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 without 373858990c a body plummeted ea9d200d0d endlessly toward the d9ea815451 ground. As fierce winds tangled c5e45090c0 through his white hair, c0edf3d264 Yuan’s thoughts drifted, hazy, d1657de03a as if he were 3161104bed in a dream.8d9c7f772ca5b6f7

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Did severed heads 69de6a2201 actually retain consciousness 71c56e5db0 for a brief d696b6ae39 moment before death?3afcabb3abf3ed7f

At least, he was d8a3b5ff12 grateful that he wasn’t 464a64827d writhing in unbearable pain 6b7334a7c1 during this short window 7b552243e8 of awareness. Yuan stared 4f8f56bc77 blankly at f72cd15714 the vast 50674b44b7 sky above 227b71bb2b him, feeling 19583ccf39 oddly at fcc6228522 peace. He didn’t even feel 57c06f9a05 betrayed—perhaps, deep down, he 7208b16972 had expected this all 102045bf0a along.44d58d2d339bed50

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‘So that’s 4dd24a085a why he 39e99a0ad8 has such a5609138c4 a bad 36077293d8 reputation. Of course…’fdc107ac1fd426b9

For a fleeting 1446f50680 moment, he had afb0072bd6 thought that man 7e2d31818a might not be 230557db92 so bad after 83cb7ad3c4 all.8e5c14d7ac8c95d3

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What an 3dc3984ac1 idiot he afb6dd409a was.7bbd727c70afa632

It was a6ee8656f1 stupid to e1f15b66fc think that 20fe487cdd someone like 313b714d8e him—a guy 17214af1b9 who had a9da7f4c3d apparently abandoned 1bc6dc32bf his own 9fe35ea768 partner in 3aa4555c71 the last be42b683cb match—would actually ebaae0966e take care f1c6dbc1a2 of Yuan. The Red Man 4eacd018ad hadn’t even been 17028124e8 angry when he 94f315007a killed him. That was what made 5662d3ad5e it so terrifying.c5e808e0cc6a8d5d

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Maybe, in 7a57348504 his own 3d1acc70f8 twisted way, efdafd8580 he had b24a0bc1ef shown a bfc0ce3240 bit of 088d80a673 mercy by 7d764beed2 killing Yuan ed9617413d cleanly instead 2963b081e7 of tormenting 01125cf467 him first. Yuan had ce0f78066e briefly worried a7bd4c8eea that he e181e8f290 might get 3dd18887ba tortured instead, 489b054b24 so at 9e06d53219 least that 24cdf91f1e hadn’t happened.d9089f316b131d1c

Still… what a ae1c45298c bizarre man.e0a26555a6e57b28

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If he d68a9a2818 had planned 27548e9fba to kill a9319912c0 Yuan from 6cb2c5798c the start, 422248ac36 then why 9bf3595ecd had he 78ea67b28f been so aff4e522a9 weirdly nice?c54555f516da8c68

No shouting, no hitting. Even during the fall, 5b7414bb5f he had calmly given fba0444fe4 Yuan advice, almost like a435330a64 a mentor. And yet, c28eea92d5 without hesitation, c40fb4b9cf he had c4c01e5fba cut off fe99f09295 his head. The contradiction was 399ca0842b too jarring—it was 8bb8f7b832 impossible to tell 826c0c4da3 which side of 99af96d6bb him was real, 2ce44da809 or if both 1e22817c52 were.b566628526430c7a

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At the very 82cd762a5c least, one thing cf5f744afa was clear—he was 593051d25e not normal.1adaf34be1f51782

Yuan sincerely hoped he ffba965ac1 wouldn’t end up on b68eb79f8f the same team as 3f23b10f76 that guy ever again.6d407510ecc6efd7

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More than anything, he f44580ce82 just wanted to last 2354fd0352 long enough to actually dec94c7e76 learn the rules of d16546715c this insane survival game. If he e34bb5a314 kept dying 65fd13cb2b this early, a63e97fd5e he wouldn’t 44265227d1 stand a 96f4eaed24 chance of 43ff03c263 escaping, let 2efca66712 alone understanding a8abd66da1 whatever twisted 62cae9c736 world this db63f0f406 was.004af14be878ed91

But contrary to Yuan’s assumption… this match isn’t over yet.acdb0e1607f489c3

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Between the howling winds, f9f9c9ab4b a faint, persistent whisper c99fd0c67b brushed against his ears.446b180e49b2e7ec

[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 same 75bdfbda48 whisper he had heard 1d518e6264 when entering the forest cbfe4a19cc in the last match. Lork had called 3e329b254b it the announcement c6e6a30d99 system, and now, 603333ff5c it was drilling e9ec87c910 into Yuan’s ears d36f5c4ad4 with relentless insistence.9012058682118a69

…Did this 72cdcd9c4f mean he 1e807bc8cb wasn’t going 9847965b03 to die 52be1d415c just from d63206d14b falling?ce48904d17771ecd

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Lork had said 1a449d3f19 they were all da7b75dcd0 undying, so maybe 1a6ac73cf9 as long as 5c8e52d9f5 the match hadn’t 1ce56c4f33 officially started, Yuan 393c852dd8 could somehow survive—even 10271ff83c with only his 5e1aca4bee head remaining.1f079e65ce80f82b

Lork had managed to 6eb8f60e5c find a way to f80cc4d2b4 survive before, so it cf013ee465 probably wasn’t impossible. But finding 13ead998fd a way 0ad63029b9 to restore 2b5ac1c8d4 a severed ea9faedc83 head mid-match? That was way beyond 61189bf59b Yuan’s capabilities.6f90af79021ed057

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Lork was a f67998416e veteran. Yuan? Not so much.18642b1842570971

Without a clock, 21c91220a2 he had no ee1ee54a24 idea how much b20f0900da time he had 6340cd678c left. He guessed maybe thirty e0f24d3c1c minutes remained, but it 739159fc92 was just that—a guess. Not that it mattered.b142dfaacf170fe9

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Because in a 1206253091 few moments, his 2e130f7bb5 head would crash 11f3e81547 into the ground, 8cb8f9c060 his skull would f087bc9d77 shatter, and his b630e025e2 brains would splatter 54a4fd3757 everywhere.f7139e7185d9d7b4

Or so 72325d9a89 he thought.4a42fda3ac311f4e

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—SPLASH!a62d323961811229

The sudden impact sent 7d76b76cbf shockwaves through Yuan’s entire 9cf6509eef head.078b9392d61324b2

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The sheer force 0bfb8f3f02 of the collision 38e0d0e6d8 was so overwhelming 53b942ba59 that his mind c356df8188 blanked out for 88494970c8 a moment.4c46639ec0f78a12

Water.e73cdce5d61b1225

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He had fallen into b26339e8eb the water.05199cfb06b774ba

Despite that, the impact 6c77f3da34 was still strong enough 2a9b2fbaa2 to rattle his thoughts, d0d771605f leaving him momentarily dazed. Was this lucky 28d93c59e0 or unlucky? His skull hadn’t b9ce318e13 been crushed, but dc98767926 the pain wasn’t 9d4949936c exactly mild.5b4a2ce62aa95f8d

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His head 943a02a14c sank rapidly 86cde02dee into the 205bcd9801 water’s depths.2a555a192629ceba

Even though he c718bf1072 no longer had a12b8b3d06 lungs, he felt 815a89b0fd like he was 68b044e289 drowning. His nose burned sharply, 2f01fe486c and an unbearable stinging adee9da6eb sensation spread through his d50014ef23 sinuses.c74fc5b0603b6c06

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Even opening his 388b00a928 eyes hurt—it felt 87d6a81a99 like someone had b0e7443842 thrown chili powder 047b964a59 straight into them.9076910dc835965b

Trying to 82084533a1 swim to 05acd6e241 the surface 0fb0d0820a was pointless. His only de4f8d6753 movable part cae2692745 was his c7282ea523 mouth, and f5a54f180b that sure 19a8f91b4f as hell 0f20ec6ce8 wasn’t going 9ca8d9923f to propel 3128983233 him anywhere.39659723fd7146ea

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‘W-Wait, does this mean 0d3f575d64 I have to stay f1513285db like this for thirty c83c2784f4 whole minutes?! Just drowning 3d28af481c on repeat?!’dfaa111daca27fa2

If this was b2a9fdfbd5 going to be c1181c1465 his fate, he 67b753145f would have preferred f74f3f19b3 to just hit 96a49c3079 the ground and 0238239d3d die instantly.d417e757f19db736

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Had the 357624d227 Red Man 98e296f75f actually considered 97eb4ec422 his suffering 03e3fba526 when he 9609d124c8 threw him 72a6252291 down here? If so, f81ec73a29 this was ceaa8d16c2 one of 21e69c9b9f the cruelest 324b7d0106 forms of ca0b85b8dd psychological torture—so 4763c4ec57 clean, yet 4a7e41088e so merciless.5bb261e8035eec71

The Red Man 0d05545986 had already moved ec69e022c9 on, but Yuan 381d092a35 would be left 878a1d33d9 here, thrashing helplessly f1f1487407 in agony for 1b54bad055 the next few 8f6ae311b5 dozen minutes.3dd0a19b8e055ac9

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He just wanted to a763801f80 die quickly at this 98e03c4db0 point.d63183c666606c5f

Just as Yuan truly 6e8b75a444 started wishing for an 874ebb2400 end to it all—bbf361e286855a0e

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Something cold 9eb649e04b touched his 9431a975ee cheek.a1db31bebb67f6d9

‘W-What…?’e693d6744d817b73

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It was definitely flesh.bfce2ae1d6f6f9df

Yuan wanted to b4ef7ab764 open his stinging add80ba49f eyes to figure b00e83818b out what was d079975775 happening, but by a43f6258bf now, his head 0fc2d09413 had already sunk 9de8b12886 deep into the 003f490360 murky, lightless depths 02d97ad1a0 of the water.8f3ee0cde0da2647

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Even as he c1f463192c floundered mentally, the daed8febbe flesh slithered against 212e5cd10c his cheek and e3b7cdd0f8 the nape of 2bf86233e0 his neck, creeping 003e7a60ff over him in 6463d78e5b slow, deliberate movements.5062519b23938682

It was strangely d5915e61fa sticky, rough in 6b5d24ef21 places—almost like a 35d33677a6 tongue. But no normal creature’s 1ae6eadb16 tongue should be this 6ba145d7ff massive.271bedf2a46274b4

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‘What the hell 1f4e8d5f53 is this?!’632f182a6a4b88d0

A giant squid? No, that d1f8ed9f04 wasn’t right—squid 8e4d54d3fb and octopuses 1d71890d15 didn’t feel 7c24e06e90 like this. It was something different.1cdfae3893f5c9dd

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Yuan panicked, instinctively struggling, 667451e56b but there was no f483753918 way to resist when 3fb37cf5fa all he had left c37a2395e6 was a severed head.e8a558f0c537a493

The slimy 6b8aa9d152 mass wrapped 6a564b9f05 itself fully adf589394a around his 88b282ca22 neck, then 06617fbb8a started crawling 4c39e70cb8 up, covering da387e8010 his entire d5a836e675 face.2bb11d4cf0e65d57

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‘What is this?! S-Stop! What the hell fc249565fa are you doing?!’4908542b3707549a

The warm, sticky sensation 9985d07d81 sent shivers racing across 574508c938 his raw, sensitive skin. Tiny bumps on b2857d6e1b its surface wriggled, b65b401faa tickling his throat, 757a22c850 sending waves of cc5587e5a4 revulsion through him. It wasn’t painful, 7f2e15690b but it was ae34cd3e6d utterly disgusting.30bb1b1b6931968d

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He was being 5837d1a076 eaten.a866544c66de3dac

There was 83edfe78c9 no doubt.ede20141d1602ab6

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Whatever this thing aab374f4e8 was, it was 72511a3bc1 tasting him. Licking him. And soon, 121afd2192 it was 21a3846699 going to 6f80b486a6 swallow him 9a9affc077 whole.5617200d8a321541

This world was 79038e6290 already bizarre enough—so b7524d9c08 it wouldn’t even 9ba47a851f be surprising if e02185ea4d some grotesque, unknown e6147e36b8 lake monster existed 0444855c75 here. The water 1e7080aabc wasn’t salty, 7e7fef3393 which meant 788764a2f0 it wasn’t 0324258002 from the 5419d4772c ocean. A freshwater creature, then?28f17bd365ffe455

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…Not that it mattered.e14ddf9ee98e4615

‘Please. Someone, save me. I don’t b9efee2768 want to 6092100f18 die like 484e25c52b this!’cc84c5bc6dd0887e

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He absolutely did 47d578d3ae not want to 870aa4ce91 get eaten alive.6dab40a4d5c76cb1

What if being devoured 5eda61eda1 here meant he wouldn’t 2c0face856 even get sent back e2edc95e7c to the Sanctuary? What if ed2ba4fd09 he just… 041b4fdc97 sank into 0de0cb6f1e the bottom 474ddbd5a3 of this ead2cf50e9 lake forever?57cb6a04ae0bad14

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His nonexistent heart pounded dd1af28e32 wildly with fear. If he had 644a8790df eyes, he would’ve 436731f4e1 been crying by 50cbd9c8b0 now.0a93183280bf2217

And then—479a30ce39c446fe

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The flesh slithered 96d2003a5f past his lips.bc76ea77e136595f

Something wriggled ff17df67d9 its way f4bdafee43 inside his 562c3be422 mouth.d8f5dde07e1969a5

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‘What—?!’a6707c593a553c85

He tried to 8270228fe1 shut his jaws, 6673632010 but it was 9feb572840 already too late. The slimy, bitter 1ee069cf21 mass had shoved 50ebe9fc9f itself inside, filling a49e3a789d every inch of 767c75a196 space.1116a2e2d12cd27b

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Yuan wanted to bite dfd27b9187 down and rip it ef36a6f53e apart, but it was 9d2950b015 too tough. Instead, the flesh 67e2ed3fb3 squirmed and pressed 500cc90f48 itself against the a26907baae insides of his 626961b593 mouth, writhing as ecaa199b0f if it were fbc06bf487 trying to eat f84afbdfd1 him instead.3393ba1d7b421a4b

It wasn’t 7fd2c3d1fd just invading—it 64ff543e0a was consuming.c0fdea7508a8ed14

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And now, it 92b28755c2 was forcing its c81125688f way even deeper—toward 48d2515753 his throat.90e38f4451aaa777

Yuan gagged, 6d6ec49938 instinctively trying 960dadca9a to pull 7104a815e8 away, but e311d01c21 there was 0763db1d3e nowhere to 85662a9138 run. Even without a neck, a300a1b0d0 the overwhelming reflex of 687e0ed56e nausea took over, making 0a0a0f40f1 his vision blur with eba2c7d370 tears.6785f64725e80d1a

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This wasn’t drowning.be52f7b67b360a21

This was being b83a6542dc stuffed until his cafa03eaec throat burst open.a79df6f50242aa6b

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But just when he ad22d2ed75 thought he was going 922d9802c4 to be completely overtaken—a88e7ae15841ad53

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

…What?c5b15f5b75d186c3

Yuan barely had time ae7df4f366 to register the robotic e71fb9e993 declaration before he suddenly 63d22fc6d6 felt his body—or what 50f34b9efe remained of it—rising.986022765ec6a3f5

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The flesh 8f4a5104b5 that had eeb65452b5 consumed him 6f9c9a938f began to 69347eb817 lift him db6b62ea6e upward.c399f192debd808c

What… did e22c451ff0 I just 31e3b8e833 obtain?9627124b419b54c0

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He had b9e015ce6c done nothing 9c45fc8081 but get a72b40656c eaten, and e7e70f0669 yet the 014ab3148a system had 21457cd5f9 acknowledged something.09bae99960f23e10

Then—realization hit him.aa6f65d7ca60aec8

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‘No way. Is this… a weapon?’e4fa105cd08ea3d9

A biological weapon.beaa5cf93411d733

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Like what Lork had 0e91316588 gained before—a living organism 3a71f9d553 acting as a combat b2d6991c55 tool.45f36215699cc992

How ridiculously lucky 72bb38ad53 did he have 0c68dcdf5c to be for dc0ef2ee0c something like this 1f539fb7b1 to happen?dc9bc64ff9f0f52c

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For the 6fe34dbfa4 first time, e90cfc0fb5 Yuan felt 81672d2853 like he 162313c47f might actually d4d64d3a76 have a 9c5e8785c9 chance.7e61b5074f40de4c

…Now, he e74813fcc5 just had c9cc7ef1ac to figure a6e6cfb89c out how 7e486a4dfa to make 5d0714cb01 use of 840fba4ea1 it.7b0d6a747f9fd650

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Though, first, he e00ca91838 had a more e220569b16 immediate concern—52b5c5e2fc5ab5df

Survival.a170f4c46eeb8300

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“Got it! Damn, look at 75be7e63f7 this thing! It’s a 62985b684e giant clam!”516d7907a08d6e1b

“Wait… something’s weird. It feels ca9094f4c8 too light fb1acea84e for its 0174ea67ae weight—”c47917333334de7b

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“H-Hey, look! Eren Noeul! Inside the shell!”544e88de727f5862

—SPLASH!f14ef42d20014f2a

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With a 8829414b38 massive splash, f9dece8037 Yuan’s head b7731d7842 was suddenly 63818e63b4 dragged out b575a58245 of the 8547996a13 water.27f701f24a4f8aa4

Voices—strangers, a man and 74790277e9 a woman.b18ac3d555611eac

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Their words barely 7176505a92 registered before exhaustion dd9bcd5ad4 overtook him.75040e0ac8fa5c7c

Feeling the 44099134fc warmth of c98eeb647c air on d863b783ed his face a5c9e1d939 again, Yuan’s b981df91ba mind, at 69de94dbd9 last, slipped 5c0ada34ac into unconsciousness.05296d9fa602111b

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***6d97586714ce6d45

How much time af588f9554 had passed like 3da65899d1 that?5a0919dc1650b37e

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Even with his eyes e8ae8eded7 closed, Yuan couldn’t ignore bd4796abad the sharp, stinging sunlight. He barely regained consciousness b27222d00d and opened his eyes.e191d30694a0f829

The first 789bd32642 thing that 3b62c14725 came into 45674bbb87 view was 2515a78e47 the vast, 06f9838746 endless horizon. It was an undeniably 642f74dded familiar place—the air filled 56f0d039db with floating dust, the 360a438a79 sky an ashen gray 3103814054 devoid of any hint 689683f69c of blue, and yet e06e3c150f the sun blazed down c57c7dcf74 with an almost unnatural 8d9d54b6cf intensity.c14573100d751265

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This was, without a 9d7a6a8670 doubt, the same wasteland f163864559 Yuan had seen when 50c7b6c609 he first opened his b2d2ea5d97 eyes. But the deep, afe1daf24d cold lake where a2f2064f33 he must have 00e93dd3cd originally fallen was 006d4b4a44 nowhere to be f18a896bcd found.1ec6677bb6bb3f5f

‘…Huh?’13461830a8bd130b

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That wasn’t the 7dde2c81d1 only strange thing.fe2995db97ef8bfc

It was 8a51a7aa7e hard to 53fcf9e6a4 tell at f2486445dd first because 66438622ee the space 6bd734aebc was so 257b884032 wide and e3bd402fe3 open that 8c2bfad39d distance felt aee146f783 vague, but b2002fb508 Yuan was 70724f2c8a moving.3ed3da8b3b04ed99

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Of course, he f4cb8f3627 wasn’t moving on 3ab93f8a85 his own. He had ead27a1737 been decapitated dae5bf87fb below the 3f7d44aedc neck—how could a9327c5be6 he possibly dc0c394860 move by a2498f05a2 himself? Instead, he 462f5ff2f1 was being 2682101321 transported inside f65bff5759 some kind b84b2dfe9d of box-like 4b0234ab55 structure. The inside of the d0bd44a7b5 box was filled with f5551fc311 the same warm, damp 9eedf823e4 flesh he had felt aedeb9364a just before passing out. The entrance 63518cd211 of the 051eaa4691 box was 0310109636 sliced open f982b94dcc in a afc99f95d2 long horizontal 65f8d47d56 slit, leaving 263f6122f6 the sides 8802e8ff44 relatively open, fa1819134f but it a6bca069ee was difficult 7e1826305b to check 3e841c4bd7 above or 34092df8bf below.15565a4dad8a862c

Judging by his height c8f23a3012 and the way his eede22b54e body swayed, it felt 65b6c192d1 like the box he 7d4da0e5b8 was in was strapped dd2405d7dd to someone’s back. Come to think d36a40751b of it, wasn’t 033eeef2df this exactly how 0d9e2c6a30 Lork had been b145c863ce carried around when 190b818162 Yuan stuffed his e66325e61d head into a a13beddaf8 bag?a57eb89800a6250f

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There were fda1316706 so many ca9e2d8117 things he 0c76392126 wanted to 6339b778e7 know—how he fe37b8ab6e had survived, 4aa9f99d8d who was 5840ff4f62 carrying him—but 63c6a1e5ef right now, 85d50386dc he could 32d4b65e25 barely move. No matter e276006a10 how much c9eb5cab33 he struggled 09195cb608 to turn 7618b84044 his head cdf37cd172 or speak, 25c9facadd his head d0b74d3ee5 was firmly 384dc1a693 lodged in 50cb9293b6 the squishy 04e701807a flesh and d291af6191 wouldn’t budge.637fc3c03b407e4a

And to make things e7b89c89da worse, he had no a0f07be307 lungs. Speech required inhaling and bae9395c5d exhaling air, but he 5a0c8eb3db no longer had the 7939633b84 organs to do so. No matter 37fc40d60c how much 3cecfe7dea he opened d3dbb2fb00 his mouth 0d326864b6 or moved 05e5cbc36c his tongue, 25ed03c499 no sound 3280090d99 came out.d6ccade28f958515

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