Chapter 376: Chapter 376 【Spiritual Energy Subplot: Dreams, Death, Advertisent Girl】
Chen Ke walked up to the advertisent painting and examined it.
It was a large horizontal banner, the background portraying a green lawn with clusters of white clouds in the distant sky and a three-story wooden cottage on the horizon.
On the right side of the image was a tree whose leaves were slightly swaying in the wind, as if Chen Ke and the tree were only separated by a window.
On the left side of the image, there was a line of text: “Lescott Ultimate Series Skincare Products.”
A pearly white glass bottle with a stylish design occupied most of the space on the left, while the spot under the tree on the right was where Ms. Harlowin had been sitting.
Ms. Harlowin, dressed in a white wedding gown, was slowly walking towards the wooden cottage in the distance.
Although her steps were slow, Chen Ke noticed that the distance she covered with each step was disproportionately large, and she quickly beca a small white dot beside the cottage.
Strangely, the painting wasn’t a mutated object. Chen Ke’s vision didn’t reveal any information, much like Li Moyang’s mansion; it was sothing he couldn’t understand.
This size of advertisent was typically used as a large backdrop behind counters in malls, but it was unclear why it was placed in an office.
He turned to look at the other corners of the office, and now it seed there was only one way to go, so he reached out to touch the painting on the wall.
The instant his fingertips touched the image, Chen Ke was suddenly sucked in by a powerful force.
Whoosh!
Chen Ke staggered forward two steps before stabilizing himself, feeling the warm sunshine on his skin and the scent of soil filling his nose, accompanied by the chirping of cicadas.
Standing on the grass, with a gentle breeze blowing, he looked to the left: an open grassland in the distance turned into a dense forest, and further off, he could see a sandy-yellow mountain peak.
Looking to the right, he saw a few leaves rustling in the wind, falling onto his shoulder. The tree behind him was the sa one he had seen from outside the painting.
The difference was that there was a small picture fra on the trunk, containing a photo of a spacious office. This seed to be the exit; after finishing his business, he would return through here.
Chen Ke looked towards the cottage; from this tree, it seed to be several hundred ters away. He held his gun and walked towards the house.
From Ms. Harlowin’s behavior just now, it seed she was very aware that Chen Ke was there to kill her.
Perhaps, the people wanting to assassinate Ms. Harlowin were not few; at least, Chen Ke wasn’t the first.
Chen Ke couldn’t help but wonder what virtues or abilities Ms. Harlowin possessed that even the foundation wanted her dead.
As for the advertisent painting, there were many aspects of it that Chen Ke couldn’t figure out.
Clearly, the advertisent had been shot by Ms. Harlowin, which ant, if the painting were a mutated object, what exactly was the Ms. Harlowin inside it…?
Was the person in the photo the real her?
Or was the real her still outside, and the one inside the painting rely a mutated individual?
Thinking this, Chen Ke had walked halfway when Ms. Harlowin ca out of the door and leaned on the wooden railings, quietly watching him.
“Ms. Harlowin,” Chen Ke said in a deep voice, unlocking the safety on his handgun.
“Hello, stranger,” Ms. Harlowin said, noticing the gun in Chen Ke’s hand but showing no signs of panic.
“You know why I am here,” Chen Ke said.
“We know… but you are the only one who dared to co in,” Ms. Harlowin said with a smile, full of allure.
“I have no grudge against you; tonight… well, today is our first eting,” Chen Ke said indifferently, noting it was night outside but dayti within the painting.
“We hold no resentnt for what you are about to do,” Ms. Harlowin said.
Chen Ke took a step back, noting her choice of words, implying she was not alone here…
However, when he activated his Spiritual Vision, he could only see Ms. Harlowin in his sight; there was nobody else in the cottage.
“Don’t you want to know who asked to do this?” Chen Ke asked.
“That’s not important, but before you do what you ca for, could you listen to us for a mont?” Ms. Harlowin asked.
She was too beautiful, her voice deep and magnetic, and her sickly white long hair sohow perfectly suited her, especially in that white wedding gown that emphasized her voluptuous figure while also evoking a sense of sanctity.
Chen Ke took a deep breath and said, “Please speak.”
“Actually, we are already dead,” Ms. Harlowin said.
Chen Ke glanced at Ms. Harlowin; she wasn’t a mutated individual either.
“Why do you use the word ‘we’ to describe yourself?” Chen Ke asked.
“Because… we are us, which is hard for you to understand. We’ve also been adapting for a while,” Harlowin said.
“It sounds like a long story,” Chen Ke said.
“Indeed, what’s your na? Can you tell us?” Harlowin asked.
“My na is…” Chen Ke hesitated a bit, but still told Harlowin, “Chen Ke.”
“You are an assassin, right? And we are your target. It doesn’t get any simpler than that, does it?” Harlowin said.
“I am sorry, Ms. Harlowin, but a contract is a contract,” Chen Ke said.
“We know, but we have to tell you… pulling the trigger on us here won’t do any good,” Harlowin shook her head.
“What do you an?” Chen Ke asked.
“You can kill one of us in this painting, but we will always be replicated,” Harlowin said.
“I don’t quite understand…” Chen Ke said.
“The cara. Chen Ke, find the cara, set us free,” Harlowin said.
“What cara…?” Chen Ke was even more confused.
“Lescott’s advertising departnt has a Polaroid cara,” Harlowin said.
“But… a Polaroid cara can’t take these kinds of photos,” Chen Ke said.
Advertisent photography requires processing, but the old Polaroid caras were instant film caras and not suited for modern advertising aesthetics, having shifted towards digital cara business in 2008.
“That cara creates a ti-stagnant space with the scene it shoots; this is one of them. They can co in through a photo, shoot again with that cara, and replicate countless versions of ,” Harlowin said.
Chen Ke looked around and began to feel the strangeness of the place; the wind was always blowing, and the tree branches swayed at a fixed frequency, like a looping GIF image.
“Killing one of us in a photo won’t satisfy your employer, will it?” Harlowin said.
She had a point. The Foundation wouldn’t send him to kill a comrcial girl without reason; perhaps they knew about this all along but didn’t inform him.
“It sounds like you… you all, don’t really want to live?” Chen Ke said.
“We… are already dead, Chen Ke. But as long as they have the cara, the shadows of the past will continually be replicated, and we can never rest in peace,” Harlowin said.
“Is your consciousness and mory shared?” Chen Ke curiously asked.
“Not entirely… each of us has an independent personality, but the pain of being confined, the mory of being killed, the incomprehension endured between life and death, these feelings are consistent,” Harlowin said.
“What should I do?” Chen Ke asked.
“Find that cara, destroy the film inside, and we will never exist again,” Harlowin said.
It sounded simple, but finding that cara was an entirely different matter… Not to ntion if it was even in this building, and even if it was, finding it was not going to be easy.
“Ms. Harlowin… this is not sothing that can be resolved quickly,” Chen Ke shook his head.
“We have a way,” Harlowin said, turning back into the room.
Chen Ke stood waiting, and about two minutes later, Harlowin erged holding a piece of film.
“That Polaroid took a shot of us after we were killed. Find that photo, and you’ll find the cara,” Harlowin said.
“Are you sure?” Chen Ke asked.
“Because that photo will definitely be kept with the cara, because he likes it,” Harlowin said.
“Are you talking about Anderson Lesco?” Chen Ke thought, then said.
If the cara was with Anderson, he could just go out and find Anderson.
“No… he is the head of the advertising departnt, Felipe. The Lescott Spirit Production board covered up our deaths, Mr. Anderson has no say in it,” Harlowin said.
“I understand… just because you stay forever young, and it also saves a lot on advertising royalties…” Chen Ke shook his head.
“Can we count on you, Chen Ke?” Harlowin asked.
“I will fulfill the contract, not for you,” Chen Ke said.
He reached out, touched the piece of film, and then was pulled into it.
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