Wood Demon Emerges

“You’re really sharp, but those two girls weren’t just witnesses. They were my cover while I was checking things out, and a way to blow off steam afterwards. In this line of work, unless you’re some sort of freak, you need an outlet,” Old Xiao said, winking playfully at Hou Rui.

Sensing the tension between them had eased, Hou Rui finally summoned the courage to ask, “What was that metal ball you threw at the end?”

“I suppose it doesn’t matter if I tell you now. That was a dirty bomb used by the organization. The gray gas is actually a kind of liquefied acid. It destroys traces left at the scene—a little gadget for concealing your identity. Of course, you only use it for jobs in developed countries.”

“Looks pretty handy. How much does one cost? Can I apply to use it?”

“Twenty thousand dollars apiece, and you can’t get them on the outside. You have to go to a designated supply point.”

When Hou Rui fell silent again, Old Xiao rolled his neck and sighed, “I really am getting old. Just a bit of light exercise and my whole body feels exhausted.”

You call that light exercise? You took down more than a dozen strong men with nothing but a knife in under three minutes! If that’s your idea of light exercise, would intense activity mean a massacre in the hundreds? Hou Rui griped to himself, but didn’t let a trace of it show on his face.

“Head to Jiangbei District. I need to pick something up—and it’ll be a good learning experience for you.” After working the kinks out of his neck, Old Xiao closed his eyes, but not before giving the order. Resigned, Hou Rui started the car and sped onto the road.

They weaved through the morning rush hour for over an hour before, under Old Xiao’s directions, Hou Rui found a rather upscale residential complex. Amid a stretch of detached villas, Old Xiao had him park at the back gate of a house whose yard was full of lush green shrubs.

Once out of the car, Old Xiao led Hou Rui to the back door and unlocked it with a code. But instead of entering the main house, they quietly approached a small wooden shed in the yard that looked like it held gardening tools.

“Remember, the back door code is 656433,” Old Xiao said as he removed the heavy padlock from the shed, placing it on the windowsill, and recited the six digits to Hou Rui.

“What is this place?” Hou Rui asked, looking at the luxurious villa, unable to guess its purpose. Was this another facility belonging to the organization?

“One of the organization’s safe houses in Seoul, also used as a public supply depot. Remember, once you have the means, you’ll need plenty of safe houses to keep yourself alive,” Old Xiao said as he pushed open the door. Then, right before Hou Rui’s eyes, amidst a pile of shovels and brooms, he pulled a cleverly hidden lever.

With a mechanical whir, a large hole opened in the wooden floor beneath their feet, revealing a metal staircase leading down.

Hou Rui followed Old Xiao down the stairs. As the lights flickered on, a spacious underground hall of about 560 square meters unfolded before his eyes.

In the center stood a large screen computer and several sofas scattered about. Three of the four walls were lined with glass cabinets. Through their doors, Hou Rui could see a dazzling array of firearms, as well as all sorts of miscellaneous equipment whose names he couldn’t even guess. The last wall held three tightly shut doors.

“Find yourself a seat,” Old Xiao said, heading straight to the computer. He deftly entered a string of numbers, and the screen immediately displayed the photos and details of Kim Young-hwan and Kim Young-chan, whom they’d just eliminated. After a few more clicks, giant red X’s appeared over the photos. Hou Rui’s phone buzzed in his pocket; he checked it and saw his account had just increased by $250,000.

“Don’t be surprised. This was a small team job—two people, so the payout’s the same for both,” Old Xiao said casually, shutting off the computer and sprawling out on a sofa opposite Hou Rui, looking utterly relaxed.

“Is everything here free to use?” Hou Rui couldn’t help but ask, still reeling from the organization’s vast resources.

“Free? Not a chance. There’s no such thing as free here. The moment we walked in, five grand was deducted from our accounts,” Old Xiao replied with scorn.

“But with all these weapons and equipment lying around, isn’t the organization worried about accidents? What if someone stumbles in by mistake?”

“If you enter the wrong code, the infrared-guided rifles in the yard activate. Open the shed the wrong way, and this basement turns into an incinerator, burning at 2,000 degrees—there won’t be much left. As for accidents or losses, the organization doesn’t care. You know, there are three identical safe houses like this around Seoul.”

Hou Rui was at a loss for words; he could only wander from cabinet to cabinet, marveling at the guns, ammo, explosives, specialized gear, clothing, daily necessities, and medical supplies inside.

Before he knew it, Hou Rui had made his way to the other side of the hall, near the first door in the wall.

Through the glass, he saw a pile of kitchen appliances and a huge pantry—obviously the kitchen. At the second door, sealed with an airtight cushion, he peeked through a round window and found what looked like a biology lab, full of test tubes, petri dishes, and other equipment he couldn’t name.

When he reached the last door, a whiff of putrid stench suddenly hit him. Unlike the other two, this door had no window, and though the frame wasn’t especially sealed, the entire door was made of solid metal, heavy and secure.

“What’s this room for?” Hou Rui couldn’t help but ask.

“Torture chamber,” Old Xiao replied, sprawled out on the sofa in a starfish pose.

“Oh.” Hou Rui turned to go back to the sofa when, all of a sudden, a series of frantic cries rang out from inside the torture chamber, in Korean he couldn’t understand.

“There’s someone in there?” Hou Rui recoiled as if electrocuted, staring in shock at Old Xiao.

“Impossible. I checked before we came in—the system said the safe house was empty.” Old Xiao, who had been completely relaxed a moment before, grew grave. He quickly moved to the nearest cabinet, grabbed two pistols—tossing one to Hou Rui.

Without hesitation, they both flicked off the safeties and approached the torture chamber door from either side. After a nod from Old Xiao, Hou Rui carefully grabbed the handle and yanked the door open, gun raised.

A wave of sickening stench assaulted them. Who knew how much blood had been spilled or how many corpses had rotted here to create such a smell? The stench stung Hou Rui’s eyes; he had to let go of the gun with one hand to clamp his nose and mouth, just to keep looking inside.

The dim, tile-walled room was filled with metal tables piled with rusty knives, drills, axes, chisels, pliers, clamps, and other chilling tools. In the center stood a metal chair cemented into the floor, with thick leather straps and iron chains dangling from the ceiling. Yet, despite the room’s aura of horror, Hou Rui saw no one inside.

“Could I have imagined it?” Clutching his mouth, Hou Rui lowered his pistol and was about to close the door to shut out the stench when a feeble moan drifted from the corner. Looking closer, he froze, his limbs turning icy cold.

In the corner sat a barrel half as tall as a person, its lid covered in something black and filthy. But now, looking closely, he realized it was a woman’s head. Her face had turned pitch black, with thick, dark-green fluid oozing from her eyes, nose, and mouth. Her hair was matted into clumps, and here and there little bugs crawled in and out.

“What the hell is that?” Hou Rui recoiled in terror, then, unable to contain his anger, made to rush over—only for Old Xiao to grab him from behind.

“Damn it, just our luck to run into that thing here,” Old Xiao muttered, his usual gentlemanly demeanor replaced by a mixture of disgust, revulsion, dread, and even a hint of fear—an expression Hou Rui had never seen before.

“That thing?”

“Don’t ask. Let’s get out of here.” As they argued in the doorway, the woman in the barrel must have sensed something; she began thrashing violently, making the barrel bang against the wall with a hollow thud. But when she tried to call out, only faint sounds escaped, while more black water dribbled from her mouth and her already-blackened lips.

As Old Xiao dragged him away, Hou Rui caught a clear glimpse—white and yellow maggots squirmed out from between the lid and the woman’s neck, tumbling from the gap as the barrel shook...