C6 Crazy

"Bang!"

Kong Qing recoiled in shock as the supervisor's sudden outburst sent him stumbling backward. His foot slipped, nearly sending him crashing to the ground, as he looked on in terror at the supervisor, whose complexion had drastically changed.

In the Ancient Quarters, a moment's carelessness could mean plummeting into an abyss. At this critical juncture between life and death, what good would it do to think of the future?

"Crack!"

A whip struck Fu Shan, eliciting a scream as he glared at the supervisor, wide-eyed. Beyond the fear, a faint glimmer of defiance lingered in his gaze.

"Slave! Kneel down!" the supervisor commanded coldly.

When Fu Shan remained unmoved, the supervisor lashed out with his whip once more.

Crack!

"Kneel down!"

Overcome by fear, Fu Shan's body shook as he fell to his knees with a heavy thud.

The supervisor let out a scornful laugh before launching a kick.

"Bang!"

Fu Shan was flung into the distance. The act unleashed the supervisor's inner savagery.

He quickly closed the distance to Fu Shan, and after several more strikes of the whip, Fu Shan let out a pained cry, then shut his eyes, curling into himself with only the faintest tears visible at the corners of his eyes.

It was then that the necklace around his neck suddenly glowed brightly. Even through the fabric, the supervisor could see it clearly.

Greed and excitement surged within him.

Swallowing hard, the supervisor whispered to himself with fervor, "Yes, with this, I'll have my chance to become a warrior!"

He reached out to seize the necklace Fu Shan had concealed under his clothes.

Just then, Fu Shan's bloodshot eyes snapped open. He clutched the necklace tightly to his chest, fixing the supervisor with an unnerving stare.

The supervisor's smile instantly froze. He closed his eyes and spoke in a measured tone, "I'll give you one more chance. Will you hand it over willingly, or must I take it by force?"

Seeing no response from Fu Shan, the supervisor's anger flared. He landed a punch on Fu Shan's head, blood spattering everywhere. Yet Fu Shan's gaze remained unyielding, as if he were staring through the supervisor with lifeless, fish-like eyes.

As the supervisor readied to strike once more, Fu Shan's voice quivered, "This is the only thing my mother left me. You can forget about taking it!"

"Good! Very good!" the supervisor bellowed, his eyes snapping open with a sinister glare that sent chills down the spine.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

"I will never..."

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Kong Qing could see the supervisor had lost all sense of reason. He quickly grabbed a stone nearby, his breaths coming in short, rapid gasps as he stealthily approached the supervisor.

"This can't go on, or Fu Shan will surely be beaten to death," Kong Qing thought to himself.

As the supervisor drew nearer, Kong Qing's heart pounded fiercely. "If Fu Shan dies, I won't be far behind!"

Bang!

The supervisor's foot came crashing down on Fu Shan's hand, the one clutching the necklace. Noticing that Fu Shan refused to release his grip, the supervisor's eyes narrowed, and his foot began to twist slowly.

"Ah!"

Fu Shan's other hand shot out, grabbing the supervisor's ankle in a desperate attempt to make him stop.

But Fu Shan's strength was no match for the supervisor, who was fixated on the necklace and oblivious to anything else. He pressed down harder with his foot.

"Ah!"

A scream tore through the air.

In that moment, Kong Qing had crept up behind the supervisor. Struggling to remain calm, he chose the sharpest edge of the stone, gripped it with both hands, and slowly lifted it.

"I can't do it! I can't do it! I can't do it!" Kong Qing's inner turmoil was intense. He feared the supervisor turning around and catching his eye more than the act of striking him.

"Give it to me!" the supervisor yelled, his face contorting into a grotesque mask of rage, his madness escalating.

No matter how much the supervisor struck Fu Shan, the latter's hand remained firmly around the necklace.

It's a human trait, to protect what we hold dear, sometimes at the cost of our very lives, even when those things may seem insignificant.

Suddenly, Kong Qing let out a ferocious yell, his expression as menacing as the supervisor's. "Die!" he screamed.

With that, his hands wielding the jagged stone came crashing down.

Bang!

Hiss!

In that moment, Kong Qing unleashed all the pent-up fury of three years. Each time the supervisor had tormented him, he had to respond with a smile, feigning warmth to avoid further harm, all while desperately trying to curry favor with the supervisor.

No matter how you looked at it, Kong Qing was still just a child. For three long years, without a single day of rest, he had been waiting for an opportunity—a chance to live on, a chance to break free, no matter how faint that possibility might have seemed.

He clung to that thread of hope, almost too faint to exist.

After three years toiling in the mines, Kong Qing's strength had soared to its peak. With a swift blow, he shattered the supervisor's skull. The man clutched his head and collapsed, blood seeping through his fingers.

"Animal, you're asking for it!" the supervisor bellowed, seizing Kong Qing's leg and yanking him down.

Thud!

Kong Qing hit the ground hard, his cheek slamming against the dirt, while the supervisor quickly rolled on top of him, pinning him down.

Despite Kong Qing's desperate struggles, he couldn't dislodge the mad-eyed supervisor.

Thud!

Once again, the supervisor's grip tightened around Kong Qing's throat, a wave of helplessness flooding through him.

Hiss!

"Ugh...ugh!"

Kong Qing's face turned ashen, his eyes bulging as he frantically grasped the supervisor's burly arms.

"If you're so eager to die, I'll oblige!" the supervisor spat, his grip growing even more forceful.

But in that moment, Kong Qing released his hands, stealthily snatching the tree whip that had fallen beside them.

Bang!

With all his might, Kong Qing wrapped the whip around the supervisor's neck.

Before the supervisor could react, Kong Qing tightened it, his will to survive coursing through him.

In that instant, Kong Qing had only one goal: to strangle the supervisor.

He didn't consider the repercussions of killing the man; Kong Qing knew all too well that if he didn't act now, his own life would be forfeit.

"Ah!"

The force of the whip was enough to make the supervisor let go, his hands clawing at the whip constricting his neck. Meanwhile, Kong Qing's survival instincts drove him to tighten his grip even further.

"Hmm... hmm!"

As the supervisor began to struggle, trying to free himself from the tree whip, Kong Qing was determined not to let him succeed, exerting even more force.

"Go to hell!" Kong Qing's eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming uncontrollably as he bellowed.

"Hmm..."

Within moments, the grip the supervisor had on the whip weakened, his face turned pale, eyes bulging, until he finally released his hold.

Thud!

Kong Qing shoved the lifeless body of the supervisor aside and collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, "I survived, I survived..."

Shortly after, Kong Qing realized it wasn't the time to let his guard down. If discovered by other supervisors, death would be his only fate.

He hurriedly crawled to Fu Shan's side, noticing with dread that Fu Shan's breaths were growing fainter.

Kong Qing cradled Fu Shan's face, his voice breaking with emotion, "Fu Shan! Fu Shan! Are you okay?"

"Kong... Kong Qing," Fu Shan managed to pry his eyes open, a sliver of a gap, and weakly gazed at Kong Qing.

"We have to go. Get up, let's get out of here. Quick, the supervisor is dead, we've made it!" Kong Qing urged, his voice filled with urgency.

After speaking, Kong Qing prepared to help Fu Shan to his feet.

"Wait... just a moment," Fu Shan's raspy voice emerged slowly.

Kong Qing halted, staring blankly at Fu Shan, whose breaths were growing increasingly shallow.

"This... this item... you... take it..."

Fu Shan, while speaking, extended his hand holding the necklace toward Kong Qing, then gently opened his palm.

The necklace glinted brightly, almost blindingly so.

Kong Qing was about to refuse, but Fu Shan hurriedly said, "Kong Qing, you... you're a good person. Apart from my mother, you're the second person who's ever truly cared for me..."

"No! Fu Shan, stop talking, we need to leave now!" Kong Qing cut him off.

"Kong Qing!" Fu Shan called out again.

"Please, no more words," Kong Qing implored, tears and snot marking his face as they dropped onto Fu Shan.

"Thank... Thank you, Kong Qing," Fu Shan said, a faint smile crossing his lips.

Then, his eyes slowly closed before Kong Qing. "Maybe... it really... truly can help you... become..."

Bang!

Before the echo faded, he was already gone.

"Ah! Fu Shan!" Kong Qing's voice was a raw, hoarse scream.

Minutes later, Kong Qing, his face streaked with tears and snot, realized this was no time for grief. He quickly rose to his feet, scanning his surroundings until he found a depression in the ground. After a cautious glance around, he dragged the Supervisor's body to the edge and pushed it into the pit.

For safety's sake, Kong Qing steeled himself against the sorrow and pushed Fu Shan's body down as well.

He then gathered numerous stones to completely cover the grave.

Kong Qing meticulously erased any signs of the earlier struggle. Once everything was done, he silently made his way back to the cave.

He settled into the corner that Fu Shan had once occupied.

Clutching the necklace tightly in his hands, Kong Qing couldn't hold back the tears that streamed down his face.

"Fu Shan..."

Kong Qing collapsed under the weight of his emotions...

The images of his fight with the Supervisor haunted him; he had taken a life...

The memory of the Supervisor's ashen face sent a chill through his entire being.

This was no nightmare; it was a grim reality.

The tree whip had left deep, crimson marks on Kong Qing's palms from gripping it too tightly.

Staring at his hands, his body shook uncontrollably.

"These hands... I used them to kill the Supervisor..." Kong Qing's face was ghostly pale as he frantically rubbed his hands on his body. "I've killed... I've killed someone. I'm guilty!"

The harder he scrubbed, the more Kong Qing felt the stain of guilt would never wash away.

He longed to weep loudly but dared not, for fear of disturbing the others at rest.

"I want to go home. I really want to go home. I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to!" Kong Qing shook his head desperately.

"Why me? Why not someone else?"

And so, in a state of utter confusion and disarray, Kong Qing drifted into a troubled sleep.