"Boil alive!"

"Boil what? Steam is better! Haven't you ever eaten crab?"

"But can crab and humans be the same? I say sashimi, fresh and raw."

"It seems nothing's better than a stir-fry."

The thugs argued furiously over "how to cook the boy," faces flushed with intensity.

But the boy... could only shiver, curling up in the swamp, not daring to make a sound.

He was indeed just a kid, barely over 1.5 meters tall, and quite ordinary in build. Though slightly taller than Yun You, he looked like a toy in comparison to the thugs, who stood nearly two meters tall, seeming at most 18 years old. Or perhaps, around the same age as Yun You.

Due to the mud smeared all over him, the thugs couldn't clearly see his appearance, but his waist-length, silver hair was quite striking.

He held a black bag in his arms, as large as his torso, bulging with who knows what treasures.

Perhaps it was this very bag that got the thugs' attention, leading them to chase him into the depths of the forest.

"Boil!"

"Fry!"

"Steam..."

"Roast...!"

The thugs continued their relentless bickering.

"Everyone shut up!"

Finally, the one referred to as "Nite" spoke up.

Her voice was overwhelmingly loud, immediately silencing everyone present.

"This boy, he actually looks... quite decent."

She squinted slightly, examining the silver-haired boy from head to toe.

After a moment, she suddenly gave a somewhat wicked smile.

"Just eating him like this would be a waste. How about we play with him first?"

"Ugh..."

Upon hearing this, the crowd instantly erupted in boos, some showing clear disdain.

They knew their leader all too well.

When she said "play," Nite's games weren't simply for the faint-hearted...

They were "games" that would never pass any kind of scrutiny, turning a perfectly healthy person into something even dogs would reject in just a few hours.

Though the prisoners in the Floating Island Prison all had some destructive urges, few were as sadistically brutal as Nite.

If the silver-haired boy ended up as Nite's plaything, the thugs wouldn't be able to cook a "meal" and would have to settle for leftovers.

Yet, they had no choice; Nite was the boss, the strongest among them. No matter how much they disliked it, they had to suck it up.

"Alright, boss, hurry up then. The brothers are waiting for you to finish playing..."

The burly man turned his head, shaking it in helpless resignation.

"Don't worry, I'll be quick."

Nite smiled, cracking the whip in her hand with a resounding snap.

"I'll try to leave a pair of intact legs; the muscle fibers here are rich, good for the palate."

And with that, she took large strides, preying on the boy.

"Sweetheart~ Keep running..."

"If you don't resist, this game won't be any fun."

With these words, she swung her whip directly at the boy!

"Snap!"

The boy's pupils shrank, and without much thought, he quickly ducked to dodge, barely escaping at the last second. Yet, his earlobe grazed by the wind, left a small wound.

"Oh? Nice reflexes!"

Nite raised an eyebrow, her heart stirred by a hint of surprise.

If the boy had died from that whip, she'd have lost interest.

A toy that withstands play is a good toy.

"Stop... stop it!"

Seeing Nite about to swing a second time, the boy hastily waved his hand in pleading, "We have no quarrel, why go to such extremes?!"

"I can give you money! Lots of it! You can use it to buy proper food in the Urban Area, no need to eat humans!"

Upon hearing these somewhat naive words, the thugs were first stunned, then burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Which pampered young master is this? When did our Floating City get such a cute little thing?"

"If we kill you, your money will be ours too."

"Exactly, besides, people here aren't that obsessed with money; they just enjoy the hunt, so..."

Nite licked the bloodstains on her whip, smiling, "Little one, obediently play with us!"

Seeing the increasingly crazed thugs, the boy gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn't escape this ordeal. Taking advantage of Nite and others being distracted, he drew out a black hunk from his arms and pulled the trigger.

Bang—!

The front of the hunk erupted in flames, shooting a meteor straight towards Nite's face!

In a critical moment, the battle-hardened thug leader sensed the murderous intent, quickly deflected with her whip, altering the meteors course, which then plunged with a "thud" into the burly thug's chest, blasting open a fist-sized cavity...

The burly thug didn't even get a groan out before collapsing dead.

"This...!"

For a moment, all the thugs present were frozen, unable to believe what just happened before them.

Finally, with a piercing scream, they snapped back to reality.

"A gun! A standard-issue pistol!"

"That's a damn military-issue pistol! It's something from 'outside'!"

The thugs' breathing halted, eyes slowly turning solemn.

Guns weren't uncommon on the Floating Island.

Most mercenaries, with some steel and a basic lathe, could produce guns and bullets.

But those guns were mostly noise-makers, not fatal enough against regular people, let alone facing Apprentice Death Gods and Genetic Modifiers.

Only the standard firearms produced in Nest City could threaten a warrior's life.

Yet, such weapons couldn't enter the Floating Island through normal means.

To smuggle a gun in required cunning methods such as smuggling... or a hefty bribe.

Either possibility proved the silver-haired boy's identity was likely not simple.

"I don't care who you are... In my grasp, you're just here for my amusement!"

Briefly shocked, Nite was first to recover, withdrawing her whip with a vicious snap.

The Floating Island was home to many talents; a young master with a standard-issue pistol wasn't particularly surprising.

The island had its own rules; regardless of status, anyone caught was just a piece of meat, nothing more!

"Snap!"

This whip landed squarely on the boy's chest, shattering his clothes and bulletproof vest.

He groaned, flying backward, but what was revealed on his chest wasn't pale muscle but rather tightly wrapped bandages...

"A woman?"

Nite was momentarily taken aback, then spat angrily, "Damn it, a woman? What a disappointment!"

"Hey, fellas, I'm not playing anymore. Do what you will! Just don't kill her, I want to roast her alive!"

Hearing this, the remaining thugs grew eager, breathing heavily, swarming towards the silver-haired "boy" like locusts, faces red with excitement.

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