With a thud, the henchman I hit fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Crash"
I kicked another one trying to ambush me from the side.
The remaining two henchmen were also left bleeding by the broken stool leg I wielded.
They dared not approach.
Everyone in the department was dumbfounded, but no one dared move or come to my aid.
"Xiao Pingzi, stop it, stop fighting, please!"
Dinosaur Sis, terrified by my outburst, cried out, begging me to stop.
But I couldn't hear her. Anyone who came near was met with my fists.
Punches landed on flesh.
Within three minutes, six or seven henchmen were down, bleeding and unconscious.
"Quick, get someone in here to tie him up! Hurry!"
Sister Yu snapped back to reality, shouting at Da Tou, who was standing there dumbstruck.
"Oh, right!"
Da Tou, trembling, dashed out the door to get reinforcements.
"Chen Weiqiang, where is that bitch Lulu? Did you have her call me to Yunnan?"
I raised the stool leg in anger, pointing at Chen Weiqiang, shouting.
I just wanted to know the truth.
"Want to know? You're not worthy!"
Chen Weiqiang, holding his bleeding head, was cornered by me.
He stared at me with a strange look, as if I were a fool.
"What are you looking at? Am I worthy now?"
I hated his gaze and swung the stool leg at his right arm, knocking him down again.
I didn't want to kill him; I wanted to force the truth about Lulu and how many classmates they had tricked.
Or maybe I still had a shred of hope for him.
"Are you insane? Do you know what you're doing?"
"Are you going to talk?"
Seeing my anger, he seemed a bit scared.
He didn't expect me to be so fierce, repeatedly trying to kill him.
I was certain that if he provoked me one more time, I would kill him.
"Assistant Chen!"
Just then, Da Tou returned with seven or eight uniformed men.
The leader, aiming an AK at me, shouted.
"Damn it, drop the stick, or I'll shoot you!"
Seeing the dark barrels of the guns, I suddenly sobered up.
I couldn't die yet, not before avenging myself.
I didn't want to be left in the wilderness or used as fertilizer; if I died, I wouldn't even be able to return home.
"You idiot!"
Chen Weiqiang, holding his bleeding wound, looked at me with a complicated expression.
Then, he turned to the uniformed men and shouted, "Don't shoot, he's valuable. I want to torture him slowly! His family has money; we can get tens of thousands!"
"Chen, you beast, threatening my parents! I should've killed you just now and then killed myself!"
I cursed him bitterly.
I hated myself for not killing him, for still having a shred of hope for him yesterday.
So naive, deserved to be deceived.
Even now, I couldn't bring myself to kill him.
I couldn't believe this heartless bastard wanted to use me to threaten my family for money!
I was furious! I hated myself!
At that moment, I finally understood what betrayal was, what heartbreak was, and that I shouldn't have hesitated.
I should've killed them to protect others, then killed myself!
But now, facing real guns, I was scared.
I didn't want to be riddled with bullets; as long as I had a breath left, I had a chance to fight back.
"You better pray you survive the night!"
Chen Weiqiang glared at me, speaking in a low voice.
His gaze was complicated; I couldn't read it.
But my eyes were filled with rage, a fire burning to destroy him.
"Don't worry, I'm tough! You won't die, and neither will I!"
I still talked tough.
Little did I know the beating I enjoyed earlier would soon be my worst nightmare.
If I had known the torture awaiting me, I would've never provoked him!
"Don't ruin his face, or his parents won't send money. Take me to the infirmary; lock him in the water dungeon. I'll deal with him later."
Chen Weiqiang, holding his split forehead, had two henchmen support him downstairs.
"Damn, you're tough! Let's see you act tough now! If Assistant Chen didn't say you're valuable, I'd cripple you!"
"Filthy swine, acting arrogant! I'd love to shoot you!"
"Beat him! Leave just enough for Chen to handle!"
The uniformed men started beating me with fists and gun butts.
If it weren't for the seven or eight electric batons, I would've fought back.
"Zzz..."
I felt the pain of electric batons numbing my senses.
Fists and kicks rained on me.
I lost the strength to even protect my head and crotch, lying there like a dead dog.
Electric batons, gun butts, wooden stools, steel pipes, fists, and shoes hit me.
The pain was unbearable, my skin split open, blood pouring from my head.
"Pfft"
After being kicked by Meng Ge, I spat blood, my ribs broken.
Everything became blurry, my wounds numb.
Mom, I can't hold on.
Then, I lost consciousness...
When I woke up, I found myself standing in a filthy water pit, hands tied.
The water dungeon everyone talked about online.
It was over ten square meters, water up to my neck.
Wooden stakes stood in the water, for tying people.
The water was murky, black, and foul.
Rotting meat and animal corpses floated, infested with maggots.
"Gag"
I vomited.
I had never suffered like this.
But reality was harsh, and I had to face it.
Because I was tall, the filthy water didn't reach my mouth, allowing me to "breathe freely."
The water was rotten, but it was better than drowning.
The men beside me, tied up, were worse off.
The water reached their mouths, forcing them to drink it along with maggots.
They had to stand on tiptoes, heads raised, to avoid drowning or gagging.
But how long could they hold that painful posture?
Eventually, they drank the bacteria-filled water.
Those with injuries were worse off, exposed to urine, feces, flies, mosquitoes, rats, and snake carcasses.
If infected, they would fall sick and die.
Severely injured, they wouldn't survive the water dungeon.
If I had known beating Chen Weiqiang would lead to this, I wouldn't have done it publicly.
I should've found a quiet spot, used a sack...