Chapter 239: The Dark Building |
Qin Ziwen handed the martial weapon to the Crowned Eagle for safekeeping, then made his way to the foot of the mountain.
Soon, he noticed a man carrying an axe sneaking towards the woods.
Seeing this, the corner of Qin Ziwen's mouth lifted. He knew it—with so many people, it was impossible that no one was slacking off.
The man had just entered the woods, found a clearing, and sat down when a hand landed on his shoulder from behind.
The man was startled, jumping up abruptly. He turned his head and saw Qin Ziwen standing behind him, initially mistaking him for a supervisor.
"I'm not slacking off, I just came to see if there were any suitable trees," the man instinctively defended himself.
But he quickly realized something was off.
Because Qin Ziwen's aura didn't seem like someone from the building.
After scrutinizing him for a moment, the man hesitantly asked, "Are you from the urban village?"
With over three thousand people, how could they all know each other? Besides, the other man didn't have any special identifying marks, like a yellow cloth tied on his shoulder or a green headscarf or anything.
"Damn, you scared the hell out of me," the man cursed and sat back down.
"You guys look pretty tired," Qin Ziwen said, sitting down beside him.
At the mention of this, the man couldn't help but swear, "Fuck, they're all a bunch of animals, even worse than my old boss! They're practically treating us like cattle and horses."
As he spoke, the man sized up Qin Ziwen, a suggestive smile appearing on his face. "You're here from the urban village for fun, right? What type do you like? I can introduce you to a few. Boss Xiang on the fifth floor, his goods are top-notch, especially Guanguan—big tits, wet, and a perky ass."
Seeing Qin Ziwen's expression remain unchanged, the man's eyes shifted. "Not your type? Then there's Sister He on the sixth floor. She has a few university students who used to work part-time at a maid cafe. The service is a bit lacking, but..."
Seeing Qin Ziwen's expression still hadn't changed, the man's heart began to drum. "You don't... like playing with guys, do you? But there are guys too. Whether the taste matches your requirements is hard to say, though. I'm a pretty upright guy myself, don't like going through the back door."
The more he talked, the more disgusted the man felt.
He knew that over the past two maps, too many people had died. Because so many people died, under the immense pressure, many indulged in lust to numb themselves—not only playing wildly but also perversely.
But he remained a staunch traditionalist.
Shrinking his neck, the man silently scooted his butt back a bit, watching Qin Ziwen leave.
Arriving at the base of the Red Cauldron Tower.
Many people were coming and going, both inside and outside the building.
Qin Ziwen swaggered directly inside.
The elevator had long been out of service. Several staircases beside it were open, however.
The Red Cauldron Tower was very tall, with a hollow internal structure. Viewed from above, it resembled two stacked squares.
Unlike those new-style office buildings, the Red Cauldron Tower was built in '05, making it one of Jiang City's earliest high-rise office buildings.
Influenced by Hong Kong architecture during its construction, it maintained an internal atrium.
The exterior walls had been renovated, but the internal space retained its original structure.
The stairwell floor was mopped clean, but on the interior walls of the atrium, patches of dried blood were stuck to the surface.
The air held an indescribably oppressive smell.
Sour, foul, damp, and stuffy.
Long poles were hung across the corridors, with clothes drying on them.
Room doors were mostly closed, though occasionally one was left ajar.
Qin Ziwen reached the third floor. Ahead, a room had been opened up, with many people going in and out. The smell of burning coal wafted from inside, accompanied by the clanging of metal.
That was probably the blacksmith's workshop here.
Qin Ziwen wanted to take a look, but two burly men blocked the entrance to the blacksmith's.
Qin Ziwen withdrew his gaze and continued upstairs.
This time, he carefully walked the entire floor to confirm that on the lower levels, floors 1-5 had a total of five fire exits. Three of these exits were only accessible between floors 1-3, while the other two main safety staircases connected floors 1-8. Upon reaching the eighth floor, one needed to "go straight, turn left, then turn left again" to switch to a new staircase. This pattern repeated, with the two main safety staircases swapping positions every eight floors.
Qin Ziwen knew part of the reason for this. The Red Cauldron Tower was connected to a shopping mall. Several safety exits on the lower floors could directly enter the mall, but obviously, only this tower had crossed over; the mall hadn't come along.
The internal safety passages of the tower were very complex. Qin Ziwen silently memorized their locations.
When he reached the thirty-second floor, he found he could go no further.
The safety doors on both sides were blocked.
The floors above were clearly the "private space" of the higher-ups.
"Which floor are you from?" A questioning voice came from behind. A bald man wearing an apron, fastening his belt, and humming a tune walked out of a room behind him.
Seeing Qin Ziwen didn't answer, a flicker of vigilance flashed in the bald man's eyes. Just as he was about to turn his head, Qin Ziwen had already rushed to his front, grabbing his neck in one swift motion.
The man's face turned a purplish-red as he feebly pounded on Qin Ziwen's solid arm.
Glancing around to avoid being seen, Qin Ziwen dragged him straight into the room he had just exited.
Entering the room, Qin Ziwen felt as if he'd been hit with a pause button.
He stared dumbfounded at the utterly shocking scene before him.
When the wind blew, they swayed, as if waving.
On a table to the side sat a large blue plastic barrel, from which a pungent smell of blood emanated.
On the chopping board were freshly processed "ingredients."
Qin Ziwen looked around in disbelief, finally lowering his gaze to the bald man in his hand.
He casually closed the door behind him, then grabbed the boning knife from the chopping board and pressed it against the man's neck. "Make a sound, and you die."
When the hand gripping his neck loosened, the bald man coughed violently, but with each cough, the cold blade at his neck pressed closer by an inch.
He trembled all over, crying as he spoke, "I'm just a cook! The people were already dead when they were delivered! If you want revenge, find someone else!"
Revenge?
Qin Ziwen looked at the chopping board. Although the ingredients were dismembered, one could tell their owner had been young when alive—very pale, very tender. A head was placed beside them.
Black hair cascaded like a waterfall, hanging down from the blood-stained edge of the board.
In the air, besides the smell of blood, there was another indescribable odor.
A flash of disgust passed through Qin Ziwen's eyes.
This was beyond mere perversion.
Seeing Qin Ziwen remain silent, the bald man hurriedly spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube. "They were already dead when they were delivered! They said she jumped from the sixth floor when the customer wasn't looking! It has nothing to do with me!"
"How long have you been preparing this... meat?" Qin Ziwen asked.
"Meat?" The bald man was momentarily stunned. "You're not from our building?"