This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 376 【Spiritual Energy Subplot: Dreams, Death, Advertisement Girl】

Chapter 376: Chapter 376 【Spiritual Energy Subplot: Dreams, Death, Advertisement Girl】

Chen Ke walked up to the advertisement 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 became 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 something he couldn’t understand.

This size of advertisement 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 seemed 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 same one he had seen from outside the painting.

The difference was that there was a small picture frame on the trunk, containing a photo of a spacious office. This seemed to be the exit; after finishing his business, he would return through here.

Chen Ke looked towards the cottage; from this tree, it seemed to be several hundred meters away. He held his gun and walked towards the house.

From Ms. Harlowin’s behavior just now, it seemed 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 advertisement painting, there were many aspects of it that Chen Ke couldn’t figure out.

Clearly, the advertisement had been shot by Ms. Harlowin, which meant, 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 merely a mutated individual?

Thinking this, Chen Ke had walked halfway when Ms. Harlowin came 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 come in," Ms. Harlowin said with a smile, full of allure.

"I have no grudge against you; tonight... well, today is our first meeting," Chen Ke said indifferently, noting it was night outside but daytime within the painting.

"We hold no resentment 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 me to do this?" Chen Ke asked.

"That’s not important, but before you do what you came for, could you listen to us for a moment?" Ms. Harlowin asked.

She was too beautiful, her voice deep and magnetic, and her sickly white long hair somehow 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 name? Can you tell us?" Harlowin asked.

"My name 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 mean?" 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 camera. Chen Ke, find the camera, set us free," Harlowin said.

"What camera...?" Chen Ke was even more confused.

"Lescott’s advertising department has a Polaroid camera," Harlowin said.

"But... a Polaroid camera can’t take these kinds of photos," Chen Ke said.

Advertisement photography requires processing, but the old Polaroid cameras were instant film cameras and not suited for modern advertising aesthetics, having shifted towards digital camera business in 2008.

"That camera creates a time-stagnant space with the scene it shoots; this is one of them. They can come in through a photo, shoot again with that camera, and replicate countless versions of me," 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 commercial 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 camera, the shadows of the past will continually be replicated, and we can never rest in peace," Harlowin said.

"Is your consciousness and memory shared?" Chen Ke curiously asked.

"Not entirely... each of us has an independent personality, but the pain of being confined, the memory 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 camera, destroy the film inside, and we will never exist again," Harlowin said.

It sounded simple, but finding that camera was an entirely different matter... Not to mention 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 something 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 emerged holding a piece of film.

"That Polaroid took a shot of us after we were killed. Find that photo, and you’ll find the camera," Harlowin said.

"Are you sure?" Chen Ke asked.

"Because that photo will definitely be kept with the camera, because he likes it," Harlowin said.

"Are you talking about Anderson Lesco?" Chen Ke thought, then said.

If the camera was with Anderson, he could just go out and find Anderson.

"No... he is the head of the advertising department, 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.