The Chindwin River is a branch of the larger Irrawaddy River, which flows through Myanmar and into the Andaman Sea. This river is known for its abundance of wildlife, and there were also rumors that there was gold there. It was here that one of the camps of the cartel "workers" was located, called Anandaman. They caught homeless people and forced them to work for them, cutting down trees.
This camp has been standing for a year now, many poor souls have passed through it and many of them did not survive. They died of malaria, infection, or decided to escape and got a bullet in the back, and those who managed to escape were lost in the vast jungle, all around there was only wilderness. The camp is surrounded by a fence with metal wire, which is patrolled around the clock by armed people in Anandaman cars. It is impossible to escape, unless you have some kind of flight quirk.
There were several barracks throughout the area, hundreds of people, first several checkpoints, then a road into the forest, where the barracks, warehouses and tents for the cartel were located. As soon as Nobu found himself in a dirty and damp barracks, curious glances were directed at him. Destitute and unhappy glances of emaciated people who are forced to work 16 hours a day. Nobu was given a small corner, next to which there were several other children. All the workers wore unwashed and dirty clothes. The barracks stank of sweat.
"This is just a bed of hay. Okay, it's better than tree branches." - they removed his shackles and put on handcuffs, in which he will apparently remain for the rest of the time in the barracks, and when they take him out, they will again rebuild him into a common long chain leading into the forest. "So, it's time to check Adhesion. The name is incomprehensible, to say the least." Nobu activated the Adhesion quirk. The hand he was holding his head with while lying on the bunk grew heavy and pressed itself into the floor as if it had been magnetized. He was surprised and came up with a couple of ideas on how to use it. "I wonder if it would cover the entire body?" No sooner said than done. Nobu magnetized himself to the damp wooden floor, it was easy for him to demagnetize parts of his body again and stand up calmly.
"It would be interesting to try it on a vertical surface." Nobu imperceptibly magnetized his hand and foot to the wall and realized that he could easily walk on the wall, even, perhaps, on the ceiling. "Like some kind of electromagnetic interaction."
"Expansion. Hmm, I'm afraid it will be difficult to understand based on the name, its operating principle. No one here uses quirks, and I only saw the mutation in a couple of cartel fighters. There's another shift in 12 hours, I guess I'll be working."
While Nobu was thinking, lying on the bunk, the medic had long since left and one of the locals approached him. The adult Burmese man asked something, but Nobu did not understand anything. He raised his voice and Nobu was forced to react, at least to see from his eyes whether he was aggressive.
When he turned and looked into his eyes and saw only endless anger, pupils swollen with bloody capillaries with tired and darkened eyelids. The man drooped from Nobu's red eyes with snowflakes. They are... unquestioning. Nobu stood up to seem more terrifying, which gave weight as animals do in nature, but the disadvantaged man did not decide to stop and in response to the obvious red rag, like a bull, decided to attack.
Apparently he did not like Nobu's appearance. Myanmar has a strong conservative society and everyone hates the external manifestation of quirks. In liberal and democratic countries, this is usually respected, and even there they treat such people with disgust and contempt, not to mention third world countries, where people with mutations die first.
The fist flew at Nobu, and he went down because of his height, it is easier for him to dodge, and the Aspect of the Snake is a strong thing. Nobu decided to teach him a lesson and kicked him in the groin with all his might. He lost his balance and fell from pain, writhing in pain. "I have already fought with opponents superior to me, both in mass and size." Nobu caught his breath, but the other men stood up for the stunned enemy and attacked Nobu at once.
The boy was not ready for this, because it is still difficult to fight against numerical superiority. Nobu did not even try to find a compromise. Firstly, because he did not know the language. Secondly, in the wild there is no gray, there is only black and white, and you have to choose, otherwise you are doomed to die.
He was kicked and beaten by several men. There are different concepts here, like in prison and people who have been in the camp for a long time, were once prisoners, and some puppy should not know his place. Especially if he does not look right.
Such discrimination of appearance due to quirks was still widespread, especially in third world countries. One girl, who had been here for several days, decided to secretly call the guards, starting to knock on the locked door. The guards burst into the barracks and fired into the air, the crowd dispersed, Nobu was driven into a corner, he covered his head. There were no thoughts in his head, he felt sick from his weakness. He clenched his fist, holding back his anger. He wanted to use a quirk, but he can't.
What to do in a situation of complete domination over you - obviously look for weak points and vulnerabilities, but what if there is no time to look?
The guards took the instigator out, and the crowd gathered nearby to gawk, many would have considered this a chance to escape, but no one tried, knowing the futility of the idea. The convict beat him ten times on the back with a whip and threw him into the mud. It began to rain, Nobu watched as the soldiers dragged the man to the medic.
- Damn. - Nobu touched his broken nose, spitting out saliva, slightly shaking from the cold and overexcitement from the fight. He had a couple of bruises and abrasions. Karem's eyes during the beating, he noticed who called the guards. Already in the barracks, he looked at the girl. She smiled back. She looked thin, timid and unhappy. "I don't know who she is and what she wants from me, but I will not fall for it."
Lying on the floor, Nobu noticed how one man came up to the next seat, which was already occupied, and said something. The next seat became free, and the man lay down next to him. Apparently, his interest in Nobu was justified by something, so he started a dialogue.
- Good hit. - He said in English. Nobu was surprised, continuing to lie with his eyes closed, thinking that they were not talking to him. - What is your name? - Nobu decided to open his eyes and saw a bearded and overgrown man. - Everyone calls me Min. Don't pay attention to my appearance, I'm actually twenty-two. You see, slavery makes you old. - He smiled.
- Don't be silly, I know that you know English. And you also don't understand Burmese, are you not from here? - He looked with a slight smile. Nobu was not in the mood to play these stupid games. "All these events seem random, but my intuition tells me and logic has put together a puzzle. They want something from me, and this series of events is aimed at testing me. Maybe I'm wrong and this really is an accident, in any case, they won't get anything from me." Nobu remained silent.
The man stood up and quietly said, "After all, you're still a boy." and left. "What was he trying to achieve?" Nobu wondered, and then fell asleep.
The next day, Nobu woke up to the sharp sound of an annoying bell. Oh yeah, he would have nightmares about that sound. That bell marked the start of the shift, everyone woke up and reluctantly they were chained to a common chain, and those who resisted were beaten and forced. "I'm afraid to imagine what happens to those who flatly refused to work at all."
It was a terrible sight, several chains with dozens of people wandering towards the forest to work there for 12 hours. The girl also looked distinctive from the crowd, of course, not like Nobu. She occasionally glanced at him. Nobu thought that this look was too feigned. Her name is Aung.
-Move your buns, hard workers!
Nobu along with the first chain of ten people received axes, the other chain carried logs. If you slack off, it will be noticed, at least it was clear from the guards. Aung and another weaker link were taken to other processes. The monotonous movement of the hands quickly got boring and he had to force himself to work, he already knows how to chop, the main thing is to work well with his back and hands. Sometimes the guards urged him on and shot into the air, apparently to intimidate the workers or just to have fun.
Those who worked incorrectly, and there were many of them, often got back injuries or overstrained themselves, they could inadvertently hack someone nearby along the chain, while the guards stood behind their backs at a distance. Overall, the quality of work had more minuses than pluses.