That Flash of Scarlet

"Big Brother Nameless! If you're tired, sit down and rest for a while! I'll keep watch for you." Seeing Chen Wuming drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, Gerard spoke softly, his eyes full of concern.

"Whew, no need—" Chen Wuming wiped the sweat from his forehead and planted his shovel on the ground. Seeing Gerard's concerned gaze, warmth rose in his heart. Forcing himself through his exhaustion, he smiled and said, "You're the one who should be tired after working so long, right? Come on, hurry up and rest while those guys aren't watching. Catch your breath—I'll keep watch for you!" As he spoke, he wiped the sweat from his face again.

The blazing sun hung high overhead, mercilessly scorching everyone below. After doing hard labor for an entire morning, Chen Wuming was already exhausted beyond measure. Beads of sweat as large as beans covered his face, and his hair and clothes had long since been soaked through.

Still, he rejected Gerard's kindness without a second thought. What kind of joke was that? Though his body was only that of a twelve- or thirteen-year-old kid, his soul was unquestionably that of an adult! Besides, he could clearly see that Gerard was not in much better shape than he was. The boy was panting as though he might collapse at any moment. How could he have the nerve to rest while making a child keep watch for him? He simply could not bring himself to do something like that...

It had already been more than a week since he had been brought to this island. During that time, he had been forced to go out and do hard labor with Gerard and the others every morning at dawn, working all day long. Those unknown evil wizards' organization was truly hateful! Not only had they put magical handcuffs on him, but they also made them "work" until late at night before allowing them to sleep.

Then, before dawn had even properly broken, someone would wake them up to continue the seemingly endless labor. If they slowed down even a little, they would be beaten by those bastards from time to time...

And that was not even the worst of it. The food they were given was not only so terrible it was hard to swallow, but there was even a limit on the amount?!

Think about it. Every day, a person had to perform heavy labor for long hours, while eating terribly and barely enough at every meal—not even enough to meet the most basic needs of food and warmth. Add to that the lack of proper sleep, and even someone made of iron would not be able to endure it! Before long, their body would be the first thing to give out.

Chen Wuming was facing exactly that situation. After a week, while he had not yet wasted away into skin and bones, he was already weak, exhausted, and frail. If things continued like this, he feared that before long, he would be saying goodbye to this world...

What was even more fatal was that this body of his was still in its developmental years! If he could not improve his current living conditions in time, then even if he successfully escaped or was lucky enough to be rescued later, it would probably already be too late. By then, his body's potential for development would likely have been almost completely ruined.

So, the same conclusion remained: he had to leave this damned place as soon as possible! Even for the sake of his future body, he had to do it...

But before a good opportunity to escape presented itself, all he could do was wait silently for his chance.

That said, Chen Wuming had not gained nothing. Over the past week, Gerard had introduced him to quite a few friends his own "age." Relying on a maturity and steadiness far beyond that of his peers, he had successfully become the "big brother" in everyone's eyes!

Leaving aside the true age of his soul, the merged memories told him that even this body was slightly older than all of them. So his position as their big brother was not only natural, but fully deserved!

"No, you should rest instead." Gerard shook his head and said seriously, "I've been doing hard labor here for a long time. My body has already adapted to this level of work. But you're different, Big Brother Nameless. You were only captured and brought here recently. The one who truly needs to rest is you, not me!" His tone was full of sincerity, because he could see that Chen Wuming's body was clearly nearing its limit.

"Uh..." Chen Wuming was left speechless, looking rather embarrassed. Gerard was not wrong. This body had clearly not fully grown yet, and its physical condition could not compare to his body back on Earth. On top of that, he had been a homebody who disliked hardship in his previous life, so his endurance was naturally much lower than that of ordinary people. By now, his body was already beginning to sway, and even if he kept forcing himself onward, he probably would not last much longer.

Just as he was about to say something else, a supervisor in the distance noticed the two of them slacking off and immediately began shouting.

"Hey! You two brats over there! Are you tired of living?! How dare you slack off over there?!" As he spoke, the supervisor led a red magical hound toward them at a brisk pace.

Damn! We've been spotted! Chen Wuming cried bitterly in his heart. It was obvious that he would not escape another vicious beating this time. But he had dragged Gerard into it as well. Thinking of that, Chen Wuming gave Gerard an apologetic look.

Gerard, however, did not seem to care. He was clearly used to it—or perhaps he had simply gotten used to being beaten... Uh...

But before the supervisor had even gotten halfway there, someone unexpectedly tripped him.

"Ow—" The supervisor cried out in pain and landed on his backside. When he saw everyone around him looking at him with schadenfreude, he immediately roared, "What are you looking at?! What's so interesting?! If you want to watch so badly, then none of you will sleep tonight! I'll make sure you get your fill of watching!! Get back to work, all of you!!!"

Hearing that, the laborers who had been looking over shrank back in fright and resumed their work. They had already suffered through a hard day, and none of them wanted to stay behind for an overnight "shift."

Once he saw that they were no longer looking his way and were obediently working again, the supervisor stood back up with a dark expression. He glared at the blond boy who had tripped him, then viciously lashed out with his whip!

"Ah—" The magical whip, crackling with faint sparks of electricity, struck the blond boy heavily across the back. The pain made the boy scream miserably.

Chen Wuming and Gerard both frowned. Just as they were about to step forward to stop him, someone else rushed ahead of them, blocking the supervisor's path. That person seized the supervisor's right wrist just as he was about to swing the magical whip again, then, before Chen Wuming and Gerard's stunned eyes, executed a beautiful shoulder throw and violently flung the supervisor away!

"Th-This..." Chen Wuming stared at the scene in utter disbelief. All he had seen was a brilliant flash of scarlet streak past his eyes. By the time he snapped out of that eye-catching scarlet blur, the supervisor had already been knocked to the ground! To sum it up in three words: fast, precise, ruthless!

When he saw that the owner of that scarlet flash was merely a girl around eleven or twelve years old, who looked even younger than Gerard, the shock in his heart became even harder to put into words!

Who exactly was she?

But now was clearly not the time to think about that question, because the scarlet-haired girl was already facing imminent disaster.