Number Two glanced at me. "I was wandering the streets at the time, looking for a bridge underpass or a sheltered corner to rest, and then I was caught..."
"I didn't get a clear look at their faces. They put a sack over my head. I screamed and struggled with all my might, but it was no use."
"They made me smell something, and then I passed out," Number Two said, stuffing venison into his mouth. "When I woke up again, I found myself in a huge room..."
"This room was vast, damp, and dark. I didn't know when my clothes had been changed. I was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt. And there were many other people in the room," Number Two recalled. "We were all dressed the same..."
"At that time, we received a notice," Number Two looked at me. "Only twenty people could leave this room..."
"But there were nearly two hundred people in the room then!" Number Two exhaled slowly.
"We tried to resist desperately. Some people suggested calling the police, but no further sound came," Number Two continued. "We all sat in place, and then someone started thinking of various ways to escape..."
"It was useless. It seemed to be underground, and the ventilation was so small it was impossible to dig out with any tool, let alone that we had no tools..."
"Most importantly, we had no food and no water..." Number Two gave a wry smile.
"And so, we held on for nearly five days. We even drank our own urine. We were all starving beyond endurance, and everyone seemed to have lost their minds."
"At this moment, someone suddenly remembered a previous sound and began to discuss solutions..."
"Just then, a loaf of bread and a bottle of water were suddenly thrown in from outside..." Number Two took a deep breath. "Then the fight began..."
As I listened, I remained silent. I could imagine what that scene must have been like.
Everyone was fighting for survival in extreme hunger. In such circumstances, having food and drink would drive one to madness.
I had heard many similar news reports before, about cannibalism occurring in dire environments.
I believed it completely.
The reason many people refused to believe it was because they had never experienced hunger, never experienced such despair.
In such situations, a person could no longer be called human.
So, when bread and water appeared, a fight was inevitable.
"That day was a brutal fight, incredibly brutal. The entire room was filled with the smell of blood and all sorts of foul odors..." Number Two looked at me. "When the fighting stopped, only seventeen people were left alive..."
"The reason I survived was that I was small and thin. The bodies of two people shielded me," Number Two took a deep breath. "But because I was within the limit of twenty people, I lived!"
"You can't imagine what it feels like to survive buried under corpses," Number Two stared at me. "After we came out, we were given special treatment. We were fed lavish meals and our injuries were treated..."
"When our physical condition recovered, we were taken away and drugged... When I woke up, I was in a huge glass tank, surrounded by green liquid, with a respirator tube in my mouth..." Number Two smiled. "And then I survived..."
Hearing this, I could roughly understand Number Two's current state.
I believed that the experiences of others were not much different. They had all survived in such extremely terrifying and harsh environments.
Having experienced despair in such places, they had also become beasts.
Were they wrong?
I couldn't make a definitive judgment in my heart.
They killed people, so it should be wrong.
But this was not their creation, so perhaps it was not wrong.
"Do you understand now?" Number Two looked at me.
"I'll give you a chance..." I suddenly said. "The person who orchestrated all this is your so-called father, and I will kill him!"
"You can't kill him. He's too strong..." Number Two shook his head.
"That may be the case for you, but not for me..." I smiled. "If you are willing, you can follow me. If not, I won't force you..."
"In a place like this, you have freedom and a sense of human connection. At the very least, it won't send you back to your previous life," I said with a smile. "Five people came this time, and I want to keep all of you by my side..."
"How you choose is up to you..." I said slowly.
"Don't think too much about it. You're about to die..." Number Two said. "If your wish is fulfilled, you can die in peace."