Chapter 2
Abandoned factory. The sun is shining.
There were scattered cries coming from the factory, and the low sound of heavy objects falling to the ground coming from outside the factory.
The unconscious adult slammed into the soil, the smell of moist earth enveloping his mouth and nose. The young man lowered his eyes and looked at the man quietly, then raised his head to look at Jesse, who was hiding behind the wall.
This new guy might be a good thing for him, Jesse concluded. He'd just arrived—because someone had offered him a price. A group that trafficked Little Asia children. These traffickers were so annoying. Like weeds, there was always another one. After all, this was a business with almost zero costs.
If he had known there were already a group of troublesome kids inside, he would never have joined in the fun. What would a tiny reward be worth? Speaking of which, he was just hiding nearby and observing the situation when someone rushed out and pinned the gatekeeper down.
Oh, right, this guy... seems a little familiar. Well, now that I've been discovered, I need to say something.
He was about to say something when the boy started moving. His movements weren't fast in Jesse's opinion, but they were filled with a ferocity that made him subconsciously swallow his contempt. He used his arm to block the leg attack, and the next step should have been to switch from defense to offense, but he failed.
Such strength and momentum should not be possessed by a human. Jesse thought in disbelief that the guy in front of him looked like a human-sized bear.
He had never experienced such a swift defeat. He was a skilled fighter, but now he was completely outmatched—those skills he could no longer fully utilize as he cried out in pain. The opponent, with his brutality, forced his way through. As he was pinned to the ground by this "bear," he panicked for the first time. As the blows landed, he muttered under his breath, "I'm not with them!" Thank goodness he remembered to keep his voice down—the human traffickers' headquarters was right next door.
The wind from the fist brushed past his cheek, and the unrestrained force hit the concrete floor beside his face.
The young man lowered his head, maintaining that position. He raised his hand and looked down at the back of his hand, which was bleeding from the friction with the cement floor. He turned and looked at him for a few seconds, then asked, "Oh, which gang are you from?"
Jesse thought at an inopportune moment: It turns out this guy can talk.
/
"I'm Noble."
The two exchanged names. Noble ignored him, looking down at his hand. The back of his hand, where blood had formed from the friction with the ground, had stopped bleeding, and the pain was numb. He blew gently on the back of his hand a few times, finding psychological satisfaction.
He didn't look strong, and even looked a little pitiful. If you only saw him like this, you would never associate this scene with the beast-like man from before.
Jesse, watching from the sidelines, glanced at Noble. He'd already recognized him as the one who'd bumped into him earlier. He'd also confirmed he was there to take care of the traffickers. He was the boss next door. Apparently, these traffickers were the ones who'd kidnapped the children and brought them to his house.
Seeing that he didn't seem like he would speak up, Jesse reluctantly said, "How are you going to deal with them?"
"I heard them crying," Noble said, raising his chin towards the back door of the factory. "Can you climb a tree?"
...What's the turning point?
Jesse considered himself a smart guy, but he couldn't comprehend Noble's words. Why were the traffickers crying? And why did they bring up climbing trees? It took him a moment to realize that this "they" wasn't the same "they." Jesse was referring to the traffickers, while Noble was referring to the crying children. Did he know those children?
Noble didn't care whether Jesse understood him or not. He just walked towards the factory. Jesse could only follow him silently, observing his surroundings cautiously.
Less than a minute later, Noble stopped and grabbed Jesse's clothes. Jesse realized that they were almost at the back door. But strangely, the back door was unguarded.
"They've captured our people," he said slowly. This completely highlighted his "unpleasant" voice. Boys of his age are going through the awkward voice change period, but his voice would also be particularly abrupt among these boys. He asked again: "Can you climb trees?"
Jesse could already understand his train of thought. This time, "they" was referring to the human traffickers again. He glanced at the glass embedded in the outer wall—about two and a half meters high. It was designed to provide daylight for the factory. He then looked at the large tree half-leaning against the outer wall. If he climbed up, he might be able to peek in from the outside.
Jesse tried to grab the bumps on the tree trunk. It was quite sturdy. He stepped on it a few times tentatively. "Okay."
Noble nodded, and Jesse hated himself for seeing a look of satisfaction on that dull face. Noble said matter-of-factly, "I can't climb trees—I'll keep watch for you."
Was this true or false? Jesse pondered for two seconds before giving up. He felt that Noble… didn't seem like someone with ulterior motives, but more like an idiot, and idiots probably wouldn't lie. And he himself was an idiot, because a smart person would have known to stay away from this place from the beginning. What did the children inside have to do with him? But now he believed that if he refused, the consequences would be even worse than the worst-case scenario he could foresee by opposing the people inside.
After all, Noble couldn't really beat everyone in there by himself, but beating him alone was definitely more than enough.
If he had known that the moment he heard the child crying inside, he should have left this damn place immediately, instead of being in such a difficult situation like now.
Oh, it should be said that "it's hard to get down from a tree".
/
When Jesse made eye contact with the guy who looked like the leader, he knew something was wrong. Hey, come on, is this really necessary?
"There's someone outside!" and other small shouts came from inside the factory. Jesse tried to climb down in a panic but forgot which foot to move first.
If he gave up these actions and focused his attention on Noble's face below, he would be rewarded with an impatient Noble. Impatient Noble looked up and estimated Jesse's current height - probably the height of the two of them combined. He frowned and shouted up: "Jump down."
Jesse, anxiously, glanced at Noble's small figure, a look filled with disbelief.
Noble felt irritated. Although he defined his irritation as "not being trusted" (he hadn't yet seen the contempt in Jesse's eyes). He glanced back at the crowd pouring out of the front door and repeated, "Jump down!"
Reluctantly, he added, "I'll catch you."
Even though you are good at fighting, it doesn't mean that your small body can take on a growing teenager weighing over 100 pounds!
Never mind. He could catch it or not, he just had to jump. If one fell and the other was crushed to death, it would be company on the road to the underworld. Jesse closed his eyes and jumped.
Then, he landed firmly in their embrace. The intimacy, the most intimate contact Jesse had ever experienced, lasted only a few seconds before he was placed firmly on the ground. He felt a solid grounding, but before he could even sigh, he was being pulled hard by the person beside him and started running.
"You run to the right first, I will lead them away, and you go back and release the children in the factory." Noble "ordered".
Damn it, why did he still remember to save people? He was lucky to escape with so many people chasing him! Is there a brother or sister of Noble here that would make him worry so much? He was full of anger, not knowing whether it was because of anger or irritability, and replied: "I know!"
But I thought to myself: Save my ass.
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