Prisoners

"Boss, what are they doing?"

"..."

"Watch quietly! If you still want to escape from here, don't panic now!"

Inside the prison at the Yarrow Camp, five humans were squatting.

They were originally Wilderness Hunter active in the Wasteland, and their leader, Sand Dune, was a Third Stage hunter.

Over the past few years, this hunter squad has been able to survive normally in the Wasteland thanks to their skills as Awakened.

I heard that the Yarrow Camp was attacked by the Green Swamp.

Naturally, they wanted to seize the opportunity, like vultures, to gnaw a chunk of flesh off this enormous corpse.

But the result was that before they even entered the camp, they were overwhelmed by the Great Banyan Grove in the distance. Then Linsey appeared, swiftly capturing them all and imprisoning them here.

Clang clang clang—

Sand Dune cautiously reached out and tapped on the railing in front of him without attracting attention.

It feels very strange.

The prison looked like a small hut built with stones and wood. It had no special Source Material Skill or special materials used.

But when you tap the Sand Dune dunes with your fingers, you can clearly feel the weakness in your body.

It's not just about physical strength.

Even the Essence within his body was suppressed to some extent by this building.

As a Third Stage awakener

Sand Dune enough time, he is confident he can open the cage.

But at the very moment he begins to break down the railings, the guards nearby will likely be outside, stabbing him to death with wooden spears.

Now that things have come to this, how can we extricate ourselves...?

"Boss, look over there!"

At that moment, one of the henchmen in the Sand Dune gave a warning.

The group turned their heads and looked through the railing, where a shocking scene came into view.

A phantom image of a building appeared out of thin air on the ground.

Then, several ordinary-looking people, who didn't possess Essence, walked directly into the framework formed by the phantom. They conjured up some wood and stones out of thin air, placed them in the corresponding directions, and the building was quickly erected.

It took no more than half an hour in total.

A brand new house was built right before their eyes.

Click—

The residents of the Yarrow Camp opened the door and went inside to inspect it.

The five prisoners peered through the crack in the door and saw that the house was well-equipped and belonged to a very high-quality residence.

"Plop—"

Sand Dune swallowed hard.

Based on his knowledge, even the leaders of some small forces in the Wasteland probably didn't have such accommodations.

"Are they building a house for their Lord?"

"This kind of method is definitely not something an ordinary awakened person could do!"

"Are we being monitored by the Awakened Ones?"

The men behind Sand Dune began to discuss.

The conclusion reached during the discussion also aligns with common sense regarding Wasteland.

But after half a day, an even more unimaginable scene appeared before their eyes.

These are 'luxury villas' that, in theory, only Lord can live in.

Surprisingly, a few seemingly ordinary people moved in and occupied the place!

No one came to drive them away or scold them; it was as if this was a matter of course.

If this is just an isolated incident, the five people in the cage may still be puzzled.

But as time went on, they saw more houses being built. The entire camp, regardless of age, gender, or strength, was allocated such perfect dwellings.

"..."

Seeing this, Sand Dune was speechless.

One of his men behind him voiced the question on everyone's mind:

"Was the Yarrow Camp really just attacked by the Green Swamp?"

"And this place... is so comfortable! It's completely different from the Wasteland outside!"

"Can we... escape?"

The other people in the cage also looked sympathetic.

The activities of the Banyan Grove are continuously changing the soil and water environment.

The ground beneath their feet was moist and Life Force, the air they breathed carried the fresh scent of the forest and soothed their bodies, and the scorching sun above was completely blocked.

This is an experience that would be unimaginable at any time on Wasteland.

Gara—gara—gara—

At that moment, the sound of a wheelchair was heard.

The five prisoners turned around and saw a beautiful young woman with white hair and red eyes approaching in a wheelchair.

"Oh, so it's you guys."

"..."

Hilde watched the five prisoners with great interest.

Although her skills had not been restored, the emotional soul of a high-level artist remained immense. Her mere gaze was enough to render the five men speechless, even making it difficult for them to breathe.

"Oh~~"

Hilude's wine-red eyes narrowed slightly.

She scanned the five people for a few seconds, her gaze finally settling on the Sand Dunes:

"You're the leader? As expected, after meeting my beloved hero, the course of my destiny changed."

"Still trying to run away?"

"Ha! Just look forward to your future with gratitude!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Hilude pushed her wheelchair away.

A few seconds later, the five people in the cell collapsed to the ground, only then realizing that they were drenched in cold sweat.

"Boss!"

"That... that guy, that guy!"

One of Sand Dune's men spoke up.

The Sand Dune, which had remained calm until now, were no longer composed.

Or rather, as the strongest Third Stage hunter, he could feel the pressure from Hilude even more, and the excitement he felt was far greater than that of his own subordinates!

This feeling is like encountering a giant sandworm in the desert.

Resist? Escape?

That's impossible!

Faced with such a terrifying existence, all you can do is wait to die!

Then, Hilude's voice came from the square.

It was nearly dusk, and the villagers had finished their work. A bonfire was lit in the center of the Village Square.

Hilude sat on the podium, with a huge blackboard made by Linsey standing behind her.

"This character is pronounced 'I'. Remember its shape."

"In the Common Language, this word has four spellings... Common Language, do you understand?"

"The language that is spoken in most worlds of the Entire Universe, the language you yourselves are speaking now, is called the Common Language!"

"..."

"Boss, what are you teaching them to do? Write?"

The prisoners looked bewildered.

At this moment, an ordinary person walked over and put five portions of food into the cage:

"You guys, this is tonight's dinner."

The wooden tray contains water, staple food, and dishes.

The few people living on the Wasteland Sand Dune could not even imagine that this was how prisoners were treated.

"Is there anything to eat?"

"This... this is really for us?"

The person who brought the food just looked at them indifferently.

"These are for you, you can eat them."

"Unless otherwise instructed, don't ask any more questions!"

The five men in the cell remained silent as they began to eat.

As food and water were stuffed into their mouths, a common question began to emerge in their minds.

—Are you really going to run away?