"I did too, I was shopping with my mom and got separated from her, then I was brought here," said one.
All the boys spoke sadly about their experiences of being kidnapped.
Thinking about their parents at home and then considering the cruelty and terror here, they all cried, each of them sobbed deeply.
Xiaocong’s eyes reddened, and he felt like crying too.
He held back and firmly reassured them, "Don’t worry, our parents will definitely come to save us!"
But no one responded to his words.
Zhang Xu cried, "They won’t. I have been locked up for a year already. Every day I tell myself that my parents will come to save me. But they never have, and we’ll never see them again, nor will we ever be able to leave this place."
Xiaocong’s face turned pale, and his small fists clenched tightly.
"I don’t believe it! My dad is amazing; he will definitely come to save me, he will!"
But did his dad know he was locked up in this place?
Xiaocong was also very worried in his heart—if they couldn’t find him, maybe he’d be locked up here just like the others.
Xiaocong felt very sad. He found an empty spot on the ground, sat down, hugged his knees, and pondered his troubles.
After a while, someone brought steamed buns and bread rolls.
A stack of bread rolls and a stack of buns were placed on the ground; once the door closed, all the children pounced on the food.
Their recent crying ceased, each person fiercely fought over the food.
Those who didn’t get any tried to snatch from others, and in no time, everyone was tangled in a brawl.
Some bit off a few mouthfuls of the buns so quickly they couldn’t swallow them before others forcibly dug them out of their mouths.
Xiaocong watched them, stunned, unable to snap back to reality for a long time.
Suddenly, half a bread roll rolled in front of him.
The fighting boys stopped and stared intently at the bread roll by his feet, hesitating to come forward and pick it up.
Xiaocong picked up the bread roll; it was very dirty, covered in dust.
Yet they all looked greedily at the half roll in his hand, as if it were the most exquisite delicacy.
He stood up, and the boys showed disappointment.
They thought Xiaocong wouldn’t give the bread roll back to them.
But they didn’t dare to snatch it, he knew martial arts, and none of them was a match for him.
Xiaocong looked at them, divided the bread roll into three parts, and handed them to three skinny boys who hadn’t gotten anything to eat.
"Here, you eat. I’m not hungry," he said softly.
They didn’t care about what he said and snatched the bread roll to quickly gulp it down.
However, the skinniest boy, about his age, still thanked him.
Xiaocong asked in bewilderment, "Why do you have to fight over it? If everyone got one, then nobody would have to be hungry."
A boy replied, "They only deliver steamed buns and bread rolls twice a day. Just four buns and four rolls each time, not nearly enough for all of us. If we don’t fight for it, we’ll starve to death."
"Starve to death?" Xiaocong was shocked; in his world, he had never encountered the concept of starving to death.
"That’s right, several have already starved to death. After they die, they carry them out and throw them into the sea to feed the fish."
Xiaocong’s face turned even paler, completely drained of color.
Was this world really the one he knew?
He thought all kids were like him, loved by their parents, going to school every day, leading happy lives.