Congratulations on Your Successful Escape

Chapter 98

Buzzing electric sparks lit up, carrying cold malice and a scorching restlessness, while the taste of danger stirred and ignited the thick and viscous darkness.

Mo Yi’s mind whirled as a loud alarm blared in his head. The scorching blood in his veins surged through his veins, rushing to his cheeks.

There was a familiar cold touch against his wrist, and the leather restraint wrapped tightly around his left hand.

Next, the same metallic sound came from his right side too—

A sensation similar to a stab from an ice needle pierced into his mind instantly! Mo Yi’s thoughts quickly cleared, and he abruptly rolled to his side—

Most of his body fell off the iron bed with his movements, leaving only his bound left hand still secured to the end of the iron bed.

Severe pain shot through him from the moment his body came into contact with the ground. It felt as though all the bones in his body fell apart when his thin bones hit the ground hard, forcing out a low muffled gasp from Mo Yi’s throat.

His forehead slammed into the cold and wet floor too, and a sharp stabbing pain came from his temple. His vision turned black, accompanied with buzzing white noises ringing in his ears—

Mo Yi struggled to raise his head. Warm viscous blood slid down his forehead, clinging to his eyelids and lashes.

The falling flashlight clattered against the ground, the motion resulting in its beam of light frantically bouncing throughout the room.

While looking through his blood-red field of vision, Mo Yi noticed that several of the restraint belts on the iron bed were closing automatically, each buckle making a creepy metallic click on the iron bed.

Mo Yi gasped in shock. Hot pain from the friction against leather shot from his ankle which was hung in mid-air.

Fortunately he had reacted in time earlier, otherwise it would not only be just one wrist that was tied but all four limbs—

And that would mean he’d be dead.

He gasped for breath in the darkness. The flashlight that fell on the ground finally stopped rolling, and the halo of light stilled too, lighting up a void.

Mo Yi glanced at the head of the iron bed from the corner of his eye.

In that blurred darkness, there was a buzzing electric sound, followed by the humming of the machine, which gradually became stronger in the darkness.

At first Mo Yi thought the sound was from the tinnitus caused by bumping his head, but he finally came to a horrifying realisation when he saw electric sparks light up in the darkness beside the bed—it wasn’t over yet.

The bed board was made of iron. The electric current flowing along the iron bed could still kill him.

Mo Yi’s expression suddenly became solemn. His pale face was flushed abnormally. He gritted his teeth, straightened up suddenly, and stretched over to untie the belt around his left wrist.

The metal buckle on the belt was akin to an unrelenting python’s bite, and it couldn’t be pulled apart no matter how hard he tried.

The sound of the electric current in his ears and the buzzing of the machine started becoming more and more intense—

Beads of sweat formed on Mo Yi’s forehead. He gave up undoing the tightly fastened metal buckle and turned his efforts to ripping off the belt which was strapped to the cold iron bed.

The rough action caused the edges of the belt to pinch deeply into the pale skin on his thin wrist, leaving a series of bright red marks and drops of blood. The strong smell of iron permeated the air.

In his ear was the roar of the machine in its initiation phase. The entire iron bed began to vibrate violently, and the flickering electric sparks in the air seemed to have increased with a vigour which seemed as if they were about to erupt in the very next second!

Mo Yi’s heart slumped. He clenched his teeth tightly, then grabbed his left thumb with his other hand, and twisted it desperately—

.

A loud ‘crack’ of bone snapping rang out distinctly in the darkness, making anyone who heard it feel as though the roots of their teeth were sour.

His thumb was twisted and broken in a weird shape, and it hung down limply. Using this to his advantage, Mo Yi grabbed the belt around his wrist and tugged at it hard!

His left hand slipped free from the strap.

A huge roar sounded in his ears. Mo Yi’s heart clenched, and he rolled across the ground while cradling his left hand that had just been freed.

A nearly blinding electric light erupted in the darkness behind him. The hiss of crackling electric current sounded, the whole iron bed rattled and shook along, mixing into one deafening groan in the darkness.

Mo Yi lay exhausted on the dirty floor. His whole body was drenched in sweat, as if he had just been fished out of an icy river, and was even shaking uncontrollably due to the severe pain.

His damp black hair was plastered awkwardly against the pale face, his complexion so pallid that it resembled gold paper, and the only colour on the face was the bright blood oozing from the wound on his lower lip which he had bitten through with his teeth earlier.

He was panting breathlessly. The electric current behind him was still buzzing, and its crackling arcs illuminated the entire room.

In Mo Yi’s field of vision which was blackened by pain, he vaguely saw a shadowy black figure standing in the dark corner of the wall—

He froze momentarily, then forced his blood-covered eyelids open wider, and glanced at that same corner again.

There was no one there.

The zapping electric current sounds from the machine behind him gradually stopped, but the phantom-like buzzing still remained in Mo Yi’s ears, making him dizzy from the shock.

Mo Yi’s heart felt suffocated and stuffy, and his darkening vision swam. He couldn’t help but take a few deep breaths, forcing himself to relax.

He moved to the side with some difficulty. The fingers of his uninjured right hand fumbled on the ground until he found and picked up the flashlight lying beside him. With slightly trembling fingers, he pointed the flashlight at the dark corner of the door—

The thick and gloomy darkness was dispelled by the light. There was absolutely nothing in that corner, as if the shadow he saw just now was simply an illusion.

Mo Yi let out a long breath. His head was still dizzy, and he still had double images in his vision.

It should be the aftereffects of bumping his head just now.

—Did he really make a mistake earlier?

At this moment, there was a slight ‘click’ from the door, which startled Mo Yi.

He turned the flashlight in his hand in the direction of the sound, only to see the tightly closed door slowly opening. The dim lighting from the corridor poured in through the open crack, silently and slowly sliding into the darkness. Mo Yi couldn’t help but feel tranced, as though he was a world away.

Still, he forced himself to his feet. The pain from all over his body hit him like a tide. His stiff joints let out a piercing wail, and the almost suffocating pain ruthlessly tugged on Mo Yi’s nerves.

Even though his tolerance for pain was strong, he still couldn’t help but let out a low gasp.

Mo Yi limped several steps towards the door, then subconsciously turned his head and glanced behind him.

In the thick darkness, the mottled iron bed seemed to still be flickering with electric sparks, exuding a strong burnt smell which almost covered the smell of blood.

There seemed to be a reflection of something at the head of the bed.

Mo Yi frowned, and shone his light over.

There was a thin card inserted into the old, dusty machine beside the bed, and it reflected the light with a metallic lustre.

Mo Yi was surprised. He was certain there was no such card inserted into the machine when he just entered the door.

After a short few seconds of hesitation, he retraced his steps, cautiously using his clothes to pad his fingers and slowly exerted force on a corner of the card.

Through the thin fabric, Mo Yi could feel the heat coming through into his fingertips, and he withdrew his grip almost instantly.

Next, Mo Yi gathered himself together again, increasing the strength in his hand and yanked out the magnetic card in the machine completely—

The magnetic card seemed to be a bit old, the pattern on it was mottled and blurred, and it still felt a little bit hot to the touch.

Mo Yi spent some time analysing it under the dim light:

This should be the employee card.

Then it should also be able to open the elevator at the end of the corridor too…?

Mo Yi’s heart was tinged with heat, and he tightly grasped the magnetic card in his cold palm. The heat from the card warmed his palm, dyeing his cold skin with some colour.

He surveyed the room behind him for the last time, then turned and walked out.

Fiery pain burst forth from the dislocated juncture on his hand. The pain was so long and intense that it became numb instead, making the pain of other wounds on Mo Yi’s body insignificant, as if all the pain-sensing nerves in his body were now solely concentrated on his hand.

The corridor was still pitch black. There was only one faint light on the entire corridor and it was flickering on and off.

After Mo Yi exited the room, he hesitated for a moment, then turned and strode to the next room marked as ‘staff office’ on the map.

He pushed on the door. The door under his palm was smooth, cold, hard as iron, and it was almost impossible to make it budge even an inch.

It seems that he was temporarily unable to enter.

Sighing, Mo Yi lowered his eyelids slightly. His long eyelashes concealed the complicated expression in his dark black eyes.

Then, he turned and walked back towards the other end of the corridor.

The road back was still bumpy, with broken tables and chairs and scattered papers in front of Mo Yi, but fortunately he had manoeuvred through it before, so he circled around the obstacles with ease, his movements flexible, light, and as quiet as a cat walking in the dark.

And along the way, that figure never appeared again.

Mo Yi stood still before the tightly closed elevator door. With the magnetic card in the palm which was currently supporting his deformed left hand, he subconsciously licked his dry lips.

A tingling pain came from his lips, along with the familiar taste of rust on the tip of his tongue, and this was when he finally realised that he had bitten through the skin earlier.

Mo Yi let out a suppressed click of his tongue. He carefully let go of his injured palm and swiped the magnetic card in the slot on the wall, only to hear a soft ‘beep’ in the darkness.

The hum of machinery came from the elevator shaft in front of him, which was extremely distinct in the silent corridor.

Mo Yi’s heart skipped a beat and he reflexively turned his head to look behind him, as if he was worried that the elusive footsteps would sound again without warning.

However, the corridor behind was stark empty. There was only a single lamp flickering dimly, yet the oppressive and suffocating atmosphere weighed heavily on Mo Yi.

Then at this moment, the diamond-shaped metal iron door behind Mo Yi slowly slid open, making the sound of creaking and rusty metal groaning—

A crisp sound came from the mottled metal door.

‘Ding’.