Shackles of Humanity

The chaotic sounds faded away, and Luo Kai’s consciousness surfaced from his dreams, but an indescribable sadness still flooded his heart.

The various sounds reaching his ears told him of his current situation. He wasn’t dead, but was being used as a guinea pig. Blood flowed continuously from an artery in his arm, sapping all his strength. It felt as if his very soul had lost its anchor, and an unprecedented sense of weakness washed over him.

Although his body couldn’t move, his senses of hearing, smell, and pain were still present. Every so often, someone would force-feed him large amounts of liquid food, ensuring he wouldn’t die while continuously producing more blood.

A long time seemed to pass. He felt a syringe pierce his neck, and a trace of Energy seeped through his body. His paralyzed muscle tissues recovered slightly. Luo Kai used all his strength to pry his eyes open a crack.

He found himself in a small, dark room. An ugly, monkey-like face appeared before him. "How is it? Feeling any better?" The speaker was Fur Monkey. He was wearing a white lab coat and holding a syringe and scissors, looking every bit the part of a doctor.

Luo Kai struggled to move the muscles around his throat and asked in a hoarse voice, "You work for Li Gui, too?"

Fur Monkey skillfully stitched up his chest, grinning as he worked. "You could say that. I’m not just a thief; I’m also a doctor. If it weren’t for me, you would have died a few days ago."

Luo Kai tried to speak again, but the door suddenly burst open and a group of people rushed in. A tall, dark-skinned brute strode forward, roughly shoved Fur Monkey aside, and grabbed Luo Kai by the neck. He then landed a vicious punch on his stomach.

His slack muscles offered no protection for his internal organs. The pain was so intense Luo Kai felt his intestines twist into a knot. A sweet taste filled his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. To his surprise, though the pain in his abdomen was excruciating, the stimulation caused his abdominal muscles to regain a hint of feeling. A strange thought flashed through his mind: ’Hit me again.’

Fur Monkey quickly tried to stop him. "His chest wound hasn’t fully healed yet! He’ll die!"

The brute paid him no mind, landing another heavy punch right on Luo Kai’s face. The force of the blow sent him flying and knocked out several of his teeth. Before he could even process what had happened, a high-top leather boot studded with iron nails was ground into his face...

The frenzied beating continued for half an hour, only stopping when the dark-skinned brute himself was gasping for breath.

His face was swelling violently. Luo Kai knew he probably looked like a real-life pig’s head right now. He spat out a thick gob of bloody phlegm and stared with contempt at the brute who had beaten him.

"Damn it, this bastard can take a punch. Young Master, you want me to try other methods?"

Gao Fei appeared, his face contorted with malice as he sat in a wheelchair. Both his arms and his chest were in casts and wrapped in bandages. Luo Kai’s punch had not only broken his hand and sternum but had also severely damaged his spinal nerves. It was very likely he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

"Keep going! Break all his limbs!"

As soon as he spoke, several more brutes rushed over and went for Luo Kai’s arms and legs. But after beating him for a long time, they didn’t hear a single bone snap.

Luo Kai’s limbs twisted abnormally, like noodles. The more the brutes hit him, the more bizarre it seemed. "Young Master, this guy is really strange!"

Gao Fei saw it too, his heart filled with a mixture of resentment and jealousy. He said viciously, "Kid, if you obediently tell me the Body Techniques you cultivate, I’ll spare your life."

Luo Kai couldn’t speak at this point. He could only muster the strength to lift his eyelids and roll his eyes. One of the brutes immediately stomped on his hand, grinding it viciously with his foot.

A cruel smile appeared on Gao Fei’s face. "Today was just an appetizer. Tell me all the Body Techniques you know, and I might consider going a little easier on you."

The pain from his fingers shot straight to his brainstem, a searing agony. By all rights, Luo Kai should have fainted long ago, but instead, he was becoming more and more lucid. It made him almost envy normal people; they would have passed out from the pain, while he could only endure it.

Suddenly, Luo Kai began to laugh along with them. But his tongue was so swollen it filled his entire mouth, so all that came out was a nasal sound, like a squeaking mouse.

The laughter in the cell stopped. Everyone stared at Luo Kai with strange expressions.

"Has this guy gone mad?"

"Laugh? I’ll give you something to laugh about!" the dark-skinned brute roared, kicking him in the face.

Sometimes, pain can also numb a person. Luo Kai’s entire body was trembling in agony, yet his laughter grew louder and louder, as if he were back on that night when Shui Su performed his Bone Forging.

"That’s enough! Mr. Shu said we can’t kill him!" Fur Monkey’s shout rang out. The beating stopped for the moment. Luo Kai instinctively curled up. Every pulse of his blood brought a jolt of pain like an electric current. His heartbeat began to slow, and the pain lessened accordingly.

Gao Fei’s expression was conflicted. He wanted to kill Luo Kai right then and there, but his future chances of walking again depended entirely on the research on Luo Kai’s blood. After a long moment of consideration, he snorted coldly and turned to leave. The group of brutes followed him out.

Fur Monkey dragged Luo Kai back onto the bed and sighed. "Gao Fei is the son of Gao Zan, the Grand Commander of the Dragon Shark Pirates. He’s always been arrogant. After suffering such a huge loss this time, he’ll never let you go."

Luo Kai grunted, trying to speak, but couldn’t get any words out.

With the severe loss of blood, he had also lost the powerful Recovery Power he relied on. It took several days for the swelling on his body to go down enough for him to barely be able to speak.

One day, he felt a syringe pierce an artery in his arm again. A cold liquid was injected into his body. The muscle tissue that had been gradually regaining sensation went numb and uncontrollable once more. Luo Kai opened his mouth and struggled for a long time before finally managing to speak, asking in a hoarse voice, "What... what did you inject me with?"

Fur Monkey hesitated for a moment. "An anesthetic, mixed with three milligrams of Divine Ruin."

Luo Kai stared at him through the slits of his eyes and asked, "What happened to the She Mountain Three Tigers?"

Fur Monkey didn’t dare to meet his gaze and sighed. "Same as you. They’ve all become Blood Slaves."

"Blood Slave?" Luo Kai suddenly struggled with all his might.

"Mhm. The more powerful a person is, the richer the Active Energy in their body, and the better the effects of the Blood Essence extracted from them!"

Luo Kai closed his eyes weakly. ’This Divine Ruin is too powerful. I probably won’t be able to resist for a while.’ Seeing Fur Monkey turn to leave, he asked in a low voice, "What’s your relationship with Li Gui? Why are you helping him do something so evil?"

Fur Monkey stopped, remaining silent for a moment. "I was an orphan taken in by Mr. Shu. My life belongs to him. So why do you think I’m helping him?"