But soon, the Mercedes van drove into the interior of the factory and stopped inside a rusted iron cage. Then, the cage began to descend, like a freight elevator, dropping more than twenty meters.
Inside the van.
As the vehicle drove out of the West Lake area, the frail little girl, mustering some unknown courage, asked in a timid yet unwavering voice.
Young and ignorant, her big, black eyes brimmed with curiosity. Tilting her head, she gazed at the bizarre alloy structures built into the cliff. The buildings inside the cliff were about ten meters tall, each housing a woman who appeared clean and well-kept.
Her eyes were clear, staring straight at the man.
They all had one thing in common: almost every one of them was pregnant.
The young man glared at the girl. "Stop asking. I'll let you see your mom in a bit."
The girl obediently pressed her lips together.
After a moment's hesitation, she whispered, "Thank you, Uncle."
"Oh? You're thanking me? Thanking me for giving you a chance to become a resource?" The young man gave a chilling, indescribable smile.
The girl fell silent.
In the back of the Mercedes van, there were no seats and the space was cramped. Marina glanced around at the other girls, all of them unconscious and collapsed in disarray. Bewildered, she began to sense that something was terribly wrong.
There was nothing she could do.
After all, she was only nine years old, and her heart was in turmoil.
"Uncle."
The girl's clear, black eyes stared blankly at the cold-faced young man. "Resource—what does that mean?"
The young man shook his head.
His name was Ryan Mason, a core member of the Mason Family.
"Why are you so chatty? Never mind. This batch of resources is labeled H, so from now on you'll be called Batch H-1." Ryan Mason's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Uncle, I have a name. I'm Marina Hayes." The girl hugged her knees, looking at Ryan Mason.
Heh.
Ryan Mason gave a silent, cold smile and lit a cigarette.
"Uncle," Marina said timidly, "Smoking is bad for your health."
"You know quite a bit... Remember, from now on you'll be called Batch H-1." Ryan Mason glanced at the girl with a blank expression, as if he were counting livestock resource units rather than looking at a person.
Batch H-1?
Marina hugged her knees even tighter.
The bond between mother and daughter was blood-deep, soul-deep, stirring even the broken mind.
The black-haired woman's expression remained vacant, almost as if she were mentally broken, but tears trickled from the corners of her eyes—a feeling that came from blood and soul, deeper than words.
What was all this about?
......
After dusk, evening had arrived.
This was the Mason Family's breeding zone.
Here, around ten thousand physically qualified resource units could continuously produce babies. Once they lost utility, they would be sold off, fully exploited for profit.
Maybe that's why this place was abandoned.
These resources were not meant for humans, but for Demons and Specters.
"We're here."
He felt no pity; he simply thought the prices offered by Demons and Specters were far too low, and ought to be higher.
Beside him, Marina pressed her lips together and glanced nervously out the window. "Uncle, can I stay in the car?"
"Of course you can," Ryan Mason replied softly.
Thinking of this, he simply tossed Marina into the room at the very edge of the building, saying listlessly, "Batch H-1, wait here for a while. I'll fetch some precision instruments to see if you qualify as premium stock."
Inside the little box.
Ryan Mason brought in advanced medical instruments, drawing Marina's blood and running tests. His face lit up with uncontrollable joy: "Haha, excellent! Even though you're already nine, you still count as premium stock."
Marina's face went blank.
She began to understand... Pale-faced, she leaned against the edge of the little box, staring dazedly through the prison-like iron bars at the night sky beyond the cliff—stars twinkling, moonlight spilling down.
The air outside was so fresh.
Marina could even hear birds singing.
But this was deep inside the cliff; even the only window to the outside stretched three meters, with at least three meters of rock sealing it shut.
"Uncle."
"Premium stock... what does that mean?"
Leaning at the edge, her black eyes gazed at the vast starry sky. She murmured, "Mom... is my mom also premium stock?"
Hearing this, Ryan Mason gave a strange smile. "No, no, your mom is just a resource unit that produces premium stock. You're the premium stock. Do you want to know what premium stock means?"
"Yes, Uncle, please tell Marina." Her eyes still gazed at the starry sky.
Ryan Mason stared at the girl, his face twisted with unspeakable horror.
"Hehehe, premium stock is—"
Just then—
BOOM!!!
A pale-blue figure, fierce as thunder, crashed through the three-meter-thick wall. The shockwave erupted, instantly pulverizing Ryan Mason into a mist of blood.
"Mason Family."
"All of you must die." Andrew Han stood with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless as he stared at the drifting cloud of blood.
True terror—
Had finally descended!