Chapter 167 Human Tragedy
Ye Qing made his way through the disabled individuals and, after completing the round, still could not find his brother, Ye Jun. Disappointment couldn't help but fill his heart. Could it be that he really would never find his brother, Ye Jun?
The moment this thought emerged, Ye Qing immediately clenched his teeth and shook his head. No matter what, as long as he had not seen his brother's body, he would persist in his search forever!
With his thoughts churning, Ye Qing stood still in one spot for nearly a minute. He didn't notice that the young disabled man facing him was shivering with fear.
Eventually, the man could no longer bear it and fell to his knees, knocking his head on the ground repeatedly, his voice quivering, "Eldest Brother, Eldest Brother, please spare me, spare me, I will surely do a good job delivering goods and collecting money in the future, please don't kill me…"
Ye Qing's brow furrowed slightly as he glanced at the disabled man and said, "I'm not going to kill you, get up and follow me out!"
Upon hearing these words, the color drained from the disabled man's face, and he wailed even louder, "I... I... I beg you, I really don't want to die... I'm only seventeen years old..."
Ye Qing was even more astonished. At that moment, a fifty-year-old elder sitting near the young man suddenly sat up straight and said, "It's just an organ you want, right? Take mine then. I'm old and had no hopes of getting out alive anyway. Eldest Brother, he's still a child, please... please let him go...
Take mine, I'll... I'll cooperate with you..."
"Uncle Ding..." the young man burst into loud sobs, turned, and clung to the elder, unable to speak, only continuously crying out, "Uncle Ding, Uncle Ding..."
"Don't cry, don't cry!" The elder patted the young man on the shoulder, speaking softly, "Live well, you are still young, perhaps one day you could escape alive. Remember what Uncle Ding has told you, if you do get out and have the means, go see my wife. I've been out this long and turned into this; she must be worried to death...
Ah, I originally came out to earn some money for her treatment, but now it seems needless. Maybe we will meet again down below after all."
The young man managed to say through his sobs, "Uncle Ding, I... even if I have to crawl, I will make sure to visit your home..."
"That's enough, your words are worth a lot to me!" the elder replied, breaking the tension. Though one of his hands was severed, both his legs were still intact. He leaned against the wall to stand up, his gaze resolute as he looked at Ye Qing and said, "Eldest Brother, don't judge by my age. I've done physical labor all my life and kept my body in good condition; no diseases in my organs.
I'm begging you, think of it as accumulating moral virtue, give the child a chance at life. Take me instead, and I will surely cooperate with you!"
Hearing Uncle Ding's plea, the young man cried even harder. Suddenly, he turned and threw himself at Ye Qing's legs, hugging them and wailing loudly, "I'll go with you, I'll go with you, don't kill Uncle Ding. I'm young, my organs can be sold for more!"
"Little Puppy, what are you doing!" Uncle Ding's face changed color, and he hurried over to pull the young man away, forcing a smile at Ye Qing as he said, "Don't listen to him, he's in poor health, and his organs aren't any good either. You can take mine!"
Ye Qing let out a sigh, finally understanding why the disabled individuals reacted the way they did upon seeing him. It seemed that these people rarely came down here, and when they did, it was surely to take them away for their organs.
"No one's organs are going to be taken; I'm here to rescue you!" Ye Qing announced loudly.
All the disabled individuals were stunned, doubting their own ears.
Uncle Ding stared at Ye Qing for a good while before shakingly saying, "Eldest Brother, please... no jokes, we won't run away, just... just spare Little Puppy..." E!n&jo@yi-ng. the sto^ry?# D&iscov-er^ mo@re# on M&|V^|L!E-M@6PY%R%.
"Don't call me Eldest Brother; that might shorten your life!" Ye Qing bent down and said, "I really am here to rescue you. Those of you who can walk, help those who can't. Let's head out first. We can talk about everything else later!"
After finishing his words, Ye Qing led the way, flinging the basement entrance wide open.
Looking at the bright lights outside, the group of disabled individuals in the basement were filled with hope but also fear. Although Ye Qing had stepped out quite a while ago, not a single person dared to follow.
Ye Qing shook his head helplessly; the disabled individuals had been terrified by Boss Lin's men to the point of disbelief that their situation could truly change. Ye Qing went back down and forcefully pulled a disabled man up with him.
The disabled man screamed loudly, desperately trying to break free from Ye Qing's grasp, as if stepping outside would result in certain death. Ye Qing maintained his grip, dragging the man out of the basement until they reached the doorway, then pointed to the outside yard and said, "See for yourself!"
After gasping for air a few times, the man saw the situation outside, with over twenty people lying on the ground. He first froze for a good while and then his mouth fell agape, his facial muscles trembling, unable to produce a sound.
He scrambled and rolled toward the basement entrance, staring down at the group of disabled individuals below with his mouth still open, incapable of uttering a word for a long time.
The group of disabled individuals below watched him intently, their faces filled with boundless hope; they genuinely wished that what Ye Qing had said was the truth.
After a full two minutes, the disabled man finally caught his breath and said with a quivering voice, "We... we've been saved..."
The basement fell silent for a while until someone burst into cheers, followed by the others joining in shouts of joy. Ever since they fell into the hands of their captors, they had been living a life worse than death, and their greatest hope was to leave this place alive. But with companions dying day by day, to be frank, most of them had lost hope.
And just when they had given up all hope, salvation had come unexpectedly. Their feelings were beyond mere happiness.
"Everyone, come out!" Ye Qing called out from above.
"Get out! Get out quickly!"
"Yes, yes, yes, hurry up and go!"
The disabled people in the basement hurried to run outside, even those with broken legs desperately crawling upward, not wanting to fall behind.
"Those who can walk, help those who can't!" Ye Qing shouted loudly.
Only then did everyone react, quickly turning around to aid their disabled companions. Having suffered together in the basement for so long, although they did not know each other before, they were now brothers who had experienced life and death together.
The first disabled person Ye Qing had led out had already run into the yard, throwing himself onto a man and furiously screaming as he fought him. Perhaps feeling that it was not enough to vent his anger, he eventually pounced on the man, biting him wildly with his mouth.
This man had just had his limbs broken by Ye Qing and was severely injured; now, he had no power to resist. With tragic cries that shook the heavens, he was helpless as the disabled person bit him. How could the disabled person let go when he finally had the chance for revenge?
In the end, it was Ye Qing who went over to pull the disabled person back, stopping a group of disabled people who wanted to rush into the yard to take revenge, keeping them inside the house.
"Everyone calm down, and listen to me!" Ye Qing waved his hands, and the noisy clamor of the disabled people finally quieted down.
"Although you've all come out, it doesn't mean you're completely safe!" Ye Qing continued, "I've called the police, and they will be here soon. But before the police arrive, I can't be certain whether these bad guys might have accomplices coming to help them. So, for now, you all need to hide in the house, block the doors and windows tightly, and definitely don't let those people break in again.
Once the police are here, you'll be safe!"
These words shocked the disabled people, who hurriedly moved the tables and chairs inside the house to block the door.
"Wait a minute, let me go out first!" Ye Qing walked to the doorway, turned his head to look at Uncle Ding, and said, "Old Man Ding, could you please arrange to block the door properly. I know you all hate those people outside, but now is not the time for revenge. The key thing is to stay alive!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Uncle Ding nodded repeatedly, never having thought that they would make it out alive.
As Ye Qing walked out of the house, the disabled people inside immediately shut the door. Following Ye Qing's instructions, they pushed all the tables, chairs, and beds they could find to tightly barricade the entrance. Thus, even if someone were to come, they would have a hard time breaking into the house for a while.
After leaving the yard, Ye Qing called Cheng Shuang to report his location, then headed to the next yard.
This place was roughly thirty miles from the city center. Whether it was Boss Lin's people or Zhao Chengshuang's police, it would take at least half an hour to get here. So, Ye Qing still had some time.
There were no corpses in this yard; it seemed like they all had been consolidated for disposal.
Ye Qing walked into the house and was immediately confronted with a scene that filled him with rage.
On the sofa inside the house, two girls were lying naked, their lower halves filthy with stains of blood, indicating they had suffered no small amount of molestation.
The two girls, the older one at most sixteen and the younger one around fourteen or fifteen, were really just children. Both girls were covered in scars and bruises, with finger-shaped purple marks from being grabbed and bite marks from being bitten, virtually no part of their bodies left untouched.
Ye Qing's eyes were bloodshot as he grabbed two articles of clothing and went over to wrap the two girls up. The older girl trembled as she turned her head to glance at Ye Qing; her eyes showed no gratitude or hope, only endless fear. Her body shook slightly, trying to dodge, but she lacked the strength to do so.
As for the younger girl, her pupils had already dilated, and her body was slowly cooling; she was beyond saving. Lifeless eyes stared, tears still marking her death, as if she couldn't understand why her life had ended this way.
Ye Qing's heart bled for them. He closed the younger girl's eyes with his hands, then wrapped the other girl with clothing and placed her on the sofa.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, no one will bully you anymore!" After comforting her quietly, Ye Qing turned around and began to search the house.
The house was similar to the other one, and Ye Qing found the entrance to the basement. Upon opening it and going inside, he saw a completely different basement.
Whereas the other basement was just one room, this one was divided into several sections. As soon as Ye Qing entered, he detected the smell of drugs. With his many years of experience in drug enforcement, he instantly deduced that this was a small-scale drug processing workshop.