Chapter 139: The Smile in the Painting

The next day.

Under Lin Fan's leadership, the group, startled but unharmed, crossed several of the most dangerous areas.

Several times, at Lin Fan's command, the team ducked into abandoned shops or vehicles at the last moment, narrowly escaping death.

Duobian and Miyuki's gazes toward Lin Fan had shifted from initial shock and fear to almost blind worship and trust.

Even the ever‑calculating wealthy merchant Zuoteng completely set aside his demeanor, strictly obeying every order from Lin Fan.

When the silhouette of the massive crane at the distant Port finally appeared on the hazy skyline.

Everyone felt a weight lift.

"We see it! It's the Port!" Duobian shouted excitedly, his voice hoarse from days of suppression.

Miyuki was moved to tears of joy, wiping her face with the back of her hand, and her face showed the first smile in many days.

Hope lay right before them.

The group quickened their pace and finally reached the edge of the Port.

It was far more open and quieter than the city, with only the whistling of sea wind passing over containers.

Zuoteng pointed at an unremarkable medium‑sized cargo ship moored at Pier No. 3, his voice trembling with excitement.

Even someone as steady as him could not suppress the surge of emotion at that moment.

"That's the ship!"

The fatigue, fear, and despair of the past days were instantly swept away by the approaching freedom.

The group almost jogged, rushing toward the cargo ship that bore all their hope.

On the inevitable road to the pier, they passed a huge advertisement poster.

The poster was clearly aged, its corners peeling, yet the image remained clear.

The poster featured a cool‑aura, nationally renowned female star endorsing a luxury watch.

She wore a simple black gown, her gaze calm, expression meticulous, exuding an unapproachable distance.

The captain, walking at the rear of the group, halted his steps.

He tilted his head back, looking at the star on the poster.

"Ah, it's Miss Yui..."

"Captain?" Duobian turned and gave him a puzzled look.

Zuoteng lowered his voice and explained, "Miss Yui is the captain's favorite star, a fanatic; his house is plastered with her posters."

"Still chasing a star at this point?" Duobian couldn't help teasing.

The group paid little attention to the aside; after all, escaping was paramount.

They continued toward the cargo ship; Zuoteng, Duobian, and Miyuki were the first to climb the gangway onto the Jiabǎn.

Duobian and Miyuki had already entered the cabin ahead.

Lin Fan, at the rear and about to board, felt the blue vortex in his right eye suddenly contract.

He glanced back.

The captain still stood before the massive poster, motionless like a statue.

He kept his head tilted back, back to the group, his silhouette looking especially Weird on the open pier.

Lin Fan felt a chill rise within him.

"Captain! We're moving!" Zuoteng on the Jiabǎn turned back, saw the captain still standing, and shouted loudly.

But there was no response.

The captain still held that pose, not moving a hair.

The air, at that moment, felt off.

A spine‑tingling chill crawled up people's spines.

At that instant, Lin Fan's gaze passed over the captain's shoulder and landed on the huge poster.

On the poster, the cool‑aura star Yui, whose face had once been as calm as water, now had her mouth twisted upward at an extreme angle.

A massive, rigid, inhumanly extreme terrifying grin... bloomed across her face.

"Careful!"

Lin Fan's pupils shrank to needle points, and a terrified roar burst out.

But it was too late.

Almost simultaneously, the captain, who had been facing away from everyone, stiffly turned, inch by inch.

His face bore the same hair‑raising Weird grin.

And Zuoteng on the Jiabǎn, having turned to shout, already had his gaze locked onto the smiling face on the poster.

The color drained completely from Zuoteng's face; his body went rigid, and the muscles on his face began to twitch and contort uncontrollably.

The same grin slowly surfaced on his face.

Simultaneously, in the poster, Yui's eyes, bearing that Weird grin, shifted and locked onto Lin Fan!

An invisible, vicious cursed force surged forward across dozens of meters!

Lin Fan only felt darkness before his eyes.

A semi‑transparent girl's phantom suddenly materialized behind him, blocking his path.

Ling Xinyu's figure, already dim from earlier exertion, became almost transparent after resisting the curse, as if she could vanish at any moment.

"Xin Yu!"

Lin Fan could clearly sense the extreme weakness she transmitted, his heart racing.

Can't delay any longer!

Killer intent surged in Lin Fan's eyes, leaving no hesitation.

The grudge energy surges!

Puff!

Puff!

Two jet‑black strands of hair shot out from behind him, carving two dark arcs in the air and precisely piercing the heads of the newly infected Zuoteng and the captain.

Their bodies fell limp, their smiles forever frozen.

"What's happening?" Inside the cabin, Miyuki and Du Bian, hearing the commotion outside, curiously tried to stick their heads out.

"Don't come out! Don't look!"

Lin Fan moved swiftly, shoving the two back and slamming the cabin door shut with his other hand.

"Mr. Zuoteng and the captain… they've been infected."

Lin Fan gritted his teeth, his voice cold and hoarse, quickly recounting what had just occurred.

From inside the door came the two's sharp inhales and frantic sobs.

At this point, the makeshift escape squad was reduced to just Lin Fan, Du Bian and Miyuki.

A few minutes later, Du Bian, filled with grief and anger, rushed into the bridge, his trembling hands fumbling to start the cargo ship.

With the engine's roar, the cargo ship slowly pulled away from the dock.

Lin Fan stood at the ship's rail, watching the land—hellish and receding—grow farther away, feeling no joy of having survived the disaster.

This terrifying curse… had already mutated to spread through static images.

Did they truly escape death?

A heavy sense of foreboding shrouded his mind.

Meanwhile.

Inside an Underground Shelter somewhere on Dongdao.

A surviving middle‑aged man carefully pulled a Family Photo from his chest.

In the picture were he, his wife, and his adorable daughter, all beaming brightly beneath a cherry‑blossom tree.

He brushed the faces of his family in the photo, his eyes full of longing tears.

The next second.

The warmth on his face instantly froze.

In horror he saw that in the photo, his wife's and daughter's once‑sweet smiles were uncontrollably cracking, becoming huge, twisted, rigid.

Before he could react.

His own face slowly took on the same Weird grin.

Then he smashed the frame, using the sharp glass that fell to slash his own throat.

Using photos, portraits, sculptures, even any lingering human‑face image on a screen as a medium…

A second, more covert and unstoppable wave of infection erupted silently across all of Dongdao.

In a short span, Dongdao lost another tens of millions of lives.

And this despair was far from over.