"City Official, and you two, this way please!" The building security guard, sporting an awkward yet fawning smile, led the three towards a small door set beside the main entrance.
"My apologies, esteemed officials, but the Tower's main doors cannot be opened during work hours. This is a regulation issued by City Hall."
Hearing this, both Michael and Mei turned their gazes towards Michael [Official Michael].
"Uh... hehe... ahem!" Seeing the City Official's darkened expression, the security guard uncle scratched his head guiltily, wondering if he'd said something wrong.
He quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought, as the small door was now close. He began entering the secret code to open it.
Mei seized the opportunity to ask, "So, why seal the main entrance? When does it open?"
Michael [Official Michael] grimaced, instinctively wanting to make excuses, but after a brief internal struggle, decided to tell the truth:
"Strictly speaking, it's not just the main entrance, but all entrances and exits of the building that are sealed. This is to prevent workers on duty from skipping work and sneaking back to their dorms. If they wander outside, they'll quickly be spotted by patrolling military police, but if they slip back into the dorms, it takes more effort to find them."
Mei narrowed her eyes. She didn't press further about the punishment for skipping workers, instead focusing on another issue:
"But the production zones should operate twenty-four hours without stopping, right? Does that mean these numerous entrances and exits are only open during the few minutes of shift change?"
"That's correct... If someone works overtime, they can use their overtime certificate to have the security guard open a small door for entry, just like we're doing now."
"Ding! Authentication successful!" The security guard just happened to unlock the door at that moment, forcing Mei and Michael's [Official Michael's] conversation to end.
"Um... esteemed officials, do you need me to escort you inside?" He scurried over to Michael [Official Michael], asking obsequiously.
"No need. Return to your post." Although Michael [Official Michael] would have informed Mei and Michael [Duplicate Michael] about the entrance/exit policy himself even if the guard hadn't mentioned it, it was still his place to do so. The guard had overstepped, and naturally, Michael [Official Michael] wouldn't show him a pleasant face.
The guard let out an exaggerated sigh, shaking his head as he left, utterly clueless about what he'd done wrong.
Michael [Official Michael] cleared his throat and stood before Michael [Duplicate Michael] and Mei. "Next, allow me to lead the way. After all, I was somewhat involved in the design of this Tower, so my understanding of its structure is second to none... Ugh!"
Previously, the wind had been blowing into the opening door, so they hadn't noticed anything unusual. But as Michael [Official Michael] approached the small doorway and the wind subsided, the mixed stench of various decaying materials became impossible to ignore.
"Blech! Cough cough cough!" The smell was indescribable. If forced to make a comparison, it strongly resembled the odor emanating from a large landfill. It made them momentarily doubt if they were in the wrong place—was this really a residential area?
Michael [Official Michael] stepped through the doorway. "Crack!" He felt something underfoot, and simultaneously, half his trouser leg became soaked.
Looking down with a flashlight revealed half a cup of instant milk tea...
Michael [Duplicate Michael] followed closely, pinching his nose as he entered. Being nighttime, the Tower interior was dimly lit, with only faint yellowish fluorescent lights from a distant corridor providing minimal illumination. It was impossible to see clearly underfoot at first.
This posed no problem for Michael [Duplicate Michael], of course. With a soft snap of his fingers, his vision brightened slightly.
Thus, the chaotic mess in the corridor behind the door became fully visible—trash bins on both sides were overflowing, the scattered garbage inside piled into small mounds filled to bursting.
With no place for excess trash, some bags were neatly tied and leaned against the bins, while others were scattered about like confetti.
The half-drunk instant milk tea wasn't an isolated incident. Spills from instant milk tea and coffee, broth from opened cans, beer, or simply bottled water were everywhere, leaving behind patterns of varying shades on the floor.
Hearing voices and sensing the sudden increase in light, two small, bristly kittens poked their heads out from a trash heap, their green eyes shining brightly in the gloom.
After locking eyes, the two kittens let out a "Meow!" and darted away. But the rustling sound within the trash heap didn't stop; instead, it intensified. Likely rats, cockroaches, or similar creatures, also startled, were scrambling around inside.
Boots stuck slightly to the floor, making an unpleasant sound with every step. Michael [Duplicate Michael] frowned, but considered these minor details, still bearable.
After all, the Tower back then wasn't just messy...
Closing his eyes, the image resurfaced: two, or was it three, Husk - Nihilius sitting around a human corpse, feasting on flesh freshly torn from it.
With that as the baseline, whatever else he saw, Michael [Duplicate Michael] felt he could probably accept it...
"Bang!"
"OPEN THE DOOR!!!"
"Thump thump thump!"
"GET THE HELL OUT HERE!"
"CAN'T HEAR ME?! GET OUT!!!"
"OLD MAN SHU DAO SHAN! THREE, TWO, ONE! FING GO!"*
"BOOM!"
A violent explosion, like a directed TNT charge, followed by the heart-wrenching screams of a child and a woman—
"Don't touch me! He's not here! He's not here! He went out to work! We'll pay you back! We'll definitely pay you back! Wait until he comes back... Aaaah! Don't touch him! Aaaah!"
Amidst the woman's desperate cries, a dark figure plummeted rapidly from the hollow central space of the floor.
"Splat—"
Flesh and bone impacted the ground with a dull thud, splattering blood all over Michael [Duplicate Michael].
He numbly wiped the blood from his eyes, blinking them open. Before him lay a mangled mess of flesh, but judging by its size, it could only have been a child of two or three.
He stared at the pile of gore, silently taking a step back. The woman's cries and the men's rough curses vanished from his hearing.
Struggling to regain his senses, he saw another large dark shadow falling from above. This time, a human silhouette was discernible, accompanied by a woman's piercing shriek...
Michael [Duplicate Michael] rushed forward, but dazed, failed to catch her.
"Splat!"
Blood splattered him again. He tried to wipe the blood and gore from his eyes once more, but couldn't clear his vision. Blood seeped back under his eyelids, bringing a needle-like stinging pain to his retinas.
A surge of anger ignited from the depths of his heart. Something deep within his body continuously assaulted his mind. Finding himself unable to open his eyes, he simply gouged out both eyeballs, threw them to the ground, and used his Authority to reconstruct a new pair.
Now he could see clearly.
Michael [Official Michael], standing to his left, started to say something, but he had already stepped into a spatial rift.
Michael [Duplicate Michael] materialized silently at the open dormitory doorway. The several men rummaging through cabinets inside didn't notice the newcomer behind them.
[053N017]
Michael [Duplicate Michael] glanced up at the door number. Yes, this was indeed a dormitory. But based on what these men said and the current situation, a family of three likely lived here. According to Michael's [Official Michael's] "original design intent," families should have been assigned to the two-bedroom apartments on the East or West sides, not dorms. Of course, this could be explained—perhaps there weren't enough two-bedroom units, room allocation was difficult, so they squeezed a family of three into a four-person dorm.
But more than why this family was assigned a dorm, Michael [Duplicate Michael] wanted to know who these men ransacking the room were.
"F***ing hell! Seriously nothing here, and they still dared tell us they'd pay us back next time?"
"What a fing waste. Should've stopped that woman earlier. Anyway, that b* said we could take his wife to cover the debt."
"Forget it, that dark, skinny bag of bones? Once we get the money back, each of us can have a good time in the East-West districts... Hey, who the f*** are... Ah, ah, ah, Sir, what can we do for you?"
The leader, cursing, turned around and finally noticed Michael [Duplicate Michael] standing silently at the door. He instinctively wanted to curse, but upon seeing Michael's attire, he instantly became respectful.
Though there were no obvious logos and the fabric was unidentifiable, in this era, wearing a well-fitting suit was itself a symbol of status and position.
But he didn't dare stare for too long, fearing this mysterious "Sir" who had appeared out of nowhere might get angry. He respectfully lowered his head, gazing at his feet. His three lackeys followed suit.
However, while their respectful posture was impeccable, there wasn't much genuine fear. Perhaps in their minds, everything they were doing fell within the permissible rules. Even if the military police arrived, they had an excuse—"Look, Sir, the woman jumped with her child herself, it has nothing to do with us!"
Of course, under normal circumstances, military police wouldn't enter the Towers unless chasing escaped workers.
"Hmph..." Michael [Duplicate Michael] snorted through his nose, coldly observing the four men before him.
All four wore tattered, oversized orange short-sleeved shirts. The reflective strips around the chest, collar, and cuffs were smudged almost beyond recognition with grease. This was likely some kind of work uniform. Michael could easily imagine the purpose of the orange color and reflective strips—if someone wearing this escaped, the orange would be highly visible during the day, and the reflective strips extremely noticeable at night, allowing quick tracking and capture.
Besides the work shirts, their lower halves were uniformly clad in tattered shorts full of holes—some briefs, some boxers—and rubber sandals, looking like they'd just jumped out of bed.
Their messy hair stuck out in clumps, strands bent from excessive greasiness, though it could also be naturally curly.
Their ear canals were filled with fine, sand-like earwax. Their faces, except for a few forehead wrinkles, the circles around their eyes and nostrils, and the area around their mouths, shone with a dark, oily luster.
The deeply sunken eye sockets and cheeks, along with their withered, thin limbs, all bespoke their weakness. Considering they called the woman a "bag of bones" earlier, they probably weren't much better off themselves. Of course, while the woman was purely starved, noticing the dense track marks on these men's limbs made the reason for their weakness self-evident.
Just the act of rummaging through belongings, not particularly strenuous, was enough to make these men sweat profusely. Their necks and chests looked coated in a film of oil. Not to mention the borders where skin met clothing; rubbed raw by the coarse fabric, those areas crawled with small, worm-like grime, utterly nauseating.
Michael [Duplicate Michael] walked silently into the room. He was met with a wave of rotten dampness, compounded by the onion-like breath expelled by the four men as they breathed. For a moment, the stench made him feel lightheaded, disconnected from reality.
He suppressed his anger as much as possible, keeping his voice level and emotionless, lowering his head slightly to hide the murderous glint in his eyes.
Let them live for two more minutes. Although he could directly obtain all the answers using the Authority of Sentience, he preferred to get their own responses.
"Mmm, why are you still here? Don't you know everyone has to work overtime tonight unless there are special circumstances?"
It should be night shift time now. And according to Michael [Official Michael], tonight they had to complete the next day's production quota in advance, meaning most people should be working overtime. The woman who jumped earlier—her taking leave to care for her child was understandable. But what about these guys?
Michael [Duplicate Michael] walked past them. Hearing him not immediately question the matter of the mother and child, the four men visibly relaxed.
When they heard him questioning their work status instead, they relaxed completely. The leader grinned, revealing a set of half-black, half-yellow, overlapping, crooked teeth.
"We're all five-star good citizens! Even though we don't work, we paid the corresponding exemption fee! Sir, if you don't believe us, you can check our records in the system, never missed a payment. Or you can come with us to our place, we have the written proof of payment there. We even paid extra for this overtime!"
"Oh? Really never missed a payment?"
"Yeah! Uh, of course, we didn't pay with real gold or silver, but with various ration tickets, supplies, and stuff. We paid the exact amount according to the official conversion rates! Absolutely no falsehood!"
"I see..." Michael [Duplicate Michael] walked over to the dormitory beds—standard bunk beds. A family of three, child still young, so both top bunks were empty.
One empty bunk held various luggage; the other held damp clothes that couldn't dry properly without sunlight.
Forget the clothes; Michael [Duplicate Michael] grabbed a handful of the yellowish-white bedsheet—it felt both damp and greasy. Lifting the thin summer blanket revealed residual liquid stains on the bed, identical to the filthy corridor floor.
On the other side were wardrobes and desks. There were four desks in total. The one closest to the outer door held a computer.
In front of the second desk inwards was a small child's bed. The sheet was clean; Michael [Duplicate Michael] picked it up and sniffed—it still held the unique scent of a child, strikingly out of place amidst the multiple pungent odors filling the room.
The next desk inwards was covered with remnants of various instant foods—cans, instant noodle cups, mostly compressed biscuit wrappers. Most were packed neatly in trash bags tied with small bows at the top; a few were simply spread out on the desk, broth still remaining in cans and cups, thick layers of cigarette ash floating within.
The innermost desk, near the toilet, was similar to the previous one, except the cans, noodle cups, and water bottles on this desk were stuffed full of cigarette butts.
Pushing open the balcony door unleashed a wave of mold mixed with stench and the sharp smell of urine. Even though Michael [Duplicate Michael] was mentally prepared and had endured multiple such "baptisms," his cheek muscles still twitched, and he temporarily held his breath.
Fungus grew on the sink basin. The toilet was covered in yellow stains from dried urine. Two bloody sanitary pads were stuffed into the trash bin. Simple.
Michael [Duplicate Michael] turned around. One man was scratching his head, another his back, one picking his feet, and another scratching his rear. Seeing Michael return, they quickly resumed their respectful postures.
Except the one picking his feet couldn't resist sniffing his hand.
"Let's go. Didn't you say you'd take me to your place?"
"Yes, yes, yes! This way, please!"
"Aaaah!" Suddenly struck, amidst the darkness, Levi identified the attack came from behind his left waist. Intense pain shot through his entire body instantly. All his organs contracted sharply inwards; his breathing nearly stopped.
He twisted violently, but his hands and feet were bound together, making it impossible even to roll on the floor.
"Well? How does that feel? That's the kidney area... Do you have kidney stones? If so, you should feel lucky; they're probably shattered now."
"Cough cough cough!" Levi's face contorted in pain. He could only cough, unable to speak.
"Alright, if you don't want another one, best to confess honestly. Next time, I can't guarantee your kidney will remain intact."
"Cough cough! Then ask your questions!"
"Mmm! Mhmm! Very cooperative. Actually, I just wanted to hear you say that line. Alright, alright, joking aside. Tell me, where did that fellow Michael intend to take the First Herrscher and Mei?"
Levi's breath hitched for two or three seconds, then he hissed, "I don't know what you're talking about! What does this have to do with the First Herrscher and Dr. Mei!"
"Ah... a perfect answer. Are you ready?"
"Ready for wha— Hiss!!!" This time, the blow landed on his right kidney. Levi sucked in a sharp breath, his entire body going rigid.
"I am also a member of the United Government! You can't just... use torture... on me..."
"What? You're a member of the United Government? You're just a minor aide, not an official employee. You only have a private employment relationship with Michael. Please get your facts straight."
"Then I am still... a citizen of Earth! I have basic human rights!"
"Tch!" This time, Reugel just chuckled, not even bothering to refute.
"Ding dong!" A phone notification echoed in the sealed office. The screen's glow became the only light in the darkness.
"Oh? Is that so... Heh heh. My apologies, Levi, you're useless now."
"Impossible! The only possible leak wasn't already..." Before Levi could understand what was happening, he heard rustling sounds behind him.
Is... is that a plastic bag?
"Well, apologies, but for the end of your life, please take a trip to the seabed."
Before Levi could utter any protest, a plastic bag was pulled over his head. A thick rubber band was fastened around his neck. He tried to gasp for air, but his mouth and nostrils filled with plastic. His lungs greedily demanded air, but found none. His brain rapidly swelled, feeling like it would explode. His thin body, though bound, thrashed relentlessly like a fish out of water.
Reugel stepped back two paces, as if afraid the "fish" would splash "seawater" onto his expensive tailcoat. Ignoring Levi's struggles, he stared at his phone screen until the three-minute timer ended and Levi's struggles gradually ceased.
Another three minutes passed. He checked Levi's pulse, confirmed his death, then exited the room.
His aide had been waiting outside the door for a long time. He immediately asked, "Did the driver confess?"
"No." Reugel shook his head. "Forget it. I already know what happened. Go send the driver to the seabed too."
After the aide acknowledged and entered the side room, Reugel stroked his beard, walked to the door of the room where the City Officials were partying, and kicked it open.
"Gentlemen! If you keep playing around, you'll all end up dead."