"No one should ever be bought and sold like merchandise again."
Pattaya – Two days later
The scent of the sea mingled with exhaust fumes and the smell of withered hope in the air. Death sat in a roadside noodle stall, wearing a cap and sunglasses. One hand held chopsticks; the other tapped a tablet screen hidden beneath the table.
On the screen, a blueprint of "BLOOD LOTUS"—Southeast Asia's largest human auction house—displayed every location, security code, and the auction time, set to begin tonight.
The young woman in the photograph—the mission's target—was named "Ailin." A survivor of a fire at a detention camp five years ago. She had been a key witness in an important case but was abducted before she could testify.
And tonight, she was about to be sold to the highest bidder.
22:47 HRS – BLOOD LOTUS COMPOUND
Over 30 rai of land in South Pattaya, surrounded by high walls and military-grade surveillance cameras. The main structure was a luxurious building, a fusion of Japanese and Chinese architecture, filled with investors from various countries. They were oblivious that beneath the opulence lay a "market of hell."
Death infiltrated through the underground ventilation system once again, this time equipped with new gear—a miniature EMP watch, a carbon fiber knife, and two magnetic bombs.
"Grandson… Ailin's vitals are on B2. If you're more than 30 minutes late, they'll put her on stage," his grandfather's voice came through the radio.
"Roger," Death replied curtly.
Neon lights flickered intermittently as he navigated the narrow passage, then stopped at a steel door.
The card reader beeped: "Beep… Beep… Beep… Access Denied."
Without hesitation, Death jammed an electrical shock device into the control port—the lights on the entire B2 floor went out.
Cries erupted from the surrounding steel cages. Numerous prisoners rose, looking on with a mixture of fear and hope.
Death walked past them to the centermost cage, where the young woman from the photograph sat, hugging her knees.
"Ailin?" he asked softly.
She looked up, her eyes filled with emotional scars, and a gaze that didn't believe 'anyone would come to help.'
"Who sent you… They set me up…"
Death opened the cage, gently cutting off her collar with his knife. "No one sent me. I just won't let them do this anymore."
Sirens began to blare throughout the compound. Guards started to flood in.
23:12 HRS – B1 FLOOR – ESCAPE ROUTE
Death led Ailin, running through a hail of bullets, past marble halls and heavily guarded spiral staircases.
"We can't go that way!" Ailin cried.
Death threw his knife, embedding it in a guard's neck, before dragging her into an empty conference room. He set a trap with a magnetic bomb at the door.
The door was kicked open—a powerful tremor echoed, and the bodies of three guards fell amidst scattered metal.
"You escape this way. I'll lure them in another direction," Death said, tossing her a mobile phone. "Call my grandfather—he'll get you out."
"But you—"
"Go, now!"
Ailin gritted her teeth and fled down the path Death indicated, while he sprinted in the opposite direction, towards the top floor of BLOOD LOTUS.
23:47 HRS – AUCTION HOUSE ROOFTOP
Flames raged from the lower floors, explosions still echoing behind him. Death stood on the rooftop, facing a giant of a man in traditional Chinese attire—"General Yuan," the organization's right-hand man.
"So, you are the Death Walker… You killed Viktor. Now you plan to burn down the entire nest?"
"Yes," Death replied, drawing a knife from its sheath on his leg. "And you… are next."
The clang of steel on steel reverberated. The fight on the rooftop, amidst the flames, began fiercely. Fist met fist, blood splattered with every exchange.
General Yuan was strong… but Death was faster.
Finally, he plunged his knife into the enemy's chest, before pushing the body off the rooftop into the inferno below.
"One base… incinerated," Death said to himself.
Dawn – Beachside Residence, Chonburi
Ailin sat looking out at the sea with empty eyes. Death's grandfather handed her a cup of hot tea. She accepted it and asked, her voice trembling,
"Will he… come back?"
His grandfather smiled faintly. "He once said… he'd come back when there's no one left to save."
In the charred ruins of the auction house.
Death emerged from the shadows, pulling his cloak over his wounds and burns. He still held a new file tightly in his hand.
The cover of the file read:
"SECRET BASE: MANDALAY – ORIGIN OF THE SERPENT WITH A THOUSAND HEARTS"
(Next Episode: "Origin of the Serpent with a Thousand Hearts")