Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Manhwa: Chapter 3
Pyo-wol glanced at the snake passing near him.
It was the one responsible for biting his wrist. He almost died because of the snake's venom. But he felt no animosity.
The cold reptile was the first one to settle down in this underground space earlier than him. If anything, Pyo-wol was the one intruding.
Pyo-wol did not particularly hate or fear the snake since it did it out of survival. The snake had to bite for it to live.
The snake slaughtered a large insect at the corner where Pyo-wol usually deposited his feces.
While his eyes had slowly adapted to the darkness, he had never seen so clearly as he does now. It seemed that some change had taken place inside his body when he fought against the poison that penetrated him.
'Is this poison tolerance?'
He had heard of stories of people becoming stronger from surviving after being poisoned before.
Pyo-wol thought that it would be the case for himself.
The problem was that not only did he gain resistance to poison, some changes have also taken place in his body. It seemed that the poison had a synergistic effect and affected his eyesight.
There was only one way to confirm his guess.
Pyo-wol caught the body of the snake that was eating an insect and returned to where he was prior.
The captured snake immediately opened its mouth wide and dug its fangs at the back of Pyo-wol's hand.
The effect was immediate.
He could feel the heat rising from the back of his hand. It was enough proof that the poison had started to penetrate his body.
Pyo-wol prepared for the pain by gritting his teeth. Having resistance to the poison did not diminish the pain at all.
Like Pyo-Wol predicted, he could feel the excruciating pain at the site of the snake's bite. Scorching heat rushed through his veins as if it was trying to burn his whole body.
It was painful.
He almost regretted his decision. But the pain was more bearable than he thought.
The first bite had left him completely paralyzed, while the second time did not. Sure, it was still painful, but he can still endure it.
When a day passed, the pain started to completely disappear.
Pyo-wol was soon convinced that he had finally developed poison tolerance.
It may only be towards a certain type of poison, but it was clear that he had his own weapon that others didn't know about.
His vision also seemed to have gotten a little clearer.
'Okay!'
For the first time, a smile graced Pyo-wol's lips. It was the first smile he made after being locked up in an underground space.
After that, another change occurred in Pyo-wol's daily routine.
Once a day he let the snake bite his wrists. He knew that his body had developed a tolerance, but Pyo-wol never intended to be satisfied with his current level.
He wanted a more perfect immunity. So he repeatedly let himself be bitten by the snake every single day.
He also observed the behavior of the snake. The tiny snake with degenerated eyes was the only intelligent creature in the subterranean space, besides Pyo-wol.
When he stared at what the snake was doing, he can see that it rolls its head.
Snakes were exceptional hunters.
It can approach the prey without making a sound and kill it at once. It stealthily conceals its presence so that even vigilant insects will not notice.
Occasionally, there would be insects who noticed the appearance of a snake, and when that happened, it made a peculiar cry of 'washing'. Then, the movements of the worms hardened like a lie.
It can incapacitate its prey using sound.
But even so, the snake is not greedy. It doesn't make the mistake of intimidating insects around it and chasing them away.
The appearance of such a snake attracted Pyo-wol's interest. So besides dedicating his time in training his stamina, Pyo-wol would also come and observe the snake. For Pyo-wol, watching the snake was his only means of entertainment.
Pyo-wol unknowingly fell in love with the snake's movements. To increase his strength, he tried to imitate the movement of a snake as he walked around the room. The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
He practiced trying to navigate through the darkness without a sound or presence.
The days went by quickly with him doing the same thing over and over. Pyo-wol routine would consist of eating the served food, observing the snake, and training his body. Pyo-wol had to constantly repeat these three actions in order not to go crazy.
Otherwise, he would have already gone crazy, engulfed in terrible pain.
Eating food, training the body, observing and imitating snakes was the only way to lose weight.
In the darkness, Pyo-wol was resembling a snake little by little.
* * *
Clang!
Pyo-wol opened his eyes to the sudden vibration.
In an instant, a look of disbelief appeared on his face.
"I'm So Yeowol. And he is Song Cheonwoo."
"Let's go."
"Go where?"
"I think there are more areas like this."
Pyo-wol's gaze was on the other side of the hallway. There was also a huge iron gate similar to what Pyo-wol had passed through.
It was proof that another section existed.
So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo did not recognize the existence of the iron gate that divided the different sections because they did not have eyes that could see through the dark.
So Yeowol's voice trembled.
"Oh my God! There's more places like this?"
"Follow me."
Pyo-wol took the lead.
So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo followed the sound of his footsteps.
If they had held hands, they could walk faster, but Pyo-wol didn't. Giving up your hand meant that he would not be able to use it in an emergency. It's like giving out a weakness.
Even though no one had taught him that, Pyo-Wol was aware that in order to survive he must not let anything easily slip into his gap.
"Hold my hand."
Song Cheonwoo reached out to So Yeowol.
Pyo-wol thought that she would hesitate for a moment, but So Yeowol immediately grabbed Song Cheowoo's hand and followed behind Pyo-wol.
As they moved on to the next area, they saw more survivors. This time there were five.
Like Song Cheonwoo and So Yeowol, they also gathered together and shared information.
They were alarmed by the sudden appearance of Pyo-wol, So Yeowol, and Song Cheonwoo. However, So Yeowol came forward and explained it calmly, and soon the boundaries were softened.
Pyo-wol glanced into the room as the others were having a conversation.
Most of the rooms also had decomposing bodies.
Unlike Pyo-wol's section, only a few people died of starvation. Instead, most of them showed signs of self-harm. Some had their heads broken, and others showed signs of strangulation. They must have been unable to endure despair, loneliness, and fear so they chose to commit suicide.
It was a harsh environment for children in their teenage years to endure. It only make sense for them to commit suicide.
The next thing Pyo-wol looked at was at their food bowl.
It was definitely bigger than the food bowl in the area where Pyo-wol was confined, and the amount of food was greater.
At least in terms of food, it was clear that they received more rations than the area where Pyo-wol was confined.
'Were they discriminating?'
Whatever the purpose of those who imprisoned them here, it was clear that they managed it by giving each section a different level of treatment.
In comparing the sections he has observed, the environment in the area where Pyo-wol was confined was the harshest. It was a miracle in itself that Pyo-wol managed to survive there alone.
However, the children who are talking outside did not seem to realize that fact.
When Pyo-wol came out, So Yeowol sensed his presence and said.
"These children were also imprisoned at the same time as us. This is Lee Min, and Go Shinok,
And as if they had already shared a common name, So Yeowol introduced the children as the representative.
Pyo-wol silently remembered their names.
In the third district, Lee Min and Go Shinok stood out.
Lee Min was a beautiful girl similar to So Yeowol, while Go Shinok was a very handsome man. He had such a beautiful face outline and appearance that he could not be considered a man. There were probably a lot of girls who fell for him when he was outside.
Lee Min spoke towards the direction she assumed where Pyo-wol was.
"Hello, I'm Lee Min. I'll be in your care from now on."
He did not know what he was asking for, but Pyo-wol silently nodded his head.
The survivors continued moving on to the next section.
There were a few more survivors in the next area. Around eight people survived.
Whenever they moved to other sections, the number of survivors continued to increase.
In the end, the number of those who survived reached a whopping 100 while the number of those who died were more than doubled.
'Three hundred people were put in, and only one hundred of them survived.'
It's not normal for three hundred young children to be imprisoned. No matter how big Sichuan Province is, if three hundred children went missing all at the same time, the powerful sects will not remain silent.
'But if they expand their range to other parts of the world then they probably won't be noticed.'
In the case of Pyo-wol, he was arrested in Honam which was far away from Sichuan. So Yeowol and Song Chun-woo were also orphans so perhaps others are as well.
Even if they disappeared, no one would care and look for them. They were the perfect target for anyone to carry out some secret conspiracy.
Pyo-wol opened the door to the next area. However, the scenery that appeared this time was different from what he had imagined.