Theo stood frozen for a fraction of a second, his arm wrapped around Liana’s waist to keep her upright.
She was crippled, her legs trembling with every step she tried to take. If he wasn’t holding her up, she would have collapsed onto the floor immediately.
Theo swallowed hard, keeping his face as blank as possible.
How did she even know? He hadn’t flexed any muscles, nor had he unleashed any glowing aura or magical power. He was just standing there, breathing normally.
But then he remembered who he was actually holding up.
Her vast experience from her past life meant her eyes could probably dissect a person’s foundation, breathing rhythm, and muscle density with a single glance.
Theo knew he had to come up with a believable excuse, and fast.
"I... I have a breathing technique," Theo muttered, leaning in a bit so the guards passing by wouldn’t hear them. "A minor concealment method. It hides my true physical state and masks my stamina."
Liana tilted her head slightly. "A concealment method? For a mere slave with a bronze collar?"
"I wasn’t always a slave," Theo lied, building the fabrication piece by piece. "I kept the technique active to avoid drawing attention from the border mercenaries. The weak get ignored, right? But seeing this place..." He gestured vaguely toward the bronze cauldrons. "I figured keeping my head down here will just get me tossed into the ash pits to shovel coal until my lungs bleed. If I show a bit of stamina, the overseers might give me a better role."
Thus, Liana stared at him for a long moment.
A sovereign who had survived countless assassinations and betrayals wasn’t going to swallow a convenient story that easily.
Though, to his immense relief, she didn’t push the issue.
"Smart..." she whispered, her voice weak. "But a better role in a cage... is still a cage, boy."
"One step at a time," Theo replied, adjusting his grip.
"Hey! Fresh meat! Stop dawdling by the fires!" a gruff overseer shouted, pointing a wooden baton down a corridor.
"Down the hall to the lower barracks! Get your uniforms and find a bunk! You start your shifts at the grinding wheels before sunset!"
Theo offered a nod to the overseer and slowly guided Liana down the dim corridor.
He could feel the severe damage in her body just by holding her.
In this brutal world, a crippled state like hers required bed rest and expensive medicinal pills for at least two or three months just to properly walk again.
But if the system could instantly rewrite his own genetics just for giving her a sip of dirty water, what kind of miraculous healing item could he get if he invested a proper meal, or even a low-grade pill, into her?
He could potentially bypass those months of slow recovery entirely. He just needed the right investment capital to trigger the next reward.
They finally reached the end of the corridor and stepped into the lower barracks.
The place was depressing. Hundreds of beds were crammed together in long rows.
Exhausted slaves in gray uniforms were slumped on their beds, staring at the ceiling or massaging their blistered hands.
An old, logistics worker threw two bundles of gray clothes at Theo’s chest. "Take a bottom bunk near the back. The top ones are for the senior laborers," the old man grunted without even looking up from his ledger.
Theo caught the bundles and helped Liana navigate the narrow aisles between the beds.
They found an empty wooden bunk near the damp stone wall. There were no mattresses, just thin, woven straw mats and a single scratchy blanket.
He helped her sit down on the edge of the bunk.
"Rest here," Theo whispered, placing her uniform bundle next to her on the mat. "Don’t try to move around too much. I’ll figure out the layout of this place."
Liana didn’t answer. She pulled her knees up slightly, leaning her head against the wall.
Theo stood up, stretching his back.
Just then, a loud bell echoed through the barracks.
Instantly, dozens of slaves leaped out of their bunks, their lethargy vanishing as they grabbed dented bowls from under their beds and began rushing toward the far double doors.
"Gruel line is open!" someone shouted. "Move before the big guys take the thick stuff at the bottom!"
Theo watched the sudden stampede, his eyes widening.
Food. This was exactly what he needed.
"Stay here," he said quickly. "I’ll go get us both some food."
He grabbed two dented bowls that had been left abandoned on the bunk above them and dashed after the crowd of slaves.