Container Ship 0003

While Hou Rui was talking with the fashionable middle-aged man, the man with the red hat stood quietly to the side. He watched as blood bubbles erupted from his brother’s throat, and then saw him go completely still. Overwhelming hatred nearly drove the red-hatted man to raise his pistol again and shoot at Hou Rui and the fashionable man, but at the critical moment, memories of the terrifying rumors surrounding the fashionable man shattered his courage. He stood there, rigid and silent, forcing all his rage into his eyes as he glared at Hou Rui’s face and the back of the fashionable man.

After the fashionable man finished his conversation with Hou Rui, he drawled, “Haul away the bodies. Good thing we dug a big enough pit.”

At these words, the red-hatted man strode over to the van’s door, his eyes locked on Hou Rui like a venomous snake. He pressed his own hat against the wound on his brother’s neck, picked up the pistol from the van floor and tucked it into his waistband, then hoisted his brother’s corpse onto his shoulder, never breaking his murderous gaze as he slowly backed away.

Hou Rui glared back just as fiercely, unwilling to show weakness to his adversary, even if it meant little in practice.

The fashionable man, standing by, seemed to relish the scene. Once the red-hatted man was far enough away, he called to Hou Rui, “Stray dog, grab a white bucket. Come and witness something new.”

Hou Rui, his body aching and weak, hesitated to obey, but the fashionable man added with a smile, “Useless people have no value.”

With no other choice, Hou Rui climbed down from the van, swaying as he picked up a white plastic bucket and trudged after the red-hatted man. Meanwhile, Hou Rui had quietly hidden his trusty pen, ready to seize another chance to take out the fashionable man and the red-hatted man.

Once Hou Rui had gone a dozen meters or so, the fashionable man closed the van door and, with a handkerchief, picked up the chunk of flesh Hou Rui had spat out. He stood still for a few seconds, then followed after the others.

Behind a small hill about two hundred meters from the van, Hou Rui found the red-hatted man dumping his brother’s corpse into a pit a little over a meter deep.

Hou Rui approached without a word, edging behind the red-hatted man as if by accident.

“Remember my name. I’m Ding Ye,” the red-hatted man said abruptly.

“I don’t care what your name is!” Hou Rui snapped, staring at the back of Ding Ye’s neck, wondering if he could take him out with a single strike. If he succeeded, perhaps he could handle the fashionable man and save himself.

“Remember, I’ll kill you with a pain you can’t imagine,” Ding Ye snarled, suddenly whirling around and startling Hou Rui so badly he nearly fell.

Ding Ye strode over, glaring down at Hou Rui, then snatched the white plastic bucket from his hands. He returned to the pit and poured a pungent liquid from the bucket onto both corpses.

Summoning his resolve, Hou Rui steadied himself, and when he joined them by the pit, the fashionable man had also arrived. The three of them stood in silence, watching. By the dim moonlight, Hou Rui saw the liquid create white froth on the corpses, as if dissolving them at an astonishing speed.

Ding Ye then began stripping off his clothes—shirt, pants, shoes, socks—until he stood completely naked. The fashionable man ordered Hou Rui, “Strip, unless you want to get caught. Make sure you do it thoroughly.”

Having no choice, Hou Rui mimicked Ding Ye, stripping off every stitch and tossing his clothes into the pit, even his only weapon, the Montblanc pen, hidden in his pants.

After half an hour, the two bodies had been reduced to unrecognizable mush, and the clothes had become tattered scraps, like filthy rags.

Finally, Ding Ye fetched a shovel and filled in the pit. Soon, there was no trace left. The fashionable man headed back toward the van. Before long, Ding Ye, now dressed in spare clothes, and Hou Rui, wearing the dead man’s outfit, followed.

As familiar buildings and streetlamps reappeared, Hou Rui felt as though he had crossed through life and death; everything he once knew now seemed changed.

“What do you want me to do next?” Hou Rui asked anxiously, fearing the fashionable man would decide to silence him and Jin Shanshan.

“What next? Next, good luck to you, stray dog.” The fashionable man suddenly spun around, lightning-quick, and clamped a hand around Hou Rui’s throat, his thumb pressing precisely against a blood vessel, giving Hou Rui no time to react.

Hou Rui barely had time to resist before dizziness overtook him, his body growing slow and numb, unable even to struggle.

After twenty-three seconds, Hou Rui collapsed, unconscious, in the van.

He dreamed a long dream, in which he and Jin Shanshan were finally together, living happily, and as they welcomed their grandchild in old age, the dream was abruptly shattered.

When Hou Rui awoke, he saw only a dim lamp, everything beyond a meter lost in shadow. He could hear the rush of water and feel the stuffy air, as if in a cave.

Testing his limbs, Hou Rui found he wasn’t tied up. He stood, moving slowly, reaching out to find a wall. His hands met cold, jagged metal. He knocked with his knuckles and heard the ring of thin sheet iron.

After half a minute of feeling his way around, Hou Rui realized he was inside a shipping container, most likely on a ship somewhere out on a river or at sea.

As Hou Rui tried to plan his next move, he heard the lock rattle outside. Sunlight pierced through as a massive black man, broad as a tower, opened the door and stepped in.

Hou Rui estimated the man was at least 1.9 meters tall, maybe two, with arms nearly as thick as Hou Rui’s thighs. His mere presence exuded a crushing pressure.

“Come with me,” the man said abruptly.

“Where to?” Hou Rui asked haltingly in English, finally realizing the man wasn’t speaking Chinese.

The man ignored him and left the container. With no other choice, Hou Rui followed cautiously.

Stepping out, sunlight, salty wind, and the hum of machinery hit him at once. Looking around, Hou Rui confirmed he was on a container ship, far from land, the endless sea stretching in all directions.

The black man led the way across the deck, weaving among stacked containers, then ducked through a hatch into the ship's interior. Along the way, Hou Rui saw several foreign crew members, but they ignored him as if he were invisible. In this strange place, he had no option but to follow.

After winding through passageways, they entered a large cabin where around forty young people sat, mostly eating in silence.

Once he’d delivered Hou Rui, the big man sat at his own table. Finding no space there, Hou Rui moved to a corner, sitting quietly and studying the crowd.

There were men and women of all colors—yellow, black, white—mostly between eighteen and twenty-five, all strong and sharp-eyed, every one of them maintaining a wary vigilance, guarding against everything around them.

No one spoke. They all ate in silence, and any exchanged glances became quick, tense stares before looking away again, as if any sound or movement might spark a brawl.

After a while, when Hou Rui was sure no one was paying him special attention, he relaxed slightly. Driven by hunger, he plucked up his courage and shuffled to the serving counter. He was about to ask the chubby white man for food when he was met with a scowl and a tray shoved at him—stewed beans, bread, and milk.

As Hou Rui reached for the tray, a familiar voice sounded at his ear: “I’m here.”

Ding Ye!

The name flashed through Hou Rui’s mind like lightning, and the voice’s seething hatred brought back everything—this was the man whose brother he had killed.

Instinctively, Hou Rui spun around, fists clenched, staring at the man only half a meter away, who had approached without a sound.

“What do you want?” Hou Rui asked, edging back a step, as if distance might bring safety.

“I told you before. I’ll make you die in agony.”