Is there really no chance?

Lai Er had Ha Luo in a death grip around his neck, his eyes bulging from holding his breath. If Lai Er applied just a little more pressure, he could send the old man to the afterlife immediately.

"You... you're crazy!" Ha Luo recognized Lai Er and, connecting it to what Lai Er had just said, immediately realized something. He struggled, saying, "Your son's money... I didn't touch it... not a single cent, I saved it all for you..."

Seeing Ha Luo's nonsensical reply, Lai Er really wanted to take the old geezer away on the spot.

But he wasn't here to kill Ha Luo, so he simply kicked open the door behind him and tossed Ha Luo inside.

Ha Luo rolled a couple of times on the ground and struggled to get up. But as he looked up, he saw Lai Er standing before him again. Fearing Lai Er would deliver a killing blow, he quickly blurted out, "No, no, wait, don't do anything yet... I can apologize to you! Really, really, I didn't touch your money, it's all in that cabinet over there."

Lai Er strode forward, grabbed Ha Luo by his collar again, and lifted him up. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! I'm asking you, where is my son?!"

Ha Luo was a bit confused. "Where is your son? Isn't he staying in the No Man's Land?!"

"You're still lying to me!" Lai Er punched Ha Luo directly in the face, knocking out two of his teeth. "You took them away!"

After hearing this, Ha Luo finally understood that Lai Er wasn't here for the money.

"I really don't know where your son went!" Ha Luo, angered by the punch, said through gritted teeth, "After I brought you out, I never went back to the No Man's Land, how would I know where your son went!?"

Never went back to the No Man's Land?!

Lai Er grabbed Ha Luo by the collar again. "You're still lying to me! I gave you so much money, you said you would bring it to my son!"

"Alright, I did lie to you about that, but that's the only thing!" Ha Luo could feel Lai Er's anger. Fearing he would be beaten to death, he quickly explained, "Besides that small amount of money, I haven't lied to you about anything else! As for where your son went, it truly has nothing to do with me, and I really don't know."

Seeing Lai Er raise his right hand again, as if to use the Great Memory Restoration technique, Ha Luo quickly added.

"Of course, you can tell me what happened, and I'll help you analyze what's going on. But if you beat me to death, you might never find your son."

Lai Er's body was trembling. Especially after learning that this old geezer hadn't returned to the No Man's Land in five years, and that the "contact with home" he had always mentioned was actually a lie, he truly wanted to beat the old man to death on the spot.

But he also knew Ha Luo was right. Killing him would be useless, except for venting his anger. So, after taking several deep breaths, he lowered his fist.

"Tell me what happened!" Lai Er growled. "If you dare to lie to me again..."

"No, no, no," Ha Luo shook his head repeatedly. "It's come to this, why would I lie to you?"

Lai Er glared at Ha Luo, then told him about the village being emptied.

After listening, Ha Luo cautiously asked, "Could it be related to Contract Land...?"

"I saw the Black Merchant's mark!" Lai Er rudely interrupted Ha Luo. "It was carved on the door!"

Hearing Lai Er say this, Ha Luo knew that the Black Merchants were indeed responsible.

Black Merchants had a habit of leaving their mark when they abducted people, giving some families a chance to redeem them with money, and also serving as a way for fellow merchants to identify each other, meaning this batch of goods had already been claimed.

But for unscrupulous Black Merchants, the latter was often just a formality.

This made Ha Luo grit his teeth in anger.

Which idiot left a mark in the No Man's Land?

What fellow merchants could possibly be there? And the entire village was abducted, who else had the ability to redeem them?

Oh... there was the one standing in front of him.

Damn it, these beasts had really caused him trouble! If they hadn't left a mark, Ha Luo could have directly blamed Contract Land. Let's see if that idiot dared to cause trouble with Contract Land.

Of course, Ha Luo didn't dare to voice these resentful thoughts. He could only say obsequiously, "This has nothing to do with me, it must have been some other blind fool who did it..."

"You old liar, you're still lying to me!" Lai Er cornered Ha Luo again. "What did you tell me five years ago?! You told me Black Merchants would never lay a hand on people from the No Man's Land! Do you remember?!"

"I, I certainly remember. But I didn't lie to you!" Ha Luo said, "Generally... no, not generally, it's a rule! Black Merchants are not allowed to engage in human trafficking in the No Man's Land, otherwise, why would I have bothered talking to you so much back then? Wouldn't it be easier to just abduct them?!"

Lai Er knew Ha Luo was right. He also guessed that Ha Luo was probably genuinely unaware, otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to joke around with him for so long.

But he didn't care about right or wrong now; he only wanted the truth.

If his wife and children were taken by Contract Land, then there was indeed no room for negotiation. But if they were taken by Black Merchants...

Then there was still a chance of recovery!

Ha Luo also realized what Lai Er truly wanted and stopped explaining irrelevant things. He quickly said, "If it was a fellow merchant who did it, I can help you find them. If they are still here... of course, even if they're not, we can track them. You should be very familiar with this process."

Yes, no one was more familiar with this process than Lai Er.

But it was precisely because of this that he was afraid to think too deeply about some issues.

For example, how long ago did they make their move?

Was it really still in time?

Lai Er took a deep breath, then released Ha Luo.

"Find my son, and we'll be even!" he stared intently at Ha Luo. "If you can't find him, I'll kill you!"

Ha Luo, who was released, immediately breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly. "Of course, of course. Even if Black Merchants really acted against the No Man's Land, they would never dare to do it openly, otherwise, I wouldn't be unaware of it even now. And if it was just a small group, the hope of finding them is still very high... we'll definitely find them!"

Under Lai Er's almost murderous gaze, Ha Luo didn't dare to speak ambiguously. After taking a deep breath, he led the way out.

"Follow me, we'll go look now."

Ten minutes later, Lai Er followed Ha Luo back to the warehouse they had visited just a few days ago.

The mood was completely different after only a few days.

The first time Lai Er came, he was filled with excitement, contemplating when he too could have such a warehouse and do such big business.

He was left with an emotion he couldn't describe.

As he walked past the warehouses, he wanted to look at every face inside, searching for his son, but he didn't dare meet their eyes.

In the end, he could only turn his emotions into rage and vent it on Ha Luo, who was leading the way.

"Hurry up!"

"Coming, coming right away."

Ha Luo continuously soothed Lai Er and then, in the shortest time possible, brought him to the guard room of the warehouse and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

A voice Lai Er found familiar came from inside.

Ha Luo announced his name, the door to the guard room opened, and a Black Merchant wearing glasses walked out.

It was indeed someone Lai Er knew – Tuo Lei, with whom he had some past conflict. When Tuo Lei saw Lai Er, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He instinctively wanted to say something mocking, but remembering how he had suffered at Lai Er's hands last time, he held back and asked, "What is it?"

"A small matter, a small matter."

Ha Luo stepped forward, seemingly wanting to whisper to Tuo Lei, but Lai Er wasn't foolish. He also took a few steps forward, staring at him. Ha Luo could only honestly blurt out the question.

"Trade in the No Man's Land." Hearing this, Tuo Lei guessed something. He gave Lai Er a deep look. "Yes, there was such a thing."

Upon hearing this, Lai Er immediately stepped forward, "When did this happen?!"

"Heh, why should I tell you..."

Thwack!

Before Tuo Lei could finish speaking, Lai Er punched him in the face, sending him falling down with a crooked nose.

Tuo Lei was stunned. "You f***ing..."

Lai Er rode on top of Tuo Lei and landed more punches, quickly beating Tuo Lei's face bloody.

"This is your last chance!" Lai Er roared. "Tell me what's going on!"

Now Tuo Lei understood how Ha Luo got the injuries on his face. He quickly said, "I only know that this trade was conducted jointly by Contract Land and the Black Merchants."

"Where are they?!" Lai Er roared. "My son, wife, and parents, where are they?!"

"How the hell would I know..." Tuo Lei took another punch to the face and had to restrain his temper again. "Only children, no adults!"

...No adults?

Lai Er froze for a moment, then swung his fist again, roaring as he did, "You're lying!"

"Why would I lie to you?! There are no adults! Only children... Don't you see this warehouse?! Are there any children here?!" Tuo Lei, desperate from the beating, shouted back. "You're a Black Merchant too, don't you know only children fetch a good price?!"

Lai Er's body trembled again.

No adults, only children.

Then where did the adults go?

"You all just wait! I'll be back soon, and I'll prove you all wrong, every single one of you!"

The crying face of his wife in his memory gradually turned into the unrecognizable corpse corroded beyond recognition.

Lai Er felt an invisible hand clench his heart, making it difficult to breathe.

But he forcibly held himself up, grabbed Tuo Lei by the collar, and lifted him. "What about the child? Where was he taken?"

"How would I know?"

Another punch landed.

"I really don't know! Do you think this was a small transaction?! Do you know how many people were involved?! Do you remember every single piece of merchandise you sold?!"

Another punch.

"Damn it, I really don't know! Even if you beat me to death, I... No, no, there are records, there are records! They're right behind me!" Tuo Lei said. "Every transaction has records, indicating the approximate time and destination. But this is all highly classified, even for a Gold Merchant..."

Tuo Lei's words were cut short. After seeing the row of bookshelves in front of him, Lai Er delivered one last punch, knocking him unconscious on the spot.

Then he immediately got up and rushed to the bookshelves, beginning to search.

His hands were already covered in blood, his own, as well as Tuo Lei's and Ha Luo's, but he could no longer feel the pain. He just kept searching, constantly repeating to himself.

There's still a chance, there's still a chance.

Lai Er came from the No Man's Land and had never believed in gods, taking pride in it. But now, he wished he had faith, otherwise, he wouldn't know who to pray to like this.

There must be a chance.

His wife was gone, his parents were gone, his home was gone.

But his son was still here, so there was still hope.

However, there were simply too many records here. Lai Er flipped through several books without finding what he was looking for, making him increasingly desperate and irritable, feeling like he was searching for a needle in a haystack.

At that very moment, Bai Wei's voice echoed in his mind: "Third row, second book from the left."

Lai Er froze for a moment, then was overcome with ecstasy.

Yes, yes, yes, he wasn't a man without faith.

His faith was in Visas-sama! And now, Visas-sama was coming to help him?!

Lai Er immediately took down the record book Bai Wei had indicated. His hands were trembling uncontrollably, and it took him several tries to open it.

"Don't worry, son, I'm coming to save you.

You'll be alright.

Your dad is capable now. I've already made a fortune and become a servant of Visas-sama!

From now on, you'll be able to live in the outside world just like your father, with money and power! Unlike those other children who were treated like commodities!

You will have a different life, you definitely will!"

Lai Er roared in his heart, unsure if he was speaking to the son he had never met or to himself.

Finally, he found the page.

"No Man's Land, XX Village. 13 male children, 11 female children."

"Transaction location: Rhine (Completed)"

"Transaction date: February 26th"

Lai Er's body stiffened.

His eyes were fixed on the words "Completed," as if they would bleed.

How could this be? How could this be?!

The transaction had been completed a month ago...

A month-old transaction meant there was no time for recovery. No one knew where they would end up, as it was no longer within the Black Merchant's purview.

Lai Er's body began to sway, unable to stand steady.

Why him, of all people?

He had tried so hard, just wanting to change himself, to change his family's life. He just wanted to bring his family out of that world where they couldn't see the light of day.

What... did he do wrong?

"Why..." Lai Er murmured tremblingly, "Won't you even give me a chance?"

"Are you sure you weren't given a chance?" Bai Wei suddenly spoke.

Lai Er froze.

"That time, that place," Bai Wei said calmly, "Doesn't anything come to mind?"

Time... place...

Lai Er subconsciously lowered his head, looking at the record again, and his eyes widened bit by bit.

A month ago... the Rhine...

That night.

That convoy.

The door he had opened with his own hands, and then closed with his own hands.

And the stubborn, desperate eyes of the children in that vehicle.

With a "thump."

Lai Er collapsed onto the ground, as if all his vitality had been drained in an instant.

At the same time, the reinforcements Ha Luo had called rushed in, and a club struck the back of his head.

He fell into a pool of blood, staring blankly at the lightless night, as if he had returned to that night.