Someone, in a hazy half-conscious state, first heard the sound of a handcart being dragged with something heavy on it.
Gears rolled over the ground.
A hanging sleeve brushed lightly against the floor…
Everything was slow, methodical; unhurried, as if calm and composed, accompanied by faint panting.
Then came unloading. The handcart went rumble-rumble over the ground again, and left.
The eyelids were heavy. They desperately wanted to open them and see who it was, but couldn’t. It was like drowning under crushing water pressure; no matter what, there was no way to save themselves, only to sink back into sleep in that dull fog.
At the end was… silence.
When she opened her eyes, she was in a huge, old, damp space. From the mouth of a drainage channel came a strong, mossy, fishy stench. Six compartments were separated by iron bars. Six people were divided among them, all more or less woozy, still carrying that drugged weakness. Their hands and arms were bound as well. They lay or sprawled there in miserable states.
As they woke one after another and looked at each other, no one spoke. Each person only panicked in silence, watching and observing.
Su Li was the last to wake. Weakly, she spoke.
“M-my mala tang?”
The other five all turned to look at her.
She was in the far-left compartment, the youngest unlucky one. She looked wretched, with dirty moss marks smeared on her fair cheeks, slumped in a corner. For some reason, she had said something so out of place.
She was strange.
Her clothes looked expensive, not ordinary goods. She also looked like she was “worth money”, yet she was thinking about cheap food.
“You still remember your mala tang? We’re locked up, and you’re not scared?” The pale, chubby middle-aged man looked kind. He couldn’t help reminding her.
She said, “Of course I’m scared. But I’m starving. I’ve been dieting lately.”
The fat man said, “Dieting, and you still ate mala tang in the middle of the night?”
She said, “You’ve never dieted?”
The two-hundred-jin fat man: “…..”
A vicious question in return.
No one picked up the conversation, weighed down by their own thoughts, until…
The old broadcast speaker hanging in one corner of the ceiling crackled—zzzt, zzzt, zzzt—like air blowing through a vent. Maybe it was being adjusted, maybe the wiring was faulty. After a burst of uncomfortable, nerve-pricking static, it finally went quiet.
Everyone looked at each other. The mala tang woman in the sixth compartment also fell silent.
“Did you hear it?”
The voice was rough, like an elderly man struggling to breathe.
It was the kind of voice that made you uncomfortable just listening; it carried a heavy, deathly air.
“You’re missing.”
“The person who took you is not a bad person. The police looking for you might even think he’s a perverted serial killer, but he truly isn’t.”
“He only wants to fulfill the regrets in your hearts.”
“That’s right; I mean myself.”
He spoke very slowly, choosing his words like he thought he was being humorous, emphasizing with effort—he wasn’t a bad person.
Who would believe that?
Someone finally couldn’t hold it in.
“If you’re not a bad person, then let us go. What did we do wrong to be grabbed? Who are you, exactly?”
The woman was plump, with rough skin and large pores. Years of exhausting life had dragged her features downward; she looked gloomy and dejected.
Her clothes were plain, her sweater unraveling, clearly something she’d worn for many years without replacing.
She really couldn’t handle things. She begged with a sob in her voice.
“You did nothing wrong.” The tone from the broadcast remained gentle and slow.
“I said it: I want to fulfill your regrets and obsessions. Or put another way, do you have any wishes?”
“Once you state them and I approve, I can satisfy them. If it’s something I can’t satisfy, you can choose one person to accompany you to complete it. You’ll go out together.”
They didn’t fully take in the rest. Everyone fixated on two words—go out.
Would he really let them out?
It sounded unbelievable.
No one dared respond. They all half-believed, half-doubted. After a while, the burly, rugged man in the second compartment couldn’t bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer. The rope cutting into him hurt, so he blurted out, “Then my wish is money. Can you give me money?”
After he said it, he realized his tone was too harsh, too aggressive. He might anger the other side. If the person was just toying with them, and he jumped out first, wouldn’t that be courting death?
“This is what I said. If you think I’m joking, pretend I didn’t say it… I’m just asking.”
From impatient to humble and timid, it only took a moment.
But who had the mood to laugh at him?
To everyone’s surprise, the old man on the broadcast asked kindly, “How much?”
The man froze.
The others also stirred.
“Uh… one, one hundred thousand? No—fifty thousand. Fifty thousand is fine.”
With his hands bound behind him, the man couldn’t help rubbing his fingers together.
Broadcast: “Name. Account.”
“But don’t use your own account. The police can trace it; it’ll be frozen and clawed back.”
He spoke slowly the whole time, with an old-fashioned steadiness. The man said, “If it’s not my account, whose can I use? You’re really going to transfer money to me?”
Clearly, he thought this weirdo was making excuses. Didn’t want to pay, right?
Wealth had been right in front of him, and then suddenly it got stuck. Who wouldn’t doubt?
Also, what kidnapper transfers money to a hostage?
People would die laughing.
He hesitated. The dyed-blond man in the neighboring compartment egged him on to try.
Other things couldn’t be tested lightly. Money could. It was worth it.
The burly man quietly reported an account number. “This is my mistress’s. You can send it there.”
Not a relative or close friend—his mistress?!
Scum.
Everyone’s expressions differed, but very quickly…
Beep. The old man seemed to have placed the successful transfer voice prompt right by the broadcast mic.
They all heard it.
That familiar, seductive female voice, who wouldn’t recognize it?
“He really transferred? And it’s one hundred thousand, not fifty. He sent the higher amount.”
“My god…”
“Could it be faked…”
“Probably not. The account number he gave was accurate too.”
The man was stunned. He couldn’t stop smiling, thanking him over and over. The others’ hearts surged. Except for the young woman, everyone forgot how dangerous their situation was and shouted that their regrets were all about money…
The old man didn’t seem angry. He chuckled. “Are you begging me for handouts?”
He was laughing, but the laugh was so eerie. Everyone felt creeped out. Aside from the burly man still drowned in joy, the rest grew uneasy and fell quiet.
The woman, unable to suppress her greed for money, asked weakly, “Can we propose something like that too?”
“B-but we’re just ordinary people. Ordinary. The difficulties and regrets we run into are basically all because of money.”
The others echoed her.
The old man said, “But the chance only comes once. Who can receive the exact same luck?”
At that moment, they heard the sound of a wheelchair rolling. They all lifted their heads to look.
An old man sat in an electric wheelchair, wearing a terrifying yet familiar mask—even in the countryside, some people knew this world-famous horror film mask.
Saw Grandpa: kind and gentle, loved to play games, extremely patient.
He held a colorful toy spinning wheel and appeared right in front of them like that.
“Since I promised, I will do it.”
“Money is a small matter.”
“Only the brave enjoyed the greatest benefit. Next, it’ll depend on fate.”
No boss had ever spoken with more warmth than he did.
Suddenly, this old man didn’t seem perverted at all. Even the terrifying mask looked charming, with an artistic expressiveness to it.
“Let’s play a game. We go by your compartment order. I spin it. Whatever it lands on, you have to propose regrets and demands in that category.”
Everyone looked at the front of the wheel he raised.
There were indeed five numbers, each corresponding to different words.
1, Money.
2, Hatred.
3, Secrets.
4, Emotions.
5, Freedom.
“All five options are one-time only. Once chosen, it won’t be chosen again. Each person also only has one chance.”
“First, state your identity. Then, based on what I spin, make your request.”
“I’ll listen, and then help you fulfill it.”
How bored did he have to be to grab people to play a game like this? And he’d already abducted them—yet he didn’t know who they were?
Randomly kidnapped?
To prevent them from having time to fabricate fake requests in their heads, Saw Grandpa made them start in order.
The burly man had already gotten a transfer and trusted him the most now. “I—I’m Luo Hong. I’m a timber merchant, here to purchase goods from your area.”
“A merchant and still this greedy, but you only wanted one hundred thousand?” The dyed-blond man’s jealousy was obvious. He mocked him, then said, “Chen Qing. I’m a driver.”
A driver?
Su Li glanced at his clothes.
This region was in the north. The snow season was long. It was cold, icy, and people dressed heavily.
Some jobs couldn’t be done dressed like this.
Bulky padded clothes, thick pants, thick-soled shoes, and very thick insulated gloves.
She made a judgment: Chen Qing was not a driver. He was lying.
Whether he was timid or low in character and rarely told the truth, lying in front of a creepy kidnapper like this—was it necessary?
Unless his real identity was problematic, and he was afraid of being exposed.
Su Li also saw the woman glance at Chen Qing, her expression a little strange, but she quickly said, “I… I don’t have a job. I stay home to take care of the kids. Huang Xiuling. That’s my name.”
Su Li noticed the grease stains on the woman’s sleeves.
Not cooking oil from a kitchen, but engine oil and diesel.
This woman was the driver.
……
“Lin Zong. An old Chinese doctor.”
Compared with the others, the gray-haired man who’d been mostly silent looked to be in his sixties. Naturally, he wasn’t young. His expression was dark, and his eyes kept measuring people and scanning the place. More than once, his gaze gathered on Saw Grandpa’s legs in the wheelchair.
Very thin, seemingly crippled. His feet were also small. He looked like a naturally small-framed, skinny old man. Even if he weren’t disabled, he still wouldn’t be a match for any of them.
But the iron bars were locked. The lock wasn’t an ordinary padlock; it seemed remotely controllable, with wiring.
This was a place long abandoned, later chosen and carefully set up. A “detention amusement park”. Power, control equipment, drugs, restraints. And there was no phone signal, meaning there was also signal-jamming equipment. With all that, a crippled old man could calmly toy with them like this.
It made him seem even less ordinary. He should be a highly educated person.
The fat man was simple-minded and didn’t think that much. He wailed impatiently. “Zhang Cheng, my name is Zhang Cheng! I didn’t do anything bad. I’m a teacher! Sir, I’m a good person—don’t grab the wrong one…”
The others immediately felt annoyed. What did that mean!
They weren’t good people?
As a few lines of arguing broke out, Saw Grandpa coughed. They fell silent, then followed his gaze toward the last person.
“Uh, my name is Su Li.”
“I’m a pure, innocent female college student who just graduated.”
Su Li said it like that.
College?
Everyone’s expressions shifted. They looked at each other. Chen Qing blurted out, “Where would Baimu Town get a college?”
Isn’t that a lie?
Saw Grandpa turned his head and stared at Su Li, chuckling. “Lying to me?”
Su Li’s fingers curled tight.
As if realizing he’d said something wrong, Chen Qing didn’t say more. Instead, the fat teacher Zhang Cheng quickly glanced at Saw Grandpa, wanting to help a bit. “Uh… the girl is from out of town?”
Like he was afraid Su Li’s lie would make the old man angry and kill her.
Su Li let out a breath. “Ah, I never said I was local. I came here to pay respects at a relative’s grave.”
Facing that gloomy gaze beneath the mask, she didn’t dare say much more. She added awkwardly, “I never lie.”
“But I’m puzzled—why did you think I’m from Baimu Town? Unless you assume I was abducted in Baimu Town, so we’ve met before? Chen Qing.”
Chen Qing paused. “We’ve met. I’m a driver. I saw you at the station. Not many people come here, and you’re pretty eye-catching.”
Su Li understood, and didn’t say more.
In her heart, she knew: he was lying. He wasn’t a driver, so this was a lie on top of a lie. But he did know her situation.
She’d only been in Baimu Town for three days.
Something was off with him.
Could he be working with this old man?
Did they know her family had money and wanted to extort her?
Why not be direct? Why put on this whole act?