Volume One, Chapter Six: Into the Depths of Hell

At three in the morning, a piercing scream shattered the stillness. Li Yang jolted awake from a nightmare, his heart pounding wildly.

“Another one’s dead,” Xiao Zhou whispered, his face pale. It was already their third day at the training base, and two people had chosen to end their lives under the brutal regimen. Outside, chaotic footsteps and deep dog barks echoed—likely the guards handling the bodies.

Li Yang lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. His mind replayed the past days: electric shocks, beatings, insults, and those “successful cases” they were forced to watch. Each scene stabbed at his heart like a blade. He began to wonder how much longer he could hold on—would he break down like those others?

Before dawn, the shrill alarm blared. Li Yang, like the others, quickly donned the uniform gray training suit and lined up, heading toward the training building. The corridor’s fluorescent lights cast a ghastly pallor over each face. Shadows from iron bars etched black scars along the walls.

In the training room, Wang Meng stood at the podium, wearing that chilling smile. “Today, we’re going to conduct some special training,” he announced, surveying everyone. “To make you truly understand what professionalism means.”

The projector flickered on, displaying a video. A middle-aged man claiming to be a bank manager spoke with an elderly woman on the phone. His tone was gentle and professional, each word laced with care. Under his coaxing, the woman’s initial suspicion gave way to belief, and finally, tears streaming down her face, she transferred over five hundred thousand yuan of her retirement savings.

“Listen to that voice—how professional it is,” Wang Meng said, pointing to the screen. “Notice his tone shifts, his choice of words. That’s what masters do.”

Li Yang felt a wave of nausea. The old woman’s sobs were like a dull knife cutting at his conscience. But he dared not show any sign of discomfort; the day before, a girl had been dragged to the electric shock room for crying during the case viewing.

The next case was even crueler. A young mother sold everything she owned and borrowed exorbitant loans to pay for her son’s “hospital bills” after a “car accident.” When the truth was exposed, she collapsed mentally, and her family fell apart.

“You must learn to manipulate the victims’ emotions, to make them lose their judgment in fear and anxiety,” Wang Meng said with twisted excitement.

The following case was even more unsettling. A newcomer was forced to deceive his own family to prove loyalty. In his breakdown and struggle, he completed the task but could never look his parents in the eye again.

“That’s the attitude we want!” Wang Meng slammed the podium. “When you can lie to your own kin, you’re truly qualified. Emotions are the greatest obstacle and must be eradicated.”

Beside him, Xiao Ling began to tremble. Li Yang saw tears in her eyes and wanted to comfort her, but an assistant coach shot him a fierce glare, as if warning, “Try it and see what happens.”

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