Song Yan Ning and Qin Yushen walked out of the shipping container, following behind the crowd.
The girl who had spoken to them earlier walked up beside them and glanced at them indifferently.
"Let’s go," said the brown-haired man as soon as he saw that everyone was out of the container. He waved his hand and led the way.
The crowd, fearful, kept their heads down and followed the brown-haired man. They dared not rebel or run away because, apart from the brown-haired man leading in front, there were two muscular men armed with weapons following them.
Under the leadership of the brown-haired man, the group arrived at a warehouse-like corrugated iron building. The building was large, with only a large iron door and a skylight on the roof. Escape was simply impossible.
"Get in!" the brown-haired man shouted at the crowd.
The people, who dared not defy him, walked tremulously into the corrugated iron building.
When everyone had entered, the large iron door closed with a loud "bang!"
As the door shut, the people’s eyes filled with despair and fear. They knew their fates were now in others’ hands, and all they could do was wait for their destiny to unfold.
Qin Yushen took Song Yan Ning’s hand and sat down by the wall, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. They planned to wait until nightfall before making a move.
Song Yan Ning closed her eyes and began to conserve her energy in meditation.
Qin Yushen looked down at Song Yan Ning as she closed her eyes, then a corner of his mouth curled slightly, and he, too, closed his eyes.
Listening to the cries of the people around her, Ariel frowned in irritation, and when her gaze fell upon the meditating Song Yan Ning and Qin Yushen, a trace of surprise flickered in her eyes. Were they not afraid? Or had they already fallen into despair?
Time passed unnoticed, and the crying around them gradually subsided; perhaps people were tired of crying, or perhaps they had come to accept the cruel reality, knowing that crying was futile.
Outside, the sky slowly darkened, and the whole warehouse was plunged into darkness. The arrival of the night brought even more fear to the people. Hunger, too, haunted them. They hadn’t eaten anything all day.
Ariel glanced at Qin Yushen and Song Yan Ning, who still had their eyes closed, then stood up and walked to the door, pressing her ear against the iron door to listen for noises outside.
Hearing a series of faint footsteps, Ariel turned and leaned against the door. She didn’t know what the person was coming for, but if they were bringing food, she could take the opportunity to knock that person out and take care of the two guarding the door.
This wouldn’t be very difficult for her, as she was a professionally trained international detective. Being captured was part of her plan to investigate the situation here. If she could escape, she could send the message back to headquarters.
The corrugated iron door was pushed open from the outside.
Two hefty muscle men came in, carrying food. In their eyes, these people represented money; naturally, they couldn’t let them starve to death.
"Time to eat!" one of them yelled at the crowd.
No sooner had his voice faded than he felt a pain in the back of his neck, followed by his whole body lurching forward.
The comrade by his side saw this and hurried to draw a weapon, but his movements were still a step too slow, and he, too, collapsed after being struck in the back of the neck.
Ariel didn’t hesitate. She bent down, took a weapon from one of the men, and ran quickly towards the outside.
Before Ariel made her move, Song Yan Ning and Qin Yushen already knew she was going to act. From Ariel’s skills, they could tell she was neither an Ancient Martial Cultivator nor a superpower user.
But Ariel was too naive and had greatly underestimated the power of this force. Not to mention that she was neither an Ancient Martial Cultivator nor a superpower user, even if she were, she wouldn’t be able to escape from this place because there were many superpower users on this small island. When they had used their Divine Sense earlier, they detected fluctuations of a special aura coming from many people.
Sounds of gunfire quickly came from outside, indicating that Ariel had been discovered.
The others, who had been planning to escape, immediately discarded the thought upon hearing the noises outside. They were just ordinary people without any weapons; even if they could get out, they couldn’t leave the island—which was surrounded by sea, and they had no boat to make an escape.
Song Yan Ning and Qin Yushen’s Divine Sense kept constant track of Ariel, who by now was surrounded by more than a dozen armed men.
"Who are you?" A fierce-looking man with a tattoo on his arm stared coldly at Ariel.
Ariel gave a cold, mocking smile, one filled with scorn and disdain. Now that she’d been caught, she faced nothing but a dead end. What difference would it make to speak or not? She had come on this mission with the resolve to face death.
"Won’t talk, huh?" The man’s eyes narrowed slightly as a chilling aura emanated from him, sending shivers down one’s spine.
Ariel suddenly felt suffocated as if someone had seized her throat, leaving her gasping for air.
She looked at the man, a sense of unprecedented fear welling up in her. Could it be that he was one of the legendary superpower users?
The sensation of suffocation grew stronger, and Ariel’s face turned from red to deathly pale. Her eyes became vacant and lifeless. Just when she thought she was about to die, the pressure on her neck eased.
Ariel knelt weakly on the ground, coughing while gasping for breath. In that moment, she felt so close to death, as if one more second would have ended her life.
Her heart had never been so consumed by fear. She had thought she could easily escape from here with her own strength. Only now did she realize how naive she’d been.
"Ready to talk now?" The man’s cold voice rang in Ariel’s ears.
Ariel slowly raised her head, "Just kill me." She feared the man before her, but she would never betray her organization out of fear.
"Very well!" The man replied coldly, ordering his subordinates, "Take her away!" He was convinced he could extract some information from her.
Ariel was roughly dragged to her feet and forced to follow the man.
Watching the man’s cold retreating figure, a look of despair crossed Ariel’s eyes, and a solitary tear slowly slid down her cheek. Before undertaking this mission, she had promised her grandmother that upon returning, they would go to their homeland to pay respects to her grandfather. But now she was about to break her promise. "I’m sorry, Grandma! I didn’t mean to break my word. I hope you won’t be saddened by my death, and may you live a long and healthy life." She could only hope that the organization wouldn’t convey the tragic news to her grandmother, for she surely wouldn’t be able to bear it.