C7 Transfer
"Everyone in District 13, assemble at the dog hole immediately!"
While Kong Qing was fervently digging, a startling shout erupted, unabashedly referring to the resting area as the "dog hole," which incensed Kong Qing.
"Why this sudden assembly?" Kong Qing wondered, noticing others already hurrying off. He was instantly reminded of the incident a few days prior when he had buried the monitoring equipment.
"The inevitable has arrived," Kong Qing sighed, though not certain, he felt it was highly likely that the gathering in District 13 was related to that event. He had been discreetly mining all this time, fearful of giving himself away.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Kong Qing resolved to head toward the resting area. Upon arrival, he saw dozens from District 13 clustered at the cave entrance. Naturally, Kong Qing crept to the back of the crowd, trying to remain unnoticed.
"Phew."
Peering through the gaps between people, he could see three supervisors standing before the crowd, exuding a menacing aura with their icy demeanors that discouraged direct eye contact.
"The reason I've called you here today... is because there's been an incident..." the supervisor announced in a calm, stern voice.
After surveying the crowd, he revealed, "Your District 13 supervisor has disappeared!"
"This..."
The crowd instantly became agitated upon hearing the supervisor's announcement.
In that moment, the supervisor's hand whipped forward, and the whip in his grasp lashed out like a serpent, coiling around a man's neck. This action made the rest of the crowd recoil in horror.
The man frantically tried to pry the whip from his neck, but no matter how hard he struggled, it remained tightly bound.
"Supervisor... Sir, I swear I know nothing!" The man, with the whip around his neck, pleaded in terror as if facing grim reapers.
The supervisor let out a cold laugh, twirled his wrist around the handle of the whip to secure it, and with a forceful yank...
Bang!
The man was pulled off his feet and slammed to the ground.
"After conducting our investigation, we've determined that the last known location of the District 13 supervisor was right here," the supervisor stated coolly. When no one responded, he effortlessly retracted the whip.
The whip cracked against the man's back.
“Ah!”
A scream tore through the air as the man clutched his back, rolling on the ground in agony.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Several more lashes followed, and the man fell silent, his body ceasing to tremble...
“I hope you can provide me with some clues about this matter. Otherwise, I can't promise I won't resort to unpleasant measures,” the Supervisor said, his face twisting into a sinister smile.
Seeing the crowd remain unmoved, the Supervisor began to doubt whether his earlier show of force had been too lenient.
Slap!
With a swift gesture, the whip coiled around another man, who was dragged forward, eyes wide with terror, as the Supervisor clamped a hand around his neck.
“Supervisor… Sir, I… I truly… don’t… know!” the man cried out in a raspy voice.
He had seen what happened to the previous man and never imagined he would be next.
“You don’t know?” the Supervisor questioned, lifting the man high before slamming him down to the ground amid his screams.
Boom!
Crack!
A thunderous crash sent dust billowing, followed by the sickening sound of the man's bones breaking.
As the man lay motionless on the ground, blood seeping out around him, everyone realized that he had become nothing more than a lifeless body.
Fury!
In such a short time, two lives had been brutally extinguished. Two vibrant beings gone forever.
The crowd looked up, their eyes filled with rage, glaring at the Supervisor who stood before them, heart as cold as a demon’s.
“Oh? It seems you are quite displeased,” the Supervisor remarked with a chilling smile.
“If you insist on testing my limits, then I shall teach you the proper demeanor of slaves!”
With that, the Supervisor tossed aside his whip and waded into the crowd, unleashing a brutal onslaught.
Bang! Bang!
He nonchalantly knocked two men to the ground, then perched atop one and, after winding up his fist, delivered a crushing blow to the man's face.
The man's nose stood no chance against the Supervisor's savage assault, collapsing and tilting to the side.
Yet the merciless Supervisor was not appeased, continuing to rain down punches upon the man's head.
Upon seeing that the man showed no signs of life, the guard swiftly apprehended another.
The methods were the same: brutal, insane, and heartless.
It was then that another guard furrowed his brow and sternly addressed the Violent Supervisor, "Twenty-six, don't overdo it. If you kill too many, who will mine for us?"
The advice from the guard made the Violent Supervisor pause and turn to face him.
One could see the Violent Supervisor's face was smeared with blood, his eyes were chilling, and his breaths came in ragged gasps. He resembled a demon fresh from the depths of hell, striking fear into everyone around.
As the guard stood up, Kong Qing involuntarily stepped back.
"If you won't talk, then I guess you don't need to eat," the Violent Supervisor said in a low voice. After sweeping his gaze over the crowd once more, he left Sector 13 with the other two guards.
The crowd, thinking it was over, stood confused and directionless until a burly, bare-chested man with a beard and a long whip in hand approached.
With a sharp "Crack!" of the whip, the new guard barked out an order.
"Get moving and start mining!"
At the guard's command, the people quickly dispersed, each rushing to their respective work areas. Mining now seemed like the safest option.
Observing the general panic, Kong Qing sensed a temporary reprieve from danger.
Without hesitation, he kept his head down and made his way to his work area. Despite the turmoil within, Kong Qing knew he had to suppress his fear to avoid drawing any unwanted attention from the guards or fellow miners.
The short walk felt endlessly arduous, but once Kong Qing was out of the guards' sight and at his work area, the weight in his heart finally lifted.
He mined until dusk before he stowed his pickaxe and headed back to the rest area.
The Violent Supervisor's words were a stark reminder: Kong Qing returned to the cave hungry, his stomach echoing the emptiness of the promises made.
The dozens of slaves in District Thirteen were blissfully unaware that their nightmare was just beginning. At the crack of dawn, orders came down to transfer them to District Twenty-six. The very thing Kong Qing dreaded most had come to pass.
Bang!
A supervisor's boot connected with Kong Qing, sending him stumbling to the ground.
Crack!
The tree whip lashed out, a pain Kong Qing had grown accustomed to. He could bear it, but he was convinced he couldn't—wouldn't—endure this for the rest of his life.
"If you keep dawdling, you won't even need to bother with District Twenty-six," the supervisor growled.
Kong Qing scrambled to his feet, nodded, and hurried to catch up with the line.
Squeak...
Bang!
Passing through a winding corridor marked their true initiation as members of District Twenty-six.
The massive, rusted iron gate slammed shut with a resounding clang that echoed in their chests, refusing to fade.
The seventh mine, District Twenty-six.
Out of the many mining districts, District Twenty-six was one of the smallest, with just over a thousand slaves and a mere three supervisors. The original District Thirteen was an anomaly; the other mines lacked such leniency.
Cruelty, bloodshed, tyranny—these were their hallmarks.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The relentless clanging of pickaxes against stone reverberated throughout the mine.
The three supervisors merely smiled at the sight of Kong Qing; they were well-accustomed to the rapid turnover of slaves in District Twenty-six. As far as they were concerned, as long as production quotas were met, the lives of the slaves were inconsequential.
Slaves like Kong Qing were cycled in regularly. If one died, another took his place; if not, the grueling exploitation continued.
"Boss, we've got fewer new slaves this time," the second supervisor remarked casually.
The head supervisor nodded. "Take it easy, number three. At this rate, you'll run through all our slaves in the seven mines."
"Hahaha!" The second supervisor chuckled, giving the third supervisor a hearty slap on the shoulder.
Unmoved, the third supervisor maintained a steady demeanor, his voice dripping with indifference, "They're just a few slaves. If there's anything the Ancient Quarters has in abundance, it's them."
"Now that's the spirit, Third Supervisor, haha!" the second supervisor exclaimed with a grin.
However, noticing the third supervisor's smile, his gaze grew stern. He rose to his feet and strode toward Kong Qing and the rest of the group.
Approaching a man casually, he swung a punch, knocking him flat on the ground with a thud.
Bang!
"What are you all gawking at? Get moving and start working. Each of you has a quota of five boxes a day. Miss even one, and forget about sleep."
