Employee Meal (Thanks to Shi Yao Huo for the Alliance Leader)

Unfortunately, though he did not have much of a conscience, he could not pretend he had none. Ji Jue ultimately did not stray down the wrong path.

For the last time, he took out his phone and looked at its empty screen.

Feng Ge still had not called back.

He would not answer calls or reply to texts, like he had fucking vanished off the face of the earth. Who knew where he had gone? Had his old comrades gotten him drunk again and left him passed out somewhere?

When it mattered, he was utterly useless—always dropping the chain. Could he do anything right?

It seemed that now, the only person he could rely on was himself.

After one final moment of hesitation, he convinced himself: I'm just taking a look. Just one look. Once I find out what these people are doing, I'll leave. If things go wrong, I'll run.

Ji Jue took a deep breath, turned, and left.

Twenty minutes later, he once again appeared openly before the nightclub entrance.

He wore a Mechanic Uniform and a grimy Work Cap, picked up for four hundred dollars at a Second-hand Stall in a nearby night market. The expense hurt Ji Jue so badly he nearly spat blood.

The only thing he got for free was the Toolbox mounted behind his Little Lamb, which he always carried with him.

Finally, he had a battered folding ladder borrowed on credit from a Hardware Store slung over his shoulder.

Who needed a Membership Card? Who needed Federal Currency?

The Version Ace Pass was right here!

Whenever Ji Jue was broke, he had often relied on this setup to evade fares. It was not as though he had never been exposed, but most of the time, it worked like a charm.

Thus, he swaggered past the luxury cars, crossed the crowd queued outside, and gave the Foreman at the entrance a practiced nod before asking vaguely,

"Who called in the repair request?"

The Foreman seemed momentarily stunned. He Bowed his head and said a few words into his earpiece, waiting for the response from the Other Hand.

The crystal chandelier in the hall, all Gold and Jade Splendor, cast its light across Ji Jue's face.

He held his breath until he was nearly unable to endure it.

Then a hurried figure came out from inside. The moment he saw Ji Jue, he Sighed in Relief, only for his expression to turn angry again. "Why did you take so long? The Elevator's been broken for ages... Wait, why did you bring a ladder?"

"Huh?"

Ji Jue froze for a moment, then his thoughts spun rapidly. "I-it's for inspection. Maybe something went wrong above the Elevator, right?"

The Foreman nodded. "Where are the rest of your tools?"

"In the car. There are too many. I'll move them over once I figure out what the problem is."

Ji Jue gave a vague answer and followed him inside at last. Unfortunately, there was no pounding music or pole dancing as he had imagined. They went straight through the Staff Passage.

Workers hurried back and forth along the way, busy beyond measure. Even when they saw someone carrying such a huge ladder inside, they merely glanced over and ignored him.

Even more Missies, dressed in even less cloth, passed by in groups, their fragrant breeze Lingering around him and putting Ji Jue's self-control to the test. The Foreman leading the way instead warned him, "Don't look around, don't wander off, and don't hit on anyone. Some guests are more than even we can afford to offend. Be careful, or you'll get dragged out the back door."

"Got it, got it." Ji Jue nodded frantically. Following behind him, he finally saw an Elevator with a Maintenance Sign hanging on it.

"Fine, take a look first. If you need any tools, call me from the Tool Room ahead. Don't run around, understand?" The man gave one final warning. "If you stumble across something some big shot doesn't want seen, you won't be able to bear the consequences! See that? The security guards are watching!"

As he spoke, he pointed at the Surveillance Camera on the ceiling opposite the Elevator.

"Man, your place sure has a lot of hassle."

Ji Jue Shook head, then suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh, right. Our company's been checking KPI hard lately. Some corporate beasts work themselves like dogs and always love stealing other people's jobs. You can't call someone else over here to steal my work, okay?"

"Don't worry, don't worry. Why would it take so many people to fix an Elevator? Just call me when it's repaired."

The Foreman waved impatiently and turned away.

Just like that, he had eliminated the possibility of a legitimate Maintenance Worker exposing him.

In the Corridor, where people occasionally passed through, Ji Jue stood alone before the Elevator, staring at it eye to eye as he began pretending to remove its panel.

But halfway through, when no one was paying attention, he lowered his head, moved along the wall, stretched out his restless Little Hand, and gave the camera a little pat.

[Brother, keeping busy?]

The indicator light on the Surveillance Camera blinked naturally. Cooperating with him, it replayed the few seconds of repair footage from just now, and then a voice with a Heavy Accent rang out in Ji Jue's mind.

[What're you doing, little bro? Rules are strict here. Ain't got time to shoot the breeze. If somebody comes out and catches you slacking later, with that build of yours, you'll probably get your ass kicked.]

Ji Jue asked, [Do you know what they do in there?]

[I don't know!]

The camera's tone grew irritated too. [This shitty place has several sets of cameras Inside and outside. Who the hell knows what they're doing in there... Those bastards have been making everything bloody these past few days. Bet they ain't doing anything good. If I had hands, I'd fucking call the cops myself!]

As it spoke, it transmitted the images it had seen through the cameras.

They were all Scenes of several people with their heads lowered, carrying huge plastic bags or boxes out of the Elevator. Bloody Things dripped from the bags, only to be quickly mopped away by cleaners until everything was spotless again.

Ji Jue's entire body prickled with dread.

Even thinking with his heels, there was no way they had bought Donkey Penis from a market to stew soup for guests, right? Were the guests really that weak? Besides, how huge were their appetites to eat that much?

Weren't they afraid their dicks would explode?

But then the face of that mad Old Ghost surfaced in his mind, along with the hunger that had nearly burst forth from his eyes...

The Surveillance Camera's words reminded him.

"Right. Call the police."

Ji Jue had already found out this much. It was time for the police uncles to come clean up the mess.

Subconsciously, he reached for his phone.

But immediately afterward, he heard the Chatty Surveillance speak.

[Oh, right. I think the cops are in on it with them. Several young girls ran out and got dragged back. They were beaten terribly... Don't let them get you too, little bro.]

The image it sent showed the Supervisor from the private room offering cigarettes to police officers as they chatted and laughed merrily. Everyone beamed, without the slightest gap between them, close as family.

In the Supervisor's eyes, a familiar red light flickered quietly, like Blood Flame.

Another one?!

That made three... No, not just three. The Helpful Camera dumped every strange sight from recent days into his mind in one go. There were at least eight or nine people carrying that Eerie Blood Color!

Ji Jue's heart pounded wildly, and his vision blackened.

Fuck, had he accidentally stumbled into these monsters' nest?!

Was it still in time to run?

[Thanks, brother. I'm done!]

Squatting before the panel, Ji Jue followed the Elevator's instructions, found the poorly connected wire, reattached it, wrapped two loops of Electrical Tape around it, and finished the job.

The Elevator cheered, [All done. Get out of here fast. Don't be like the last repairman and get taken away to God knows where.]

"..."

Ji Jue, who had just packed up to flee, froze stiffly in place. He felt the Elevator transmit its internal footage: ten-odd minutes ago, another worker in a Maintenance Cap had followed someone into the Elevator with his head lowered. They went to a floor not displayed on the Elevator panel. The doors opened... and he vanished.

He never came out again.

It was as though, inside this bustling, deafening nightclub, there lurked an invisible black hole. The moment someone carelessly fell in, they were gone forever.

But what truly left him frozen was the image that had flashed across the screen in an instant: the repairman's Right Hand, and the familiar Scar on it. His breathing nearly stopped completely.

A chill spread through every inch of his body.

"Feng Ge..."

Ji Jue's eyes widened as he stood at the Elevator doors.

"Hey? Is it fixed? If it's fixed, come downstairs with me for the employee meal..." The Foreman, who had hurried over after receiving the message, shoved his shoulder. "I'm talking to you. Say something. Why are you playing dead?"

Ji Jue said nothing. In silence, he Looked back at him.

The Foreman frowned, about to speak, when he saw... the youth's raised eyes, and the blood vessels spreading through them, so crimson red.

Then he saw Ji Jue lift his Right Hand from the Toolbox.

And the Crowbar clenched in that hand.

Aimed at his forehead.

It came crashing down!

Bang!

The Foreman's vision blackened, and he crumpled to the floor. The last thing he heard was a cold Echo.

"Good."

Ji Jue grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him into the Elevator. "I've been dying to try your employee meal..."

The Elevator doors closed, and the Corridor returned to emptiness and silence.

Only the Elevator moved slowly downward.

In the brief silence, Ji Jue took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the Crowbar. After thinking it over, he switched to a Screwdriver. The sharp Screwdriver pressed against the Foreman's throat; with the slightest force, it could pierce a hole.

He admitted that he was gambling. Such rash behavior was stupid and irrational.

But the instant Ji Jue saw Lu Feng disappear into the underground floor, all reason and thought seemed to vanish. What remained was only terror and fury beyond anything he had ever imagined.

How had he ended up here?

Was he okay?

He had even said he bought a new computer so they could all play games together.

That bastard had never kept his word even once!

Lu Ma had only just been discharged from the hospital, and he had run off to a place like this—what the hell was going through his head? Did he not know to call and tell him?

At this point, there was no other choice.

All Ji Jue could do was abruptly pull out the unconscious Foreman's phone, stuff every bit of footage he had found into it, Upload it, then schedule a video to be posted two hours later and pushed to Yacheng News and Governor's Voice. It probably would not do much good, but at least if he died, he would not vanish without a sound.

Then he hauled the unconscious Foreman up from the floor, held him in front as a shield, and pressed the Screwdriver against his throat.

He raised his head and Looked towards the stopped Elevator.

And the Elevator doors slowly opening.

Emerging from the hair-raising sliver of faint light was a twisted, savage face. At the instant the Elevator doors opened...

It lunged violently at Ji Jue!

"Fuck!"

Ji Jue's eyes widened. He instinctively raised the Screwdriver, intending to stab forward, but the instant he lifted his hand, he finally saw the blood covering that savage face.

And the bullet hole.

It had blasted from the forehead through the back of the skull, like a split coconut shell, red and white matter spraying out.

A corpse.

The corpse leaning against the Elevator door fell into the Elevator with a crisp thud.

And there were more.

Corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses.

It was as though he had suddenly barged into a battlefield. The pungent smell of gunpowder drilled tangibly into his nostrils and mucous membranes, mixed with thick, sticky blood stench.

The vast underground space seemed to have Turned into a battlefield, through which a storm of Destruction had howled.

What remained were only eleven corpses.

And amid the scarlet blood, a lone standing figure.

He planted his foot on someone still struggling despite having their heart and arm shot through, raised the axe in his hand, aimed at the forehead, and with a snap—

Ended it.

Then the gun in his Other Hand rose, aimed at the open Elevator.

And, like Ji Jue, he froze in place...

It was Lu Feng.

"Fuck."