In the basement of a secluded private vi outside of Beijing.


    "Aaaahhhhhh...stop!"


    A man''s screams echoed loudly inside the pristine chamber, where the walls were white and the floor was made of ck graphite. Different tools could be found hanging on the walls like a museum disy.


    There was a metal bed on the center, simr to where corpses wereid down in the morgue. But stainless steel chains trapped the wrists and the ankles of the man that was spread-eagled on the metal bed, preventing him from moving. He waspletely naked except for his underwear, and it could be clearly seen that the skin on his legs had been peeled off. A man dressed in aboratory gown calmly washed off the blood with salt water.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    His back arched, his mouth opened, and hisrynx stretched to produce a piercing scream.


    "Don''t let him fall unconscious," Lu Shen said icily.


    The man in theboratory gown nodded. He took out a picana from the wall, a short rod with a bronze tip and an insted handle. He ced it inside the screaming man''s mouth. The electric shock made another scream burst out from the man again. The shocks from the picana had high voltage and low current. It wouldn''t kill the victim.


    Once Wen Zedong quieted down, Lu Shen approached the bed. He was dressed in an immacte suit, seemingly out of ce in the bloody torture chamber. But the eyes that examined the wounds inflicted on the man didn''t bat an eyelid, as if he was appreciating a work of art.


    "Still not talking?" he asked softly. "I don''t mind. I have more ways to make you talk."


    He turned to the man wearing aboratory gown. "Give me the mixture of milk and honey."


    As he was waiting, Lu Shen leisurely sat on the chair that was provided for him. Lighting a cigarette, he casually told Wen Zedong, "Around 500 B.C., the ancient Persians practiced an execution method called scaphism. They force the victim to ingest a mixture of milk and honey, until their bowels gave up. Their skin were then smeared with more milk and honey, until it attracted wasps and ants. They would crawl inside the orifices of the victim andy their eggs, eating them alive from inside out. With the ration of milk and honey, you would never die from thirst or hunger."


    Wen Zedong shuddered. Originally, Lu Shen told the story using pronouns that made it seem as if he wasn''t talking about him, but the ''you'' in hisst sentence extinguished all of Wen Zedong''s hope ining out of this alive.


    Lu Shen stubbed out his cigarette on the soft skin of Wen Zedong''s belly. Ignoring his scream, he turned towards the man who had finally returned with a pail filled with milk and honey.


    "You know what to do."


    The man nodded, and slowly approached Wen Zedong. Tipping the pail into his mouth, he forced Wen Zedong to ingest the mixture by pinching his jaw.


    Wen Zedong spluttered. He turned his head to the side and choked out, "I did it! I did it! I killed her!"


    Lu Shen held up a hand and the man stopped.


    Standing up, he asked, "What did you say?"


    Wen Zedong squeezed his eyes shut as his tears leaked out. He had long since sumbed to fear. "I killed your wife, Lu Shen! I deliberately ran her over!"


    Lu Shen didn''t react. "How did you know she was going to be pushed into the road?"


    "I didn''t! I was supposed to only keep an eye on you! But I saw your wife visit the mansion and I didn''t think it was fair that you could still live so happily after wrecking my life! So when that girl pushed her, I started the car and killed her! Hahahaha, that''s what you get for being a cold bastard! I don''t regret what I did!"


    Lu Shen was still expressionless, but the darkness in his eyes deepened. "Who told you to keep an eye on me?"


    When he heard Lu Shen''s question, Wen Zedongughed even louder. "Who else could it be?! Such an outstanding son-inw, I couldn''t be any prouder. When he knew what I did to his sister, he didn''t even me me! He loves the Wen family more than his sibling! You''ll never catch him, Lu Shen. He has the triad behind him! Hahahaha!"


    Lu Shen suddenly smiled. But it was a mirthless smile, filled with disdain and contempt. "He''s only a member of the triad, and you think he''s invincible? He doesn''t even know that the leader of 14K branch [1] owes me a favor because I helped him three years ago. I''m not sure if he could still survive after I give the kill on sight order."


    His words made Wen Zedong shrink back. His bloodshot eyes widened, his palms mmy.


    Wen Zedong stuttered, "Y—You wouldn''t! He''s the brother of your wife!"


    "That kind of filth?" Lu Shen snorted. "Xiao Yin is better off without him. He doesn''t even know how to distinguish between pigs and pearls. Instead of ming me for causing his girlfriend''s suicide, why didn''t he me you for being such a useless father-inw? He clearly doesn''t know right from wrong. And even daring to threaten Xiao Yin..."


    Lu Shen picked up a pair of gloves from a metal tray and pulled it on. Reaching for a scalpel, he studied the intact flesh of Wen Zedong, deciding on where to cut. The man in theboratory gown respectfully backed off.


    "Lu Shen, you bastard, I already told you everything I know! Let me go! Bastard, let me go!"


    Lu Shen approached the other end of the metal bed where Wen Zedongy, tapping the t surface of the scalpel on his forehead.


    He clicked his tongue. "Too noisy."


    The foul smell of ammonia permeated the air. Wen Zedong had lost control of his dder.


    Until the sun rose up in the sky, the screamsing from the basement never stopped.


    But Wen Zedong was still kept alive.


    [1] 14K: Triad group based on Hong Kong but internationally active. It''s the secondrgest Triad group in the world.