74hy

The lower floors of the skyscraper represented the lowest level of society… of a specific period in time. When he was there, Han Fei felt like he had returned to the edge of the intelligent city several decades ago. It was old, dirty, and dangerous.

“We have no time. We’ll hide on this floor.”

“The number four is not that lucky. Most buildings will not have the fourth floor.” The elder shook his head. His neck crawled with goosebumps. “We better head up.” The stench in the air thickened. It smelled like rotten meat. With the elder leading the way, Han Fei came to the fifth floor. The corridor on this floor was hanging with white banners. White cloths were strung on the walls. Bloody accusations painted the cloth. Most of the accusations were related to the sixth floor. The people on the sixth floor bullied the people on the lower floors so much that the latter couldn’t live normally. There were many broken families, orphans, and abandoned babies. The passage between the fifth and the sixth floor was blocked by a lot of trash. But with a closer look, one could discern a small path in the heap of trash. Just as Han Fei and the elder hesitated, suddenly, a door on the fifth floor opened. The old security door creaked open. Then, a fair man exited the room silently. He was very slow because he was afraid to wake his family and neighbors.

“Is he a tenant here? But he looks like a normal person.” Han Fei thought the building was dominated by the monster, but the man looked like a normal man with extreme greed and desire in his eyes. The elder and Han Fei hid in a corner. After the man had escaped the room, he climbed over the heap of trash. He moved the trash away and sneaked his way to the sixth floor. “The man is clearly up to no good.” The elder signaled Han Fei to mind their own business. He wanted to find a place to hide, but Han Fei kept his eyes on the man and whispered, “Let’s follow him.”

“Why?”

“He looks weak. Perhaps we can kidnap him and hide inside his home. Perhaps we can change into his clothes and face. That way, we can move around the building. It’ll be safer.” Han Fei shared his plan. His resourcefulness shocked the elder. Han Fei and the elder followed the man to the sixth floor.

The strange smell in the air didn’t dissipate. In fact, it had gotten thicker. The smell of rot mixed with the smell of food and perfume. It was revolting. The lights on the sixth floor were dim. It didn’t have the normal white light but a suggestive deep red.

“This floor looks livelier than the other floors.” Han Fei poked his head out. The man was acting very strangely. He touched the doors he passed as if studying the grains of the doors. When he passed by a dark apartment, he suddenly stopped. He took out something from his pocket and slipped it through the gap. Several seconds later, the old door opened. A fair arm reached out to grab the man’s neck and pull him into the room.

“Did you see that?” The elder pointed at the spot where the man had disappeared. “A big worm lives inside that room, and it took the man with its front appendage.” Han Fei frowned. He seemed to see different things from the elder. The elder could see the monster’s real appearance.

“Sir, we’ve been through a lot, but I don’t even know your name.”

“You don’t need to know that.” The elder was frightened by Han Fei. He didn’t dare to tell Han Fei his name.

“I’m not a bad person. You can trust me.” Han Fei didn’t force it. They entered the sixth-floor corridor. They stopped before the room where the man had disappeared into. The dark room lit up with red light after the man entered. The smell in the air was also heightened. “This floor reminds me of the place I lived when I was young. It is equally dirty and disgusting.” The elder looked down the corridor. Some of the apartments were left open. They were used as trash dumps.

Some of the apartments had been modified so that the doors could lead to different places.

“It’s so smelly.” Han Fei studied the gap. Not long after the man entered, some water leaked out through the gap. It had some dark red spots. “How about we hide here? There are quite a bit of empty rooms on this floor.” Han Fei walked further in. Many footprints and mud appeared on the ground. A rotten wooden sign sat at the junction where three corridors crossed. It said, Red Alley. Around the sign were some torn bras, broken hair, and some rotten meat. Han Fei didn’t want to go down the Red Alley, but at that moment, the elevator dinged. Someone was coming from another floor.

“We need to hide!” The duo found an empty room to hide before the elevator doors opened. They knelt behind the trash heap and observed their surroundings. The old elevator rocked noisily. The rusted door was yanked open harshly. A burly man with a pig mask and chef’s clothes walked out. He dragged a piece of large black luggage in his left hand and carried an exquisite red boxed lunch with his right.

“Fuck, it’s so hot!” The chef’s uniform was stained with brown spots. His voice was harsh. His left arm was much larger than his right. The cursing man dragged the luggage and entered the Red Alley. He stopped before a dark room, kicked away the trash, and walked to the next corner. Then, a door opened. Following that was the scream of a woman. The woman’s mouth was clamped shut as the scream dwindled.

“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve triggered Grade E Mission—How to Cook a Lamb.

“How to Cook a Lamb (Hidden Map Grade E Mission): The devil has ram’s horns. The devil told me to do it. This is not my fault. Please forgive me.

“Warning! You’ll get double EXP by completing missions in hidden maps! You will have a chance to gain unique items on the hidden map!”

This was the first quest Han Fei triggered after entering the skyscraper. He took out Rest in Peace. ‘Is it domestic violence or something else?’ The duo slowly exited their hiding spot and moved to the apartment. The corner of the corridor was connected to another long corridor. The corridors were like a maze.

“It’s this room, right?” Han Fei held the doorknob and eased the door open. The small apartment had two wooden beds. The beds were old and dirty, draped with moldy clothes. The wooden table had a half-finished meal. The chopsticks fell beside the table. There was a pair of stepped-on female slippers.

“Where are they?” Han Fei came as soon as he heard the scream, but the person who screamed appeared to have disappeared. ‘There has to be a hidden path.’

At that moment, the bathroom door opened. A woman in plus-sized clothes walked out. She held a cigarette. She looked 30 plus. Her hair was dyed a dirty blonde. There was a scar on the corner of her lips. Her eyes showed a hatred of everything. The woman saw Han Fei and frowned. She glanced at the open door and hurried over. “Don’t you know to close the door?” She closed the door and switched on the red light above the door. Then, she lay back down on the disgusting bed. “You’ll have to pay for two people. I don’t give seniors discounts.”

“There should be another girl here. Where is she?” Han Fei looked at the woman. Her shoes were undamaged. The chef probably harmed the other girl.

“So, you’re Xiao Zhu’s customers. She has something else to do, so she went to another floor.”

“I saw a chef come in here.” Han Fei’s voice chilled. “Where did he bring her?”

“Since you’ve seen that, why do you ask me?” The woman extinguished the cigarette and unbuttoned her clothes. “I know you don’t dare to find the chef. So come to me. Give me your anger, despair, and hatred.”

Han Fei ignored the room. He pushed open the bathroom door. The bathroom was filled with trash. Then, he opened the door to the kitchen. The kitchen backdoor was made into a passage that connected to another corridor. The dark red lantern hung outside the door. The blind hawker was curled up at the corner, selling various strange things. Further down the corridor was a small restaurant. They specialized in meat dishes. The fragrance from the restaurant mixed with the stench in the corridor. It formed a strange smell.

“Do you want to die?” The middle-aged woman caught up to Han Fei. She dragged Han Fei back and closed the kitchen door. “Which floor do you come from? Do you know where we are?”

“If we delay, the girl might not be able to come back.” Han Fei pushed the middle-aged woman back. He had the elder stay in the room. He walked down the corridor to the small restaurant. The wooden sign looked decrepit. The menu was yellowed. The utensils in the restaurant were old.

“Is someone there?” Han Fei stared into the kitchen. After he spoke, a strange noise came from inside the kitchen. About ten seconds later, a large burly man with an honest smile walked out. He wore a new uniform and had an innocent smile. “I’m sorry, but we’re out of meat. But we provide delivery service. Please tell me your address, and I will send you the food later.”

“It’s okay. I will wait here.” Han Fei felt that the man looked familiar. He thought for a long time before his eyes narrowed. To investigate Fu Sheng’s past, Han Fei did a lot of research.

Around 50 years ago, there was a brutal crime spree that only targeted females living around the fringe of the intelligent city. The killer disappeared after he was targeted by the police. The police suspected he had killed himself. The police provided a picture of the killer, and he was the man standing before Han Fei.

‘Why would he be here?’ Han Fei stood fixed to the spot. He looked around him, and a crazy supposition appeared in his mind. ‘This zone’s God has been in existence for a long time. He’s from the same era as Fu Sheng. They have been through many things together. They might even be responsible for most of the crimes…’

Over five decades, there had been many evil crimes, big and small. They might all be gathered in this one skyscraper. The victims were trapped, and the resentment pooled. The thought of it numbed Han Fei’s scalp.