He Chengfeng had only been asleep for a short while when he was suddenly awakened by the sound of brakes.

Looking up, I realized that the car had already arrived at the hospital entrance, but it had been stopped by someone.

The person who stopped the car was a large, overweight Chinese youth.

He had a thick beard, bulging muscles, and a tall stature, but his eyes revealed a cunning glint.

Shen Lijuan frowned, looking very wary, and subconsciously reached for her gun.

"Don't rush, let's see what happens," He Chengfeng reassured her, rolled down the car window, and asked the young man, "Brother, what country are you from? Is there something you need?"

"Hey, hello bro," the tall young man leaned forward, bent over, rubbed his hands together, and looked at the two of them. His sly little eyes lit up as he asked with a smile, "Are you two going to the hospital?"

He Chengfeng nodded and said, "Yes, what's wrong?"

The young man smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Stekwidvich, you can just call me Lao A. I'm an international student studying medicine, and I happen to be doing my internship at this hospital."

He Chengfeng asked curiously, "So, what's the matter?"

Prisoner A looked at He Chengfeng and laughed, "Brother, are you going to the hospital to treat your injuries? Let me tell you, you'd better not go. I'm interning at this hospital, so I know the situation here all too well. Those doctors don't know how to treat illnesses at all, and they charge ridiculously high fees. They can rip you off for thousands of dollars with just a simple bandage."

He Chengfeng frowned and said, "Then what should we do? My wound is quite large and needs to be treated."

Upon hearing this, Prisoner A smiled smugly and said, "Easy, just come to me. I'll take you to a private clinic for treatment. It'll be clean, hygienic, and the service will be top-notch. It'll only cost five hundred dollars per session. What do you think?"

"Sorry, we have no interest in those illegal clinics!" Shen Lijuan frowned and refused immediately upon hearing this.

These words made Prisoner A's face darken, and he frowned, saying, "Young lady, don't bite the hand that feeds you. I'm introducing you to connections because I want what's best for you."

Shen Lijuan frowned, opened her mouth as if to retort, but He Chengfeng reached out and pressed her down.

He Chengfeng smiled and looked at Prisoner A, saying, "Brother is right. Since we can save money, why go to the hospital and get ripped off? I'm willing to accept your kindness."

Upon hearing this, Lao A smiled, quickly opened the car door, and said to He Chengfeng, "Brother, you're the most sensible one. Come on, come with me, I'll take you to the clinic."

"Chengfeng..." Shen Lijuan grabbed He Chengfeng's hand with some concern, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

She clearly didn't trust these underground clinics.

He Chengfeng smiled, took his coat and put it on, then put his revolver away before reassuring her, "Don't worry, my injuries aren't serious, I'll be fine even without treatment. My contact with this person is just to leave a way out in advance, it might come in handy later."

Hearing this, Shen Lijuan nodded helplessly and got out of the car with him.

"It's not far, we'll be there soon, stay close."

When the two got out of the car, Prisoner A quickly turned on a flashlight and walked into a side alley to lead the way.

He Chengfeng held Shen Lijuan's hand and followed closely behind Prison A.

However, the three of them walked through the alley and turned into a dilapidated slum.

Shen Lijuan looked around and unconsciously frowned, hugging He Chengfeng's arm even tighter.

After walking a little further, a strong and pungent stench suddenly wafted through the air.

He Chengfeng and Shen Lijuan both frowned upon smelling the odor, feeling somewhat nauseous.

"Brother, what's with this smell?" He Chengfeng couldn't help but ask A.

Prisoner A stopped, raised his flashlight, shone it on the porch of a dilapidated house next to him, and laughed, "It's nothing, someone just hung a candied apple here."

"Candied apples? What are those?" He Chengfeng was completely puzzled.

He walked forward and followed the beam of his flashlight to the porch of the house. He saw a dark object hanging on the porch, about the size of a watermelon, but he didn't know what it was.

"Buzzing—"

At this moment, the three of them were about ten meters away from the porch, but they could vaguely hear the sound of flies buzzing around.

"What exactly is that thing? It's all black, how can it be called an apple?" Shen Lijuan frowned deeply, hugged He Chengfeng's arm tightly, and leaned close to his side, looking very uncomfortable.

"You wouldn't understand," Prison A chuckled, put away the flashlight, and continued walking forward.

"Have you ever eaten a peeled apple?" he asked the two as he walked away.

He Chengfeng nodded: "Who hasn't eaten this?"

"Some shops coat peeled apples with icing sugar, making them white and sweeter," explained Prisoner A.

"Like a donut?" Shen Lijuan asked curiously.

Prisoner A nodded and said, "Yes, it's as sweet as a donut."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "That dark thing we just saw was also a candied apple, but it wasn't made from apples; it was made from human heads."

"A head?" Shen Lijuan was startled and gripped He Chengfeng's hand even tighter.

He Chengfeng grasped her hand in return, signaling her not to be nervous.

Shen Lijuan gave a wry smile, focused on walking, and stopped talking.

Lao A showed no sign of shutting up and began to explain with great interest.

"That's right, it's a human head," he let out a long breath, stopped in his tracks, and then took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed one to He Chengfeng.

The two lit cigarettes and walked while smoking.

"Many people think that foreign countries are paradise, but they don't know that they are actually cannibalistic societies." Prisoner A exhaled a puff of smoke, turned to look at Shen Lijuan, and laughed, "Take, for example, in this country of Bashce, there are many 'runners' who have been tricked by black people and brought here as losers. After arriving here, they have no jobs, no education, and can't speak the language. How do you think they're supposed to survive?"

Prisoner A laughed, "If they dared to steal and rob, and had that kind of ambition, they wouldn't need to come out here. They could survive anywhere in China, and even become very rich. Unfortunately, they don't have that ability, so they can only borrow money from the local gangs to tide them over."

He Chengfeng nodded: "That's one way, at least we can survive."

Prisoner A shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. Gang interest rates are very high, they can increase tenfold in a year. And if you can't pay back the money on time, you'll be turned into a candied apple."

"I still don't understand what the connection is between a human head and a candied apple," Shen Lijuan said, expressing her question.

Prisoner A stopped and turned to look at the two men, smiling bitterly. "Those gangs are extremely brutal. They'll cut off the debtor's head, peel off the scalp, then pull it out with a rope and hang it on the debtor's door. Baysea is near the sea, warm and humid, teeming with mosquitoes and flies. Those flies lay their eggs on that head very quickly, and the surface becomes covered with a layer of tiny white eggs, densely packed, layer upon layer, looking like an apple coated in icing..."

"vomit--"

Before Lao A could finish speaking, Shen Lijuan covered her mouth and vomited.

The situation described in Prison A is so disgusting that it's impossible not to feel nauseous.

Of course, as a police officer, Shen Lijuan had seen bloodshed before, so logically she wouldn't have reacted so strongly.

The reason she vomited was mainly because she had just seen the so-called sugared apples and smelled their foul odor, which made it impossible for her to control her nausea.

Upon seeing Shen Lijuan vomit in disgust, Lao A's fat face revealed a sly and mischievous expression.

He squinted his small eyes and chuckled with a wicked grin, "Actually, the sugar-coated apples are just the first stage. In the later stages, this stuff isn't actually that disgusting. Because it's completely covered in flies. Just like you saw, the flies swarm together, forming a black barrier around it, making it impossible to see what's inside. This is the paradise that people yearn for."

He Chengfeng frowned and said, "Doesn't anyone clean that thing up? It's just been hanging there all this time?"

Prisoner A nodded: "Yes, it's always hanging there. Anyone who dares to take it down beforehand will face retaliation from the gang. That thing has to stay hanging there until it's completely dried out before a body collector will come and deal with it."

At this point, Prison A looked at He Chengfeng with a hint of smugness: "I am the body collector of St. Mary's Hospital. That apple was also within my jurisdiction. I estimate that I can harvest it in another half month."

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