"Wrench, hurry up! If you don't come soon, I'm really going to be stabbed to death!"
I closed my eyes in despair, repeating the plea in my mind.
Just as I was on the brink of death, a sudden change occurred.
"Someone's escaping! Help, quick!"
Bullhead and Horseface had just started stabbing when a thunderous shout rang out.
"Who's there? What are you doing?"
Several beams of light shone over, followed by a dozen armed henchmen rushing out from the shadows.
"Run!"
Bullhead and Horseface, startled, dropped their knives and ran toward the dirt hill.
"Bang, bang, bang"
The gunshots were deafening. Without any suspense, they fell into pools of blood.
Liu Eleven approached me with a smug grin, his black Martin boots clinking against the ground. "Huh, you really are tough to kill, aren't you?"
Wrapped in his usual black leather jacket and pants, he looked like a creature from the Arctic. In such hot weather, wasn't he afraid of getting maggots under all that leather?
I bit my lip, not saying a word. His timely arrival seemed almost calculated.
I felt a wave of relief; the immediate danger was over, and I was safe for the night. But I didn't see Wrench.
"Are they dead? If not, get the mastermind out of them. If they are, feed their bodies to the fish."
Liu Eleven sounded disappointed. It seemed even he wasn't sure who the true mastermind was.
"Do you know who wants to kill you?"
I shook my head, feigning innocence. Even if I had an idea, I wouldn't reveal it. The one who wanted me dead, I'd find and take down myself.
"Lucky you! Reflect on your actions!"
Liu Eleven turned and left without another word. His henchmen quickly followed. Within a minute, silence returned.
I was wide awake.
"Are you okay?"
I called to the girl in the neighboring cage. If she hadn't screamed earlier, I'd already be dead. Thankfully, she saved me.
"I'm... fine," she replied softly, hugging her knees and facing away from me.
"Thank you for earlier."
"No need to thank me. It's me who should thank you. The medicine helped a lot."
I didn't know what to say. In this hellhole, falling ill meant being discarded. No one would spend money on a lowly piglet.
Everything here was exorbitantly priced. Cheap items were marked up ten times. You had no choice but to buy them, or let your money rot.
Being at the bottom, even earning money didn't mean you could go home or send it back. You had to spend it in the camp. The wool was always taken from the sheep, and you'd never get a break from these bastards.
"If you want to survive, listen and obey. I've learned my lesson. Never resist them!
It sounds laughable, but I escaped from Kokang with some people. Most died or fled. I ended up captured and brought to Myawaddy.
I told myself hundreds of times to comply, but my pride wouldn't let me. I had some value because I could fight, but it wasn't enough.
So here I am, left to rot in a cage. It's ridiculous! Fate can be so cruel."
I leaned against the cage, staring at the hazy moon.
I felt utterly hopeless.
The moon was brighter back home. Here, the foreign night sky was eerie and lonely, bringing tears to my eyes.
"Where are you from? You must be strong to have so many people wanting to kill you. I envy you. At least someone cares about you! Even that supervisor doesn't seem to want you dead!"
The girl looked at me intently.
Even she could see Wrench's affection for me.
What about Liu Eleven? Why did he show up with his men? Did something happen to Wrench...
I didn't dare think further. If Wrench was in trouble, I wouldn't rest in peace.
Thinking it over, I was sure Liu Eleven wouldn't kill Wrench.
"Hunan. The Xiang Army is strong. But I've disgraced them, trapped here.
They don't want to kill me because I must have some undiscovered value.
Once I lose that value, I'll be crocodile food."
I smiled bitterly, hoping that day would never come.
Whatever that value was, I hadn't figured it out yet. When I did, it would be the day I planned my escape.
"I'm so scared they'll sell me. I've heard being sold to private landlords is a nightmare."
The girl's grip on the bars tightened, her fear palpable.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you right now. You'll have to rely on your willpower to survive..."
I didn't dare say more, fearing someone might be listening.
She cried softly, not saying another word.
Everyone here was naked, shivering from the cold, worried about insect bites. Especially the girls with their abused bodies, their untreated wounds were horrifying.
The others just kept crying.
Crying over the unfairness, the ugliness of human nature, and their miserable fate.
I looked at the moon, unable to utter a comforting word.
If only there were a real-life god of war to eliminate these evils.
But, alas, novels are just novels. There would never be absolute fairness or a hero arriving on a cloud.
Wherever there is light, there is also darkness. People only see the light and ignore the lurking darkness.
They don't realize that darkness is always trying to consume the light, to control everything.
Human desire is terrifying, the cruelest beast in the world.
I sat there, staring at the moon, pondering life and dreams until dawn.
Wrench didn't show up.
No news is good news, I thought.
When the sun rose, we felt a bit warmer.
Morning light brought a flicker of hope.
The sun always brings a ray of light, momentarily illuminating the darkness within.
"Bro! You're really locked up here. I was so worried last night!"
Ba Yi suddenly rushed down the hill, running up to me with a stick of fried dough.
"Where did you get that? It smells good."
Seeing food made my eyes light up. I was starving.
"A guard secretly gave it to me, told me to bring it to you. I think he's a friend of Wrench."
"I see. Don't tell anyone. Have you seen him?"
Hearing about the food's source, I finally ate with relief.
"No, I don't know where he went. Bro, why did you mess with that ugly woman..."
Ba Yi muttered, looking at me with a mischievous grin.
"Shut up! Mention it again, and I'll hit you!"
That vile woman, Lace, must have twisted the story and spread it around.
What on earth was she planning?