My mood became utterly chaotic.
I rushed out of my rented room, with no appetite for food.
Under the intense stress, I couldn't even feel hungry.
Arriving at the intersection, the bustling traffic offered no trace of the night's quiet or eerie stillness.
Looking at the site of the car accident from before the beginning of the month, I felt utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend.
How could witnessing a car accident lead to me being entangled by something sinister?
After all, there were so many people at the accident scene.
Why was it specifically me who encountered a ghost? Was I an easy target?
The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I felt. As an ordinary person,
I felt like I had no way out, nowhere to turn.
Worriedly, I waited for the company shuttle bus, hoping to see that middle-aged brother from the logistics department soon.
After waiting for about forty minutes, the factory shuttle bus arrived.
As the door opened, I hurried onto the bus.
The first thing I did upon boarding was not to look for a seat, but to check if the middle-aged brother was on the bus.
Unfortunately, he wasn't.
I didn't know which stop he would board at, so I could only sit by the door and wait.
My heart was filled with anxiety.
I clutched the blood-stained copper coin in my hand; even after so much time had passed, the coin was still bone-chillingly cold.
The shuttle bus made several stops and starts, and by the time we reached the factory entrance, I still hadn't seen the middle-aged brother board.
My heart sank completely. After getting off the bus, I waited outside the factory gate for a while longer.
Since there were several shifts for the shuttle bus, perhaps the middle-aged brother had boarded a different one.
But to my regret, I still didn't see him.
At this point, there were less than five minutes until the shift change.
My mind was nowhere near ready to go to work.
Seeing that I couldn't find the middle-aged brother, I decided to head directly to the logistics department to look for him.
But just as I entered the factory and was walking in the direction of the logistics department,
My line's team leader suddenly popped out from somewhere.
He was drinking mineral water and eating a grilled sausage that cost two yuan a piece.
Shamelessly, he was hitting on the female colleagues passing by, telling vulgar jokes.
Seeing me head towards the logistics department, he immediately shouted at me:
"Hey, hey, hey! Qin Ze.
The shift starts in a few minutes, where are you going?"
He was my team leader, so I was quite polite.
After all, my personal performance appraisal every month was entirely determined by him.
"Team Leader, I have something urgent to attend to, I need to go to the logistics department. I'll be a few minutes late for the shift."
As I spoke, I tried to walk away.
But that guy was petty and held grudges.
When I first entered the factory, I had spoken back to him.
So he often targeted me, especially now that we were in front of a few female colleagues.
His eyebrows instantly shot up, and with a look of arrogance, he said:
"Go where? Are you in charge or am I?
Do you think this factory is your family's?
You can come in whenever you want?
You must go to your post immediately and be on standby, not a second's delay.
Otherwise, don't even think about getting your performance bonus this month."
I had endured this guy for over half a year since starting at the factory.
Now, with my mind in such a state of agitation, I couldn't take his attitude anymore and finally exploded:
"Go to hell! You're acting all high and mighty with a bit of authority.
I don't want it anymore! Do whatever you want!"
After saying that, I turned and left, not giving him a second glance.
In my heart, I felt a lot better.
I left the team leader standing there, dumbfounded.
He had wanted to show off his authority as a team leader in front of the female colleagues.
He never expected me to react so strongly and retort so fiercely.
But by the time he recovered, I was already far away.
With our relationship already ruined, I no longer cared about the performance bonus.
The top priority now was to find the middle-aged brother and seek a way to save my life.
Arriving at the logistics department, I saw the colleagues preparing goods.
Some were for the production line, others for the after-sales service stations.
I only knew that the middle-aged brother was from the logistics department, but I didn't know his workstation or his name.
Just as I was about to ask someone for information,
An electric forklift suddenly stopped in front of me:
"Qin Ze, why are you here?"
I looked up and saw it was the middle-aged brother.
He was wearing a safety helmet and carrying two boxes of auto parts.
Glancing at the work badge on his chest, his name was Chen Qiang.
His position was a picker in the logistics department.
I seemed a bit surprised, and got straight to the point:
"Brother Chen, the copper coin you gave me yesterday was returned..."
The middle-aged brother, who had been smiling moments ago,
Froze upon hearing my words, his face filled with shock:
"Re-returned?"
I nodded:
"Yes, look, it's even stained with blood."
As I spoke, I took out the copper coin he had given me yesterday.
When Brother Chen saw me take out the blood-stained copper coin,
His face instantly fell, and he wore a grave expression.
He quickly jumped down from the forklift and took the coin.
As soon as he touched it, Brother Chen's brow furrowed.
Then, he urgently asked me for the detailed situation.
I recounted all my experiences from the past few days and this morning when I left the house,
And expressed my hope that Brother Chen could help me.
After hearing my account, Brother Chen's expression grew even more somber.
Perhaps my experience had exceeded his expectations and surprised him.
He never imagined that I had been entangled for a whole month.
Finally, he narrowed his eyes and, with a solemn and low tone, analyzed:
"Since that thing doesn't want money, it must want your life.
I didn't expect it to be such a stubborn one."
When I heard Brother Chen's words, my heart skipped a beat.
I hadn't guessed wrong.
My entire body went cold.
While I'm not a saint, I've certainly never done anything bad.
Suddenly being entangled by something sinister and having it want my life was beyond my comprehension.
"Bro-Brother Chen, what should I do now?
Why did this thing get attached to me, and can I still be saved?"
My only hope now was this colleague, Chen Qiang.
Brother Chen waved his hand, regaining his composure:
"Little Qin, don't panic.
Brother Chen learned a few tricks from the old master of Longhu Mountain back in the day.
I always get things done reliably.
How about this, I'll ask for leave first.
Tonight, Brother Chen will sort this out for you..."