Chapter 163 Fighting Again Will Cause Death
Alexander said, "Don't worry. Since she's being sold as merchandise, she won't be harmed before reaching the buyer."
Max asked, "Who is this buyer? Why would he spend eight million to bid on Mom?"
Alexander didn't answer directly.
He knew all too well what fate awaited those living people who became "merchandise" in black market transactions. But telling Max would only make him more distressed.
"Where's Liam?" Alexander suddenly asked.
Max replied, "Liam's been in his room the whole time. Since you told him not to leave, he's been staying put like a good boy."
The phone suddenly rang.
Alexander answered, and Jeremy's urgent voice came through: "Mr. Hayes, I've got information."
Alexander asked tensely, "What did you find out?"
"The police found a nameplate on that blown-up Audi A8. The nameplate shows 'Perseus' — it appears to be from a cargo ship."
Alexander shot to his feet. "Perseus?"
Jeremy continued, "The case has been escalated and transferred. The police can't reveal much, but they did say Robert was involved in multiple smuggling cases, and Interpol has taken over the investigation. The Perseus has entered international waters. The top leader of Black Mass might be on that cargo ship. Interpol has limited resources and hasn't dared to make a move yet."
"International waters..."
International waters didn't belong to any nation's territory, making them exempt from any national legal jurisdiction under international law — essentially lawless zones.
Many black market transactions took place in international waters.
Alexander deduced that the Perseus would definitely remain in international waters for two days to conduct business.
Two days...
He only had two days.
"Jeremy, contact Shadow immediately. I need to mobilize around 500 mercenaries."
Shadow was one of the most mysterious mercenary organizations internationally. Most of its members were former soldiers from various countries. As long as the price was right, they could be hired by anyone.
Half of Alexander's personal security team came from this organization.
Each member had been elite special forces from their respective countries, with exceptional combat skills that could easily handle even warfare.
Jeremy hesitated for a few seconds, then replied without delay, "Yes, I'll mobilize the troops immediately."
...
On the cargo ship, guard patrols passed by every few minutes.
Below deck lay the dark, sunless hold.
It was the third day.
The bread distributed to each person was getting smaller and smaller.
Everyone was starving.
Hunger, thirst, cold, death...
They were invisibly surrounded by overwhelming terror.
The cages occasionally echoed with children's panicked cries, creating an oppressive atmosphere that made one's scalp crawl.
Grace sat leaning against the cage wall. If she hadn't miscalculated, the fourth round of food distribution would begin soon.
She was already trembling from hunger.
Just as that man had said, she'd never truly experienced starvation. When hunger reached its extreme, people really could lose their rationality.
So when those men entered again, the cages erupted with excitement. Many people and children pleaded desperately: "Please give us one more piece of bread!"
"I'm so hungry..."
Grace also crawled to the cage door, gripping the bars as she looked outside.
Several men stopped in front of one cage containing a woman, gaunt and yellow-faced, who begged pitifully: "Please give me one more piece of bread... someone stole mine yesterday..."
The man snorted. "I said before — one bread per person. If you can't fight for it, you go hungry."
The woman bit her lip in grievance.
The man stroked his chin, looking at the woman, suddenly developing sinister thoughts. He kicked the cage with his foot, smiling lewdly: "You want me to give you extra bread? That depends on how well you perform."
The woman said, "As long as you give me one more piece of bread, I'll do anything..."
The man showed a vicious and obscene grin: "You'll really do anything?"
"Yes..."
The man pressed further: "Then let me see how you perform!"
As he spoke, he slowly approached the cage.
Grace didn't know what he intended, but she heard mocking laughter: "How shameless, all for one bite of food."
"Food will get scarcer, and hunger will get worse."
Two pieces of bread daily was the fixed ration, but the pieces kept shrinking — not enough to starve them to death, but enough that once they'd experienced true hunger, they'd quickly become obedient, no longer causing trouble for that extra bite.
Soon, the bread distributors approached Grace's cage.
They tossed two pieces of bread into the cage. Grace suddenly lunged at the bars, shouting loudly: "Let me out!"
The man was startled and kicked the cage door hard. "What are you yelling for! Behave yourself!"
Grace gritted her teeth and cursed, "Bastards."
Her cursing instantly enraged these men.
A dark-skinned young man stepped forward, unlocked the cage, dragged Grace out, and slapped her across the face. "I see you're not hungry enough yet — still have energy to curse, don't you?"
Seeing Grace being bullied, Lily quickly crawled out of the cage but was kicked back inside.
Her eyes reddened with fear as she gripped the bars, helplessly watching Grace being beaten by several men.
An older, bearded man said, "Enough, stop hitting her. Keep this up and someone will die."
Grace was thrown back into the cage. She struggled to sit up, crawled to the cage door, and despite her split lip, defiantly raised her small face and spat blood onto the man.
"Damn it, this bitch..." The young man was about to charge forward again but was immediately held back.
"Enough, don't be impulsive. At worst, we won't feed her tonight. One hungry meal will make her behave."
Only then did the man back down, relocking the cage door and walking away with curses.
Lily crawled to Grace's side. "Sister, are you okay..."
Grace frowned and sat up. "I'm fine."
Soon, the group finished distributing all the bread and left the hold.
Grace sat up, wiped the blood from her mouth, reached her hand outside the cage, and grabbed the lock securing the cage door. With a slight twist of her wrist, the lock dropped to the ground with a crisp sound.
People in other cages showed expressions of astonishment.
Grace and Lily had planned this beforehand. She deliberately provoked those men, knowing they would certainly open the cage door to drag her out for a harsh lesson.
During that opportunity, Lily had stuffed bread crumbs rolled into a ball into the lock mechanism.
After sitting overnight, the bread ball had hardened and naturally blocked the lock cylinder. When they relocked it afterward, it would soon fall loose and wouldn't hold properly.
Grace and Lily climbed out of the cage together.