When I woke up, I saw Old Feng.

He was driving in the driver’s seat. Brilliant sunlight fell on the hard contours of his profile, every stubble on his face clearly visible.

So just now—was that a dream I had during the journey?

Had I fallen asleep? How could I let the boss drive?

I raised my hand to touch Old Feng’s arm.

The next second, he collapsed against the car window.

I froze there, along with my hand, just suspended in midair.

“Hahahaha, are you a fucking idiot! You’re killing me!”

A head popped out from the back seat. Chi Na’s face was covered in dried blood, his smile vicious and sinister.

It wasn’t a dream…

We were at the edge of a cliff. Old Feng was tied to the driver’s seat, and I was in the passenger seat.

Chi Na, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, got out of the car and wandered around, seemingly pondering how to make Old Feng’s foot press the gas pedal.

This mountain wasn’t very high, but I was already starting to feel dizzy. The mountain wind dried the sweat covering my head and face, only for another layer to immediately emerge.

“By the time they find you, they’ll probably say you were a pair of star-crossed lovers committing suicide together, hahaha.” Chi Na exhaled a smoke ring and was about to make his move.

“Please, don’t kill me.” The lines from TV dramas were so cliché, so common, but turning it over and over, this was all I had: “Please, please, don’t kill me.”

Chi Na stared at me, smiled maliciously, and said, “Right, the first time I saw you, you had this same pathetic expression, a face full of servility. Truly fucking nauseating.”

My brain was like a video playing at ten times speed—countless images rushing at me, then hastily changing.

“Yes, I… I’m very timid, afraid of death. You can do anything to me, just spare my life.”

Trembling, I used the most fawning voice I could imagine: “The police are definitely looking for you now… What if they surround you? At least, at least you’d have a hostage. I won’t resist…”

Reading people’s expressions was a skill carved into my bones. Even in this terrifying scene, I could still detect that his expression changed slightly.

That slight change was enough.

“You must have things you want to do… I’ll help you. You can kill me anytime, anytime…” I said in a small voice, slowly, like soft tentacles forcing their way into a narrow crevice. He hadn’t left Old Feng and me dead in the wilderness but had instead gone to great lengths to handle things.

This meant he wanted to live, and he believed he could survive.

Half an hour later, Old Feng’s body, along with that beat-up Jeep, thundered down the mountain with a violent explosion.

I bit my lip, trembling silently.

“Follow me,” Chi Na said.

I looked back one last time. Many, many years ago, Old Feng and I had survived a disaster and sat on the ground sharing a cigarette. He told me: Class is a tall tower. Those who want to climb it are all prepared to be shattered to pieces.

Now he was truly shattered to pieces, but I was not. Not yet.

I had lost too much blood and was groggy, tied hand and foot and thrown in the back seat by Chi Na.

He was still driving that Cullinan, smashed beyond recognition, which meant the places he was driving through were still areas rarely traveled by people.

Otherwise, an escaped criminal driving a luxury car would have been caught long ago.

So where was this? In my semiconscious state, while desperately working to untie the ropes, I thought—I must escape, I must survive. Grandma was still waiting for me to come home. I still had so many things I wanted to do…

I didn’t know how long he drove before Chi Na stopped.

I struggled to lift my head, leaning it against the car window, and saw Chi Na talking with several foreigners.

Were we… out of the country?

Through the car window, I couldn’t hear clearly. I could only continue observing this place. This was a complete and utter desert—covered in sand and stones, not a blade of grass growing.

Panic rose in my heart. Even if I could successfully escape, I had absolutely no idea where I could go.

What was he saying to those foreigners? I stared intently at their lips. It wasn’t English—that pronunciation pattern was Russian.

That’s right. I remembered that in Old Feng’s report materials, it was mentioned that Beicang Transportation had always been doing smuggling business with Russia.

So now he was going to leave with these Russian friends. Then what would happen to me? Would I be sold, turned into human organs…

From fear and blood loss, my entire body began to shake violently. I stared at Chi Na’s lips, not giving up on any bit of information.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

Chi Na seemed extremely angry, roaring about something.

Those foreign “friends” were laughing and playing with him as if toying with him. Chi Na threw a punch at the leader, but it was easily dodged.

He fell to the ground in an awkward heap, like a stray dog.

I felt like I was watching a silent B-movie.

Several people surrounded him, cheering and laughing. Each person kicked him once, and one of them viciously stomped on his face.

This beating lasted nearly an hour before they stopped, still not satisfied.

Then they raised their heads and looked at this priceless luxury car.

My heart tightened. I could only curl my body up tightly to keep them from seeing me.

Fortunately, its exterior was probably too damaged. They only looked at it with disgust before getting into their own luxury car and driving away.

The desert was silent—not even the sound of birds. Only Chi Na remained, panting heavily on the ground… and me.

I finally broke free from the ropes. By the time I struggled to open the car door, another hour had passed.

The sky had darkened. There was the muffled sound of thunder. Large raindrops competed to fall from the sky.

Chi Na had been beaten badly. After several attempts, he still couldn’t stand up from the ground.

I took the car keys from his pocket. He could only watch me silently.

In my fantasy, I would immediately get in the car and run over him again and again until I ground him into a bloody pulp, then drive away stylishly.

But I didn’t miss that moment—the trace of a cold smile at the corner of his mouth.

I reached out to help him up, laboriously hauled him into the car, and like a true servant, carefully asked, “Are you okay? Does it still hurt?”

His gaze changed from mockery to confusion. He still stared at me without saying a word.

“We agreed we’re companions. I won’t abandon you.” I started the car and said, “It’s about to rain. We need to leave here. I’m going to drive now, okay?”

He looked at me. I don’t know how long passed before he spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva with half a tooth in it.

“Drive east,” he said tersely, directing me.

I had bet correctly.

This place was truly desolate and uninhabited. Without his directions, I absolutely couldn’t have driven out on my own.

We kept spiraling downward, passing through various winding and hidden small paths. After an unknown amount of time, a dark cave entrance appeared before us.

After we went inside, there was actually a heavily fortified iron door.

Chi Na threw me a key and said, “Open it.”

Teng Seventy-Two had made his fortune in mining. I realized this was an abandoned mine shaft.

It wasn’t very large inside, but it was like a miniature secret space.

On the table was a kerosene lamp, glowing faintly. Beside it was a huge sofa bed, and a cabinet with various exquisite figurines on it. On the floor were scattered half-eaten snacks and bottles of mineral water.

I hadn’t eaten anything for a day and a night.

I was thinking—should I eat first, or kill Chi Na behind me first?

I shuddered. Yes, in this uninhabited place, the beast within me seemed to be burning too.

Just then, I heard a soft laugh behind me.

Chi Na said, “Ren Dongxue, do you know why I hate you?”

I turned to look at him.

He leaned against the wall, laughing neurotically. “Because your fucking servile face especially resembles my father.”

“He had to bow and scrape to everyone, practically wanted to lick their shoe soles. I’ve looked down on him since I was little. But I never expected that after he was gone, no one was willing to deal with me anymore.” He laughed self-mockingly. “Including those friends of mine, the kind who said they’d die for me.”

He kicked away the trash at his feet and went crazy smashing everything: “Shitty friends! I gave them everything I had left! All I wanted was a car and money! I’m going to kill them! I’m going to kill them!”

The spacious tunnel echoed with his voice, like an evil spirit roaring: “I hate people betraying me the most! I’m going to kill them! I’m going to kill them!”

I’m done for, I thought. Good thing I didn’t make a move just now—his combat ability was far stronger than I had imagined.