On the way back, we didn't say a word, silently pondering the heavy issue we just faced.
How did Elu, who just arrived at KK Park, end up at odds with him? What kind of deep-seated hatred led to him secretly torturing the group leader to death?
Soon, we stealthily made our way back to the dormitory. As we were about to push the door open, Bayi happened to open it from the inside.
"Whoa!"
We startled each other. If I hadn't reacted first, Screwdriver would have already made a move.
"You come into my dorm and act like you're about to fight me?" Bayi turned on the light, clutching his head in frustration.
Screwdriver walked straight to the bathroom. "Damn, who told you to sneak around without turning on the light? I thought you were a thief."
I locked the door and kicked him. "Anything unusual happen in the park today?"
"The incident with Boss Cai being beaten to death is making waves. But what's really strange is that our group leader has been missing for several days without a trace!"
I sighed. "He's dead."
"What?"
"Killed by Elu, buried in the back at the mass grave. I saw it with my own eyes…ugh!"
Before I could finish, I ran to the bathroom to vomit.
"Ah!"
Screwdriver, startled, covered himself. "Damn, if you want to spy on me showering, at least wait until I'm alone!"
"Ugh."
I'm not spying on you, I just needed to throw up.
"You two are acting weird," Bayi mumbled, standing by the door, misinterpreting the situation.
After retching for a bit and washing my hands and face, I came out of the bathroom. There was nothing left to vomit; I had already thrown up bile in the bamboo grove earlier.
"Don't overthink it. The group leader was buried alive and died horribly! I wouldn't mistake those jeans with a floral embroidery."
I wiped my mouth and tossed my green uniform into the trash, then changed into black shorts and a T-shirt.
"Damn, how did he offend Elu? I thought he had escaped, but…"
"Only two possibilities: either Liu Shiyi or Ah Yu."
Bayi was surprised. "Sister Yu?"
"Yeah, Sister Yu seduced many men to climb the ranks. He was probably one of them. Maybe he knew too much and Elu killed him."
This was my guess, but it was likely accurate. Brother Meng was also used by Sister Yu before, wasn't he?
From my perspective, Elu seemed destined to follow in Brother Meng's footsteps.
"Scary. These women are truly venomous."
"Exactly. If you mess with them, you won't last more than two episodes."
Just then, Screwdriver walked out, shirtless. "Hey, where am I sleeping tonight?"
Bayi and I replied in unison, "On the floor!"
"Damn, there's a top bunk. Why would I sleep on the floor? I'll make do for one night and move my stuff over tomorrow…"
Ignoring us, Screwdriver skillfully climbed up to Bayi's top bunk.
Tomorrow, he would join us at work and become another "pawn" Yang Lianting thought he could control.
That's why he was allowed to share a dormitory with us.
The night passed without further incident.
At dawn, we woke up and went to the playground to "exercise."
I made sure to count the people in the Victory Park; indeed, one person was missing.
"Erpang, do you know where the group leader went?"
I pulled aside the supervisor and lowered my voice to ask.
Erpang looked confused. "I don't know. He just vanished."
"Maybe…" I hesitated, unable to continue.
"Sigh!" Erpang wasn't stupid and understood my implication, falling silent after a sigh.
"It's the end of July. Those who are lagging behind in performance should get some exercise."
Liu Shiyi, smiling, held a megaphone and shouted from the steps.
I knew when he said that, someone was about to suffer.
Sure enough, the first to be dragged out were the male workers from various parks.
Liu Shiyi had some means, getting small park bosses to obey him. Especially the supervisors of other parks, who wanted to please him.
I don't know what kind of blackmail material he held over them.
The men were stripped to the waist and lined up on the cement floor.
"Let's start with a blade scraping massage. Afterward, they'll get a saltwater bath. How can we not give them a full package?"
After Liu Shiyi said this, he handed the megaphone to his lackey and walked over to enjoy the show.
Blade scraping massage…
Just hearing those words made me feel sore all over.
"Please, no scraping. I promise to perform better."
The men trembled with fear, but begging was useless. It only excited these beasts more.
"These blades are new and very sharp."
A dozen lackeys, each holding a Chinese-made razor blade, began scraping their exposed backs.
You'd never think that the traditional Chinese therapy of scraping with hands or special tools could be turned into such a bloody spectacle.
"Ah—please stop, I promise to improve next month…"
The men screamed in pain. Even tough guys couldn't endure this slow torture.
The sharp blades slowly scraped back and forth on their skin, quickly leaving their backs bloody and unrecognizable.
The horrifying screams pierced everyone's already shattered and terrified hearts.
Once the torture was almost over, another group of men took their place, lying on the ground in the same position, exposing their backs.
The lackeys then grabbed plastic brushes used for cleaning shoes and began scrubbing their backs while sprinkling salt.
This was called a saltwater massage.
If they weren't satisfied, they would drag them to a room, tie their hands and feet, turn on the hot water, and sprinkle salt into the bath.
This was called a hot saltwater bath.
Are you scared? Still want to come to Northern Myanmar to chase your fortune?
I was horrified. If I had another chance, I'd never believe that bitch Lulu's lies again.
Being killed with one quick cut might be better than this slow torture that makes life worse than death…
After the horrifying "exercise" in the morning, everyone scattered back to their parks to work on their computers.
Our park merged with Yang Lianting's park, and we got a new, spacious office.
It was on the sixth floor.
A 300-square-meter room, filled with computers and phones.
Three hundred men and women typing away together was quite a sight!
After announcing the merger, Liu Shiyi couldn't wait to announce Yang Lianting as the second-in-command.
He didn't mention the disappearance of the male leader. Losing a person was less significant than losing a chicken.
The vacant leader position was directly eliminated.
Erpang and Lace were demoted to team leaders.
Each team leader managed 30 people, roughly 12 team leaders.
People like me and Bayi, who were involved in overseas scams, were directly managed by Yang Lianting.
The only person who benefited from this situation was Sister Yu, who now managed 30 people.
The most troubled were Lace and Erpang, demoted and now under Yang Lianting's command. Imagine how hard that must be for them.