Chapter 13

Fang Shimian thought Xu Long was just waking up grumpy, puzzled by his unusually big temper this time, maybe because he was interrupted from a sweet dream.

Xu Long, however, was very serious. He didn’t explain why, just reached out to stop Fang Shimian and used his other hand to call Manager Yang.

“Why are you sending documents to the surveillance center in the middle of the night? Don’t you know surveillance doesn’t go out on field duty? There are people at the order post you can use. Are you managers out of your minds?”

“How is ten o’clock not the middle of the night? Ten o’clock is the middle of the night!”

Whatever Manager Yang said on the other end made Xu Long even angrier. “At this time, the patrol post is just switching the main and side gates for bathroom breaks. What’s the rush? Besides, the surveillance center’s videos, even the owners’ recordings, are not allowed to be given out. Last time was an exception, and now you want to personally deliver it again? Does the person living in Building Six have a god-like status that you have to cater to them like this?”

Fang Shimian heard Manager Yang’s unusually sharp yelling and quickly pinched Xu Long’s arm. “It’s just delivering a video, I’ll be back soon, it’s no big deal.”

Whatever else Manager Yang said, Fang Shimian couldn’t hear clearly, but he saw Xu Long’s face suddenly turn dark.

Xu Long hung up the phone abruptly, tossed it onto the console, stood up, and looked at Fang Shimian, extending his hand. “Give me the USB drive. Didn’t they specifically ask for the surveillance center? I’ll go see what they’re up to!”

Fang Shimian felt that Xu Long might cause trouble in this state, so he quickly pulled him to sit down, ran to his snack cabinet, and found a bottle of soda, handing it to Xu Long. “Brother Long, calm down, have a drink first.”

The lights in the surveillance room weren’t very bright, but the young man’s eyes were filled with pure concern, looking a bit confused, as if he didn’t understand why such a small matter could cause such a fierce argument.

Xu Long took a deep breath, accepted the drink, and gulped it down in one go.

“I’ll deliver it and come right back. Manager Yang told me to just hand it to the person guarding the entrance of Building Six. It’s simple.”

Xu Long seemed a bit dazed, tossing the empty bottle into the trash bin under the table. “He said just to deliver it to the entrance?”

Fang Shimian patted his chest in assurance. “I’ll only deliver it to the entrance. I’ve already watched the video, and there’s nothing unusual.”

Xu Long didn’t seem as angry anymore. He looked at Fang Shimian, hesitated for a moment, then covered his face with his hands, showing a fatherly fatigue. “Go on, deliver it to the entrance and come back quickly.”

The machines in the surveillance room started a new round of humming. Fang Shimian took a few steps outside, seemingly hearing Xu Long muttering something to himself, but it was drowned out by the noise, and he couldn’t make it out.

Fang Shimian climbed the stairs to the first floor. There were still a few scattered residents in the community, unlike the dead silence after midnight.

At this time, the bright lights were turned off, except for the ones by the pool, which reflected shimmering waves in the flowing water. The surrounding landscape was lit by small lights.

There was no wind tonight, no rain, very quiet. As Fang Shimian passed the bulletin board, a big white cat ran out, its tail held high, following him for a while.

When Fang Shimian stopped, the white cat lay on its side, its belly bulging. It seemed like it would give birth soon. He remembered the cat-loving grandma saying that after it gave birth, she would take the white cat for sterilization. Stray female cats were pitiful; if not sterilized, they would keep having kittens.

As he reached into his pocket for a ziplock bag, Fang Shimian realized he forgot to wear his intern vest. If the manager found out, his salary would be docked.

But he was already here, and feeling a bit lazy, he didn’t want to go back. So he poured out the leftover cat food from yesterday. The white cat seemed a bit hungry, eating more fiercely than yesterday, finishing it in a few bites before following Fang Shimian again.

As he walked, he shook the ziplock bag a couple of times. “That’s all, I’ll feed you later, don’t follow me.”

The cat seemed to understand and didn’t continue forward, sitting down to lick its paws before disappearing into the bushes.

Continuing forward, it was still a straight path, surrounded only by meticulously trimmed trees. In fact, besides Building Six, there were two standalone villas in this eastern area, approved for construction early on when a small number were still allowed. Now, villas couldn’t be built in the city center anymore.

As Fang Shimian passed the two villas, they were pitch black inside, as if uninhabited for a long time, looking a bit eerie in the night.

His mind inexplicably conjured classic scenes from horror movies, even vividly recalling the strange person he encountered in the hallway.

In the first half, he could still sing revolutionary songs and look at his phone, barely controlling his pace. But as his steps quickened, he felt the illusion of being chased by some unknown creature.

From the first step of running, Fang Shimian couldn’t maintain his composure. Even the sound of stepping on a branch made him speed up, like a startled wild cat.

He regretted not calling Xu Long. Fang Shimian silently lamented. Xu Long didn’t believe in these things. He was big and strong, and could probably punch a ghost away.

Seeing the sign for Building Six, Fang Shimian realized for the first time how large this community was, almost running him to death. Today’s exercise was way over the top.

Fang Shimian walked towards the direction indicated by the sign, puzzled that there was even a wall built here. Suddenly, someone emerged from the shadow of the wall and stopped him.

Fang Shimian was nearly scared to death, thinking he had really encountered a ghost.

The bodyguard who stopped him stared silently. Fang Shimian calmed his fear, thinking this was probably the person Manager Yang mentioned, guarding the entrance of Building Six.

However, Fang Shimian looked up at the tall wall and the bare trees, realizing this was far from the entrance of Building Six. Could public land be privately occupied like this?

Fang Shimian opened his palm, revealing a small USB drive with a silver sheen. “The surveillance video requested by the owner of Building Six. I don’t know which unit specifically, but they might come to you for it later. Please pass it on, thank you.”

After speaking, Fang Shimian turned to leave, lowering his head to open a video app and search for revolutionary songs.

But after taking just two steps, he was stopped again.

Fang Shimian looked back at the bodyguard still staring at him, then at the one in front of him, feeling a chill.

Where did this person come from?

Could it really be a ghost? Fang Shimian decisively tried to turn on his phone’s flashlight, but his hand was covered by the bodyguard in front of him.

But why was this person’s hand so cold? Thinking about the one behind him, Fang Shimian’s teeth started to chatter. “Are you… a living person?”

The person turned off his flashlight and handed the phone back to him. “Are you Mr. Fang Shimian?”

Fang Shimian thought this person probably wasn’t a ghost, but in such a creepy place, who could be sure? He remembered a video saying that if a ghost called your name, you mustn’t answer.

So he mustered his courage, didn’t answer, and tried to push past him to leave.

Unfortunately, not only did he fail to push past, but he was also pulled further inside, asked again, “Are you Mr. Fang Shimian?”

Fang Shimian suspiciously stared at the two figures in the dark, not moving forward but also not speaking.

He had already snapped out of the ghostly fear a bit, but these two were strange. Why did the gatekeepers keep asking for his name?

After a few seconds of stalemate, Fang Shimian saw one of them move his hand, instinctively clenching his fist. “Why do you need my name?”

The person put his hand back.

The other said, “We need to verify the staff delivering the video, it’s part of the job. Please cooperate.”

Why didn’t you say so earlier, scaring me like that.

Fang Shimian relaxed. “Yes, I’m Fang Shimian. Manager Yang asked me to deliver it.”

The person who asked touched his ear.

In the absolute silence of the darkness, Fang Shimian heard a deep male voice amidst a faint electric current.

“Bring him up.”

As soon as he heard that, Fang Shimian bolted.

But as expected, the two inside didn’t even move. Just as Fang Shimian was internally praising his quick reaction, he ran straight into someone, who quickly grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back.

It hurt, he was scared, he felt wronged, and he regretted it.

Fang Shimian was already a bit prone to tears, and now, being at the mercy of others, his emotions overwhelmed him, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

He didn’t understand. He was diligently doing his job, even though he was scared, he still delivered it. Yet he was frightened, deceived, and didn’t know if he would die. If he were killed, he probably wouldn’t even get a decent grave.

Fang Shimian’s mind shifted from ghosts and spirits to electric fraud, organ harvesting, water torture, and electric shocks.

After passing through a security gate and being brought into the brightly lit Building Six, Fang Shimian was still immersed in immense sadness, not noticing the extreme luxury around him or the people rushing over.

“Hey, what the hell, why is he crying! Let go, let go, are you crazy, what did you do!”

A very noisy voice interrupted Fang Shimian’s gloom.

“I just grabbed him when bringing him back, didn’t even use force.”

“Once inside, he’s a guest, you idiot. How are you going to explain this? I ask you, how are you going to explain this!”

Fang Shimian wiped his tears and looked up. Two people in black clothes were fighting, or rather, it looked like a one-sided beating.

They didn’t seem that bad. He looked around, it was spacious, some areas were blocked off, there were servants cleaning, and the decor seemed luxurious.

It didn’t look like a place for human trafficking, or organ harvesting, or even a place for making phone calls.

The person in black came over with a stiff expression, didn’t speak to Fang Shimian, and led him into an elevator, pressing the button for the second floor. When the elevator doors opened, he handed Fang Shimian over to another person and quickly left after speaking.

The lighting on the second floor was noticeably dimmer than the first, with more accent lighting, only showing what the owner wanted you to see, making it impossible to discern the complete layout.

The silent attendant led Fang Shimian to the third-to-last room in the hallway on the second floor.

The door to the room was ajar, light spilling out, illuminating part of the hallway. Fang Shimian looked down at the soft carpet, the pattern illuminated at the edges, mostly hidden in darkness, looking mysterious.

The attendant suddenly knocked on the door a few times.

“Come in.”

Fang Shimian didn’t move, the attendant didn’t say anything more, not even glancing at him, just turned and left.

He hesitated at the door, his phone taken by the bodyguard on the first floor, still unclear about the situation.

As he pondered, the door in front of him suddenly opened.

Light flooded the hallway area in front of the door, revealing the full pattern on the carpet.

It was a totem from an ancient Western tribe, used in sacrifices to demons and gods, with a sun god symbol in the center of a thorny ring, and a red snake shape in the middle where the devil’s head was placed.

The Saka, draped in sun and moon, chanted ancient blessings with the tribe.

Was it the gods or demons being slaughtered?

Was it salvation or slaughter on the altar?

The soft carpet swallowed footsteps, a tall shadow completely covering Fang Shimian’s figure.

It was the prey with nowhere to escape and the hunter with all the time in the world.