Chen Rui is a handsome but thin child, and his skin is pale and even somewhat transparent due to the lack of sunlight.

He was an orphan who was placed in a basket in front of St. Ann's Tzu Chi Church 12 years ago. At that time, he was less than 5 pounds, and his weak breathing made the grandmothers in Tzu Chi Hall think that he was dead. But although his body has been weak, he still survives tenaciously. Until this year, he was about to turn 12 years old.

The 12th birthday is a big and painful day for humanity living on the hazy road. They will arrange an aptitude test on this day, and those who pass will be recruited as warriors to fight against the raging demons for ten years. Ten years later, if you are lucky enough to survive, you will become a free man.

If they fail the test, their fate will be tragic. If their parents can afford to pay a large poll tax (worth almost 100 ounces of gold), they will be raised by their parents and become free men.

If they can't pay it, they will be sold as slaves.

In Tzu Chi Hall, orphans will inevitably be sold unless they become warriors.

The skinny Chenrui walked to a corner of the lounge with a plate and silently ate the black bread that had been given to him. Due to the lack of sunlight in the haze continent all year round, only shade-loving grain crops can be planted on this continent, a common one is called gray wheat, the bread made of this wheat is gray in color, sour and bitter in taste, and it is still very hard to eat.

But Chen Rui still eats with relish and is very satisfied.

Because in the pre-test, Chen Rui's results were terrible. This led to his fate already sealed, that is, to be sold. As a result, his food has improved. Half of the proceeds from the orphan trade will be paid to the Dark Holy See in the name of poll tax, and the other half will be retained as the operating expenses of the Tzu Chi Church.

Therefore, the director of Tzu Chi Church hopes that these little slaves will at least look healthy when they are sold, and only then can they be sold for a good price.

The lounge is large, the size of two or three football fields, and it is a place for orphans to move around and eat. There was a rudimentary dining table and small stools, as well as some tattered toys. On the left side of the lounge there is a row of small windows where the supervisors of Tzu Chi can check on the activities of the orphans.

Chen Rui was eating bread quietly, and suddenly his heart throbbed, and he unconsciously glanced at the row of small windows. Of course, he couldn't see out the window.

"Look, the little kid is looking this way. This kid really has a relationship with adults. Mr. Hu, the vice chairman of Tzu Chi Hall, was hunched over with a bright smile on his shiny face.

"Well, this is the little thing you said called Chenrui? It's okay, but his face is pale. The hoarse voice came from the man in the black robe. The man was wrapped in a robe from head to toe, and it was impossible to see his face.

A young woman stood next to Viscount Ferry, two small vampire canine teeth sticking out of her mouth. She asked disdainfully, "Viscount Ferry, what do you want is his heart, what do you want to do with his appearance?"

The hoarse voice became a little gentler, "Hui Rong Gege, you can see from your appearance whether the heart of the human race is strong or not. Those who are handsome have a healthy mind and a beautiful heart. ”

"Hmph, it's all nonsense here. Jung still looked disdainful.

Viscount Ferry seemed to see something in Jungger's gaze, "Jung can turn him into your blood slave if he likes." ”

"I'm not interested in blood slaves. Jung said coldly, and walked out with a light gait.

"False mercy. Viscount Ferry, who was dressed in black robes, snorted slightly, and no longer paid attention to Jung, but continued to circle the list of Terran orphans.

He made about a dozen circles, and then said to the deputy director, Mr. Fox, with a smile on his face, "Mr. Fox, can you please improve the food for these children I ordered? Add some broth a little." Of course, the meat is still not given. It's not good if they pass the test. ”

Mr. Hu, the deputy director, continued to bend humbly and said flatteringly, "I understand." Viscount, rest assured. These children's grades are far from good, especially that Chen Rui, who has no Xuan Qi reaction in his body. If you want to pass the test, it's definitely no fun. ”

Viscount Ferry patted the shoulder of the deputy director, Mr. Fox, and said with satisfaction, "Yes." As long as this thing is done. I'll just talk to the bishop here, and I'll make you prime minister for the next year. ”

"Thank you, sir. Thank you for the upbringing of adult. In the next must be serious to collect more perfect 'little cherries' for adults. Mr. Fox almost jumped for joy.

After Viscount Ferry and Jung left, Mr. Fox put away his flattering smile and said sternly to the nursery staff next to him, "Follow this list, and add a broth to each meal of these children." Keep an eye on the other children and don't steal their food. ”

The nursery worker shuddered slightly and turned out the list. The paper on which the list is written is gilded with gold, and on the top of the paper is a bright red cherry. This is the most important and most profitable 'red cherry' project in St. Ann's Tzu Chi Church, providing excellent Terran orphan slave hearts for the upper blood clans. For the Upper Bloods, the hearts of Terran children are the most delicious food they can eat.

In the evening, Chen Rui had an extra broth on his plate. The delicious broth was fragrant, attracting all the orphans to watch. But no one dared to step forward, because they knew the rules of Tzu Chi Hall, and disobedient children would die miserably.

The children who received the broth happily tasted the delicious broth. There was no meat in the broth, but the children knew that it was made from the finest consumable beef in the Haze Continent. This broth is usually only served with a small spoonful on the night of Easter Day.

Chen Rui was not happy about this broth, because his grandmother Bess had told him before his death that if the prediction before the age of 12 did not pass, and then he was given the broth to drink, he must not drink it, and he should not eat too much rice. Do everything you can to slim yourself down and make yourself look thinner than any other child.

Grandma Bess was the only person he had ever felt loved over the years. He didn't know how he met Grandma Bes, and in his memory, Grandma Bess was so amiable. As a cleaner at St. Ann's Tzu Chi Church, Grandma Beth is sometimes responsible for distributing meals. Every time Grandma Bess was on duty, she would give him an extra spoonful of white porridge or an extra slice of gray wheat bread.

The Lord's Day of Prayer every month is even better, and it is simply a grand festival for Chenrui. On that day, all the children in the orphanage had to go outside in the wasteland for half a day. Due to the direction of the wind, the haze outside Tzu Chi Hall will be blown away by the strong wind on the night of the day before the Lord's Prayer Day, so the Lord's Prayer Day is the best day for Tzu Chi Hall.

On this day, Chen Rui will walk through the grove outside Tzu Chi Hall to Grandma Bes's hut, listen to Grandma Bes's story, eat delicious baked biscuits, rare oatmeal porridge, and if you're lucky, eat a small piece of consumed beef.

But it all ended just before last year's typhoon season. Because Grandma Bess died. Before she died, she stroked Xiao Chenrui's head and told him this piece of advice.

"Don't envy them, these guys are dead. Their hearts will be eaten by vampires!" A slightly larger child next to him suddenly cried out. His name is White, he is rather stout, and he has passed the pre-test. He didn't know where he got the news, or he was jealous of the delicious broth in the hands of these children, and he called out the secret.

Chen Rui's hand trembled, the hand holding the plate trembled, and the broth splashed in the bowl containing the broth. The onlookers had already dispersed. The rest of the children who received the broth looked at White in alarm.

A nursery worker walked in, and without saying a word, gave White a hard slap in the face. He grabbed White's hand and dragged him outside, reprimanding the panicked children, "Drink the broth, and if I find a drop left, I'll peel you." ”

When White was pulled back from outside by the nursery, he was covered in scars, and his clothes were disheveled, and he could even be said to be unclothed. He lay on the ground, gasping for air, blood pouring out of his mouth.

The shrill whistle of "Xiu Xiu ......" sounded, which was the order to assemble in St. Ann's Tzu Chi Church.

Perhaps stimulated by White, in less than a minute, all the two hundred children in the activity room stood in a neat row.

Mr. Fox, the deputy director, walked in with a big belly, his tall leather boots thumping on the floor of the activity room, he held a whip in his right hand and a cigar in his left hand, which was very powerful.

He walked over to White, who was lying on the ground, dropped the cigar on the ground, and picked him up like a chicken. He slipped the whip around his wrist and pressed his thick, thick palm against White's cheeks. White's mouth was forced to open under the strong squeezing.

The children were stunned, many closed their eyes in horror, and some wanted to run backwards but did not have the courage to take even the smallest step.

White's mouth was empty, his tongue was gone!

"That's the end of the gibberish!" Mr. Hu, the deputy director, was very proud when he saw the group of frightened children in front of him. His goal of killing chickens and monkeys has been achieved!

He threw White back to the ground and asked the nursery staff to take him to the infirmary for treatment. A child without a tongue cannot be a warrior, but can become a slave.

After the team disbanded, Chen Rui returned to his corner and silently finished the brown bread and broth on the plate. At first, he was still hesitant to follow Grandma Bes's advice and throw out the broth and not eat all the black bread. But when he saw White's face, he made up his mind.

"Freedom or death!" he had heard in the story Grandma Beth told him. Although Chen Rui didn't quite understand the meaning of freedom, he knew something about the miserable life of slaves in his conversation with Grandma Bes.

Chen Rui didn't want to live like that.

In addition, Grandma Bess told him many beautiful things: the blue sky in the upper interface, the white clouds, and the little stars that blink at night. The trees are shady, the birds are singing, the sun is shining, and the rainbow is flying......

Chen Rui really longed for it, he wanted to leave this small Tzu Chi Hall and see the colorful world outside.

After dinner, it was free time, and Chen Rui returned to his own side of the world early, the capsule cabin. Every orphan who reaches the age of six is assigned a capsule hut. It's said to be a cottage, but it's actually just a double bed on the upper and lower floors. It's just that it is surrounded by iron sheets, so that each child has his own private space.

Chen Rui carefully flipped over the moving wooden block on the bed board. The block of wood was cut off little by little by him at night with a saw blade. He made a dark grid in it. Inside are small things stolen from Grandma Bes's house, such as saw blades, screwdrivers, and blades.

These things were stolen from Grandma Bess after Grandma Bess died, taking advantage of the monthly Lord's Day of Prayer, to go to Grandma Bes's cabin and steal them from inside.

He had this idea a year ago, when Grandma Bess was still alive. The idea originated from a story called Prison Break. There were all kinds of books in Grandma Bes's cabin, and he read them all. Compared to the other orphans, he was lucky. In her spare time, Grandma Bess taught him reading, writing, arithmetic, geometry, and other things that he could not learn at St. Ann's Tzu Chi Church. At St. Ann's Tzu Chi Church, all the children only learn the exercises they practice, which is the basis for them to become warriors, and in addition to this, they learn to sing hymns, some praise the regional bishops, those who praise the Tzu Chi Church, those who praise the Pope, and some praise the great Holy Ancestor the Great who is far away in the seventh realm.

Chen Rui also found a map in Grandma Bes's hut, a map of St. Ann's Tzu Chi Church. When he found the map, he was so excited that he carefully hid it in his sleeve with his small trembling hands.

With this map, he found out if he could use a saw blade to cut through the basement sewer fence in the toilet on the left side of the capsule hut. He was able to enter the complex and deep sewers beneath St. Ann's Tzu Chi Church. The sewers stretch far away until the edge of the map.

In the past month, he has sawed off seven of the eight fences. Every night when the work was done, he would close the fence with stone slabs. The stone slab was very thick, and it was used to pad the feet when the water flooded the toilet.

Chen Rui lay in the capsule hut and looked at the map carefully. He had already identified a route to escape. At dinner, White's experience gave him a lot of stimulation. He knew that if his escape plan was discovered, his fate would be even more tragic than White's.

So he decided on a time to escape, and it was tonight!