mtl008 Chapter 360 Living Despair
Chapter 360 Living Despair
Lian Sheng nodded hurriedly, following closely beside Lu Yangyang, while the commotion around them grew louder and louder.
Besides the salt workers in the salt pits, the managers and salt workers elsewhere also began to gather after hearing the commotion, gradually splitting into two groups: some were incited by the managers to follow them, while others spontaneously joined the ranks of the salt workers.
The moment night fell, the once lifeless salt mine seemed to come alive.
Fireworks signaled the way into the sky. The foremen and patrolmen who had gathered together drew their weapons. After intimidation proved ineffective, they began killing salt workers on sight. In just a short while, the whole situation became out of control.
Lu Yangyang led Lian Sheng, dodging those people as they hurried toward the shack. Before they even reached the shack, they heard a series of piercing screams.
Lu Yangyang didn't dare to stop for a moment. Relying on her memory, she ran quickly towards the small shed that Chang Hai had led them to. Along the way, she could see women and children who were in a state of chaos and panic.
At this moment, Liu Xiang was holding a bloodstained hairpin in her hand, and a woman with a face full of sores was beside her. Two patrolmen were holding long knives and forcing Liu Xiang and the woman to retreat step by step.
"You bitch, you're asking for trouble, aren't you? I'm warning you, all of you better stay put, or none of you will live tonight!" The patrolmen approached Liu Xiang step by step.
As Liu Xiang backed away, she tried to remain calm and shouted, "You, don't come any closer!"
The woman with a face full of sores behind her suddenly pulled her behind her, facing the patrolman: "If you've got the guts, come at me! Don't touch her!"
"You damned chicken, get out of my way! You've dirtied my prey, I'll chop you up right now!" The patrolman raised his long knife and slashed at the woman.
Before the knife could fall, a brick smashed down on his face. He couldn't dodge in time, screamed, and fell to the ground.
Seeing this, another patrolman next to him hurriedly drew his knife, but the next moment, a brick hit him directly in the face, and the two of them fell to the ground.
Lu Yangyang threw away the brick that had been smashed in two, picked up the knife on the ground, and slit the throats of the two men.
"Lu, Lu..." Liu Xiang stammered when she saw the person who came, her whole body trembling.
Lu Yangyang walked over to her in two steps, reached out and patted her: "It's okay, don't be afraid, what just happened?"
Liu Xiang hurriedly raised her hand to wipe away her tears, looked nervously at Lu Yangyang, and then glanced at Lian Sheng who had come with Lu Yangyang.
Lu Yangyang said to Lian Sheng, "Lian Sheng, go and keep watch nearby. If anyone comes, call out to them."
Lian Sheng quickly replied, "Okay!"
As soon as Lian Sheng walked away, Liu Xiang quickly pulled the woman beside her back: "Miss, this is Wan Niang. Not long after you left, Chang Hai came back. He said he wanted to take me to get dressed up so I could serve Steward Yang well tonight. He told me to be sensible, since he knows what I used to do. He even said that if Steward Yang took a liking to me, I'd have a lot of good days ahead of me. Then he tried to touch me inappropriately, and in a moment of panic, I drugged him. I was afraid someone would come looking for me, so I sneaked out and found out where Wan Niang and the others were staying. I didn't dare tell anyone else, so I took Wan Niang out to find a place to get a feel for the situation. But soon after, we heard a commotion outside, and then things inexplicably started to get chaotic. Wan Niang and I hurriedly tried to go back to find the other women, but before we got there, we were stopped by two patrolling officers... Thank goodness you arrived in time."
Wan Niang already knew from Liu Xiang that Lu Yangyang came here to save them. People like them never thought they would have a chance to live. Even when she and Liu Xiang were stopped, she didn't believe it was true.
But surprisingly, someone actually came.
With red eyes, Wan Niang bowed to Lu Yangyang and said, "Wan Niang greets Miss Lu. To me, the greatest kindness is to learn that Miss Lu has come to save us."
Their lives are cheap, less valuable than roadside weeds. No one has ever cared about their lives, never.
This is the first time that someone has been willing to come and save people like them.
As soon as Wan Niang opened her mouth, her hoarse voice began to choke with sobs.
Then, subconsciously, he wanted to kneel down before Lu Yangyang.
Lu Yangyang hurriedly stopped her: "This is not the time to talk about these things. The salt mine is in chaos. You should take me to find your sisters first. If we are too late, they will be dead."
The killing has already begun outside. Just like those two patrolmen who spotted Liu Xiang and, thinking she was alright, tried to kidnap her. But Wan Niang got in their way, so they drew their swords and killed her. Similarly, if anyone passing by sees those girls, they could kill them at any moment.
Seeing that she really wanted to take them away, Wan Niang didn't dare to delay for a moment and hurriedly led her toward the shed where the girls were being held.
Lu Yangyang didn't forget to call out to Lian Sheng, telling him to follow.
The sheds where the girls were kept were located at the very edge of this shed area. Not far ahead was an abandoned salt pit. Even before getting close, Lu Yangyang could smell the stench of rotting corpses mixed with the salty odor. Wan Niang pointed to two adjacent sheds and said, "We live in this place, squeezed into this shed. The one in front is... where they do their business. If someone dies in the middle, they just drag it forward and throw it into the pit, collect it for a few days, and then burn it."
As she spoke, she walked over and lifted the curtain outside the shack, and a musty smell mixed with a foul odor wafted out.
A rocket landed on the nearby shack, and the fire, encountering the slightly damp thatched shack, immediately ignited into thick smoke. Then another rocket landed, and in the firelight, Lu Yangyang finally saw a pair of numb eyes inside the narrow shack.
The girls inside were almost unrecognizable. In such a small space, people were piled up—yes, piled up. They were haphazardly piled together, with pairs of numb and dull eyes, and bodies crammed together haphazardly. Some were dressed, but many more were completely naked. They were clearly still alive, yet they resembled corpses piled up in a charnel pit, just waiting for a fire to fall and burn them to ashes.
That was raw, unadulterated despair.
This is hell on earth.
The fire in the shack next door had already started, and thick smoke engulfed them. None of the girls moved. Occasionally, one of them would panic, but she would just curl up her body, as if she were looking for a slightly more comfortable way to die.
Liu Xiang couldn't help but shout at them, "The fire is about to start! Come out quickly!"
No one moved.