Chapter 136

The village was in a state of utter disrepair; the original fields had long been abandoned and overgrown with weeds.

However, due to continuous mining and quarrying, a lot of rocks and soil have been piled up here, and it is no longer recognizable as it used to be.

At the foot of the mountain not far from the village, a mine had been built, where impoverished people, either deceived or kidnapped, gathered and worked listlessly...

There were guards around, and anyone who was even slightly slow would be immediately whipped.

Among this impoverished population were even some very young children.

The quarrying of rocks continues unabated.

The section of the Lifens Mountains behind the village is relatively flat. Within the mining area, a not-too-large mine shaft has been excavated, and scaffolding has been erected around it for reinforcement.

However, further excavation is needed in the vicinity of this location.

Because the first mines to be mined were only exploratory wells.

Someone went inside, and then one after another, iron barrels were brought up—the barrels contained a viscous, brownish-black liquid.

As the metal drum filled with liquid was pulled upwards, a pungent odor gradually spread, slowly intensifying in the air...

Those who worked around the mine inevitably got this brownish-black liquid on their bodies, faces, and other parts of their bodies.

It was pitch black and difficult to clean.

Cyrus stared at the dark brown liquid, a strange light gleaming in her eyes—it was oil!

He couldn't help but recall the information he had gathered over the past few days.

After Walker made contact with the beautiful woman in that tavern, he managed to extract a considerable amount of information from her over the course of the night.

The matter is now fairly clear.

However, the further they investigated, the more alarming they became.

In this city called Kunseci, it turns out that it wasn't just Mayor Vernon who colluded with bandits.

It should be said that Vernon had already won over more than half of the city's officials, including the officers who originally controlled the city's patrols and guarded the city gates.

Almost everyone had a hand in it.

No one is completely clean.

Greed and corruption have been deeply ingrained in their souls, and they are gradually using their methods to drag the city into an even more difficult situation.

If it weren't for Bana's persistent search for the robbers' trail...

If it weren't for Cyrus's keen sense that something seemed amiss...

They deceived each other from top to bottom.

Even if new officers and soldiers are stationed there later, they will remain in the dark and unaware of the details.

Cyrus pursed her lips, her expression icy and aloof.

He, Taylor, and the others who had been kidnapped were temporarily taken to a house, which was already inhabited by people, including the elderly, young people, and children.

They were dressed in tattered clothes and were thin.

Some people didn't even have shoes on their feet; their bare skin was covered with wounds, bruises, and dark marks...

Cyrus saw a child, who looked to be only six or seven years old, lying in a boy's arms with a flushed face and rapid breathing—he had a high fever.

Nearby, a middle-aged man was soaking a filthy, unrecognizable burlap sack in water and applying it to the child's forehead...

But this doesn't seem to be of any use.

A quick glance.

He could tell that the wooden bucket next to the middle-aged man was probably the only water source in the house.

Because there was only a thin layer of water at the bottom of the wooden bucket—potentially life-saving water left by the others in the room for the sick child.

But even this small amount of water was kicked to the ground by the man who brought in Cyrus, Taylor, and the others.

The already scarce water suddenly spilled out, soaking the ground.

The man hurled a few curses at him.

Shortly afterward, he walked out of the house, and the atmosphere inside visibly relaxed.

When the man was there, everyone tried to shrink themselves, hang their heads, and dare not speak or move.

The teenager and middle-aged man who were the first to be scolded shrank back in silence, while the teenager's hands, which were holding the child, tightened even more...

They clearly dared not show the slightest hint of anything unusual.

Having suffered losses and been beaten before, she could only silently endure it until the man left before they began to talk in hushed tones.

"Someone else has been kidnapped here..."

"Has another group died...? Soon it will be our turn... We won't be able to get out."

No one will find us here.

Despair filled everyone's faces, and the atmosphere in the room made everyone's heart clench.

Cyrus led Xia Taylor to a place to sit down, and right next to her was the boy holding the sick child.

He overheard the middle-aged man who had helped care for the child earlier whispering, "Bunier, Little Bowen's condition is really..."

"If we don't give him the medicine, in a few days... no... maybe tomorrow, Little Bowen's condition will worsen, and then..."

The guards in this village will not keep useless laborers.

And what will happen to useless laborers...? It goes without saying.

Young Bunier's face darkened, he clenched his fists, and said with difficulty, "I understand."

"Uncle Todd... is there really no way we can escape?"

The boy said in a suppressed voice, "Vernon... and the robbers here, they deserve to die a horrible death, they'll be taken away by the devil one day!"

"This is the devil's territory; the Devil's Sweat still gushes from the ground..."

The bandits here...

Cyrus exchanged a subtle glance with Taylor.

They came in to determine whether any bandits had remained in the village.

--The reason why Bana couldn't find any trace of the bandits in the Lifens Mountains was because the bandits had never even entered the Lifens Mountains.

They colluded with the mayor and disguised themselves as ordinary people.

Then he returned to Kunseci, settled down in the village, and became the caretaker of the poor people.

Another group of bandits left Kunseci and crossed the border towards the Saint Airo Empire.

--They secretly spread the news that they had mined minerals here.

The group of people he encountered earlier, who were soldiers disguised as scouts, were actually bandits who had taken the ordered goods to be confirmed.

Later, many people discovered business opportunities in this, and caravans began to come...

Oil, which they call "the Devil's Sweat" or "burning water."

The meanings of both names are quite obvious.

Petroleum is a flammable liquid.

Therefore, open flames are prohibited in this village, and even flint and steel are not allowed to be brought in.

These impoverished people, imprisoned and forced into labor, ate raw, cold, and hard food every day, and lived without light or warmth at night.

The only place with fire and light in this village was inside the house where the leaders of these guards lived; it was the only bright spot at night.

However, the area was heavily guarded, and unauthorized personnel were prohibited from entering—even the village guards were searched and questioned before entering or leaving.

Not to mention those forced laborers who were handcuffed and shackled.

Young Bunier believed that what was being mined here was, as the outside world said, "the Devil's Sweat."

He had seen people experimenting in the distance, and how just a spark could ignite the brownish-black viscous liquid that was brought up.

He also heard the guards at the mine say that the first mine shaft to be dug out was in a bad location.

-- Not much of the liquid came out; it required someone to go down into the mine using a rope ladder to extract it.

However, if the right digging location can be found, this viscous, brownish-black liquid might gush out.

Bunier then thought to himself, if only he had something to ignite a flame... even if it was something that would be gone after one use...

He wanted to throw that tiny flame into the mine and burn everything to ashes.

As Bunier was fuming with resentment, someone suddenly poked his arm beside him and let out a soft "Eh."

Bunier turned his head and saw a dark-skinned boy smiling at him.

The boy asked in a low voice, "Are all the guards in this village bandits?"

Seeing that there wasn't a trace of fear on his face, Bunier thought to himself that the man hadn't yet experienced the hopeless life here.

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--Once you're in, you can never get out.

There's always endless work, never enough to eat, and never enough sleep...

Soon, it will be their turn to go out and continue digging and mining.

Seeing that the boy was still waiting for his answer, Bunier said, "That's right, the guards in the village are all bandits!"

He knew this because bandits had killed his parents and family members during their looting of the city.

He and his younger brother Bowen were hidden away by their parents.

Bunier saw the face of one of the bandits.

Now that robber is in the village, and he sees him every day, and he really wants to kill him...

"Then can you tell me, besides this place where people are being held, where else are people being held?"

The village is quite large.

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, the impoverished people brought to the village for labor were all managed separately, and their trips to the back mountain for mining were staggered, or they were assigned different tasks...

Cyrus has some questions she wants to know.

Before long, the boy named Bunier was tricked into revealing everything he knew.

As he spoke, a look of despair crept onto Bunier's face.

Because he knew that no matter how much he wanted to take revenge himself, he would never succeed—he would remain in this village until his death.

Thinking of this, Bunier sadly stroked his younger brother, Bowen, who was lying in his arms...

Cyrus reached out and placed her hand on the child's forehead, whispering, "Is his Little Bowen?"

Bunier nodded silently.

"Don't worry, Little Bowen will get better tomorrow," Cyrus said.

Bunier thought the boy in front of him was trying to comfort him, but after trying for a while without managing a smile, he just hummed in agreement and whispered a thank you.

After a while, under Taylor's watchful eye, Cyrus slowly moved to the window.

He called out 098 in his heart.

Then, he bent down and dug out a small round mirror that 098 had sent him from the sole of his shoe—it was only half the size of his palm.

Taylor asked in surprise, "Master... cough... when did you hide?"

They were searched when they came in; even their shoes were taken off.

Cyrus glanced at him indifferently. "You only need to..."

Taylor listened intently.

"... While everyone was distracted, it darted away and disappeared."

Taylor: "..."

Is that so?

Cyrus placed the small round mirror in her palm, then pointed it at the moonlight and the sky, swinging it back and forth—the faint light reflected by the small round mirror was not obvious and could be easily overlooked if one was not paying attention.

But not long after, a swift white shadow streaked across the sky and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Cyrus then put the small round mirror away.