NOVPUBThe two parties parted on tense terms.
The health inspection team left a rectification notice for the factory and headed out.
Yet, just a few minutes into their drive, Eamon reached into his pocket and realized his phone was missing.
He quickly asked the driver to pull over.
"You all have work to attend to. Just drop me here. I’ll go back to look for it, and once I find it, I’ll catch a taxi back," Eamon said.
"Alright, just be careful, Eamon. Don’t forget your umbrella," a colleague reminded him.
Jovan, who was relatively close to Eamon, suddenly offered, "I don’t have anything urgent. How about I accompany you? Without your phone, everything becomes inconvenient. With this terrible weather and remote location, even hailing a taxi would be a challenge."
The others nodded in agreement.
The two of them exited the car, walking side by side under the pouring rain, sharing an umbrella, and headed back towards the factory.
Glancing around, after holding back for some time, Jovan finally said, "Eamon, perhaps you should soften your approach a bit. Since I started here, you’ve held this position for four years. Not even a raise in your salary, let alone a promotion."
"You’ve been mentoring me, and in many ways, you’re like a master to me. I hate to see you stuck at this level. Besides, some factories genuinely face unforeseeable challenges."
Eamon’s face displayed a mix of emotions, and he replied with a resigned smile, "Jovan, I get where you’re coming from. But it’s like what I’ve always told you — in our line of work in sanitation and quality control, each factory we oversee impacts many people’s health."
"If we compromise now, what about the next time? Boundaries are eroded bit by bit. Before you know it, you won’t even recognize the place you started from."
Jovan chuckled, his tone infused with a hint of melancholy, "You’re my mentor. I can never win arguments against you. But your mother is bedridden with a prolonged illness, and the monthly medical expenses are no joke. You’re also of an age where you should be settling down. Don’t you think you should seriously consider these aspects of your life?"
Eamon gave a forced smile, "As long as I’m alive, there’ll always be a way. After work, I take on part-time jobs every day. In a month, I earn an extra three to four thousand. Coupled with my regular salary, it’s enough."
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, he felt his foot step into something quite sticky.
Glancing down, he noticed a pale-yellow viscous substance.
Following the trail, it led them into an alleyway between two factories.
The two exchanged a glance, voicing simultaneously, "Improper disposal of by-products."
"Let’s find out which factory is responsible," Eamon declared, leading Jovan along the trail of the yellowish substance into the alley.
The trail stretched on.
Eventually, it brought them to an abandoned factory, long since closed down.
Pushing open a rusty iron door, they saw an open area littered with plastic barrels.
Several large pits dotted the ground, and the viscous substance seemed to emanate from one of these holes.
"Be careful! Stay here; I’ll take a closer look."
For some inexplicable reason, upon arriving here, a wave of unease welled up inside Eamon.
After a brief word of caution, he moved forward on his own.
The rain was heavy, yet there were no traces of standing water in the pits, indicating their profound depth.
"To save some money, they dig such deep holes and dump the waste into them. It’s truly unconscionable!" Even Jovan, with his usually gentle temperament, could barely contain his frustration.
"What do we do now, Eamon?" he asked.
Looking around, amidst the relentless rain and the ceaseless patter, Eamon somberly stated, "Inform the others. Get the technical team over here to collect samples for testing. Then, we’ll get the police involved to help investigate who’s behind this."
Jovan nodded in agreement.
Then, seemingly catching something out of the corner of his eye, he pointed and exclaimed, "Eamon, there seems to be some meat over there."
Rushing over, they discovered several chunks of meat scattered amid the mud, covered with the same pale-yellow substance.
Comparing it with a recent memory, Eamon, with a furrowed brow, inquired, "Considering the processing, doesn’t this look similar to the products from the factory we just visited?"
Crouching down for a closer examination, Jovan confidently said, "It must be from that place. Remember, Eamon? Their food processing plant has been reporting missing meat lately, with no trace of the culprit."
"You mean to say..."
Nodding gravely, Jovan added, "Eamon, I’ll check out other parts of this area to see if there are any more clues." He then ventured further into the open grounds.
Recalling the scenes from the factory, a growing sense of doubt enveloped Eamon as he stood up.
Just then, a series of hushed whispers echoed in his ears.
Listening closely, the voice was tantalizingly elusive — as if originating from a distant land yet simultaneously murmuring over his shoulder, luring him, pulling him deeper into a trance.
Suddenly, the familiar world before him began to contort, igniting an urge to tear everything apart, desiring to blanket everything in the bloody fragments of torn limbs.
The pulsating tug of muscles, the delicate sound of viscous fluid flowing...
Abruptly, an innate sense of alertness surged within, jolting Eamon awake, his body quaking with dread.
Glancing towards Jovan, it was evident that he too had heard the eerie whispers, his expression gradually turning vacant, lost in a daze.
Eamon’s unease peaked, the goosebumps on his back feeling ready to explode. Whatever this was, they needed to flee.
Desperately shouting at the entranced Jovan, he bellowed, "Run!"
But amidst the surrounding cacophony, his shout seemed mere whispers, and the distant Jovan showed no sign of responsiveness.
"Run!"
Eamon cried out again, his voice nearing a breaking point, yet the situation remained unchanged.
Seeing this, Eamon gritted his teeth, hastily plunging through the mud to rouse Jovan.
Meanwhile, a sinister hue of crimson began to emerge from one of the pits, hinting at something fleshly and bloody beneath.
