A messenger clutching a folder shook in fear from the moment he was told to that he was responsible to deliver the papers to Liu Yingyue, or as lower ranks only knew her as The Masked Demon - ruthless and horrid most under the midnight sky when moon was the brightest.
If you were to be targeted by her, don't try escaping, just pray and hope that she gives you a painless death. Unlucky, you'd be tortured for weeks without an end, an endless nightmare.
Driving up to the place where The Masked Demon was staying for this time, the messenger could only plead the driver, only for him to look away.
"Do your job kid…we all have a role to play, and yours is to deliver those papers," he pointed at the white envelope in his shaking hands.
The driver's eyes trailed up the sky rise building he pulled up to. Even if he was far, far away from the person, he could still feel the fear trembling through his old bones.
He was an old man, but stayed in the job for many years. He was in good relationships with many of the higher executive people, but the day he saw that child - no, demon - emerge from the shadows of his boss, it was a time that even his old memory could never forget.
The Demon placed high up, reaching for the moonlight glow, and the old driver could only sigh and shake his head.
The driver was old and had already seen many things after living for a long time. He even watched their boss - his young master - grow up into the fine young man he was today. But The Masked Demon was something else. The variety of ways she'd play with others' lives while growing up and her morals and goals, it was all very new to the old driver.
Still, he didn't treat The Demon any differently from how she should be treated, unlike his young master and others. He saw this murderous and ruthless demon, as the child she was.
But, his natural survival instinct still reacted. The sinful aura The Demon would carry along with her wherever she went made anyone recoil in fear. But he keeps this reaction to himself and tries to hold it back when in the presence of The Demon.
The messenger looked at the old driver pleadingly, and the old man just ignored him and continued driving. The messenger had heard the rumours about the person he was going to meet, and he knew he was screwed from the moment he was given the task.
The look on his division leader's face, pity and fear. No.1XX displayed proudly on his uniform as a sign of his power before all the lower numbers were nothing in comparison to the rumoured, Masked Demon.
If his division leader's No.1XX was afraid and shivering in fear from just hearing about The Demon's name, how was someone lowly like him going to survive!?
This was worse than all death missions he was forced to go to! They were nothing compared to the misery that he was going to experience, this was the death mission! The higher ups just want him dead! Or worse! Trapped in an endless nightmare for his years to come!
"Please Sir! Can't you do anything to help me!?" he cried.
The old driver sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry kid. My hands are tied."
"Aren't you close with The Demon? Can't you…somehow convince her to spare me?"
"No can do. Even if I beg, it'll be rare for Miss Liu to let you live." The old driver tightened his grip on the leather wheel. "Just pray that she'd show mercy on you. A painless death maybe, if she's in a good mood."
The messenger gripped onto the white envelope in his hands, still shaking. He looked at it with hatred and resentment.
Why did he even choose this line of work? Why did he choose this position, working for this company!?
But he couldn't just escape or quit. He pleaded from the very beginning, that his life, his future, everything, was under the control, and belonged, all to the Mo family.
Before he could even take another minute to comprehend his situation, the old driver kicked him out of the car and drove away, leaving the messenger to stand on the sidewalk frozen in shock.
Dinggg—
Somehow, the messenger was already at the door. The door concealing the monster behind that he was about to face.
How did he get here again?
Oh right, the workers at the hotel turned all their heads at him once he stepped in the door. Their praying eyes glowed red, and before he could even speak, they pushed him into the elevator then once it stopped on the floor labelled as "WARNING: You are seeking something worse than death on this floor" they pushed him out of the elevator and quickly shut the metal doors behind him.
He was forced up here! Even the workers themselves were shaking when they got into the elevator and pressed the button labelled in red. And once they pushed him out and closed the door, he could see them sighing in relief and praying for him to be at peace!
Those scums! They used him as a sacrifice!
And now his finger was hovering above the doorbell. This was just a death button!
Accidentally, his shivering finger that was barely grazing the doorbell, shook too much and pressed down.
Dinggg—
The sound of a haunting ring echoed through his ears again. The sound continued to beat his brain even after it ended. Till the door - the gates that protected him from the beast - creaked open.
'…I'm screwed'
The eerie trails of smoke slithered through the gap and attacked his face. The heavy pressure of just the smoke alone taunted him. It was like the tendrils of smoke were like hands, wrapping around his meek body and clinging onto him, making sure that he couldn't escape even if he tried.
Gathering up all his strength, he muttered out a weak voice. "H-h-hello..? M-miss…L-l-l—"
In the end, the messenger couldn't muster up enough courage to speak out The Demon's name.
The door opened on its own record without the messenger even touching, just enough for a person to slither through. The messenger didn't want to get any closer than he already was to The Demon, but the tendrils of smoke seemed to push him into the darkness.
His legs moved on his own, and before he could even try to struggle away, his two feet had already crossed over the entrance of the cage. Or maybe it's more suitable to call it a lion's den or even the demon's den.
His mind was commanding his body, his legs, not to take another step closer to suffering itself. But his body did not listen. The smoke was seeping deep into his body, his insides, his veins like flowing poison. Reaching into his mind like and pulling his cells like strings to control his body - a puppet.
Standing inside a black abyss, the place had no lights other than the glass window that stretched across the whole wall, reflecting colored lights from the city below into the back room. It was the only possible way for anyone to see in this darkness.
But this exact light helped the messenger to see an outlined figure of a person, their head resting comfortably on the arms of the couch. From the outline alone, the figure's presence was menacing.
The messenger's eyes seemed to be forced to stare at the only other light source, red and sparking like flames of burning embers. It was held between The Demon's two fingers, who rested her hand lazily over the couch.
The messenger saw that The Demon didn't even move an inch when he entered her cage, she seemed like she didn't even acknowledge his presence!
"U-uh…Miss..?" The messenger only called out the honorific, he was too scared to even think about The Demon's name, let alone say it outloud.
The messenger shakily turned his head from the flame to directly look at the figure of The Demon. His whole body was shaking from the inside out and he could feel his legs turning into jello.
He didn't think he'd get a response, but he did.
"What?"
When the messenger heard the Demon's voice in person for the first time, he was taken aback. He didn't expect her voice to…be like that. It did not fit with her overall aura and appearance that she presented.
"You a mute or what? Number and reason," Liu Yingyue bluntly ordered.
"Ah—! N-no.307!" He reacted with a salute. "I-I'm here to d-deliver these p-p-papers!" 307's words stuttered and he could practically feel the tears escaping his eyes.
Liu Yingyue clicked her tongue. It ticked her off after hearing the stutters and tears falling down 307's eyes. How many times has she seen people cry just from looking at her?
She lost count after the first hundred.
"Just leave it on the counter." She waved her hand carefreely with the cigarette trail of smoke following along behind her movements. Liu Yingyue didn't want to drag out this already tiring conversation and adding on the fact that this messenger was giving her the work, it made her mood drop.
307 quickly placed the envelope on the counter as ordered, only for him to shriek back and cry in mystery after seeing red liquid seeping closer to where he placed the papers.
'Blood..!'
He shuddered.
Then a loud "tsk" was heard from Liu Yingyue in annoyment. Rubbing her nose then looking down at her palm. Blood beads of blue, red, and even pink. Liu Yingyue rolled her eyes before cursing, "Fuck you Nian Zhen, told you that the dosage was too much..!"
In anger and frustration, she slammed her fist onto the couch, making the 307 shriek back and jump. He thought The Demon was pissed at him for even being near her, wasting her time with his useless words - which was partly true.
"M-may I go now..? M-miss—!"
Liu Yingyue shot a glare to where she heard the voice come from, completely forgetting that there was a messenger there. She clicked her tongue once more before sliding her free hand to her waist. Pulling out a pistol, silver lines were personally designed onto the gun shimmered under the city lights.
Without giving another second thought or even trying to aim the gun, Liu Yingyue pointed 307 at gunpoint and with no hesitation, pulled the trigger.
307 collapsed almost instantly.
The metal bullet, intricately designed along with the gun itself, slid through the flesh of 307 with ease. Not even making a sound as the pistol had a silencer.
"How annoying…"
Groggily, Liu Yingyue got up from the couch and walked over to the counter where the papers were. She passed the dead body without another glance and took the folder in hand.
Liu Yingyue knew that Song Qingshan was going to scold her again for adding more work to his table, but it was his job. So Liu Yingyue shrugged and left the body alone, bleeding out on the cold, marble floor.
She dragged her body in front of a door, slamming it open then slamming it behind her.
Slumping her body into her leather office chair - which was also spinny - Liu Yingyue exhaled and sighed deeply. Leaning back into the spinny office chair and throwing her legs onto the table, she ripped open the white envelope and pulled out a stack of papers.
Liu Yingyue saw how much context she had to read, and decided to just skim through everything. If she forgot something or didn't read something important, she'd just blame Song Qingshan and the researchers group for giving her such a stack of papers since they knew her attention span was no more than five minutes when it was something to do with work.
Liu Yingyue thought she could get a three day break from the infiltrating mission she had just finished not even twenty-four hours ago. But of course, this stupid ass company she was in didn't allow her to take a single break.
She was literally blown up and shot at least five times, but Liu Yingyue could only think how her boss said it was; "Nothing more than a scratch" to her.
True, she's been through worse and had to push onward. But Liu Yingyue found that annoying.
Liu Yingyue thought she could push this mission a bit past its due date, but seeing how there were big, red words in bold on the first page saying, "DO NOT SLACK OFF OR THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES." She could only push that thought away.
Sure, Liu Yingyue could care less about what 'consequences' she'd face since she really couldn't care less for what they could do to her. Sometimes the consequences are actually what Liu Yingyue likes and she takes advantage of that.
But seeing what the last consequence was given to her, Liu Yingyue would rather not experience it again. It was one of the consequences that she didn't like, and there were only a few.