Unfortunately, although Ji Jue doesn't have much conscience, he ultimately did not go astray.
He took out his phone one last time and looked at the empty screen.
Brother Feng still hadn't returned his call.
No answer to calls, no reply to texts, as if he had vanished, who knows where he went? Could he have been knocked out drinking with comrades again?
He's unreliable at crucial times, always letting you down—can you even handle this?
It seemed now, the only person Ji Jue could rely on was himself.
After one final hesitation, what convinced him was "I'll just take a look," "just a glance," "figure out what these guys are up to then I'll head back," "if not, I'll run."
Ji Jue took a deep breath and turned to leave.
Twenty minutes later, he boldly appeared in front of the nightclub's entrance once more.
Dressed in a mechanic's uniform, wearing a grubby cap that cost him four hundred bucks from a second-hand stall at a nearby night market, the expense almost made Ji Jue spit blood.
The only free thing was the toolbox placed behind the little scooter, which he always carried with him.
Finally, he shouldered a shabby folding ladder borrowed from a hardware store, using face recognition.
Who needs a membership card, who needs federal coins?
The ultimate free pass is right here!
When Ji Jue was broke, he had often relied on this setup to avoid paying fares. It wasn't always foolproof, but most of the time, it worked like a charm.
And so, he swaggered past luxury cars, beyond the queue at the entrance, and casually nodded at the supervisor at the door, asking vaguely:
"Who called for repairs?"
The supervisor seemed momentarily stunned; he said a few words into his headset, waiting for a response from the other end.
The resplendent crystal chandelier in the lobby shone upon Ji Jue's face.
He held his breath, almost unable to breathe.
Until a hurried figure walked up from inside and saw him, instantly relieved but then his expression turned to annoyance: "Why did you only just arrive? The elevator has been broken for a while now… Wait, what are you doing with a ladder?"
"Huh?"
Ji Jue was taken aback, then quickly thought on his feet: "Inspecting... Inspecting, maybe there's something wrong on top of the elevator, right?"
The supervisor nodded: "Where are the other tools?"
"In the car, too many of them. Let's first figure out what the problem is before moving them over."
Ji Jue ambiguously responded, followed him inside, but unfortunately, he didn't see the expected lively dancing on the hot tracks; instead, he took the staff passageway.
Along the way, staff bustled about, and even though they saw someone carrying a huge ladder, they only glanced briefly, paying no further attention.
Several scantily clad ladies walked by in groups, their fragrant breeze swirling around Ji Jue, testing his resolve. Instead, the leading supervisor warned him, "Don't look around, don't wander, and don't hit on them. Some guests are untouchable even for us; be careful or you might be dragged out the back door."
"Okay, okay," Ji Jue rapidly nodded, following behind, until he finally reached an elevator marked 'Out of Order.'
"That's all, you check it. If you need any tools, call me from the tool room ahead, and don't wander off, got it?" He warned finally: "If you stumble upon something big not meant for you to see, you won't get away with it! See there? Security is watching."
He pointed at the surveillance camera above the elevator.
"Ah, it's so troublesome here."
Ji Jue shook his head then suddenly slapped his forehead: "Oh right, our company's KPI is strict, and some jerks act like dogs, always trying to steal jobs. Don't call anyone else to steal this job from me, okay?"
"Rest assured, why would we need so many people to fix an elevator? Just call me when it's fixed."
The supervisor waved his hand impatiently and turned to leave.
Just like that, Ji Jue blocked any possible suspicion from genuine repairmen.
In the corridor frequented by passersby, Ji Jue stood alone in front of the elevator, pretending to dismantle the panel.
But halfway through, while unobserved, he ducked his head, reached out a sneaky hand along the wall, and made a subtle touch towards the camera.
"Buddy, busy?"
The surveillance camera's indicator light blinked naturally, cooperating with him, replaying the few seconds of the repair scene, and then, a voice thick with a heavy accent spoke in Ji Jue's mind:
"What's up, bro? Our place has strict rules, I'm too busy to chat, careful or someone might come out and catch you slacking, and you might get beaten up."
Ji Jue asked: "Do you know what's going on inside?"
"I don't, man!"
The surveillance became irritated: "This goddamn place, multiple surveillance systems inside and out, who knows what they're up to…these damn bastards, always making bloody messes these days, probably nothing good, I'd call the cops myself if I had hands!"
As it spoke, it transmitted the images it had seen.
All were scenes of people with lowered heads carrying huge plastic bags or boxes out of the elevator, with bloody contents dripping from the bags, quickly mopped up by cleaners, leaving the area spotless.
Ji Jue's skin crawled.
It couldn't possibly be donkey penises bought from the market for guests to make soup, could it? Were the guests that weak? And who could eat so much?
He might explode from all that.
But then, in his mind, the face of that mad old ghost appeared, and the hunger that seemed to almost burst forth from his eyes…
The words from the camera reminded him.
"Right, call the police."
Having uncovered so much, it was time for the police to clean up.
He subconsciously reached for his phone.
But then, he heard the chattering surveillance camera again.
"Oh, right, seems like the police are in it with them. Several girls tried to run away and got caught and brought back, beaten brutally… You better not get harmed by them, bro."
In the transmitted image, a lounge manager was seen offering cigarettes to the police, all smiles and laughs, as close as family.
The manager's eyes subtly flickered with a familiar red glow, just like Blood Flames.
Another one?!
"The third one... no, more. The enthusiastic camera crammed all the weird scenes from these days in at once, including at least eight or nine people with a weird blood color on their bodies!"
Ji Jue's heart pounded, and his vision darkened.
— Damn, did I accidentally stumble upon these monsters' lair?!
Is it still possible to run now?
[Thanks, bro, I'm good!]
Ji Jue crouched in front of the panel, followed the elevator's guide, found the faulty wire, reconnected it, and wrapped it with two turns of electrical tape, done.
The elevator cheered, [All done, let's go, don't end up like the last maintenance worker, taken away without knowing where.]
"..."
Ji Jue, ready to flee, stiffened and saw an internal image transmitted by the elevator: Ten minutes ago, another employee wearing a maintenance hat followed someone into the elevator, descending to a floor not displayed on the panel, the door opened... and he disappeared.
Never to return.
As if in a bustling, noisy nightclub hid an invisible black hole, and once you accidentally fell in, you'd never be seen again.
But what made him stiffen was the image that flashed on the screen, the right hand of the maintenance worker, that familiar scar, nearly stopping his breath.
Chilled to the bone.
"Lu Feng..."
Ji Jue widened his eyes, standing at the elevator door.
"Eh? Is it fixed? If it's fixed, come down and eat with us..." The supervisor who received the message and came rushing pushed his shoulder, "I'm talking to you, say something, why are you pretending to be dead?"
Ji Jue did not speak, silently turning to look at him.
The supervisor furrowed his brow, about to speak but saw... the young man's raising eyes and the blood spreading in them, so crimson.
Then, he saw Ji Jue lift his right hand from the toolbox, and in that hand, held a crowbar.
Aimed right at his forehead.
Slammed down!
Bang!
The supervisor's vision blacked out, collapsing to the ground, the last thing he heard was a cold echo.
"Okay."
Ji Jue grabbed the back of his collar, dragging him into the elevator, "I really do want to try your employee meal..."
The elevator doors closed, leaving the hall silent and empty again.
Only the elevator, slowly descending.
In the brief silence, Ji Jue took a deep breath, gripped the crowbar tighter, thought for a bit, then switched to a punch, its sharp tip pressed against the supervisor's neck, ready to pierce through with slight pressure.
He admitted, his actions were reckless and irrational.
But when Ji Jue saw Lu Feng disappearing into the basement level, all rational thoughts and considerations vanished, leaving behind an unimaginable fear and fury.
How did he end up here?
Is he okay?
He said he bought a new computer and we'd all play games together.
Damn liar, never kept his word once!
Lu Ma just got discharged from the hospital, and he ran to a place like this—what was he thinking? Couldn't he at least call?
Now, there was no way out.
Suddenly, all Ji Jue could do was pull out the supervisor's phone, stuff every image he found into it, upload, then set a two-hour timer to send a video and push it to Cliff City News and Governor's Voice, although it seemed futile, at least, he wouldn't die without a trace.
Then, lifting the unconscious supervisor off the ground and using him as a shield, the punch pointed at his neck.
He looked up, gazing at the stationary elevator.
And the slowly opening doors.
From that chilling sliver of light emerged a grotesquely twisted face, charging at Ji Jue the moment the elevator door opened—
"Fuck!"
Ji Jue's eyes bulged, instinctively raising the punch to stab, but just as he lifted his hand, he clearly saw the fresh blood on that grotesque face.
And the bullet hole.
From the forehead to the back of the head, burst open, like a cracked coconut shell, the red and white spurted out.
A corpse.
The body leaning against the elevator door collapsed into the elevator, the sound so crisp.
And more of them.
Corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses.
As if suddenly thrust onto a battlefield, the acrid smell of gunpowder as if tangible drilling into his nostrils and membranes along with the viscous smell of blood.
The vast basement had turned into a battlefield, a storm of destruction howling through.
Left behind were only eleven bodies.
Among the blood-red carnage, stood a solitary figure.
Stepping on a person who, despite a heart and arm punctured, still struggled, raising the axe in his hand, aiming it at the forehead, and with a snap, chopped down!
Settled.
Then, another gun in hand, aimed at the open elevator.
Then, like Ji Jue, frozen on the spot...
That was Lu Feng.
"Fuck."