Shackles of Humanity

Intimidated by his presence, the monstrous fish hesitated, as if debating whether to attack.

The man and fish faced off for a moment before tangling with each other. Relying on his powerful aquatic Perception, Luo Kai narrowly dodged each attack while searching for a chance to counter. Unfortunately, against the monstrous fish’s bulletproof scales, his fists felt like they were just scratching an itch.

The early spring river water was freezing. As his Qi and Blood Circulation slowed, the chill he had initially ignored became his greatest enemy. His limbs grew numb and his agility began to decline. The situation was growing more and more critical.

The young girl finally scrambled ashore. The fight in the water was incredible; her rescuer was even more agile than a fish. Seeing his movements begin to slow, she yelled anxiously, "Mister, hurry up and get out of the water!"

Luo Kai wanted nothing more than to get ashore, but his flagging Spiritual Power made it increasingly difficult to maintain his Resonance with the current. Without the water’s assistance, he couldn’t possibly outswim the monstrous fish.

The young girl seemed to have an idea. She suddenly snatched a rifle from a Guard beside her, raised it, and fired. Four consecutive shots rang out, the bullets striking the monstrous fish with precision. One of them even hit it directly in the eye. Her marksmanship was so incredible it was hard to believe it came from such a delicate-looking girl.

A stream of blood spurted out as the monstrous fish thrashed and disappeared beneath the river’s surface. Everyone on the bank breathed a sigh of relief. The young man exclaimed in admiration, "Cousin, what a great shot!"

But the young girl’s face suddenly paled. "Mister, look out!" she cried in alarm.

A shadow surged from beneath the water. Luo Kai reflexively twisted to evade it, but a tail fin covered in Bone Spikes immediately slammed into his chest. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness for a second. When he came to, the monstrous fish’s massive, fang-filled maw was already upon him.

In that moment of crisis, Luo Kai bit his tongue to force himself awake. As he dodged to the side, he shot out a hand and grabbed the fish’s dorsal fin, pressing his entire body against it. The fish immediately began to thrash wildly, trying to throw him off.

Luo Kai knew that in his current state, letting go meant certain death. He summoned all his Power, his muscles and bones contracting as he wrapped himself around the monstrous fish like a python. Man and fish tumbled together, swallowed by the river.

The river returned to its calm state. The young girl stared blankly for a moment, then slowly sank to the ground.

Nearby, Big Beard suddenly let out a mournful wail. "Xiaokai! My boy! If you’re dead, how am I supposed to go on!"

The young girl snapped back to her senses. She stood up, walked over to Big Beard, and said with her head lowered, "Sir, the mister saved my life. I will repay you for his kindness."

Big Beard was unmoved. He simply unstrapped the prosthesis from his leg and sat on the ground, continuing his dry wailing.

The young girl’s eyes were red. She said gravely, "If... if the mister has unfortunately passed, I promise I will take good care of you."

The young man added, "We’re from Black Stone Heavy Industry. We will definitely not treat you unfairly."

Only then did Big Beard’s wailing subside a little.

The young girl walked to the riverbank and stared blankly at the churning water. Even a powerful Martial Artist had little chance of survival after being dragged under. From their brief contact, she had already sensed that the mister’s constitution was very weak, making his odds of survival practically nonexistent.

’The image of him spitting blood and his final, decisive act of throwing her toward the shore flashed through her mind. To think someone like that actually existed in this world.’

She continued to stare blankly at the river for a long time before finally turning to the young man. "Cousin, have someone notify the County Affairs Bureau. Tell them there’s a man-eating fish in the Nili Long River, and they should warn the public not to enter the water."

The young man nodded quickly and shouted orders to his men. Then, he asked cautiously, "Cousin, what was that monstrous fish? Could it be a legendary Fierce Beast?" He hadn’t dived in to help just now and was worried she might hold it against him.

The young girl shook her head. "Not a Fierce Beast. It can only be described as a mutated species. Strange... The long-nosed crocodile is usually only found in the swamps of the Mist Mountain Range. Why would it appear in the Nili Long River?"

"Cousin, let’s head back to the city. Xiaozhuo should be out of school by now; she’ll be thrilled to know you’re here. Also, Uncle found out you were coming to Longyang City and made a special trip from Nanya Island. He’ll probably arrive tomorrow."

The young girl took two steps, then looked back at the river’s surface one more time. After a long while with no sign of movement, she sighed wistfully and turned to leave.

After the young girl and her group had left, the grief on Big Beard’s face vanished. He stroked his beard and muttered, "A descendant of the Tri-Eyed Race. It seems Zang Haisheng really is connected to them."

Then he walked to the riverbank and started muttering, "You damn brat. I know you’re too tough to die. You really are an idiot, pushing yourself so hard when you’re already half-dead. Sigh. You’re just like I was when I was young!"

「...」

Luo Kai was not dead. He held on tightly to the monstrous fish, refusing to let go no matter how it thrashed about on the riverbed, until his consciousness began to fade. Due to prolonged oxygen deprivation, that feeling of about to fall into the eternal Void returned.

His weakened body had held on this long purely through his tenacious will, but now even that will was starting to crumble. He knew the Void represented the dissipation of consciousness, which meant death.

In the instant before he lost consciousness, his body trembled with a final burst of energy. He drew back his fist and slammed it into the monster’s bullet-wounded eye socket. This punch contained all of his Spiritual Will, and its power was astounding. Faintly, his entire fist was enveloped in a black glow as it drove directly into the great fish’s brain stem.

When Luo Kai woke again, he found himself in a dark ship’s hold. His hands and feet were shackled. There were many others around him, all linked together on a long chain like grasshoppers on a string. They were all in rags, with varying skin tones, and they spoke in strange accents, almost like different dialects.

From their conversations, Luo Kai figured out his situation. This was a Slave Transport Ship. When a man’s luck turns bad, he just can’t catch a break. He had been fished out of the water by a Slave Transport Ship. After the slave master discovered the "9527" scar on his chest, he immediately assumed Luo Kai was a slave and unceremoniously threw him into the lower hold with the others.

He was already incredibly lucky to be alive; he couldn’t ask for more. He was utterly exhausted and fell asleep again a moment later. He drifted in a daze, unsure how long he had slept, until a loud commotion woke him. The slaves were shoving and crowding at the door, dragging Luo Kai, who was still attached to the same chain, along with them.

Several burly men with long knives at their waists pushed open the hatch and drove the slaves back with whips. Carrying wooden buckets, they went to each person and slopped out a dollop of brown, paste-like food. The stuff was made from wheat bran and rice husks boiled in a large pot. It looked unappetizing, but it was food nonetheless.

Luo Kai sighed. ’To think I’d end up back here again.’ Having come from a prison, he was never picky about food. He wolfed the stuff down. A warmth spread from his stomach, and a tiny bit of strength returned to his body.

The Slave Transport Ship swayed and rocked along for a full day. Luo Kai had originally thought about finding a chance to escape, but he found he could barely even walk, so he gave up on the idea.

The next day, the Slave Transport Ship docked at a crude pier. The slaves were all herded into several steam-powered trucks covered with black tarps. Luo Kai did a rough count; there were several hundred slaves in total.

The steam trucks drove for a long time before arriving at a railway station under the cover of night. The station was swarming with soldiers, who watched impassively as the slaves were driven, batch by batch, into the train cars.

’Luo Kai was bewildered. Where were they being sent? Why were they being transported so openly by train? Hadn’t the Xingma Kingdom already banned the slave trade?’

This was the first time Luo Kai had ridden a long-distance train since coming to this world. The train started up with a great CLANKING and CLATTERING. After daybreak, the scenery outside came into view. The vast landscape was covered almost entirely in weeds and trees. Villages were a rare sight; it was desolate and bleak.

The train stopped. A squad of soldiers in earth-yellow uniforms took charge of the slaves. The soldiers used whips to herd the long chain of slaves into a heavily guarded military camp.

Luo Kai finally understood the situation. ’Damn it,’ he thought, ’we slaves are being turned into Slave Soldiers!’

Although the slave trade was officially banned, it still ran rampant in the shadows. Even the militaries of various nations were involved, acting as major suppliers and buyers of slaves.

As the war between the Xingma Kingdom and the Nanzhao Kingdom intensified, replenishing troops became a major problem. Both sides were trying every possible means to recruit soldiers. In addition to normal recruitment methods, they also purchased Slave Soldiers. Slave Soldiers received no wages or war subsidies. If they died, no death benefits were paid, and they weren’t even counted as casualties. In terms of cost alone, they were even more economical than normally recruited soldiers.

The soldiers herded them into a brick-and-stone barracks, unlocked the chains, and roughly hosed them down with cold water. They sprayed each one with a large amount of disinfectant powder, then issued each person a set of bedding and a pale-yellow uniform. Afterward, they were driven into sealed dormitories.