In a dilapidated warehouse, there was a group of youths who were moving things around. The age of all these people ranged from sixteen to twenty-two years old.
The weight of the things that they were carrying was not small as it could be seen from the expressions that they were wearing on their faces at that moment. They were gritting their teeth as they carried the heavy weight using their scrawny bodies.
Although it was true that they could have decided to quit, none of them dared to do that, not to mention about complaining about how tired they had gotten over time. Even though they were completely worn out by the heavy duties, they still dragged their tired bodies and continued doing what they were instructed to do.
Yes, those youths were all doing that due to the instructions that they had been given. They were like slaves in this place and were not allowed to step out of the compound where this warehouse was located.
As for what these huge pieces of metal and stones were being used for, that was something that none of them knew about. And, they dared not to ask about that due to the fear that was implanted within them.
Among the group of over one hundred youths, there was a young man that was about twenty years old. He had been here for more than a decade and was thus used to the way that things were here.
But, unlike the others that were always complaining day in and day out whenever they were free, he was always silent, talking only when necessary.
But, one had to know that, getting used to the way that life was, didn't mean that he liked the life that he was living. Just like the other youths that were here, he really wished to get out of here and see the outside world once again.
He had short black hair, a face that was just considered normal, currently completely dirty, as well as a torn brown shirt and a short that had several windows. Well, the shirt was originally white but was never washed for a long time and had already changed the colors.
After setting down the steel beam that he was carrying, Henry took a deep breath as he looked at his colleagues that had just arrived and were already laying on the ground to rest. He himself didn't dare to lay on the ground. That was something that he had decided on for a long time now.
"Henry, you really are… a person that was… made for this type of job. Although… although you are not bulky, but at least… those muscles that are on your body contain a lot of strength." At this moment, one of the youths that was lying on the ground spoke.
He was taking a break in between his speech to try and catch his breath. At this moment, his heart was beating fast due to the fatigue that he was experiencing. The work was really demanding of his slightly bulky body. (A/N: Of course, only if he was compared to the other youths here, not normal healthy people outside.)
Henry looked at him and remained silent for a moment. After a while, he spoke, "It's not like we have a choice here. We have to adapt to this as otherwise, we would definitely die of exhaustion. Just take this as exercising your body like how you always did before."
Immediately after that, he looked towards a certain direction. There was a group of people that was holding guns. They were the ones that were in charge of the warehouse and the youths that were present here.
As long as they dared to go against the words of these guards, these youths would encounter a thorough beating. There were even some situations where some of the youths ended up dead after being beaten up. But still, none of the guards cared about that.
The youth that Henry was speaking to at the moment was known as Adam. He and Henry were both brought over here by a group of people. They were not sure about the location that they were in as none of them came over by their own will.
The two of them were friends for over a decade now. Even before they were brought over here, they were always together. They did almost everything together and even their families were close to each other.
In fact, Adam's sister was the one that was supposed to marry Henry. That was of course the arrangement that was made by the two families so that the bond that they were sharing could be strengthened further.
As for whether Henry and that lady loved each other, that was something that none of their parents cared about.
Typically, the two of them were previously from rich families. They were those that liked to party although they were young. (A/N: It's kids party, not the one for those that are considered adults. Alcohol is not involved in this kind of party.)
During one of the times that they were out to party with their fellows, they had been tricked to drinking by some of those that were older than them. These were those that were slightly older and had brought their younger siblings over.
As kids, their alcohol tolerance was obviously low and as a result, they lost their logical thinking.
Instead of going back home in the cars that they had come over in with their drivers, they had decided that they were going to stroll their way back home.
When they were on their way after they had escaped those that were supposed to take them back home, they were suddenly kidnapped by unknown people.
And although the two of them were male, there was no way that they could fight back when they were facing an adult. So, they were easily subdued, before getting into a van that took them here.
As for how they didn't even know where they were, that was simply because they were unconscious in the car, the entire journey as they were brought over.
Here, they were forced to do work that was already beyond them. And since they were previously spoiled, they had tried refusing. But after a beating, they woke up knowing that they were no longer at their homes where they were princes.
They began working even though they didn't like it. And this was something that they had done for a good eleven years. But still, they never dared to try to run away from here.
The reason behind this was, they had seen a lot of other youths that attempted running from here. But in the end, they had the same result, they were killed off the moment that they made the attempt. The security level here was not to be underestimated.
Although they had never tried running away, they had always been looking for ways that they could use if they got a chance. This had been going on for over seven years now. If they got a chance right now, they were sure that they could escape from this place. But, that was only if they had the chance to do that.
Adam looked at Henry as he rolled his eyes. He then got to his feet after much struggling. The reason why he was on the floor at the moment was simply because that was the last trip before they took a break. Otherwise, he would have already received a beating the moment that he touched the floor to rest.
After sighing, he spoke, "You know, you should not make such jokes that remind me of those days that we were free to do anything. I do wonder what would have been happening at the moment had we been back at home at the moment."
There was melancholy in Adam's voice as he spoke about home. He really wished that he could go back to that time that they had messed up. Had they not been egoistic and drunk the alcohol, they wouldn't have gotten drunk.
Furthermore, they would not have run away from their drivers and bodyguards. That was how they were supposed to be free if they would not have done any of that. Perhaps at the moment, they would have been enjoying themselves rather than working themselves off like now.
"Don't worry, there will definitely be a chance for us to get out of here in the future. If you give up now, how are you going to get back? You never know. They might even decide to let us go back tomorrow." Henry stated as he looked at Adam from the corner of his eyes.
"Hehe. Perhaps I should be positive like you. You have always been saying that for a very long time. But even so, it has already been a few years and there are no changes at all." Adam laughed as he spoke in a wry tone.
Henry took a deep breath but he didn't say anything. He knew that there was nothing that he could say to change the current situation. But still, he had never given up about leaving this place as he still had a family that needed him.
Although he might not be reliable when he was young, he knew that he was currently the only male child in his family. He was supposed to be the heir of his family, even though he didn't know about the current situation that the family was in.
As for whether they had looked for them or not, that was something that he had never doubted. The two of them were so loved back in the family that he believed that their parents would do all that they could, to try and track their location.
Seeing that Henry was quiet, Adam shook his head. Looking at the expression that was on Henry's face at the moment, it was obvious that Henry had already gone back to being in the usual silent mode.
"If we were back at home, you would have already gotten engaged with my sister by now." Adam stated in a low voice.
"The five minutes break is already about to end. It's better to get ready to get back to work lest you receive a beating. With the current situation that we are in, if you get wounds, you might not survive due to the burden that your body would be facing." Henry stated in response.