As parents, they didn't check if their child was asleep the moment they got home, and they didn't even lock the balcony door when they went out. Instead, they sat down and chatted without a care in the world...

Could they be burglars? If they were burglars, they would have thoroughly searched the house once they entered.

So he is undoubtedly the owner of this house!

The little girl scratched her cheek, her first thought being to lock the door, but the room didn't have a lock.

She could understand that; the child was too young, and if the door was locked and something happened, the adults outside would be anxious for no reason.

But after scanning the room, her unease intensified.

The second bedroom is very enclosed.

There are no windows on the four walls.

Not only were the furniture dark-colored, but the ceiling was also completely black, without a single childlike decoration.

She had previously thought the little boy liked a decorating environment similar to the ocean or the night sky, but that would require the embellishment of stars and schools of fish, not something so dry and lifeless.

The room, only five or six square meters, was like a prison cell.

Because of the poor lighting before, Cheng Shuang hadn't noticed anything suspicious in the room. But now, with light streaming in through the crack in the door, she could see clearly that the colors of the walls, bed, and wardrobe—large pieces of furniture—were not the light, refreshing blue she had expected. Instead, they were a deep blue, like the night sky or the deep sea.

And the white was only in two small areas—a thin dresser beside the bed and a white carpet that took up half the room.

Cheng Shuang stepped onto the white carpet, staring wide-eyed at the black floor submerged under the white plush, feeling a dizzying sensation as if the abyss beneath her feet was merely concealed by the carpet.

It felt oppressive and stifling.

A heavy lump formed in my throat.

The little girl even wanted to curl up in the blankets just to find a moment of peace.

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to find security in her room, because the man outside the door started roaring angrily.

"You little rascal, you're being naughty again! I'll teach you a lesson!"

"Oh, don't be angry. Didn't you promise me you wouldn't hit him? Of all the children, Ferro is the most well-behaved!"

"Wake up and look at the curtains. This is your favorite style, but there are nail holes in the wall. How ugly!"

"Huh? My house!"

The man's exaggerated scream was piercing and frightening.

"That brat! He dared to damage my house, I'll tear it down!"

Cheng Shuang immediately snapped out of the overwhelming dizziness and pressure. She wiped the cold sweat from her face, gritted her teeth, hugged the teddy bear to cheer herself up, and once she calmed down, she quickly looked for a hiding place in the small space.

The wardrobe is too obvious.

Although she had never watched horror movies, as a protector she had accumulated some experience, she knew that when people encounter trouble, their first instinct is usually to hide in a small space like the bathroom or a closet. Similarly, the enemy would think the same way.

The bed was a low bed, making it inconvenient to climb in and out, which meant it was also inconvenient to escape.

Cuilan's big eyes glanced at the top of the wardrobe.

There was a ventilation opening there, with a corner of the white louvers hidden by the top of the cabinet.

She released the bear cub, watching it nimbly climb to the top of the cabinet using both its hands and feet. Working together with the zombie monster, it quickly unscrewed the ventilation duct. Then, the zombie monster crawled inside to explore, while the bear cub jumped down from the cabinet, grew larger, and lifted Cheng Shuang high into the air.

The little girl nimbly squeezed into the ventilation duct.

Heavy footsteps approached, and the little bear suddenly pushed the wardrobe over, blocking the door panel that had no lock.

Outside the door came the angry roars of two men who couldn't push it open. They shook the door in frustration, because the wardrobe had fallen uncontrollably, and the door was only half an arm's width wide open. An arm holding a baseball bat reached in and kept swinging it while cursing.

Cheng Shuang, who was lying on the vent, gasped. "Who hits a child with a baseball bat?"

She had heard that her grandfather had once hit her father's bottom with a feather duster. He only hit him once, and her grandmother slapped him so hard he was kicked out and slept in the living room for a month.

The father of the naughty child made a huge mistake. He used a small trick to trap a live mouse under the podium. The female teacher heard the noise, took out the mouse without any suspicion, and then got so frightened that she had a high fever for three days.

Although Grandma doted on Dad, she took him to the teacher's house the very next day to deliver a self-criticism.

"I'm going to get the tools and tear the door down. I'm going to catch this little brat!" One man left, while another, reeking of alcohol, swung a baseball bat and squeezed half of his angry face through the crack in the door.

Because of the alcohol and his emotions, his face turned red, making a black mole on the corner of his mouth particularly noticeable.

Cheng Shuang sensitively rolled up the cuffs of her dark blue pajamas, revealing bruises and circular marks on her chubby arms, as well as burn marks left by something burning her—she remembered the ashes that her grandfather had dropped when he smoked.

The little girl gasped in disbelief—it was a cigarette burn.

How painful that must be!

Moreover, there were red marks on her arms, belly, and legs from being whipped with a belt. Except for her back, she couldn't see any injuries. Her entire body was almost covered in wounds.

Cheng Shuang's current state is very strange. She is in the body of a little boy, but she does not feel any pain. However, such injuries are too cruel and terrifying for a five or six-year-old child.

She lowered her eyes and remembered what one of the men had said: "Of all the children, Ferro is the best behaved!"

In other words, besides Ferro, they had other children.

Was Ferro kidnapped?

Are they the despicable human traffickers portrayed in the news reports?

But Cheng Shuang quickly dismissed the idea.

If it were a kidnapped child, why would they beat him up like this instead of taking him home?

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