Chapter 288: The Siren in the Surveillance

‘Damn, I should’ve left one alive…’

The clatter of the iron hook hitting the ground was probably fine. After all, the woman’s earlier scream hadn’t attracted any attention, which meant the soundproofing in here was excellent. As long as he didn’t cause an explosion or a series of heavy impacts, this little bit of noise should still be within the safe zone.

But as Lin Fan glanced around, he slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing the only ones left were the “prisoners.”

‘Great. Now finding a “guide” who knows their way around is going to be a pain.’

HUFF… HUFF…

The two women on the floor were clamping their hands over their mouths, their eyes wide, not daring to move a muscle. They stared at Lin Fan with pure terror, too scared to even cover their torn clothes. It was as if he were some man-eating demon, even more terrifying than Wang Wei.

“Alright, alright. You can make a sound. It’s okay to breathe, just don’t be loud.” Seeing how they looked like they were about to suffocate themselves, Lin Fan made a calming gesture, trying his best to sound gentle. ‘Am I really that scary?’

Hearing this, the two women tentatively let go of their mouths, gasping for the blood-tinged air.

With their hands now free, they covered their chests. They kept their lips sealed in response to Lin Fan’s question, not daring to answer, simply nodding and shaking their heads frantically.

Seeing that the two women had stabilized, he turned and walked to the men’s cage on the left. He pulled the iron door open and gestured to those inside, beckoning them to come out first.

The men in the cage exchanged glances, their eyes finally settling on the one named Liu Heng. The same defiant man who had been about to kill himself by ramming into the bars now seemed completely drained of strength.

He steadied himself on the bars, staring in disbelief at the open gate before him. He then glanced at Wang Wei’s corpse on the floor, its eyes wide open in death. Taking a deep breath, he shakily stepped out of the cage and came to stand before Lin Fan.

“You… sir.” Liu Heng swallowed. Looking up close at the man who seemed to have materialized in response to his own suicidal wish, he was overcome by such a profound sense of unreality that his feet felt unsteady.

“The three of us… we were originally together.” He took a deep breath and pointed to the corpse on the floor, its eyes wide open in death. An inexpressible sorrow flickered in his eyes, and his tone carried a hesitant urge to explain himself, though he didn’t know where to begin. “My name is Liu Heng…”

He seemed terrified that Lin Fan would mistake him for one of those who aided the tyrants. Or perhaps, he just wanted to unburden the guilt weighing on his heart.

“He was in someone’s debt, that’s reality. He paid the price for it. Now you have to fight for your own life.”

Lin Fan waved his hand impatiently, cutting him off. He had overheard their earlier conversation and could guess what had happened.

He just didn’t have time to play priest and listen to confessions, nor did he want to act as a judge and rule on who was right or wrong.

“If you want to die, you’ll have plenty of chances later. But not now, and not here.”

The words were like a splash of cold water, but also like a shot of adrenaline, yanking Liu Heng out of the moral quagmire he was sinking into.

Before Liu Heng could react, Lin Fan got straight to the point. “Are you the only ones here?”

He glanced around again. “Do you know how many others have been captured and brought to this factory? All the living prisoners—are they all here?”

“Huh…?” Liu Heng froze. ‘I expected a judgment on my humanity or my morals, I was even ready to be cursed out and killed… but I never imagined this God of Slaughter wouldn’t care about any of that.’

This feeling of being completely ignored, paradoxically, brought him an unprecedented sense of relief.

“Yes… they’re all here.” Hearing that this was serious business, Liu Heng immediately forced himself to focus. His mind raced. “I haven’t heard…”

He pointed to the corpse on the ground.

“I never heard him say there were any other places where they were keeping people alive.”

‘These must be the “fresh goods” that female Awakened One was talking about.’ Lin Fan’s gaze swept over the group of young, scantily clad women, their faces etched with misery and terror.

It matched her description. Besides, these people were just reserve “feed,” so it made sense they’d be kept near the “workshop.” There was no need to lock them up in multiple locations.

“Which one of you is Yiyi’s mom? A little girl, about seven or eight…” Since all the living prisoners were here, Lin Fan simply called out to the crowd of women.

…

The women all looked at one another in confusion. No one spoke up.

“No one?” Lin Fan paused to think, then gestured to indicate a height. “Or has anyone seen a little girl? About this tall, seven or eight years old…”

“A woman with a child? A little girl? There aren’t any children here…”

Liu Heng was taken aback as well. Forget this place—in his entire journey since the apocalypse began, he could count the number of minors he’d seen on one hand, let alone a child that young.

“Um… well…”

Just as Lin Fan’s brow furrowed and he was about to change his line of questioning, a voice came from the side. It was the woman on the floor, the one who had been pinned beneath Wang Wei, who was now curled into a tight ball.

The intense fear and near-suffocation from before made her voice sound sticky and strained. She swallowed with difficulty, clearing her hoarse throat before timidly speaking,

“The little girl you’re talking about… one time… when I was being taken to the boss’s office… I think I saw her on the way.”

“Oh? To the office? Where is it?”

“It’s…” She subconsciously started to raise a hand to point, but the moment she moved, her arm loosened from her chest. A sudden chill made her instantly aware of her embarrassing situation.

Her face flushed beet red. She quickly hugged herself again in a panic, looking like she wanted to disappear into a crack in the floor. Half the courage she had just summoned vanished in an instant.