The light in the search room was not too bright, and the rudder-shaped black iron chandelier hovered precariously above the head.
Ed opened his arms and cooperated with the search honestly. After all, he didn't have anything to worry about.
Mr. Frank on the side picked up the cigarettes found. A finger-long roll of newspaper, wrinkled from being carried in a pocket.
"Why smoke such low-quality cigarettes?"
He squeezed the cigarette with some disgust, and the fragile paper suddenly shattered to pieces.
"I don't have any spare money, so I have to make do with what I have." Ed shrugged.
Cigarettes sold in the market usually cost 2-3 pence for ten sticks, but hand-rolled cigarettes like this can be purchased for just 1 pence for twenty sticks.
"Smoke me first." Frank, the informant, took out a pack from his jacket pocket and handed it to him. The five-pointed star logo on the cigarette pack flashed in attractive bright blue:
"Work hard, and I'll make money from you in the future. I'm going back first, Andro, and I'll contact you if you need anything."
Ai De understood it, took the cigarette box and put it in his pocket, saying thank you again.
The scar-faced young man was about to speak when the voices of other members came from outside the door:
"Brother Andro, the trial is over. Do you want to take a look?"
Andro nodded and waved, and a man who had been tortured into a human shape was dragged up. He was bruised and unconscious, and his pupils were reflected in a leaden gray color - the color of lost hope.
"Is it worth risking your life for a small bottle of honey?" Andro looked at the other person and said with a evil smile, "Take care of yourself and send him to Room 0 later."
The man's already sluggish face turned even paler, and his body was shaking constantly. It wasn't until he opened his mouth that Ed realized why he didn't beg for mercy - it turned out that his tongue was gone.
It wasn't until the thugs dragged the man away that Andro raised his legs on the stool and spoke slowly:
"Don't imitate him, Johnny. This business requires not only cleverness and strength, but also loyalty and duty."
"...Now, I need you to take over his job and be a honey collector. How about it? Do you have the guts to do it?"
"Of course! I will go through fire and water without hesitation."
As a young man of his age should, Ed agreed: "But boss, I've never done this before, so I don't know if I can do it well."
"I will take you to observe it first. As for how much you can learn, it depends on your ability."
Andro smiled with satisfaction, got up and took Ed to the "underground beehive":
It is divided into rooms 0-3, a total of four rooms. Except for the steel door on the front, the scene inside can only be seen through the observation window of the control room——
In Room 3, on a squirming hill of flesh and blood with holes, swarms of bees were moving in and out, each one half the size of a fist. Easily identified by its blood-orange leopard-spotted markings, the bloodweaver wasp is a bloodweaver.
This fleshy hill is made of several live pigs spliced together: the limbs are twisted and rearranged, and scarlet wax flows and sticks to the skin, forming a honeycomb of holes, looking like a disgusting piece of cheese.
What makes people even more uncomfortable is that these pigs made into beehives are still alive, struggling and squirming unconsciously, with liquefied flesh and blood constantly seeping out of the holes, like a scene in purgatory.
Oh my god...
Although he had learned about the habits of the Bloodweaver Bee from the information and illustrations given by Mr. Eaton, Ed could not help but feel a chill.
Andro pulled the lever, the large refrigerator roared, and the evaporator gradually lowered the temperature of the air.
When the temperature indicator reaches 20°C, the activity of the bee colony gradually becomes sluggish and sluggish; when the temperature indicator drops to 10°C, they completely lose their vitality and hide in their nests, no longer active.
Then, the steel door opened. A honey gatherer wearing cotton and iron armor entered the room pushing a cart, which contained tied and knocked-out live pigs and jars of ordinary honey.
I saw him kicking the live pig to the ground, holding a machete in one hand and an iron bucket in the other. Cut about 1/3 of the meat from the edge of the honeycomb and put it into a bucket, leaving the ordinary honey and leaving in a hurry.
After being refined, these pieces of meat will turn into precious blood honey. The whole process was extremely quick, taking less than fifteen minutes.
"How about it? This job is not difficult, but it requires a quick hand and a quick eye. Running the refrigerator for too long will hurt these delicate little bees, so we must solve it quickly. Do you understand?"
Andro looked at the hive of flesh and blood with interest, as if he were appreciating a sculpture at an art exhibition.
"Understood."
"I understand, just change your clothes. You are capable, I will make it a little more difficult for you."
The thugs brought the same style of cotton armor, and the metal grille was somewhat similar to the protective gear used in sword fighting. After putting it on, Ed suddenly felt much bulkier. It seemed that it was not easy to complete the task within 15 minutes.
He changed his clothes and stood at the door of Room 0. Soon someone delivered "goods" to him——
It was the man who was brutally beaten before. At this moment, he was being tied up with five flowers, and his eyes were filled with sadness and despair.
"This is……?"
Although he knew that too much words would lead to mistakes, Ed couldn't help but speak.
"This is the fate of a betrayer. This person wanted to secretly take out the collected blood honey, but now he is going to be used as raw material. Send him to Room 0 and collect some blood honey."
Andro smiled cruelly, as if humans and animals were no different to him:
"Remember, the refrigerator will stop working after 10 minutes, and the bee colony will gradually wake up after 20 minutes. It will take up to 25 minutes for them to fully wake up. At that time, in order to prevent them from running out, I will have to lock you in It’s inside…”
"Go on, Johnny, don't let me down..."
He opened the iron door, and the cold wind blew in his face.
Do you still have a choice?
I'm afraid not. If I say no, maybe I too will become part of the hive.
Ed steeled himself and pushed the cart into the hive.
Just a drug dealer, Ed, you have killed so many people, Rat King, Old George...and Mr. Quintu, you almost killed him too. Right now it's just another life.
He told himself this.
Unlike the other three hives, the hive in Room 0 was made by people. This is the highest grade and most expensive blood honey, a similar substance in flesh and blood that can stimulate human nerves to the greatest extent.
The smell of blood and sweet smell wafted towards him. He had seen ghouls, werewolves, and evil spirits, but the lump of flesh in front of him was ten times more twisted and hateful than all of them combined -
Several human faces were glued together with propolis, and only the whites of the eyes were bleeding. They were muttering incomprehensible words with their deformed and ferocious features.
The swollen internal organs have long been transformed into a paradise for bees and insects. They are alive, but life is worse than death. No one should have to endure such torture.
Ed felt blood pouring into his head, and his ears were buzzing uncontrollably.
He saw one of the bloody faces, with the skin peeled off, no nose, and one eyeball missing. And it seemed to have noticed Ed. It opened its huge mouth and seemed to want to make a sound, but it only spit out maggot-white bees.
Taking a step back, Ed decided to deal with the tied "raw materials" first, and he moved the man out of the car.
The half-dead man showed no resistance from beginning to end, but when Ed went to get the machete and iron bucket, he spoke:
"Please, kill me," the man begged.
I can not. The hive must be made of living people, and if I let you go, Andro will never let me go. Ed argued internally.
Seeing that Ed didn't say anything, the man squirmed and struggled in pain, like an earthworm that had been trampled on the street.
"Shut up!" Ed finally stepped on his erect neck, and the man fainted on the spot.
Andro would not be satisfied, he wanted to see the traitor suffer. What a fool I am.
The roar of the refrigerator has stopped. Ed knew time was running out.
So he raised his machete and struck it on the hive, and sweet blood spilled out. The faces groaned in pain, as if they still felt pain.
It's just a stopgap measure. This is for the Divine Adjustment Bureau and for these evils to be permanently destroyed.
He lied to himself, his mind spinning.
With another slash, large chunks of flesh and blood peeled off.
I have no choice but to do so. I must survive.
The air became hotter and hotter, and the surrounding sounds gradually faded away. He felt that his breathing became faster and shallower, the machete became sharper and sharper, and there was more and more flesh and blood in the bucket.
Finally, Ed filled the iron bucket and escaped before the bees woke up.
By now he was sweating profusely and his hands were shaking uncontrollably. He didn't know what was wrong with him.
Outside the iron gate, Andro clapped his hands, and the scar on his face penetrated the hypocritical smile:
"Welcome aboard, Johnny, you're one of us now."
