Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

Xiao Xie's eyes were still fixed on the surface of the molten iron.

Nothing could be seen there anymore, only golden-red lava churning, occasionally bubbling up with muffled "poof" sounds.

The person who just fell was like a drop of water falling into the ocean, leaving not even a ripple.

"Did you see who it was?" Old Li asked loudly.

Xiao Xie stammered, "It looks like...it looks like Liu Xiaoqiang from the security department, the bald guy, I recognize that bald guy..."

"Liu Xiaoqiang? What's he doing here? What are the security guards doing rummaging through the boiler room?"

"I don't know...maybe he wants to go swimming."

The workshop was in complete chaos.

Some people ran to pull the power switch, some shouted, and more people gathered around boiler number three.

Looking at the pot of molten iron still boiling from a safe distance, his face was filled with fear and disbelief.

"Quickly, go and call the rest of the security team!" Old Li suddenly remembered something, "And also, call the police! Call the police right now!"

A young worker stumbled and ran out, almost tripping at the workshop entrance.

Old Zhang, who was on the crane, had safely transferred the molten steel to the mold area. He climbed down the iron ladder and ran to Old Li's side:

"What happened? Someone really fell in?"

"Liu Xiaoqiang," Old Li's voice was dry, "that bald guy from the security department."

Old Zhang gasped.

He had dealt with Liu Xiaoqiang a few times. Although the man had a fiery temper, he was fairly fair in his dealings.

How could this be...?

"He jumped by himself?"

Old Zhang thought it was impossible as soon as he asked the question.

Liu Xiaoqiang is not the kind of person who would commit suicide, and even if he were to commit suicide, he wouldn't choose such a painful method.

"have no idea."

Xiao Xie interjected, his face still deathly pale, "I watched him... watched him fall from above, like... like he was thrown down."

"Nonsense!"

Old Li scolded, "Who can throw someone down from up there? Liu Xiaoqiang weighs 150 or 160 pounds, can you even lift him?"

"I really saw it, it was a dark shadow."

Xiao Xie panicked, "And...and he was screaming in agony before he fell, yelling things like 'you little beast,' 'may you die a horrible death'..."

The workers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Apart from the roar of the machines, there was only a depressing silence in the workshop.

Everyone remembered the rumors circulating in the factory recently.

The rumors about Lin Jianguo, who died here, the people who died one after another, and the evil spirits returning for revenge.

"Could it be..." an older worker whispered, "that it really is Lin Jianguo coming back..."

"Shut up!"

Old Li interrupted him sharply, "Feudal superstition! Let's wait for the security department and the police to arrive before we talk!"

But his words did not have the effect of calming people down.

The workers unconsciously took a few steps back, moving further away from the boiler that had swallowed Liu Xiaoqiang.

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo burst into tears, murmuring, "Is it you? Brother Li?"

Some people began to subconsciously look up at the ceiling, where all they saw were crisscrossing pipes and steel frames.

The air distorted slightly under the high temperature, casting swaying, uneasy shadows.

Ten minutes later, the security personnel arrived.

The one leading the group was the deputy section chief; the section chief was already dead.

Where are they?

As soon as Deputy Section Chief Zhao entered the workshop, he asked...

Old Li pointed to boiler number three and said with difficulty, "It's...it's inside. It's been there for almost ten minutes."

Deputy Section Chief Zhao's face twitched.

He walked to the boiler, and the heat wave hit him, forcing him to take a step back. Looking at the pot of boiling molten iron, he was speechless.

"Did you see clearly? Is it really Liu Xiaoqiang?"

After a long while, Deputy Section Chief Zhao finally asked.

"Xiao Xie saw it." Old Li pushed Xiao Xie forward.

Xiao Xie repeated what he had just said, "He was still shouting when he fell, yelling things like 'You little beast lied to me,' 'May you die a horrible death,'..."

Deputy Section Chief Zhao frowned more and more deeply, looked around, his gaze swept across the workers' faces, and finally settled on the ceiling.

"Did you see someone throw him down?" Deputy Section Chief Zhao asked, staring at Xiao Wang.

"I...I saw him fall from above, very fast, it didn't seem like he jumped by himself..."

Xiao Wang didn't dare to be certain, but his meaning was clear.

Deputy Section Chief Zhao remained silent for a long time.

Thinking of the recent atmosphere of panic in the security department, and the successive deaths of Section Chief Liu and Secretary Wang.

It is said that Director Yang's wife is everywhere, while Director Yang has disappeared, but his limbs are on the ground in his house.

"Let's wait for the police to arrive."

He only said one sentence in the end, then turned to the people behind him and said, "Protect the scene, no one should go near the boiler."

The police arrived in less than ten minutes.

The team was led by Director Li. He and Xiao Wang went back to call people to carry the eight bodies from the warehouse, but they were pulled over as soon as they got back to the gate of the steel mill.

It's said that another accident happened in the boiler room.

His first reaction was, "Here we go again?"

After hearing the description of the scene, Director Li's face turned extremely ugly.

"Another accident? Have there been too many accidents lately?"

Deputy Section Chief Zhao did not respond.

What could he possibly say?

Is it possible that a ghost is seeking revenge?

Did the deceased person cause someone else's death?

Forensic experts and technicians were busy around the boiler, but everyone knew it was just a formality.

If a person is soaked in molten iron at over 1,000 degrees Celsius for so long, even their bones will turn to ash. What evidence can be found then?

Director Li walked to the boiler and looked up at the high ceiling.

The workshop is 15 meters high, with crisscrossing steel frames and pipes on the ceiling, as well as some maintenance walkways.

If he was really thrown down, how strong would the killer have to be?

Or perhaps the killer wasn't human at all.

This thought sent a chill down Director Li's spine. He forced himself to stop thinking about such supernatural and fantastical things and instead asked Old Li, as a matter of routine:

"Has there been any unusual activity in the workshop recently?"

Old Li thought for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Director Li, there's something I'm not sure if I should say..."

"explain."

"These past two days... some workers have said they've heard strange noises in the workshop at night."

Old Li's voice lowered even further, "It sounded like...like someone was crying, and someone saw shadows moving on the ceiling, but when they looked up, there was nothing there."

The surrounding workers nodded in agreement and chimed in with their own opinions, eager to make an appearance.

Li Aiguo rambled on: "I heard it too, it happened yesterday during the night shift, around two or three in the morning."

"I saw it! A dark shadow, it flashed by!"

"Yes, yes, I thought it was a rat, but rats that big don't exist..."

Director Li frowned even more deeply, looking at Deputy Section Chief Zhao: "Doesn't your security department patrol at night?"

"Patrol."

Deputy Section Chief Zhao gave a wry smile, "But the factory area is so big, and we only have a few people. How can we possibly take care of every corner? Besides..."

He hesitated for a moment, but still said it: "And recently, because of what happened in the workers' residence at No. 95 courtyard house."

The factory was in a state of panic; night patrols were conducted in pairs, and no one dared to go alone.

Director Li suddenly fell silent.

My back was covered in cold sweat.

He always felt like there was a pair of eyes watching him; this was his intuition honed over many years as a police officer.

"Oh no! Oh no!! Chief, oh no!!"

……