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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Eighty-One: Daliugou Coal Mine Shelter (3)
“Luo Luo, how are you? Are you hurt?” Song Yao heard the sound of a door closing and footsteps fading away; it seemed they were alone now.
“I’m fine. Sister Yao, where are you?” Pan Luo’s voice came from nearby, sounding as if she was right behind her.
With a black cloth covering her eyes and her hands bound behind her back with rope, Song Yao found that her legs were free. She tried to move side to side and felt something soft yet firm behind her. She reached out and touched it; it felt rough and cold, like some kind of bag.
The black cloth was opaque, and the place they were in seemed very dark. A damp, chilly odor filled her nostrils, and their voices echoed slightly, indicating that the space was not small. Besides the musty smell, there was another foul odor that made her uneasy.
“Luo Luo, are you tied up too?” The black cloth around Song Yao’s eyes was tight, and she turned her body, trying to rub against something to loosen it but to no avail.
“Yes, my hands are tied. Sister Yao, where are we—ow!” Pan Luo was also trying to get closer to Song Yao but stumbled over something in the darkness.
Hearing the sound, Song Yao turned around and took a few cautious steps toward the noise. After moving just a couple of meters, she seemed to have bumped into someone.
“Is that you, Luo Luo?” Song Yao took a couple of steps back and asked carefully.
“Huh?” Pan Luo’s voice was right in front of her, but she sounded confused, so it seemed that Song Yao had not bumped into her.
“I’m sorry.” Realizing she had touched the wrong person, Song Yao quickly apologized. As soon as the words left her mouth, she sensed something was off; that earlier feeling of unease intensified. She hurriedly asked, “Luo Luo, did they search you?”
“No, they just saw I was a kid and only rummaged through my pockets a bit.” Pan Luo didn’t understand what was troubling Song Yao; she thought it was just the anxiety of being trapped.
The two of them listened intently to the sounds outside while inching closer to each other by following each other's voices. After a long while of careful exploration, they finally managed to come together.
"I'll take that thing off your eyes," Song Yao said, bending down slightly since she was taller than Pan Luo, and she could hear the girl's breathing beside her.
"How will you take it off? Sister Yao, aren't you tied up?" Pan Luo stood in front of Song Yao, unsure how she would remove the blindfold from her own face.
Song Yao smiled mischievously and said, "Come a little closer." Pan Luo obediently leaned forward, and accidentally her lips brushed against Song Yao's warm cheek. The little girl quickly pulled back, feeling embarrassed and sticking out her tongue. Then she remembered that Song Yao's eyes were also covered, which eased her mind a bit.
Song Yao smiled but remained silent. She pressed her cheek against Pan Luo's slightly cold face and gently rubbed against it, feeling the cloth. She bit one corner of the blindfold with her teeth and lifted it up.
Pan Luo's eyes were freed, and after blinking for a while to adjust to the darkness, she looked around using the faint light coming through the door crack, letting out a low gasp of surprise.
"What is it?" Song Yao asked anxiously.
"This... is this a granary?" Pan Luo stopped her astonishment, realizing that Song Yao wouldn't understand what she meant. So she crouched down and imitated Song Yao by using her mouth to pull down the blindfold.
After closing her eyes for a moment and then opening them again, Song Yao finally understood what Pan Luo meant. They were in a very spacious room that was dark except for a flickering light coming from one corner by the door. Behind them were neatly stacked sacks that were too dark to see their color. Just now, what Song Yao had touched was one corner of these sacks. The burlap bags filled the majority of the room, piled high like something out of an ancient drama where palace maids were thrown into the sea. The two girls approached the sacks and felt them; some sank under pressure like pillows stuffed with buckwheat husks, while others felt hard and round as if filled with human heads.
"Are we... underground?" Song Yao recalled vaguely that they had been standing next to a coal gangue pile when someone suddenly covered their mouths from behind. Before they could react, bags were placed over their heads. The incident happened so suddenly; despite struggling desperately, it was futile. She only remembered being dragged through a hemp grass field before being carried into some place. Not long after, they were set down, feeling as if they had been walking deeper into somewhere damp and cold. Soon they seemed to have arrived at a crowded place where someone bound their arms with ropes and searched their bodies before tossing them into this location.
Pan Luo felt similarly; all along their waists had been pressed against sharp knives, leaving no time to pay attention to anything else.
Suddenly, Song Yao remembered that she seemed to have bumped into someone earlier. Turning her head to look in the dim light, she couldn't help but gasp in shock.
Lying on the ground was a man with long hair, dressed in a dirty torn white shirt and denim shorts.
Pan Luo wasn't afraid of dead bodies; she cautiously approached and kicked him with her foot. "Hey! Are you still alive?"
The person on the ground remained motionless, showing no signs of life. Pan Luo glanced at Song Yao, crouched down, and reached out to touch the back of the person's neck. As soon as her small hand made contact, she quickly withdrew it and looked up, saying, "It's cold!"
"Find a way to untie the ropes," Song Yao whispered as she tiptoed to the door and peeked through a crack. It appeared to be a corridor outside, with a torch mounted on one wall, and there seemed to be no one around.
"The ground is so cold," Pan Luo said, shivering as she propped herself up against a burlap sack. The two of them hadn't had time to put on their shoes; they didn't know if they had fallen off during their dragging. The thin socks felt icy against the damp ground, sending chills straight to their core.
"Where's your gun?" Song Yao asked as she stepped back. Her knife had been confiscated, and now she could only rely on Pan Luo.
"Right here." The little girl perked up, puffing out her small belly. "It's tucked in here; my school uniform is loose, so they didn't find it."
"Good job." Song Yao's eyes darted around as she searched for something useful to help untie the ropes.
Just as they were looking around, a sudden sound of footsteps echoed from outside, followed by the creaking of the wooden door as it swung open. Two figures stepped inside.
"Hey, what are you doing?" asked a young man who looked to be in his late twenties. He was short but stocky, with a round face topped by an awkward middle part hairstyle. His squinty eyes scrutinized the two girls with a sly glint. If he swapped his t-shirt for a Zhongshan suit, he would resemble a counterfeit high-ranking official. Behind him stood another person, but due to his smaller stature, he was mostly obscured by his companion.
Song Yao positioned herself protectively in front of Pan Luo, feeling a surge of tension as she asked in a low voice, "Who are you? Why did you bring us here? Where is this place?"
In response to Song Yao's rapid-fire questions, the imitation of Kim Jong-un merely narrowed his eyes and assessed them from head to toe before making a gesture and saying to the person behind him, "Take the schoolgirl away. Those who used to have status always liked playing with students; Uncle Two will surely like her too."
The lackey finally emerged from behind the imitation Kim Jong-un. He was skinny and scrawny-looking, resembling someone suffering from malnutrition.
The lackey glanced at them and remarked, "They look like eggplants; do you think Uncle Two would like them? I think this one is better—she's got bigger breasts!"
Song Yao and Pan Luo felt humiliated and angry as they were brazenly scrutinized by the Fat Monk and Skinny Monk. Even though Song Yao usually had a carefree attitude, she couldn't shake off an underlying sense of fear at that moment.
"De'er, that's her," Fat Monk grinned, stepping forward. "Just a heads up, Uncle Two has a bad temper, so keep your wits about you when you're serving him."
Song Yao understood all too well what he meant by 'serving.' Though fear and disgust washed over her, she managed to keep her composure. This might be an opportunity, she thought. With a smile that felt awkward even to her, she said softly, "Could you please untie the ropes first? My arms are getting sore, and it will be inconvenient later." Despite the drastic changes in the world, having a pretty face was still a significant asset. Coupled with Song Yao's deliberate soft tone and her alluring figure, it made Fatty Jin's whole body itch with desire.
"I absolutely won't run away! I promise!" Song Yao added at the right moment.
"Alright, alright! Uncle Two likes girls who are perceptive," Fatty Jin said, his face lighting up as if this short-haired girl was about to serve him. He turned to Skinny Monk and ordered, "Untie her. Go ask Auntie if there are any clean clothes available; preferably a floral dress—Uncle Two loves floral dresses."
Skinny Monk quickly untied the ropes behind Song Yao and gave her a push. "Come on, what are you standing around for?"
Rubbing her sore wrists, Song Yao turned and discreetly signaled Pan Luo with her eyes. Little Pan understood immediately and timidly said, "Fat Brother, can you untie me too? It's hurting."
"Hey! What a strange thing; I've never seen such an obedient girl," Fatty Jin chuckled at the sweet address of 'Fat Brother,' his smile widening. "Untie her too; you stay here obediently, and Fat Brother will come take care of you tonight." After saying that, he glanced at Song Yao with lingering interest and waved them out.
With her back turned to them, Song Yao signaled Pan Luo again before following Skinny Monk out through the wooden door, which closed behind them.
The little girl’s expression changed in an instant; gone was the previous timidity and flattery, replaced by a layer of frost on her youthful face. She flexed her wrists and stealthily pulled out a handgun from her school uniform, chambering a round with a click.
"Where are we going?" Song Yao had been pretending to be meek and submissive as Fat Skinny Monk flanked her on either side. Seeing that she was compliant, they relaxed their grip slightly.
Since stepping outside, Song Yao had been observing her surroundings closely. The more she looked, the more alarmed she became. The ground was polished concrete, and the walls on either side were similarly smooth. Above them arched a ceiling at least ten to fifteen feet high. The passage was spacious and branched off in multiple directions every ten meters or so; each branch mirrored the arched design of the main corridor. Torches flickered above two benches placed along the way; some areas had young guards stationed while others were empty.
After about ten minutes of walking through several archways, Fat Skinny Monk stopped in front of an arched passageway with a wooden door.
"Go inside and ask if there’s anything," Imitation Kim Jong-un instructed Skinny Monk while he settled onto a bench beside the door, smiling at Song Yao as he asked, "How old are you?"
“……” Song Yao suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and replied sweetly, “Guess.”
“Wow, ha ha ha!” Fatty Jin laughed uncontrollably, pretending to count on his short, chubby fingers for a while before slapping his thigh and confidently declaring, “Twenty-two! Am I right? If I guess correctly, you have to give me a kiss!”
“Ha ha ha ha.” Song Yao smiled without any real amusement and replied, “Great job, you guessed wrong.”
The two of them were chatting casually when Skinny Monk came out from inside.
“Auntie isn’t here. Aunt said there’s one outfit; it’s clean, but the back is torn.”
“Who tore it?” Fatty Jin asked, displeased.
“No one tore it. It was like that when the outfit was brought here. When you wear it, your whole back is exposed. Aunt said it’s meant for a broken shoe; it was picked up by Uncle Two and the others from a dance hall in the countryside last time.” Skinny Monk spoke respectfully to Fatty Jin, not daring to look at Song Yao while replying.
Fatty Jin burst into laughter and said, “She doesn’t know anything; that’s called fashionable.” He then turned to Song Yao and said, “You should go change into it.”
Song Yao closed her eyes and rolled them several times before opening them again with a faint smile. “Okay, I’ll go right now.”
The corridor behind the wooden door was similar to the outside but furnished with some tables and benches. A curtain was drawn in the middle of the corridor, behind which was still a passageway, but the entrance on the other side was blocked by several wooden cabinets. The area had been arranged into a “bedroom,” with a large mattress on the floor surrounded by wooden frames piled high with clothes of both genders. There were also several cardboard boxes on the ground, all filled with items.
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