Courtyard House: First, kill the hypocrites, leave none alive.

Darkness is not still.

It is a viscous, slow-flowing, oppressive substance.

The deep roar of the cargo ship's main engine traveled through the thick steel plates and cargo, becoming a continuous, muffled sound that reverberated to the bone.

The ship's hull rose and fell with the waves, creaking and groaning as the metal structure twisted and rubbed against each other, like the murmurs and tosses of this steel behemoth in its slumber.

The air is polluted.

Engine oil, rust, sweat, cheap leather, damp burlap sacks, rotting food scraps, and the lingering stench of human excrement in enclosed spaces... all these odors mix and ferment, forming a nauseating, almost tangible, sticky smell that stubbornly clings to the mouth, nose, throat, and even skin.

Time loses its meaning here.

Only hunger, weariness, and fear of the unknown silently grow and spread in the darkness.

Chen Feng sat back against the cold cargo pile and the corner of the hold, with Xiao Yu curled up in his arms, fast asleep due to exhaustion and discomfort.

He used his body to shield her from the hard, rough goods and the damp ground, and covered her with his work jacket.

After his eyes adjusted to the extreme darkness, he was able to barely make out the blurry outlines of the nearby pile of goods, and the several silent figures, some lying down and some sitting, like stone sculptures in the darkness, further away.

Including him and Xiaoyu, there were a total of seven people crammed into this corner of the lower deck.

Besides them, there were five other illegal immigrants.

Closest to them was a middle-aged man, huddled alone in a corner of another pile of goods. His face was obscured, only a hunched silhouette was visible. He had barely moved from beginning to end, his breathing was very soft, like that of a wary and tired mouse.

A little further away, there were two men huddled together, seemingly companions, occasionally making very low, indistinct sounds as they spoke in a dialect that Chen Feng couldn't understand.

Their position was relatively "favorable," close to a gap that might have better ventilation, but the atmosphere between the two seemed somewhat tense, and their body language revealed mutual wariness.

In the farthest corner, a man and a woman were standing close together.

The woman seemed to be sobbing softly, her voice suppressed and desperate, while the man kept comforting her in the same low voice, but his tone was also full of unease and anxiety.

Chen Feng's gaze, like the most sophisticated scanner, swept over these blurry figures again and again.

Who are they?

Where did they come from?

Why choose this path that leads to hell?

None of this matters.

Importantly, in this isolated steel cage, under the oppression of despair and the unknown, the ugliest, most selfish, and most dangerous aspects of human nature can be ignited and erupt at any moment.

While we need to be wary of smugglers (the people on the ship), they might very well, in order to save trouble or simply to double-cross us, prey on helpless stowaways halfway through the journey, throw them into the vast ocean, and be done with it all without anyone knowing.

But these fellow sufferers on the same ship could also be a deadly threat.

Bloody conflicts can erupt over the struggle for limited fresh water and food, for a relatively comfortable spot, or even simply to vent one's fear and despair.

In the face of absolute power and ruthlessness, numerical superiority is not a guarantee of safety.

Chen Feng's hand remained on his waist.

There, the cold grip of the Type 54 pistol, through the thin shirt, conveyed a reassuring hardness.

Another spare pistol and the remaining bullets were within easy reach of the canvas tool bag.

The revolver was left for Xiaoyu to use for self-defense, and she was instinctively holding it in her hand, hiding it under her coat.

He can't sleep.

He must remain clear-headed and absolutely vigilant until he has a thorough understanding of the situation and is relatively safe.

Time, in the darkness and turbulence, passed by at an agonizingly slow pace.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe a few hours, or maybe it just felt like an eternity.

Above, the heavy, dragging sound of footsteps moving on the iron ladder could be heard.

Clang... Clang...

The sound grew louder as it approached, becoming exceptionally clear in the silent lower deck.

All the figures in the darkness seemed to tense up instantly.

Even Xiaoyu stirred restlessly in Chen Feng's arms, but didn't wake up.

A beam of flashlight light, like a rusty, blunt knife, cleaved through the thick darkness, swaying down from the direction of the hatch.

The beam of light was very weak; the battery seemed to be running low, barely illuminating the iron staircase and a small area below.

A tall crew member, dressed in greasy overalls and wearing a baseball cap, slowly climbed down carrying a dirty iron bucket.

There seemed to be something inside the metal bucket, as it made a clanging sound with his movements.

They deliver food.

The crew went down to the lower deck, and their flashlights swept aimlessly around, illuminating several faces that appeared even more numb or terrified in the light.

He didn't say anything, but simply placed the iron bucket on the relatively flat ground next to the iron ladder with a "bang".

Then, in a heavily accented and unclear tone, he mumbled, "Eat."

After saying that, he didn't even look at the contents of the bucket or care how the people would distribute them. He turned around, trudged up the iron ladder again, and the clanging footsteps gradually faded away. The hatch cover was closed again, and darkness descended once more.

Only that filthy iron bucket remained, emitting an indescribable, strange odor, a mixture of burnt and rancid smells.

After a brief silence, there was a rustling sound.

The couple closest to the metal bucket moved first.

The man groped his way toward the metal barrel, with the woman close behind him.

Then, the two men who seemed to be companions also stood up and walked over quickly.

Finally, even the middle-aged man who had been as still as a stone slowly moved over.

In the darkness, the sounds of scrambling and low arguing could be heard.

"Damn it! Don't steal it!"

"Leave some for me!"

"Water! Where's the water?"

"That's all? Are you feeding the cat?"

His voice was suppressed yet full of anger.

Chen Feng did not move.

He held Xiaoyu in his arms, still sitting in the same spot, his gaze coldly fixed on the chaos in the darkness.

He could guess what was in the iron bucket without even looking at it.

It was probably the cheapest, most unpalatable paste, possibly mixed with leftovers, low-quality rice and noodles, or even scraps left over from the ship.

Water, if it exists, will never be much; it might just be a dirty kettle, or simply murky fresh water.

This kind of food and water would probably be something even pigs and dogs wouldn't be willing to eat on land.

But here, tormented by hunger and thirst, they became objects of fierce competition.

More importantly, is this thing edible?

Chen Feng's hand subtly touched the side compartment of his tool bag.

There were also several packs of compressed biscuits, some pickled vegetables, and a few boiled eggs that he had bought before boarding the ship.

Although it's not much, if they use it sparingly, and with the water in their two water bottles, it should last for a few days.

He would never touch the contents of that metal bucket.

Who knows what's mixed in?

A drug?

poison?

Or is it something that has spoiled to the point of being deadly?