Sam was breathing heavily. The two barrels of futuristic carbines pressed against him might seem amusing if it had happened in the old world. But unfortunately, this was his new world.
This weapon was clearly not a cosplay prop. No, it was capable of killing. That's why his heart was racing so violently. So much had happened in the last few minutes that he was still in a sort of daze.
"Kid, stop joking around. Hand over the revolver—now!" the Octopus said again, his face difficult to read due to his racial features.
Sam couldn't help but swallow. With a trembling voice, he tried to maneuver out of the situation.
"I swear, I don't know what happened. If I could do it calmly, I would have!"
But neither of the two changed their stance. The situation was becoming extremely tense, and Sam was already considering ways to avoid being shot in the head by both weapons.
'If I push both barrels aside with my hands, I might try to rush forward. Then I'll try to knock both of them off their feet, disorienting them. If it works, I can escape this room into the main part of the complex, and there...'
But suddenly, something caught his attention—something he had been eagerly waiting for. The glowing lights on his shackles had disappeared. He didn't know if it had happened a while ago or just now. But it only meant one thing.
A sandstorm was currently raging on the surface. One of the most terrifying events he had ever experienced.
Sandstorms weren't exactly rare on the planet. In fact, Sam would even say there were only a few dozen of them. The problem was that they were in constant motion, sweeping across the entire planet, never stopping.
Sandstorms were one of the anomalies of this planet, as they could last an unknown amount of time, but on average, not too long. A minimum of a few dozen hours, up to a week.
The slave camps were also affected by the storm, but there was one interesting fact—the camps seemed to be surrounded by something like a barrier. This is why his slave camp could exist on such a deadly planet. Some unknown technology protected the camp, almost nullifying the storm's effects.
There was also an advantage to the storms. When they happened, it was impossible to work, which meant that during storms, there were sort of breaks.
Others also seemed to notice that their shackles had partially shut down.
"Well, kid, you've asked for it! I'm giving you 3 seconds!" said the monkey, who had also noticed where Sam's gaze had fallen.
His heart raced wildly, his mind was slightly disoriented. If not for the sudden operation on his hand, it might have been easier for him to focus. But if he wanted to get out of this alive, he needed to just jump higher than his head and act.
"3"
Sam's body tensed to the limit, focusing his gaze on the weapons, planning to at least attempt to put his plan into action.
"2"
But then something unexpected happened. The "two" wasn't said by the monkey; it was said by someone behind her, a voice he recognized.
Before Sam could even process what was happening, green hands appeared around the monkey's neck. The same happened to the Octopus, but red hands appeared around his neck, hidden among his many tentacles.
In an instant, both guards were knocked to the ground using grabs. No one could properly react to this as the guards were already on the floor, in the same state of shock. Sam saw two figures. One had four arms and green skin, while the other had two arms and red skin.
Before the guards could recover, 34 and 28 had snatched the carbines from their hands and moved back a little. 34 held the carbine with his lower arms.
All of this happened in less than 2 seconds; no one could even see how exactly the two guards ended up on the floor. Sam was the only one who managed to understand it, as it happened literally before his eyes.
"W-what do you think you're doing?!" the monkey yelled, quickly getting to her feet, clenching her fists. But the barrel of the carbine quickly made her come to her senses. She bared her teeth and looked hatefully at the tall 34 in front of her.
The Octopus was smarter. He silently got to his feet and immediately raised his hands. Perhaps he immediately understood the dire situation these two were in.
"Looks like you're the real idiots here," said 34, smiling and showing his shark-like teeth.
He looked at 28 and with a smile said something like "I won the bet." The others were trying to figure out what to do in this situation; well, not the others. Sam and the fifth, 44, were still unconscious after witnessing the operation.
"Do you even realize that after this, they'll skin you alive in the camp?! Damn slave, how dare you behave like this?!"
34's smile vanished, replaced by a snarl.
"Listen, you must be really stupid. Why do you think I'd go back to a place where they'd want to skin me? It would be better for you to shut up, or I'll have to leave only one of you alive. Although... in any case, not for long, right, Frankie?"
When he mentioned the name Sam hadn't heard for a long time, the Octopus looked at him coldly and spoke.
"I didn't know the rats would come for their cheese after all."
"Oh, well, of course. Rats never leave those who were once among them. Even if it was 10 years ago. Besides, as it turns out, we also found an entire underground complex full of interesting things."
Sam understood what these two were talking about. And it didn't bode well.
In such vast desert wastelands, there were not only slave camps but also many different cities. However, who rules the wastelands themselves?
The answer was simple—bandit groups.
The Rats were one of them. Perhaps the most notorious in these parts. They specialized in raiding trade caravans between cities, and sometimes even conducted raids on cities or slave settlements. They were the real scum, as all they wanted was endless anarchy and violence.
Sam slowly got up from the floor, watching the scene. No one reacted.
"What do the Rats want? Is it all just to catch someone who once ran with them? Or didn't you like that someone from your pack decided not to live by your rules?" asked the Octopus, with undisguised disdain in his voice.
"Well, it's simpler than that. Debts need to be paid," said the green one, nodding to his partner. They switched places, and now the red one was strictly watching the silent monkey, who was already realizing that the slaves were not ordinary.
"Debts? I already left you everything I had before I ended up in this camp," said the Octopus, lowering his hands.
"Well, of course, what about the training? What about joining the clan? Don't you know that everything has to be paid for? You only paid a small part, leaving your stuff with us, which actually belonged to us."
34 lowered his weapon and smiled at the Octopus.
"Let's get to the point. If you want to kill me—go ahead. It would be better than living on this cursed planet."
"And here you're mistaken," said the green one, smiling even wider. "What's the point of you dying? No, no, no... You're coming with us, back to the lair, and there we'll discuss exactly how you'll repay your debt."
Sam saw the Octopus tense up. For some reason, he preferred death over returning.
"Stop playing your stupid game, Hunter. I already said I'm not going with you."
'Hunter?'
34 stopped smiling again. He stared at the Octopus for 10 seconds. The room was filled with a deathly silence and an incomprehensible pressure. Even breathing seemed dangerous in this situation. Sam stood still, not taking his eyes off 34, who was nicknamed the Hunter.
"So you do know who I am. That makes things easier. If you don't come willingly, I'll drag you myself. If you resist, I'll have to remove your arms. Choose for yourself—go on your own, keeping all your limbs, or be dragged without them. The choice seems obvious, Frankie."
Frankie stood silently, listening to what was being said. At some point, he seemed to give up.
"You still haven't said what exactly I'll need to do. If you even brought your pet with you, then it's serious."
"Uh... Excuse me?" A female voice suddenly came from behind, which made everyone turn around, except for 28, who kept his gun pointed at the monkey's face.
"What's up, girl?" asked the Hunter.
Until this moment, the fifth had been completely silent. She had been standing on the side, observing. Sam hadn't paid much attention to her before, but he was surprised that she decided to speak.
'What's she planning?'