Chapter 008 Death Gym

I am absolutely certain that I have seen the sketches of the killing machines before. It was during the time I was sorting through my father's belongings, when I came upon a black notebook. This notebook was my father's personal journal, the chronicle of his inventions and designs.

My father had always enjoyed tinkering with little inventions, and that black notebook was his favorite during his lifetime. Many of his ingenious ideas were recorded there. The fire box from that earlier ordeal, “The Realm of Ice and Fire,” was strikingly similar to the heater he designed for rural farms, made from four panels of tempered glass with a heating wire at the base. The meat grinder that traumatized our homeroom teacher was nearly identical to the simple milling machine he devised for factories.

How could it be such a coincidence? Could these killing machines somehow be connected to my father?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

The mere suspicion terrified me. My father died in a car accident two years ago. I personally saw him off and buried him. He has long been laid to rest and could not possibly be linked to these killing machines. It must be a coincidence—nothing more.

“Zheng Yan, look!” At that moment, Xu Meijing called out, snapping me out of my chaotic thoughts. Following her pointing finger, I saw in the corner of the storeroom several stacked boxes—cases of bottled water and canned food, like those discarded from the ship previously.

The production dates on the water and cans were all recent. To me, these seemed more like supplies left for us by Du Jiang, hidden in the corner of the storeroom tank, not easily discovered.

I paid little heed to the peculiar environment of the storeroom, gulping down a bottle of water. Xu Meijing only took a symbolic sip, saying she now had a psychological aversion to water—probably never daring to drink it in large gulps again.

While we replenished ourselves, the iron door of the storeroom slid open automatically, and in the dim light appeared the entrance to a staircase.

It was a spiral staircase, leading up to the second level of the ship. The unknown awaited us there. We had to face it eventually; Du Jiang clearly intended to play his game to the end.

I led the way, with Xu Meijing wrapping bottles and cans in her clothes and following behind.

I poked my head up to glance ahead. Light filtered through the spaces between decks, and the stairwell was silent except for the sound of our own breathing.

Xu Meijing walked a few steps behind me, then stopped, afraid. “Zheng Yan, I’m scared... I’m afraid Du Jiang will pull another twisted trick. I haven’t recovered from the terror earlier—if another killing machine appears, I’ll be frightened to death!”

I told her she needn’t worry. She’d already been punished, and though she’d erred, her wrongdoing wasn’t grave enough to warrant death. Du Jiang shouldn’t target her again. Most likely, we would soon witness the punishment of the remaining students.

“Xu Meijing, there’s another detail you might not have noticed. When I faced the ice and fire cage, the ice punishment was harsh on your body, but at least I could find a solution. The fire cage’s heating wire I managed to cut off, but there was no direct way to break it. Du Jiang must have deliberately spared you—a sign that your wrongdoing wasn’t yet worthy of a death sentence.”

Xu Meijing gave a cold laugh. “Zheng Yan, by your logic, I ought to thank Du Jiang, thank him for letting me live?”

---

I quickly made a shushing gesture. “You may not realize, but every word and action of ours is watched by Du Jiang. Don’t give him cause to change his mind…”

Xu Meijing covered her mouth in disbelief. “No, no, Du Jiang, I didn’t mean it. If there’s anything wrong, just pretend I never said it!”

As we ascended the stairs, we unexpectedly discovered an iron-barred window—a small square, barely thirty centimeters wide. Xu Meijing tugged at me, signaling with her eyes to consider escaping through it.

I glanced at it and shook my head silently. First, it was far too small—maybe a cat could squeeze through, but certainly not a person. Second, outside the window lay the tumultuous waters of the Yellow Sea; no matter what message or plea for help we tossed out, it would be swallowed by the waves. Any method we could conceive, Du Jiang would anticipate. The window likely existed only to give us a breath of fresh air—nothing more.

“It’s terrifying…” Xu Meijing whispered, “I never expected Du Jiang to be so frightening—he’s chilling when you think about it!”

I nodded in agreement. “Never underestimate anyone’s capacity for eruption. A powerful desire for revenge can transform a person—either into a hero or a monster.”

After emerging from the stairwell, we reached the second level of the ship. Compared to the gloomy, damp lower deck, the air here was far fresher, the corridor lights warmer, and everything within sight appeared clearer and more distinct.

Before us stood a structure formed by merging two rows of ship cabins, with stainless steel and glass doors and golden, dazzling handles, giving the entire deck a luxurious, grand air. In the center, three gilded characters were boldly displayed: Gymnasium.

“A gym? What scheme is Du Jiang plotting now?” Xu Meijing peered inside, curious. “Zheng Yan, the space inside is huge—it feels eerie!”

I signaled her to follow behind me. Gripping my axe, I cautiously pushed open the glass door of the gym, and was startled by what greeted us.

First, there was a massive floor-to-ceiling mirror, about the height of a person. In the center was a blood-spattered handprint, shockingly conspicuous, resembling a dripping, demonic claw.

“Zheng Yan, whose handprint is that? And look, there’s a key!” Xu Meijing shrank behind me, pointing at the bloody handprint.

I noted the key hanging above the handprint, attached to a plastic tag, numbered 0001.

I touched the edge of the bloody print and leaned in to sniff—it still reeked of blood, fresh and lingering. Whose handprint it was, I couldn’t tell, but I suspected the key was a hint from Du Jiang, possibly related to the forthcoming punishment in the gym.

Examining the key closely, I saw it was the type used for locker rooms in gyms—perhaps Du Jiang meant to suggest that there was something special hidden in the corresponding locker?

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Pressing my ear to the mirror’s edge, I listened for any movement inside. The gym was spacious and well-lit, and the sound of wind whistling through was clear—when wind is so audible, it means the room is empty. If anyone were alive in there, their breathing and speech would muffle the wind’s passage.

No living souls?

That clearly deviated from Du Jiang’s usual pattern. Why was he directing me inside? Could it be that all the remaining students were already dead?

Perplexed, I circled past the mirror, taking in the full interior of the gym.

We first saw a row of black exercise bikes, then two rows of treadmills behind them, followed by various stretching and extension machines—all perfectly arranged, but not a single soul in sight.

The wind howled through, lending the gym an eerie, unsettling atmosphere. The silence only heightened the sense that something was off.

“Zheng Yan? No one?” Xu Meijing asked incredulously.

I quickly gestured for silence. Things weren’t as simple as they seemed. I pointed toward the far end of the gym, signaling her to look there.

At the gym’s far end stood four lockers, facing south, crafted as if specially made for this place. What was most alarming were their tag numbers.

From south to north, the four lockers were numbered 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004.

…

Suddenly, I understood Du Jiang’s intention—a major upgrade in the gym this time. Four people would be punished, it seemed.

That key might well be the key to revealing the truth.

…