And...
Li Pan looked up at the ceiling; the secret passage's hidden door was in Warehouse 7 on the third underground floor, which was directly beneath the Monster storage area. If that trapezoidal container really was a 'coffin,' then the longer base would be where the coffin lid opens, right?
In other words, this 'coffin' was upside down...
Then Li Pan indeed saw it, a keyhole on the ceiling of the third underground floor.
Was it really a coffin?
Or was it because he conveniently carried the 'key' that he was able to see the 'door'...
Li Pan swallowed a gulp of saliva and glanced at the monitor at the company figure who, like a whirlwind, had turned the Whirlpool Gang into mush, knowing he had no time left for hesitation or doubt.
If the Monster truly fell into their hands, and headquarters sent another email asking him to snatch it back, Li Pan knew he wasn't capable of taking on that murderous Ninja alone.
So he moved a ladder, took out the key, and opened the 'door' in the ceiling.
But to be more accurate, it was more like he opened a hole.
It was like lifting an attic cover, but the hole was barely big enough for one to poke their head through.
The hole was pitch black inside, with no clue what lay within. Li Pan didn't dare risk sticking his head in to check, so he reached into the hole with his left hand to fish around.
At any rate, he had experience, if it came to it, he could lose his hand again.
After feeling around, Li Pan thought he touched something; it felt furry and startled him, pushing it further away. He couldn't quite reach it and had to tiptoe on the ladder, extending his hand further to hook with his fingertips.
Fortunately, the thing seemed to be spherical and rolled back towards him, allowing him to grab it and pull it out.
What was this dark and vague object? It seemed like... a ball of yarn?
The yarn's texture was very much like human hair, like the tangled mess that blocks the shower drain, filthy and damp, disgusting to the touch.
Li Pan instinctively thought he had grabbed a clump of filth, but when he turned his head back, the hole that the silver key had opened was gone.
So this nasty thing was indeed some kind of 'Monster'?
Regardless, now that he had it, the warehouse's infrastructure could be rebuilt by the cleaners, the Whirlpool Gang seemed nearly wiped out, and the monitoring footage was downloaded onto a chip, so it was time to leave.
With that, Li Pan stuffed the ball of yarn into the inner pocket of his suit and made his way back the same path, retreating through the Water Dao.
Interestingly, on passing the secret doorway, Li Pan found that in this short time, the Monster pinned at the entrance had rapidly decayed into a puddle of oily sludge, with bones dissolving into a tar-like black pus. The stench was so overpowering that Li Pan had to let the Xingtian System shut off his sense of smell to avoid fainting. In a place like the sewers, the intense odor attracted swarms of flies, roaches, rats, and other vermin, flocking to feast.
Clearly, this wasn't a natural rate of decomposition for a corpse. In Night City, where death was commonplace, this mode of dying was rarely seen. Li Pan could only guess that the Monster was most likely some sort of man-made biochemical weapon, likely engineered with a genetic lock so that upon death, its cells would immediately disintegrate to prevent competitors from extracting and copying its genes.
It seemed that more than one company was covertly observing this Monster.
With his current equipment and level, Li Pan couldn't directly confront the big companies' operatives. So, to avoid a trap, he decided to cut his losses and took the subway back to the headquarters to complete the mission.
During his time out on this business trip, upon returning to the office, the company had been 'reset.'
The cleaners were quite capable, working more efficiently than NCHC, cleaning inside and out so thoroughly that there was no sign of the previously blood-spattered office.
And Li Pan's bespoke suit had also been delivered to the reception.
This suit felt distinctly different to the touch, as if it could sense body temperature, and even came with a pair of shoes that fit perfectly. For now, it seemed like a regular suit, probably requiring the completion of a mission to be activated.
Li Pan changed into the suit, carelessly tossed his old clothes on the table, then went to the HR department to obtain a report template. He opened the computer in the general manager's office and followed the procedure to apply for an interest-free condolence loan for Big Bear's family.
No matter how domineering the Monster company was, erasing all contact information of former employees, Big Bear was a veteran with a public record in the system. His family, especially his children, could apply for war orphan's aid, ensuring they wouldn't have to worry about mortgage debts or homelessness until graduation.
Applying for the loan and providing a guarantee in the name of the company's general manager was all Li Pan could offer for Big Bear.
After finishing these HR applications, he pulled up the Monster files from Warehouse 7, preparing to write a report for headquarters, to claim credit and request a promotion and pay rise.
At least, despite the outdated computers, the company still had the Monster's data saved, tucked away in the product catalog folder. It was just that too much had been redacted, the many deletions made it hard for Li Pan to see properly...
'A Tangled Mess/Death Bond, identified, red, uncontrollable.
A Tangled Mess/Death Bond, extremely dangerous, rumored to originally have taken the form of... shroud... after the event... split into A Tangled Mess.
A Tangled Mess/Death Bond, can be revived through direct contact by signing a death contract with the deceased. The resurrected Angel Envoy can use... powers and laws...
Until the completion of the deceased's pre-life obsessions... the Angel Envoy cannot be destroyed. Once the deceased's obsession is fulfilled, the death contract is deemed complete, rising to become... a vessel... that will beckon... an incarnation's descent...'