Into the Tiger's Den

Lin Ze staggered a couple of steps. He tried to grab the sink beside him, but his body refused to obey, and he collapsed to the floor.

"Ah!"

Paimon screamed, terrified.

"Traveler!"

She tried to help Lin Ze, who was lying on the floor, but suddenly something tightened around her stomach, lifting her off the ground.

Paimon flailed and shouted, biting wildly at the large hand trying to cover her mouth.

The hand was filthy black, with long fingernails packed with grime.

"Ugh, it stinks!"

Paimon had been struggling with all her might, but the mere brush of her lips against it nearly made her vomit.

"Tch."

"This little thing sure is a handful."

The man's voice sounded like eight hundred years' worth of old phlegm had accumulated in his throat. It was hideous.

Paimon looked up and saw an old man's face.

His face was covered in wrinkles, his eyes cloudy. White spots dotted his face, his cheeks were sunken, and his skin hung loose.

The sight of his ghastly appearance stirred a trace of disgust in Paimon.

"You bastard, let go of me!"

She tried to break free, but his scrawny arm clamped tightly around her waist, leaving her unable to move.

"Shut up!"

The man snapped at her.

"If you don't quiet down, I won't be so nice! I've been patient long enough. Naughty children get eaten!"

A vicious smile curled the old man's lips, and greed filled his eyes.

Frightened, Paimon opened her mouth and bit down hard. A foul, rank taste filled her mouth.

"Ah!! You little bitch!"

The man grabbed Paimon by the hair and yanked upward, finally making her release her bite.

"Aunt Nicole! Lucy! Save Paimon!"

The woman crouching on the floor to check the boy's condition cursed impatiently:

"Useless. You can't even handle a little girl. Hurry up and shut her up."

Lucy kept her head lowered and did nothing, as though she hadn't seen Paimon's plea for help.

There was no telling what was wrong with this little thing. She'd eaten the cake, yet showed no sign of drowsiness. All those cakes had been dosed with sleeping pills. Paimon should have passed out long ago; there was no reason for her to show no reaction at all.

Yet she was still perfectly alert.

Paimon was making too much noise. Left with no choice, Nicole threw away the syringe in her hand and took out another.

She hadn't wanted to use sedatives on this merchandise. Giving too much to children so young could affect the quality of the goods, after all, but now she couldn't afford to worry about that.

She pushed the syringe's needle into the child's body.

As the sedative entered Paimon's body, her breathing gradually evened out. She went limp, like a strand of cotton candy, and slumped over the old man's arm.

The sound of a vehicle came from outside the restroom.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Stop knocking! Get in here and get to work."

The old man shouted irritably toward the door.

A man came in from outside-a tall, burly man wearing a baseball cap.

"Nicole, why'd you come all the way over here?"

The burly man resented having to walk the extra distance, and his tone was rather cold.

"I should be asking you. What's wrong with the cakes? Why didn't they knock them out?"

The woman had always had a fiery temper. Having to pretend to be kind and friendly to lure children left nothing but irritation behind the smile on her face.

"What's with that attitude? If you don't like it, do it yourself!"

The burly man refused to back down.

"All right, all right. Don't get angry, Frank. Get the children loaded up so we can leave."

Seeing the two squabbling, the old man stepped in to keep the peace.

He handed the girl to the burly man and started outside.

"Wait!"

Nicole snatched the girl back.

"You carry the one on the floor."

Her tone was terrible, even thick with hostility. It seemed she'd been at odds with this burly man named Frank for quite some time.

Frank was about to explode again, but a warning look from the old man stopped him. He had no choice but to swallow his anger, grab the boy's body off the floor, and sling him over his shoulder.

Their vehicle was parked outside the restroom.

It was a large cargo truck.

All kinds of equipment were piled near the opening, along with used and unused firework casings.

He moved the clutter aside. Several children lay sprawled haphazardly in the space beyond.

These children were the "merchandise" they had lured away and drugged at the fireworks venue.

The old man climbed into the truck with Lucy and Nicole. The burly man unceremoniously tossed the boy inside, slammed the cargo doors shut, and stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

"Bitch!"

He lit it, climbed into the driver's seat, and started the truck, slowly driving away.

Frank kept cursing inwardly in his anger. He failed to notice a motorcycle following their truck through the darkness, neither too close nor too far behind.

The old man's cloudy eyes roamed over Paimon's face and body with a filthy gaze.

"Up to your old tricks again, are you?"

Nicole's expression darkened as she looked at the old man contemptuously and said:

"Behave yourself with this batch. Keep your filthy hands off them. If anything goes wrong, I'll take a knife and chop them off."

"I know."

The old man gave her a lecherous, ingratiating smile.

He had a strong interest in these clean little boys and girls with their fair, tender skin.

He was one of the team's old hands. The woman handled the abductions, the burly man handled transport and supervision, and he contacted the buyers.

Because of his particular tastes, most of the customers he contacted were people just like him.

Unable to get their thrills from adult women, these people turned to children.

Such people had a high demand for "goods." Because the merchandise wore out, their business had always been good.

Sometimes, when the old man saw "merchandise" that suited his tastes, he couldn't resist playing with it before selling it.

Lately, however, things had become risky. The police were having a major impact on their business.

They were acquiring fewer and fewer goods, and soon couldn't meet their customers' needs. Their customers were growing increasingly dissatisfied with them, too.

Last time, he'd been unable to resist playing with a boy, only for the buyer to discover it.

The buyer had taken a hard line, saying that if he dared help himself again, he shouldn't blame anyone for getting brutal.

They had been forced to promise the buyer some extra merchandise to save the deal.

So, despite his unbearable urges, the old man restrained himself under Nicole's warning.

Deprived of his fun, the old man picked up the silent Lucy instead and began groping her. The little girl offered no resistance, as though she were used to it.

"This boy's got a decent face, but his age... Tell Frank to toss him out when we cross the bridge."

Little children didn't remember things. The older they were, the more trouble they caused, and they could still stir up problems after being sold to customers. That was why they generally didn't abduct teenagers.

"What, you don't like money? You're turning down business that's fallen into our laps."

Nicole said smugly:

"I met someone recently. He's got connections. Young people's organs sell best on the black market."

"Teenagers are healthy and full of vitality. They're the clients' favorites. I've already asked around. A full set can fetch this much."

The woman held up her fingers and waved them before the old man's eyes. He immediately shut his mouth.

He certainly wasn't going to turn his nose up at lovely American dollars.

Listening to the conversation through his earpiece, Steve was so furious his teeth ached. The handlebars creaked under his grip, as though he were about to crush the motorcycle.

Lying on the floor and playing dead, Lin Ze mentally added another charge against the pair. What an unexpected discovery.

The truck drove for another twenty-odd minutes.

Finally, it stopped outside a warehouse on the outskirts.

Bang, bang.

Frank pounded on the truck twice and shouted:

"Get out! Unload the goods!"