.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Thus, Mu Qin took action. He placed all of the bottles of medicine in his hands back into the medicine cabinet and softly, without making any noise, walked behind the infirmary’s curtains. 4vLnOJ

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Right after Mu Qin took a deep breath and finished hiding, he heard the sound of footsteps from outside close in on him. The other person might be lingering right in the corridor of the apartment building’s first floor, standing right outside the infirmary. This made Mu Qin realize that this stranger’s footsteps were only separated from him by a single wall.

This was the first time since leaving the armed forces for many years that Mu Qin felt nerve wracking and a strange sense of panic. Even earlier when he was faced with Xu Fu’s deadly pursuit, Mu Qin didn’t feel this kind of panic.

Despite this, he never expressed this kind of panic on his face. aEFTIX

Mu Qin was completely puzzled. Who in the world was the person outside?

According to what Xu Fu said, the map of this sealed orphanage should only have six people, one killer and five players. Now, two had already died… although Mu Qin didn’t see Cheng Guoxu die, Mu Qin was sure he was dead.

And now, Qiu Zijia was following Mu Qin’s instructions. He was carrying Han Li and slowly advancing along the fence at the edge of the courtyard. As for Xu Fu, Mu Qin wasn’t sure where he was, but Mu Qin listened to the footsteps outside. They were different from Xu Fu’s footsteps.

Xu Fu’s footsteps sounded a bit heavier. Because Xu Fu had a tall and big build, with a height of nearly 180 to 190 centimeters, a body of solid muscles, and a robust physique, his weight was very hefty. As a result, his footsteps when he walked were also heavy. He would produce comparatively larger stepping sounds, and he seemed to not have any habit of controlling the strength of his stepping. PwWh5A

Above all, his leg was injured, so he would definitely limp when he walked. The sound of this kind of lame gait was very easy to distinguish. Perhaps even normal people could easily identify it.

But now, Mu Qin heard the noise of footsteps outside were very regular, and there was no limp. It was a normal person’s gait. Moreover, the person’s steps felt really light. The other side seemed to be intentionally controlling himself to walk lightly and slowly.

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Who in the world was it!?

Many possibilities swept through Mu Qin’s mind. He didn’t believe the person outside could be anyone among Xu Fu, Qiu Zijia, or Han Li… could it be, there was another, a seventh person, in this orphanage? Or maybe… axnJC9

Mu Qin thought of the dead body that died in the stairwell next door.

Could a dead person possibly come back to life?

If it were before, Mu Qin would not believe it. Of course he had seen death, seen other people die, changing from a vivid, living being to a pile of rotting flesh. He firmly believed that death was an irreversible process. Once someone dies, they would absolutely never come back to life.

Yet now, Mu Qin couldn’t continue confidently believing this. Because he knew he himself had already died. His brain still contained memories from the moment of his death. He was hit and killed by a truck. A truck carrying a few tons of goods directly rolled over his body, crushing him into a meat patty. However, now, he was nevertheless alive. Not only was he alive and well, he was also standing in this strange orphanage and being pursued by a strange killer. Y8VSLd

Such a bizarre and terrifying thing already happened. In that case, what was so strange about a dead person reviving?

The key point was why was he able to revive?

Mu Qin subconsciously reached his hand into his pocket. There was still that tarot card placed inside his pocket, and he remembered that tarot cards were separated into Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana has a total of 22 cards numbered 0 to 22, from 0’s The Fool to 21’s The World. The Minor Arcana has four suits, the suit of Wands, the suit of Cups, the suit of Swords, and the suit of Pentacles. Each suit has  14 cards, and adding the four suits together totaled a sum of 56 cards.

In this game of murder, the purpose of tarot cards were the same as the prop cards in some games. Since it’s a game, then having a resurrection card was nothing out of the ordinary! DAUH4X

It was a pity that, earlier, Mu Qin hadn’t considered this at all, because he didn’t really understand the specific rules of this killing game and the practical use of tarot cards, and furthermore Mu Qin determined that the only person who understood was the killer.

Just realizing this now was already too late. Mu Qin heard the footsteps outside walk through the infirmary’s door. This proved that the other party was already standing inside the infirmary and was perhaps standing right in front of curtain sheltering Mu Qin. Mu Qin couldn’t help but hold his breath. He didn’t dare to randomly stretch his head out to peep and could only silently listen to distinguish the person’s location.

The sound disappeared for a moment. The unidentified person who entered the infirmary seemed to not make any movements, maybe only standing there quietly.

Mu Qin also didn’t move. He covered his mouth and nose and waited patiently, closely staring at the curtain in front of him at the same time. His body was tense and he prepared to attack. He needed to pounce out in the instant the other party might want to pull aside the curtain, using the curtains to cover the other person’s head. This way, the other person would momentarily be confused for a second or two due to losing their vision. One or two seconds were enough for Mu Qin to escape. m7Yd9t

But after waiting for a long time, the other party didn’t act to pull aside the curtain like how Mu Qin anticipated, instead walking in front of the infirmary’s medicine cabinet. The person apparently opened the cabinet and was rummaging for some medicine and related items. Mu Qin heard the random sounds produced by the other person rummaging through things.

He appeared to have not discovered that there was a big, living, breathing person hiding behind the curtain beside him.

Mu Qin thought this as he hid behind the curtain. Even so, Mu Qin still didn’t dare to be careless. He continued waiting with a tense body and taut nerves.

As he was waiting, Mu Qin also continuously warned himself internally: don’t be impulsive, continue waiting, wait for the best opportunity. 1qamrI

And then while Mu Qin was waiting, the other party finished rummaging through the medicine cabinet. The person still didn’t come and pull aside Mu Qin’s curtain, instead striding nimbly and leaving the infirmary. Mu Qin heard the sound of his steps gradually drifting away.

Realizing the other person may have left, Mu Qin unbearably released a breath of air. He silently sighed but still didn’t dare to leave the curtain’s shelter. He decided to continue hiding here for a bit because he guessed the other party might not have walked far.

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Following was another period of endlessly waiting. Mu Qin waited for almost ten minutes, still noiselessly observing the outside for noises. Mu Qin finally confirmed that the other person had already left, so he slowly slightly relaxed his body that had been stretched so taut it was stiff. He lightly pushed aside a corner of the curtain and peered outside.

The infirmary appeared absolutely empty. After that unidentified guy finished rummaging through the medicine cabinet, he didn’t close the cabinet doors, and there were even some medical supplies scattered on the ground. JmOIid

The infirmary’s door was left casually wide open. The lights in the corridor outside were extinguished at some unknown point in time, and it was pitch-black.

Seeing that there were no other people inside the room, Mu Qin pulled aside the curtain and walked out. After confirming there was nothing odd, he was relieved. He covered the antipyretics in his pocket and walked out the door. But unexpectedly, in the instant when Mu Qin had just lifted his foot and stepped out through the doors of the infirmary, he sensed a gust of wind attack from his side. It came too suddenly so that Mu Qin was unable to react in time, only instinctively raising his arms to protect his vital points.

Soon following was a burst of sharp pain. Someone forcefully beat onto Mu Qin’s stomach with a fist, and the strength wasn’t small at all. Mu Qin felt that it was like a dumbbell smashing onto his stomach, causing him to instantly feel as if his stomach and intestines were overturning and even almost vomiting out his stomach acid.

All at once, this caused Mu Qin to be beaten senseless. He realized in astonishment that the enemy was standing right beside the entrance of the infirmary, waiting all along for Mu Qin to come out so the enemy could easily ambush him. Moreover, the other party even silently waited for as long as ten minutes, exactly like a hunter’s patience as he guards a trap 5U2RZV

Mu Qin, who had been beaten once, didn’t lose his ability to move. He withstood the pain and backed up, increasing the distance between him and the enemy. However, the other person didn’t spare him and once again rushed forth. This time he didn’t use his fists. Instead, he used a leg and kicked Mu Qin’s left knee. His joint suffered damage and made Mu Qin unable to remain standing. In an instant, he could only kneel on one knee.

Soon after, that person took the advantage and slammed a foot into Mu Qin’s abdomen. Mu Qin was kicked by the other person and fell backwards onto the ground, but Mu Qin still struggled to turn over, wanting to crawl up.

Very quickly, Mu Qin realized his situation was extremely passive. The enemy obviously had powerful wrestling techniques. Every move was skillful. Moreover, every move was aimed at a person’s joints and places where the most pain would be felt. This kind of fighting could let people feel severe pain and rapidly lose the ability to resist, becoming a fish on the chopping board waiting to be slaughtered.

At this moment, what Mu Qin should do was to break away from the other party’s range of attack as soon as possible, restoring his body’s coordination and ability to fight. Otherwise, he would definitely be beaten to death by this person. z3Xjtw

Thankfully, the other party didn’t have a knife or any similar weapon. If not, then instead of a fist earlier, it would have been a knife.

BunnyGod: hehe. guess who 🙂