Walking from the dimly lit spacecraft to a well-lit area, Green couldn't immediately adjust to the bright light outside and squinted his eyes. At that moment, a slave behind him pushed forward, causing Green to stagger and move again.
The slave transport ship was parked on Scar Man's private helipad, a distance away from the bustling city. Here, his men would number the new slaves and brand them with special marks. The slaves wore anklets, and one hand was bound with a rope, the other end of which was tied to the waist of the person in front. Armed men with live ammunition flanked the path the slaves walked, and every ten steps stood a slave trader with a whip, ready to strike any laggard.
At the head of the slave line was a small room with an operating table. Once driven inside, the slave traders would secure the slave's limbs to the table. A masked doctor would then examine the slave, with special instruments recording the slave's physical data and transmitting it in real time to Scar Man's secret database. A special chip containing all the slave's information would be automatically generated. The doctor's final task was to inject this chip into the slave's neck. Made of a special biological material, the chip would cause a barcode-like mark to appear at the injection site. If a slave escaped, bounty hunters could identify them with a specialized code reader.
After the medical examination, the slaves were taken to an open-air training ground resembling a military camp, where they were divided into different groups. Now unshackled, the slaves had no chance of escape; the barcode also functioned as a timed explosive. The slave owner typically set a range of movement; straying beyond it would trigger the bomb. In every new batch of slaves, there were always a few who attempted escape once their shackles were removed. The traders and guards didn't pursue but watched as the escapees approached the training ground's edge, where the implanted bombs would detonate, reducing them to pieces.
Witnessing such horror, the remaining slaves became docile, including Green and his group. Green, having suppressed his own urge to flee, quietly restrained Hank from making a run for it, saving them from the gruesome fate of those who had tried.
Next, a slave trader would paint a number on the front and back of each slave's linen garment, indicating their auction number. Once processed, the slaves were loaded onto transport trucks and taken to Scar Man's auction house.
Bryde, the local mine owner from the Iskali planet, arrived early at the auction house. He had the largest number of private mines on the planet and was rumored to have a childhood connection with Colonel Carl, the power behind Iskali, who had made Bryde wealthy and provided him with a personal guard.
"Oh, Bryde, my old friend, I'm so glad you could come!" Scar Man greeted, embracing him enthusiastically.
"Scar Man, the slaves I bought last time were terrible. They died within days. You can't keep selling me these weaklings," Bryde complained.
"My friend, I wasn't aware. How about, in addition to a 10% discount, I offer you two young and beautiful female slaves? We've captured two who are said to be noblewomen. Their skin is so fair, it seems water would drip from it..." Their voices trailed off into mutual knowing laughter.
The auction began, with Scar Man personally overseeing it. He introduced the slaves, then invited buyers to inspect them. "Don't worry, they're as docile as can be, not like mad dogs," he joked, prompting laughter from the crowd, who then examined the slaves. Buyers used code readers to access each slave's basic data and a brief biography prepared by the traders.
The auction of each group of slaves took about 2-3 hours. It took nearly three full days for Green's group to be sold. Those who remained unsold faced death.
Bryde was pleased with his purchases, acquiring 30 strong young male slaves to replenish his mines after a recent accident. As he sat in his private aircraft, flanked by the two female slaves gifted by Scar Man, his pager beeped with urgent news: "Boss, it's bad! The slaves we just bought were hijacked on the way back to the mine!"
"Who dares to rob my slaves? Doesn't everyone on Iskali know they're mine, and I'm Carl's brother?" Bryde's anger deflated his earlier excitement. In the control room, his subordinate reported via video, the wreckage of the destroyed transport plane visible behind him. "Give me the details. What happened?"
Green and Hank, now owned by Bryde, were aboard the transport plane, contemplating their fates. Green, touching the barcode on his neck, realized the impossibility of escape without removing it.
"Brother, what are you thinking about?" Hank asked.
"When can we be free from slavery?" Green replied, disheartened.
"I believe it'll happen one day," Hank said. "By the way, have you heard of Wu Muxing?"
"The planet fighting for independence?" Green was aware of Wu Muxing, a significant event known galaxy-wide.
"Yes, that one. I overheard that Ilicas, where we are now, is near Wu Muxing," Hank whispered. "If we get a chance, I'll head there first. I heard it's different from the empire—no nobles, everyone is equal."
"Escape?" Green touched his barcode again. "It might be possible without this bomb..."
Hank's excitement deflated with the realization of their grim reality.
As the transport plane flew low, the slaves glimpsed the terrain through the portholes. Suddenly, the plane lurched, struck by something, and began to plummet. The inertia threw everyone toward the stern.
"We're under attack!" someone yelled, seeing smoke from an engine.
The thought of hijackers crossed their minds, but before they could react, another explosion rocked the plane, which was now disintegrating.
The slaves scrambled toward the front, trying to break open the doors, but to no avail. Green, realizing there was no escape, gripped a handle on the bulkhead, repeating to himself, "There's hope as long as you're alive!"
A ripping sound signaled the tail's detachment, revealing a gaping hole. The plane's nose lifted, perhaps the pilot's last effort to regain control, but it was futile. Several slaves were sucked out into the open air.
Bryde arrived at the crash site, furious at the loss. "Who did this?" he demanded.
"The colonel's men are investigating. It seems Old Henry's territory launched the missile," the guard captain reported.
Old Henry was Bryde's rival, and Bryde knew his brother, the colonel, valued money over loyalty. "I'll get my revenge," Bryde vowed.
"Are any slaves alive?" he asked.
"Ten are dead here, twenty missing. They could be alive or dead," the captain replied.
"Good thing I didn't set their activity range. Otherwise, they'd all be dead, and I'd be out of pocket!" Bryde thought, then ordered a search and a bounty for the living slaves, offering 30 empire gold coins each.
Green's fate was uncertain as he fell from the disintegrating plane. Would he survive and escape slavery?