Han Shitao came over and asked, "What's wrong with Qiang Ge?"
Li Ke jumped. His expression turned a little uneasy. "You'll see."
They walked around to face Qiang Ge.
His face was as pale as paper, and his greasy face was smeared with food. He kept stuffing food into his mouth, chewing a few times before impatiently swallowing it down.
Half the food on the table was already gone.
His stomach bulged to an absurd size, like that of a woman nine months pregnant.
Han Shitao and Xu Rou were too frightened to speak.
"Qiang Ge?"
"Has he gone crazy?"
Li Ke took off his glasses and wiped the dust from them. "It's no use. He can't hear you."
"You see? This is what happens when you eat that food."
Han Shitao sighed. "Why would Qiang Ge eat any of this?"
Qiang Ge kept cramming food into his mouth. His stomach had swollen to a terrifying size, but he continued stuffing himself as if he couldn't feel any pain.
The others watched in horror, their fear of the food reaching its peak.
Xu Rou was almost glad to see Qiang Ge like this.
"He deserves it! He can't even control his appetite. What's the difference between him and a pig? Hmph! At least a pig wouldn't shove me out there to die!"
As soon as she finished speaking,
Qiang Ge's stomach suddenly burst with a pop, like an overinflated balloon. Its contents sprayed all over the floor.
"Ah!" Xu Rou and Han Shitao screamed in fright.
The sight was horrifying.
A foul stench mingled with the smell of blood and the aroma of food. The combination was indescribably strange, and together with the disgusting, terrifying scene, it was too much to bear.
The three of them rushed into the bathroom and vomited.
When they had retched until their arms and legs were weak, and there was nothing left to bring up, they braced themselves and hurried out.
They were afraid that if they stayed another second, they would end up like Qiang Ge.
The three of them walked out, still shaken, and saw Du Jiashi and Bai Zuo strolling leisurely down the hallway.
Han Shitao noticed they had no bandages on. "Why aren't you hurt?"
Her fingers had been hurting all night, keeping her from sleeping. Even now, the pain was unbearable.
If everyone had been injured, she would have had to endure the pain and keep searching for the key so they could go to the next floor.
But unlike them, pale-faced and listless, Bai Zuo and Du Jiashi looked much livelier. Their complexions were normal, and they seemed completely unharmed.
Li Ke and Xu Rou looked at them too.
Li Ke asked, "You didn't run into that waiter yesterday?"
Du Jiashi recounted Bai Zuo's approach with obvious admiration.
Li Ke's face darkened. "Why didn't you tell us about it?"
Xu Rou and Han Shitao also shot Bai Zuo and Du Jiashi questioning looks.
Li Ke's vicious glare was practically spilling over.
His fingers still throbbed with pain, and he began to hold a grudge against Bai Zuo.
Du Jiashi didn't indulge them. "Brother Bai was only guessing. There was no guarantee it would work. If it had failed, would you have blamed him again?"
The person Li Ke had always resented, Qiang Ge, had gone crazy.
Now he had set his sights on Bai Zuo instead.
Just as Li Ke was about to put one of his schemes into action,
Bai Zuo suddenly said, "This is so boring!"
"I thought I'd get to see a good show, but you're all completely useless."
"The only thing about you lot that's even remotely useful is all the malice pouring out of you."
"Du Jiashi, deal with them. I've had enough of this lousy play."
Du Jiashi charged forward, grabbed Li Ke, and slammed him to the floor. Then he dragged him over to the dining table.
Li Ke realized what was happening and struggled frantically, but Du Jiashi was unbelievably strong. He pinned Li Ke to the table in one swift move.
Du Jiashi grabbed some meat from the table and shoved it into Li Ke's mouth.
Li Ke shook his head violently, keeping his mouth tightly shut so he wouldn't have to eat.
Du Jiashi wrenched his mouth open and stuffed the meat inside. "Eat! Repent for the crimes you committed!"
"Getting stuffed to death is too good for a bastard like you."
Li Ke was already starving. With the meat in his mouth, he couldn't help chewing and swallowing a few bites.
Once he started eating, he couldn't stop.
As if he'd tasted the most delicious thing in the world, he suddenly broke free of Du Jiashi's grip, lunged at the table, and frantically grabbed meat to shove into his mouth.
Xu Rou and Han Shitao were both startled.
"Why are you doing this?" Han Shitao could see that Bai Zuo was behind it all. She challenged him directly.
Bai Zuo didn't reply. He only looked at them with deep, cold eyes.
Han Shitao felt as if he could see right through her. Guiltily, she remembered something and turned to run, but Du Jiashi caught her.
"You too. I hate people like you most of all. You think you're better than everyone else just because you have a little money, so you bully and torment others as you please, convinced you're above them."
"You can pay for the way you've acted without a care for anyone else!"
Du Jiashi pinned her to the dining table.
Han Shitao looked terrified. Seeing Li Ke stuffing himself and Qiang Ge still eating even with his stomach burst open, she began to cry in fear.
"I'm sorry! Please spare me! It was all my fault! I won't do it again!"
Du Jiashi asked, "You think you did something wrong?"
"I shouldn't have done that. I was really wrong!"
Han Shitao wept bitterly, putting on a sincere show of remorse. But inside, she was full of hatred. If she got out, she'd make her family find him!
She'd make him suffer! She'd make him wish he were dead!
Bai Zuo moved his fingers.
Telepathy activated, linking Han Shitao's mind to Du Jiashi's.
Every thought in Han Shitao's heart flooded into Du Jiashi's mind.
Du Jiashi's face twisted with anger. "You lied to me!"
Before long, Han Shitao met the same fate as Li Ke.
When Xu Rou saw Du Jiashi turn his gaze toward her, she knew she couldn't escape either. Trembling, she asked Bai Zuo, "What have you found out?"
Anyone could see that Du Jiashi was just a dog at Bai Zuo's beck and call.
Bai Zuo spread his arms and spoke in a malicious, spiteful tone. "I enjoy watching people struggle with their ugly human nature. But what I enjoy most is seeing you hide all that malice beneath a normal facade."
"Why not just let go?"
The mask Xu Rou had kept in place for so long finally cracked.
She'd been giving herself over to it, letting herself sink into a bottomless hell. The crushing guilt had tormented her every moment, leaving her no peace.
She screamed hysterically, "What do you know?"
"He beat and tormented me for years. Was I not supposed to get revenge? All I did was make a meal with ingredients that were supposed to clash. Who knew he'd suddenly have a stroke and die?"
"He deserved to die!"
"What did I do wrong? I've already lost everything!"
Xu Rou broke down sobbing.
After hearing her out, Du Jiashi said with deep sympathy, "You did nothing wrong. The ones at fault were those inhuman scum."
"But killing him made you suffer. It seems like you've been punishing yourself all along, unable to escape the shadow of the past."
"Brother Bai can help us find redemption. We can atone for who we used to be and be reborn!"
Xu Rou asked, "Can I really do that?"
She looked at Bai Zuo.
Behind him stood a giant spider, lurking in the shadows, one pair of eyes glowing red.
Xu Rou unexpectedly calmed down. "So you really aren't an ordinary person."
"Can I truly find redemption?"
A smile played at the corners of Bai Zuo's mouth. He had been a calm bystander from start to finish, his deep eyes like a demon's, watching people live and die with cold indifference.
"That depends on whether you're ready."
Xu Rou clearly understood now: this man was cold-blooded! He was a monster who took pleasure in watching other people suffer, a monster that could devour the human heart!
"Ding! Bai Zuo's Character Perfection increased by 10%!"
At this point, Xu Rou didn't care whether he was a strange creature or a demon!
She closed her eyes. If he could save her from that bottomless hell and the guilt of taking a life with her own hands, then she would welcome death without regret.
Xu Rou felt a cool touch on her forehead.
Something furry landed on her head. Then something burrowed into her brain.
All the malice in Xu Rou was swept away with its arrival.
For the first time, she felt truly at peace, without guilt or remorse.
As an observer, she watched again the scene that had kept her trapped. That day, she'd prepared a whole table of food. Her husband came home after a long day at work and immediately ordered her around. After drinking, he'd started hurling abuse at her.
He said he'd spent so much money marrying her, only for her to turn out to be a hen that couldn't lay eggs. All she did every day was spend his money.
How had she felt back then?
Xu Rou watched with a numb expression. Hadn't she been unable to have children because that man had beaten her so badly that she miscarried?
When she'd wanted a divorce, the man had piled up a huge debt and threatened that if she dared leave him, he'd destroy her family.
As he talked, the man ate the food on the table with his drink. Then, all of a sudden, he clutched his head, rolled his eyes back, and fell over.
Xu Rou smiled.
The man had always drunk too much and stayed up late. His death had nothing to do with her. Why had she taken the blame for it?
Why had she let the guilt torture her until she was barely recognizable? It wasn't worth it!
Xu Rou opened her eyes. The glaring light outside made them fill with tears.
Du Jiashi held out a hand. "Welcome to the group."
Xu Rou smiled through her tears and took his hand. "It really feels like I've been reborn."
All her old troubles had disappeared. Looking back at what she'd done before, she thought it had been foolish and laughable.
Why had she wasted her life over that piece of trash?
And why had she done so many wrong things while guilt tormented her?
Du Jiashi said, "That's right. We have to atone for our past!"
Bai Zuo clapped. "What a happy ending for everyone!"
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