Excessive ferocity due to caution

Early in the morning, Zhao Yi got up comfortably. The first thing he did was to warm his palms with a red candle, then wash his face. He went to the supermarket, bought the things he needed for the day, and then went to the office to start his workday.

Not long after, Zhao Yi's phone rang.

It was Meng Cunhua calling. After a night of reflection, he seemed to have calmed down considerably, and his tone was very calm when he spoke to Zhao Yi.

"Have you rested well?"

Zhao Yi stared at the ticking clock on his desk and smiled:

"Thank you for your understanding last night, Manager Meng. I had a good rest."

Meng Cunhua asked:

"You did Fang Jie's work for him yesterday?"

Zhao Yi:

"Yes."

"I did it on the spur of the moment."

A glint flashed in Meng Cunhua's eyes, and he said coldly:

"Do you realize how much trouble your 'casual' act will cause us?"

He deliberately emphasized the word "we" in his pronunciation, intending to tell Zhao Yi that if something happened... you wouldn't be able to escape either.

Zhao Yi didn't mind much. He got up and left the office, went outside, and lit a cigarette on the deserted balcony.

"If that's the case, you should have told me last night not to do it."

"Now that something's happened, you're blaming me for everything. That's not fair, is it?"

Meng Cunhua didn't dwell on the matter; he only said:

"Last night, he already threatened me with this, demanding bribes... If this gets out to the company's whistleblower department and they pull up the surveillance footage, we're both finished!"

Zhao Yi tapped the cigarette ash on the balcony, watching it drift away in the wind:

"You mean you want me to help you get rid of Fang Jie, right?"

On the other end of the phone, Meng Cunhua's lips curled up slightly, but his tone remained low:

"Yes."

"Although I wield great power, I am subject to many restrictions, making it inconvenient for me to take direct action."

"I'll find an opportunity to lure him out today. You stay in the shadows and take care of Fang Jie."

Zhao Yi didn't agree immediately. He pretended to think about it for a moment and then asked:

"The company has rules against fighting. If I kill Fang Jie, I'll die too, right?"

"Steward Meng, won't you offer a brief explanation?"

Meng Cunhua seemed to have anticipated this:

"The company does not allow employees to fight... but this rule is a little different from the others; unless there are eyewitnesses..."

Before he could finish his nonsense, Zhao Yi interrupted him, saying:

"Do you even believe such nonsense yourself?"

Meng Cunhua fell silent, about to explain further, when Zhao Yi suddenly changed the subject:

"However, if you really want to get rid of Fang Jie, I do have a way that will leave no room for doubt..."

Upon hearing this, Meng Cunhua's eyes lit up considerably:

"What method?"

Zhao Yi named a place:

"The rooftop of the scrap metal collection building."

Meng Cunhua sneered:

"He's not stupid. After threatening me yesterday, he'll definitely be wary of me. Now, he won't go to any place I ask him to meet unless he sees me in person."

Zhao Yi replied:

"So you'll take him with you."

"I'll be there too, and I'll take the opportunity to discuss business with you."

Meng Cunhua scoffed:

"You want to kill me?"

Zhao Yi:

"Now that I've been to the junkyard, I know what you're afraid of... That thing is only active for three hours a day, and you can't go up to the rooftop, otherwise I wouldn't have survived that night..."

"As long as you go when it's asleep, it will be perfectly safe."

Meng Cunhua:

"Now that it's safe, how are you going to kill him?"

Zhao Yi explained with a smile:

"That's why we're going to the rooftop..."

"Fighting is not allowed in the company, but if... he accidentally falls off the roof and dies, we can't be blamed."

Upon hearing this, Meng Cunhua's eyes darted around.

"OK."

The main reason he agreed so readily was that, as the manager, he possessed a special prop provided by the building that could ward off ghostly attacks.

That prop was hanging around his neck.

It is a pendant.

Inside, there is a drop of blood filled with intense resentment.

This blood comes from the axe-wielding man.

Any ghost weaker than the Axe Man could not harm Meng Cunhua. And in that dilapidated, damp junkyard building, there was only one thing that could harm him.

That was the rusty broken knife that the heartless man held in his hand.

As long as the heartless man doesn't make a move, he can come and go as he pleases.

...

As dusk fell, the red glow of the sunset burned half the sky, and scorching waves of heat swept towards the ground.

After having dinner, Zhao Yi went to the outside of the scrap metal collection building, carefully checked the time, and waited for the other two to arrive.

They were also on time.

Upon meeting, the three of them all smiled simultaneously.

"Brother Zhao is here too?!"

Fang Jie, looking excited and without the slightest fear, stepped forward and warmly shook hands with Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi patted his shoulder and whispered:

"You had a misunderstanding with Steward Meng before. Now that everyone is here, it's a good opportunity to clear things up together."

Fang Jie's expression immediately became much more solemn:

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"It's definitely a misunderstanding!"

He turned his head, looked at Meng Cunhua with a forced smile, and his face was full of sincerity:

"Manager, I had some misunderstandings about you before, but don't worry... I removed all those misunderstandings from my phone this morning, and now I feel much clearer!"

Upon hearing Fang Jie's words, Meng Cunhua's smile suddenly froze considerably.

"What do you mean?"

Fang Jie grinned and replied:

"It means... if I die, the contents of that phone will be sent to the company's whistleblower department, and they will review the surveillance footage in detail."

Meng Cunhua's expression changed slightly, and his gaze sharpened considerably:

"I never realized you were so clever."

Fang Jie smiled:

"Before, I didn't have anything on me, so I had to hide it... Speaking of which, I have to thank Brother Zhao, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to stand up straight and talk to you so quickly."

He glanced at Zhao Yi, who always had a faint smile on his face.

"Alright, let's go upstairs and talk..."

"There is no interference there."

After Zhao Yi finished speaking, he handed Fang Jie a lit candle and told him to hold it.

"Could I have a cigarette?"

Fang Jie walked behind Zhao Yi and saw Zhao Yi light a cigarette. He wanted one too.

He doesn't smoke, but asking Zhao Yi for a cigarette at this moment is a way of asserting his power and telling Zhao Yi that the thing on that phone could also kill him!

Zhao Yi glanced back at Fang Jie, took a cigarette from the pack, and placed it in front of Fang Jie.

"You want this?"

Fang Jie took it and casually put it in his pocket.

"Alright, Brother Zhao, lead the way?"

Zhao Yi exchanged a glance with him, smiled, and walked to the front.

Meng Cunhua was the last to walk.

He carefully surveyed his surroundings, ready to flee at any moment.

Although Zhao Yi had also personally entered the area and was unlikely to encounter any trouble, Meng Cunhua remained cautious. A long time ago, he had personally entered the area once and was nearly cleaved in two by the Heartless Man. He still bore 16 knife scars on his body!

The three of them stepped over a pile of old, rubbish and walked onto the rooftop.

The door wasn't locked.

When we arrived here, the rosy clouds had faded and were gradually turning into stars and the moon.

"This is the second time."

Zhao Yi threw away the cigarette butt, stomped it out, and said with a smile.

"That diary, I got it here."

Fang Jie glanced at Zhao Yi curiously, then looked at Meng Cunhua, and couldn't help but say:

"It seems Brother Zhao also possesses some extraordinary 'treasure'..."

Zhao Yi glanced at Fang Jie and put her index finger to her lips.

"Shh..."

Fang Jie frowned, wanting to say something, but suddenly felt a strange chill coming from behind him.

He turned his head and saw a pair of pale, bloodless hands resting on his shoulders...

PS: First update 2300 words