"Bang!"
After the deafening gunshot, I realized I was still conscious.
Scientists have studied this phenomenon. After death, the brain still has biochemical activity, allowing one to feel the presence of loved ones and a strong desire to see them one last time, so death isn't immediate.
Though my loved ones weren't nearby, I wanted to remember Liu Shiyi's wretched face. Even as a ghost, I wouldn't let him go.
I also wanted to see Spanner again, hoping he would understand my look and scatter my ashes in the Xiang River where I was born and raised if he managed to escape.
"???"
I struggled to open my weary eyes and noticed a subtle change in Spanner's expression. He seemed to be secretly relieved about something.
Then, Liu Shiyi started laughing maniacally like a lunatic. "Wonderful! You're truly stubborn, unafraid of death! Hahaha!"
What the hell?
I rolled my eyes, the only part I could move, utterly confused.
"Killing you would be a shame! Tell me, do you submit?" Liu Shiyi crouched down, patting my face.
I was puzzled, but seeing Spanner's joyous eyes, I finally understood. I had been tricked by Liu Shiyi.
The gun had no bullets.
I felt a mix of anger and relief. I was relieved to be alive, but angry that the coming punishment would be worse than death.
This old pervert was indeed abnormal. Why wouldn't he just kill me?
"Speak! Don't play dead! I don't have much patience!" Liu Shiyi's face darkened, and he slapped me hard.
The burning pain snapped me back to reality.
"I submit!" I weakly conceded, hoping to reduce the torture.
"A wise person recognizes their circumstances. A young man who can be taught! Keep him and train him well!" Liu Shiyi wiped the blood off his hands with a handkerchief and turned to Spanner.
"Understood, I will train him well, and this won't happen again!" Spanner promised earnestly.
"Good! If someone can't be useful to me, I won't keep them no matter how capable they are!" Liu Shiyi's eyes flashed with a murderous gleam.
"Don't think I don't know it was Lace behind this. I just played along to show the mastermind behind her! And, I got to tame a wild wolf in the process! Truly killing two birds with one stone, hahaha! Today's incident is over, but the punishment remains. You've injured six of my guards, humiliated me, and caused significant losses! If I don't make an example of you, how will I maintain order? Spanner, lock him in the dog cage. If he can survive three days by any means, I'll use him! I, Liu Shiyi, keep my word!"
Liu Shiyi's voice was resolute and stern.
"Understood!" Spanner lifted me and dragged my battered body out.
Lace, you wretched woman, I won't let you go! And Liu Shiyi, knowing I was framed yet still torturing me, I'll settle both old and new scores when I escape!
I vowed to myself: from today on, I will keep a low profile but work hard. I must escape and avenge myself!
"Ping An, don't blame me. I had no choice," Spanner spoke as he carried me to a corner of the stairs.
I shook my head, indicating I didn't blame him.
"Survive these three days and learn to endure. This is Myawaddy, not Guokeng. Only by maximizing your value do you stand a chance, understand?" Spanner advised, carrying me on his back.
"Mm!" I nodded vigorously, tears falling on his neck.
Earlier, if not for him, I might have been finished. Knowing he would use his legs first, I had prepared myself and didn't resist directly.
He aimed at non-lethal areas, protecting me. Many punches sounded brutal but didn't actually hit my flesh.
This was the benefit of faking a fight.
For outsiders, it was entertainment, but insiders saw the truth.
If it had been one of those ruthless henchmen, they would have aimed for my temples or other fatal areas.
It was a blessing in disguise.
Next, I needed to escape the dog cage, or all efforts would be in vain.
In my current state, I couldn't kill guard dogs like before. I needed help and to trade something for survival.
But who could I rely on in this hellhole? Moreover, someone was trying to eliminate me!
While locked in the cage, I could be assassinated at any moment.
The thought was terrifying; I had to escape before nightfall.
"Don't worry, I'll have someone watch over you. I'll sneak food to you later," Spanner reassured me, setting me down on the grass near the prefab building.
To my shock, the dog cages didn't hold dogs but naked men and women. They were chained and eating like dogs from bowls of disgusting, rotten food.
"I... I..." I wanted him to find someone, but my throat was too sore to speak.
"Don't get agitated. Rest and regain your strength first," Spanner sighed, laying me on a bed of grass.
I wanted to thank him for making me a nest. It was laughably pathetic.
He locked the cage and left quickly to avoid arousing Liu Shiyi's suspicion.
Liu Shiyi's tactic of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys was to tame me and expose whoever was behind Lace by torturing me half to death.
I would remember this grudge.
Lying there like a dead dog, I looked at the other caged people and felt a wave of sadness.
Even in my dire state, I couldn't stand seeing others suffer. What a pathetic man!
I was extremely thirsty and hungry. After checking that the grass wasn't foul-smelling, I started eating it.
The other caged men and women noticed me, watching intently.
These people were likely here due to poor performance, turned into "dogs."
Women, usually defiant ones who refused to serve multiple men, ended up here.
Those with vicious snakehead bosses were forced to eat feces, drink urine, suffer horrific tortures, and eventually submit.
Even the purest women would succumb to their brutality, allowing themselves to be violated and humiliated until death.
And even in death, they would be...
I will recount the true experiences of snakehead victims in my later stories.
For now, my priority was escaping the dog cage.