236: Chapter 236 Gazing into the Abyss

As the words fell, like a stone cast into a well, Ling Ye's heart instantly hung in mid-air. He focused intently, capturing the slightest change on that scar-riddled face opposite him.

Hei San's single eye, the pupil seemed to contract ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. It wasn't surprise; it was more like confirmation, a realization of "as expected." His other facial muscles remained unmoved, but the light in that single eye became sharper and colder, like polished glass shards scraping across Ling Ye's skin.

He didn't reply immediately, nor did he look at the cloth bundle on the stone slab; he merely lifted his chin slightly, signaling Ling Ye to continue. But that subtle body language already revealed too much information—he was not unfamiliar with "behind the Old Textile Factory" or "seeing things," and perhaps he had even anticipated it.

Ling Ye's heart sank, but on the surface, he maintained that tense, nervous expression, mixed with a touch of desperation. He swallowed, lowered his voice further, and spoke slightly faster, carrying the contradictory feeling unique to a fugitive's account—wanting to make things clear yet afraid of saying too much:

"I... I was just looking for some scrap metal to sell, and I crawled near that old sewage pipe at the back. It was almost dark, and it was very quiet there, with a strong smell, like something had completely rotted. Then... I saw it, in the mud next to the pipe opening, there were patches of dark green light, like mold, but it was moving, flickering on and off. There was also an indescribable sweet, foul stench that made me dizzy."

He described the scene at the "green light" sewage outlet but omitted the parts where he approached to investigate and encountered the wriggling creature, steering the nature of the "green light" slightly closer to the dark blue commonly associated with the "abyssal eye" (describing it as dark green, somewhere in between) to increase its sense of "abnormality" and its possible connection to known contamination.

"I was a bit scared, but also a bit... curious. So I got closer to look. And then..." He paused at just the right moment, a look of "lingering fear" flashing across his face, "Then I heard a sound from inside the pipe, a gurgling noise, like boiling sticky porridge, mixed with... like many fine needles scraping against glass, it made my teeth ache. I was startled, stepped back, and crushed a broken jar."

He fabricated the detail of "crushing a jar" to lay the groundwork for a possible "trigger" and to explain why he might have been "discovered."

"Then, the green light flashed violently a few times, and the sound inside the pipe stopped. I felt creeped out and wanted to run. But before I got far, I heard the sound of a car approaching, not an ordinary car; the engine sound was very muffled. I hid behind a waste concrete pipe and saw two unmarked vans stop there. Several people got out, all wearing dark gray clothes—not military uniforms, nor police uniforms—and they were holding black boxes with screens and antennas, plus something that looked like a gun but wasn't. They surrounded the pipe opening, shining those things around, and said something I couldn't hear clearly, but it felt very... serious."

He accurately described the equipment features of the "Plainclothes Agents" (unmarked vehicles, dark plain clothes, detection instruments); this was the key to his probe.

"I was so scared I didn't dare to breathe. They messed around there for a few minutes, then one of them seemed to have discovered something and glanced in my direction... My soul almost flew out of my body; I thought I'd been found. Fortunately, they seemed to be in a hurry and soon got in the car and left. But I keep feeling... that last look they gave, it was like they knew I was there." He showed just the right amount of fear and uncertainty on his face, "For the last two days, I've been feeling uneasy. Even when I'm picking things up elsewhere, it feels like someone is watching me from afar. I didn't dare go back to where I used to stay, so I hid over here. But these past two days, the nights seem even less peaceful, and over there in the east... you also warned me not to go there at night."

He naturally integrated Hei San's warning into his narrative, both expressing "trust" and re-emphasizing the peculiarity of the "east."

Having said all this, he gasped slightly, shifted his gaze away from Hei San's face, and then quickly shifted it back, staring intently at Hei San with a complex look mixed with fear, a plea for help, and a final glimmer of hope:

"Master San, I... I'm just a scavenger, I don't want any trouble. But that place, that group of people, and the rumors lately... I just feel something is wrong. I'm afraid... I'm afraid I might have seen something I shouldn't have, and that they've targeted me. I want to get something for self-defense, just in case... in case they really come looking for me. Also, if you have any medicine to treat... to treat the nausea and itching I've had ever since I was exposed to that green light, that would be even better. You are experienced and have many connections, can you... can you point me toward a way to survive?"

He restated his needs: self-defense items, medicine, and... "information" about those "dark-clothed" people and the "east." He gently pushed the cloth bundle forward, "Inside here are some broken pieces I picked up near there that day. They look unusual, could you... could you take a look?"

The narrative concluded. Ling Ye held his breath, waiting for Hei San's reaction. Throughout the process, there was not a trace of acting, because the fear was real (fear of his situation), the tension was real (anticipation of danger), and the desperation was real. He simply skillfully guided and wove these real emotions into this half-true, half-false story.

Hei San fell silent.

He still didn't look at the cloth bundle, just stared fixedly at Ling Ye with that single eye, as if he wanted to dissect him from the inside out to see clearly. The pressure in the air seemed to solidify. The sound of the wind in the distant ruins seemed to become distant and unreal. Time passed, minute by minute, each second as long as a year.

Finally, Hei San slowly, ever so slightly, twitched the muscles near the scar at the corner of his mouth; it didn't look like a smile, more like a... mockery, or the expression of seeing an interesting toy.

"Old Textile Factory... behind..." His hoarse voice sounded, speaking very slowly, as if savoring these words, "Green light... sweet, foul smell... gurgling sound... dark gray clothes... black boxes..."

He repeated the keywords from Ling Ye's story one by one, the light in his single eye chillingly sharp.

"Kid," he leaned forward slightly, his voice lowered extremely low, so only Ling Ye could barely hear, "What you saw is not some 'thing you shouldn't have seen.'"

He paused, his single eye scanned the surroundings to confirm no one was approaching, then he continued in an almost whisper:

"What you saw is a 'disease'."

"A kind of... 'disease' that is 'contagious,' 'deadly,' and kept tightly covered up by the 'authorities' (he lifted his chin slightly, pointing toward the city center), which ordinary people must never know about. Those people in gray clothes you encountered are the 'doctors' who 'treat' this 'disease.' However, their methods of 'treating' the 'disease' are sometimes even more efficient than the 'disease' itself."

"As for you..." Hei San's single eye met Ling Ye's gaze again, the mockery in it even stronger, "You're unlucky, you bumped into a 'lesion' and might have even been marked by the 'doctors.' But you're clever enough, knowing to run and to hide."

He reached out, using a rough finger to gently push aside a corner of the cloth bundle, glanced at the scorched metal pieces and curled plastic pieces inside, and sneered: "These things are useless. The traces left by the 'doctors' are much 'cleaner' than this."

He leaned back, his single eye returning to that cold, scrutinizing state: "You want something for self-defense, medicine, and... a way to survive?"

Ling Ye's heart leaped into his throat, and he nodded vigorously, his eyes mixed with fear and a final glimmer of hope.

Hei San was silent for another moment, as if weighing his options. Then, he slowly bent down, fumbled for a while at the very bottom of a tattered cardboard box under the stall, and took out a flat, rectangular object the size of a palm, tightly wrapped in oil paper, as well as a small, unlabeled, dark brown glass bottle containing about a dozen white pills.

He placed these two items on the stone slab, right next to the useless cloth bundle.

"This," he pointed to the oil-paper package, "is a 'piece' inside, old-fashioned, but powerful, five rounds. In a critical moment, it can give you, or someone else, a quick end. Use it carefully, don't let it misfire, and don't let anyone see it."

It was a gun! A pistol! Although old, in this place, it was an absolute "hard currency" and a death warrant!

"This," he pointed to the small glass bottle again, "is an 'anti-inflammatory pill' that 'doctors' sometimes use; it's stronger than what's on the market. For that nausea and itching you have, taking this might be a little useful. Remember, one pill at a time, at most twice a day; if it doesn't feel right, stop."

He pushed the two items forward and looked at Ling Ye with his single eye: "In exchange for the 'words' you just said, and also..." He paused, his voice becoming even deeper, carrying an unquestionable tone, "In exchange for you, from now on, disappearing from here. Never let me, or my people, see you in this area again. Do you understand?"

The terms of the transaction were clear. In exchange for the "experience" (intelligence) he recounted and his promise to "disappear forever," he would receive a gun and a bottle of special anti-inflammatory medicine. The risk was extremely high. The gun was a hot potato, the medicine's authenticity was unknown, and the warning to "disappear forever" completely blocked his retreat. But this was also the maximum possible "hard goods" he could squeeze out of Hei San.

Ling Ye's gaze lingered on the oil-paper package and the small glass bottle for a moment. Then, he raised his head, met Hei San's cold, unquestionable single eye, and nodded slowly and heavily.

"Understood." His voice was dry.

He reached out, not taking the gun and medicine first, but instead picking up the cloth bundle containing the useless fragments and stuffing it back inside his clothes. Only then did he carefully pick up the oil-paper package and the small glass bottle, quickly stuffing them into the most intimate place inside his clothes.

After doing all this, he took a step back, lowered his head slightly to Hei San, and then, without hesitation, turned around, strode away, and walked quickly in the direction away from the stall and away from this shantytown.

He did not look back. He could feel that cold single eye behind him, like a tangible blade, nailed to his back until he turned a corner of the ruins and completely disappeared from the other's line of sight. The transaction was complete. He had obtained "hard goods" far beyond his expectations, but he had also paid the price of his "existence," and, furthermore, had completely stepped onto the edge of a more dangerous vortex.