Chapter 50: Seeds of Malice

A sudden weight shifted in his chest! It felt as if his center of gravity had vanished, and he tipped backward!

The cold, metallic screech of chains turning erupted, and the movement of the elevator whipped up a sudden gust of wind—a wind that seemed to be dragging Hao Yang backward.

Hao Yang didn’t even need to look up to know the elevator had already ascended. He blinked, a profound sense of sorrow washing over him. The intuition he had dismissed as a mere illusion moments ago had been real. Had he known, he never would have stepped inside. Now, his last shred of hope was gone, and he was left battered and broken.

His body slumped beside Zhen Hua, pinning one of the man’s arms beneath him, but he made no effort to move. He had resigned himself to his fate; after all, they were three hundred meters underground. Without the elevator, how could they possibly escape?

Climb out? What a ridiculous joke.

"Hao Yang! ... Doctor... You... how could you... how could you..."

Inside the rapidly ascending elevator, the man stammered, his mind reeling as he tried to process what had just happened. Cold sweat drenched his forehead.

"How could I what?"

A sharp, piercing glint flashed in the eyes of another man. He lunged, his right hand clamping firmly around the throat of the defenseless and terrified man who had foolishly drawn his ire.

He lifted his right hand slowly. The man, as powerless as a chick, was hoisted into the air by his neck. He had never expected Han Zhiyu to actually grab him and hoist him up like that.

With his windpipe constricted by a crushing grip, the man’s face turned a deep, congested red, and his body began to writhe in desperation.

"How... how could you... do this!"

The man gasped, struggling to catch his breath as he dangled in the air.

When an elevator ascends, most people feel a sense of longing, like a traveler returning home after decades of wandering. It is a feeling of homesickness—or in their case, the relief of survivors yearning to reach the surface. The elevator was filled with a heavy silence, so absolute that the sound of every ragged breath was audible.

"Han Zhiyu! Don't do anything reckless!"

The elevator had been somewhat crowded, but as the others witnessed Han Zhiyu’s violent outburst, they scrambled to create space, terrified he might lose his mind completely.

"We’re all brothers here, how can you act like this?"

"We survived the catastrophe together; how can you turn on your own now?"

"Han Zhiyu, calm down! You used to eat with him—have you forgotten?"

The man pleaded, his hands outstretched, looking completely flustered. Though they spoke over one another, no one dared to intervene, fearing that any sudden movement might provoke Han Zhiyu to snap the man’s neck.

"Heh!" Han Zhiyu let out a mocking laugh. In the pitch-black darkness, his face looked monstrous, his features twisted into a grotesque mask. Baring his teeth, he looked like a demon from hell come to claim a soul.

"Say that again."

As the words fell, he tightened his grip. The man in his hand turned a ghastly shade, emitting a raspy, suffocating wheeze as if he were on the very threshold of the abyss.

"I... I don't... know... anything!" the man choked out, his voice trembling as the lack of oxygen made his speech fragmented and pained.

"See how much better it is when you're compliant? Heh!" Han Zhiyu released his grip, turned around, and dusted off his hands.

"Cough... cough!" The man’s face remained a bruised red. He clutched his racing heart, coughing violently, still reeling from the brush with death.

A sudden, suffocating silence descended upon the group. Everyone wisely chose to keep their mouths shut.

"It would have been so much better if you had just stayed quiet from the start, rather than trying to be a hero and getting in my way," Han Zhiyu said coldly.

He had been waiting patiently for the lights to come on, only to be startled by Hao Yang and his companion. His heart had been brimming with suppressed rage. When he was trying to escape earlier, they had just stood there, tripping him up and nearly sending him face-first into the dirt.

Surely, giving him a little shove in return wasn't asking too much? He was, after all, a man who believed in paying back every kindness and every grievance in full.

The corner of his mouth curled into a sinister, twisted smile.