She woke up again in the afternoon of the next day.
Ai Wei opened her eyes hazily, and the first thing she saw was a dilapidated shack, like a condemned building that had been abandoned.
Where was this?
How did she end up here?
"Hiss—"
It hurt so much!
Not only her arms, hands, and legs, but her entire body ached. Her throat and head throbbed with unbearable pain.
"Achoo—"
Cold symptoms struck her brain. Ai Wei felt weak in her limbs, her entire body as lifeless as if she were dead.
Miserable!
Every cell in her body was protesting!
She wanted to stand up, but her body had no strength at all.
"Deng deng deng"
Footsteps approached.
The man looked at the woman wriggling and struggling on the ground, and said mockingly, "Yo, awake?"
Ai Wei looked up. A man wearing a Sichuan Opera mask, not tall but very sturdy.
"Who... who are you?" she asked weakly.
The masked man held a wine bottle in one hand and grilled meat in the other, saying coldly, "Knowing who we are won't do you any good."
"Stay put and don't cause trouble."
He paused, then issued a fierce warning, "Perhaps, you might still live to get out."
Ai Wei: "—"
She, she... had she been kidnapped?
Fear shot through her brain in an instant, making Ai Wei afraid to breathe too deeply.
However, what made her even more desperate was that her hands and feet were tightly bound by ropes and tethered to a stone pillar. Not only could she not stand up, but she couldn't even crawl out of this dilapidated shack.
The masked man returned to the grill, where charcoal was roasting pork belly, beef, and other meats, sizzling enticingly.
His companion—also a kidnapper wearing a mask, B—handed him a skewer of grilled squid tentacles. "Why bother with her? Come on, let's drink."
Masked Man A swallowed the skewer in one gulp and clinked glasses with his friend. "Cheers."
Listening to the sounds of them drinking and chatting outside, Ai Wei felt... they didn't seem to intend to kill her?
But why had they tied her up here?
Hearing the two men chatting, drinking, and eating so leisurely, Ai Wei also felt a pang of hunger.
So hungry!
She hadn't eaten anything since last night, a full 24 hours!
Especially when the aroma of grilled meat wafted into her nostrils, Ai Wei was ravenous, her hunger making her lose all reason.
She no longer cared about being afraid and shouted towards the outside of the wall, "Hey—"
"Can you give me a few skewers?"
The two masked men exchanged glances, both showing expressions of surprise—this woman wasn't afraid of them?
How peculiar!
"Do you want money or something else? Can we discuss it after I've eaten?"
"I'm starving to death."
"Please, give me some beef skewers, lamb skewers, pork belly, and two bottles of beer."
The woman's incessant chatter entered the ears of the two men like a spell.
Masked Man B, with a grim expression, suddenly stood up and walked over to Ai Wei.
"Want to eat?" He squatted down, pinched her chin, and said with a sinister tone.
Ai Wei nodded vigorously.
Masked Man B let out a cold laugh, threw the lamb skewer he was holding onto the ground, then crushed it a few times with his foot, saying wickedly, "Eat it."
Ai Wei: "—"
How could she eat this?
The lamb skewer was covered in dust, and it was also crushed into a pulp.
What a waste!
"Brother..." Ai Wei tried to beg for mercy, but at that moment, a very sticky black tape sealed her mouth.
Masked Man B said fiercely, "You stinking woman, I have a bad temper. You'd better shut up obediently, or I'll rape and kill you, gouge out your eyes, tie you to a big rock, and throw you into the river!"