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墨書 Inktalez
This was undoubtedly a sealed space. Under the beam of the flashlight, I could see that there was only one entrance here, and no other exits were visible. The last time I was here, before the armed police arrived, I had thoroughly investigated this underground area, but I couldn't find any way out.
However, Wu Zui must have brought me here for a reason; he wouldn't lead us to our doom without a way to escape. He walked in with the flashlight, leaning against the wall to listen. I had done the same before, and behind the wall, it was clear that the sound was flowing water.
There was a river called Dongxing River in Dongxing City, which is how the city got its name. But I wasn't sure if this Underground River in the western mountains was a tributary or the main stream of Dongxing River. At that moment, I saw Wu Zui gently tap on the wall in a rhythmic manner.
With each tap, there was a sudden "crack," and astonishingly, the wall pushed open!
It was a hidden door. It seemed that this door could only be opened from the other side; it couldn't be opened from here. The hidden door had an irregular shape, resembling the natural protrusions and depressions of the mountain walls. In these depressions, tiny gaps were concealed.
Without any light, when shining the flashlight, shadows from the protruding parts fell into the recesses, making it difficult to see those tiny gaps and leading one to believe it was a sealed space. Moreover, given the urgency of the situation at that time, we didn't have enough time to thoroughly check this place.
After the case concluded and the police deemed this location useless, Wu Zui once again utilized this place—this is what they call "the darkness beneath the lamp." I could see that no one would expect us to appear here. Wu Zui waved his hand, and we moved to the other side of the wall.
Under the flashlight's beam, I saw Vivian, and beside her was Guan Zengbin.
“Guan Zengbin?” I called out.
But there was no response; Guan Zengbin still looked cold and unresponsive. Without long-term treatment, it seemed unlikely she would wake up anytime soon. However, she appeared somewhat excited upon seeing Wu Zui. I wasn't sure how Guan Zengbin could distinguish between us in the dark, but I knew that others might not have been able to tell me apart from Wu Zui.
Vivian pulled back the hidden door tightly.
I knew this wasn't the best time to wake up Guan Zengbin, so I had to survey our surroundings instead. We were walking along the edge of a river; it seemed like a naturally formed cave where the river had eroded a path for us to walk on. It wasn't flood season; otherwise, this area would likely be submerged by water.
Standing there, I could feel the chill and dampness of this underground environment; it felt as if it pierced through my bones.
Wu Zui asked Vivian: “This place is known only to you; no one else followed us, right? What about Yinzi?”
Vivian nodded and replied: “As per your instructions, only we two know about this place; even Yinzi is unaware.”
Then Vivian pointed to a boat tethered next to the Underground River. It was actually just a simple Log Raft, currently swaying with the flow of the river. Guan Zengbin stepped onto the Log Raft, while Wu Zui directed others onto it as well and said: “That's good.”
I was second to last to board the Log Raft. The raft wasn't large; sitting on it caused it to sink quite low in the water. However, although this section of the Underground River flowed steadily, it seemed relatively calm and slow-moving, allowing us to drift downstream gently. I just wasn't sure where we would emerge from once we left this cave.
Based on my estimation, we should be outside of the police's Surrounding Circle. At this rate, it would likely take several hours.
Step by step, everything fit together seamlessly. Just as Wu Zui had told me, he noticed all the details.
When Vivian untied the rope that secured the Log Raft and was about to step onto it, Wu Zui spoke up again, "Vivian, at our current pace, when do you think we will reach the exit?"
Vivian thought for a moment and replied, "Based on my estimation, it should take about three hours. By the time you all get out, it will be around four in the afternoon. However, Yinzi is already at the exit; it's very safe there. He'll be waiting for us. How we leave Dongxing City will be a matter for later. We just need to hide for a few months, and once the situation calms down, we can leave Dongxing City and live the life we want."
As she spoke, Vivian pointed to a backpack on the Log Raft and said, "Since we've been moving since morning without eating, I prepared some bread in advance. If you're hungry, feel free to take some."
Hearing Vivian's words touched Wu Zui deeply. He said, "Vivian, I didn't expect you to be so careless most of the time, yet you thought of us not having eaten at this moment. Honestly, I'm almost moved to tears."
Vivian smiled lightly, "I knew..."
But before Vivian could finish her sentence, she collapsed into the Underground River. Her body floated downstream slowly, moving forward just like our Log Raft. I had grown numb to Wu Zui's propensity for violence; although I felt immense anger inside me, I didn't want to say anything more.
What Vivian wanted would forever remain unknown to us. All I knew was that Wu Zui was far too bloodthirsty and perverse. I truly couldn't understand who else he couldn't let go of or who he dared not kill.
When killing became an everyday occurrence, perhaps for Wu Zui, his heart had long since become numb; it was no longer anything fresh or new.
No one spoke on the Log Raft. Jasmine was up front shining a flashlight for illumination while Guan Zengbin controlled the direction with a paddle. Shi Huacheng lay on the Log Raft with his eyes closed. Wu Zui stared ahead, lost in thought. I reached for the backpack and found it filled with bread and similar items.
As I ate the bread, tears began to flow uncontrollably down my cheeks. The problem was that I didn’t even know what I was crying about; it felt as if my tears had a consciousness of their own, cascading from my eyes in this environment. It turned out that crying wasn’t necessarily due to sadness; it could also stem from despair.
Everything was under Wu Zui's control; even my entire life was under his dominion.
Sensing the silence during this journey, Wu Zui yawned and then turned to us without looking back. "It feels a bit lonely without any sound. How about we tell some stories? We can't just sit here for three hours doing nothing."
No one responded. Wu Zui continued, "Jasmine, how about you?"
Jasmine shook her head.
"What about Guan Zengbin?" Wu Zui asked again.
"I don't have any stories; Brother Wu Meng should tell one," Guan Zengbin replied.
I was just about to speak when I suddenly realized that the 'Wu Meng' Guan Zengbin referred to wasn't me but rather this Wu Zui in front of me. Upon hearing Guan Zengbin's words, Wu Zui looked at me and burst into laughter. After a moment, he said, "Since Guan Zengbin has suggested it so nicely, I'll tell everyone a story."
With that, Wu Zui sat cross-legged on the Log Raft and began his tale:
"This story starts twenty years ago when a large Drug Trafficking Group was taken down by the police in one fell swoop. The brains behind this Drug Trafficking Group and its most crucial core members were all captured; this Drug Trafficking Group was nearly completely dismantled."
However, as the group grew larger, there were bound to be a few who fell through the cracks. Among them were Old Zhang and Lai San. At that time, Lai San was just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old kid who was sent to a rehabilitation center for forced detoxification. After he got out, the group had disbanded, and with no one left to lead him, he decided to go it alone.
Thus, Lai San took over this mess. He gathered his connections and started from scratch. Lai San was ruthless, especially towards himself. People followed him because he managed to quit drugs; after leaving the rehab center, he never touched them again.
Slowly but surely, he built his empire and recruited many people into drug trafficking. One day, one of his associates who had come into contact with Lai San was captured by you all. This person was someone Lai San valued highly because he was also tough and hard on himself. The exposure of this individual made Lai San realize he was in danger, which is when I stepped in.
I only needed to say one thing to win over Lai San: "I am Wu Chenkong's son."
From that moment on, Lai San became my subordinate. Afterward, he recommended his old partner Old Zhang to me. During my discussions with Old Zhang, I learned that he had the skills to construct a labyrinth, so I instructed Lai San to obtain the design plans for it.
However, building the labyrinth required money. Therefore, I devised a kidnapping scheme involving Liu Yinyan, leveraging his weaknesses to acquire a fortune that would last a lifetime. But where should the labyrinth be constructed? I then planned the Twelve Zodiac Signs case, using Wu Xiufen's shelter for her son as a base for building the labyrinth. Once all these plans were in place, I would be ready to act.
Yet during this preparation phase, I came up with new ideas—very intriguing ideas.
"Wait!" I interjected. "Isn't it too coincidental? Why do those people resort to murder? If they didn't kill anyone, how could you use those cases to further your plans?"
Wu Zui raised a finger and shook it. "Haven't you met my master Wei Demian? He shared an interesting conclusion with me: never instruct others on how to kill; instead, dig out the malice hidden within their hearts. Everyone harbors their darkest side; the difference lies in whether you can unearth it."
"Just like my dear brother," Wu Zui fixed his gaze on me. "Don't you have any malice within you? Haven't you ever felt the urge to kill someone at least once?"
Wu Zui's intense stare weighed heavily on me, making it hard to breathe.
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