Beneath the Dome, Sin within Sins - Chapter 82 - You Must Be Alright

“A trip?” I leaned lazily against the wall and said slowly, “Don’t forget, this whole mess began because of Director Su’s idea of a trip! Who knows, the next one might be even more troublesome.”

“Senior, stop teasing me. How was I supposed to know it would get this complicated? I originally thought it was just a simple case, but who knew it would end up entangled with so many problems.”

“Exactly!” I let out a deep sigh and said, “Ever since I saw that bandaged man, I’ve been stuck thinking about one question.”

“What question?” Su Mo asked.

“What is the purpose of the bandaged man’s existence? At first, I thought it was revenge. But as the case progressed, I realized he wasn’t just out for revenge. His ambition is immeasurable. Up until now, I still don’t know his true motive behind all this.”

“For the desires buried deep in his heart,” Su Mo said, sitting down beside me. His gaze drifted to the air vent as he spoke slowly, “For someone like him, his desires aren’t like a normal person’s. His desires are so immense that he might even want to destroy the entire world.”

Su Mo’s words made me sink into thought. To think someone could try to overturn society single-handedly-who knows if that’s foolishly naive or outright ridiculous…

Time should feel unbearably slow in a space like this, but at this moment, we felt it speeding by. Every extra minute felt like a gift to cherish.

“Senior, what are you planning to do?” Su Mo asked.

“Later, they’ll take us to the ritual to sacrifice to heaven. During that time, let’s just act depending on the situation.”

Honestly, I had no idea what to do either. When it came to the bandaged man, I knew absolutely nothing.

“Senior, you’re such a reckless guy!”

“No choice. With the grim conditions we’re in, who can blame anyone for it?”

“True!”

After a string of exchanges, we fell silent. While I didn’t like this kind of silence, it was something I had to face. In our current situation, anything we said felt like nothing more than futile self-reassurance, and that feeling was truly awful.

I had no idea how much time passed-it felt like it had been a century. Eventually, I heard footsteps coming from outside. Su Mo and I exchanged a glance before we both sat up.

Not long after, the iron door creaked open. This time, the bandaged man was nowhere to be seen.

Jiang Wu entered with two others in tow. For a moment, I considered whether to resist here and now, but when I noticed the bulges at their waists, I immediately discarded that idea.

It seemed that Jiang Wu’s henchmen were armed.

“You’re not resisting? Well, aren’t you obedient.” Despite the seemingly complimentary words, Jiang Wu’s face was full of mockery.

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter chuckle. “If your men weren’t armed, I guarantee you wouldn’t be able to make such remarks right now.”

Jiang Wu’s temper flared at my words. He charged up to me, grabbed me roughly by the collar, and snarled, “You’ve got some nerve!”

“I don’t lack courage,” I replied, meeting Jiang Wu’s gaze with a faint, almost imperceptible smirk. “If you have the guts, kill me right here and now.”

“You…”

The bandaged man wouldn’t let me die, and Jiang Wu knew it. His obedience to the bandaged man was absolute, so I knew he wouldn’t dare make a move.

Jiang Wu glared at me for what seemed like an eternity, but in the end, he let his grip fall loose. “You’re just putting on a show for now! Let’s see how long you can keep it up!”

With that, Jiang Wu ordered his men to tie up both Su Mo and me. Then, he blindfolded us with black fabric.

“Seeing as it’s a dead end for us anyway, is it really necessary to go through all this trouble?” Su Mo, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. His tone was laced with palpable disdain.

“You really don’t know how to hide your emotions, do you? Director Su, being under someone else’s roof calls for a certain humility. The way you’re acting is really putting us in a difficult spot!”

Jiang Wu’s voice dripped with that same infuriatingly sarcastic tone as usual. It made my hands itch to punch him, but in this moment, I didn’t know what to say. So, I made the wise choice to hold my tongue.

Jiang Wu led Su Mo and me into a vehicle. At first, the car moved smoothly along a flat road, but before long, it began to jolt and rattle. From the rough, uneven ride, it was easy to tell we were heading up a mountain road.

“A sacrifice to heaven that requires going all the way up a mountain? You guys sure are going to great lengths.”

After a brief silence, I heard Jiang Wu chuckle softly. “Who would’ve thought? Even blindfolded, your sharp instincts still manage to see right through everything.”

“Oh, don’t flatter me. Honestly, compared to me, you guys are the impressive ones.”

I said that casually, but unexpectedly, Jiang Wu removed the black fabric covering my eyes. Once my vision adjusted to the dim light, I lifted my gaze to look outside. Sure enough, the car was climbing a rugged mountain road. The path was extremely bumpy and uneven.

“Since you’re so self-aware, why bother opposing us?”

With a wry laugh, I sighed and replied, “What do you mean by ‘opposing you’? Clearly, it’s you all opposing us. If you weren’t breaking the law, I doubt we’d have crossed paths at all.”

“And you still think of yourself as a great detective even now?”

“It doesn’t matter how you see me. What matters is how I see myself. And in my eyes, I am indeed a detective. Now tell me, how exactly do you plan to sacrifice us to heaven?”

“Do you really think I’m going to tell you?” Su Mo squinted his eyes as he glared at Jiang Wu defensively.

Watching Su Mo’s reaction, I snorted coldly. “I don’t even know what you’re so afraid of. We’re already your prisoners, yet you’re still on high alert. I really can’t decide if you’re brilliant or just plain foolish.”

“Hmph! You’re just getting smug for the moment.”

After that biting retort, Jiang Wu fell silent. Observing his demeanor, I furrowed my brows slightly. It seemed that anything related to the sacrifice to heaven was classified to the point that even Jiang Wu was forbidden from spilling details ahead of time. The secrecy made it clear that the bandaged man intended to leave no room for error.

The car continued to jostle violently, and I had no way to stabilize myself. Su Mo had already wedged himself awkwardly between the seats, while I was forced to lean all my weight to one side just to keep from sliding around.