*Gurgle, gurgle…*
“Damn it! The bastard delivering my food is dead today! Won’t you feel guilty to death if I starve to death? This damn psychological suggestion!” Yadan grumbled as he groped his way to his feet, relying on the faint light filtering through the small window on the cell door.
Yadan stroked his stomach, which had long since gone on strike, and wandered aimlessly in the pitch-black cave.
Although exercise would consume his remaining energy, it was the only way to temporarily distract himself from his hunger.
He stumbled through the darkness, eventually stroking his chin.
With a sudden resolve, he groped his way to a wall.
He reached out, carefully feeling the stone surface until he found it—a kerosene lamp, though it was nearly out of oil.
Yadan lit the lamp.
Its weak glow illuminated the entire cave, and as he stared at the flickering light, a sense of solace finally washed over him.
Even his stomach seemed to stop rumbling.
*No!
I can’t let myself feel that!
The more I feel, the hungrier I’ll get!*
*Shave.
Shave.
Hurry up and shave.*
Though imprisoned in this sunless cave, Yadan still kept himself clean and tidy day after day.
After all, compared to his endless days in the void, this place was already good enough.
Moreover, Yadan firmly believed he could escape.
The problem was that his power was being absorbed too slowly.
Yadan had tried many times, making various modifications to the way energy circulated, but it was all in vain.
He found it extremely difficult to absorb the energy of this world.
After shaving his beard and tidying his hair, Yadan suddenly noticed, under the faint light, that his hands… needed washing.
They were filthy.
But water was a scarce resource.
These bastards weren’t kind enough to give him food and drink, let alone water for washing.
The water Yadan used was collected by stretching a plastic sheet against the wall at night and placing a basin underneath.
Relying on the cave’s damp environment, he could harvest a tiny amount of water by dawn.
But lately, the weather seemed to be getting hotter, and the water was becoming scarcer.
Yadan stared at his filthy hands, his lips moving silently.
As he continued his incantation, his expression grew increasingly weary.
Suddenly, a droplet of water materialized in the air, hovering between his hands…
In the dim light of the kerosene lamp, the droplet refracted a faint glimmer, announcing its presence.
*Drip.*
The water fell onto Yadan’s hand…
*WTF!*
A single drop!
Yadan tried to deceive himself by rubbing his hands together, but they were still filthy…
*Fine,* he thought, spitting into his palms and scrubbing them together.
*I’ll just have to make do.*
The spellcasting had left him even more exhausted and hungry.
*Where the hell is the food delivery guy?!
I should have made you bastards call me ‘Dad’ back then!*
*Thud, thud, thud.*
Footsteps?
Someone?
Someone’s outside the door!
The food delivery guy!
Yadan hurriedly extinguished the kerosene lamp, rushed to the door, crouched down, and pushed open the small hatch at the bottom of the iron door.
He reached out and felt around blindly.
*Where’s the food?* He fumbled for a long moment but found nothing.
He could only yell at the person outside, “Where’s my food?! Your uncle’s about to starve to death, you know!”
There was no response from outside.
Yadan, his hand still poking through the gap, flipped them off and shouted, “Hurry up and bring me my food, or I’m gonna starve to death!”
This time, there was an answer.
A voice that didn’t belong here—a voice so young and innocent—spoke timidly, “Uncle… here.”
Before Yadan could even process the sound, a harsh voice followed: “Get out of here, now!”
*Thud.*
Something hit the ground.
Yadan scrambled to the floor, peering through the small opening.
The figure was gone.
No, wait—a single piece of candy remained on the ground.
Yadan reached out and picked it up…
It was the sweetest candy he had ever tasted.
Later, Yadan learned from the guards that the girl was the daughter of a scientist imprisoned here.
The scientist was stubborn as a bone—he refused to cooperate, no matter what they told him to do.
But there was one thing only he could accomplish.
So, they had seized his wife, his daughter, and his brother.
His daughter was only eight years old.
*What a shame.*
*What a blessing.*
The shame was the guard’s sentiment; the blessing was Yadan’s wish for the girl.
“Is anyone there? Anyone there? Hello!”
One day, Yadan suddenly heard a voice speaking.
It was soft, childish… Get faster updates on g.com. adorable, and yet so familiar!
Yadan pressed his ear against the wall, searching for the source of the sound.
Finally, he found it.
In a crevice in the rock, after poking at it with his fingers and clearing away some falling gravel, he discovered a small hole, barely the width of a finger.
“Hello there! What’s your name? I’m Sally. It’s nice to meet you,” the voice from the other side of the wall continued.
“You know, my daddy and mommy were locked in this little cave with me. Oh, and my uncle too. The men outside are so, so mean. Sally… Sally is scared.” As she spoke, the innocent voice began to sob softly.
He could tell she was trying to hold it back, but her tears seemed to fall uncontrollably.
*So, the scientist’s family was living right next to me all along.* And the scientist’s daughter, this little girl, seemed to be talking to the wall… or more accurately, pouring her heart out to the cold, hard rock.
Hearing the little girl’s sobs, Yadan recalled the words she had spoken just a few days ago: “Here, Mister.” It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard here, yet how could such a voice be crying?
It should have been as sweet as the candy she had given him.
Just as Yadan was about to speak to comfort her, another voice sounded from the other side of the wall—a woman’s voice, likely the girl’s mother.
“Sally, are you crying? Oh, my baby, it’s Mommy… Mommy and Daddy failed to protect you.” The woman’s voice was also choked with sobs.
“No, Mommy, Sally’s not crying. Sally’s just talking to Uncle Stone,” the girl replied.
The tears were gone from her voice, replaced by a cheerfulness—a forced cheerfulness.
This little one was playing the part of a brave girl so convincingly.
Yadan heard the faint sound of running footsteps.
Ah, it must be this sensible little girl running over to comfort her mother.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, Anna. Don’t cry. Look, our little Sally isn’t crying. Be brave. We have to trust Tuck. He will protect you, and I will too.”
“Thank you, brother. I’m so sorry… If you hadn’t tried to protect us, you wouldn’t have been captured.”
“How could I just stand by and let them take my sister and my sweet little Sally?”
His voice was remarkably gentle—a rarity among foreigners.
It held a refined, scholarly quality, much like the cultivated elegance of a Chinese gentleman.
Yadan bowed his head and smiled bitterly.
*Tuck, right?
That’s the scientist’s name?* He thought.
*But you’re just a prisoner, and you’re just a tool…
How could you possibly protect them?
You’re dreaming.*
After all, this scientist wasn’t the first one in this cave.
Yadan had already seen two others here, and neither had made it out alive.
This was a place of death and agony.
Perhaps in two days, the family would realize this.
Or perhaps they would understand tonight, as the ceaseless screams of the tortured served as a constant reminder.
(End of Chapter)