ACIFITFDB – Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Chapter 14 I Won’t Come, I’m Afraid It Will Affect My Civil Service Exam…

The light overhead cast long shadows on Aunt Zhou’s face, accentuating her bulging eyes and cheekbones, making her look like a character from a horror comic. Her expression caused the people entering the room to lower their heads.

However, neither Qin Xian nor Huang Quxie was intimidated; both remained composed. Seeing the other’s normalcy, their eyes held a hint of scrutiny.

The guide led them out of the room and away from the villa.

It was already past eight o’clock, but the outside wasn’t completely dark. Every house and room in the village was lit with various colored lights, some even green and red, making it impossible to guess what was going on inside.

But these lights, surrounded by the inky mountain range, appeared particularly eerie. To use an analogy, the village, nestled among the mountains, resembled a pot of dark soup with flecks of multi-colored light, giving one an uncomfortable feeling.

Behind Aunt Zhou’s villa, two long rows of temporary structures were built with sheet metal similar to construction sites. The first row of buildings seemed to be engaged in live streaming, as Qin Xian could hear muffled crying.

The second row was much quieter, but the iron gate at the entrance was secured with several large locks.

The guide unlocked the locks, and the gate creaked open slowly with a grating sound.

What appeared before them was a long corridor. Dim lights were spaced far apart along its length, with numerous small rooms evenly distributed on both sides, making it look strikingly like prison cells.

However, the conditions here were worse than a prison. A sour smell mixed with the odor of excrement wafted out, forcing Qin Xian and Huang Quxie to step back.

The guide gruffly said, “Hurry up, go in and rest.”

Huang Quxie asked, “Is there no other place to stay? How about we sleep at a hotel outside?”

The guide sneered, “Impossible. You can’t get out. Go in obediently, don’t force me to act.”

He lifted his jacket and took out a nearly meter-long electric baton from his waist, tapping it in his palm.

Qin Xian and Huang Quxie exchanged a glance and walked into the gate.

With a “bang,” the iron gate behind them slammed shut. The guide locked all the locks before turning to leave.

Before departing, he added, “Find an empty spot to sleep! The toilet is at the very end. There’s tap water, nothing else.”

Qin Xian glanced at the nearby rooms. Inside were old bunk beds commonly used in schools over a decade ago. Each room was crammed with eight beds, leaving only enough space for one person to pass through.

Every bed was occupied. Seeing new arrivals, some people on the beds looked up, only to listlessly lie back down.

Qin Xian looked at a few more rooms; the situation was similar.

Men and women shared these rooms, with exhausted people crammed into tiny spaces to rest. Besides the beds, there were only a few small cabinets, not even enough space to store personal belongings.

This was likely why many people here were disheveled, their sour odor reaching the heavens.

Huang Quxie frowned and took out his phone to contact the outside, only to find there was no signal at all.

Qin Xian, unfazed by the smell, pointed towards the depths of the corridor and asked, “Let’s go. We need to find an empty room to settle down first.”

Huang Quxie nodded with a dark expression.

The two walked further into the corridor. The stains on the ground were so sticky they clung to their feet, making them feel uncomfortable all over.

After walking a bit further, they realized that many rooms in this building were actually unoccupied. So why were the people earlier crowding together?

Huang Quxie turned on his phone screen and shone it into one of the rooms. Upon seeing what was inside, his pupils contracted sharply.

“Damn…”

Qin Xian also turned his head. He saw that the beds, walls, and floor of the room were covered in bloodstains. When illuminated by the light, the mosquitoes and insects resting on them suddenly flew up, buzzing and scattering.

“Ugh!”

Huang Quxie gagged, suppressing the urge to vomit as he looked closely. He saw that on one of the beds, a person was still lying there.

This person’s limbs were rotten, the decaying flesh already half-fused with the bedsheet. Yet, they were alive, their hollow eyes looking at Qin Xian and the other.

Huang Quxie ignored the horrifying sight and walked to the bedside to observe the person closely.

After more than ten seconds, he walked back and told Qin Xian, “It seems someone has been bringing him food and water. But it’s unclear how long he can live in this state. Damn, what kind of place is this? By the way, who are you?”

His deep brown eyes locked onto Qin Xian.

“You seem very familiar with this situation, and your mind isn’t on the live stream at all. You’re not an ordinary person here to learn live streaming techniques.”

Qin Xian retorted, “And what about you? You knew from the beginning that this place might be dangerous and tried hard to persuade me to leave. You have high qualities in all aspects, and you seem to have a strong sense of morality. Are you a police officer?”

Huang Quxie smiled, “You’re very smart. I am indeed. So, who are you? A player?”

“Player?” Qin Xian feigned a hint of confusion. “What player? Is this some kind of deadly game? I’m someone who gets paid to do a job. Someone commissioned me to find his missing brother here.”

Huang Quxie, abandoning his previously warm and helpful demeanor, looked at Qin Xian coldly and said, “Oh? Is that so? I don’t quite believe you, but now I think we need to cooperate. We don’t have time to dwell on identities. We need to escape from here and then notify others to handle this village.”

Qin Xian replied, “I need to find the client’s brother first before I can leave.”

“What are you looking for? If we stay any longer, we might lose our lives. Let’s go! We need to get out of here first. Do you have any tools?”

Perhaps because they were confident no one could escape, their belongings were not confiscated.

Qin Xian directly pulled out a small hand saw from behind his waist, though it was unclear how he had hidden it there.

Holding the saw, he asked, “Don’t you police officers carry any guns?”

“I have one, but not many bullets. It’s not useful right now.” Huang Quxie took out a military folding knife from his pocket.

However, the folding knife had little effect on the iron bars on the window. Huang Quxie put the knife back in his pocket, pointed at Qin Xian’s saw, and then at the window.

Qin Xian turned and walked away, “No rush, I’ll look around again. Maybe there’s a better way to get out.”

Huang Quxie could only follow him, cautiously proceeding down the corridor.

Just then, they finally encountered someone coming out of a room, seemingly heading to the restroom.

Huang Quxie stopped the person and asked directly, “Brother, we’re new here. What’s going on?”

The person glanced at them and said dejectedly, “We were tricked, and we can’t escape anymore.”

Huang Quxie pressed further, “Isn’t this place for live streaming? With such terrible living conditions, how can you broadcast?”

“Heh. We’re not the kind of glamorous live streams you see. The people lying here, their broadcasts are different from those internet celebrities.”

“Then why don’t you broadcast for help?”

“It’s useless. Nothing is useful. I advise you not to do anything like that, or you’ll turn from a healthy person into a broadcast prop. Don’t ask me anymore, there are surveillance cameras in this corridor.”

After speaking, he quickly walked away.

Qin Xian and Huang Quxie exchanged a look, neither spoke, and silently continued forward down the corridor.

The arrival of two newcomers held no attraction for the people here. Most people remained lying in their beds, not even interacting with their companions.

This made the temporary dormitory eerily quiet and strange.

But after walking for a short while, they heard some strange noises. It sounded like someone was trying to pry open a window with force.

The two quickened their pace and, in the third-to-last room, saw a small figure clinging to the window, trying to pry the window bars with a metal spoon in their hand.

Qin Xian took two steps into the room before the figure startled and turned around.

“It’s a little girl!?” Huang Quxie exclaimed.

The one attempting to escape was a young girl, not yet fully developed. Seeing two men enter the room, her first instinct was to cover herself with her hands in a panic.

This subconscious reaction suggested she might have encountered something before.

Qin Xian softened his voice, “We won’t hurt you. Are you new? We are too.”

The girl still had some makeup on her face that hadn’t completely come off. Hearing this, she nodded warily.

Qin Xian held up the saw in his hand. The girl’s eyes lit up, looking very lively. It was clear she was new here, but likely hadn’t suffered anything too terrible.

“Want this? It’s better for sawing.”

“Yes!” the girl whispered and quickly reached out to Qin Xian.

Seeing her like this, Qin Xian’s eyes held a hint of a smile. “Let me do it. You move aside a bit.”

After saying that, he walked to the window, measured the bars with the saw, but didn’t start sawing.

Huang Quxie said, “If you saw directly, won’t they notice? I’ll try to bend them…”

Before he could finish, Qin Xian shoved the saw into his hands and grabbed one iron bar with each hand, pulling them apart.

The seemingly sturdy bars actually began to deform. After more than ten seconds, Qin Xian had removed the bent iron bars, creating a hole large enough to pass through.

Qin Xian went out first, then took the girl from Huang Quxie, gently supporting her under the armpits and placing her on the ground.

Then, Huang Quxie also struggled to squeeze through the window.

As soon as he got out, he said to the two, “Let’s go. We’ll see which way we can leave this godforsaken place.”

But Qin Xian and the girl didn’t respond.

The girl said, “I need to find my brother before I leave. If I don’t find him soon, he might die…”

Qin Xian turned his head in surprise and asked, “Your forum name is ‘Brother Come Home’?”

“Yes, how did you know? Are you the one who took my commission?”

Qin Xian nodded.

The girl was happy for a second, her eyes showing more trust in Qin Xian. But then she immediately became dejected.

She lowered her head and said, “I’m sorry… I didn’t know this place would be so terrifying. Now I’ve gotten you into trouble too.”

Qin Xian’s voice was unusually gentle, “It’s okay, I’ll help you bring your brother out. But for now, you should leave here with Uncle Huang.”

Huang Quxie immediately said, “You’re going alone? That won’t do, I’ll go with you!”

“Then what about her? You should take the little girl out first. I can definitely come out alive.”

Huang Quxie gritted his teeth, looked at Qin Xian, then at the little girl, and finally chose to pick her up. He said solemnly to Qin Xian, “Alright, I’ll take her out first and then come back for you. If you survive, you must come to our bureau to clarify your identity.”

Qin Xian’s expression went blank for a moment. “Did I break the law?”

Huang Quxie shook his head, “No. Consider it me begging you, alright?”

Qin Xian flatly refused, “I won’t come. I’m afraid it will affect my civil service exam.”

Author’s Note:

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The title and synopsis are temporarily finalized! I’ve also revised the synopsis, adding some ambiguous interaction, hehe, because I just finished writing up to this point in my draft yesterday. [Scumbag]