Chapter 282 - A fake wall?

The kid kept their eyes on the door. 

Knock! Knock! Knock!

There was a series of knocks before the kid heard someone say in a slightly muffled yet respectful voice, "There's something behind this wall..." 

"A fake wall? I wouldn't be surprised," another voice sounded. This one sounded confident and calm. "Break it."

"Yes, sir!" said the first voice.

"Yes, sir!" the kid repeated the words under their breath. 

BANG!

"Argh!" the kid yelled again when they heard the loud bang before clamping their mouth shut with both hands. 

"Stop!" the calm and confident voice said again. "Did you hear that?" 

"No, sir. What did you hear?" asked another voice.

"I thought I heard it wrongly earlier..." the calm and confident voice said. "Be careful when you're breaking down the wall. I wouldn't put it past that pig to hide someone in there." 

"Yes, sir!" 

A few more bangs ensued, but these were softer than earlier, and after a few minutes, the kid could hear the sound of something crumbling. 

"Be careful, sir," warned another voice. "Let us proceed first..." 

"Mm."

The kid watched from underneath the bed. Their hands were still tightly clamped on their mouth. The kid then watched as the light entered the room, blinding their eyes that preferred and were used to the dark.

Through the kid's half-blinded state, they could see a three pairs of legs rushing into the room one-by-one, followed by a pair of legs that walked in as if the owner were taking a stroll at the park. All of these legs seemed to be clothed in extremely dark clothes; at least their pants were dark.

But the kid noticed something shiny from the pants of the last pair of legs. 

"Gold snake?" the kid thought. There was something that looked like a snake on the pant legs.   

"Go, go, go!" someone said before three pairs of legs ran into the room as they tried to secure the room. 

"Wait!" 

"Sir?" 

The last pair of legs that entered the room stood next to the bed. A few seconds later, the owner of the legs said, "There might be a kid here... and a very young one at that. That or a dwarf. There are not that many hiding places here. You, check the closet."

The kid watched as a pair of legs walked to his closet. A few seconds later, a voice sounded, "Closet clear, sir!" 

"Desk."

Similarly, a few seconds later, another voice sounded from behind the desk, "Desk clear, sir."

"One last place..." 

The kid watched as the pair of legs beside their bed bent down. 

"Be careful, sir! It might be a trap!" a third voice warned.

"Do you seriously think that this small bed could hide an a.d.u.l.t that's capable of hurting me?" the man with the calm and confident voice asked in a curious tone. 

"No, sir." 

"Keep your guns away..." the man said. Once his men kept their guns away, the man took a deep breath before peeking under the bed. When he saw the kid who had their hands over their mouth, the man smiled and said, "Hey, little one... How are you doing?"  

The kid stared at the man listlessly, with no intention to move at all. 

"It's a little dark down there. Aren't you scared?" asked the man. He then signaled at his men to leave the room quietly. After they left, the man asked the kid, "They are gone now. Do you want to come out?" 

The kid continued to stare at the man's face. The kid's eyes then traveled down the man's abdomen. There was something wet on the man's abdomen, but the kid could not tell what it was since the man was donned in full black. 

The man noticed the kid's gaze, and he smiled as he said softly, "I spilled some ketchup on me earlier..."

He then took off his outer shirt, underneath which was another black body-fitting shirt and a bulletproof vest. The man then smiled and asked, "Do you want to come out from there? It's a bit uncomfortable there, isn't it?" 

The kid did not say anything. They looked at the opened door and out of it, and the kid saw that there was red liquid splattered on the floor. Suddenly, the kid's view was blocked. 

The man had blocked the kid's view using his body. He thought for a while before saying with a smile, "I'll wait for you outside the room, kid. Come out from under there when you're ready... Take your time."

The kid did not respond to him. They merely watched as the man walked to the door. Another man brought a chair over and placed it right outside the door, and the man then sat on the chair before crossing his legs. 

The man then snapped his fingers, upon which one of his men came over with a cigarette. He then smoked the cigarette while looking elsewhere with an amused expression. "Take him away for now. I don't want him scaring the kid. And clean up the room while you guys are at it," he said. 

"Yes, sir," a few voices said in unison. 

The man then looked at the kid, and he could see the kid's head was almost out from under the bed. In spite of his fear, it was obvious that the kid was curious. He smiled and waved at the kid, which again got him no response. 

"Did this kid not know the meaning of danger?" the man thought as he turned his eyes away so as to not scare the kid. The other kids he saved along the way all showed signs of fear at seeing them, while this kid was different. This kid seemed to be afraid, but it was more of a fear of the unknown than a fear of these strange men.

When the man looked back into the room, he noticed that the kid had already crawled out from underneath the bed and was now holding a small pink blanket while staring at him. 

What he did not know was that the kid was confused. The middle-aged man, the vice-president of their country, would often get mad and would just drag the kid out from their hiding place before hurting them. 

But this man, whom the kid had never seen before, was talking to them so kindly and gently that it confused the kid. The kid then sighed as they held the pink blanket higher on their chest. 

The kid took a sniff at the air and noticed the smell of blood, which they could recognize from how often they bled. But mixed with the smell of blood was an odd fragrance that the kid could not discern. 

"Nice..." the kid thought before staring at the man who was still smoking by the door. The kid knew that it was the man's smell. But the kid did not know what to do next. 

The man looked at the kid, and for the first time, he noticed the extent of the kid's injuries. Earlier, he merely noticed the light bruises on the kid's arm. 

"That b*stard! How could he treat such a young girl that badly?" the man thought, and an evil expression appeared on his face. 

Upon seeing the man's scary features, the kid immediately walked further back into the room while clutching the pink blanket tighter to their chest. 

The man noticed his action of course, and he immediately relaxed his facial expression before smiling guiltily. "Sorry, that's not for you. I was just thinking of a bad man..."