20. Human Nature Is Inherently Evil (A Roar for Your Continued Reading, Please)

On the ninth deck, Huang Qiushan waited with Zhuo Qirui and Wang Xingbing for Lin Fan to emerge. They had been waiting for a full four hours and had long since lost patience, especially Huang Dongshan, whose chest seemed to burn with an unnamed fury.

“Bang!”

He strode up to Chen Cunyuan and slammed the butt of a rifle into his face. Blood sprayed immediately, causing his guards to shudder.

“Did you hide the sword in the Stele Forest back then?” Huang Qiushan’s expression was fierce and demonic.

“Huang Qiushan, I’ve told you—I never saw any sword, nor did I hide one!” Chen Cunyuan was instantly bruised and battered but kept silent. He had hidden it, but he would not confess, for speaking would doom Lin Fan.

Lin Fan had saved his life several times; this life had long since belonged to him.

When Lin Fan entered the Stele Forest, Huang Qiushan had ordered Chen Cunyuan bound, along with Qin Fen—both men close to Lin Fan.

Huang Qiushan had waited a long time without seeing Lin Fan emerge, suspecting he had fled. They dared not enter the Stele Forest themselves because five days earlier, Huang Dongshan had led guards inside, only for Ma Yinan and Qi Yangxia to be devoured utterly by humanoid ghosts.

The memory of that scene remained vivid.

“No? You expect me to believe that?” Huang Qiushan sneered coldly, grabbing Chen Cunyuan by the collar and hoisting him up. “Do you think I won’t throw you into the sea of blood? I’m giving you one last chance—speak or don’t!”

“Kill me if you want! I won’t say a word even in death!” Chen Cunyuan roared.

“I’ll cripple your limbs and see if you still keep silent.”

With that, Huang Qiushan seized an iron rod and smashed it hard against Chen Cunyuan’s knees.

“Crack! Ah—”

Chen Cunyuan’s eyes bulged wildly, his face contorted in unbearable pain. Both legs shattered under tremendous force, his mouth emitting a beast-like howl as the sound of bones breaking echoed clearly.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Huang Dongshan showed no mercy, delivering three more blows. Bones pierced the skin, blood splattered everywhere.

The gruesome scene struck everyone’s eyes. The screams echoed like a dirge. The guards’ legs weakened—they could not bear to imagine the agony if those blows fell on them.

Such cruelty!

Hearing Chen Cunyuan’s agonizing screams, Huang Qiushan grinned. He had expected him to hold out longer.

“Too brutal...”

Several guards, who had once been insincere toward Huang Qiushan, were now wholly subdued by his ruthless cruelty.

No one who witnessed this could remain unafraid.

Seeing these expressions, Huang Qiushan was fully satisfied—this was exactly the outcome he desired.

---

At that moment, personnel from Laboratory 702, brought by Wang Xingbing, arrived and were shocked into terrified sobs by the blood-soaked scene before them. These young women, graduates of prestigious institutions, suddenly had tears welling in their eyes, their voices quivering with fright.

“Boss, these are the only ones opposing Brother Dong. Qi Lingshan and Fan Yijun escaped!” Wang Xingbing reported, escorting them forward. The guards looked at these delicate beauties with a possessive gleam in their eyes.

In the Ghost Ship, beauty was a curse.

With no laws to bind them, human nature ran wild. Things once unthinkable, unspeakable, like demons gnawing at the soul, grew unchecked—leading to unspeakable acts, devoid of humanity.

Huang Dongshan’s words were true: here, these women had neither power to protect themselves nor any value; they became mere playthings.

Ning Fang, Pu Qingyue, and Tang Gubo were terrified. They were no fools and understood what was happening—they just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

“What? Qi Lingshan escaped?!” Huang Qiushan exploded in rage. He had long desired Qi Lingshan. If not for his cousin’s constant interference, he would have acted already. Now, just as he was ready, she slipped away!

Huang Qiushan glared fiercely at the women. “Do you know where Qi Lingshan is hiding? Tell me, and I might spare you!”

“We don’t know!” Ning Fang shook her head. They were telling the truth—no one knew where Qi Lingshan or Fan Yijun had gone. They vanished in an instant and had since been recaptured.

Seeing Chen Cunyuan covered in blood, Ning Fang’s face drained of color.

“Damn it! You all won’t confess, huh?” Huang Qiushan seethed, yelling into the Stele Forest, “Lin Fan, I’m giving you one last chance—come out immediately, or Chen Cunyuan and Qin Fen will die because of you!”

Huang Qiushan knew Lin Fan’s character and firmly believed that hearing this, Lin Fan would appear.

Lin Fan had once sacrificed himself to divert the He Luo Fish for them...

But after several seconds passed with no movement or sign of Lin Fan, Huang Qiushan kicked Qin Fen in the chest. Dissatisfied, he punched him several times, the deck echoing with cries of pain.

“Boss, I have an idea!” Wang Xingbing approached with a suggestion.

“Speak!”

“Lin Fan’s no-show is unbearable. We’ve been trapped in this ancient ship for days, worried and frightened. The brothers are all boiling with rage. Ning Fang looks pretty good—why not let us brothers enjoy ourselves a little?”

Wang Xingbing rubbed his hands eagerly. He had long coveted Ning Fang’s beauty and had been nursing many wicked desires these days. With Ning Fang’s graceful figure, who wouldn’t want to? The other guards also looked at her with hungry eyes.

“You’re... beasts!”

“Less than animals!”

Only then did Chen Cunyuan and Qin Fen fully realize the guards were no better than Huang Qiushan himself.

---

“No, please!” Ning Fang was terrified beyond words upon hearing their intentions. Barefoot, she fled into the woods, panic-stricken.

“Go after her!”

With Huang Qiushan’s permission, Wang Xingbing laughed and gave chase, several of the bolder guards following.

“You’ll all rot in hell!” Chen Cunyuan heard the screams from the woods, eyes closed. He finally saw the true nature of humanity at this moment... These people before them were demons—no longer human!

Hatred—he could only hate that he could not kill these beasts.

“Fools, following Old Huang is far better than following Lin Fan. Why isn’t he coming to save you?” Zhuo Qirui sneered disdainfully. “Lin Fan’s just a turtle with a lock—waiting for you all to die before he shows himself!”

“Lin Fan knew we were coming for him and fled immediately! And you still deny it?”

Chen Cunyuan kept his eyes shut, saying nothing—he would no longer communicate with these devils.

---

Ten minutes later.

“Hahaha, the cream of the crop!” Wang Xingbing returned, pants askew, his expression telling the whole story. The fate of the girl named Ning Fang was clear.

“I’ll fight you to the death!”

Tang Gubo of the research team roared, lunging at Wang Xingbing. As the only male among Laboratory 702’s group, seeing his junior sisters abused ignited a fury he could not swallow. Even if dying, he would take a piece of them with him.

“Bang!”

Unexpectedly, Wang Xingbing fired, the supersonic bullet striking Tang Gubo’s chest. Blood spread like a blooming snow lotus. Tang Gubo fell unwillingly, still poised to strike even in his final moments.

“Fool, has your research made your brain soft? How dare you oppose the truth of the world? Let’s see what use you are!”

Wang Xingbing sneered. One less mouth meant more food for the rest, increasing their chance to survive.

“Brother!” Pu Qingyue crouched, tears streaming down her cheeks. One by one, senior and junior sisters were lost—this was the darkest day of her life.

“Stop crying! If Lin Fan doesn’t come out soon, your fate will be the same.”

Huang Qiushan said expressionlessly.

Lin Fan? Did any of this truly involve him? It was merely Huang Qiushan’s pretext to wreak havoc.