The sky was grayish-white, like a movie screen before the opening, a whole curtain, hanging from one side to the other, motionless, without the slightest change, and it was breathless to see; The end of the curtain sank into the gray water, which was as quiet as the sky, and the quality of the air seemed to have reached a new level today, and the human eye could not see them, but could feel the all-pervasive pressure—the tiny, uncatchable molecules of the air crushed the waves and steam, the sea became viscous, and each surge took more effort and longer time; Milky white bubbles emerge from the cracks of the sea, tumbling and expanding like the foam on fermented tea, and finally piling up into a series of low peaks, forming one second, crumbling the next, countless clam shell-colored traces stretching on the surface of the sea into slender shackles and iron cables, the imprisoned gray-blue sea has lost its former vitality and color, and there are no birds or dolphins on the sea.

Pulling back your gaze, the black-brown eel pond is outside the glass window, a square pond surrounded by verdant and vigorous water lotuses, and the oxygen supply machines that resemble mechanical monsters in the child's consciousness stop on the side of the pond, and every three hours, they work automatically, pumping oxygen into the vast fish pond with a low rumbling sound. The small heads, tails and bodies of the eels appear on the surface of the water, they gather under a huge wooden shed, countless slippery strips are densely entangled, and the mouths full of tiny teeth stick out into the air, which is a sight that will make many people creep, but in fact, they are just praying for food - at this time of day, workers will drop mussels, pig spleens or fresh fish in the food shed - the dark green grid that sticks out from the bottom of the food shed hangs no more than a few centimeters below the surface of the water, The pieces of meat land in the net, and the eels will drag the feed out of the gaps in the net and swallow it.

Eels never eat food that falls to the bottom of the water and do not like to forage in places that are too bright. They also have high requirements for water quality, each pond requires separate injection and drainage systems, and the injection and drainage sources of the entire eel farm must also be strictly separated. Otherwise, it will cause self-contamination due to the death of eel feces and a large number of microcysts, resulting in serious death of eels; They are also extremely averse to heat, and overheated pond water can cause eels to ulcerate on their gills. In addition, there are all sorts of diseases – nematodes, red spots, openings, vibrio...... The workers had to work hard to attend to these delicate long fish—from glass fry less than a finger long to 18-inch adults, and it took five full years, but with a single lapse in between—it was all that was done. Sasha thought that he was a little tired, perhaps because the room was almost hermetically sealed, and the oxygen was nowhere near enough to keep up with the consumption—not fatal, but enough to make most children drowsy.

This room is inhabited by eel farming workers, four people, all Chinese, down-to-earth, calm, silent, about fifty years old - young people cannot bear the loneliness and tediousness of eel farms; The room had a simple and crude iron-framed bed, a small bathroom, but no television, only a few Chinese magazines, one of which featured a beautiful Oriental woman on the cover, holding a white rabbit, a round moon in the background, an abstract cloud under her feet, and two square characters.

"Mid-Autumn Festival." Sasha said that the memories in the Palace of Memories were still fresh, and the painting reminded him of Kemira and her sisters that day.

Other than that, there was nothing worth mentioning in this room, the beds were soft with blankets and pillows, but they had one thing in common with everything here, they were damp and had a strong fishy smell.

The children couldn't take care of it anymore, they were forced to stay here, it was hot and stuffy, and there were a few people who cried a lot, and it took strength to cry, especially when most of them were only about ten years old. Not long after entering the room, they climbed into bed and fell asleep.

Only three children could barely stay awake, Sasha, Avery the little fat man (who only cursed a few words loudly when he was first thrown in), and Marrian, who did better than the other children (except Sasha), who did not cry, did not resist, and barely spoke.

The reinforced concrete building has been around for nearly a decade, and hurricanes, waves, and torrential rains are its nemesis — and while it looks pretty good now, some details have inevitably gone awry, such as the cracks between the deformed window frames and the walls — a small problem that workers have solved with white cement and silicone, saving the winter chill from burrowing through the cracks and poking knives at the backs of the workers.

Sasha had a carbide cross hanging from his neck, just the right size for the child's hand, and he used it to scrape the padding between the window frame and the wall, which was not an easy task, but fortunately Sasha had inherited enough patience and strength from his father, and fresh air poured in, although the smell had absolutely nothing to do with freshness and pleasantness, but at least there was plenty of oxygen in it.

Avery the Fat Man watched with horror at the huge pools and the inhabitants who had become more and more violent with hunger: "Will they throw us into it?" ”

"Eels don't eat people." Marian said.

Sasha shrugged: "I don't know if eels eat people, but I once read in a book that when the dictator Octavian was a guest at the house of a subordinate, a slave accidentally broke a precious crystal wine cup, and the master threw him into the pool to feed the eels. ”

Marian immediately grabbed Sasha's arm, and the little fat man Avery trembled, he turned his head around, and his round face turned red, "I want to go to the bathroom." He muttered.

"Then go ahead," Sasha said slowly, "don't worry, no eels will suddenly come out of the toilet bowl and bite you on the buttocks, they love to be cleaner than you think." ”

The little fat man's eyes widened in fear, and Sasha just threw a gentle smile.

Of course, he couldn't invite a girl to accompany him to the toilet, let alone an enemy.

"What happened?"

"How's that?"

"Those eels? Did they really eat that slave? ”

Sasha blinked, "There is no record in the book," he said honestly, "and the reason why this incident was recorded was because the slave had pleaded with Octavian, and Octavian had indeed interceded with his master on his behalf." ”

"He escaped punishment."

"No," said Sasha, "the master rejected Octavian, and the slave was thrown into the eel pond and turned into feed for the eels." ”

“…… They wouldn't do that, would they? A weak assumption that perhaps even its owner would not believe: "We are children." Marian stirred his fingers: "I regret it, Sasha, I shouldn't have come here." ”

"That's right," Sasha touched her hair, and the little girl had dark curls, and was very beautiful, "a happy and short trip—if it could have ended yesterday." ”

***

The island camp was proposed by Mrs. Borow, and there were only ten places - she had the support of Councillor Kaisheng, who bought a small island twelve years ago and opened an eel farm there, which is now managed by his daughter Kemira, and because of the ownership of the property, there were no miscellaneous people, only a few trusted workers, no wild animals, no cliffs, no craggy reefs, or hidden rapids and whirlpools, and the children of St. Thomas's school could spend the whole day in peace. They can swim, fish or pick seaweed under the supervision and supervision of workers and teachers, and they can also visit the eel pond to catch and taste eels.

Ten of Mrs. Borow's hand-picked children (who must be of good grades, of good character, and of calm manners) landed on the island yesterday morning, and as Madame Borough had expected, they had spent eight full and satisfying eight hours, although the eel keepers, who had not yet set foot on the mainland for several years, did not know as many English words as a babbling toddler, but they had Kemira. Then there's Streiff, who may not really know how to properly raise an eel, but he has a wealth of knowledge, quick skills, and a strong body that can answer almost every question and do everything well.

In the evening, Congressman Kaisheng arrived on the island on time, accompanied by reporters.

It's part of the deal, with Mr. Kai providing a safe and comfortable camping ground for St. Thomas Elementary School, which is responsible for adding an aura of gentleness and generosity to the head of the Chinese lawmaker.

Journalists receive news and honorarium.

A successful camping trip can add to Mrs. Borow's work record.

Children get new experiences, feelings, nourishment – both spiritual and physical.

The thugs seized their chance.

They walked into the room almost immediately after the reporter, dressed in rough gray jeans, wearing masks and hoods, holding guns, and as soon as they entered, they opened the safety and ordered everyone, including children, to stand against the wall with their hands raised.

They did not want to talk to anyone, whether they were pleading, crying, cursing, or reprimanding, they were all deaf to them, the means of communication and what could be used as weapons were confiscated, the hostages were forcibly divided into three parts, the children were locked up in the workers' rooms, then the men and women, Mrs. Borough and Kemira were locked up in the storeroom, and the Keshengguo, Grand Streiff and the workers were locked up in the cellar.

Stryff's nose was filled with the smell of eels—the cellar was full of eels that had been packed and waiting to be transported, and in order to keep them quiet and avoid unnecessary losses in transportation, there were plenty of ice cubes in the boxes in addition to the water - the blue-gray eels floated lazily between the water and the broken ice, not even bothering to move their tails, and the boxes were so tightly arranged that there was not even a place for people to stand properly except for the aisle at the entrance.

When the door is closed, the drop in temperature is even more noticeable, and you don't have to look at the thermometer on the wall to feel it.

Streiff touched the wall lightly, cold and piercing, "What a surprising start." He muttered, no louder than the workers' breathing.

"They...... Who is it? A worker stammered (he unconsciously used his native language) asked, looking at Kai Shengguo, his eyes motionless, as if the answer was in his boss's pocket, and he could take it out and read it just by touching it, "What do they want to do?" …… Robbery? ”

Stleiff lowered his hands, Anthony. Hopkins had an extraordinary linguistic prowess, and years ago he easily overwhelmed Florentine's members of the Arts Council with his medieval Italian and Latin, and he also spoke French, German, Russian, Spanish, and is said to have studied Arabic for more than 300 years and the most conservative Icelandic (Old Norse) language in Europe.

He also knows Chinese, speaking and writing simply, but no one here knows it.

Eels can sell for 10 yuan per pound during the fishing season, and this eel farm has at least 10 tons of eels, and a medium-sized fishing boat can steal them all. In the past, there have been cases where eel farm workers were attacked and tied up and all the eels were fished out.

Kai Shengguo was silent for a moment, "I'm sorry," he turned to Striff, "I didn't expect this kind of thing. ”

"I don't understand," Streiff said with that chilling naiveness, "what do you think is going on here?" ”

Kai Shengguo visibly hesitated, "Maybe it's a robbery." The price of eels has risen again recently...... There is at least $200,000 here. He paused, his lips moving quickly, this time in Chinese. I hope so. He said, "Destroy your wealth and avoid disaster." ”

Yes, if only it was a simple robbery, the thieves only wanted eels.

But if that's really it, they don't have to be so elaborate – just tie everyone up and lock them up in a room. Even if someone were able to break free from the police, it would be hours later. Who can accurately find a medium-sized fishing boat without any distinctive features in the middle of the sea?

"I feel like a pirate." Striff said.

Because they were working in the house, the workers were not wearing the bulging down sweaters, only one or two low-quality sweaters, and as time went on, the calories from the food they ingested in the evening were depleted, and they had to gently stomp their feet, rub their hands, and lean their bodies together to ward off the cold, and Striff's words made them tremble.

It is impossible for those who work at sea and on the seashore not to have heard of pirates, who hold hostage transports, fishing boats, oil tankers, and the people on board, and if they don't pay the ransom, they will sink ships and kill people, and worst of all, the pirates will put a price on everyone, the parents of the children will give money, and of course Congressman Kaisheng and his daughter will be safe, and they, even if the whole family has worked for a lifetime, will not be able to pay the ransom that is almost astronomical for them.

They will be killed, perhaps brutally.

"No way, pirates won't come here to commit crimes, it's too dangerous for them here." Kai Shengguo said: "The state will not let them go. ”

Stryff shrugged, "Who knows?" Somalia hasn't been much of a mix lately. ”

***

Someone opened the door to the storage room.

A head sticks in, the hood still tightly worn, and the face is covered with a mask.

He made a gesture to Kemira: "Come out!" He shouted.

Mrs. Borough grabbed Kemira, and in this case, it was not a good thing for a young woman to be shouted out alone by a mob.

Kemi stretched out her hand to hold down the thin, slightly trembling hand, she shook her head, pulled it away, and walked out on her own.

"For God's sake, please don't hurt her!" Mrs. Borough exclaimed.

No one answered her, and the door was closed and re-locked.

(To be continued)