Chapter 4

The sound of a siren woke me up⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

My limbs were still tightly bound. I seemed to still be in that narrow, confined box, but this time it felt much more suffocating, and every breath was filled with foul smells and stench.

To avoid passing out again, I forced my eyes open, breathed steadily, and slowly adjusted to find the most comfortable position to ease the pain in my body bit by bit. I had to stay calm. Since there was a siren, it meant I was still in the country. This might be my last chance to save myself.

The vehicle seemed to have stopped. I heard the dull sound of an iron gate slowly opening. The voices outside were very quiet, almost inaudible: "Let me check your pass. You got this processing certificate pretty fast. Unload all the cargo. This is your second trip this month?"

"Well, I need the money. Who would be away from home all the time if they didn't? Here, here, have a cigarette." Another voice sounded flattering, as if stuffing something into the person's pocket.

"My body camera is still on. Don't try that with me. I'm following proper procedures to inspect. You guys hurry up, it's the middle of the night."

Amid the noisy sounds, I finally felt like I could breathe a bit of fresh air. Someone seemed to have lifted the box containing me, then dropped it heavily on the ground. My whole body rolled to the side, and the violent impact almost made me pass out from pain again. Before I could react, there was the sound of boxes crashing into boxes outside.

Through a crack, a sliver of light shone in. This was it - this was my only way out.

Ignoring the pain throughout my body, I kicked hard at the box with my feet.

My bare feet kicked weakly against the thick wooden board, only making dull sounds that were drowned out by the surrounding voices and the sounds of boxes colliding.

No, I couldn't give up like this. Ignoring the pain in my face, I banged the back of my head hard against the box. Although the sound was still weak, the repeated impacts finally caught the law enforcement officer's attention.

"What's that sound?" someone asked.

I frantically picked up the pace, even if it meant cracking my skull open - I couldn't let them ship me overseas. Once I'm out of the country, I'm as good as dead. Whether it's Sophia wanting me six feet under or ending up in some godforsaken hellhole where they chew people up and spit them out, there's no way I'm making it out alive.

"What sound? I'm carrying live animals. One of them probably wasn't tied up properly and got loose." I heard the sound of a box being opened. Soon after, there was an animal's whimpering cry, followed by the squealing of pigs.

"See, I hate the noise, so I had to tie up their limbs and mouths. These things are the most troublesome - they won't stop struggling if you loosen them even a little."

"That noise earlier didn't sound right. It came from this area, didn't it? Open it up and take a look." The police officer's voice gave me renewed hope.

"This..." The noise completely drowned out the rest of the conversation. I tried hard to look through that crack, but it was just a crack, and as other boxes were stacked on top of mine, even this one ray of light was suddenly blocked, leaving only darkness before my eyes again.

This was my only chance. I couldn't just let it slip away like this. So I banged my head against the wooden box even harder, making dull sounds that mixed with the chaotic pig squeals and the even more violent sounds of kicking boxes, until it was completely impossible to tell which box was making the noise.

Finally, I was exhausted. I felt myself being lifted again. It wasn't until the outside sounds gradually faded that I closed my eyes in despair. Perhaps this was my fate.

Tears slowly flowed down, passing saltily over my wounds, intensifying the pain. I was completely numb to all this. I wasn't afraid of pain - getting hurt had become normal when I was little, whether from beatings by my adoptive parents or from fights with other kids. But now, besides the threads of pain throughout my body that almost suffocated me, there was endless fear about the future.

Was I just going to accept my fate like this?

Let them take me away like livestock and sell me like a pig?

Or maybe when Sophia handed me over to these people, she never intended for me to be sold alive?

I still wasn't willing to accept it. All these years, I had tolerated her in every way. She stole my entire life, and I was still going to die at her hands?

How could I save myself?

I thought hard. If my face hadn't been ruined, maybe selling my body wouldn't have been out of the question. Things like chastity meant nothing to me compared to staying alive. Clearly, she didn't want me alive.

They sold me - either as a walking organ bank or a human breeding machine.

A woman with a ruined face probably had only these two paths, and no matter which one she chose, the final fate seemed to be death.

This was Sophia's goal.

No, I couldn't follow her plan like this. I couldn't just die like this. The people who harmed me must pay the price. As long as there was even a sliver of a chance, I would hold on tight. I had to get revenge - vicious Sophia, heartless Gregory, the cold members of the Brown family - I wouldn't let any of them go.

I heard the car door open again, and I was carried down. Someone kicked the box hard and spat viciously: "Damn it, today's thing almost didn't work out. Good thing the person on patrol today was an old acquaintance, but it still cost me fifty thousand dollars."

"Jeffrey, don't be angry. This cargo is getting paid from both sides, so we won't lose money. Although her face is ruined, that body looks really good. We'll take her to the auction house later. Aren't they doing mystery box auctions recently? We can definitely sell her for a good price then. Once the deal is done, if the buyer comes looking for us, we'll just refund some money."

"That seems to be the only way to recover my fifty thousand dollars. Maybe we can even make more. But I still can't swallow this anger. Get her out for me. Now that we're on our turf, I need to teach her a good lesson. If she still doesn't behave, I'll just kill her." Jeffrey's voice was already filled with menace.

The box was pried open with an iron bar. The sudden bright light made it almost impossible for me to open my eyes. I squinted at them. Several men looked down at me together, as if jointly examining a piece of merchandise.

The leader was a scarred man. His eyes held contempt as he looked at me and sneered: "This ugly thing? First, untie her mouth. I like to hear people scream."

A hand grabbed my hair and yanked me out of the box. The tape was finally unwound circle by circle, and I was thrown hard at the scarred man's feet.

Jeffrey walked up to me. He bent down and looked at me menacingly, pressing his toe on the back of my hand, which was covered in dark red bloodstains, grinding it bit by bit: "Scream. Don't you like to scream? Let's see if anyone on this ship can come save you."

The piercing pain made my pale face instantly flush red. I finally couldn't hold it in anymore and let out a hoarse, agonized scream.