In the final two hours, the manager didn’t come to check on the posts again, and He Gu didn’t leave the office either.
Soon, it was time to clock out.
Following routine, He Gu filled out the duty report and left the office, heading straight for the No. 4 canteen.
Perhaps due to the heightened security measures requiring everyone to leave the work area after their shift, there were noticeably more people during this peak period than usual, almost half as many again as normal.
Moreover, uniformed security guards could be seen weaving through the bustling crowd, occasionally stopping individuals for questioning and searches.
As He Gu made his way through the crowd, two security guards approached and stopped him: “Routine check, please cooperate.”
After sizing He Gu up, one of the guards spoke in a harsh tone: “For the safety of the factory, we need to conduct a body search on you, please cooperate.”
He Gu calmly nodded, rolled up his sleeves to reveal his forearms, and spread his hands.
The guards, one on each side, began to search He Gu’s pockets.
Aside from a striking red towel and a cell phone, everything on He Gu was standard issue from the factory.
The guards exchanged glances, returned the items they had found to He Gu, and said, “You can go.”
He Gu nodded, calmly put his belongings back into his pockets, and then stepped away.
After walking some distance, He Gu let out a long sigh of relief.
That was close!
Luckily, He Gu had hidden any potentially troublesome items in the ceiling of the restroom in Building No. 3 beforehand, or he would have been in real trouble!
Truth be told, when the guards stopped him, He Gu was quite panicked.
Although he had hidden everything he shouldn’t have on him, there was still a trace of the “four-blood mixture” on the cuff of his right sleeve!
Fortunately, the guards’ noses weren’t as keen as the manager’s, and He Gu had the presence of mind to roll up his sleeves as soon as they asked to search him.
It seemed like he was cooperating with the search by exposing his arms, but in reality, he was concealing the stain.
After this ordeal, He Gu had no appetite for breakfast and quickly returned to his dormitory.
The first thing he did when he got back was to take off his jacket and carefully scrub the stain on the cuff clean.
After scrubbing it thoroughly and rinsing it several times with water until he could no longer smell the blood, He Gu hung up the jacket, now damp halfway up the sleeve.
With these tasks done, dawn was breaking, and it would soon be light.
Having been on the move all night, He Gu was exhausted and soon drifted off into a fitful sleep on his bed.
He Gu didn’t sleep well, plagued by dreams almost as soon as he fell asleep.
Regrettably, he didn’t dream of Little Yin this time, but of Zhang Chao.
In the dream, the entire Kant Medicine Factory turned into a gigantic hot pot, with He Gu and other employees bobbing in the boiling broth.
A massive hand with chopsticks descended from the sky, occasionally plucking an employee up and away into the clouds.
Zhang Chao stood outside the pot, pouring a basin of dark blood into it.
Yet, in the pot, He Gu felt himself becoming more and more fragrant, the enticing aroma wafting to his nose, making him ravenous.
The hunger grew unbearable until He Gu couldn’t resist biting into the back of his hand, tearing off a chunk of flesh and devouring it…
…
The next moment, He Gu awoke with a sharp pain on the back of his hand.
He sat up abruptly and anxiously inspected his still-throbbing left hand.
Thankfully, the flesh was intact; He Gu hadn’t actually bitten himself in his sleep.
Breathing a sigh of relief, He Gu realized the pain came from a scratch left by a cat, which seemed to have worsened, swelling more than before and sending out stinging pains.
Worriedly eyeing the wound, He Gu thought he might indeed need to get some medicinal plaster from the canteen.
Especially since he needed to collect black cat blood again, he would need some plaster to have a chance to approach the cat.
With that in mind, He Gu got up to wash.
Afterward, he put on his glasses and carefully examined the forehead in the mirror.
As expected, the blue “flower” on He Gu’s forehead had changed again.
Yesterday, only one “petal” was blue, but now two had turned blue.
At this rate, in three or four days, the “flower” on He Gu’s forehead would be fully formed!
“I must find a way to clear this stage quickly…”
A sense of urgency weighed heavily on He Gu’s mind.
After straightening his clothes, he left the room.
Descending the stairs, He Gu quickly reached the first floor.
Just as he was about to exit the stairwell, he suddenly heard voices coming from the staircase leading to the “basement level.”
…
“The timing is nearly right; everything is progressing according to our plan.”
He Gu recognized the voice; it was from Room 401.
Judging by the sound, he seemed to be in the corridor of the basement level, near the staircase.
Then another familiar voice spoke: “How mature is the target?”
It was the voice of 111.
401 replied, “The floral mark on the forehead is visible; it looks like it will fully mature in three to four days!”
111 added, “Then we can’t delay. Strictly speaking, we could harvest now; we might not get another chance once he’s fully matured!”
401’s voice was filled with excitement: “I’ve laid the groundwork these past few days, telling him I have a subordinate who might make a move on me, and I’ve arranged for him to help me in the storeroom when the time comes.”
“Just confirm the time for the harvest, and I can act anytime!”
111 chuckled, “Actually, it’s not that complicated anymore. At this point, even if he refuses your request, we can act elsewhere, though it would be slightly more troublesome.”
401’s voice conveyed excitement: “So… we act tonight?”
111 pondered for a moment: “No rush, I still need to make some preparations.”
“Let’s wait a bit longer. If it’s soon, tomorrow night; if not, the night after, we can harvest this sweet fruit!”
“Come in, let’s talk more inside.”
…
Soon after, the sound of a door closing echoed.
The entire corridor fell silent…