Folk Horror tales

Ghost Employee（3）

8

Zhao Xuming killed Zhou Qiang!

To cover up the murder, he dumped Zhou Qiang’s body into the meat grinder during the quiet night shift to destroy all evidence. But he couldn’t let anyone find out the dead man was Zhou Qiang. So he used “Wang Dashan” in the HR system—the man who never showed up and only supposedly worked night shifts! He deliberately staged it as an accident caused by Wang Dashan violating operating procedures.

Once the factory paid off “Wang Dashan’s family” privately, the body would be legally taken to the crematorium and burned to ash. From then on, there would be no Zhou Qiang—only Wang Dashan, dead from a work injury.

That was why Zhao Xuming had flown into a rage that morning in the meeting room when Li Na questioned the victim’s identity. He wasn’t afraid of the Work Safety Bureau at all. He was terrified that if Li Na dug deeper, she would find out the mangled corpse was not Wang Dashan!

And I… I had actually found someone to pretend to be family, perfectly completing Zhao Xuming’s murder cover-up! I had become his accomplice in murder and body disposal.

My legs gave way, and I slid onto the cold tile floor.

I couldn’t tell anyone. I absolutely couldn’t call the police!

If the police uncovered the truth, Zhao Xuming would surely be sentenced to death—but my crimes of forging files, collecting salaries for a ghost employee, and scamming a million-yuan compensation would also be exposed. I would go to prison, and the life-saving surgery money I had risked everything for my daughter would be seized. This money was stained with blood!

Trembling, I stuffed the Rolex and the bloodstained clothes back into the plastic bag and tied it tightly. I had to destroy these items. Without evidence, this secret would stay buried forever.

Just as I was about to stand up holding the bag,

the door suddenly opened. Someone walked in!

“Shen Yu, what are you doing here?”

I jolted violently. The plastic bag slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a thud. In the doorway, Li Na stared at me coldly. Her gaze was fixed on the black plastic bag, which reeked of blood.

“Skiving off work in broad daylight, snooping around in the director’s office.”

Li Na walked toward me step by step in high heels, a cruel smile curving at the corner of her mouth.

“What’s in that bag?”

My heart nearly stopped beating at that moment. Li Na’s fingers, painted bright red, pointed firmly at the black plastic bag at my feet. The strong smell of blood filled the air, impossible to hide.

“Shen Yu, why are you shaking?”

Li Na closed in on me, her eyes bright with the excitement of a hunting dog that had scented blood.

“I knew something was off about you today. That country shrew who showed up was acting strange too. You split the 1.2 million between you, didn’t you?”

She stood over me, sneering.

“Let’s see what dirty secrets you’re hiding in that bag!”

With that, she suddenly bent down and grabbed for the plastic bag.

“Don’t touch it!”

I lunged at her like a madwoman, clutching the bag tightly. If she saw the bloodstained clothes and Zhou Qiang’s Rolex, everything would be over! But I had been drained by worry over my daughter these past few days, and I was no match for Li Na’s strength. We struggled violently on the cold floor tiles.

Rip—

The cheap black plastic bag tore open a wide gash. Along with a nauseating stench of blood, a stiff set of men’s clothing crusted with dark-red blood clots fell out. Then came a sharp clatter. The gold Rolex rolled out from the clothes and stopped at Li Na’s feet.

Time seemed to stand still.

Li Na’s smug expression froze instantly. She stared at the bloodstained clothes on the floor, then at the gold watch.

I closed my eyes in despair, my blood turning to ice. Li Na had worked at the factory for years. There was no way she didn’t recognize this watch.

Sure enough, Li Na picked up the Rolex with trembling hands. When she saw the deep, obvious scratch on the dial, she flinched as if electrocuted.

“This… this is Zhou Qiang’s watch, isn’t it?!”

Li Na’s voice turned shrill with extreme shock.

“Last month he fought Zhao Xuming in the finance office and smashed it on the desk! I even tried to break up the fight!”

She shot her head up, staring at me in disbelief, then at the bloodstained clothes on the floor. A terrifying realization dawned in her eyes.

“The person who died in the meat grinder last night… wasn’t Wang Dashan at all!

It was Zhou Qiang!

Zhao Xuming… Zhao Xuming killed his own brother-in-law?!”

Li Na gasped and collapsed onto a bench.

I sank to the floor, unable to utter a single word, my vision swimming.

The secret was exposed.

I was facing an abyss of no return.

I thought Li Na would scream and run to call the police immediately, or blackmail me into leaving the factory. But I was wrong. I had underestimated human greed.

After a brief moment of sheer terror, Li Na stared at the heavy gold watch in her hand, and her eyes slowly turned feverish. She began to laugh quietly, a chilling sound in the empty room.

“Shen Yu, Shen Yu. I really underestimated you.”

Li Na squeezed the Rolex tightly, staring at me fiercely.

“No wonder Zhao Xuming didn’t dare check the victim’s identity this morning and handed over 1.2 million without hesitation. He wasn’t paying for a work injury. He was buying his way out of destroying a body!”

“That shrew you brought wasn’t family at all. She was a fake you hired to help Zhao Xuming cover this up, wasn’t she?”

My lips turned pale. I begged her, my voice trembling.

“Li Na, this has nothing to do with us… give me the watch and pretend you saw nothing, okay?”

“Are you crazy, or am I?”

Li Na stood up abruptly, stuffed the bloodstained clothes back into the torn plastic bag, and hugged it tightly to her chest along with the gold watch.

“That tightwad Zhao Xuming was willing to pay 1.2 million just to burn a body.

Tell me—if I take this evidence to him, do you think he’d pay five million to shut me up?”

The words “five million” hit me like a thunderclap.

“Li Na! Do you want to die?!” I lunged and grabbed her pant leg.

“Zhao Xuming is a murderer! He chopped up his brother-in-law—he’ll do the same to you!

If you dare blackmail him, he’ll kill you to keep you quiet! And I’ll be dragged down with you!”

“Get off me!”

Li Na kicked me away violently. Greed had completely blinded her. She looked like a desperate gambler who had bet everything.

“Men die for wealth, birds die for food! You covered for a murderer just to collect ghost salaries—why can’t I take hush money?

With five million, I’ll quit and go abroad tomorrow. I’m done putting up with that pervert Zhao Xuming!”

Li Na pointed at me threateningly from above.

“Shen Yu, you keep your mouth shut!

If you dare tip Zhao Xuming off, I’ll call the police right now and tell them you helped him dispose of the body and scammed 1.2 million!

You’ll spend the rest of your life in jail, and your sickly little girl can just stop taking her meds and die!”

She glared at me once more, then hurried out in her high heels, holding the blood-soaked bag.

I was left alone on the cold floor, frozen to the bone.

9

Li Na had taken the evidence—and the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head.

She was incredibly stupid. She had no idea how evil a man who could chop up his own brother-in-law truly was.

Zhao Xuming would never give her five million.

He would only find a way to silence her forever.

And once Li Na was dead, Zhao Xuming would figure it out at once.

I would be his next target.

I couldn’t just wait to die.

For Beibei, I had to stay alive.

At five in the afternoon, I dragged my weak body to the hospital.

Outside the intensive care unit, I looked through thick glass at my daughter, lying there with tubes covering her tiny body.

She was only five. Her little face was pale as paper.

The head nurse walked over and said softly, “Ms. Shen, the medical fees have been paid in full. The specialist for next Tuesday’s surgery is scheduled. Your child is going to make it.”

I covered my mouth tightly, tears pouring down uncontrollably.

Yes. She was going to live.

The money I had risked my life for would finally save her.

That meant I couldn’t die.

If I died or went to prison, the money would be seized quickly, and Beibei wouldn’t even survive the surgery.

I wiped my tears, my eyes turning cold and resolute.

If Li Na insisted on running to her death, and Zhao Xuming insisted on killing her to keep her quiet…

then I would dig their graves for them while they tore each other apart.

10

The next morning, the atmosphere in the factory was eerily calm. Li Na had worn heavy makeup for the first time, even putting on the silk blouse she usually saved for special occasions. She sat at her desk, checking her phone every few minutes, a smug grin she could not hide playing on her lips. I knew she had already made her move against Zhao Xuming.

At half-past ten, the landline on my desk rang suddenly.

“Shen Yu, come to my office.”

Zhao Xuming’s voice on the phone was terrifyingly hoarse, like a ghost crawling out of hell.

I took a deep breath, set my phone to recording mode, slipped it into my pocket, and stood up to walk to the second floor.

Pushing open the factory director’s office door, I coughed at the thick smell of smoke. Zhao Xuming was not sitting behind his desk, but standing by the window with his back to me. The blinds were pulled tightly shut, leaving the whole office dark and oppressive.

“Director Zhao, you called for me.” I spoke in a low voice, my palms soaked with sweat.

Zhao Xuming turned around slowly. His eyes were crisscrossed with red threads, his eye bags dark blue. But the way he stared at me was cold and vicious, like a poisonous snake.

“Shen Yu, did you come looking for me yesterday afternoon?” His first question struck straight to the heart.

My heart sank violently. He knew! Li Na must have mentioned the air conditioner in her blackmail message. If I lied now, he would immediately suspect that Li Na and I were conspiring to extort him.

I pinched my thigh hard to make my face look paler and more terrified.

“Director Zhao… I did come by to confirm the reports with you. But… you were out yesterday afternoon…

And I saw… I saw Supervisor Li walking out of the office… holding a black plastic bag.”

Zhao Xuming’s pupils constricted sharply, and the muscles on his cheeks twitched violently.

“You saw her take the bag?”

He stepped toward me step by step, bringing suffocating pressure.

“I… I did. And Supervisor Li was looking up international flights in her office this morning.”

I said this, mixing truth and lies.

Zhao Xuming suddenly grabbed me by the neck and slammed me hard against the door!

“Cough… Director Zhao…” I struggled desperately, air being squeezed out of my lungs bit by bit.

“You’re a smart person, Shen Yu.” Zhao Xuming leaned close to my face, his eyes blazing with murderous intent.

“I was very satisfied with how you handled that family member yesterday.

Now that b***h Li Na actually dares to blackmail me for five million with that bag of ragged clothes!”

Zhao Xuming growled through gritted teeth, loosening his grip slightly so I could barely breathe.

“She made an appointment to meet me at ten tonight at the abandoned Warehouse No. 2 to exchange the items for money.”

Zhao Xuming let go of me and watched me cough violently with cold eyes.

“You go.”

I lifted my head in disbelief, staring at him.

“Director Zhao… I… what should I do?”

“You’ll deliver the money for me.”

Zhao Xuming pulled a heavy black travel bag out of his drawer and threw it at my feet.

“There’s one million in cash inside. Tell her I’ll transfer the remaining four million to her tomorrow.”

A cruel sneer curved at the corner of his mouth as he lowered his voice.

“If you can make her hand over that plastic bag obediently… Shen Yu, I can promote you to supervisor and give you another hundred thousand.

But if you mess up… or if you try to scam me with her…”

Zhao Xuming looked at me as if I were already a dead man.

“The meat grinder that chewed up Wang Dashan might just take two more people.”

I trembled all over, picked up the travel bag from the ground, bowed my head, and nodded repeatedly.

“I understand… Director Zhao, I will definitely get the items back…”

The moment I walked out of the office, I was soaked in cold sweat.

Zhao Xuming sending me to deliver money was no compromise at all. The cameras at Warehouse No. 2 had long been broken, and not even a stray dog would go there normally. He wanted me to stall Li Na there, then ambush us both in secret and get rid of the two of us who knew the secret!

The money in this travel bag was blood money to send us to our deaths!

I gripped the strap of the travel bag tightly, my knuckles turning white.

Since he was being ruthless, I had no reason to show mercy. It was time to end this trap.

In the afternoon, I went back to the hospital and paid all the remaining medical fees in advance. Even if I really died in Warehouse No. 2 tonight, Beibei’s surgery would still go smoothly. She would live, go to school like a normal child, and run in the sun.

With this confidence, the fear in my heart suddenly disappeared. In its place was a desperate ruthlessness.

Zhao Xuming wanted Li Na and me to kill each other so he could reap the benefits and dispose of us like trash. Then I would show him just how much power a mother pushed to the brink could unleash.

After leaving the hospital, I went to an electronics market in the old town. I bought a set of tiny pinhole cameras and recording equipment, and carefully sewed them into the chest of my coat. Then I bought a prepaid SIM card and typed a timed text message.

The message was simple, only a few sentences:

“10:00 tonight, Warehouse No. 2, Changming Food Factory on the outskirts of the city. Evidence exchange for murder and body disposal. Victim: Zhou Qiang. Perpetrator: Factory Director Zhao Xuming.”

I filled in the police emergency number as the recipient. The timed send was set for 9:50 PM.

After finishing all this, I took a deep breath of the bitterly cold winter evening air, lifted the heavy travel bag, and turned toward the factory.