Inside the old agricultural machinery factory

The calm and peaceful days of late had put Hou Rui in an excellent mood. He went to the secondhand market and picked up a Canon 550, following Li Lei and Ma Siyuan around, snapping photos left and right, thoroughly enjoying himself. He even ambushed Li Lei in the bathroom for a close-up, later using the picture to extort a round of beer and skewers from the disgruntled Li Lei.

On this particular day, Hou Rui was attending a large lecture. The elderly professor was discussing modern Western photography appreciation, and Hou Rui was utterly absorbed, at the height of his enthusiasm. Suddenly, Xia Xiaoru, whom he hadn't heard from in ages, unexpectedly sent him a message on WeChat. He tapped it open absentmindedly, only to find a photo of Xia Xiaoru, completely naked, bound and suspended in what looked like an old factory.

This was rather extreme! Surely not? Hou Rui thought darkly. But the audio message that followed quickly dispelled his wild guesses: "Your girl is here. Come join us, or else we brothers are going to have some fun ourselves."

"Where is this?" Uncertain of the situation, but unable to ignore it, Hou Rui replied, determined not to leave her in danger.

"Old agricultural machinery factory. Come alone, don't trouble the police." With that, Xia Xiaoru’s WeChat went silent.

Hou Rui whispered with Ma Siyuan for a moment, then Ma Siyuan sprang up and bombarded the professor with questions, giving Hou Rui cover to slip out of the classroom. He quickly checked the route on Baidu, then headed straight for Beijing’s old agricultural machinery factory.

The factory was built on a small hillside on the outskirts. Thirty-four abandoned warehouses had long lost their doors and windows; waist-high wild grass blanketed the area, and the whole district felt desolate. Hou Rui found a motorcycle along the way, and it took considerable effort to reach this remote spot.

He surveyed the place briefly. Judging from the situation, these local thugs probably weren’t at the level of carrying guns yet. So Hou Rui walked toward the largest row of factory buildings.

Inside the vast, at least 2,300 square meter open warehouse, Xia Xiaoru was naked and suspended from the main beam. The two thugs whom Hou Rui had beaten up previously were circling her, poking her with iron pipes and baseball bats. With her mouth gagged, Xia Xiaoru could only writhe helplessly, her cries muffled and full of humiliation.

Rage surged in Hou Rui’s chest. He drew a deep breath, squinted, and stepped inside. The crunching of broken bricks under his feet immediately drew the attention of the two thugs. They both turned to look.

"Well, you actually showed up! Got guts, huh?" The one whose nose Hou Rui had broken spoke with an oddly comical tone.

"Why waste words? Just wreck him. He dared hit me!" The other thug spun his steel pipe, shouting, but his feet remained planted.

Hou Rui eyed the two clowns before him, debating whether to beat them up immediately or let them perform for a bit before giving them a lesson.

Suddenly, Xia Xiaoru, suspended opposite Hou Rui, began to struggle violently, emitting urgent muffled cries from her gagged mouth. Sensing danger, Hou Rui spun around to dodge, but with a sharp twang of vibrating steel cable, two crossbow bolts pierced his thigh and shoulder.

Damn! Tranquilizer bolts! Hou Rui yanked the bolts out, only to realize the shafts were much thicker than normal.

"Hahaha, you fell for it, kid! You think you’re tough? Try hitting me now! Honestly, those bolts are filled with animal-grade tranquilizer. I doubt you’re tougher than a tiger," the broken-nosed thug cackled. The other ran over to the factory entrance, bowing and scraping before thirty-four accomplices, "Brother Shan, you’re the real deal. You handled this kid in no time."

"Come on, is this even a challenge? Brother Shan’s seen every big scene, taken down every tough guy!" The leader, a pot-bellied, buzz-cut fat man, waved a modified double-string hand crossbow, boasting loudly.

"Yes, yes, Brother Shan never misses."

"Cut the crap, first let’s take care of this kid."

Hou Rui collapsed to the ground. As his consciousness faded, he could only watch them preen and boast, his only resistance being the glare of his wide, furious eyes.

"Oh, still daring to glare? I’ll kill you," said the thug, slamming a steel pipe against Hou Rui’s head, sending him into unconsciousness.

Through blurred vision, the only clear image was a pale yellow Doraemon T-shirt, a sweat-drenched, twisted face, and a pair of lifeless eyes.

Startled, Hou Rui jolted awake, gasping uncontrollably, taking a long moment to calm himself.

"Why did you come? Are you stupid?" Xia Xiaoru’s hoarse voice sounded nearby.

He moved his limbs a little. In the darkness, Hou Rui realized he was locked in a small iron cage; Xia Xiaoru was likely in a similar one beside him.

"You’re the stupid one! Haven’t learned your lesson. Escaped once, only to get caught again so easily," Hou Rui grumbled, inspecting every iron bar of the cage, searching for a way out.

"I wasn’t caught. I came here myself," Xia Xiaoru replied, utterly devoid of emotion, as if recounting a story unrelated to herself.

"On your own?" Hou Rui was so surprised he stopped searching.

"Want to hear a story?" In the darkness, Xia Xiaoru began to speak, haltingly.

The story was simple—a girl from a small city, dazzled by the bright lights of Beijing, tried to preserve her dignity by arming herself with clothes, bags, and cosmetics. Limited finances forced her into online loans, which led to a long nightmare.

"At first, they had me drink with clients. Then they took nude photos of me. Eventually, I became their plaything." Xia Xiaoru was numb, her tone flat as she recounted the ordeal.

Hou Rui listened in silence for a long time, struggling to find words. Finally, he said, "The past is the past. If you can escape this life, that's what matters."

"Escape? Hahaha..." Xia Xiaoru’s voice blurred between laughter and sobs, growing quieter until it became silent weeping.

Suddenly, the rag covering Hou Rui’s cage was yanked away. The sudden sunlight made him squint, and after a moment, he saw his captors—unsurprisingly, the broken-nosed thug and Brother Shan.

"Enough whining. Shut your mouth or we’ll take turns with you," the broken-nosed thug snarled, kicking Xia Xiaoru’s cage, then crouched before Hou Rui, meeting his gaze. "Awake? How are you feeling?"

Hou Rui closed his eyes, refusing to engage.

"Look at him, still so cocky. Needs some discipline," the thug said, pulling out a stun baton and jabbing it against the cage.

Instantly, a fierce current surged through Hou Rui’s body, making him convulse uncontrollably, as if pierced by thousands of steel needles. The iron cage shook violently.

Hou Rui gritted his teeth, only letting out a muffled groan, refusing to cry out.

"Wow, stubborn, huh? Let’s see how long you last. Bzz, bzz, bzz..." The thug kept shocking him, but Hou Rui merely trembled in silence.

After half an hour, the thug, bored, threw the stun baton aside, about to leave, but his shifty eyes suddenly gleamed with malicious intent; he began unbuckling his belt toward Hou Rui.

Watching the thug’s movements, Hou Rui’s gaze grew icy. "Some things, once done, there’s no chance for regret."

"Regret? When I’m done, I’ll bury you alive. Drink your ancestor’s nectar, ha ha ha!" The thug proceeded to urinate on Hou Rui, drenching him.

"Bastard! I’ll kill you when I get out!" Unable to endure the humiliation, Hou Rui finally exploded, roaring at his tormentor.

"Out? Dream on!" The thug laughed wildly, dragging Xia Xiaoru from her cage, grabbing her chest and hauling her toward Brother Shan.

After calming his rage, Hou Rui began plotting his escape. He checked himself thoroughly, but clearly, his captors had anticipated this—his pockets were empty, not even a coin left. This route was blocked. So he turned to his surroundings.

In the ruined warehouse, there were broken bricks and tiles everywhere, as well as miscellaneous trash discarded by the thugs. Suddenly, Hou Rui noticed a piece of wire wedged in the debris near his cage. Elated, he discreetly watched the group, then carefully reached out and grabbed the wire.

About two hours later, the broken-nosed thug returned, dragging Xia Xiaoru by the hair, chin raised in triumph as he looked down at Hou Rui.

"Idiot!" Hou Rui delivered his classic verdict.

"Damn, you’re stubborn. Let’s loosen you up." Enraged, the thug shoved Xia Xiaoru aside, snatched up the stun baton, and jabbed it against the cage. But as the current began to flow, Hou Rui suddenly reached out, ignoring the torn flesh on his hand from the cage, and managed to hook the piece of wire onto the thug’s leg.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh..." The thug had brought disaster upon himself. The circuit loop sent the current straight into his body. Unlike Hou Rui, he couldn’t withstand the pain—paralyzed, unable to let go of the stun baton or move away from the wire, he convulsed helplessly until he collapsed atop the cage.

Success! Hou Rui quickly reached into the thug’s pocket, found the key, and unlocked the cage. Xia Xiaoru, sitting on the ground, stared wide-eyed in astonishment at his actions, covering her mouth to stifle a scream.

In a flash, Hou Rui crouched, grabbed the stun baton, and moved to Xia Xiaoru’s side. "Find somewhere to hide for now."

"You, you, you...what are you?" Xia Xiaoru stammered in disbelief. Was this really a student at the Communication University? Was he not actually from special forces?

"I’m going to settle accounts." With that, Hou Rui crept toward the two worn sofas where Brother Shan and his crew were lounging.