Exchange

Wu Heng stood in the living room, catching sight of Kirsty weeping through the open bedroom door at a single glance.

Countless iron hooks hung from the ceiling, clinking together as they collided.

The gallows of death rotated with a wheezing sound.

Kirsty was being held by Chatterer, her face streaming with tears as she begged bitterly.

Kirsty stared at the doorway; in her moment of greatest helplessness and despair, the villa door was suddenly flung open, and a figure wreathed in light appeared on the threshold.

"Dean!"

Kirsty cried out in a surge of hopeful excitement, for she was truly terrified.

But she immediately snapped back to reality, realizing Dean was just an ordinary person, and instead shouted in desperate urgency:

"Run!"

"Run, Dean, don't worry about me!"

Kirsty struggled with all her might, trying to break free from Chatterer's grip, but it was completely futile. At this moment, not even a cannon could blast open Chatterer's arms, let alone the strength of a girl.

Wu Heng felt a sense of gratification upon hearing Kirsty's words.

However, since he had come, he naturally had his own trump cards to rely on.

The hall door behind him slammed shut with a snap.

The last inch of sunlight vanished, cutting off his retreat.

Wu Heng took a deep breath and walked toward the bedroom.

He looked at the Hell Quartet before him; this was the first time he had truly seen them in the flesh.

He had seen them many times in movies during his past life, but only when facing them directly could one deeply experience their oppressive presence and the atmosphere of twisted agony they exuded.

"Do you know a man named Frank Cotton?"

Wu Heng carefully observed the movements of the leader of the Hell Quartet, preparing to produce the photograph that would stir Pinhead's memories at any moment.

"He escaped from your clutches."

"We know him. Even if he escaped, what does that have to do with you?"

Deep Throat spoke from the wound in her throat.

"I have already captured him, and I intend to use him to trade for Kirsty," Wu Heng said.

"Perhaps I prefer you instead," Deep Throat replied.

"Maybe. I would rather hear his confession. Perhaps!"

High Priest Pinhead spoke slowly at this moment, his calm voice carrying an undeniable majesty.

"Yes, take Frank in exchange for us," Kirsty shouted excitedly upon hearing this.

"Take Frank, bring him to Hell, and let Dean and me go."

High Priest Pinhead ignored Kirsty, instead staring at Wu Heng and saying indifferently:

"I know you; you will eventually find your path."

"After all, evil seeks evil!"

Wu Heng had long since known what his future path would be:

"This is the path I chose from the start."

High Priest Pinhead continued, his expression unchanging:

"I need a reason now."

Wu Heng understood; Frank was only enough to trade for Kirsty, but they would not let him, who had walked right into their trap, go free.

"Two."

"Two for two!"

Wu Heng held up two fingers:

"Besides Frank, there is another woman, Giovanna Dursley."

The High Priest said nothing more. A surge of electricity crackled, and the quartet vanished from the spot, the room returning to brightness.

Wu Heng had prepared for the worst, but fortunately, Pinhead was not the type to meddle in unnecessary affairs and couldn't be bothered to settle scores with a Cursed Disciple who had escaped from the Ice Cenobite.

Perhaps in Pinhead's eyes, Wu Heng's final destination was destined to be Hell.

Kirsty rushed over and hugged Wu Heng tightly, sobbing.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here!"

"Let us put an end to all of this."

Wu Heng offered a word of comfort before releasing Kirsty.

He had no intention of following the foolish tropes seen in movies, where characters would embrace and weep for ages right after escaping danger, only to be slaughtered by monsters in return.

He turned his gaze toward the Puzzle Box that Kirsty had dropped on the floor.

The Puzzle Box, which should have returned to its cubic form, remained octagonal and had not restored itself.

It seemed the Cenobites had only departed temporarily; they were waiting for him to fulfill his end of the bargain.

Wu Heng stepped forward to pick up the Puzzle Box and examined it, but felt nothing. It appeared he lacked the potential to grasp the method for closing the box.

"Dean, don't touch that box! Throw it away!"

Kirsty anxiously reached out, intending to grab the Puzzle Box and discard it.

"Kirsty, the box hasn't returned to a cube. They could reappear at any moment."

"We aren't safe yet. We must go to the attic of your father's cabin and retrieve Frank."

Wu Heng gently took hold of Kirsty's trembling hand and led her toward the door.

It wasn't that Wu Heng absolutely needed to bring Kirsty to the cabin, but only she possessed the potential to figure out how to close the Puzzle Box.

Only by sealing the box completely could the Cenobites be sent back. In the original story, they had reneged on their deal and tried to take Kirsty with them; it was Kirsty who had forcibly closed the box.

"Retrieve Frank? You mean he's back from Hell? My father—"

Upon hearing this, Kirsty's concern for her father eclipsed her own distress.

"Don't worry. Your father injured his hand and is at the hospital getting it treated. I had someone stop him from coming home."

Wu Heng's words put Kirsty at ease.

"That's good. Dean, what is actually going on here?"

Wu Heng walked over to the Dersen sedan, its front end mangled, and discovered the radiator had burst, rendering it undrivable.

"That's a long story. I'll explain later. Kirsty, you need to study this box carefully now and see if you can close it completely. It's the only way to get rid of them."

Wu Heng handed the Puzzle Box to Kirsty.

Kirsty took the box with lingering fear; the object had already left her with deep psychological trauma.

"I'm right here."

Wu Heng said.

Those four simple words instilled a sense of security in Kirsty. She slowly calmed down and began to study the Puzzle Box in earnest.

The two did not hail a cab, choosing instead to walk slowly toward the cabin to give Kirsty more time to explore the mechanism.

As they neared the cabin, Wu Heng caught Kirsty's eye.

Kirsty nodded affirmatively.

The detectives hiding nearby saw that it was their employer himself and did not reveal themselves to intervene.

Wu Heng led Kirsty into the cabin and up to the attic on the second floor.

He picked up the suitcase that had remained untouched on the floor and opened it.

The two hearts belonging to Frank and the Cap-Wearing Woman lay inside a woven bag, wriggling with vitality.

Wu Heng looked at these two energy sources with a hint of regret.

But since he had already reached an agreement with High Priest Pinhead to exchange this person, these two Cursed Disciples had to be handed over.

High Priest Pinhead detested deception above all else. He usually operated according to a set of invisible rules; he didn't mind if someone escaped within the bounds of those rules, but if truly provoked, this second-in-command of Hell could go berserk, and Wu Heng couldn't stop him yet.

Wu Heng pondered for a moment, then reached his left hand toward the two hearts and activated his Siphon ability.

After the hearts rapidly shriveled by half, Wu Heng ceased his ability.

His physical constitution had increased in strength by about ten percent.

"Frank and Giovanna are right here."

Wu Heng picked up the Puzzle Box, which had transformed into a hexagram, and spoke softly.

The Puzzle Box flashed with electrical sparks, and the surroundings grew rapidly dim. The sculpted deer head hanging on the wall at the end of the hallway let out a painful screech, opened its mouth, and vomited a pile of corpse insects.

The sound of an infant's giggling and an old man's wailing continued to rush up from the stairs to the second floor, drilling into the walls and vanishing, as if a crowd of something were passing by.

The sound of chains finally rang out, and the domain belonging to High Priest Pinhead and his Four-Person Order descended upon the attic.

Wu Heng placed the two shriveled hearts on the floor, gripped the Puzzle Box tightly in his left hand, took Kirsty's hand with his right, and retreated to the doorway.

The four Cenobites stepped out from the Hell Portal that had torn open in the wall.

Would you be willing to trade your collection, monthly tickets, and recommendation votes for two bottle openers from me?