I'm living off a woman in Arknights.

Page 88

"It has to be Brother Liu, his ability to locate sounds is amazing!"

"That's because he's the team leader."

Brother Liu? Looks like this is the reason she was discovered in the first place; his hearing is excellent…

She pondered in her heart just how good Brother Liu's hearing really was. One possibility was that he heard the sound of her footsteps when she first moved to a different spot, and another possibility was that he heard her suppressed breathing when things quieted down later.

She hoped it was the former, but the latter was more likely, and her chances of survival were higher only if she took the latter seriously.

Suddenly, the cage trembled and slid forward, releasing a pungent stench of leather and tobacco.

As the cage came to a stop, several unfamiliar breaths entered An Suo's ears, and the stench of blood in the air grew stronger.

The person outside the cage clapped his hands and said to his companion with a relaxed expression, "It's done, this batch of goods is finally finished, hopefully—"

A loud, gruff voice came from afar, interrupting the man, "Hey! You guys over there, take that Carter guy to Seventh Master's place tonight! And hurry up!"

"*Dragon Gate swearing*! You brainless idiot, didn't you know you should have said so earlier? I just went through all that trouble to get you on the bus!" The person outside the cage cursed in a low voice.

"Hey! Okay!" his companion shouted back, then lowered his voice to warn him, "Be careful, or you might get thrown out of our boxing ring!"

"Ha, what's there to be afraid of? The boxing ring was demolished last month!" After saying that, the man didn't complain anymore.

His companion, his voice returning to normal, pressed on with curiosity, "I just did a mission, and our gang's permanent boxing ring was demolished? Why? I remember that was the second-in-command's golden egg, wasn't it?"

"The second-in-command has come up with an even better money-making idea: the boxing ring has been turned into an auction—" The man said as he approached the cage, his breathing quickening halfway through his sentence. "Don't just stand there, come and help! Didn't you hear that guy say to hurry up?"

"Coming right now, coming right now." His companion walked quickly closer.

Two heavy breaths followed one after the other. An Suo felt the cage tremble again. First, it was slowly dragged along, then it suddenly sank, as if it had landed on the ground or a low platform. Then, it was pushed forward by the two people.

Perhaps confident that they were moving quickly, the two didn't feel any urgency about receiving an urgent task. Instead, they chatted casually as they walked.

"As expected of a cage designed for top-quality goods, it's incredibly heavy!"

"Wait a minute, if the boxing ring has been replaced by an auction house, how come this thing is still considered top-quality?"

"Hey, what are you thinking? That woman in the cage has only mediocre skills. If we were to judge her by the rules of the boxing ring, would she be considered top-tier? She's only considered top-tier because of the auction!"

An Suo's lowered eyelashes trembled, her expression solemn. It was actually an auctioneer's auction? Never heard of it before... Hiss, she had only ever been a petty thief before, and had never touched anything deep within the Dragon Gate.

No, who knows what kind of monster she'll encounter if she's bought by someone? She has to escape before that happens!

An Suo's rabbit ears tightened even more, and she closed her eyes, taking in the conversation between the two people outside.

"Didn't she escape from Ghana? In the end, it was only through Seventh Master's personal intervention that she was caught. And I've seen her face; while she's pretty, she's not exactly 'top-tier,' is she?"

Seventh Master personally took action... An Suo matched the man with scars all over his eyelids with the title Seventh Master.

So that's how it is. He wants to see her. She's a valuable gem, so he probably doesn't want to kill her. But she still needs to find an escape route quickly.

"Her ability to escape and get Seventh Master to intervene has nothing to do with her strength. The value of the goods at the newly opened auction is not determined by how pretty they are, or rather, it is not entirely based on their beauty."

Indeed, he thought to himself, although he didn't know who Ghana was, the reason she was able to escape at first was simply because she knew the way and shook off the people.

The reason that so-called Seventh Master personally took action was probably because she had heard information she shouldn't have.

Auction... Hmm, she didn't know anything about that, but she made a note of it.

"...This, this isn't right, is it? Slave auctions sell women, and the value isn't entirely based on their looks?"

"Tch, ignorant. First of all, the second-in-command's auction is a human auction, not a slave auction. How much money can you make from a slave auction in Lungmen? Secondly, even if it were a slave auction, they wouldn't just look at appearance. Origin, education, skills, personality... tsk, I've seen quite a lot of them, but those who sell based on appearance do often make up the largest proportion."

An Suo felt a chill run down her spine. So that's how it is. Her common sense wasn't wrong. There really wasn't an auction for selling people in Longmen. —Wait, are slaves and people the same type of person?

An Su frowned. Longmen didn't have slaves on the surface, and the law prohibited slavery. She had a feeling that the first place these two people mentioned was an auction for slaves, not an auction for people.

Forget it, thinking about it more is pointless without supporting evidence. Let's listen to some more.

"It's not that I've never seen a slave auction before, but I had no idea that those rich people would pick out a beautiful woman like they're selecting a resume, with so many requirements. Besides, you're talking about making money, the first large-scale slave auction in Longmen—just the gimmick alone is enough to make money. What's the point of that human body auction? The huge business of selling human organs, hasn't Fourth Master already taken it all in?"

Another piece of intelligence: this gang also traffics organs. I secretly noted it down and couldn't help but feel a chill. This gang was getting more and more horrifying.

Volume 2: Fireworks at Lungmen: Chapter 155 (Mostly flashbacks, not a must-read) Hoshiguma: Hmm?

"This human body is not that human body."

"What you've said is as good as saying nothing at all. Can't you be clearer?"

"Fourth Master's business is organs, but our Second Master's auction, hey, it's art! I guess you still can't understand this. Sigh, what can I do, I'm kind-hearted. Listen, it's like that high-ranking official we met with Seventh Master before, who brought out that bloody stuff to entertain us."

"...Ugh... Ugh, don't let me recall this damn memory! -- Huh? What? You're saying that disgusting 'human centipede' is... art?"

A human centipede? What is that?

An Suo noted down the name and the disgusted reactions of the outsiders. Just as she was about to continue listening, she became alert and noticed that the bloody smell lingering at the tip of her nose was gradually fading, and a fragrance was slowly filling her nasal cavity.

Her brows furrowed, her body tense as she stared intently at the increasingly rich aroma ahead. Was it almost there?

As I was speculating, the cage suddenly slowed down, as if it had entered a new area where the stench of blood had completely dissipated, the air was much fresher, and even the sound of the wheels rolling at the bottom of the cage had softened.

The two people pushing the cage also tacitly shut their mouths at this moment, silently leading the cage in a zigzag manner, before abruptly stopping when a cold, hard "password" was asked not far ahead.

"Delivering a package," the two people behind her answered in unison, pushing the cage forward to free it from their control. It slid all the way to the person asking for the password and squatted down with a "click-clack" sound.

An Suo's ears twitched slightly, and she quickly and silently returned to her initial position. Immediately afterward, a few streaks of pale white light entered her eyes.

An Suo immediately closed her eyes. The moment she closed them, she could feel the light suddenly brighten through her eyelids—if she hadn't closed her eyes in time, she probably would have been temporarily blinded by the sudden bright light.

An Suo paused for two seconds before slowly opening his eyes, which immediately met a pair of fierce eagle eyes.

Hawkeye was a young man whose entire body was wrapped in gray cloth.

He wore a brown cloak, with a bulging red tool bag wrapped around his waist. His upper arms and thighs were bound with simple gray heavy armor similar to chainmail. His eyes were cold and empty, and his whole body exuded a bloodthirsty and menacing aura.

Hawkeye was kneeling on one knee, holding a black cloth bag that was already half-open in his hand, his gaze sharp and scrutinizing like that of an executioner.

An Suo calmly met his gaze. If she hadn't met the three members of the Guard Bureau, hadn't faced the interrogation of Star Sir and the scrutiny of Chen Sir, this fierce person would have been very intimidating to a small thief like her; at the very least, she would have been terrified.

Now, they're sizing each other up, and she's sizing herself up.

He pretended to be just realizing what was happening, staring blankly back at her, but in reality, he was taking the opportunity to gather as much information as possible about his surroundings.

This is still outdoors, perhaps because it's closer to a bustling area, where light pollution is more severe, illuminating the surroundings clearly.

To the far left of the field of vision, a straight road can be vaguely seen, and in front of us are three large, exquisitely crafted vehicles with cargo boxes, surrounded by more than a dozen armed medium and small vehicles of varying sizes. To the right rear of these vehicles, there are also some rough-looking large vehicles with indistinct outlines.

A subtle halo of light clung to the white-gray truck behind Hawkeye, shimmering with iridescent colors.

The eagle-eyed man in front of her didn't react at all to her direct gaze. His eyes lingered for a moment on her ears, hair, the ends of her hair, the hook chain at her waist, and her eyes, before he released her without warning, his eyes expressionless.

The black bag fell instantly, obscuring her vision and plunging the world into darkness once more.

Outside the cage, Hawkeye stood up with a "click-clack" sound. His voice remained cold and hard, sounding more like a machine's voice than a human's. It was emotionless and indistinguishable between male and female. "Well, leave, or 'depart' from here."

The two people behind her paused upon hearing this, then quickly took a few steps back and turned to leave.

The hawk-eyed man in front of him raised his hand to grasp the cage and lifted it up with one hand...?

Suddenly jolted, An Suo leaned forward, grabbing the cage bars to steady himself amidst the swaying. Displeasure flashed in his eyes. Of all the transportation methods available, why did he have to choose one that was uncomfortable for both parties? Was this person out of their mind?

The rant she was secretly thinking had no effect on Hawkeye. In her hearing, the other person lifted her up and walked to the side, his breathing frighteningly steady, as if he wasn't carrying a cage that would take two strong men to move.

And perhaps this weight is really light to the other party, because its wrist is not straight, but rises and falls slightly with the weight of the cage as it moves.

When applied to a large cage, this slight fluctuation is magnified into a violent swaying motion.

An Suo was forced to follow the other's steps in the cage, bouncing rhythmically, and the rabbit ears on her head were also forced to sway. If it weren't for her good skills and sense of balance, she probably would have already knocked Liu into the cage and given him a concussion.

Fortunately, Hawkeye walked very fast and the destination was nearby. After a few dozen steps, he put down the rope that was making him feel nauseous.

As Hawkeye lowered the cage, the arm armor made a soft clanging sound, and immediately the familiar voice of Seventh Master came from outside the cage, "Come in directly."

"Yes." Hawkeye agreed immediately, dragging the cage closer to the breath, and then ripped open the black cloth bag on the cage.

An Suo squinted to soften the warm light entering his eyes, and after his eyes adjusted, he looked toward the direction of the breathing sound. Sure enough, it was "Seventh Master" with a hideous scar on his eyelid.

He sat on a large sofa that fit his size, surrounded by a campervan-like structure, with an open door to the right leading to a corridor.

When Seventh Master saw An Suo looking at him, his eyebrows twitched, and he turned to tell Eagle Eye to leave.

Hawkeye stood ramrod straight, nodded in agreement, and turned to leave without hesitation. His gray-brown figure quickly disappeared outside the door.

The abandoned An Suo warily watched Seventh Master turn back. The two locked eyes for a moment, and then the other's expression suddenly relaxed, his thick eyebrows furrowing with worry.

What's going on? An Suo looked at him with a face full of question marks, becoming even more wary. She hadn't forgotten the scene of this man kicking people in a erratic and neurotic manner before.

"Seventh Master" ignored her. He casually waved his hand, and a layer of white light poured out from his fingertips, swirling to form a thin film that completely covered the two of them.

An Suo's heart tightened, his fingertips quietly touching the hook chain at his waist, his eyes fixed on "Seventh Master's" movements, and his peripheral vision carefully observing the membrane.

"This can block the sound." "Seventh Master" first explained the membrane, then lowered his head, and beneath his fierce eyelids, his light eyes revealed sincere apology, "Sorry, I accidentally dragged you into this."

"and many more!"

Back to the present, as Anso finished speaking, Hoshiguma frowned instantly and raised her hand to interrupt her, "After one of the gang leaders called you over to be alone and covered your ears, he didn't do anything else but apologize to you?"

Volume Two: Fireworks at Longmen: Chapter 156 Yun Yi: A Tribute to the Legendary King of Resilience - An Suo!

An Suo spread his hands, a helpless look on his face. "Yes, I was also surprised. The other party really just apologized and said things like 'the flood washed away the Dragon King's temple' and 'I originally wanted to ignore it but my subordinates pointed it out and I had no choice' to prove it."

Then, An Suo nodded and added, "However, the other party did do other things too. Before sending me away, he asked me to make do with the other customers and promised to arrange for someone to take me away to make up for his mistake."

"No wonder your weapons, equipment, and body were all unharmed. You were lucky; the other party most likely mistook you for someone else." Hoshiguma secretly relaxed her tense shoulders after hearing this, which was the only bit of luck she had on that unlucky night. "Go on, what happened next?"

“After that…after that I was focused on finding a chance to escape. You know, the promises of these gang leaders are really not credible.” An Su shrugged, sighed, and his rabbit ears drooped. “Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to escape until that guy took me to that prison.”

Hoshiguma nodded. It was indeed a pity. She didn't really want Ansuo to get involved in their dangerous plan with Yunyi's group. It was a bit too much for the underage little Carter in front of her.

It wasn't that she was discriminating against others; the other minors, as ordinary employees, would work and live comfortably on Yunyi's private property and would only live better than before.

However, An Suo was a temporary worker, and was considered part of the management team.

If she stays, given her experience and competence, her future position will likely remain at least in management.

In Swire's plan, management who endorse their ideals will go out and accomplish tasks that must be done on this land, and may very well confront some national-level dangers with them.

In comparison, it would be much safer for Ansuo to join the Guard Bureau with the information she obtained by surviving her near-death experience, as she would at most have to deal with a few criminals.

If Anso doesn't approve of them, that would be fine; she could just be a junior manager. But Hoshiguma has a feeling that Anso will approve of them, so she's particularly conflicted.

However, these are just her personal thoughts, and everything still depends on An Suo's own choice—at worst, she will try to protect him, and she can't really let a minor bear responsibility that he shouldn't have to bear.

These thoughts flashed through Hoshiguma's mind quickly. Finally, she lowered her golden eyes and pressed down on Ansuo, "Explain in detail, why didn't you escape?"

Anso was startled by the sudden pressure from Hoshiguma, and even though he wasn't guilty, his heart beat a little faster.

She nodded calmly, lowered her eyes, cracked her knuckles as if in thought, and quietly wiped away the sweat from her palms caused by fright. Then she spoke truthfully, “First, I was watched closely the whole way to the auction, so I had no chance; second, the guards who were watching me were changed from the two chatterboxes to two quiet ones, which deprived me of any source of information; third, there was a lot of surveillance at the auction’s detention location, and the door was physically locked with some strange substance. There were also patrols every now and then, so I tried many times but still had no chance at all.”

"The guards were changed?" Hoshiguma narrowed her eyes sharply, focusing on this point and asking, "You're involved, what do you think was the reason those two were replaced?"

"...Because those two people are very abstract." As An Suo recalled the reason for the change, his heartbeat suddenly slowed down, and he felt numb.

Her eyes were dull, and she forced herself to speak quickly, her words almost cutting out, "They shared food and got sick, one of them even defecated in public, and was dragged away and beaten half to death. I haven't seen them since."

"..."×2

Hoshiguma and Yunyi remained silent, a long distance apart, looking at Ansuo, whose eyes were lifeless and whose face was full of pain. They didn't know what to say, and could only silently complain in their hearts, "What kind of people are these?"

Hoshiguma raised her hand to cover her face. She really was... asking so many questions that it made the child think of such disgusting things. Wouldn't that leave her with some kind of psychological trauma?

As it turned out, An Suo had a strong mental fortitude. She was so overwhelmed by the *Longmen vulgarity* and the disgusting scene in her mind, and by the fact that she had actually said such a thing, that she lost her composure and her eyes went blank for a moment before she recovered on her own.

After all, there were quite a few people who urinated indiscriminately in the slums in the past. Although there have been fewer in recent years under the management of gangs, An Suo has been living in the slums for more than ten years and has become immune to these things since he was a child.

After not seeing her for so many years, and then suddenly doing this to her, especially so close to her, caused her somewhat outdated immunity to catch up for a moment.

An Su shook his head, forcing himself to snap out of that useless memory and finally calm down.

“In short, I think there’s no problem with the change of guards…” She came back to her senses and looked up at Hoshiguma, only to find her covering her face with her hands, her brows furrowed, looking extremely troubled—this was the first time she had seen Hoshiguma with such a vivid expression since she met her.

Just when An Suo needed something new to distract himself, he tilted his head curiously, his rabbit ears drooping down and the tips swaying bouncyly. "Star Sir, what's this?"

"Ahem, it's nothing, let's continue." Hoshiguma immediately straightened up and coughed twice, her face becoming serious again. "I understand why you were at the auction, but what about the reason for the other question? Shouldn't everything you experienced at the auction make you more inclined to join the Guard Bureau?"

An Suo had truly been on the brink of death several times this time. Being able to stand alive in front of her required both luck and strength, and the rewards were correspondingly great.

Human trafficking, organ trafficking, illegal allocation of slum population resources... Even if the information that An Suo painstakingly collected was not recorded to form valid evidence, the facts it represented were enough to allow her to be recruited with minimal controversy.

The "Rat King" failed to manage the Lower City properly; a massive gang with a history of heinous crimes and illegal businesses extending beyond the Dragon Gate was entrenched there.

The former would interest many high-ranking officials who dislike the Rat King, while the latter would interest those who crave fame and fortune, yearn to uphold justice, and are determined to maintain the image of Longmen.

Therefore, if An Suo were to join the Guard Bureau, he could visibly enjoy a comfortable life for quite some time, which would be a fitting reward for his perilous and eventful past.