Is There Really No Chance?

Ha Luo was being choked by Lai Er, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. If Lai Er used just a little more force, he could send the old man to his death.

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

Seeing that Ha Luo's answer was completely irrelevant, Lai Er really wanted to take the old man away on the spot.

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

Ha Luo rolled twice on the ground before struggling to get up, but when he looked up he saw Lai Er standing in front of him again. Fearing that Lai Er would kill him again, he hurriedly said, "No, no, no, don't do it... I can apologize to you! Really, I haven't touched a single penny of your money. It's all in that cabinet over there."

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

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

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

At this point, Ha Luo finally understood that Lai Er hadn't come for the money.

"I really don't know where your son went!" Ha Luo, also enraged, gritted his teeth and said, "After bringing you out, I haven't returned to the No Man's Land at all. How would I know where your son went!?"

Never returned 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, and you said you'd bring it to my son!"

"Okay, I did lie to you about this, but that's all!" Ha Luo could sense Lai Er's anger, and fearing he would be beaten to death by Lai Er, he quickly explained, "Apart from this small amount of money, I didn't lie to you about anything! As for where your son went, it really has nothing to do with me, and I really don't know."

Seeing Lai Er raise his right hand again, as if to cast another memory restoration spell on him, Ha Luo quickly added.

"Of course, you can tell me what happened, and I'll help you analyze what went on. But if you kill me, you might never find your son again."

Lai Er's body was trembling, especially after learning that the old man had never returned to the No Man's Land in the past five years, and that the "connection with home" he had always kept in his heart was actually a hoax. He really wanted to beat the old man to death on the spot.

But he knew Ha Luo was right; killing him would only serve to vent his anger, so after taking a few deep breaths, he lowered his fist.

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

"No, no, no," Ha Luo shook his head repeatedly. "We've already come this far, why would I lie to you?"

Lai Er stared intently at Ha Luo before telling Ha Luo that the village was empty.

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

"I saw the black market dealer's mark!" Lai Er rudely interrupted Ha Luo. "It's engraved on the door!"

Hearing Lai Er say this, Ha Luo knew that it was indeed the black market merchants who were behind it.

Black market dealers have a habit of leaving markings when they abduct people, giving some families the opportunity to pay ransom. This is also a way for dealers to identify each other, meaning that someone else has already taken a liking to the goods.

But for unscrupulous black market merchants, the latter is often just a decoration.

This infuriated Ha Luo.

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

Who could possibly be a fellow traveler there? And with the entire village abducted, who has the means to ransom them?

Oh... and this one in front of me.

Damn it, those bastards really ruined him! If he hadn't left a mark, Ha Luo could have just pinned the blame on the Contract Land and seen if that idiot would dare to cause trouble for the Contract Land.

Of course, Ha Luo dared not voice these grievances aloud, and could only say ingratiatingly, "This has nothing to do with me, it must have been done by some other blind fool..."

"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 that the black market dealers would never touch the people in the No Man's Land! Do you remember?!"

"I, of course I remember. But I'm not lying to you!" Ha Luo said. "Generally speaking... no, not generally speaking, it's the rule! Black market traffickers aren't allowed to conduct human trafficking in No Man's Land. Otherwise, why would I have bothered talking to you so much? Wouldn't it have been easier to just kidnap people directly?!"

Lai Er knew that Ha Luo was right, and he guessed that Ha Luo probably really didn't know, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to joke around with him for so long.

But now he doesn't care about right or wrong, he just wants the truth.

If his wife and children were taken away by the Contract Land, then there is indeed no room for negotiation. But if they were taken away by black market merchants...

Then there's still a chance to salvage the situation!

Ha Luo realized what Lai Er really wanted, so he stopped explaining and quickly said, "If it really is someone in cahoots, I can help you find him. If he's still here... Of course, even if he's gone, we can still catch up. You should know the process very well."

Yes, no one knows the process better than Lai Er.

But it is precisely because of this that he dares not think about some issues in detail.

For example, exactly how long ago did they commit the act?

Is it really too late?

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

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

Ha Luo, who had been released, breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly, "Of course, of course. Even if the black marketeers really did make a move in the No Man's Land, they would never dare to do it openly. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been unaware of it until now. And if it's just a small number of them, then the chances of finding them are still very high... We will definitely find them!"

Under Lai Er's almost murderous gaze, Ha Luo dared not utter any more ambiguous words. After taking a deep breath, he went out first.

"Come with me, let's go find it now."

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

Several days later, my state of mind was completely different.

When Lai Er first came here, he was filled with excitement, wondering when he could have a warehouse like this and do such a big business.

But this time, all that remained was... an emotion he couldn't describe.

As he walked past those warehouses, he wanted to look at every face inside in search of his son, but he dared not actually meet their eyes.

In the end, he could only turn these emotions into anger and vent them on Ha Luo, who was leading the way.

"Run!"

"It'll be here soon."

Ha Luo kept reassuring Lai Er, and then quickly led Lai Er to the guardhouse in front of it and knocked on the door.

Who is it?

A voice that sounded familiar to Lai Er came from inside the room.

Ha Luo introduced himself, and the door to the guardhouse opened, revealing a bespectacled black-market businessman who walked out.

It was indeed a familiar face to Lai Er — Tuo Lei, with whom he had some past grievances, and a hint of surprise flashed in Tuo Lei's eyes when he saw Lai Er.

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

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

Ha Luo stepped forward, seemingly wanting to whisper to Tuo Lei, but Lai Er wasn't stupid either, and immediately took a few steps forward, staring at him. Ha Luo had no choice but to obediently throw out the question.

"Trade in the No Man's Land." Upon hearing this, Tuo Lei guessed what was going on. He gave Lai Er a deep look. "There is indeed such a thing."

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

"Ha, why should I tell..."

"Puff"!

Before Tuo Lei could finish speaking, Lai Er punched him in the face, and he fell to the ground with a thud, his nose crooked.

Tuo Lei was stunned. "You fucking..."

Lai Er straddled Tuo Lei and pounded down with more fists, quickly turning Tuo Lei's face into a bloody mess.

"This is your last chance!" Lai Er roared. "Tell me what happened!"

Now Tuo Lei understood how Ha Luo got the injury on his face, and he quickly said, "All I know is that this trade was conducted jointly by the Contract Land and the Black Market."

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

"How the hell should I know..." Tuo Lei took another punch to the face and had to suppress his temper again. "There are only children, no adults!"

... No adults?

Lai Er froze for a moment, then swung his fist again, yelling as he did so, "You fucking lie!"

"Why would I lie to you?! There are no adults here! Only children... Just look at this warehouse, isn't that enough?! Are there any children here?!" Tuo Lei, enraged, roared back, "You're a black marketeer too, don't you know that only children fetch a good price?!"

Lai Er's body trembled again.

There are no adults, only children.

Where did the adults go?

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

The image of his wife's weeping face in his memory gradually transformed into a corpse whose features were no longer discernible due to decay.

This made Lai Er feel as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.

But he resisted the urge to collapse, grabbed Tuo Lei by the collar, and lifted him up. "Where is the child? Where was he taken?"

How would I know?

He got punched again.

"I really don't know! Do you think this is a small transaction?! Do you know how many people are involved?! Do you remember every single item you sell?!"

Another punch.

"Damn it, I really don't know! Even if you kill me, I... no, no, no, there are records, there are records! Right behind me!" Tuo Lei said, "Every transaction is recorded, and we know the approximate time and destination. But these are top secrets, even if you're Gold Merchant, you can't..."

Before Tuo Lei could finish speaking, Lai Er, after seeing the row of bookshelves in front of him, delivered a final punch, knocking him unconscious on the spot.

He immediately got up, rushed to the bookshelf, and began searching.

His hands were covered in blood, some of his own, some of Tuo Lei's and Ha Luo's, but he felt no pain anymore. He just kept searching and muttering 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 any god, which he had always been proud of. But now he wished he could have some faith, otherwise he wouldn't be in a situation where he didn't know who to pray to.

There will definitely be another chance.

My wife is gone, my parents are gone, my home is gone.

But as long as my son is still alive, there is still hope.

There were just too many records here. Lai Er flipped through several books but couldn't find what he was looking for, which made him increasingly desperate and irritable, as if he were searching for a needle in a haystack.

Just then, Bai Wei's voice rang in his mind. "The second book in the third row from the top left."

Lai Er was taken aback at first, then became ecstatic.

Yes, yes, he is not a person without faith.

He worships Visas-sama! And now Visas-sama has come to his aid!

Lai Er immediately took down the record that Bai Wei had mentioned. By this time, his hands were trembling so badly that he had to flip through it several times before he could open it.

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

You'll be fine.

Your father is now capable; I've made a fortune and become Visas-sama's servant!

In the future, you will be able to live in the outside world just like your father, and you will be able to have money and power! Unlike those other children who are treated like commodities!

You will have a different life, you definitely will!

Lai Er roared inwardly, unsure whether he was speaking to his son whom he had never met or to himself.

Finally, he turned to that page.

" In No Man's Land, there are 13 boys and 11 girls."

"Deal Location: Rhine (Agreement Completed)"

Trading Date: February 26th

Lai Er's body stiffened.

His eyes were fixed on the words "achieved," as if they were about to bleed.

How could this happen? How could this happen?!

The deal has been finalized for a month...

The transaction took place a month ago, meaning there's no time to salvage it. Nobody knows where it will end up, because it's no longer considered a black market transaction.

Lai Er's body began to sway, and he could barely stand.

Why him of all people?

He has already tried so hard, all he wanted was to change himself and his family's lives; all he wanted was to bring his family out of that world where they could never see the light of day.

What exactly did he do wrong?

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

"Didn't you really get a chance?" Bai Wei suddenly asked.

Lai Er froze.

"That time, that place," Bai Wei said calmly, "Don't you remember anything?"

Time... place...

Lai Er subconsciously lowered his head, looked at the record again, and then his eyes widened little by little.

A month ago... Rhine...

That night.

That convoy.

That door that he opened with his own hands and closed with his own hands.

And the stubborn yet desperate eyes of those children in the car.

With a "plop".

Lai Er knelt on the ground, as if all his life had been drained away in an instant.

At the same time, the helper Ha Luo had called rushed in and hit him on the back of the head with a stick.

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