Courtyard House: First, kill the hypocrites, leave none alive.

The next morning, the kitchen of the steel rolling mill canteen was in complete chaos.

At 5:30 a.m., Old Ma, the canteen manager, arrived on time, only to find the stove for cooking porridge cold and the work surface for kneading dough and steaming buns empty. His face darkened, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Shazhu! Where's Shazhu?"

Aunt Wang, who was helping out in the kitchen, ran in from outside: "Director, Zhuzi hasn't arrived yet."

"Not here yet?" Old Ma glanced at the clock on the wall; it was 5:40. "He's usually here by now! What's going on today?"

Aunt Wang shook her head: "I don't know. I didn't see him come to work yesterday. I thought you gave him the day off."

Old Ma's heart skipped a beat. Yesterday? Sha Zhu didn't come yesterday either? How come he didn't know?

He strode to the locker room and opened Sha Zhu's locker. It was a mess inside: a few tattered work clothes, a worn-out hat, and an aluminum lunchbox. The locker wasn't locked, and everything was there; it didn't look like someone was trying to run away.

But the person never showed up.

An ominous premonition welled up in Old Ma's heart. Although Sha Zhu had a bad temper, he was never careless about his work and would never skip work without a reason. Especially at this critical juncture—Chen Feng was lurking outside, so many people had died in the yard, and Sha Zhu was one of Chen Feng's targets—how could he possibly miss work for two days in a row?

Unless... something bad happens.

Old Ma didn't dare to think any further. He closed the cabinet, quickly walked out of the cafeteria, and headed towards the office building.

The office of Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide was filled with smoke. Li Huaide, in his early fifties, with slicked-back hair and a crisp Zhongshan suit, sat behind his desk reading documents. Hearing the knock, he didn't even look up: "Come in."

Old Ma pushed the door open and came in, wiping the sweat from his forehead: "Director Li, something's happened."

Li Huaide then raised his head, his brows furrowing slightly: "What is it?"

"Silly Zhu...Silly Zhu hasn't come to work for two days," Old Ma said.

"Sha Zhu?" Li Huaide thought for a moment, "The cook in the cafeteria?"

"Yes, it's him," Old Ma said. "He didn't come yesterday, and he didn't come today either. I sent people to look for him at his place, but he's not here."

Li Huaide put down the documents, leaned back in his chair, and tapped his fingers lightly on the table. He remembered Sha Zhu; he was a good cook, but had a terrible temper. He often argued with people in the cafeteria and had even talked back to the managers. If it weren't for the fact that he was indeed quite good at cooking, he would have fired him long ago.

"Did you ask for leave?" Li Huaide asked.

"No," Old Ma shook his head, "They just disappeared without a word."

Li Huaide's brow furrowed even more. This fool Zhu was utterly outrageous. The factory was at its busiest time right now, and they had a dinner party tonight that required him to cook. To malfunction at this crucial moment was just adding to the chaos.

"Did you go to the courtyard house to ask?" Li Huaide asked.

"Not yet," Old Ma said. "I'll send someone over right away."

"Go quickly," Li Huaide waved his hand, "find out what happened. If it's unexcused absence, handle it according to factory rules—fire him if necessary!"

"Yes, yes, yes," Old Ma agreed repeatedly and left the office.

Back in the canteen, Old Ma called over two young kitchen helpers: "You two, go to the courtyard house in the south of the city and find Sha Zhu. Ask his family where he is."

The two kitchen helpers exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat frightened. A courtyard house in the south of the city? Wasn't that the place where so many people had recently died?

"Boss, how about... we call the police?" a kitchen helper whispered.

"Why call the police!" Old Ma glared at him. "We haven't even found the person yet, why call the police? Go ask around first, find out the details first."

The two kitchen helpers dared not say anything more and rode their bicycles out of the factory gate.

The atmosphere in the courtyard was so oppressive it felt like it was about to rain.

Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui gathered in the deaf old woman's room, their faces increasingly grim. Sha Zhu hadn't returned for a day and a night, and there was no news of him. They all knew in their hearts that Sha Zhu was likely dead, his fate grim.

But no one dared to say it out loud.

The deaf old woman sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), her fingers twirling prayer beads, her eyes closed but her brow furrowed. She knew that Sha Zhu wouldn't be coming back, but she couldn't admit it. Admitting it would mean the hiring of a murderer would be completely exposed, and they would all have to bear responsibility.

"Grandma," Yan Bugui whispered, "the factory... they'll definitely come knocking. What should we say?"

The deaf old woman opened her eyes, glanced at the three people, and said, "What are you saying? Just say you don't know. How would you know where Sha Zhu, a perfectly healthy man, went?"

"But..." Liu Haizhong hesitated, "What if the factory calls the police?"

"Call the police?" The deaf old woman sneered. "Shazhu was absent without leave, not missing. The factory usually won't call the police; at most, they'll handle it internally and fire him. Who would make a fuss over a cook?"

She has a point. Sha Zhu was just an ordinary worker. If he was absent for two days, the factory would at most send someone to inquire, and if they couldn't find him, they would treat it as absenteeism, dismiss him, or give him a major demerit. Who would have thought he was already dead?

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Is anyone there? I'm from the steel mill canteen, looking for Sha Zhu!"

The four people in the room paled. They'd arrived; the factory had come knocking.

The deaf old woman gave him a wink, and Yi Zhonghai nodded, telling the old woman to open the door.

An older woman opened the gate to the courtyard, where two young workers stood, dressed in steel mill uniforms, looking somewhat nervous.

"Comrade, who are you looking for?" an older woman asked.

"We're looking for Sha Zhu," one of the workers said. "He's the cook in our canteen. He hasn't come to work for two days, so we've come to ask him."

"Silly Zhu," an older woman said dramatically, "he hasn't been home for the past two days, and we don't know where he went."

"Not home?" another worker asked. "When did he leave?"

"He went out the morning before yesterday," the older woman said, repeating what the deaf old woman had taught her. "He said he was going to take care of some things and would be back soon. But he hasn't come back, and we don't know where he went."

The two workers looked at each other, bewildered. What kind of answer was that? "Off on business?" "On what business?" "Where did you go?"

"Did he say where he was going?" another worker asked.

"No," the older woman shook her head, "He's a quiet guy, he never tells us anything."

The two workers had no choice but to say, "Then let's wait for him to come back and tell him to go to work at the factory as soon as possible. If he doesn't go, he'll be fired."

"Okay, okay, I'll definitely pass it on," the woman readily agreed.

After seeing the two workers off, the woman closed the door and went back into the deaf old woman's house.

"They're gone," she said. "They didn't suspect anything because they said what the old lady taught them."

The four people in the room breathed a sigh of relief, but the weight on their hearts remained. Sha Zhu wasn't coming back; this couldn't be kept secret anytime sooner or later. If the factory really called the police, and the police investigated, finding the three corpses at the local temple and then Sha Zhu's disappearance, they would definitely connect the dots.

Then they'll be finished.

"Grandma," Yi Zhonghai began, "this matter... is probably not easy to keep secret."

The deaf old woman glanced at him: "You have to keep it a secret, even if it's hard to hide it. Remember this: Sha Zhu went out on his own, and we don't know where he went. We know nothing else. If anyone lets anything slip, the whole hospital will be implicated."

Her words were harsh, and all three of them lowered their heads.

Yes, now they're in the same boat, and neither can betray the other.

In the steel mill canteen, Old Ma frowned after listening to the reports from the two kitchen helpers.

"Does Shazhu's family not know where he went?" he asked.

"I don't know," said a kitchen helper. "His family said he went out to run errands the morning before yesterday and hasn't come back. When they asked him what he was doing, he wouldn't say."

Old Ma's ominous premonition grew stronger. Running errands? What kind of errands could keep him away for two days? Not even a word?

He thought for a moment, then went to Li Huaide's office.

"Director Li, I've asked around," Old Ma said. "Shazhu's family doesn't know where he went either. They just said he went out on business and hasn't come back yet."

Li Huaide was looking at the menu when he heard this. He looked up and asked, "Taking care of something? What kind of thing?"

"I don't know," Old Ma shook his head. "His family members can't say for sure either."

Li Huaide put down the menu, tapping his fingers on the table. This was a bit strange. Although Sha Zhu had a bad temper, he wasn't the unreliable type. Even if something really happened, he should have asked for leave or asked someone to pass on a message. His disappearance without a word was highly unusual.

"Who else is in his family?" Li Huaide asked.

"A younger sister," Old Ma said, "lives in a courtyard house in the south of the city, with the other neighbors in the courtyard."

Li Huaide thought for a moment and said, "Wait one more day. If they don't come by tomorrow, treat it as absenteeism and fire them. Let Erzhao take over the evening's hospitality duties."

"Yes." Old Ma nodded.

He knew that Li Huaide wasn't planning to investigate further. And rightly so; he was just a cook, not worth making a fuss about. So many people had died, the police were too busy to care about a missing cook.

But Old Ma still felt uneasy. He remembered the recent rumors circulating at the factory—several people had died in the courtyard house south of the city, all killed by a fugitive named Chen Feng. Sha Zhu happened to live in that courtyard; could it be…?

He dared not think any further.

In the small room behind the restaurant, the room was dark, with only a little moonlight coming in through the window. He checked the time: three in the morning.

can not fall asleep.

He got out of bed, walked to the window, and looked at the dark street outside. There was no one on the street, only a few streetlights emitting a dim yellow light, illuminating the road surface in a stark white.

Those people ruined his whole family; they deserve to die. Leave not a single one alive.

He pulled a gun and a knife from the crack in the wall and began to examine them. The gun was new, the magazine was full, seven bullets. The knife was also very sharp; a light touch could cut through skin.

He needs to prepare for the next step.

Sha Zhu is dead; the people in the courtyard must be terrified. But they won't give up; they'll probably hire more people or come up with another plan.

He needs to hurry.

Next up, the deaf old lady.

That old woman, she usually looks kind and gentle, but she's so ruthless behind the scenes. She hired someone to kill her.