After finishing the wine in the bottle.
Kong Tai paid for the wine and information, and did not linger at Xia Qi's place.
Having told Xia Qi to prepare more of this strong West Sea liquor, he would come back for it later, he then led his companions out of the bar and headed towards the center of the island.
This was merely a remote corner of the island.
As they ventured further in, everyone witnessed the true prosperity of Sabaody Archipelago, with flying fish, bicycles, and houses built on bubbles floating in the air above the streets.
This novelty brought Kong Tai and his companions a great deal of interest.
As they walked along, eating and drinking, everything they saw and heard was happiness, and all were laughter.
Not a trace of sadness could be seen.
This made Kong Tai wonder if he had come to the wrong place, if this was not the Celestial Dragons' playground, if this was not Sabaody Archipelago where the Celestial Dragons could take whatever they desired, even others' wives, daughters, and families.
But rather a dream island with a high happiness index, full of a sense of security, like a theme park.
Until the surrounding pedestrians gradually thinned out, and only the wealthy remained in sight.
Until everyone stood outside a magnificent-looking gate.
Only then did Kong Tai snap back to reality from the surrounding laughter.
He felt the darkness that existed beyond the light of the distant streets.
Looking at the sign above the gate that read "Employment Agency," Kong Tai's lips curved into a sneer.
"Employment Agency?"
"What a high-sounding excuse!"
"To call human trafficking and slave auctions by such a name, how laughable."
A red light flashed in his eyes, and Kong Tai's Observation Haki instantly swept through the entire auction house.
"Hmm! Indeed, it's inside."
Nodding, Kong Tai took the lead, bringing his companions, and ascended the stairs towards the grand-looking gate, which had few pedestrians outside.
...
Behind the auction house.
In a dim room, iron cages were piled high.
Zooming in, one could see figures sitting or lying in each cage.
These figures had one thing in common: they seemed to have lost their souls, as if they were about to merge with the surrounding darkness.
The room was filled with an atmosphere of decay and despair.
No one spoke; having been captured and brought here, they all knew their fate.
However, there was one exception in a cage.
It was the cage in the second to last position from the inside.
An old man lay in this cage, his hair disheveled, his face indistinguishable.
He was the only one in the room who emanated no despair.
The old man was reeking of alcohol, as if this were not a slave auction but his home, snoring loudly. His thunderous snores were particularly piercing in the dim room.
But everyone here was numb and despairing towards "life," so naturally, no one came to disturb the old man's deep sleep.
At this moment, the snoring seemed to suddenly falter and stop abruptly.
The old man lying in the cage, as if sensing something, suddenly opened his eyes, which were hidden by his hair. A red glint flashed in his eyes, and a presence that ordinary people could not sense surged from him.
Then, as if nothing had happened, the old man's clear eyes instantly became hazy, as if the fleeting presence was an illusion.
If not for the cessation of his snoring and the smile on his lips, no one would have imagined that this old man, who was shamelessly drunk, picked up, and dragged here, also had moments of clarity and a presence like a fierce tiger.
Without the snoring, the dim room was completely filled with despair.
Just then, the room door creaked open from the outside.
Several men in suits entered. Had this not been a slave market, they would have looked like elite white-collar workers.
The men looked at the cages in the room, at the people within, with extreme coldness, as if they were not looking at fellow humans but at pigs, pigs to be slaughtered.
They exchanged glances, spoke no words, and with practiced coordination, lifted a cage and walked out.
And just outside this wall, after exiting the door and walking down a long corridor, the light appeared, and it was no longer as dim as in that room.
The corridor led to an upward staircase, with a curtain separating it. From here, one could clearly hear the cheers from outside the curtain.
The greed in those voices was the first emotion to appear in the girl in the cage, who had long been numb and even despairing.
Fear.
No matter how despairing she was, she was still human. Facing an unknown fate, even knowing what awaited her.
The feeling of being bought and sold like an object, with no hope, left only fear and dread for the future.
She bit her lip tightly. Even though her lip was broken and her mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood, the girl did not make a sound.
She dared not.
Because before being caged and transported here, they had undergone various selections. She did not know the fate of those who did not meet the criteria, but she had never seen them again. So, despite her fear, she dared not make a sound.
This made her appear even more pitiable.
*Swish~*
The curtain was pulled open.
Light, passing through the doorway, fell on the cage for the first time, and on the girl within the cage.
But...
She felt no warmth. Instead, she instinctively squinted her eyes, trembled, and curled up even tighter.
The two men who entered wore pointed black top hats and identical waiter uniforms. They were both burly, resembling tumblers, and looked comical at first glance.
They looked at the cage, at the girl inside dressed in a gothic style, like a princess—no, she was a princess—and their eyes lit up.
Beli.
Yes, it was as if they saw Beli in their eyes.
The man on the left withdrew his gaze, nodded at the men in suits carrying the cage, "Alright, leave her to us!"
With that, he exchanged a glance with the other man, took a key from one of the men in suits, bent down, and unlocked the chain.
Then, he picked up the chain and, with a slight pull, led the woman out of the cage like a dog.
The woman did not want to come out, but her remaining sanity told her that not coming out might lead to worse things. So she dared not resist, and could only be led out with great humiliation, towards the door with light spilling from it.
At this moment, time seemed to stretch. The light emanating from the door was not a light leading to hope, but a darkness leading to hell.
Overwhelming fear and dread made the girl's steps slower and her body tremble more violently.
But the iron chain around her neck seemed to be embedded in her soul. No matter how unwilling she was, she had to follow the chain upwards.
As they approached, passionate voices gradually came from outside.
Of course, there were also countless cheers.
And these sounds were no less than the roars of demons to the girl's ears.
"Hello everyone, we have prepared quite a few quality slaves for you all this time."
"Today, we will also be presenting a super hot item to you all."
"We sincerely wish that everyone can buy a slave that satisfies them."
"Alright, without further ado."
A thin old man with an orange-yellow dome-shaped hat, dressed in blue and purple attire, holding a hammer, the auctioneer for this event, enthusiastically spun around and pointed to the right.
"Please, behold our first item, the little princess from the New World's Kokodoru Kingdom... 'Kokodoru Fiso'."
At this moment, the two men, leading the girl, walked onto the stage.
Simultaneously, the doors of the auction house were pushed open, and Kong Tai entered with his companions.