The newcomers in the training class were filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment when they saw me receive so much food all at once.
"Students, if you work hard and make lots of sales every day, you'll achieve snack freedom too! Now, let's continue with the lesson!" Ace returned to the podium, enthusiastically resuming his lecture.
I was on edge throughout the class and only cautiously gathered my heap of food to head back to the low-end dormitory afterward. It was the same row of makeshift prefab dorms I had seen earlier, squeezed between buildings.
"Hey, can you spare me some food?" A young guy with a northern accent blocked my way just as I reached the classroom door.
Asking for food with such impoliteness? My painful experiences had taught me not to be a pushover.
"Move!" I clutched the cardboard box tightly and replied coldly.
"Give me some milk and bread, and I'll let you pass!" The young guy's tone hardened as he reached for the bread.
"Bang!" I shoved him into the corridor before his hand could touch the bread, making the wire mesh behind him rattle loudly.
After eating the milk and bread, I felt significantly more energized than yesterday. The saying "you can't work on an empty stomach" was undeniably true.
"You hit me?" The young guy, full of bravado, swung his fist at me.
"Get lost!" I kicked him in the stomach, knocking him to the floor.
"Ahhh!!" Some of the women, frightened, ran back into the classroom screaming, while the men circled around us, commenting on my fighting skills.
"You really are a trained fighter?" He seemed to doubt that I had killed three guards, but now he believed it after experiencing my strength firsthand. True to the saying, "seeing is believing."
From today onward, I wouldn't show any mercy to anyone trying to take advantage of me. Otherwise, I'd end up in serious trouble.
"Did Professor Ace not teach you to use polite language when asking for food?" I dropped this line and hurried away with my box of food.
"Get me the video of him killing the black guard in the Shura arena," Ace, who had been watching from a distance, whispered to his bodyguard.
"Understood!" The bodyguard nodded and quickly left.
I didn't know what they were discussing, but I knew Ace had started to notice me. Rumor had it he was highly respected in Myawaddy, even by local warlords. If I could gain his favor, it might help me escape. Later, he did help me significantly, but the price was steep...
"Little Bottle, is that your reward from Professor Ace?" Wrench happened to be coming out of the cafeteria and walked over when he saw my haul.
With all this food, I didn't have to eat garbage and stale bread anymore!
"Wrench, want some spicy snacks?" I knew he had a high salary and could freely come and go from the compound and the mid-to-high-end cafeterias. He was never short of cigarettes and snacks, but I still wanted to share our Hunan specialty, the spicy snacks.
"We from Guangxi are no strangers to spicy snacks, just like you folks from Hunan!" Wrench's smile revealed two shallow dimples, making him look very approachable. Though he was not tall, he was muscular and undeniably a strong man, no wonder the twisted Liu Eleven valued him so much!
"The old professor said I'm a rare talent and rewarded me with a box of spicy snacks. This brand, Step by Step Winning, is my favorite, so spicy and flavorful, unlike those filled with MSG and chicken essence..." I set the box down, took out half to give to him, and started explaining the story behind Hunan spicy snacks.
"I can't eat this much..." Wrench was surprised, feeling like it was enough spicy snacks for a New Year's feast.
"Just imagine, having some drinks and spicy snacks while gazing at the moon and thinking of home. It's quite relaxing..." I suggested.
"Alright, I'll take them." He accepted my offer.
"Wrench, want to come in and sit?" I regretted my words immediately. He knew well enough what the low-end dorms were like and probably wouldn't want to enter.
"I need to go train some people. You get some rest and aim to make sales soon!" Wrench smiled faintly, carrying the snacks away.
Training guards? I sighed in relief and carried my box into the stinky prefab dorm.
Inside, the smell of body odor, blood, mold, athlete's foot, and urine was overwhelming. It was nauseating!
The room was small, with ten rusty bunk beds crammed inside. Twenty men and women shared the space. There was only one door and a small window, which remained open day and night to avoid suffocation.
I arrived before the other newcomers, so I quickly claimed a good spot by the wall and placed my box on the lower bunk. Then, I lay down fully dressed.
The grass mat on the wooden bed was sticky, the pillow was blackened, and the blanket stank. It was revolting.
Unable to sleep, I lay there with my eyes closed, letting my mind wander. I wondered how many more classmates Lulu had tricked. What was Chen Weiqiang's secret that he wouldn't share with me? Had Sister Yu, Big Head, and Fierce Brother escaped? Had Heizi and Scar returned home? As for the woman in white, it seemed unlikely...
Fifteen minutes later, the other newcomers began trickling in. After choosing their bunks, they lay down, cursing and swearing.
"Hey, it's you again?" A rude male voice sounded.
I opened my eyes to see the northern guy standing by my bed. What a coincidence, we were in the same dorm and bunkmates too.
He was about six feet tall, fair-skinned, and well-built. He must have been newly tricked into coming here, as he hadn't lost weight from hunger yet.
"If you don't like it, you can sleep outside!" I didn't want to fight, so I closed my eyes again after speaking.
"That's not what I meant. I'm big and moving around might disturb your sleep..."
"I know what you mean, you want me to take the top bunk and you the bottom bunk."
"Um... no, no, big brother, I'm thinking of you, worried I might wake you up when I turn over."
He nodded, then quickly shook his head, afraid I'd hit him.
"Don't explain. I get it. But it's okay, you'll be just like me in a few days." I shrugged, took out a pack of spicy snacks, and started eating.
Ah, the familiar taste of home! It was so delicious I couldn't stop!
Even in these dire circumstances, the awful smell around me didn't affect my appetite.
"Gulp." Watching me eat, the others couldn't help but swallow their saliva. They all craned their necks to watch me eat the spicy snacks.
Instantly, the authentic Hunan snack aroma overpowered the dorm's stench...