Chapter 124

Chapter 124

Because of the unusual underground conditions beneath the entire Old City area of Yunlan City, high-rises could not be built there.

Anything over five stories was prone to subsidence and water seepage.

To the east, south, and west, ancient buildings stood densely packed together; walk a few steps and you would see a protected cultural relic site. For that reason, those three areas had largely retained their original appearance.

But the northern part of the city was different. In the early days, it had been a shantytown, and later, many brick buildings had been put up during redevelopment.

Thirty years ago, the northern part of the city had been a proper wealthy district, with excellent infrastructure.

But as time passed, it had once again become an area for renters.

The windows of the five- and six-story brick buildings were all fitted with security bars. The buildings were so close that residents in opposite apartments could reach out and shake hands through the bars.

Public security here was mediocre at best, and all kinds of people mixed together. Its only advantage was the extremely low rent.

In a dim alley where large patches of plaster had peeled from the walls, small advertisements were plastered everywhere. From upstairs came a series of bangs and crashes, as though something was being smashed.

Someone was cursing like a wild beast. “You cheap whore, you jinx.”

The crisp sound of slaps, a woman’s low sobs, and all manner of filthy insults rang out without end, too vile to repeat.

Inside the cramped rental unit, the man kicked her again and again, each blow more vicious than the last.

“What were you smiling at the vegetable seller for? I’m asking you, what the hell were you smiling at?”

The woman curled up in the corner with both hands over her head, trying to make herself as small as possible.

“If you’re so eager to sell yourself, I’ll post those photos of you online and put a price on them.”

At that, the woman could no longer stop crying. She clung to the man’s leg, begging him over and over.

Her face, marked with old wounds and new, was streaked with tears and snot.

“Go on. Take off your clothes.” As the man spoke, he pulled out his phone and turned on the camera.

“Strike a pose. Let everyone have a look.”

“Please, don’t film me anymore.” The louder the woman cried, the tighter her hands clenched around the front of her clothes, resisting in silence once again.

But in the next moment, a plastic stool came smashing toward her.

The man said, “Your dad took a hundred thousand from me. That means you were sold to me. I can do whatever the hell I want with you.”

With that, he reached out and started tearing at her clothes, while his other hand kept filming.

Just then, his phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, and the brutality on his face vanished at once.

Even though the person on the other end could not see him, he still changed into a fawning, groveling posture. “Hello, Brother Chen. What’s up?”

“Yes, sir, go ahead. All right, I’ll be there right away.”

The man put away his phone and wiped his face.

Before leaving, he threatened her as usual. “I’ve got all your photos and videos. If you dare run, I’ll post them.”

“Even if you run to the ends of the earth, everyone will know you’re nothing but a filthy slut.”

He slammed the door so hard it shook the room, leaving the disheveled woman alone as she bit down hard on her own arm in rage.

“Why hasn’t the City God taken him away yet?” the nineteen-year-old sobbed.

When Huang Jun hurried downstairs, he bumped into someone at the turn of the stairwell.

The person wore a Black Trench Coat, a face mask, and a baseball cap. When he turned his head, the gray-edged pupils beneath the brim sent a chill through anyone who looked at them.

Huang Jun swallowed the curse that had been about to burst from his mouth and went downstairs without daring to make a sound.

…

Huang Jun rode his little electric scooter to a run-down tile-roofed house at the foot of Yangming Mountain.

There, he saw seven or eight modified motorcycles parked in front of the door.

Yangming Mountain was covered in graves. Unexpectedly, the road with its eighteen sharp bends had instead become a racetrack for certain thrill-seekers.

Huang Jun walked past the pool table by the entrance and went inside, where he immediately heard bursts of noise like a troop of monkeys.

The crowd surrounded a man with a short buzz cut, cheering nonstop.

He was the one who organized the illegal races here.

He counted as a minor internet celebrity on overseas platforms, with his gimmick being the danger and excitement of illegal street racing.

Amid the crowd’s flattery, he grew smug and chugged an entire bottle.

Then, with a bang, he smashed the bottle onto the ground.

As luck would have it, the bottle shattered right in front of Huang Jun’s toes.

Glass shards flew up, and he could not help stepping back to avoid them.

A burst of mocking laughter immediately rang out.

For all Huang Jun strutted around like he was someone important at home, the news that he had done time in prison had spread far and wide, and people had always looked down on him for it.
Everyone laughed uproariously, and Huang Jun had no choice but to laugh along, plastering on a shameless grin as he started flattering them.

He helped inspect the suspension and brake systems one by one, getting motor oil all over his hands and clothes.

After he had run himself ragged, the group finally clustered together and headed out.

The owner of the motorcycle repair shop was Boss Chen. He stood there counting a thick stack of cash, smiling so broadly his eyes disappeared.

Seeing this, Huang Jun sidled up to him ingratiatingly.

Boss Chen’s smile faded a little. He counted out five bills and tossed them his way.

Huang Jun smiled to his face, but the moment he turned around, his expression twisted with resentment.

He had worked like a dog, yet someone else had walked away with the lion’s share of the money.

The more he thought about it, the more unwilling he felt. He walked behind the repair shop, intending to call someone and curse them out to vent.

But when he reached into his pocket, he realized the phone he had tucked into his pants was gone.

Nothing was going his way. On top of that, the thought of Qin Ying, whom he had seen yesterday, made a wicked fire surge straight up in him.

So in the backyard, useless as ever, he screamed and cursed at a tree.

Just then, the sudden wail of police sirens rang out.

Boss Chen took one look and saw at least a dozen police cars flashing their lights as they came up the road.

He hurriedly slammed the door shut with a bang. “They must be here to bust the illegal racers. No idea how word got out.”

Sure enough, just as Boss Chen had said.

The next day, Huang Jun saw the local news on TV reporting that an illegal racing operation had been cracked.

It looked like his source of income would probably be cut off for a while.

In his rented room, he pointed at heaven and earth as he cursed. Just when all that evil rage had nowhere to go, there was a knock at the door.

He thought it was He Man coming back from buying groceries, so he yanked the door open, ready to start yelling.

Instead, he was met with a hard slap across the face.

Crew-cut Guy, who had organized yesterday’s event, and Boss Chen were both standing outside.

The one who hit him was Crew-cut Guy.

A group of people surged inside and, without asking a single question, beat Huang Jun to a pulp.

“So you’re the bastard who called the cops?”

Fists and slaps fell on Huang Jun’s body and head like rain, beating him until blood poured from his nose and mouth.

He begged, “It wasn’t me. I don’t know anything.”

Crew-cut Guy stomped him in the stomach. “I got lucky and ran yesterday. I pulled some strings to ask around, and guess what? The phone number that called the police was yours, you son of a bitch.”

Boss Chen also punched Huang Jun in the head. “I knew you were restless for a long time, but I never thought you’d pull something like this!”

Huang Jun tried every possible way to explain, but even though he knew nothing, he still took a vicious beating.

His neighbors on either side had long since gotten used to the sounds of smashing and fighting from his place. Not one of them cared enough to stick their nose in and call the police for him.

After Crew-cut Guy and Boss Chen left, Huang Jun, who had lost his job and taken a beating, lay on the floor for a long while before he recovered.

Only then did he barely manage to crawl up. Holding on to the stair railing, he planned to go to his mother’s place, get some money, and have himself checked at the hospital.

But the moment he reached the street corner, he caught sight of someone standing in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras.

In that pitch-black shadow, the person took off her mask, revealing a face as pale and smooth as jade. The tiny red mole at the corner of her right eye was vivid and uncanny, as if it could breed evil.

Qin Ying showed Huang Jun something wrapped in tissue paper.

It was… the phone Huang Jun had lost.

It was as if they had returned to that alley eight years ago.

Qin Ying looked at him with the exact same expression she had back then, as if she were looking at garbage.

Just like before, she held his phone and silently mouthed two sentences before leaving.

You’re finished. No need to thank me.

Huang Jun’s mind buzzed. He stood there in a daze for a long time before finally coming back to himself.

No. He couldn’t let Qin Ying ruin him again. He would rather die than go back to prison.

If he had to die… then he would drag that bitch down with him.

He ignored all his injuries and went home, paying no attention to his mother’s anxious questions as he locked himself in his room for the entire day.

Late that night, he grabbed a kitchen knife from the kitchen and, like a rat, slipped over to Qin Ying’s house.

The surveillance cameras along the way had all been mysteriously damaged, and no one saw him climb into the backyard of Qin Ying’s home with a savage grin on his face.

After he entered the yard, the fine drizzle that had shrouded the city abruptly turned into a downpour.

Amid flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder, the heavy rain washed away every footprint and trace.

After that night, Huang Jun was never seen again.