Chapter 6 (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

The teachers’ office building had been constructed this summer, and the smell of formaldehyde had yet to completely disperse. Thus, there were not many people there.

Teacher Shi Qingsong was carrying a stack of documents and standing in front of the elevator while pressing the button.

He was wearing round-frame glasses and a dark shirt. He had neatly-combed hair, a calm and steady face, and an amiable and easy-going temperament. He looked just like a professor who read poetry in photos of the Republic of China.

He treated others kindly. Middle-aged Shi Qingsong had always been a good teacher in the eyes of the students, a good subordinate in the eyes of the school principal, a good husband in the eyes of his wife, and a good father in the eyes of his children.

The elevator descended from the upper floor and the door slowly opened with a ding-dong.

A person was standing in the corner of the elevator, wearing a yellow construction protective helmet and a blue work uniform. His pants were stained with large patches of black slurry, and the protective gloves on his hands looked really worn-out.

He was just an ordinary construction site worker wearing a white mask. His age and face weren’t obvious.

“Is this building still being renovated?”

While Shi Qingsong was thinking to himself, he entered the elevator and immediately smelled a pungent odor of renovation materials.

Without a doubt, the source of the smell was the worker. He seemed to have noticed Shi Qingsong’s gaze, so he quickly took a few steps back.

Shi Qingsong coughed awkwardly. Nevertheless, he smiled slightly with courtesy. He held his breath and reached out to press the button to the first floor.

The elevator continued to descend. In the narrow, confined space, that pungent smell grew increasingly worse. It seemed as though it was going to dig into his nostrils, enter his throat, and corrode his pulmonary alveolus.

Shi Qingsong pretended to move his foot by accident away from the source of the smell. At the same time, he used the documents in his hands to cover his nose and slowly breathed.

Drip, drip.

He heard the sound of liquid dripping.

Shi Qingsong did not look back. Through the bright mirror-like walls in the elevator, he could see some kind of black liquid slowly dripping from the legs of the worker’s pants.

Was it slurry?

He pursed his lips and tightened his grip on the documents, silently hoping that the elevator would reach the first floor as soon as possible.

Drip drip, drip drip.

The black muddy water kept dripping. Very soon, a large puddle formed under the worker’s feet, taking up more than half of the elevator floor.

At the same time, that pungent smell grew increasingly worse. It was about to sting his skin and seep into his heart.

What was going on?

While Shi Qingsong took two steps back to avoid the puddle of liquid spreading toward him, he stared at the silent worker.

This stare nearly left him with half his soul.

He only noticed that the construction worker had lifeless eyes and his pupils were turbid. There was also a red color around his black pupils.

These were the eyes of a dead man!

Shi Qingsong felt goosebumps all over and suddenly recalled a piece of news that was related to this building.

Just two months ago, the road in front of this building had been rebuilt and repaved. A construction worker had been working beside a truck spreading asphalt gravel.

All of a sudden, the axle on one side of the truck had broken and the truck bed had poured its contents down. The hot asphalt gravel had instantly covered half of the construction worker’s body.