Black Crow Prison (24): A Painful Lesson

Feeling the commotion next door, Jin extended his tentacles and waved them restlessly around the room.

He said with considerable interest, “Looks like someone else is more interested in that thing downstairs than you are?”

Mu Xinning raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Well, a gentleman doesn’t take what others desire. Let them draw first blood.”

Their target was Mo Yichen, not some bizarre Boss.

They had originally planned to conserve their strength, take down Mo Yichen first, and then deal with the bizarre Boss. But since someone wanted to get there ahead of them, they might as well let them have their fun.

...

At nine that evening, Zhou Kui and the others arrived in the corridor of the underground level. The emergency lights cast an eerie blue-green glow, stretching their shadows into thin, twisted shapes.

They reached the entrance to the morgue, and the stench drifting from within made them feel nauseated.

Fortunately, the iron door was not locked, so they could go straight in.

“This is it... Once I kill that thing, I can go back and settle accounts with One-Eye!”

Zhou Kui’s eyes gleamed with excitement. At present, his mind was filled with thoughts of revenge.

At the mention of One-Eye, Su Yun’s expression shifted slightly, though she concealed it well.

“Oh... Shall we head down, then?”

“Sister Yun, the morgue... Are we really going in?” Zheng Kai covered his nose and glanced at the rust-covered iron door.

Su Yun leaned against the corridor wall, toying with a fingernail. A faint smile played at the corner of her lips.

“Wasn’t Brother Zhou planning to take down the bizarre Boss? We’ll find out what’s hidden below if we go in and take a look.”

She paused, then looked up at Zhou Kui.

“By the way, my people haven’t arrived yet. They should still be upstairs eating. I’ll go hurry them along. Why don’t you go scout ahead? I’ll bring them down and join you.”

Zhang Dafu frowned. After once being tricked by Feng Xuanxuan, he was more cautious than before.

“Why don’t we wait here for you? Once your people arrive, we can go in together.”

“No need.” Su Yun cut him off lightly. “It’s fine for you to go down and check things out first. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

Remembering how much Su Yun had helped them, Zhang Dafu still trusted her despite his unease.

Zhou Kui watched her retreating back and could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Ever since they formed an alliance, the woman had been exceedingly friendly. But when she had handed them the access cards for free, she had appeared so willing to live or die alongside them that he had let go of his suspicions.

At this point, securing the kill reward and returning for revenge was more important.

“Let’s go.”

Zhou Kui gritted his teeth and stepped through the iron door first.

Beyond it was a flight of stairs leading downward. The stone steps were covered in slippery mucus, and the moment they stepped on them, the soles of their shoes became sticky.

Moving was difficult.

Zheng Kai switched on his phone’s flashlight. The beam trembled in the darkness ahead, illuminating mottled bloody handprints layered across the walls. The sight was horrifying.

Zheng Kai’s voice wavered.

“Is this the bizarre Boss’s territory...?”

“Keep quiet.” Zhou Kui barked the words, his sharp gaze sweeping over their surroundings. He tightened his grip on the small knife in his pocket, prepared to deal with any sudden danger.

At the end of the stairs lay a spacious stone chamber. In its center rested something covered by a white sheet. The shape beneath it was uneven and lumpy, and it appeared enormous.

A mountain of white bones was piled in one corner. Fragments of torn clothing were caught between them, and the black-and-white coloring looked eerily similar to the prison uniforms they wore.

“Something’s wrong...” Zhang Dafu suddenly took a step back and struck the cold stone wall. “It’s too quiet here. There isn’t even a sign of the monster.”

Before he had finished speaking, a tremendous crash came from outside—

The iron door had been locked from the other side!

Zhou Kui’s expression changed drastically. He spun around and shouted, “What happened?!”

Their hearts tightened. The three of them hurried back toward the stairs.

A familiar female voice came from beyond the iron door.

“Heh. Sorry, Brother Zhou. I’ve changed my mind. Why don’t you rest in peace in the morgue?”

It was clearly Su Yun—the very woman who had just sworn she would return and join them.

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There was one thing she had not told them: the cardboard box she had discovered in the indoor sports field had contained not only a flashlight, but also the key to the morgue’s iron door.

The door had originally been locked, but the moment Zhou Kui said he wanted to come down, she had already sent someone to unlock it in advance.

She had merely been waiting for the fish to bite.

“Sister Yun! Su Yun!” Trapped behind the heavy iron door, Zheng Kai pounded on it with all his strength. “Open the damn door! You set us up!”

But the person outside offered no further response.

Zhou Kui rushed to the door and dug his fingertips into the gap around the lock. His nails were scraped bloody, but he still could not open it. Finally, he said, “Forget it. Stop wasting your strength.”

If they kept shouting, they might attract some creature. They had not seen the bizarre Boss yet, but it was certainly lurking somewhere nearby.

They had to get out of there as quickly as possible.

He then tried to use an item to open the door, but it was not automatic. Since the iron door was not an electronic device, the item could not be activated. It had completely failed him at the crucial moment.

His voice was cold as ice.

“Damn it! This item is useless when it matters most! She never intended to let us leave alive!”

He should have realized it sooner. The moment Su Yun told them to come down alone, he should have understood that this was not reconnaissance. It was a sacrifice.

Unfortunately, he had been too inexperienced.

The moment someone offered him a little benefit, he had trusted them completely—and even dragged his companions into danger. He had been a fool.

At the end of the corridor, Su Yun listened to the three men’s panicked pleas for help. The smile on her face finally shed its disguise, revealing cold calculation.

Zhou Kui actually wanted to go back and take revenge on One-Eye? What a joke. One-Eye was a man she had set her sights on long ago. Did Zhou think he could kill him?

Dream on.

He could go into the belly of the bizarre creature and think carefully about how he planned to take revenge.

A cruel smile crossed Su Yun’s face before she turned and left.

Unfortunately, killing Zhou Kui meant she would lose access to his item. She would have to reconsider how to get out of there.

...

Zhou Kui kicked the iron door, sending rust pattering to the floor.

“Damn you, Su Yun! I’ll remember this debt!”

Zhang Dafu leaned against the stone wall and retched several times. His gaze swept over the pile of bones in the chamber, and his voice trembled.

“Brother Zhou, what do we do now? This place... there’s something seriously wrong with it.”

“What else can we do?”

Zhou Kui wiped the cold sweat from his face. The flashlight beam swept through the darkness, then suddenly stopped in a corner of the chamber.

There, incredibly, stood a rust-covered lift.

A pool of blood stained the area in front of it.

Someone must have come here and been killed.

The three exchanged a glance and hurried over.

Zheng Kai quickly examined the area around the lift, then said in frustration, “Brother Zhou, this won’t work! There’s no card reader or control panel. We can’t start it!”

Zhou Kui suddenly remembered something.

His item could be used now.

But it could only be used twice. If he used it here—

There was no time to worry about that.

Without another moment’s hesitation, he used his item, “Start or Shut Down,” on the lift.

The lift started.

The display descended from the number 4 to the letter M. Amid the shrill crackle of electricity, the doors of the car slowly slid apart.

“Get inside!” Zhou Kui shouted.

The three had barely stepped halfway in when a wet, squelching sound came from behind them.

They spun around.

The white sheet in the center of the chamber was suddenly flung into the air by an invisible force.

A monster composed of countless pale limbs revealed itself before them and charged toward the lift.

The limbs writhed and joined together incessantly. Mucus dripped from the black hollow above its neck as it slowly opened toward them.

“Ahhh!” Zhang Dafu screamed in terror.

“It’s the bizarre Boss!” Zheng Kai’s face went deathly pale.

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“Close the doors! Close them!”

Zhou Kui desperately pressed the close button. The three were frantic. At that moment, the lift doors seemed to be closing unbearably slowly.

Hurry! Close already!

The doors began to draw together, but the creature was already right beside them, almost touching the edge of the lift.

“We’re too late!” Zhang Dafu shouted desperately.

The creature’s mucus-covered flesh was already beginning to seep inside.

Zheng Kai watched as the creature drew closer and closer. He had always been timid, but this time he made a decision completely unlike anything he had done before.

His gaze had never been so resolute.

“Brother Zhou, you go first! I’ll hold it back!”

With that, he prepared to rush out of the lift.

“Zheng Kai!”

Zhou Kui’s eyes nearly split with anguish. He reached out to pull him back.

“Are you crazy?! If we’re brothers, then we’ll die together at worst!”

But Zheng Kai held him firmly by the shoulder.

How could he stand by and watch his subordinate die so that they could survive?

He did not ask that they be born on the same day, but only that they be buried together.

Zheng Kai shook his head.

“Big Brother, you have to live. You can’t die yet.”

“You still have to live and go back to settle accounts with One-Eye!”

His voice carried a sob, yet he forced a bright smile.

“We’re brothers. Since I’ve accepted you as my big brother, I won’t regret my choice!”

With that, he charged out of the lift and hurled himself at the monster.

“Zheng Kai! No!”

Zhou Kui shouted himself hoarse at the figure throwing its life away without hesitation.

He was no worthy big brother. He had sworn that he would lead Zheng Kai out of there alive.

He was a coward!

He did not even have the courage to go out and drag him back.

Zheng Kai snatched up a white bone from the ground and roared as he attacked the monster. The instant the bone pierced its mucus, white smoke rose from it as though it were being eaten away by strong acid.

A shrill whimper came from the black hollow atop the monster. Apparently enraged, it suddenly whipped out its tongue and wrapped it tightly around Zheng Kai’s ankle.

“Close the doors!”

As he was dragged toward the black hollow, Zheng Kai still turned and shouted at them.

“The activation time is almost up!”

Zhou Kui watched helplessly as half of Zheng Kai’s body was swallowed by the monster’s limbs. His piercing scream was drowned out by thick, viscous gulping sounds.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Zhou Kui clutched his head and howled, but he could not allow Zheng Kai’s sacrifice to be in vain.

He slammed the close button.

The lift doors began to shut. The last thing he saw before they closed was Zheng Kai being dragged completely into the darkness, giving him a thumbs-up.

Brother Zhou... Did you see that?

I bought enough time for the lift doors to close...

Have I finally become a worthy subordinate...?

Zheng Kai gave one last smile before his body disappeared into the black hollow.

“Zheng Kai!”

Zhou Kui slammed his fist against the lift wall, then seized the handrail and fell to his knees.

“Damn it! Damn it!”

The lift began to shake violently and started ascending.

Zhang Dafu collapsed onto the floor, covering his mouth. Tears streamed down his face, and he could not speak.

Only the two men’s harsh breathing remained in the car, along with the faint, teeth-grating sounds of bones being crushed.

Zhou Kui stared at the closed doors. The blood vessels in his eyes grew denser and denser. He drew the small knife from his pocket and gripped it tightly, his knuckles whitening from the force.

“One-Eye... Su Yun...”

He whispered the two names, then gnashed his teeth through tears.

“If I make it out of here alive, I’ll make you pay for every drop of blood!”

Zhou Kui’s roar echoed throughout the lift.

On the lift’s display, the letter M slowly changed toward the number 4.

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