"Get up, get up! Are you still sleeping, you f**kers? Didn't you hear me?! Get up now!" Early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, a rough-looking man entered the cramped space and yelled loudly at the group of sleeping people, his face a picture of menace.
Startled by the rough man's yelling and cursing, the group naturally couldn't sleep any longer. Although everyone was burning with silent anger, not a single person dared to defy him!
It couldn't be helped. Not only were their hands and feet chained, severely limiting their fighting ability, but the man's identity as a Mage was enough to strike terror into their hearts! While they didn't know the exact purpose of these Mages for capturing them, the outcome was unlikely to be positive!
But the difference in strength was simply too vast. Even if they wanted to resist, they had no chance. So, they could only helplessly submit to their captors. Although angry, they hadn't lost their sanity, and naturally, no one was willing to provoke these Mages.
Though this thought process was passive, it was undoubtedly the best course of action for now. At least temporarily, they weren't in any immediate danger of being killed, judging by the fact that the enemy had captured them alive instead of slaughtering them from the start.
Presumably, the Mages weren't fools. Since they deliberately captured this group, they undoubtedly had some unspeakable agenda! Perhaps they even needed them for a crucial purpose at some point! Therefore, at least for the time being, they were safe from imminent death.
It's better not to rush into resisting; let's wait and see the situation. Live as long as we can!
This was the genuine thought in everyone's mind. It must be said that people in any world are generally dominated by those who fear death. Such individuals usually endure and retreat when possible, unless there's a significant chance of escape or their lives are directly threatened.
While this cowardly, desperate survival might prolong their lives slightly, these are often the people who are dealt with first when true disaster strikes! It's the same principle as the frog in boiling water…
Calvin Unknown was undoubtedly the clearest about everyone's thoughts. Being one of the kidnapped, a little reflection was enough to figure out what they were thinking. In fact, he had woken up the moment the rough man entered. Perhaps because of the sheer absurdity of transmigration actually happening to him, Calvin hadn't slept deeply last night. While he secretly scoffed at the group's passive hope, he reluctantly knew he couldn't do anything about it.
For no other reason than the fact that he was currently in the body of a child, and more importantly—he had no one to help him.
The saying that "one person's strength is always small" might not be entirely accurate in this magical world, but it was perfectly applicable to Calvin's current situation.
Sighing lightly at this thought.
"What's wrong, little one?" The old man next to him had naturally observed Calvin's expression. Seeing him just shake his head without answering, the old man, wise from age, naturally understood what was on his mind. He also sighed, speaking softly, as if to Calvin and yet also to himself, "It is very passive, but as long as you are alive, there is always hope…"
Hearing this, Calvin's whole body trembled! He's right. As long as I'm alive, there's hope! If I die, there really will be no hope left. It seemed his ambition had been too grand and unrealistic.
Thinking this, Calvin couldn't help but cast a grateful look at the old man. He wasn't foolish enough to believe the old man was truly just talking to himself! Clearly, the old man was trying to awaken him.
The old man seemed not to notice Calvin's grateful look, simply squinting, seemingly dozing or deep in thought. However, a careful observer would have caught the fleeting look of approval in the old man's eyes, even if only for a brief moment.
Having resolved the knot in his heart, Calvin felt a sense of relaxation. Of course, this relaxation didn't mean he was letting down his guard against the Mages who had kidnapped them. On the contrary, his vigilance was heightened as never before! Because he didn't know the exact purpose of capturing so many people. Until he could definitively determine their goal, he wouldn't dare to relax his alertness for a single moment!
Over there, the rough man seemed to have run out of patience and started rushing them again. He cursed and shouted, constantly lashing the leather whip in his hand against those who kept dozing off.
"Agh!" A sudden scream drew everyone's attention. Looking towards the source of the sound, they saw a middle-aged man curled up on the ground in agony, like a large shrimp, beads of cold sweat constantly seeping from his forehead. He was clearly in immense pain.
Looking at the area he was clutching—uh, it turned out he had been whipped in the balls…
Calvin watched the scene in a cold sweat. While mentally mourning the poor fellow, he thought wryly, You're a bit too unlucky, buddy.
It went without saying that the hit must have been incredibly painful…
On a related note, Calvin's thoughts suddenly turned wicked. Why do I feel like the rough man and that unlucky, miserable guy lying on the floor give off a super strange vibe together? It almost has a sort of S&M flavor to it…
The person sweating bullets was also the perpetrator of this agonizing situation—the rough man, Tark. He watched the middle-aged man writhing and screaming on the ground with a look of revulsion. He looked at the whip in his hand, then disgustedly tossed it far away. Clearly, he had realized the implications too.
"Goddamn it! Don't any of you fkers fall asleep again! I haven't gotten enough sleep myself!! If I catch anyone else sleeping, this is what will happen to them! Tch—" Tark warned them again, clearly annoyed. He pointed viciously at the middle-aged man still lying on the ground, yet to recover from the intense pain. After spitting contemptuously, he muttered under his breath, "Fking hell! Sleeping like a bunch of pigs!" With that, he ignored the expressions of the crowd in the cramped space, opened the hatch leading to the deck, and climbed out.
As for the crowd's expressions—unsurprisingly, they all very dutifully found ways to banish their sleepiness. After all, nobody wanted to experience that kind of agony… Seriously, that must have hurt like hell.
Alright, enough pointless chatter! Calvin's mind snapped back to the present. He lowered his head and began to think. He had learned from the old man that they were currently being held in a cargo hold beneath the deck of a sailboat. Don't ask how the old man knew; after living that long, if he couldn't deduce that much, his sixty-plus years would have been wasted!
According to the old man, since the cargo hold wasn't very large, the sailboat transporting them naturally wasn't a big ship. The pervasive smell of seaweed and salty dampness in the air made it obvious that the ship was sailing on some area of the sea!
However, which sea area, where the enemy intended to take them, or what they wanted them to do, was unknown. But one could guess with certainty that it wouldn't be anything good! (Duh! If it were good, why would it be them?)
And since someone had just come to rush them awake, it was safe to assume they had arrived at their destination. Thinking this, Calvin felt a surge of energy, and his vigilance instantly peaked!
As expected, less than fifteen minutes later, the rough man climbed down again and hurried the group onto the deck.
Once on deck, Calvin finally got a good look at his surroundings. This is an ominous sea area! That was Calvin's first thought. It was ominous because the entire area was shrouded by a gloomy sky, and not a single seabird could be seen anywhere! It felt like entering a lifeless, dead sea.
In the center of the sea stood a medium-sized island. Just like the sea area itself, the entire island gave off an eerie, cold feeling. The sailboat was currently docked at the island's pier.
"What are you looking at? Why are you all standing there dumbfounded?! Get off the boat and onto the shore now!" As the crowd paused in confusion, Tark immediately urged them on impatiently, yelling, "If you want to look, you'll have plenty of chances later! Now everyone get ashore for me!!!" After shouting, he menacingly brandished the whip in his hand.
Seeing this, the crowd shrank their heads in fear. Not daring to delay, they all quickly streamed off the deck onto the island, waiting for Tark's orders. Calvin naturally couldn't continue observing the surroundings either, so he joined the others in getting off the boat.
Seeing how obedient they were, Tark seemed satisfied. He proudly lifted his head, just about to give a few more reprimands to satisfy his inner vanity, when a cold voice suddenly came from the deck behind him:
"Enough, Tark. Don't waste time. Just take them to the construction site."
Adjusting the broad hat on his head, the black-robed man, Safi, spoke indifferently. Standing behind him was the burly man who had assisted him in the previous labor capture mission.
"Y-yes, yes, Lord Safi!" Hearing this, Tark immediately bowed respectfully, his voice humble. "I will take this labor force to the construction site immediately!"
"Mmm." Safi said no more. He didn't spare Calvin and the group a glance, turning and walking away with the burly man next to him.
Those two must be the equivalent of cadre-level members in this unknown evil Mage group, Calvin thought seriously, watching the pair walk away. It was clear from Tark's attitude that the two men held a high rank!
"Why are you still standing there stunned?! Get moving!!" Wiping away the cold sweat that had trickled from his forehead, Tark finally recovered from the pressure of the two higher-ups. Seeing the crowd staring at him with strange expressions, he roared in embarrassment, "If you delay the Masters' plan, I will hold all of you responsible!!!" Clearly, he was extremely displeased by the way everyone had just looked at him! That look was clearly contemptuous!
Seeing his obvious fit of anger, no one was foolish enough to provoke him now. They all started walking with heads down under Tark's cursing guidance, hurrying towards the so-called construction site.
Similarly, though still very confused about the 'construction site,' Calvin wasn't stupid enough to ask directly. He suppressed the questions in his heart and walked quickly, though he still constantly observed his surroundings whenever Tark wasn't looking! He dared not be careless about this, as it was crucial for his eventual escape and return to freedom! Thus, he observed every detail with meticulous care!