The interrogation room was heavy with oppressive silence.
Ikumi, a member of the East Sea Team, was curled up in the corner.
His body trembled uncontrollably, and his eyes were filled with terror, like a frightened kitten that looked helpless and pitiful.
Hao Shuang, an unemployed drifter, stared at the East Sea Team's famous star with complicated feelings.
Everything about the situation felt unreal, almost dreamlike.
They both worked in shady, undignified lines of work, yet their incomes were worlds apart.
That realization made a bitter sourness rise in Hao Shuang's heart.
"Um… how much do you get paid per movie?"
Unable to hold back her curiosity any longer, Hao Shuang finally asked, her voice sounding painfully loud in the silent room.
A dirty rag had been roughly stuffed into Ikumi's mouth.
Layers of tape were wrapped around his face dozens of times, leaving him only able to produce muffled, indistinct sounds from his throat.
Hao Shuang raised one finger and gestured cautiously.
"One million per film?"
When Ikumi shook her head violently, she raised her voice and guessed again.
"Two million?"
"Too high… then one hundred thousand?"
Ikumi still shook his head.
After a round of questioning, Hao Shuang clicked her tongue and came to a conclusion.
"Huh? Only fifty thousand?"
She frowned deeply, her brows twisting together, and complained with obvious disdain.
"For just fifty thousand, you exposed yourself to so many people."
"How are you supposed to go back to your hometown and get married in the future?"
Ikumi lowered her head, her heart filled with bitterness.
She did not know how to respond, so she could only nod awkwardly, like a child who had made a mistake.
In another corner of the room, Hu Yong stood silently.
He was fat, with a protruding beer belly, and had not said a single word the entire time.
At this moment, his gaze seemed glued to Ikumi's body as he greedily sized her up.
The corners of his mouth slowly lifted, and the desire and lust in his eyes were no longer hidden.
In his mind, Ikumi was a famous figure in the film industry.
Now that she was right in front of him, the dark thoughts in Hu Yong's heart surged wildly, like a flood about to burst through a dam.
"Well, Hao Shuang," he said suddenly.
"You go downstairs and stand guard."
"I'll stay here and watch this woman."
"I'm telling you, people from that group are very sly."
"Don't let her trick you."
"She's an enhanced old woman, so don't believe a word she says."
Hao Shuang immediately understood what he meant.
She curled her lips and replied indifferently, "It's fine."
"Do whatever you want."
"I don't even know her."
Her blunt answer left Hu Yong speechless.
His face turned pale, then flushed red.
He stammered, "Th-then… can you go out?"
"If you stay here, how am I supposed to…"
Hao Shuang spread her hands and rolled her eyes.
"That's none of my business."
"What, embarrassed because someone's watching?"
"If you're thinking like that, why pretend to be shy?"
Those words struck Hu Yong's nerves, and his embarrassment instantly turned into anger.
When he looked again at Ikumi's pitiful expression, her eyes squeezed together as if silently begging for mercy, he could not hold back even for a second.
Driven purely by desire, he strode toward her like a puppet with its strings pulled tight.
At that moment, Hao Shuang reminded him, "I'll say this first."
"That Chu-something guy already said you're not allowed to get close to this woman."
"If he finds out, you'll suffer the consequences yourself."
"You'd better think it through."
But Hu Yong was completely carried away.
He did not care about any warnings anymore.
"We're all newcomers here."
"We should help each other."
"As long as you don't report me later, it'll be fine."
"Who's going to find out anyway?"
Hao Shuang shrugged and said nothing more.
However, a hint of excitement flashed through her eyes, as if she were looking forward to a good show.
With no one left to stop him, Hu Yong continued forward.
When he reached a spot about one meter away from Ikumi, a sharp "click" suddenly echoed through the quiet room.
The sound was faint but clear, like a stone dropped into a calm lake, breaking the brief silence.
In the next instant, Ikumi seemed to wake up from a daze.
Realizing the disaster about to fall upon her, she widened her eyes and desperately shook her head in warning.
However, her despair only excited Hu Yong even more.
A twisted, lewd grin spread across his face as he let out a low chuckle.
His steps quickened, and he took another large stride forward.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion shattered the silence.
Fire and smoke instantly filled the entire room.
The shockwave violently hurled Hu Yong's mountain-like body into the air.
He slammed hard against the wall and then crashed heavily onto the floor with a loud bang.
Ikumi was not spared either.
Countless grenade fragments shot toward her like a rain of metal.
In the blink of an eye, the fragments pierced straight into flesh.
Blood gushed out in streams, soaking his clothes almost instantly.
A large pool of blood gathered beneath his feet, a sight that made one's scalp tingle just looking at it.
Hao Shuang had already reacted quickly and dived under the table.
At this moment, she secretly poked her head out.
When she saw Hu Yong, half-crippled by the explosion, a smug expression appeared on her face.
She knew perfectly well what had caused the explosion.
After all, when Chu Xuan was setting up the grenade, she had been right there watching the whole time.
****
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