radicalducati Chapter 7 Aging
Chapter 7 Aging
Blood oozed from the wound as the man was pulled, flowing down the ground as he staggered.
Upon entering, the man grabbed the bewildered janitor and punched him in the face.
The janitor, who had been hit several times, quickly lost consciousness.
The man quickly rummaged through the janitor's clothes and finally took off his shoes.
The four of them finally saw what they were looking for: this guy had actually stuffed the key to the small door into the sole of his shoe, no wonder they couldn't find it.
The man grabbed the keys and ran quickly to the small door, opening it with trembling hands.
The four followed closely behind, entering the room with the man.
Behind the door was a small room, with clutter piled up along the walls.
Directly opposite the door was a dusty desk, and the room was filled with the smell of decay. The sudden opening of the door stirred up the dust in the room.
Ignoring the discomfort caused by the dust, the man frantically and roughly rummaged through the clutter for something.
Then, everyone saw a man pull an old laptop out of the clutter.
The man steadied his trembling hands from the pain, placed the computer on the table, turned it on, and began writing an email to someone. Cold sweat slid down his cheeks, dripping onto the keyboard along with blood.
He opened his bloodshot eyes wide, his expression extremely focused.
The reading room door had been kicked open, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in everyone's hearts.
Tian Tian and Li Qi leaned closer together; the email contained the following:
"Dear Grandpa, by the time you read this letter, I will have already died."
I have lost contact with Jenny. Please, you must save her.
Grandpa, don't be sad. May my spirit in heaven protect Jenny and keep her safe.
—Your grandson, Joe Sergei.
The sound of banging on the door and the heavy thud of smashing the lock rang out simultaneously outside the door. The young man relaxed after sending the email.
After a brief pause, he lifted the computer high and slammed it to the ground repeatedly until it was completely smashed. Only then did he stand up straight and exhale a deep breath.
The moment the computer was smashed, the door was broken open, and people in police uniforms rushed in.
The moment the young man turned around, a whooshing sound followed closely by a loud bang.
In Zhang Qingxi's horrified gaze, a bullet pierced her face, penetrated the young man's forehead, and exited from the back of his head, striking the wall.
Red and white liquids and tissues exploded like fireworks, creating a bloody scene.
"Hurry up, drag him to the exercise yard and bury him somewhere. Wait a bit, go at night, don't let anyone else find out." The man who fired the shot directed the group of police officers behind him.
He then added, "Anyone who dares to tell anyone about what happened today, even a whisper of it, will be dead."
Upon hearing this, the others immediately pledged their loyalty to the man, saying that they would take this matter to their graves even if they died.
The man laughed heartily and waved his hand generously, signaling them to get to work.
The four people were still reeling from the terrifying scene they had just witnessed; everything had happened so fast that they had no time to react.
The three of them looked at Zhang Qingxi, whose eyes were wide open and whose expression was dazed.
Zhang Qingxi raised her arm, which had become numb with fear, and touched her face and head. They were both intact; she was still alive.
She experienced the relief of surviving a disaster, but she didn't want it to happen again.
Pang Qingxuan stood there blankly, stunned. She was so frightened that she forgot to cry, and couldn't utter a sound.
Lizzie and Tian Tian, who were the first to recover, turned their heads to look at the police officer who was directing everyone to collect the body and clean up the scene.
As her gaze swept over the man's chest, Tian Tian's brows furrowed slowly. The number on his chest was 57.
"But... Number 57, that is, Joe, he should be dead by now."
Her gaze shifted to the man's face. This person was not Qiao. Tian Tian searched her memory but could not find this person.
Just as Tian Tian was deep in thought, Lizzie suddenly patted her shoulder. She turned her head and was shocked by what she saw.
The faces of the other three were aging rapidly.
Pang Qingxuan and Li Qi are slightly better off, both of them starting to have gray hair.
Fine wrinkles began to appear on his face, his skin visibly sank, age spots appeared on his neck, and his posture became slightly hunched.
Zhang Qingxi had already turned into an old man, with gray hair and his once elastic skin now covered with wrinkles, hanging down on his face.
Zhang Qingxi struggled to straighten his stiff back, his cloudy eyes, heavy with worry, looked helplessly at the other three who were also aging.
She tried to open her mouth, but her teeth, which had fallen out due to old age, came out first. Her legs, too weak to support her body, gave way, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.
She looked as if she would die at any moment.
At this moment, everyone realized what was wrong, and Tian Tian understood what the strange feeling she had felt earlier was—they were getting old.
Moreover, this aging is related to the use of this watch to replay time; whenever they do, they pay a price, which is their lifespan.
Thinking of this, Tian Tian hurriedly signaled Lizzie to adjust the time. Lizzie did not hesitate and immediately moved her face closer to the dial, squinting her eyes as she carefully looked at the numbers, and began to turn the knob.
When the time was finally adjusted to the present, the reading room returned to silence under the surprised gazes of Tian Tian and Zhang Qingxi, with no one else present except the four of them.
At the very moment when time returned to normal, the four people's appearances gradually returned to their original state.
Zhang Qingxi knelt on the ground, panting heavily with his hands on the ground. The other three were not doing well either, as the discomfort caused by old age had not completely subsided.
After discussing it on paper, everyone decided that Pang Qingxuan and Tian Tian would tidy up the reading room, while the other two would wait.
It was already 12:40 pm. Lizzie glanced at the time and removed the battery.
She wasn't sure if she could take the watch dial or leave it in the reading room, but she ultimately decided to put it back in the library.
After everything was almost tidied up, footsteps came from the stairs, it seemed that the female prison guard who brought them had come to inspect them.
When the female prison guard saw the four men standing in front of her, her expression darkened slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.
For some reason, Tian Tian sensed displeasure on the female prison guard's face, perhaps because no one had died there, which upset her.
Whether it was out of revenge or because they hadn't finished cleaning the last room, it's unclear.
The female prison guards didn't give them food and deducted from their already meager wages. The original rule was 10 yuan per person, but they only received 5 yuan in the end.
However, surviving was already an incredible feat, so the four of them didn't dwell on it.
After Tian Tian carefully put away the clues and Lizzie confirmed that the battery was still on her, the four of them followed the female prison guard out of the second floor and returned to cell block number two with their own worries.
After a short rest at noon, they will go to clean the bathroom in the afternoon.
Zhang Qingxi walked at the back of the group, her gaze sweeping over the people in front of her before she slowly lowered her head.
She raised her hand, turned her palm over, and looked at the withered and shriveled back of her hand, a ripple of emotion appearing in her eyes.