Underworld Base
Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. The sound of liquid dripping onto the cement floor could be heard throughout the entire underground.
The air was thick, almost suffocating, a heavy stench of blood and death lingering in the atmosphere. There was a thick film of undistinguishable grime on the walls, dark red blots on the metal bars, and a thick layer of dust in every corner. Occasionally, moans and groans of pain bounced off of the walls. If one was to listen closely, muffled screams of agony could be heard coming from the opposite end of a long hallway drowned in darkness.
When two men strolled through the entrance, the people trembled and shivered in fear. The temperature dropped lower than it was before and each step they took echoed down the hallways, silencing the prisoners who'd rather hold back their pained cries than offend the man.
When the men passed through the few cells in the room, the people in them scrambled to the corners of their cells, huddling and shaking. They held their haggard breath and could barely swallow their own saliva due to how much they were shaking.
The people here would much rather prefer death than stay in their cells for another day. They'd rather suffer in the Eighteen Layers of Diyu [1] than breathe another second here. Each layer of Diyu brimmed with pain, and with each lower level, it would only get worse. But at least, that place was better than the unpredictable suffering they had to endure here.
It wasn't like these people didn't deserve it. The people locked away in the Underworld base were the worst of the worst. They were monsters who had committed crimes so unspeakable, their only option was to rot in here, forever taunted by the stench of their dying jail mates.
The people let out a terrified shriek when someone spoke. Their hearts thumped rapidly within their chests in fear that they would be dragged back into the torture room.
"Boss, Mr. Chen, you're here." A man dressed in black clothes from head to toe bowed his head in respect.
Yang Feng apathetically looked at his subordinate in front of him, his eyes a swirling pool of icy darkness. Staring into his eyes was like staring into a black hole. No life or soul could be found within it. His stony face was rigid and unreadable.
"After two weeks, the man has finally decided he will confess." The man informed Yang Feng of the latest details.
Yang Feng wordlessly nodded. He turned his body and walked down the long hallway that led to the torture room. Two armed men were guarding it, their eyes and bodies on high alert. Upon seeing their leader, they respectfully bent their heads.
"Boss," They greeted him, opening the thick iron door for Yang Feng. Suddenly, the disgusting smell of blood and human waste wafted through. The guards shuddered at the smell, but Yang Feng stood there completely unfazed by it.
The room was horrific and covered in blood and some indistinguishable substance. There was a man tied up by his hands in the middle of the room. His body so mutilated, it was hard to even think he was human. Different tools of torture lay at his feet, but there were many more sprawled out on a table in front of him.
A young man, no more than twenty-two, turned around at the sound of the door opening. He was originally dressed in a bright mustard hoodie, but the cloth was now so stained by blood, one would think he walked in here with a maroon one. His eyes were crazy, but his face was surprisingly very handsome. He looked much younger than his age due to his short and lean stature.
"Big Boss, Mr. Chen, you're here!" He hopped over to Yang Feng, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
He pointed towards the jumble of flesh in the middle of the room. "Big Boss, do you like it? Do you like my masterpiece?" His voice had a higher pitch than most men, and he sounded too young to be an adult.
"This one was really fun to play with," He giddly spoke up, a crazed and sinister grin on his face. When the light shone upon him, even the guards outside the door trembled in fear.
This man, Guo Sheng, wasn't someone people could trifle with. He was insane and wouldn't hesitate at the idea of skinning a man alive or brutally mutilating them. As long as it made Yang Feng happy, he would do it.
Yang Feng examined Guo Sheng's work on the human scum that dared to capture his woman. Bits of his skin was missing, most likely from Guo Sheng's obsession with cutting perfect squares out of human skin. There were stab marks all over his body. Three of the man's fingers were on the floor, accompanied by the torn off nails.
"Well, Big Boss, do you like it? Do you?" He gleefully asked Yang Feng again. Guo Sheng behaved like a child awaiting the praise of his parent. If there was anyone that could keep this crazy man in control, it was the King of the Underworld himself.
"Do you?" He continued to pester and ask, like a dog wagging his tail at his owner.
"That depends." Yang Feng turned to him, easily towering over Guo Sheng. "Is he willing to talk?"
Guo Sheng eagerly nodded his head. "Yes, he is! He'll say anything you want!" He picked up a screwdriver and pointed it at the man, which made him shriek in fear.
"W-w-what w-would you l-like me t-to say?" The man stammered, shaking so much on the spot, his chains were rattling.
"Haha! Big Boss, do you see that? Just pointing something at him will make him confess!" Guo Sheng was still waiting for Yang Feng's compliment. It was all he wanted in this world — acknowledgment from the man that saved him from Hell and brought him to Guo Sheng's idea of "Heaven."
"So, do you like it?"
Yang Feng took off his heavy fur coat and handed it to Chen Gaonan, who respectfully took it. With his black leather gloves on, Yang Feng picked up another tool. It was the same butterfly dagger they tried to use on his woman.
"Depends on the result," Yang Feng muttered.
Guo Sheng glowered at the dangling man. That useless pest, he better do as his Big Boss says! If this vermin made him look bad, Guo Sheng would make sure the man would be fingerless.
Yang Feng twirled the blade in his hand. Without warning, he tossed it at the man, sending him screaming in fear even though the knife barely grazed his skin.
"I-I'll confess! I'll s-say a-anything y-you want me to!" He wailed, voice still hoarse from screaming in agony the entire time he was down here.
"P-please!" He was shaking so much that Guo Sheng couldn't help but giggle. What a pathetic sight. When he was dragged in here, he was so confident and stubborn. But look at him now! A crying mess!
Yang Feng's chilling smirk was enough to send the man shivering on the spot. "If you cooperate properly, I will ensure a swift death. If not..." He tilted his head to Guo Sheng. "Well, I'm sure you already know the outcome." He chuckled, the sound blood-curdling and hair-raising dark.
Chen Gaonan immediately pushed a clean chair into the room, a few feet away from the hanging man. Yang Feng sat down and crossed one leg over the other, leaning his cheek on one propped up arm. "Let's get started."
He picked up a dart, swirling it in his hand. "Why did you kidnap my woman?" He asked, his eyes growing darker by the second when he remembered the bruises found on her body. For that alone, his fingers itched to pummel the man onto the ground.
"W-w-we're o-only supposed to beat her! Nothing else! Just beat her!" The man stumbled over his words, sounding frantic and fearful.
"Why were you sent to beat her?"
"B-because someone hired us to!"
"Who?"
"I-I don't k-know-" Wrong answer.
Unhappy at the response, Yang Feng frowned. Seeing his Big Boss displeased, Guo Sheng's expression turned dark. The childish smile on his face fell. That piece of sh*t! He's really in for it now!