Su Jin got up, washed, and got dressed. He stuffed a spare outfit into his bag and bolted out the door, making a beeline for the slaughterhouse.
He’d already asked meat sellers at the market.
There was a facility out in the suburbs. From what he gathered, their management was not very strict, and they mainly handled “pigs.”
While the primary livestock in this world resembled swine, the breed was quite different from anything back on Earth.
They looked more like wild boars, with small ears and pointed heads. They looked aggressive.
They would be good for practice.
As for gaining entry… he didn’t foresee much resistance. When in doubt, bribe it out.
He grabbed a cab to the city’s outskirts.
Even from a distance, he smelled blood on the wind.
Su Jin closed his eyes and tried to steady himself.
It’s fine, everything is fine… He’d survived his fair share of fights growing up, and he’d even encountered knives twice before.
This was just practice for killing. Just a little blood. As easy as taking a shower.
After a long while of trying to calm himself, he inhaled sharply and forced his leaden legs forward.
Less than a hundred meters later, Su Jin stood before the entrance of a huge sheet-metal shed.
It lacked front doors. Instead, it smelled strongly of animals and blood.
The concrete floor was streaked with bloody water and swarmed with flies.
Dozens of workers worked in rubber boots, pushing carts loaded with plastic buckets full of bloody organs.
No manager appeared to be around. The floor workers barely spared a second glance at Su Jin’s clean clothes before turning back to their grim tasks.
This was strictly the processing floor. The actual slaughtering likely happened out back.
Su Jin decided to go around the main building toward the rear.
Bingo.
The animals were slaughtered under an open-sided sheet-metal shelter.
Several butchers worked. Some held stun devices, others maneuvered long-handled tools, slaughtering the animals across a floor of bloody mud.
After watching from the shade for a moment, Su Jin locked onto his target.
One man, large and about fifty, had a tattoo on his arm.
The others called him ‘Brother Liu,’ and his behavior suggested he led the group.
If he could win this man over, he could probably get what he wanted.
Decision made, Su Jin marched over to the big man.
Brother Liu was giving instructions when Su Jin appeared beside him. He stopped and turned.
One look at Su Jin, and he grew nervous.
“Relax, boss. I’m not health and safety,” Su Jin said, choosing his words. “Name’s Lin Shirong… It’s a bit awkward, but you look like a straight shooter, so I’ll level with you. I want to learn the trade.”
“I’ve been out of work. An old friend of my father had offered me a job slaughtering pigs. I can’t afford to embarrass him, so I want to learn a little beforehand…”
“Ah… here to learn.” Brother Liu relaxed and gave a mocking smile. “You think this is a vocational school? What a load of horseshit. Beat it!”
Su Jin looked around, then produced a hundred-yuan note.
He leaned closer and dropped his voice. “I will pay you. Spot me one pig to practice on. I do not need anything else.”
“You…” Brother Liu’s eyes locked onto the cash, his hardline stance melting into sudden pragmatism. “I cannot do that! You are a complete beginner. Who will pay the medical bills if you get hurt? …All right. Be careful. I will keep an eye on you.”
Pocketing the two hundred yuan, Brother Liu guided Su Jin toward the middle of the yard.
Three hours later.
The two men stood facing each other in the shade beside the building.
Su Jin’s chest heaved with ragged breaths. His face was a faint red, as if someone had smeared tomato sauce over it, though he had already changed into his spare outfit.
Across from him, Brother Liu was pale.
Staring at Su Jin’s twitching features, Brother Liu stammered, “Buddy… you get it out of your system?”
Su Jin pressed his lips together, fighting the urge to vomit, and nodded tight-lipped.
“I will come back tomorrow…”
“Tomorrow?!” Brother Liu’s voice cracked up two octaves as his internal monologue descended into pure, unadulterated panic.
He had thought making an extra two hundred yuan would be easy.
But this polite-looking kid was out of his mind!
He wasn’t practicing butchery; he was practicing how to hack at a person!
Liu had told him to use the stunner. Instead, the lunatic chased the beast across the yard, hacking at it wildly. He had carved the pig’s backside into a mess!
And the frenzy was only half of it. Once the pig was open, he kept rummaging.
He’d been rummaging through the organs, draping raw intestines and stomachs around his neck. Even when he had thrown up, the madman just wouldn’t stop.
That wasn’t normal behavior!
If this guy came back, something terrible would happen!
“Don’t you dare come back tomorrow. The plant manager will be here, and he will not allow it,” Brother Liu rambled, before his terror got the better of him. “Look, buddy… level with me. Are you in deep shit? Is that why you’re practicing? Just listen to your older brother, do not turn to crime!”
Su Jin’s heart plummeted into his stomach.
He had gone too far.
He had forced himself to endure the gore, but had gone much too far.
If this foreman called the cops, he would be in serious trouble.
Su Jin screwed up his face in pain.
Ducking his head, he let the little that remained in his stomach rise into the back of his throat. He swallowed hard.
“Brother…” Su Jin wailed, letting the visceral tears and snot flow freely. “Since you called me out, I won’t lie! I didn’t come here to butcher pigs!”
“Take it easy, man. Tell me everything!”
Just as I thought—he came to practice killing someone!
Brother Liu’s face grew even paler.
“My wife ran off with another man! I was going to chop up that cheating pair!” Su Jin sobbed.
“Don’t! Jesus, don’t do that! You’re a young guy, you can find a million other women!”
He had to calm him down, otherwise he’d be implicated if anything happened!
Brother Liu spoke gently. “Listen to me, it’s just a bump in the road. What man hasn’t worn a green hat once or twice? Hell, I’ve been cuckolded myself…”
After ten solid minutes of trying to comfort him, Su Jin’s theatrics tapered off. He wiped his face.
“Brother,” he rasped, “honestly, between gutting that pig and hearing your story… I feel a lot better. It’s not worth throwing my life away over that cheating pair.”
“Exactly! That’s the spirit!” Brother Liu’s relief was so profound he almost wanted to buy him a couple of pork hocks.
The guy’s tone had leveled out. The psychotic rage had been vented. Crisis averted.
He’d just saved two lives and kept himself out of trouble. A good deed!
Just as Liu relaxed, Su Jin looked up.
“So… could you give me back that two hundred yuan?”
“…..”
Brother Liu froze, as if stunned by a pig prod.
After a long, agonizing silence, he fought down the urge to backhand the kid, fished the crumpled bills out of his pocket, and slapped them into Su Jin’s palm.
“Keep it, kid. Go home, live a good life… and never come back here. I am genuinely terrified of you.”
“Brother, I owe you one. Your kindness…” As he spoke, Su Jin’s peripheral vision locked onto a stack of feed bags nearby.
As the printed text came into focus, genuine surprise flashed in his eyes.
He instantly pivoted, pointing a finger at the pig feed.
“Can I take two bags of pig feed? Those two ran off with all my money. I want to eat pig feed today! I need the taste to remind me of my humiliation. One day, when I have made money, I will win back my dignity!”
This little bastard! He wants even more!
Brother Liu sucked in a sharp breath, clutching his chest, his face twisted in pain.
He offered a weak, defeated wave of his hand.
“Take it… If you like the taste, just take it…”