As they dragged Chris through the cellars to the outside, he caught sight of the many prisoners. Some were merely wasting away in cells; the sight made him ill.
Some of them even took their own lives, left to rot as they had been in the soggy cages. No one bothered to take them out — no one cared.""I could become one of them…"
The idea cut through him like a knife. His heart pounded, his breath stuttered, and a load settled in the pit of his stomach. His eyes went dull.
They slowed in front of an enormous door made of one plate of steel. Everything disappeared from Chris's mind. His eyes opened wide; drops of sweat appeared under his brow.
Outside the tiny window a figure barely appeared in the faint light. The space surrounding it grew denser. Shackles rattled — not ordinary iron, but chains that released a rhythmic rattle, as if they imprisoned something that was anxious to escape.
Chris's body became rigid. It was becoming harder to breathe; blood was freezing in his veins.
"Shen, stop staring at Li Tian. He's not going anywhere. And if he does make a run for it — you'll be the first to be killed," another guard growled off.
"What? Why suddenly say that?" Shen replied in surprise. "Perhaps you'll be the first to perish," he grumbled, wounded pride speaking, although he went steadily and deliberately, as if it was everyday talk.
"Your face is just not pleasant to look at," the second guard snorted, moving Chris along the corridor.
Their talk penetrated the stifling mood that pressed against Chris's chest. Stiffly shaking, he was nevertheless seized by an idea: He could be an ally…
The sunlight outside was bright. The city after four days of darkness in the cell sparkled.
Houses were not higher than two stories, and street lamps at regular intervals made the evening town seem safe. Somewhere in the background, music was going.
They walked through crowds of hundreds. In taverns, people drank from the street itself; guards marched up and down walls in the distance. It was ordinary to see swords — Chris never spotted anyone unarmed, women and all.
Their eyes sparkled with style and poise, yet the same danger lay concealed in their steps as in the men's.
Chris's eyes flitted haphazardly. Murals painted on common house walls, unlocked doors, the aroma of food, the bustle of the streets… His face cleared slowly, grew less stern. Even one of the guards forced a bun into his hand.
They got to their destination — an eight-storied structure. Carvings and engravings adorned every floor and every window.
Warm orange light bathed the façade to the top, and every element was ravenous for the eye. The principal door, shaped from green stone, was like an emerald. When the two guards pushed open the doors with a heave, Chris felt like a kid next to them.
Inside, a dim light filled a circular hall. Two warriors stood guard; along the walls, staircases rose, one above another, seemingly endless.
Going up the central stair, Chris looked at the windows on the adjacent wall. From above the city appeared tiny — not over fifty houses. Thin mist clothed the streets, streaked by rays of the declining sun that shone gold.
But the higher they went, the more Chris's expression altered. The city's charm disappeared. Sweat ran down his temples; a hollowness gnawed at his stomach.
The clang of chains reminded him: there were things to be considered above loveliness.
At the far top loomed a bright red door. It was possible to smell something sweetish coming from behind it, and a faint haze was suspended in mid-air.
A young man sat at a table with his back to the entrance. He was reading a scroll, turning it over and over as though the letters kept skittering across the surface.
Before he could take a step, Chris froze. The air compressed as if ready to crush him. His vision clouded; his legs refused to hold him.
Chains dropped to the ground. Chris was trying to stand up, bracing himself by one hand. He was pushed toward the door and the guards didn't budge.
Eternity passed by before he could take in much-needed breath. The man at the table at last swung around and grinned. Oxygen was back in his lungs; blood circulated again through veins.
Chris's eyes flushed — a gleam of malice shone in them. The guards easily lifted him to his feet and said:
"Master Gu Yan, we have apprehended someone. He supposedly was from that planet. His speech is radically unfamiliar to us."
At the words, Chris's head jerked up. His eyes darted back and forth through the room, a vein throbbed above his temple, and he bit at his lip until it was bleeding.
System Notification:
You for the first time encountered the aura of martial arts and passed through it without the use of magic.REWARD: 2 attribute points.Passive skill "Language of Approaching Beings" advanced to 45%.
Chris begged the system in silence for anything, hoping.
System S:— I can read your thoughts. I can't come personally, but I'll do everything possible to help.
— System's first mission: endure Gu Yan's interrogation.— Reward: 5 points of skill.
Main task:— Live through two weeks in the city of Gu Yan and escape.— Reward: access to shop.— Consequences of failure: elimination of humankind.
Chris's eyes nearly popped from their sockets — he stopped hearing what was going on around him. "Destruction of humanity?" the thought spun through his head, and he felt as if he'd fallen out of the world.
Mission briefing:— Two weeks to spend in the city of Gu Yan and escape.— Reward: access to the shop.— Penalty: loss of energies of this world…
System S:— Sorry, there was a glitch in your system window. That was an error :)
A smiley. A smiley?!
"Funny… I just went through nine circles of hell thinking my failure would kill people, and you—send a smiley…" Chris's face froze in a rictus of fury. Even Gu Yan noticed.
With a flick of his wrist, Gu Yan dispatched the guards. He motioned for Chris to sit. Not until twenty seconds later, with chains clattering, Chris carefully settled into a chair and force himself to calm down.
Gu Yan stalked around him, examining as if he were prey. Anticipation of torture never dissipated for Chris: the unforgiving chair, the manacles that didn't permit even the tip of a finger to budge, the chill in the atmosphere that appeared designed to plant hopelessness.
Minute passed after minute and yet he was not insistent. He only moved at last and, grumbling to himself, asked:— You don't possess spiritual strength, do you? You certainly come from another world, yet I don't feel anything.
He talked to himself absent-mindedly, rubbing his head. Then he came even nearer—so that the cold of the chains seemed almost comforting. The smile upon his lips remained dignified, yet those eyes…. those eyes were strange.
— Let me simply finish you off, — the words shredded Chris's mind and replayed in thunderous waves. His body trembled; his mouth stayed shut.
Chris's head was turned to the side; the knuckles of his right-hand gripped the armrest of the seat, white-knuckled. The air was cold enough to cut through to bone; breathing was risky; eyes scoured the chamber for egress.
— So you do understand me. Why are you quiet? Won't answer? — Gu Yan's tone grew icy. He spun a knife upon one finger; his demeanor grew menacing, and the smile died upon his lips.
—I can return your hand to you, give you a good existence, women — anything whatsoever. You simply must answer just a few questions: how came you to be here in such a body? — his voice grew higher, urgent, terrible.
The knife whistled and drove into the armchair between Chris's fingers; the room was filled with the scent of iron and the presence of death. Chris's legs weakened—he could no longer hold.
System S — Alert:— Mind your tongue. A single word can be lethal.
Chris suddenly burst out:—"I don't know. I don't know anything. I didn't want to be in your world. I…. dropped into some well at the top of a mountain."
To Gu Yan it was mere nonsense — the words issued in English, a strange language here. A vein pulsed in Gu Yan's neck; he growled:— "You're making fun of me?!" — and snapped: — "Yun Fei!" His yell burst out into a roar.
— Bring him to the information room. Determine all that is possible. Get him to talk at all costs. Do not kill him—until you find something of value! — he ordered the guards, and they proceeded at once; chains rattled as they stepped.
Then the guards ran into the hall as if their lives depended on it. They dragged in Chris and made for the underground, not even giving Yun Fei a moment to wait.
Gu Yan stared after them until they were out of sight. The atmosphere in the room was boiling, windows misting up. I … I don't believe that's actually happening, Chris considered, looking over again. Fear had ebbed somewhat, yet the weight in his gut continued to oppress.
A twenty-six year-old with dark, short hair and purple eyes came up to Gu Yan. "Gu, that's overkill—I can see your veins" her bright laughter rang out through the corridor.
He regained composure easily and uttered quietly,"Go and bring me the information."
Chris was tied to a chair in the middle of the room. The aroma of roasted charcoal from the corner stove wafted in. It was packed with weapons—all weapons—needles, knives, swords, the works.
He automatically hunched up in the chair, running his fingers over the roughness of the wood—the gouges and scratches. Buckets of water were adjacent, and shelves stacked with dozens of little bottles of every shade of color existed on another wall.
An odd smell came from them, at once soothing and unnerving. They want to cure or torture… or possibly both, Chris imagined.
Every step he took backwards along the corridor made him retreat another inch into the chair. A tall brunette with긴 legs and expressive eyes came into the room. She asked only once in her velvety voice:
"Will you talk?"
Chris silently shook his head.
"Too bad," she said with the hint of a smile. "Hoping not to ruin that pretty little face of yours. Perhaps we can start with something like that?"
She grabbed up a green emerald vial off of the shelf and tipped it into Chris's lips, covering it with her own. He struggled to resist, his breath halting, but he swallowed it all. She spun back to the door and said, "I'll be back in an hour.
Be good—don't die." Warning appeared in front of Chris's eyes:"Your health is falling at a rapidly alarming rate. Your body contains a powerful poison. Survival chance at current stats is below 10%."
This is the end… The thought lodged in his throat, constricting him.