Whale Fall Memory

Lin Sheng's lip language

The alarm was like a knife, piercing my eardrums.

Instinctively, I placed my hand on the gun handle and scanned the cargo hold with my eyes.

It was filled with boxes, piled from the floor to the ceiling. Under the dim light, the shadows were stretched long, like a group of ghosts dancing.

"Who's there?" I shouted, my voice echoing in the empty cargo hold.

No one answered, only the alarm wailing.

I walked slowly inside, each step landing on my own heartbeat.

Behind a box, a dark figure moved.

I raised my gun, my finger on the trigger, my heart pounding so fast it felt like it was about to explode.

"Don't move!" I shouted.

The figure lifted its head. It was Ah Bao.

"Second Brother, it's me!" His voice trembled, and he held a broken flashlight in his hand.

I let out a sigh of relief and lowered my gun. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you, wanted to see..." His voice grew fainter and his eyes wandered.

Suddenly, I realized: Ah Bao was Du Ming's informant.

I stared at him, feeling a chill down my spine. "See what?"

Ah Bao took a step back. "N-nothing, Boss Du told me to keep an eye on you."

I sneered. "Keep an eye on me? Or the cargo hold?"

He remained silent, his eyes evading mine.

I suddenly remembered Lin Sheng's lip language - the child.

"Where's the child?" I asked.

Ah Bao froze for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know."

I raised my hand, the gun pointed at his forehead. "Don't lie. I know what Lin Sheng said."

Ah Bao's face turned pale in an instant, tears and snot streaming down. "Second Brother, I really don't know! I swear!"

I stared at him, my finger slowly releasing the trigger.

He wasn't lying, at least not at this moment.

"Cargo hold B3," I said in a low voice. "Lin Sheng said there's something here."

A flash of terror crossed Ah Bao's eyes. "Y-you said what?"

I stepped forward, moving deeper into the cargo hold. "Find Old Ghost. The goods are in cargo hold B3."

Ah Bao followed behind me, his voice trembling. "Second Brother, let's go back. This is Boss Du's territory."

The boxes in the cargo hold were stacked like a maze. I crouched low, hugging the wall as I walked.

With each step, the alarm grew louder.

I took out my phone, intending to call Du Ming, but found there was no signal.

"Phone has no signal?" Ah Bao asked.

I nodded, feeling panicked. Was this a coincidence, or did Du Ming deliberately cut off the signal?

We passed row after row of boxes and finally reached the deepest part of the cargo hold.

There was an iron door with a large lock on it. A note was stuck on the lock -

"Old Ghost's exclusive, no entry for outsiders."

I stared at the note, my heart sinking.

Old Ghost, was he Du Ming's superior?

"Second Brother, let's go back," Ah Bao said, his voice trembling.

I turned around and saw his face covered in sweat, his eyes filled with terror.

"Go back?" I sneered. "Go back to die?"

Ah Bao took a step back, bumping into a box. His voice trembled. "Second Brother, don't force me to do something."

A chill ran down my spine: Was Ah Bao going to betray me?

"Do something?" I raised my gun, aiming it at his chest. "Do you have the guts?"

Ah Bao's hand trembled as he reached for his waist. I pulled the trigger -

"Bang!"

The bullet hit the ground beside him, sending up a cloud of dust.

Ah Bao shuddered, the flashlight in his hand dropped to the ground and shattered.

"Don't force me to really kill you," I said in a low voice, my voice as cold as ice.

Ah Bao backed away, bumping into a box, his voice trembling. "Second Brother, don't force me."

I stepped forward, closing in on him. "Force you? You forced me first."

He suddenly turned and ran towards the exit of the cargo hold.

I raised my gun, aiming at his back -

"Bang!"

The bullet hit his leg and he screamed, falling to the ground.

I walked over and stepped on his leg, causing him to sweat profusely in pain.

"Who's Old Ghost?" I asked, my voice as cold as a knife.

Ah Bao looked up, his face covered in tears and snot. "I don't know, really don't know."

I stared at him, feeling uneasy. Was he really ignorant, or was he pretending?

"Cargo hold B3," I said in a low voice. "Lin Sheng said there's something here." A burst of terror flashed in Abao's eyes: "You... what did you say?"

I lifted my foot and kicked him in the stomach: "Stop pretending. I know what Lin Sheng said."

He was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat, and tears and snot streamed down his face: "Second Brother, I really don't know! I swear!"

I stared at him, slowly loosening my grip on the trigger.

He wasn't lying, at least not at this moment.

I looked up at the iron door, feeling a chill run down my spine: Who exactly is the Old Ghost?

"Second Brother, let's go back," Abao said, his voice trembling.

I turned around and saw that his face was covered in sweat and his eyes were filled with terror.

"Go back?" I sneered. "Go back to die?"

Abao took a step back and bumped into a box, his voice trembling: "Second Brother, don't force me to fight back."

A chill ran through my heart: Was Abao going to betray us?

"Fight back?" I raised my gun and aimed it at his chest. "Do you have the guts?"

Abao's hand trembled as he reached for his waist. I pulled the trigger—

"Bang!"

The bullet hit the ground beside him, sending up a cloud of dust.

Abao shuddered in fear, and the flashlight in his hand dropped to the ground, shattering into pieces.

"Don't force me to really kill you," I said in a low voice, my tone as cold as ice.

Abao backed away, bumping into a box, his voice trembling: "Second Brother, don't force me."

I lifted my foot and slowly approached him: "Force you? You forced me first."

He suddenly turned around and ran towards the exit of the warehouse.

I raised my gun and aimed at his back—

"Bang!"

The bullet hit his leg and he let out a scream, falling to the ground.

I walked over and stepped on his leg, and he broke out in a cold sweat from the pain.

"Who is the Old Ghost?" I asked, my voice as cold as a knife.

Abao looked up, his face covered in tears and snot: "I don't know, I really don't know."

I stared at him, feeling a chill run down my spine: Did he really not know, or was he pretending?

"Warehouse B3," I said in a low voice, "Lin Sheng said there's something here."

A flash of terror crossed Abao's eyes: "You... what did you say?"

I lifted my foot and kicked him in the stomach: "Stop pretending. I know what Lin Sheng said."

He was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat, and tears and snot streamed down his face: "Second Brother, I really don't know! I swear!"

I stared at him, slowly loosening my grip on the trigger. He wasn't lying, at least not at this moment.

I looked up at the iron door, my heart pounding: Who exactly was the Old Ghost?

"Second Brother, let's go back," A Bao's voice trembled.

I turned around and saw that his face was covered in sweat, his eyes filled with terror. I stared at A Bao, the alarm blaring in my ears like a death knell, pounding against my eardrums.

The sweat and tears on his face mixed together, glistening under the light like a layer of oil, sickeningly slippery.

"For the last time," I pressed the gun barrel against his forehead, "Who is the Old Ghost?"

A Bao's lips quivered like leaves in the wind. Suddenly, he forced out a sentence from his throat: "...It's Lin Sheng."

I froze.

Lin Sheng? The man who was shot in the head at the dock and only managed to mouth the word "child" before dying?

"Bullshit," I sneered, pushing the gun forward. "How can a dead man be the Old Ghost?"

A Bao's tears streamed down his face: "I didn't say he was alive... Lin Sheng left the 'key' to you before he died."

The key.

I subconsciously reached for my left shoulder - there was a puncture wound there, from when Lin Sheng stabbed me with a screwdriver at the dock last week.

At the time, I thought he was a traitor, making a last-ditch effort to attack me before dying.

But after the wound scabbed over, there was always a hard object under the skin, like a steel ball embedded in it.

I pulled open my collar, my nails digging into the scab, blood trickling down my collarbone.

A Bao's eyes widened, as if looking at a madman.

My fingertips touched metal, and I yanked it out -

A copper-colored chip no bigger than a grain of rice, stained with blood, glimmered faintly in my palm.

The alarm suddenly rose in pitch, and the red light on the ceiling of the warehouse began to spin frantically.

The iron door clicked and unlocked automatically, cold air seeping out from the crack.

A Bao suddenly laughed, his voice shrill and inhuman: "Second Brother, you finally brought the key back."

I turned to look at him and saw a remote control in his hand.

The legs that had been sprawled on the ground just now now stood steadily.

"Did you fake it?" I narrowed my eyes.

A Bao grinned, revealing a missing canine tooth: "If I didn't, how could I get you to open the door yourself?"

The iron door rose slowly, white mist billowing out, like the cold breath of hell.

Behind the door was a row of glass chambers, each containing a child.

The youngest looked no more than three or four years old, the oldest no more than ten. Tubes were inserted into their chests, like specimens preserved in amber.

The middle chamber was empty, with a number spray-painted on the lid in red - B3-07.

My throat tightened, and I suddenly remembered the mouth shape Lin Sheng made before he died.

It wasn't "child".

It was "B3-07".

A Bao's remote control beeped twice, and all the glass chambers lit up with green lights.

"The Old Ghost didn't want the goods," he licked his lips, "He wanted you to see with your own eyes whose body your younger brother's organs are in."

My mind went blank, and my eyes fixed on the nameplate at the bottom of the B3-07 chamber -

[Recipient: Du Ming]

The gun fired.

A Bao's forehead bloomed with a flower of blood, the remote control slipping from his hand and hitting the ground.

I walked over, picked up the remote control, and saw a yellowed photo stuck on the back.

In the photo, seven-year-old me was holding three-year-old Lin Sheng, both of us grinning at the camera.

On the back, in ballpoint pen, was a line of words:

"Brother, don't be a ghost in the next life."

The alarm stopped.

The warehouse fell silent, only the sound of bubbles rising in the glass chambers could be heard.

I pressed the last button on the remote control.

All the chambers began to drain, and the children opened their eyes.

I turned and walked out, not looking back.

Behind me came the sound of shattering glass, like a belated spring.

In my pocket, Lin Sheng's chip began to heat up.

I knew it contained all the evidence of Du Ming's transactions over the years.

And I knew that from tomorrow on, this city would have a new understanding of the word "Old Ghost".

At the entrance of the warehouse, the morning light pierced through the clouds.

I lit a cigarette, the nicotine and the smell of blood filling my lungs.

In the distance, sirens wailed, growing closer.

I took one last look at the note on the door - "Reserved for the old ghost, no trespassing for others."

Then he raised his hand and pressed the cigarette butt onto the character "ghost".

Sparks flew, as if burning away a nightmare.