Chapter 298: Finding an Exit
Fang Xiaocao took her steel darts and flying knife, placing them back into their designated spots on her belt, within easy reach of her good hand. However, she didn’t take a gun, opting instead for an extra dagger. “With only one good hand, a dagger is more useful than a gun in a tight spot,” she explained.
Hummingbird was taken aback, looking at Fang Xiaocao’s injured hand. The white bandage was now soaked crimson, resembling a dark red cloth. Hummingbird’s eyes flickered with concern, and she nodded, placing the gun securely on her person.
“They must be from the Pawnshop, right?” Fang Xiaocao asked, looking at the three bodies on the floor.
The current Fang Xiaocao was no longer the young girl who had vomited after her first kill. Having experienced so much life and death, she could now calmly look at the bloodied corpses.
“Probably!” Hummingbird nodded, turning over one of the bodies and pointing to the chest. “There’s a mark on their clothes!”
Fang Xiaocao looked and saw a character for “Pawn” embroidered on the man’s chest.
“Looks like we’ve run into the Pawnshop after all,” Fang Xiaocao said with a wry smile.
Although she was past being easily shaken, the thought of facing such a mysterious and powerful force as the Pawnshop still made Fang Xiaocao uneasy, especially with Tom and Taotie not around.
Hummingbird nodded. “We should find a way out first, regroup with Tom and the others, and then plan our next move.”
Hummingbird’s suggestion aligned with Fang Xiaocao’s thoughts, and she naturally had no objections.
“Let’s go, let’s get out of here first!” Fang Xiaocao said.
Hummingbird looked around, finally focusing on the door guarded by the three men. She tried the doorknob.
With a soft “click,” the door opened.
Fang Xiaocao was delighted and quickly came closer.
Hummingbird carefully opened the door a crack, peeking through the gap.
Soon, Hummingbird pulled back and closed the door.
“It’s no good. It’s another corridor, with guards at the end. If we go out this door, we’ll be exposed immediately,” Hummingbird whispered.
“What do we do then?” Fang Xiaocao was at a loss.
“We go back!” Hummingbird said after a moment of thought.
“Go back?” Fang Xiaocao was surprised.
Hummingbird nodded. “Yes! We’ll find the disposal chute! Since the operating room is on this corridor, there must be a disposal chute nearby. If we find it, we can return to the cannibal rat nest, and then leave from there.”
“Once we’re outside the nest, we’ll know our location and can use the terminal to contact Tom and the others,” Hummingbird explained.
Hummingbird’s words brightened Fang Xiaocao’s eyes.
At this point, Fang Xiaocao had long abandoned any thoughts of treasure. Survival was the priority, not just her own, but also Tom, Taotie, and Hummingbird.
“Let’s do it!” Fang Xiaocao decided.
Hummingbird moved the square table in front of the door.
Feeling it wasn’t secure enough, she dragged the three bodies to the door and placed them on the table.
Blocking the door wouldn’t stop anyone from entering, but it would buy them some time, which could be the difference between life and death.
“Princess, let’s go!” Hummingbird said to Fang Xiaocao.
Fang Xiaocao nodded, following Hummingbird back to the operating room.
“Let’s split up and search,” Fang Xiaocao whispered.
Hummingbird hesitated, then nodded. “Don’t go too far!” she reminded.
“Got it!” Fang Xiaocao smiled and nodded.
Hummingbird walked towards the other end of the corridor.
Fang Xiaocao thought for a moment, deciding to check what was behind the other doors.
Perhaps the disposal chute was hidden behind one of them.
Fang Xiaocao decided to start with the operating room.
After all, the operating room was where the bodies were produced, so the disposal chute might be inside.
Fang Xiaocao opened the operating room door and went inside. The room was sparsely equipped, with only an operating table.
Fang Xiaocao guessed that this was just where organs were removed, not a full operating room. The organs were likely preserved and sent to another location for transplant.
“I wonder if the patients are also in the mountain, or in a hospital somewhere. If they’re in the mountain, it shouldn’t be too far. If not, how does the Pawnshop preserve the organs and transport them out of the mountain quickly?” Fang Xiaocao muttered, looking at the bloodstains on the operating table.
The bloodstains were fresh.
Clearly, an organ removal surgery had just taken place, meaning someone had likely died here. The Pawnshop staff had probably just disposed of the body. The bloodstains on the operating table hadn’t been cleaned, perhaps she could find blood trails on the floor, leading to the disposal chute.
Thinking this, Fang Xiaocao was delighted.
“I’m such a clever girl!” she complimented herself, and focused on searching the floor for bloodstains.
“Found it!”
After some searching, Fang Xiaocao finally found a drop of blood on the floor.
The bloodstain wasn’t near the door, but inside the operating room.
Fang Xiaocao followed the blood trail, finding another drop after a few steps.
Finding two bloodstains in a row confirmed her suspicions.
When she reached a wall, there were more bloodstains on the floor, but there was no path forward.
Fang Xiaocao was stunned. She blinked.
The bloodstains on the floor formed a small puddle.
Clearly, the Pawnshop’s body disposal tool had paused here.
But…
Where was the way?
Fang Xiaocao looked around, but there was no door.
There were no other bloodstains nearby.
Only the puddle of blood in front of the wall.
“Could it be…”
“A secret passage or hidden room?”
Looking at the wall, Fang Xiaocao suddenly remembered the hidden door in the tomb that the monkeys had used to attack them.
Could there be a hidden door in this operating room too?
Fang Xiaocao had her answer.
The answer was, most likely!
And the hidden door was probably right in front of her!
