In the mysterious basement behind the villa, a young boy who had just recovered from his illness was brought here by someone. His hands were tied with rope, and the other end of the rope was held by a tall man in a black robe with a white mask covering his face.
The man pulled on the rope impatiently, urging him to move faster. “Where am I? What are you going to do to me?” The boy asked several questions in succession, but the man ignored him.
He only used his whip to mercilessly lash out at him whenever he slowed down.
Crack!
As he was just a child with delicate skin and flesh, this one lash left behind a red swollen mark on his face. Blood dripped onto his white shirt like enchanting flowers blooming.
If it were any other child, they would have cried out in pain long ago due to this lash. However, this young boy remained unexpectedly calm. Perhaps he knew what kind of situation he was in and that crying would only make things worse for himself. So instead, he gritted his teeth and let sweat drip down from his forehead.
Finally, the man stopped walking and turned around to look at him with cold mocking eyes under the light bulb hanging above them both. In front of them now stood an iron door surrounded by silence as if it were warning him.
“Do not open that door!”
“Run away before it’s too late!”
But just as he turned around, ready to flee, he heard a faint creaking sound coming from behind him, followed by an icy cold breeze, carrying an unmistakable scent of blood.
The wind seemed to have a mind of its own as it pierced through his body, spreading from his feet to his mind, until the little boy felt his limbs stiffening, his legs feeling as if they were filled with lead and unable to move.
Escape was out of the question.
Just then, a hoarse voice sounded, “He’s a bit too young.”
The young boy curiously looked over towards where this voice came from using only peripheral vision; there stood an old doctor wearing a white coat not far away whose hair had already started turning grayish-white while wrinkles covered every inch of his face.
Finally, under the persuasion of the man in black, he reluctantly accepted the existence of the little boy.
“Okay, leave the rest to me. You can go back and report.”
“Yes,” after speaking, the man in black handed over the rope to an old man and left gracefully.
The little boy was now forced to face the old man. The latter’s face showed no joy or sorrow, but his lips curved into a meaningful smile.
“Don’t be afraid, come with me.”
He wasn’t stupid. This old man didn’t look like a good person at all. Besides, he wasn’t mistaken. There were clearly bloodstains on his white coat.
In such a place as this one, many thoughts flashed through his mind and his face turned pale.
“I won’t go with you. My family is poor.”
The old man laughed heartily, rubbing against his small head with thin fingers that seemed to want to crush him.
His actions were full of danger.
“Don’t worry; I don’t want your money. What I want… is your cooperation!”
“Come with me.”
“No!”
The old man admitted that he was not a good person nor did he have much patience when dealing with uncooperative children.
Facing such children who refused to cooperate only allowed him one effective method – acupuncture!
He held onto a silver needle before quickly inserting it into the back of young boy’s neck.
While still thinking about how to save himself from this situation, the young boy suddenly felt everything turn black before fainting completely.
His body fell down.
After kicking him once or twice just for assurance that he had passed out completely, the old man lifted up the child’s body over shoulder, heading towards the deeper part of basement while at same time his eyes shining brightly, filled with anticipation.
“This is already seventh time; we cannot fail again.”
Meanwhile, in the border city…
Suddenly, a tall handsome-looking gentleman appeared in airport, carrying luggage, dressed impeccably in suit and leather shoes, making people take notice immediately upon arrival.
Kelvin had just arrived at airport too.
He traveled around both domestically and internationally due to work reasons for several years, but this was his first time coming Yocmery.
According to information given by human traffickers, they should be inside Yocmery Airport right now.
Looking around, he saw signs and buildings with unique ethnic characteristics everywhere, making him feel unfamiliar and lost.
Just then, a man wearing a blue jacket and with dark skin and rosy cheeks approached him speaking in dialect.
“Sir, where are you headed? Do you want to take my car? It’s parked outside and about to leave.”
Kelvin was confused for a moment as he couldn’t understand the dialect, but from the second half of the sentence he could tell that this man was probably one of those infamous “black cabs”.
He usually traveled in his own luxury car or had someone pick him up. He didn’t need to take a cab himself.
So after guessing this man’s identity, Kelvin politely declined. “No, thanks.”
But the man continued to pester him. “Don’t worry, I won’t cheat you. You won’t be able to find a taxi here at the exit now.”
“Thanks, I have my own arrangements,” Kelvin replied curtly before walking away with his luggage.
After Kelvin left, the black cab driver continued pestering other travelers.
As soon as he stepped out of the airport, Kelvin felt how different Akloit was from Yocmery or Onistead… it was already quite cold by late October in those places but he felt hot now despite wearing both his white shirt and coat because his driver only wore short sleeves.
The driver noticed that Kelvin dressed well so assumed that he must be rich and started enthusiastically introducing Yocmery cuisine to him.
“Sir! You’re obviously not from around here! Where are you from?”
“Akloit,” replied Kelvin briefly.
“Oh wow! That’s such a big city! My aunt works at one of Akloit’s hotels, making seven thousand per month for being just an attendant there!” The driver went on talking non-stop about himself until they arrived at their destination whereupon Kelvin gave him 100 without waiting for change before quickly leaving because every extra second spent with this talkative guy made his ears ring like crazy.
But surprisingly enough, the guy chased after him, holding some change in hand under scorching sun, while smiling brightly, showing off his simple yet charming face, saying, “I said it’s thirty, so it’s thirty; I won’t charge you more!”