Chapter 2 - 1 Mysterious Object_2

"He’s not normal, are you also not normal?" Wang Jian glanced at him, "Do you also want to be taken away?" The middle-aged man then immediately spat in the direction of the young man, "This lunatic, he should be taken away. I must have been influenced by him just now. We absolutely can’t let this lunatic back here, who knows, he might be the murderer who killed Liu Li." "I said it, Liu Li committed suicide. This case is already closed," Wang Jian repeated again. "It looks like the suicides here are just a coincidence, unrelated to what I need to do." Li Yi, who had been silently watching the excitement, simply picked up his bag, left the crowd, and walked towards the first building. This matter had nothing to do with him; he was only here to make money and didn’t want to invite unnecessary trouble. "Wangmen District, Building One, Room 201." Li Yi took a deep breath. He came to this unfamiliar address and then knocked on the old door. Knock, knock, knock~! The dull sound echoed in the dim corridor, all around was silent. After a while, the old door opened, yellow light spilled out, and a voice came from inside. "Come in," the voice was very low. Li Yi, somewhat nervous, entered. The living room was simply furnished, with a sofa, several wooden chairs, and the bedroom doors on either side were tightly shut. Under the yellow light, the space seemed somewhat claustrophobic. "Friend, stop looking around. You’re the last one to arrive, we’ve all been waiting for you," said a young man in a hoodie sitting on the sofa. Li Yi said nothing, just gazing at the person sitting on a chair opposite. The person’s body was enveloped in shadows of light. At that moment, he slightly lifted his head, his eyes exceptionally bright, flickering with a faint glow as though containing some peculiar power, daunting enough to avoid direct gaze. "I’m called Crow. Your name is Li Yi, right? Very young. You look barely in your twenties. Tell me, why do you accept such a dangerous task?" the one who identified himself as Crow spoke, his voice still low, imposing a strange pressure. Li Yi collected his thoughts and then seriously said, "I need money." The man on the sofa behind him chuckled, "No kidding; who here isn’t in it for the money? These days, lives aren’t worth much. There are plenty of people willing to risk their lives out there." Li Yi continued, ignoring him, "My parents are among the Silent Ones, they have been in a coma for six years." "Both your parents are Silent Ones? Living six years means your family has two medical pods. Even a second-hand pod is worth more than a million each. You don’t look like someone short of money." Crow’s voice turned cold, "Give me a reasonable explanation, don’t play tricks." "The medical pod is broken, it needs repairs, and the repair costs are fifty thousand, money I can’t put together. I saw someone in the group offering a job, saying they’d pay a hundred thousand upon completion, so I thought I’d try my luck," Li Yi reluctantly detailed his circumstances further. Perhaps believing Li Yi’s words, or perhaps seeing the unease and urgency in his eyes, Crow’s tone softened, then he smiled lightly, "Maintaining two Silent Ones for six years, even with some savings, would deplete them completely, and facing a malfunction in the medical pod, indeed you urgently need money. Without the support of a pod, a Silent One can’t survive thirty days. It seems you are willing to do everything for your parents; such filial children are rare these days. In that case, I’ll give you this opportunity, you’ve justified yourself. Please, take a seat." Relieved, Li Yi then found a stool and sat down next to the sofa. "Now that the last person has arrived, if anyone wants to leave, you can go now. I won’t stop you, in ten seconds, I’ll start explaining the task," Crow’s bright eyes hinted at a threat. Clearly, this was to tell them, if they didn’t leave now, there would be no opting out later. In the dimly lit living room, everyone fell silent. Time ticked by, second by second. No one left the room during this period. "Good, it looks like you all have compelling reasons to risk your lives. Given that, I’ll now start explaining the task," Crow stood up at this point. Simultaneously, the closed bedroom door also opened. A man dressed in a suit came out, locked the main door, and then stood by it like a massive wall, preventing anyone from leaving. "Crow, stop wasting time; just tell us what to do. If it’s too difficult, we might not be up for it. After all, we’re just here to make money, not to die. Besides, we’re all ordinary people without any ’Cultivation’; there’s only so much we can do," the man in the hoodie said, not at all nervous, just grinning. Crow glanced at him and said, "Be serious." The man in the hoodie shrugged, not taking it to heart. Those who dared to risk their lives for money had nothing to fear. The other few remained silent, not interrupting Crow at this moment. Li Yi just listened quietly; he only hoped the so-called task was not too perilous. He still wanted to make it out alive. Seeing that everyone was keeping quiet, Crow then seriously said, "Ten days ago, in the Ruined District, there was a building where something unusual appeared. Our people went inside to search and it turned out badly; several died, only two ordinary people who hadn’t undergone ’Cultivation’ survived, one went insane, and the other severely injured, is still in the hospital, barely having saved a half-life."