met free Chapter 9 Undercurrents
Chapter 9 Undercurrents
The camera pans upwards through two floors of the restaurant, the noise gradually fading away.
Top floor—Warden's office.
Just as Ron and his two companions were clashing with Edwin's group, a figure appeared in the quiet corridor on the top floor, followed by a knock on the office door.
"Come in." Quaid leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs on the desk, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He tilted his head, took a drag, and exhaled two smoke rings, looking very relaxed.
The door was opened carefully, and the person outside glanced outside before cautiously closing the door gently.
"Nobody noticed you, right?" Quaid asked.
The man shook his head, limped to the desk, nervously rubbing his trousers, and said, "You wanted to see me?"
"Tell me, how have you been lately? Any new discoveries?" Quaid slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, scrutinizing the man in front of him—Sissan—with an unquestionable gaze.
Xisang's Adam's apple bobbed, and just as he was about to speak, he changed his words: "No, everything is as usual."
Xisang was not a good liar; he was not eloquent and was kind and honest.
Two years ago, he beat the thief to near death in the street after his mother's medical expenses were stolen.
Afterwards, the thief turned around and accused him of robbery, and then secretly bribed the person in charge.
And so, the truth was buried deeper and deeper, and the more things were explained, the more confusing it became. Xisang was sent here in a daze.
Upon hearing this, Quaid lowered his legs and sat up slightly, slowly knocking off his cigarette ash. His expression became more serious: "But I heard that you were talking to someone from District 2 while you were eating breakfast this morning."
"He probably sat at our table because Lawson was an old man and not a threat."
Sweat beaded on Sissan's temples; he didn't understand why the warden was asking about Ron.
But since Ron had promised to protect him, and considering his broken leg, Sissan decided to hold off on saying anything for now.
"Hey, we didn't talk about anything meaningful. He just arrived here and was curious about the different colors of some people's clothes, so he asked about it."
The others wouldn't let him sit down, so he had no choice but to come here.
Xisang spoke half-truthfully; he was honest, but not truly stupid.
Secondly, he sensed danger from Quaid's attitude. This was a sensitive topic, and saying the wrong thing could cost him his head.
Quaid squinted, carefully observing the sincere yet somewhat naive man. Unable to find any flaws, he gave up and continued asking:
"And... what about that old geezer Lawson? Is he still the same as before?"
"Hey, yes, it's still the same as before. Sometimes he's acting crazy and talking nonsense. You can't understand what he's saying."
However, he hasn't spoken much lately; he spends most of his time sitting quietly, lost in thought.
Xisang's palms were now incredibly slippery, and he kept wiping them on his pants while silently praying that his earlier attempt to conceal the truth hadn't been discovered.
Quaid's gaze darkened slightly:
"Just do what you're supposed to do. You need to know who decides whether you want to stay here, and how long you want to stay."
After saying that, he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, then opened the drawer next to him, took out a small gray cloth bag, and casually tossed it onto the table with a crisp sound.
"Take this and save it to support your mother when you get out. I've sent someone to take care of her. You just need to do what you're supposed to do and get out of here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xisang bent down and stepped forward, quickly picked up the cloth bag, and then retreated with his head down.
Sisang gently closed the office door, slowly exhaled, stuffed the cloth bag into his pocket, and quickly left the place.
............
After lunch, the group was led by the prison guard to the basement of the men's prison. Compared to the upper floors, the environment here was darker and damper.
In the dimly lit corridor, a short, stout man was already waiting—it was Quaid. He stood with his hands on his hips, looking at Ron and his companions, then frowned and asked, "Why is one person missing?"
"Oh, it seems Edwin hasn't informed you yet. Our roommate accidentally bumped into him this morning, and to make up for it, he went to help them with some work. They were short-handed, so he went along."
Old Zeng still had a smiling face; when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.
Quaid waved his hand:
"Alright, someone from his side will come and tell me. It's getting late. You can show them around the place. I have some things to take care of."
As Quaid spoke, he gestured with his hand to the young prison guard who had brought them there.
Seeing that someone was assigning work to Ron and the other two, Quaid naturally didn't bother to care and was about to leave after saying his piece.
After taking a few steps, he turned back and glanced at them silently, his eyes slightly narrowed. Among these people, he saw 3017, the man who had sat with Xisang that morning.
Without making a sound, Quaid silently made a decision in his mind before turning and leaving.
Under the guidance of the junior prison guard, the three became familiar with the work process, which was not difficult but involved a considerable amount of work.
The bathroom was enormous, resembling the communal bathrooms they used to have in college, about 300 square meters. The facilities were rather basic and looked somewhat dated.
They need to clean the dirt off the floor, wipe the yellowed tile walls clean, check each drain, and unclog any blocked drains.
After giving instructions, the prison guard left, telling them they only had two hours, so they needed to work quickly and change the sheets in section 2 after they finished cleaning.
The three of them didn't start working right away. Following Lao Zeng's instructions, they first surveyed the layout of the place.
After checking areas that lacked any clues such as secret passages or doors, the cleaning work began.
The basement level is dimly lit, and the enclosed environment results in very poor air quality.
An hour later, everyone felt a little dizzy, so the three of them decided to stop what they were doing and take a break.
Just then, Su Zixu frowned slightly and looked at the two of them: "Did you hear anything?"
Upon hearing this, the two of them were stunned for a moment, and then looked around.
Old Zeng was about to say something, but Su Zixu stopped him.
Su Zixu made a quiet gesture, then ran towards the wall behind him until he reached the end of the bathroom. After searching for a while, he slowly looked up at the ceiling.
Just now, after the room quieted down, Su Zixu vaguely heard rustling sounds inside.
Now that he's run here, his voice is clearer.
He heard muffled thuds coming from the ceiling, accompanied by a faint scraping sound, as if... something was crawling.
Su Zixu took a step and moved along with the sound, which was right above him and even closer than before.