Shrouded Seascape

"Ptoeeey!" The skinny young man spat a wad of yellow phlegm onto the ground. "Damn it! I told you a beggar must be living here, man. Just look at how much garbage is in here! We're so damned unlucky!"

Gao Zhiming didn't even glance at the two. He hurriedly ran to the pile of garbage with their breakfast in his arms. Seeing that no one had disturbed the pile of trash, he breathed a deep sigh of relief. They had yet to discover his big sister.

"Hey, little beggar, come here. I want to ask you something."

Gao Zhiming dared not let his guard down upon hearing the arrogant voice. He put down the food and ran over to the skinny young man.

"Let me ask you something. Except for you, no one else comes to this place, right?" the devious-looking skinny young man asked Gao Zhiming while taking a puff on his cigarette.

"No, no one else comes here except for me," Gao Zhiming answered truthfully. He simply wanted to satisfy their demands so they would leave as soon as possible.

Hearing Gao Zhiming's words, the two young men glanced at each other and nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, then, take your junk and scram. We brothers need to use this place."

Gao Zhiming instantly became anxious. His big sister was here, so he couldn't do that. "Um, what do you want this place for? There's nothing in here."

Smack!

The skinny young man slapped Gao Zhiming across the face, causing one side of his cheek to immediately swell up.

"You little shit, what the fuck does that matter to you? You looking for a beating? Hurry up and get the hell out of here!"

Gao Zhiming held his cheek, looking aggrieved while holding back his tears. He glanced at the distant pile of garbage and asked, "Can you come back tomorrow, then? I'll move out right away today."

"What did you just say, you little bastard?" the squatting skinny young man stood up and started rolling up his sleeves. "I dare you to repeat what you just said."

The chubby young man beside him reached out to stop him. "Come on, man, how old are you to still get worked up at a kid? This little beggar just can't bear to part with his junk. It's easy to make him leave."

The chubby young man reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter depicting a naked woman on its surface. He then started walking toward the pile of garbage.

The sight made all the blood in Gao Zhiming's body go to his head. He hesitated not even a second, dashing in front of the garbage pile at top speed. Then, he raised his arms, blocking the way.

The chubby young man looked at Gao Zhiming before him in some surprise. He hadn't expected the boy to care so much about a pile of garbage when they were clearly things that couldn't be sold for money.

"Okay, okay, I won't burn them. We'll just leave, all right? Don't get all worked up," the chubby young man put away the lighter and turned around to leave.

"But I really want to see what you're trying to hide from us," the chubby young man said and rushed to the pile of garbage before kicking it hard.

Gao Zhiming had just let his guard down when the pile of trash covering Anna was kicked away.

The chubby young was instantly stunned upon seeing Anna.

"Damn, there really is something hidden in the garbage?" The skinny young man walked over with a cigarette between his teeth, and he saw Gao Zhiming nervously propping Anna up.

The two young men sized Anna up before turning to each other.

"Why's this gorgeous chick not moving? She's still alive, isn't she?"

"Her chest is moving. She must be alive."

"Then, why is she asleep? Is she one of those people in a vegetative state? Like those people they show on TV? Hehe, doesn't that mean that we can do whatever we want with her?"

"Not just that. We can even sell her afterward. I mean, just look at her face. She's so pretty. I'm sure those baldies will come every day even if we ask them for fifty every round."

"Mmhm, that's a pretty good idea. Coincidentally, no one really comes here, so I don't think anyone's going to find out. Haha, let me have a go at her first."

Gao Zhiming had no idea what they were talking about, but he could sense their malice. Thus, he stood in front of Anna and raised his arms to protect her.

Having finished their discussion, the chubby young man took out his wallet and took out a few red bills, calmly saying, "Hey, boy, take this money and go buy yourself something to eat. We'll help you take care of that woman."

"I don't want your money! Go away! Don't you dare touch my sister!"

Smack!

The skinny young man slapped Gao Zhiming, making him stagger.

"Why are you even doing that nonsense?" the skinny young man said to the chubby young man. "We can just beat him up until he runs away."

The skinny young man walked up to Gao Zhiming and looked down at the latter from above while slowly raising his palm.

"Are you going to leave or not?"

"I'm not leaving!"

Smack!

"Are you going to leave?"

"I'm not leaving!"

Smack!

"Are you going to leave or not?"

"Not leaving!"

Smack!

The powerful slaps made Gao Zhiming's head swell. He felt dizzy and lightheaded. He couldn't even stand straight at this point, but he remained unyielding.

The skinny young man couldn't take it anymore and started punching and kicking Gao Zhiming. In no time, Gao Zhiming's body swelled up like his head.

Since the skinny young man was occupied with Gao Zhiming, the chubby young man squatted next to Anna and sized her up. After a while, he raised his hand and was about to stick it beneath Anna's clothes.

"What are you doing?! Stay away from my sister!" Gao Zhiming roared, interrupting the chubby young man. He was about to charge over as well, but the skinny young man blocked his way.

The skinny young man raised his leg to kick Gao Zhiming, but he felt a sharp pain in his calf instead of a soft feedback from hitting the latter.

Shockingly, Gao Zhiming was holding a juggling knife in both hands, and he had viciously thrust the knife into the man's leg.

The skinny young man shrieked as crimson blood gushed out of his wound. The chubby young man heard that and rushed over to him.

Gao Zhiming went around them and stood in front of Anna.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Kill that little bastard for me, Big Dragon! Kill him!" the skinny young man roared while pressing on his wound.

The chubby young man looked at Gao Zhiming and found the boy staring at them with determined eyes while gripping a juggling knife in both hands. After a few moments of hesitation, the chubby young man picked up the skinny young man and headed for the stairwell.

As soon as the duo left, the battered Gao Zhiming finally couldn't hold on any longer. He collapsed on top of Anna and passed out. When he woke up again, it was already night. He had been awakened by hunger again, and his entire body was screaming at him.

In fact, he was so swollen that he looked like he had gained some pounds.

Gao Zhiming endured the pain and scooted over to the plastic bag to stuff a cold steamed bun into his mouth. He chewed on it desperately and swallowed big mouthfuls of the bun.

Gao Zhiming glanced at the motionless Anna as he ate.

This place was no longer safe. He had to get his big sister away from here. Having devoured three steamed buns, Gao Zhiming recovered some of his strength. He placed Anna in a sack and dragged her toward the stairwell.

Gao Zhiming was so weak that dragging Anna from the top floor to the first floor was an impossible task, but he dared not stop. Those people wanted to do bad things to his big sister, and he had to protect her from them!

Whenever he got too tired, he would rest for a bit; whenever he felt like he could keep going, he would continue dragging Anna down to the first floor.

Just like that, Gao Zhiming went down floor by floor. By the time he brought Anna to the fourth floor, it was already late at night.

Just then, the rumbling of motorcycle engines echoed from outside, and they were getting closer and closer to the building. Gao Zhiming's heart skipped a beat upon hearing that. He hurried to the glassless window and looked down.

Several motorcycles with their high beams turned on had just stopped in the vacant lot before the unfinished building, and Gao Zhiming watched as the riders got off their motorcycles.