On the deck, besides the captured slaves, only Wood was present. Most of the people remained silent, either because they knew their fate or were too exhausted from hunger to speak.
Amidst the silence, Mary's crying and Hancock's comforting voice stood out among the crowd.
Hearing the conversation among the young girls, Wood turned around and went into the cabin. He quickly returned with a large amount of food, placing it in front of the girls.
"Eat, eat. I just checked, and there's plenty of food left on the ship from the auction trash. Even if we feast, it should be more than enough."
Seeing the mountain of food piled in front of them, Hancock and the other slaves were stunned.
Mary, who had been crying, immediately stopped when she saw the food, slowly reaching out for it.
However, before Mary could grab the food, Hancock slapped her hand away.
"Mary, you can't eat that! It's food from bad people—who knows what they might have put in it!"
Having gone without food for days, even Hancock was drooling at the sight of the food. However, reason told her that the auction people, especially those working for the Celestial Dragons, wouldn't be so kind.
Who knew what they might have added to the food? She couldn't let her sisters take that risk.
Unfortunately, Mary and Sonia were still children, and their empty stomachs couldn't resist the temptation. They struggled free from Hancock's restraint and slowly crawled toward the food.
Just as Hancock was about to assert her authority as the elder sister and knock some sense into Mary and Sonia, the dark-haired man guarding them suddenly reached out his hand towards them.
The Boa sisters had been beaten multiple times at the slave auction for disobedience.
Now, seeing Wood reaching towards them, Mary and Sonia reflexively closed their eyes and crouched down in fear.
Although Hancock was also scared, as the eldest sister, she stood protectively in front of her siblings, her eyes tightly shut, but her arms spread wide to shield them.
One second, two seconds... Time slowly passed, but Hancock didn't feel the expected pain.
Curious, she slowly opened her eyes.
In front of her was the dark-haired man, smiling as he took a big bite of the food.
The hand he extended wasn't to grab them but to reach for the food in front of them.
He ate the food in front of them to prove that there was nothing strange or harmful added to it.
"How about now? Feeling reassured? Although I've never considered myself a good person, I wouldn't stoop to such lowly tactics. Your sisters must be starving by now, and it would be quite a hassle for us if you died of hunger."
Wood didn't immediately try to present himself as a good person because he knew that would only make the little girl in front of him more suspicious.
"I want the half-eaten food in your hand!"
Despite Wood's words, Hancock remained wary and demanded the half-eaten piece of meat from Wood.
"Alright, cautious little one, as long as you don't mind," Wood said, handing the half-eaten meat to Hancock.
Hancock carefully took the meat from Wood and quickly distanced herself from him, as if afraid he might try something.
After thoroughly inspecting the partially eaten meat, Hancock handed it to her starving sisters without hesitation.
Mary and Sonia, who had been starving for days, didn't care that the meat had already been eaten by someone else. They devoured it hungrily.
As Hancock watched her sisters eat, her own hunger grew, but as their elder sister, she would never fight them for food.
"Hey, little girl, I took a bite of this apple too. You should trust it's safe now, right?"
As Hancock stared longingly at the meat in her sisters' hands, her stomach growling loudly after days without food, an apple with a bite taken out of it suddenly appeared in front of her.
Hancock wanted to defiantly throw the apple away, but her physical condition wouldn't allow it.
Unlike most people here who had completely given up hope, Hancock hadn't abandoned all hope, even as a slave.
Moreover, if she collapsed, what would happen to Mary and Sonia?
With that in mind, Hancock reluctantly accepted the apple from Wood and began eating it quickly, suppressing her disgust.
The auction staff had been careful not to let the slaves starve to death, but they hadn't fed them enough either.
Hancock and her sisters had also been starved for days, so a single apple wasn't nearly enough to fill her up.
Before long, Hancock finished half the apple in a few bites. When she saw Wood reaching for more food, she quickly grabbed it first and started eating.
She realized that if Wood had intended to harm them, he wouldn't be eating the food himself so confidently.
Having confirmed the food was safe, Hancock had no intention of eating leftovers or sharing with Wood, especially after he had already eaten.
The Boa sisters ate heartily, and it was clear that nothing was wrong with them.
Soon, the other prisoners locked in the iron cages began to stir. They reached through the bars, trying to grab the food Hancock and her sisters were eating.
Those who were farther away started begging Wood for food, forgetting how coldly they had treated him earlier.
This was the harsh reality—faced with desperation, not everyone could hold onto their principles.
These people had been starving for days, and when they had no hope, they were stubborn and resistant.
But once they saw Wood actually providing food, they couldn't resist the temptation.