SSEI | Chapter 2.1

[Warning: You have sustained a fatal injury before the match has even begun. If you do not secure a way to restore your missing body part within the arena, you will be forcibly sent back to the Sanctuary as soon as the match starts.]

A head c3c4ee9827 without a d517f52040 body plummeted 49ab43b1dd endlessly toward 4e82e2db31 the ground. As fierce winds tangled 634045aa0d through his white hair, 9ba23180ba Yuan’s thoughts drifted, hazy, 44e44dfba0 as if he were 308767da7c in a dream.4043e60a1ac7045b

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Did severed heads actually 54bea15822 retain consciousness for a ae6ee2f830 brief moment before death?5d1a587859a932a9

At least, ac1694f750 he was df64ab6f6d grateful that 95d0ffbf4e he wasn’t 7a4d62d2b7 writhing in f7f5123dd7 unbearable pain 5695815ef2 during this 1fb7e557b5 short window 17ac3f08f4 of awareness. Yuan stared blankly d742d57bbe at the vast ffd92af5eb sky above him, df1b9c5609 feeling oddly at 2505b32a16 peace. He didn’t ae0b07f268 even feel ccf74e4c71 betrayed—perhaps, deep 356865cc6f down, he bf350f4c2e had expected 2c27af7600 this all 0ff83d6c25 along.350d3e9b695be6e3

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‘So that’s 08ad0d0264 why he dde3efc1bb has such 261f049395 a bad 57ca10a1bd reputation. Of course…’03f82132c57182d2

For a fleeting 3ae479b64d moment, he had 4a09a18384 thought that man ef1ae17a7a might not be d2aedc17b0 so bad after a0f4d1bbaa all.1712b86ca648c3f7

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What an e1bc5560a9 idiot he eb84f755ef was.3837fb7dd8e2a6cf

It was stupid to a16d2f82c6 think that someone like 08cddc5b36 him—a guy who had 3a95aa2a1f apparently abandoned his own 173732a220 partner in the last 9870fc0be0 match—would actually take care 079c4929cf of Yuan. The Red Man 80a451133e hadn’t even been 5c30042cce angry when he bbb617cd05 killed him. That was what made d627f75110 it so terrifying.bc2723eed05982e3

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Maybe, in his own 3fddbf920a twisted way, he had 29815e1aa1 shown a bit of 1ed29b3271 mercy by killing Yuan 6d4120a186 cleanly instead of tormenting cd05f02860 him first. Yuan had 8177608a2f briefly worried d209bde519 that he fbb5188384 might get 974b153756 tortured instead, 48ac923adc so at 5682719898 least that ce5d1965be hadn’t happened.a5e6c89e8e1ee27b

Still… what a 2a1aaced0c bizarre man.685aa4d5d8be9f71

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If he had planned a0a12046da to kill Yuan from 75eae79431 the start, then why dca16584ee had he been so 975a02b6bd weirdly nice?dc1813754d5fe450

No shouting, no hitting. Even during the fall, 9c10d0b96a he had calmly given 511770f5ab Yuan advice, almost like a8ea053bf2 a mentor. And yet, 2af11f494d without hesitation, a5922ccc28 he had 204fef395f cut off b1409eefcf his head. The contradiction was 2ba8981a4d too jarring—it was 8bd3adfc0e impossible to tell 99c2891c37 which side of 7f2086c9d2 him was real, 3180154672 or if both 35eed0c2aa were.83844034db699bf0

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At the very least, ec96925c8d one thing was clear—he c4efa12f5f was not normal.81fc54fc371c54e0

Yuan sincerely 76b461b1eb hoped he a227d04427 wouldn’t end 6661ccea15 up on 53ab0663f5 the same d90ebcfb25 team as 522e4884a0 that guy 468450e9b0 ever again.58301f753f3a2c46

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More than anything, 42a8c0e941 he just wanted 6bd3b24b88 to last long f696045fd3 enough to actually 38f30920a3 learn the rules 6d6e18426d of this insane d8eb5c39af survival game. If he kept dying 0acdfe5ae8 this early, he wouldn’t e091f52102 stand a chance of 682a238eda escaping, let alone understanding 8780597f82 whatever twisted world this 10b0f5c09b was.3152d48a356a7063

But contrary to Yuan’s assumption… this match isn’t over yet.d9e9e031347a9c72

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Between the howling 2d677bf4a4 winds, a faint, 5ede0e167c persistent whisper brushed e83f9684fc against his ears.04c9ef9352b61950

[Warning: Once again, please secure a means to restore your missing body part before the match begins. If you fail to do so, you will be sent back to the Sanctuary immediately.]

It was the 7b7831e19f same whisper he 7171f57abf had heard when f66e52075f entering the forest 017d872f80 in the last 78bab1c9d0 match. Lork had 2155a14251 called it 2f5a0f33f0 the announcement b29c784213 system, and a5ff4a4f42 now, it c2e9c387b9 was drilling 0cfba2811e into Yuan’s 2cae797ddd ears with dc28f38a77 relentless insistence.7ba14e39c2c4e071

…Did this b44702e6e3 mean he 1ff759d40d wasn’t going 4a97c7601d to die 22c52a54a8 just from 098a8a283f falling?b9d260da1b1c857f

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Lork had said they 179e3240e4 were all undying, so 5f921beead maybe as long as 29cc8907f3 the match hadn’t officially 3c1b6bfbe6 started, Yuan could somehow 52e0ff3863 survive—even with only his 0d35d724e1 head remaining.1f909526a18bf31a

Lork had f785645977 managed to aa3c5a7af4 find a cf87efc753 way to a9e7d331fb survive before, ca9f491b2c so it 98ee16536b probably wasn’t a40dfd6293 impossible. But finding a way 3aa1d10200 to restore a severed 507504950a head mid-match? That was 314d3675b3 way beyond aa5bfdec00 Yuan’s capabilities.804c29672119f00e

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Lork was a veteran. Yuan? Not so much.9853ddc0245e21d7

Without a clock, he ae3a5f618a had no idea how bdd54763c9 much time he had d6ac027390 left. He guessed maybe thirty 689dc3e1fb minutes remained, but it 7f953f92a6 was just that—a guess. Not that it mattered.07f384a35921d88c

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Because in a e4f0563f2f few moments, his b6dce1b1ac head would crash 2a905688c4 into the ground, c9ef997456 his skull would e6f1c16fc9 shatter, and his 3a1bb0b307 brains would splatter ef44b322b1 everywhere.75424dbc8daff387

Or so ab86198502 he thought.8d7ca2ea41e20ec3

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—SPLASH!86a84dde3d2753c5

The sudden impact sent a4dcf88606 shockwaves through Yuan’s entire 12fb486057 head.943621d6d2ea66b2

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The sheer force a36cfbe019 of the collision c95159158a was so overwhelming bb18efb956 that his mind e54baa74bf blanked out for b9262f3792 a moment.df35906f59d000f2

Water.6fc04b2694bf4dd9

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He had fallen d50c346775 into the water.44330b7c9df83874

Despite that, 1e1148a6f6 the impact 747f6880cc was still 197c2f2ac9 strong enough e429c5958c to rattle e5186eb713 his thoughts, 331b442ef2 leaving him a304c102ca momentarily dazed. Was this lucky or 8eb704d792 unlucky? His skull hadn’t been 5db31950dd crushed, but the pain 57b83576b5 wasn’t exactly mild.8126e294eedc33fe

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His head sank 99802c3d92 rapidly into the 24b2ebdac0 water’s depths.cf010876bbae8283

Even though he no 054e0d4bf0 longer had lungs, he 833e864a27 felt like he was 8cc5ce5233 drowning. His nose burned sharply, d89f44a69e and an unbearable stinging 4167b0bbba sensation spread through his 5e1a06f0de sinuses.5a2c41e7fba0a74d

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Even opening 057ea5328f his eyes 6ae066d78c hurt—it felt a1d83f1e95 like someone 8b08a6b947 had thrown 7877e56d52 chili powder 60285c6b6e straight into 8a26734d81 them.1a15731909d4d308

Trying to swim to 0286199c2b the surface was pointless. His only movable 13941385d3 part was his 004eb93e11 mouth, and that 025378615e sure as hell 4efc4f6da9 wasn’t going to e6c8cd0cfa propel him anywhere.15e36cce544f9b61

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‘W-Wait, does this mean 22369403a9 I have to stay e87b64a774 like this for thirty 4fca561616 whole minutes?! Just drowning ef5230a06c on repeat?!’7ecf1b54afdfe296

If this was b3a0d44972 going to be 9ec5bd0e31 his fate, he 7552a10704 would have preferred de4b590848 to just hit 441e0cb391 the ground and 539286683c die instantly.4e4a1a675af0ab1a

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Had the Red 9b87dd2c52 Man actually considered 1a7b6b3b30 his suffering when 42c924dd3a he threw him a5b05b163e down here? If so, this was 3a7de64740 one of the cruelest 224dd561f8 forms of psychological torture—so 90cc1f605d clean, yet so merciless.b40ecdc9f3f275f7

The Red Man had b76f8c4c72 already moved on, but 61a5d066c0 Yuan would be left 35ba35e0e4 here, thrashing helplessly in 9045871a56 agony for the next f7eeb7b97c few dozen minutes.5e450ae60a949cf6

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He just wanted to aef56c49c9 die quickly at this 12b744d6b0 point.41b76e339d18839a

Just as Yuan truly 438ce9d3a5 started wishing for an 715719b6e6 end to it all—351a5b21facd540f

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Something cold touched his 0506536c71 cheek.4b4b1581e9ff877d

‘W-What…?’9b26966b92585dee

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It was definitely flesh.91aa364f9b5d7175

Yuan wanted to efacf648a9 open his stinging f9fd9b076a eyes to figure cc2f48b000 out what was 4deb3eab4c happening, but by d5ef375580 now, his head c9919a03e6 had already sunk edc43540b2 deep into the e64c87ef40 murky, lightless depths b92a096bbe of the water.ca27f60a5eef22d5

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Even as ed4630612a he floundered 35478fc5d2 mentally, the cee56fdaff flesh slithered 4b84a44ae6 against his 579c5fffe7 cheek and 407b9ea546 the nape 8c07653e5b of his 63f0596960 neck, creeping bbd1dbbf59 over him 9c574a5c2f in slow, 5305f4fbfd deliberate movements.f5a4e3f6cec50b31

It was strangely 7b8ac789d3 sticky, rough in c6b14a133b places—almost like a bbc43d7188 tongue. But no normal 83f4df081f creature’s tongue should a219245255 be this massive.f3f91a842e26b14d

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‘What the hell is e1bf26dbd2 this?!’c438086f870b31ac

A giant squid? No, that wasn’t b94e1af3a9 right—squid and octopuses 5b57492814 didn’t feel like c9f19333aa this. It was 294f692bee something different.28651a2bb005823a

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Yuan panicked, 46e64b1759 instinctively struggling, 40240c3b0a but there e39ef33d26 was no 88a12914d1 way to f6d3c9bcc1 resist when 4b22ca5306 all he 1590a8fa5b had left 2e104c516d was a b49655269d severed head.87735a5ddee7b6f2

The slimy mass 92799719c7 wrapped itself fully 27a17d57b5 around his neck, 8f1dfb5222 then started crawling 7dd58daf14 up, covering his 2982b3b80e entire face.67ef1a4e5650eaeb

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‘What is this?! S-Stop! What the hell are 25443452bf you doing?!’30221f21e33eb852

The warm, sticky a467fc5d7a sensation sent shivers 8449019536 racing across his b508df7d77 raw, sensitive skin. Tiny bumps on f15c9adc47 its surface wriggled, d78fd23b76 tickling his throat, 5b453036fc sending waves of 00b5eb43e1 revulsion through him. It wasn’t painful, 1f2de5e5a3 but it was 660faa65f8 utterly disgusting.39d0e356090ee650

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He was being 27f996c1e0 eaten.ca85aee417989b85

There was no f19f20f835 doubt.1b1ec2d1c233f5bb

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Whatever this thing was, 3df8de93d5 it was tasting him. Licking him. And soon, it was d4b09ccf29 going to swallow him beaf978adb whole.d6156ff29bcbe2f2

This world 47d6de8b33 was already 9f25d7502d bizarre enough—so 616efc0365 it wouldn’t 3da0134ee5 even be 3211e974c6 surprising if fb3baed259 some grotesque, cd7be07938 unknown lake 62fe3ea37a monster existed 55294e0e10 here. The water c4947c7fd2 wasn’t salty, 702fdb58c6 which meant be40af30ce it wasn’t 9dbb6e00d6 from the c7fc4a1bc2 ocean. A freshwater daa9809262 creature, then?607b19874636430f

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…Not that it mattered.27de432fa43b9dbd

‘Please. Someone, save me. I don’t 3362d14976 want to 7b239838d2 die like 9448fc1b83 this!’3149ebd33024ebc1

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He absolutely d35b410322 did not b941463cad want to c97a995b56 get eaten 6f7ec7daf5 alive.e6b2b0d2a75e13a3

What if being devoured 883fa893f3 here meant he wouldn’t ac610c8682 even get sent back bbc7247951 to the Sanctuary? What if he just… 78de261486 sank into the bottom 4c4cf6d3d2 of this lake forever?5b28c0ff2838717f

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His nonexistent heart pounded 2c4e833699 wildly with fear. If he bcbc7e596b had eyes, 46b9fc3431 he would’ve c28ccef71d been crying e1186c5a62 by now.39a5e4b900a32972

And then—e2a8f63f0fa52673

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The flesh slithered a085657e6a past his lips.bf675151ea08618a

Something wriggled its way 3ebb807c17 inside his mouth.faaec18f6f7fd000

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‘What—?!’c606f015c37672b7

He tried to e2d5e8f11b shut his jaws, 6e51afbdb0 but it was d22405829b already too late. The slimy, bitter f37bdfb293 mass had shoved fe10d7ee76 itself inside, filling 756c24c42b every inch of fa15667dd8 space.5856789b010cf849

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Yuan wanted to bite afce428174 down and rip it 6977f2f00c apart, but it was e97ccb0617 too tough. Instead, the flesh squirmed fd6fd9d301 and pressed itself against d4295437c9 the insides of his a120c48631 mouth, writhing as if ce85f56e4b it were trying to 374c482a97 eat him instead.336bcafa1459bc88

It wasn’t a3c48870e2 just invading—it 3f270824f0 was consuming.f5114a1090280a9a

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And now, it 71ff2e16af was forcing its 572e94f94b way even deeper—toward a877d21a98 his throat.950998e795bda1df

Yuan gagged, a400aaab50 instinctively trying 57bcd71630 to pull eb2b3e52a6 away, but f1ccf7e6ab there was bad428ebe7 nowhere to 66360047bd run. Even without d5863e7afa a neck, cc3e910c55 the overwhelming 0d0408d71b reflex of b612d3dab2 nausea took 7ec77c1578 over, making ea9419f26d his vision 2b0273871a blur with 152fedb57b tears.b9d8ce8347797a5d

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This wasn’t drowning.b2d4fabaf2b8b188

This was d077b79d0a being stuffed 145d754f60 until his 5c74c3d969 throat burst d05878eb27 open.f89978f3fb01d656

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But just when he 1732eb24e1 thought he was going a4efe1bdb4 to be completely overtaken—0898ab54f64b90bb

[You have secured a means to restore your missing body part. Match participation confirmed.]

…What?faaa17e4dc7626c1

Yuan barely had time e9396978b4 to register the robotic f7ee00bc5b declaration before he suddenly a505f51387 felt his body—or what 5bf1da63d7 remained of it—rising.68f176a43bc8b798

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The flesh 88ad87bc2b that had fd9fad0791 consumed him 985e8e7c4d began to ba53605bed lift him 98e9e23a99 upward.a84f4122596f882e

What… did I a50317bd1e just obtain?b10728165d4cddd5

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He had 9693bfe088 done nothing 0a8c7eb98c but get c08c8c7b2c eaten, and 310e645c78 yet the ed0ce2a77a system had 11b1835781 acknowledged something.18c3bf13f752e09f

Then—realization hit him.edcc3e80d16da2c1

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‘No way. Is this… a f9dfd35495 weapon?’d77b0c21f5f08048

A biological weapon.3198f605f9acdbde

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Like what Lork had 3612856607 gained before—a living organism 022be94d6d acting as a combat 4138b37122 tool.ddb734c40da56c5e

How ridiculously 96536eeba7 lucky did 438c4cd443 he have 536458e6d5 to be 12e6589352 for something d765624437 like this 1d1c90f943 to happen?fd357e255cc31aba

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For the first time, 2bc4c819d4 Yuan felt like he 88112780c2 might actually have a c2c16ccf55 chance.cb5bd02c7ea59255

…Now, he 5e69414c7e just had d82ca28951 to figure b4e974f07f out how 119b66db6f to make d98030987c use of e2267fca99 it.024fba535581ae6d

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Though, first, he 9a1f9e6267 had a more 9e6fc709c8 immediate concern—4fee03997ff4c164

Survival.ec9bea4e7a04b65b

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“Got it! Damn, look at this 849317e299 thing! It’s a giant clam!”16ed98aeffa4d742

“Wait… something’s weird. It feels too f10d40ab5b light for its 0b3b4ccf7c weight—”e63f68df59c47859

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“H-Hey, look! Eren Noeul! Inside the shell!”f16ad63f8e07d280

—SPLASH!5357b169929daba4

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With a 32350d1a5e massive splash, 8efb8f3fc6 Yuan’s head af49305ca2 was suddenly 3f24b511c8 dragged out d075b51251 of the 35b2f309aa water.31c05dd438187571

Voices—strangers, a 273783c4c5 man and 609d6a76c2 a woman.59507dcde691ceac

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Their words 83e847a9c8 barely registered e9b3048fe5 before exhaustion e0eb88ba07 overtook him.0ff036dd9325f579

Feeling the warmth 96dbb2cd5a of air on cdd71a9a1f his face again, 3f38f2ff33 Yuan’s mind, at 10a7d74e90 last, slipped into c629f6d3e0 unconsciousness.b6072b82841d0639

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***5b943199fdc873c8

How much time had aa5004ca0c passed like that?787415e889d6153b

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Even with 363053a28e his eyes 00920aa95e closed, Yuan 0b4ed66ccd couldn’t ignore d91126b002 the sharp, 8675189193 stinging sunlight. He barely regained consciousness 2dc6b0b5c2 and opened his eyes.8e5665e8f22d7a7b

The first thing that d5e3c42e6b came into view was 881d3454b2 the vast, endless horizon. It was an 6faf2ad14b undeniably familiar place—the 461ca98ff1 air filled with d3917b291e floating dust, the acd8f71a8f sky an ashen d3a7532582 gray devoid of 9b1356c602 any hint of 790d411b94 blue, and yet 149e18bf3c the sun blazed d717eda6d6 down with an 9588faef26 almost unnatural intensity.3f496c8424ad5049

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This was, without 3240d4e99d a doubt, the 1a5c2e8a34 same wasteland Yuan 9c6ac35d07 had seen when dc19cfd58e he first opened f762b27747 his eyes. But the 2b823f8d41 deep, cold 9a3d9a44a5 lake where 0a1dcd73c7 he must 2b29f1e927 have originally 716b52a397 fallen was e5b8f0d631 nowhere to 7e9bdd4ca5 be found.2614da566ebb6981

‘…Huh?’6181d5fbc672147f

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That wasn’t the only 87a9c6a260 strange thing.6228951ab6e25db3

It was cb8454c436 hard to 280f1dfa5c tell at 0098bc6665 first because 6859169bac the space bca9cb6f7a was so 6dc66f37da wide and c0751cd440 open that 647cca35bf distance felt fe98a02faf vague, but 84d370f27d Yuan was da3f382be8 moving.a547a32ca58f001b

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Of course, he wasn’t cb8f8d416b moving on his own. He had cddeb7c5e6 been decapitated e2c3383ec0 below the 1174f1ddb3 neck—how could 09d32b0eea he possibly d2f3c065e9 move by 13801e7beb himself? Instead, he was e3501e3df6 being transported inside c0dd856188 some kind of 1254382d80 box-like structure. The inside b1e7e03142 of the 9af7a9c29a box was 99973d125f filled with f521113ea3 the same 94e094fb39 warm, damp 6f45d23484 flesh he 7d247b4e9b had felt e5486797a0 just before c0be77dece passing out. The entrance b9628bd3ff of the a5558509df box was 4eb66a5c7d sliced open f505b290f8 in a 689124eb6d long horizontal 0910283146 slit, leaving da3ff2276c the sides 7fbc92e620 relatively open, 466e7b9e1a but it 592b5f0d8a was difficult 1817ce6bcd to check 790f77a414 above or 6015c52e36 below.a3dfd7810097410a

Judging by his height 28c66f3d98 and the way his 2de68ade36 body swayed, it felt 2a88e3712f like the box he 43440b65bc was in was strapped 8c2b3dc08c to someone’s back. Come to 2b082f9d99 think of 057767c220 it, wasn’t b4d70d8d7a this exactly 0f6a8d068a how Lork 424a485655 had been f9040ad0a6 carried around ef431da16d when Yuan 78f3191c40 stuffed his 979ebb1ecf head into 32adea28e0 a bag?3ce0def020f09a2a

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There were 203ea11e4f so many 5ecce26e18 things he a4f52362fd wanted to 8bb7219b7e know—how he e2c03b5fc5 had survived, 30a845a14a who was bcf5252ce2 carrying him—but d3e518a102 right now, 03984e6a11 he could 105d8bb6d7 barely move. No matter 333d3135dd how much 48509e419f he struggled 0a8f27307a to turn e73392b33f his head 5bd3f227fd or speak, fb2f4178ef his head 874d48d330 was firmly 00ab21ff1d lodged in 543f0b222c the squishy 018f40918b flesh and 40420ff1fe wouldn’t budge.767709548dbb8073

And to bf98ff2a4a make things 5454cf0bd5 worse, he 9c25a3e426 had no 388dc6b1c1 lungs. Speech required inhaling and 823660d8c0 exhaling air, but he 58fc96510d no longer had the 48bd3a4d51 organs to do so. No matter how much df850666f4 he opened his mouth e250ba4111 or moved his tongue, 0c2cd647ae no sound came out.54d10768d50c8d2f

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