The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

Chapter 507

Zion couldn't fall asleep, and Gissel was the same as well.

She looked at Zion before using sign language to convey her concern. Gissel wanted to know what was wrong with him.

Zion smiled but he didn't say anything. Instead, he shook his head as a response.

The two of them snuggled up and they remained half-asleep throughout the night.

Soon, it was six o'clock in the morning, and they were awakened by the sound of whip cracking.

This time, no one was there to protect Zion, and he experienced the feeling of being beaten up by the lash on his bare skin.

The pain was aching and stinging.

Zion's tender skin was flogged forcefully and his body was streaked with blood.

He gritted his teeth in pain, and tears welled up in his eyes. However, Zion refused to back down and he held back his tears silently.

He would surely take revenge on these people one day!

"Get up! Hurry up! We're going out!"

They weren't treated like human beings at all. The guards were urging them to get up as if they were creatures locked up in a cage.

Zion followed the children from behind as they gradually walked out of the room.

Afraid that the children would escape, everyone's wrists were forced to tie up together from the front to back.

This feeling reminded Zion of the life of slaves that he had watched on TV.

He felt that his current situation now was no different from a prisoner.

Soon, the group of children was taken away.

After leaving the basement, Zion finally caught a whiff of the smell from the outside world. However, before he could do anything, Zion was immediately driven into a big room.

It has a huge space, and the area looked like a training ground, but there wasn't much practice equipment in it.

"Hurry up and move these things over there! You are not allowed to eat unless you finish the task."

The guard pointed to the equipment on the side as he commanded them.

Zion thought that they were brought here to undergo training.

As expected, he was too naive.

It was already challenging for adults to carry the sports equipment, so how could they expect children to do it?

While Zion was in a daze, he was immediately beaten up by the guard with a whip.

"D*mn, why the hell are you standing there? Hurry up and get it done! After you guys finish cleaning up here, there's still training in the afternoon. Don't try to loaf on the job, or else I'll f*cking beat you up."

The guards cursed and scolded them. Meanwhile, Zion's back was in extreme pain.

Dang! What a b*stard!

He would be sure to make them pay for everything they've done to the children!

Just then, Gissel held onto his hand, as if she was trying to comfort him and asking if he was okay.

Zion plastered a smile on his pale face and he continued to move the heavy equipment.

Zion had never suffered this kind of torment ever since he was born.

Those facilities were extremely weighty and the children were having a difficult time moving them in place.

However, the guard was displeased upon seeing them dawdled over the work. Therefore, he took the opportunity to lash them a few more times.

Zion really wanted to retaliate. However, he had to endure agony because he wasn't the only child there.

After an entire morning of slavery, Zion's hands were covered in blisters and it was painful every time he touched them. Moreover, he also suffered searing pain in his body. Zion had lost count of the numbers of beating that he had endured.

Under all the blood, sweat, and tears, the pain was simply unbearable. Zion could only grit his teeth while tolerating the sufferings. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore as they rolled down his cheeks uncontrollably.

He missed his parents.

Zion swore that he would never run away from home again.

After they finished moving the machines, Zion suddenly realized that there were surveillance cameras all over the place.

Fortunately, his face was bloodstained and covered with dirt. Otherwise, he would probably die upon being discovered by Nick.

Zion felt the threat of death for the first time.

He tried to lower down his head as much as possible. In the meantime, Zion was also figuring out ways to convey messages to the outside world.

After all, he had to let Nathaniel and his Mommy knew about his location. Otherwise, there was no way for him to escape from the place, let alone bringing these kids with him.

While immersing in deep thoughts, Zion accidentally stumbled on his feet.

Upon seeing his clumsiness, the guard immediately gave him a rough kick from behind.

"D*mn it, what else can you do? Get the hell up!"

Zion could felt a throbbing pain in his ribs.

He clenched his fists tightly while thinking of beating up the guard in front of him. Just then, Gissel suddenly ran over to stand in front of him. She was muttering something in a panic as if trying to beg for forgiveness on behalf of him.

Zion was filled with sorrow. Despite that, he still had to pretend to be a mute by biting his lips.

Meanwhile, the guard was infuriated at Gissel's sudden interruption. Then, he vented his anger on her while kicking her mercilessly.

"B*tch, how dare you come over and protect him? What's up? Is he your secret lover? You're such a skank at a young age, aren't you? It's probably a good idea to send you to the nightclub after you're older and make some money for me! D*mned rascal! What a wench!"

He cursed at Gissel's with those unsightly words while hitting her forcefully.

Upon seeing the situation, Zion was so anxious that he wanted to push Gissel away. However, he was unable to shove her away. Surprisingly, she was enduring all the torture for Zion with her tiny stature.

Stop it!

Stop beating her!

Zion really wanted to shout out loud.

Gissel kept looking at Zion as if she knew what Zion was trying to do. The pleading look in her eyes made him break down in tears.

Zion rarely cried, but he seemed to cry every day after coming to this place.

Although he knew that those tears were useless in solving the problem, that was the only way to vent out his emotions.

Zion grasped Gissel's hand tightly, and he swore to himself to bring her out of this cruel place!

Zion wanted to give her the best treatment and he would provide her the best life.

He had to treat her well!

He must protect her for the rest of his life!

Perhaps the guard was tired, or maybe because Gissel didn't resist and Zion was well-behaved, the guard finally let them go.

"Both of you are not allowed to have lunch today!"

In the face of unfair treatment and punishment, they couldn't do anything to oppose it at all.

Soon, the other children were taken away.

Gissel and Zion were locked up in a dark and tiny room.

It was a simple space with no windows at all.

Children were afraid of darkness, and this was especially true for Gissel.

Maybe she had been locked up countless times. Despite that, Gissel still quivered in fear after being thrown into a dark room and she even hugged Zion tightly.

Although Zion wasn't used to it, he tried to stay calm with Gissel by his side.

"It's okay, I'll stay with you."

Zion comforted her in a gentle voice. However, Gissel quickly covered his mouth and she scanned around, afraid that someone would overhear their conversation.

Seeing how cautious she was, Zion realized that she was the only one who could alleviate his sadness to warm up his heart.

The two of them leaned against each other.

"How old are you?"

Zion couldn't help but ask after seeing that she was shorter than him.

Gissel wrote a 'six' on the ground with her finger.

Zion was a little surprised.

"Six years old? You're actually older than me?" Gissel nodded. After realizing that Zion might not be able to see her in the pitch- black surrounding, she gently tapped on his palm as a response.

Zion suddenly groaned in pain.

Gissel quickly grabbed his hand to sniff it.

She smelled blood blisters.

Gissel was too familiar with the scent.

That was exactly what she had been through when she first came here.

Gissel found a metal thread out of nowhere and she directly punctured the blister on his hand.

"Ouch..."

Zion almost shrieked in pain, but his mouth was immediately covered by her hand.

He knew that Gissel didn't want him to make a sound, but it was extremely painful!

Zion felt as if he had been through all the major sufferings that he was about to experience in his whole life.

After removing the pustule, Gissel tore off a piece of fabric from her clothes and she bandaged the wound on his hand.

Gissel wasn't very good at dressing the lesion, and she wasn't able to see anything in the unlit room. Just then, Zion noticed that she was crying.

Her tears dripped down on the back of his hand, and it was burning hot.

Zion wasn't aware of the things that she had been through, but he knew that the girl, who was two years older than him, was tougher than him.

Zion grabbed her hand while saying, "Believe me, I will definitely get you out of here!"

Gissel nodded.

Although both of them were starving, they didn't have anything to eat.

Finally, Zion and Gissel made it through the night. Both of them were released and brought back to the room in the basement.

The guards didn't even care for them in the slightest. They instantly left after throwing a few steamed buns on the ground.

Meanwhile, the other children brought back some leftover food from the afternoon for them.

Zion was moved and he kept thanking them.

Three days passed just like that. After the torturing labor, Zion finally witnessed the training ground and he observed their daily training activities.

The first exercise was to hold their breath underwater.

Those people didn't care if the children could bear the suffocation caused by the water. They pressed their heads down mercilessly while watching the children struggled underneath.

Two children had drowned to death from this training alone. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Fortunately, Zion had good stamina, even though he was almost asphyxiated to death.

They were forced to endure for a few seconds before proceeding to two minutes in maximum.

Whenever Zion felt like giving up, and he was on the verge of suffocating, he would always notice Gissel's determined expression from aside.

No!

He had to persevere!

Zion had promised Gissel and the children that he would take them out of here!

Zion gritted his teeth while encountering the misery that he had never been through in his life. He grappled over from the border of death over and over again.

Finally, Zion survived until the fourth day, and he discovered an opportunity to escape.

Despite being excited, he still stayed calm and collected.

He wouldn't give up on this golden chance!

In the evening, Zion whispered to the children, "Can you help me find something, like a communication device that can transmit messages?"

"What's that?"

Gissel asked Zion in confusion.

Zion didn't know how to explain it, so he could only draw it for everyone to see.

Upon seeing the drawing on the ground, a child suddenly wrote down, "I know where it is. There is one in the dark room." "Dark room?"

Zion's eyes lit up instantly.

Great!

With that device, Zion would be able to let Daddy and Mommy knew where he was.