473 The Last Sacrifice
The doctor had no idea that his 3 sentences would bring about the destruction of this world. He was circulating Boss Gu, talking nicely to him. Boss Gu maintained his usual smile and had the bodyguard hand the doctor a bank card. They looked like they were good friends but each of them had his bad intention.
After the doctors left, Boss Gu and his bodyguards came back to find Han Fei. “I’ve requested the doctor to take care of your mother. Keep your chin up. You can’t fall at a time like this.” Boss Gu’s eyes were filled with concern. He had started to act around Han Fei again.
Han Fei’s body shivered as the wet uniform stuck to his body. He opened his lips to say something but in the end, he could only utter, “Thank you.” After knowing his mother only had 1 week left, Han Fei tried his best to suppress the pain. The despair oozed out of him. Han Fei grabbed the edge of the chair and sweat slid down Han Fei’s pale face. It looked like he was about to surrender to reality soon.
Seeing Han Fei like this, Boss Gu was very satisfied. He only needed to apply a bit more pressure and Han Fei would give up hope and fall into the abyss. Boss Gu’s lips curled into a smile, imagining Han Fei’s pain. He patted Han Fei on his shoulder. “No matter what, life goes on. Come, let’s go back to the shop. We have to see if those two have destroyed anything at the mall.”
Boss Gu and the 3 guards walked away and 1 guard stayed behind with Han Fei. It looked like an act of concern but it was actually to watch over Han Fei. Han Fei was very suspicious of this arrangement. Boss Gu’s acting had attracted Han Fei’s suspicion. ‘This old thing is shameless and selfish. There is no reason behind his concern. Like what he said, the altar needs sacrifices. Huang Li, Fei Yang are all sacrifices. Based on the looks of things, I am a sacrifice too.’
Han Fei’s name didn’t feature any animal but he was representing the altar owner. So this meant that the altar owner was the key sacrifice. Being stared at by the guard, Han Fei didn’t react in any way, after all, he was too ‘weak’ to even walk.
When he was in Boss Gu’s car, Han Fei slept due to lethargy.
“He can sleep like this?” Boss Gu had no idea that Han Fei could sleep even in police cruisers. Boss Gu studied Han Fei coldly. He couldn’t find any flaw in Han Fei, the latter was like an innocent university student. “Sleep well, enjoy your last good dream.” Boss Gu toyed with the ring around his finger. The ring had a strange color and design. It appeared to be made from human ashes.
The car soon arrived at the mall. It was normal working hours, but there was no one at the mall, only the employees. A bad feeling rose within Boss Gu. He had the driver stop the car. He opened the door and rushed into the mall. As his first business in this city, he still cared about the mall. The bodyguards rushed over with the umbrellas. Han Fei who was shaken awake followed behind.
They entered from Exit C. Once Boss Gu entered the mall, he saw the water stains and glass shards on the ground. Many shops’ windows were shattered and the escalators were twisted out of shape. Standing in the middle of the mall, Boss Gu looked up. The banners at the ceiling were torn apart and the clock had stopped running. The worst situation was on the 3rd floor, almost all the boutiques were ruined. Boss Gu felt the world spinning. He was so angry. His fragile body couldn’t withstand it, he took out a small bottle of pills from his chest.
As he lowered his head to tip out the pills, he saw the cracks on the floor forming the shape of a well. “Impossible!” Boss Gu shouted and scared the cleaner auntie beside him. “The 3rd floor? She has escaped? How did she escape?!” Boss Gu screamed and pushed people off as he raced towards the 2nd hand shop.
The door wasn’t locked. As the door chimed, Boss Gu led the guards and Han Fei into the shop. Most of the shelves on the surface were unaffected. Seeing this, Boss Gu sighed in relief. He walked towards the altar on the surface. He peeled the black cloth back. The altar was unharmed and looked normal.
“Thankfully, the well lid is perfectly fine…”
Then he went to the underground storeroom. When the door was opened, an extremely cold presence rushed out from the ground. Boss Gu’s expression changed and he entered the storeroom with his bodyguards.
Half a meter of water had submerged the storeroom. Most of the shelves were soaked in the dirty water. Boss Gu was stumped. The high-quality scarf around his neck fell into the water. He shuffled mindlessly into the storeroom. The heavy black cloth was floating on the water. The black altar was still there but there was a hole on the roof!
His eyes almost squeezed out blood. Boss Gu’s body trembled. This was the first time Han Fei saw actual emotion in the man. “Who, who did this?!”
Boss Gu had owned the mall for many years and this was the first time he was so angry. Han Fei stood near the ladder, he didn’t dare to get too close to the altar lest there was a problem. “Boss, there is still a working camera in the shop!” Han Fei shouted to get Boss Gu’s attention. He didn’t want to stay underground for too long. Han Fei ran to the counter and played the video that he had purposely left behind.
Ten Fingers were too lazy to destroy the cameras, it was Han Fei who tempered with the cameras. The only camera caught the chef and the dwarf as if on accidental. It also picked up the human head tattoo on the dwarf. “Those are the two who wanted to kill me yesterday night! I tried my best to resist but they are inhumanly strong!” Han Fei showed Boss Gu the footage. He tried his best to turn Boss Gu against Ten Finger.
Boss Gu had suspected Han Fei before but how could a normal person destroy an altar? Plus Han Fei’s mother was at the hospital. That was Han Fei’s biggest weakness so Boss Gu was not afraid of Han Fei escaping from his clutches. Due to these reasons, Boss Gu didn’t think Han Fei was the culprit.
“This has happened again and again. Do they think I won’t fight back?” Boss Gu’s rotten wounds started to bleed. He stood at the counter for a long time before he made a call. Half an hour later, a large truck appeared in front of the mall. Han Fei had seen this truck once, it was this truck who delivered stock to the underground storeroom. “Seal up Exit C and stop anyone from coming through.” A gang of people came out from the back of the truck. They came with professional tools. They took down the door that led underground.
‘What are they doing?’ Han Fei studied them behind the counter.
“Be careful! Don’t harm it!” Boss Gu’s voice kept coming. He never sounded so nervous before.
10 minutes later, Han Fei could feel the ground shake. Then he heard the sound of water gurgling coming from underground. Several workers carried out an item covered in black cloth. ‘Is that the altar?’ Han Fei shook his head. Even though there were no ghosts at the mall anymore, he didn’t think the altar could be that easily removed. Through the gap in the black cloth, Han Fei saw the frame of a shelf. Boss Gu planned to remove everything from the storeroom but Han Fei had no idea why.
Han Fei went to look with the excuse of offering help. Most of the shelves had been taken apart. The merchandise was placed at specific locations. Han Fei looked closer and noticed they were arranged according to the neighborhood at River Head.
After removing the shelves, Boss Gu noticed the hole in the wall. The water from the storeroom came from the well. When Boss Gu saw that not one picture had remained inside the well, his face was dark. He coughed so hard that Han Fei was worried. If Boss Gu died, he had to deal with Ten Fingers alone. With the rain pouring, the well water continued to rise. Boss Gu stood in the water and ordered the workers around. They first sealed up the hole on the wall, drained out the water, and then started to paint strange symbols on the storeroom floor and walls. Han Fei had seen these symbols in Room 13 before. They seemed to mimic the symbols inside the altar. ‘The hanging woman’s body is made up from these symbols. Boss Gu likes to leave these symbols on those who died to the altar.’
Finding the dead their pictures could only temporarily return them freedom, there was another binding to their souls. ‘All the souls have been priced and they have been turned into merchandise by the altar.’
Han Fei was thankful. Ever since he entered the memory world, he had many interactions with the altar. The altar had been forcing him to make a trade but he had rejected all of them. Even though he was the person closest to the altar, the altar couldn’t control him. After all the symbols were painted, the underground storeroom changed. Standing there, it felt like one was standing inside the altar. Following the boss’ orders, other than painting the symbols, the workers brought slaughtered animals into the storeroom and placed them at different corners. After everything was done, they took out their pictures and handed them to Boss Gu. Only those who gave their pictures would be paid.
The workers were used to Boss Gu’s strange demands, plus he gave them a lot of money so they obliged. The workers left taking a double salary, none of them realized the madness in Boss Gu’s eyes. A few workers gathered together and pointed at Boss Gu like they were gossiping. This was just normal gossiping but due to the explosive nature of the content, more people gathered. The conversation became so loud that some of them reached Boss Gu.
“Have you heard? Boss Gu has been doing charity because of guilt. He forced his ex-wife to death and tossed his own child into the well.”
“Really? But I heard from the internet that he is doing charity to swindle people of their money.”
“Indeed, look around us. The mall has no business but the man has managed to purchase half of the city.”
“I have real evidence. My uncle was a guard at River Head. He worked for Boss Gu when he was young. He said that boss is a very evil person and so many people have died in his hands.”
“What would a security guard know? My sister is friends with a university student who is sponsored by Boss Gu’s charity. She said despite Boss Gu’s appearance, he has many illegitimate children.” The workers read the news on their phones and they became more excited. The grumbling surrounded Boss Gu, it made his hands that gave out money burst out with green veins. “Get out!” After the underground storeroom had been made into an altar, Boss Gu chased all the workers out.
“These people don’t even have the value to be traded, where did they hear these rumors?” Boss Gu took out his phone and when he looked through it, his blood pressure rose. “Who is behind these baseless rumors!” Boss Gu almost slammed his phone to the ground. He stared at the leaving workers and told his bodyguards. “Two of you, break down this wall.” The guards obliged. They took down the wall opposite the altar. Behind the wall was a cold, dark room. It was filled with endless pictures. “I’ve done so many charities for you people, it’s time for you to pay your debt.” Boss Gu dropped the workers’ pictures into the room. “If you want double the salary, then you have to pay double the price.”
Once the wall broke, the load of pictures in the room gushed into the underground storeroom. They lay on the freshly painted symbols. “The altar is ready, now I only need the sacrifices.” Boss Gu stared at Han Fei’s back and chased all the bodyguards away. After ensuring there was no one around, Boss Gu took out his phone to make another call. “You didn’t complete the mission I gave you last time. Your son is not only not injured, but he also came back perfectly fine.”
“Boss Gu, I didn’t think the little bastard would send Brother Snake’s people after me…”
“Stop wasting my time. I will give you 10 times the money but I need you to do something for me.”
“Tell me.”
“Haven’t you told me that your wife is a burden? Now is the chance for you to leave behind this burden.”
“What do you mean?”
“She is staying at Ward 401 4th Floor, People’s Hospital. The doctor will do his round at 2 am and then he will leave.” Boss Gu didn’t elaborate. “Appreciate this chance. I’ve placed the money in the same place. Don’t disappoint me again.”
“You want me to kill her? But isn’t she going to die already?”
“I will not take back the money I give away but once you take my money and refuse to do my bidding, you know the consequences.”
After hanging up, Boss Gu’s face brightened with a cruel smile. “With this despair, he will be the perfect sacrifice.”
Walking out from the storeroom, Boss Gu had 2 guards stay at the shop. He wanted to encourage Han Fei when his phone rang. Boss Gu frowned when he saw the caller id. “What has happened at home?”
“When I was cleaning earlier, I realized the red sweater has gone missing.”
“Which red sweater?”
“The one in the hidden room…”
Boss Gu’s hands shook and his phone fell to the ground.
“Boss, boss? Are you alright?”
Boss Gu was reminded of the things the workers said earlier. His face was frighteningly pale and he was consumed by fear. ‘Truth has been taken!’
“Boss, the chains at the corner of the playground have been severed. There is so little trash today and the uncooked meat didn’t go down in number either. Do I still need to change them?” The voice came from the phone but Boss Gu didn’t answer. He didn’t even pick up the phone. After a long time, Boss Gu seemed to wake up from his dream. He picked up the phone and ended the call.
“The two of you stay at the shop tonight and attend the nightshift with my employee. No matter what, the 3 of you have to stay together.” Boss Gu spoke quickly before he left with the other 2 guards.
“The boss looks so worried, has something happened to his family?” Han Fei stood behind the counter and poured himself a glass of water. “Oh, right. Boss Gu has no family.”
Truth had been exposed. Boss Gu looked at his people but he was ultimately alone. No one was willing to help him. They were there for his money or were forced to.
Han Fei’s situation was complete opposite. He looked alone but many hands were holding him up from behind. After the boss left, Han Fei’s phone vibrated. He glanced at the id, it was Lin Lu. “Hello? Why are you calling me?”
“Why did you tell me to get a break from the hospital? You didn’t really explain yourself.”
“I can’t just yet. In any case, you have to leave there as soon as possible.” Han Fei said seriously.
“I did try to ask my superior for holiday and he refused. He even scolded me for it and had me stay for the nightshift.” Lin Lu sighed sadly.
