Passed another night in that small nest. Two children stuck together like glue... well mostly because or Gu Han's oddly close considerations that the two had to stay in the same space.
The small cell opened and four armed men enter the door making the children cry again.
"Stand up brat!" The man demanded coldly.
The children were in a mess. Some didn't know whether to do it or not while others whose been there for at least a few days obeyed with sobs and fear. Xiu Lin and Gu Han also stood up hand in hand.
The children were forced to line up and make their way to a large shower room. Letting them do their thing and change into white clothes to keep them clean.
Auctioning people required these absurdities, especially on dirty children who were kidnapped on the streets.
Gu Han was very caring towards Xiu Lin in everything. He helped him clean up and change clothes as the children were taken to another cage.
This time, the cage have some thin cloth put on the floor and made the kids go there barefoot. Xiu Lin felt that his collar was pulled as the line became smaller.
"Hey!" Gu Han exclaimed in surprise when the kid he was holding was yanked away.
He quickly turned around and saw that Xiu Lin was being carried by one of the kidnappers. Xiu Lin was also a bit surprised but realized it was time for that photoshoot.
He looked at Gu Han who was trying to make his way to him, but one of them stopped the boy. "Hey, ge, this brat has a decent face too. Should we include him in?" One of the kidnappers asked.
Gu Han was struggling still. But his weak body posed no threat at all as he was thrown on the floor easily.
"He's too fierce. I don't think he'll follow instructions like our little doll here." The other one looked at the silver haired boy who was being carried by his colleague and pinch the baby's tender fair cheek.
Xiu Lin flinched but didn't move. He wanted to hide from the other person but he equally didn't want to rely to the one carrying him since they were on the same flock as that other guy.
"Stop touching him!" Go Han exclaimed. His fist trembling in anger.
[Host, are you okay?] 1204 asked with worry.
'It seems like children's body is more complicated than I thought.' Xiu Lin responded. 'Also, this body is a bit odd.'
[Why does the host say so?] 1204 asked.
'It's very empty. I'm not even panicked in the slightest. I think there's something wrong with the brain.' He hummed. 'But I think this is advantageous as well. I don't need those unnecessary fear now.'
The two, host and system, chatted until Xiu Lin finally realized he was in a big luxurious looking bedroom that was so far from that cramp and crowded pile of children storage.
This place was the so-called studio. The place where the boy breathed his last breath after helping out Gu Han, the protagonist of this world, to be free.
Ah, what a disgusting place.
The man who was carrying him, sat him on the side of the bed while the other put down a box on the floor that was overflowing with different clothes. Trailing behind was the struggles Gu Han who was being dragged from the collar of his shirt. He was also pushed on the bed where he immediately pulled Xiu Lin and hugged him protectively.
Xiu Lin, on the other hand, glanced at his little lover before looking back to the others. Two were busy digging out for the clothes and the other two were watching over them. There were also two additional people watching the door which barricaded their escape way in case they wanted to run away now.
Xiu Lin already had the base layout and the necessary timing. So they just had to wait for that cue and yeet this little lover away so he can go die as early as possible.
"The old man said that the new theme was angels but he didn't even put any angel costume here."
"Just grab anything white. We don't have time for this. The photographer is coming."
It was the first time Gu Han went to the 'studio' and was very confused. What do they want with Lin?
The man finally grabbed some white clothes from the pile and threw some for each of them randomly. "Hurry up and change." The man demanded.
Xiu Lin instinctively wriggled out of Gu Han and jumped off the bed. He then pulled Gu Han with him who looked very bewildered as they entered a small changing room. The little guy tiptoed to open the lights and turned to the older child.
"Hurry, if you don't wear clothes quickly, the bad guys will hurt you." Xiu Lin explained with broken and thought out words, as he undressed and grabbed his set of clothes.
Gu Han understood the child's generosity of warning him and changed his outfit as well. Seeing both had changed attires, the younger child approached him and took his wrist with his small chubby hands.
While Gu Han wore a small suit that covered all his skin, Xiu Lin's attire was different. It was a daycare attire, but with its shoulder area missing, exposing the child's tender and delicate shoulder joints and he also wore white shorts that only reached half his thigh.
It looked quite cute. But horrifying in a few degrees, considering that they're in such a place dressed up in those devils' sick fantasies.
"The bad guys will say what you do, you can not cry. They will give more ouchies." He added. The set of vocabulary in Xiu Lin's arsenal were limited. As he was kidnapped when he was four, he wasn't able to speak to anyone much. Except the kidnappers who always spoke inappropriate all the time.
"Okay, thank you." Gu Han looked at the boy softly and was once again grateful.
His eyes poured hatred towards these evil men. How dare they take the life of this pure and innocent child so cruelly like that? He can never forgive it nor will he let them get away with this!
The boy opened the door and found that more people were inside. From six armed men with the addition of three others who were setting up lights and preparing cameras.
Xiu Lin's grip on Gu Han's wrist tightened. This boy holds the same weight of soul as his lover. How could he let him do such a thing?
"Umm..." Xiu Lin's small voice sounded in the room to take the adult's attention. "Can he not picture with me? I can do one on my own..." the boy tried to plead.
"And why not, little gem?" The man's skinny hand touched the baby's exposed shoulder. From what Gu Han could see, he guessed that he was the cameraman. But everything around him spoke unsightly to the boy. He didn't like how this person looked at Xiu Lin, didn't like how he touched the boy's shoulder affectionately.
"He... is new... and he'll get ouchies if he does wrong." Xiu Lin explained, trying to act like a real naive sacrificial child to the best of his abilities.
"Oh? What a little bun you are. I never thought I'll meet a real Santo Niño in such a place." He pinched the tender cheek too tightly that Xiu Lin let out a small cry. The man looked at the child coldly and let go, leaving a red mark on the cheek. "Who do you think you are, standing up like a hero? Remember that you're just a stupid mutt that needs to open his damn leg and be a bitch in the camera." He said while poking at Xiu Lin's forehead harshly again and again.
Gu Han on the other hand, was stunned by this person's outburst and how he hurt the gentle child in front of him. How dare they? How dare they?!
Losing his own sense of reason, Gu Han attacked the offender, finding the stick they were using to set up the lighting, and immediately shot it to the bastard's eye before he could be subdued.
It was so fast that before everyone could react to it, the cameraman was screaming in pain. Gu Han immediately grabbed Xiu Lin's hand and the two pushed past two adults who were caught off guard and got out.
He remembered the way in his heart. He will never do the same mistake again as he pulled the stunned Xiu Lin with him to make a run for it.
[Host!-- are you--- Host!-- Are you al--ght?! What's happening? I'm losing contact--- you-- host!]
Xiu Lin also didn't know what was going on with his head and the current situation in his reality. Gu Han was pulling him to escape... stabbed someone in the eye... Gu Han did? Also 1204... what's happening to that small system? Did his signal got lost?
He was so confused.
The two hid in the place hardest to find. Gu Han had planned this and he knew it was time. They only needed to wait!
Just as he predicted! Sirens rang and gunshots fired everywhere. He covered the baby's ears and hugged him closer looking at how he seemed to have turned abnormal after what happened in the room.
It's probably his first time seeing something so bloody. Gu Han cursed. He could have told him to close his eyes!
"Hey, little Lin, don't be scared. We'll get through this." He whispered with a doting smile.