Seeing this, Qiao Bei had no choice but to bite the bullet.
Taking several deep breaths, he steadied his nerves, got into position, and brought down the blade.
Fortunately, he had been diligent during his school days, often practicing his surgical technique on pig skin, so his hand remained fairly steady.
As the razor-sharp blade sliced down, the wound on Ye Li’s abdomen, which had almost healed, was torn open once more. Blood poured freely, and through the gaping incision, internal organs were faintly visible.
Ye Li was drenched in cold sweat from the pain, yet she clamped her jaw shut, not making a single sound.
Crimson blood spilled out, soaking through her clothes once more. The heavy, metallic stench of iron hit his nose, making Qiao Bei’s heart shudder as he watched.
“All done, Sis...”
Ye Li sucked in a sharp breath of cold air and paused for a moment to recover.
Then, wiping a smear of her own blood with her hand, she messily rubbed it across her face to make herself look even more wretched before speaking in a trembling voice, “Give me the scalpel. Let’s get moving.”
Excessive blood loss was rapidly dropping her body temperature. Right now, she looked exactly like a corpse—the timing was perfect.
Qiao Bei quickly wrapped several layers of gauze around the scalpel and handed it to her. Then, met by her encouraging nod, he zipped up the body bag and secured it with the cart’s fastening straps.
The digital clock on the wall already read 6:40.
Not daring to delay any longer, Qiao Bei hurried to wash the blood from his hands, stashed the two small garbage bins onto the cart’s lower tier, and immediately wheeled it out of the lab, heading straight for the stairwell corridor.
They were on the sixth floor, and plenty of people were going up and down at this hour, so he had to get there early to wait.
Qiao Bei kept the cart as steady as possible to prevent bumps from worsening the pain of the person lying on it.
He crossed paths with quite a few people along the way. Qiao Bei was as nervous as if he had a rabbit kicking in his chest, his heart thumping erratically, but thankfully, no one paid him any mind.
His luck seemed rather good today; the elevator, which usually took forever to arrive, showed up within a couple of minutes.
The doors slid open to reveal an empty car.
Qiao Bei hastily wheeled the cart inside.
Just as he was about to swipe his card to go down, someone outside suddenly shouted, “Wait!”
Looking out, he saw a man sprinting toward the elevator while shouting, dragging a large garbage bin behind him.
The newcomer was evidently also transporting waste downstairs.
Qiao Bei’s heart leaped into his throat.
He instinctively gripped the cart’s handle tighter, a flash of panic darting through his eyes.
Yet so as not to arouse suspicion, he didn't swipe his card to shut the doors and lock the man out.
The man quickly dragged his bin inside and offered Qiao Bei a cheerful “Thanks!”
Qiao Bei merely smiled, then swiped his card to start the elevator.
This guy was a newcomer. Qiao Bei hadn't interacted with him much and didn't know him well, only knowing his name was Lin Jie, and that his position in the lab was similar to his own—an odd-job worker.
Lin Jie, however, was naturally familiar with people. Seeing that Qiao Bei was also transporting waste to load onto the truck, he began making casual small talk.
Though inwardly wound tight with anxiety, Qiao Bei maintained a calm exterior, patiently answering him.
The elevator soon descended to the first floor.
With a soft ding, the elevator doors slowly parted, revealing a crowd of people waiting outside to board.
Qiao Bei let Lin Jie exit first, only then carefully wheeling his cart out behind him.
People bustled to and fro across the ground-floor lobby, and heavily armed guards were everywhere to be seen.
Keeping his head down and forcing himself to look composed, Qiao Bei pushed the cart directly toward the back door on slightly trembling legs.
Though it was only a short distance, every single step felt agonizingly long.
It was already past 6:55. Four armed guards were stationed at the back exit, and they all glanced over as Qiao Bei and Lin Jie approached.
Qiao Bei’s nerves snapped taut instantly, and he swallowed hard.
Up ahead, Lin Jie had already popped open the lid of his garbage bin for the guards to inspect.
Qiao Bei did his best to steady his breathing, then unzipped the body bag as well.
A tall guard stepped forward, peeled back the body bag, and peered inside. His brow furrowed in immediate disgust. “Holy shit, your higher-ups are sloppy as hell. They could’ve at least stitched up her belly. Her guts are practically spilling out.”
Another guard sporting a bushy beard leaned over to glance at it, completely unfazed. “She’s already dead, why bother? She’s going into the incinerator to turn into ash anyway. Stitched or not, it makes no difference.”
“It’s grossing me the fuck out! I’ve gotta eat dinner in a bit, and this totally ruined my appetite!”
“If you can’t eat, I don’t mind helping you finish it!”
“Fuck off! In your dreams!”
“...”
Taking advantage of the guards’ banter, Qiao Bei quickly zipped the body bag shut, swiped his ID card, and pushed the cart out through the back door.
Dusk was falling outside. As an evening breeze blew past, a violent shiver ran through Qiao Bei and he sneezed hard, only then realizing he had broken out into a cold sweat without even noticing.
He cast a backward glance; inside the door, the guards for the shift change had already arrived.
The backyard was quite spacious, primarily used as a parking lot.
At the moment, besides a truck dedicated to hauling garbage, three armored trucks were also parked in the yard.
There were no guards in the yard, but electrified fences were installed atop the surrounding towering walls—not even a fly could get out.
The two of them walked up to the garbage truck. The loading tailgate at the rear of the truck had already been lowered; all they needed to do was push their waste onboard.
At this point, Qiao Bei, who had barely said a word, uncharacteristically took the initiative to ask Lin Jie for help pushing the cart.
Lin Jie didn't refuse. Parking his garbage bin to the side, he walked over to help.
Without much effort, the two of them wheeled the cart up into the truck bed.
Numerous garbage bins were already stationed inside the truck bed, and six or seven corpses were piled to one side.
Qiao Bei first moved the two small garbage bins off the cart, then grabbed a corner of the body bag and said to Lin Jie, “Help me move this down too.”
“Sure.” Lin Jie reached for the other end.
Yet no sooner had he grabbed the body bag than he let out an “Ah!” and yanked his hand back in pain.
Not knowing what had caught him, a bloody gash was suddenly visible on his palm. Though not deep, blood streamed freely from it.
“What happened?” Qiao Bei asked with concern.
“Don’t know what pricked me,” Lin Jie said, flicking the blood from his hand and comforting himself. “Should be fine. The cut isn’t big.”
Qiao Bei, however, put on a look of worry. “Hard to say. What if a needle cut you? Who knows what was injected with it before!”
Hearing that, Lin Jie’s expression instantly twisted in horror. “Then what should I do?”
“Why don't you take the cart back first and disinfect the wound? I can handle things here,” Qiao Bei suggested at once.
“Okay.” Lin Jie agreed without a second thought. “I’ll head back first then.”
Qiao Bei immediately scooped the “corpse” off the cart into his arms, letting Lin Jie drag the cart away.
Only after Lin Jie had hopped out of the truck and walked far away did Qiao Bei crouch down and unzip the body bag.
Right now, the person inside was soaked in blood and utterly motionless, without even the faintest rise or fall of breath visible.
Qiao Bei’s heart trembled violently, and he hastily whispered, “Sis...”
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