“That lively voice of that girl, I can’t hear it anymore, Renxin.”
Not in the stone hut where Bai Ya was, but in another stone hut, the boy who had just untied his blood-stained bandages spoke to his roommate—the lion-man Renxin.
“After all, we all saw that hell with our own eyes. Spinning around right before death, she’s probably completely hopeless by now.”
Renxin yawned and replied half-heartedly, but then his expression suddenly brightened.
“I remember Lebulang was so scared that he lost control of his bladder and bowels, and even went on a hunger strike for days. Compared to him, that girl is doing much better.”
“Don’t remind me of that, thinking back on it is so embarrassing.”
“We’re about to die tomorrow, what’s there to be ashamed of, kid?”
Lebulang fell silent. Tomorrow, they would step into the arena, but Renxin’s words were too pessimistic—he sounded absolutely certain they would die.
“Renxin, if Uncle Luo, you, and I work together, is it really impossible to kill that damned man-eater?”
Hearing Lebulang’s question, Renxin lowered his lion’s head in shame.
“It’s impossible. That man-eater’s strength is Silver Rank. The three of us are Bronze Rank. Everyone else, except for that ugly monster, has no rank at all. But that ugly monster refuses to team up with us. He probably has no intention of surviving either.”
Lebulang lowered his eyelids. The gap between Silver and Bronze Rank was too great. He already knew there was no escaping death.
He wished for tomorrow to come more slowly. Even though he prayed silently, time would not slow down.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
Renxin and Lebulang’s attention was drawn by the girl’s furious voice.
That voice—it was hers. They both thought of the same person.
In the stone hut where Bai Ya was.
Fist after fist struck the wall, painful enough to kill, but there was no sign of slowing down the punching—this was Bai Ya’s way of venting.
The broken silver spoon lay quietly beside Bai Ya’s ankle.
“Sis…”
The girl sat hugging her knees in the corner. Bai Ya had finally become like someone who belonged in this place, which was completely normal. But…
The girl’s tears spilled uncontrollably.
After fainting in the arena, Bai Ya was carried back to the stone hut. The first thing she did upon waking was to madly dig at the wall with the spoon. Bai Ya’s current behavior denied all the hopes she once firmly believed in.
I should have come to terms with this long ago, the girl thought through her tears. Tomorrow was the day she would enter the arena. This time, she wouldn’t be a spectator—she would be eaten by the man-eater.
—No… please… no.
Despair drove the girl to contemplate suicide. Unfortunately, it was only a thought; she didn’t yet have the courage to decide.
I’m really useless, she covered her wet eyes with both hands.
“Heh, heh heh! It’s not that simple to dig through, huh? Aaaah!”
Bai Ya punched the wall again. The girl looked up in surprise—Bai Ya’s voice was strange. Why was her voice…
Full of fighting spirit?
“Ugh.”
Bai Ya’s expression suddenly froze. She pulled back her hand and glanced at her bleeding fist, her small mouth opening in shock.
Too much force…
“Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!”
Lying on the ground, rolling back and forth, when she stopped, Bai Ya’s eyes glistened with tears, cheeks flushed, and she blew gently on her fists.
After a while, when the pain eased, Bai Ya stood up full of fighting spirit, staring fiercely at the wall.
“Sis, are you… crazy?”
The girl asked cautiously. This was the second time she asked the question; Bai Ya was simply too surprising.
“I’m not crazy.”
“…Sis, are you desperate, or still holding onto hope?”
“Desperate.”
“Then why are you still… struggling?”
The girl didn’t understand—she really couldn’t understand. Bai Ya was the strangest person she had ever met.
“I’m just a story editor. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m afraid I won’t die. If I follow the script, even if I survive, I can’t go back! Damn it!”
Bai Ya was the protagonist of [SLAVE]. She knew the first chapter of [SLAVE]. According to the script, she definitely wouldn’t die.
According to the script, Bai Ya wouldn’t die. She only needed to sacrifice the girl.
Just sacrifice the girl—that thought echoed in Bai Ya’s heart. She began to fear herself, feared that to survive, she would sacrifice others. If this were a game, she would be a complete failure.
She would absolutely not follow the script! So Bai Ya resolved to make a change. Staying in the stone hut did nothing. She could only break out and seek new possibilities!
I’m the best player! This level of difficulty can’t defeat me!
Bai Ya shouted, punching the wall again, then quickly pulled back her hand in pain.
“I don’t understand. What you said, Sis—I don’t understand a word of it. Maybe it’s because I’m stupid.”
“Then just know this—I will make sure you live.”
Bai Ya smiled confidently. That smile was too dazzling for the girl.
However, the girl touched her burning red face and looked at Bai Ya. Bai Ya’s words warmed her heart. The despair slowly faded, and she wanted to live… after all, she had a strange sister.
“I’m breaking out!”
Bai Ya declared loudly. After glancing at her fists and the unscathed wall, she suddenly looked at the wall on her left.
“Uncle, lend me a shovel!”
“Got it! Step back a bit!”
A voice replied from the adjacent wall. Bai Ya quickly stepped back two paces. The next second, the wall erupted with a tremendous crash! Stones flew everywhere. After the noise died down, a hole appeared in the wall, just big enough to pass a shovel through. A thick arm holding the shovel extended out from the hole.
Bai Ya stepped forward and took the shovel. The arm withdrew back into the wall. She suddenly noticed the girl’s pale face and trembling body.
Bai Ya ignored her. Breaking out was more important. Just as she inserted the shovel into the wall, she suddenly realized something very important.
Uncle could punch a hole in the wall with one fist. Last night, when she asked to borrow a spoon, Uncle had punched a hole just like this and passed the spoon through.
If Uncle is here, why bother with a shovel?
“Uncle, lend me yourself!”
No reply came from the adjacent wall. After three seconds—
“Step back! I’m coming!”
“Oh oh! Come on, Uncle!”
The next moment, the wall shattered.