Endless Revenge

Qin Ran brought Lu Xin to the back of their transportation factory. There were many abandoned workshops and warehouses here, with rusty scrap metal and overgrown weeds scattered everywhere. Qin Ran headed straight toward an underground warehouse set into the ground, its entrance fitted with a blue-painted iron gate.

"This is the place!"

Before pulling open the iron door in the ground, Qin Ran panted a few times, then glanced at Lu Xin.

Only then did he unlock the iron door. With a forceful tug, he lifted it open with a creak.

A pungent, nauseating stench rushed out.

Lu Xin covered his nose and took a step back before leaning forward to look again.

The underground warehouse looked like a large pit with a cement floor. There was some stagnant water inside. It was about five meters long, seven meters wide, and four meters deep. Several iron rings had been nailed into the bottom, each tied to a length of chain. What made one's scalp prickle was that every chain had something red and bloody locked to it. Looking closely, Lu Xin realized they were arms.

There were also several half-rotten chunks of flesh at the bottom of the pit. Lu Xin quickly recognized what they were.

He frowned and said, "That's horrifying."

Qin Ran glanced at him. "Little brother, you don't look scared."

"We were the ones who were scared at the time!"

He paused before continuing, "Damn it, when those four people charged into my house, they really gave me a fright. And the whole thing was too damn strange. I didn't dare kill them right away, so I locked them up here first, planning to interrogate them properly and find out who was messing with me. But I never expected that after I locked those four bastards in here, they actually... actually, damn it..."

Perhaps sensing that his voice was trembling, he deliberately spat hard into the pit. Using anger to hide his fear, he said, "They were all lunatics! I hadn't even killed them—I'd only locked them up here—but before I had time to interrogate them, they started attacking each other. They... they started biting into each other..."

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Lu Xin. His eyes were bloodshot, and fear could no longer be suppressed. "Can you imagine it?"

"Those bastards were still human, but they acted just like dogs. You bite me, I bite you... And they weren't merely biting. They were tearing each other apart. Some of their stomachs had already split open, but they were still..."

"At the time... I really couldn't stand watching it anymore, so I shot every one of them..."

"And the first time I ever shot people, I actually felt like I was doing a good deed..."

"..."

Having said this, he suddenly slammed the iron door shut, producing a deafening clang.

"What are these things?"

He stared fixedly at Lu Xin. "Since you came here asking questions, you must know something. Then hurry up and tell me..."

"What exactly are these things?"

"..."

Lu Xin noticed that Qin Ran's emotions were somewhat abnormal.

But that was only natural. Even a ruthless big shot like him would be frightened when faced with something like this.

He might not fear death.

But inexplicable events like these still inspired terror.

"This is completely different from what happened at the café before, but it's clearly abnormal too..."

After hearing Qin Ran's account, Lu Xin quickly began thinking: Was Old Cui, the first person who seemed abnormal, responsible for these strange events, or was it something else? And judging from what happened to him, there seemed to be some pattern. One person came to seek revenge on the first day, two on the second day, and four on the fourth day. Then...

Lu Xin's heart jolted, and he hurriedly asked Qin Ran, "How many days has it been since they came last time?"

Qin Ran clearly knew that Lu Xin had guessed something. His eyes reddened as he slowly replied, "It's the seventh day!"

"Seven days?"

Lu Xin's expression darkened. Tomorrow would be the eighth day.

If the pattern continued, wouldn't eight people be coming next?

"Wait for me. I need to report this."

Remembering what Chen Jing had told him earlier, Lu Xin shook his head and prepared to take out his satellite phone.

But Qin Ran watched him coldly and suddenly picked up an axe from the ground beside him, pointing it at Lu Xin. In a low, vicious voice, he said, "Little brother, I've got plenty of lives on my back. These few bastards can't threaten me. Forget four or eight—even if more than a dozen came, I still wouldn't be afraid. At worst, I'd leave this lousy city and go back to living like a king outside. But don't you..."

"Don't think you can use this opportunity to scheme against me..."

"..."

"An axe..."

Lu Xin glanced at his backpack, wondering where Qin Ran had found the nerve to threaten him.

"Even if you have two guns, I've got plenty of people outside. If something happens, you won't be able to leave either!"

Qin Ran stared coldly at Lu Xin as if offering an explanation. Although he was nervous, he still sounded defiant.

"I'll definitely be able to leave, but that's not the point."

Lu Xin shook his head and said to Qin Ran, "If you aren't afraid of four, and you aren't afraid of eight, what about sixteen?"

Qin Ran's gaze turned cold, and his Adam's apple seemed to bob.

Lu Xin continued, "Does that Old Cui know where you live?"

Qin Ran seemed somewhat flustered. His voice hoarse, he asked, "Why are you asking that?"

Lu Xin said, "You said it yourself. At first, he came looking for you and found this place. But the third time, he went straight to your home. Have you ever considered that perhaps no matter where you hide, they'll be able to find you?"

Qin Ran's palm visibly trembled. "How could that be..."

Lu Xin said, "These events are strange to begin with. Why couldn't anything happen?"

Judging from the pattern, the number of people coming to seek revenge on him would only keep increasing. No one knew how many there would eventually be if this continued. If only a few or a dozen came, then for someone as fierce and ruthless as Qin Ran, they really wouldn't amount to much. But what if there were dozens, or even hundreds?

Lu Xin could already imagine hundreds of people crazily chasing Qin Ran across the wilderness...

In theory, could there one day be a time when the entire world was hunting him down?

Moreover, these people weren't afraid of death or injury. It was even possible that no matter where he went, they would still be able to find him.

They would never stop until he was dead!

More precisely, as long as he didn't die, they wouldn't stop!

Qin Ran was clearly frightened now too. The hand axe in his grip trembled as he rasped, "I don't want to go out and reclaim wasteland..."

He still didn't fully trust Lu Xin. People like them, who made their living through illicit means, usually maintained connections with all sides in High Wall City. But there was always a chance that some powerful figure might take a dislike to him and casually pull out this thorn in their side.

That was also why, despite encountering so many strange events, he had never considered reporting them to the Guard Department.

First, there was no way to explain them. Second, he didn't trust them!

He knew who held the real power in High Wall City. With a single thought from the other party, he might end up spending the rest of his life on a farm outside the city!

"Reclaiming wasteland is still better than dying..."

Lu Xin understood what he was thinking. He glanced at the underground warehouse with its lid clamped shut, then shook his head. "Or being eaten alive."

Qin Ran's pupils contracted, and the hair on his body slowly stood on end.

It seemed he had struggled internally for quite some time before slowly lowering the axe. In a hoarse voice, he said, "I believe you!"

"..."

"As if you have a choice but to believe me..."

Lu Xin muttered as he walked to the side and dialed the phone. Then, changing his tone, he said, "Hello, Colonel Chen?"