Chapter 57: Darkness

The basement was pitch black at this moment.
The two figures who had descended the stairs reached the corner, swept their flashlights across the dark, gaping corridors, and hesitated, suddenly reluctant to move further. They exchanged uncertain glances before slowly making their way down the steps together.
Absolute silence hung in the dark corridor.
The group moved with extreme caution, terrified of making the slightest sound that might alert a hunter lurking in the shadows.
Yet, after searching the entire perimeter, they found nothing.
"Brother Quan, nothing here!"
"Nothing over that side either!"
"Brother Quan, only two rooms were unlocked. There are no signs of any of the other doors ever being opened."
"Brother Quan..."
Brother Quan, also known as Lin Quan, was Lin Chunghai’s paternal cousin.
Lin Quan narrowed his eyes, and the prominent scar at the corner of his eye twitched. After a brief pause, he asked, "Have you checked the generator room?"
A voice answered from nearby, "Checked. The breaker is broken and won't push up."
Hearing this, Lin Quan fell silent again.
Seconds later, he spoke again, "Kick open every single room door and search again."
The men dispersed once more. Following a series of loud, heavy thuds and kicks, all the doors were forced open.
After confirming once more that no one was there, Lin Quan headed toward the room with the hidden chamber.
He had never stepped inside this room before, but he knew of its existence. He had been the one supervising the construction when this house was built.
Standing before the glass partition, Lin Quan stared into the darkness on the other side for a moment, then raised a hand and tapped lightly twice on the glass.
With a crisp click, the door beside it sprang open, revealing a narrow gap.
Lin Quan switched off his flashlight, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.
"Where are they?"
The moment he entered, Lin Chunghai’s voice came from ahead, accompanied by a dim, yellowish glow.
Lin Quan raised his eyes and saw Lin Chunghai sitting in a red single-seater sofa, a camping lantern resting on the small side table beside him.
The illumination originated from this lantern.
"No one found. They might have already escaped," Lin Quan replied.
Lin Chunghai froze for a second at the words, then suddenly let out a low chuckle. He turned his head toward the other side and said, "Look at that—your brother doesn't want you anymore!"
Following his gaze, Lin Quan saw a young man in his early twenties hanging from a specially crafted wooden frame, in a pitiful and wretched state.
He merely glanced at it before looking away, casting his gaze down at the floor tiles before his toes, pretending not to see.
Xiao Hua kept his eyes closed, ignoring him entirely.
Seeing this, Lin Chunghai was not annoyed. He chuckled softly again, turned back to Lin Quan, and asked, "Do you know how many people the other side has?"
Lin Quan shook his head. "Unclear. But they were ruthless. Aside from the young girl under Xiao Na's command who is still alive, everyone else is dead."
"Hongwei is dead too?" Lin Chunghai frowned, clearly surprised.
Lin Quan nodded.
Lin Chunghai's expression darkened.
Lin Quan looked at him and lowered his gaze once more.
After a long moment, Lin Chunghai suddenly stood up from the sofa.
"Get his clothes on him and bring him upstairs." With that, he walked out of the hidden room first.
Lin Quan stood motionless until the sound of Lin Chunghai's footsteps faded away. Then, he suddenly stepped forward, picked up the camping lantern from the small table, and turned toward Xiao Hua, who was hanging from the frame.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Xiao Hua's body instinctively trembled slightly, but he still refused to open his eyes.
The dim, yellowish light gradually fell upon his body and face.
Holding the lantern, Lin Quan observed the young man before him through the glow.
Then, with a sudden, fierce motion—*slap!*
A blow fueled by inexplicable fury caused stars to dance in Xiao Hua's vision, bringing a sharp, stinging pain to the corner of his mouth. He stuck out his tongue and licked it—slightly sweet, the taste of fresh blood.
Xiao Hua lifted his eyes to look at the man before him.
A vicious gaze, a cold and ruthless expression.
Xiao Hua let out a dry laugh, then opened his mouth and spat out a glob of blood-stained saliva.
Lin Quan took a step back to dodge it, but immediately raised his hand as if to strike him again.
Xiao Hua spoke up, "Brother Hai is quite fond of me. If you beat me to a pulp, you won't have any way to answer to him!"
Lin Quan froze. The hand raised in mid-air hovered for a moment before he slowly pulled it back.
Seeing this, Xiao Hua chuckled again and continued, "Didn't Brother Hai tell you to bring me upstairs? Come on, untie me!"
The corners of Lin Quan's eyes twitched, but then a cold smile broke out on his face.
Xiao Hua frowned. "What are you laughing at?"
Lin Quan replied, "You'll find out what I'm laughing at very soon!"
Seeing the cold, sinister smile on his face, Xiao Hua felt a faint tremor in his chest.
Lin Quan said no more. He stepped forward to untie Xiao Hua's hands, took the camping lantern, and stepped back two paces. Once Xiao Hua had pulled up his trousers and freed his legs, Lin Quan gave a cold command: "You walk in front!"
Xiao Hua glanced at him and turned to walk toward the door of the hidden room.
The door stood wide open, and the outer room was swallowed in absolute darkness.
Xiao Hua reached the doorway, grabbed the doorframe, and had just stepped one foot outside when a hand suddenly shot out from behind the glass on the left, grabbing his arm and yanking him violently aside.
At the same instant, gunfire erupted at the doorway.
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
Two consecutive shots.
The camping lantern smashed heavily onto the floor with a clatter. The outer glass shattered into pieces, but the LED light inside stubbornly continued to glow.
"Move!" Zhong Yuan gave a low command and scrambled out of the hidden room first.
The two gunshots just now had undoubtedly alerted everyone in the house.
From this point on, they would have to fight their way through!
Fortunately, when Lin Chunghai went upstairs earlier, he had taken a large number of men with him. It would take time for those people to respond to the commotion, and the three men left outside this room had already been eliminated.
Xiao Hua and Zhong Da crawled out of the hidden room one after the other. Zhong Yuan watched the direction of the stairs from the doorway; footsteps were already echoing at the top of the steps and could descend at any second.
Zhong Yuan motioned toward the opposite room, signaling Zhong Da to take Xiao Hua inside first.
Without a moment's hesitation, Zhong Da grabbed Xiao Hua and rushed into the room across the hall. The moment they stepped inside, the light-bearing figures descending the stairs came into Zhong Yuan's line of sight.
With a slight flick of his wrist, a bullet pierced the faint muzzle flash and sped forward.
*Bang, bang, bang!*
Following a chaotic volley of gunshots, panicked shouts rang out from the stairs: "Turn off the lights! Fuck! Who brought the light?!"
With that, the cluster of light tumbled down the stairs, rolling over and over before coming to a stop in the middle of the corridor.
The enemy had finally retreated into the darkness as well.
Separated by the dim light, both sides hid within their respective patches of darkness, silently waiting for an opportunity to strike.
At that moment, voices suddenly drifted down from the upper floor.
Immediately afterward, Zhong Yuan heard footsteps retreating back up the stairs.
They were falling back!
Zhong Yuan froze, a heavy sinking feeling instantly gripping his heart.