Chapter 2: 002
Two guards put down their guns and moved next to him. They each grabbed one of his arms and began to lead him away. He couldn't even comprehend what was happening. He looked around in hope to be saved by a fellow miner. They either looked away or tsk'ed at him. Sure, he did not take time to make friends here but still… They were all comrades from the bottom, weren't they?!
As he neared the manager, he expectantly looked at him. This man was his last hope. Of course, the manager had no plans to risk his own hide for a random rat. Sure, this was an efficient rat but then so what? There were many.
Number 748 used what little remained of his courage to speak to the manager: "You know that they're real, I've been working for six years to get them. They were for me to finally live!"
The manager looked at him. Yes, he knew. He was very much aware that all those tickets were the real deal. There were 2644 tickets in total, worth 2644 galactic coins. It was quite the feat that this rat managed to keep such a huge stash. He was grateful. Since now, it was his.
He looked at the young adult dead in his eyes and said: "Rats like you shouldn't have dreams. Look what it brought you"
Number 748 was stunned into silence. He didn't expect the manager to be so cold in reality. He had been so warm from time to time after work. He always patted him on the back whenever he finished early with his quota filled...He even said he was like a son to him twice… Was that what betrayal felt like? Or was it the crushing of all hopes?
Regardless, it hurt.
The pain wasn't physical yet it was harder to bear than one. He had his fair share of injuries working as a miner and yet, he had never felt so much at once. It was as if his entire soul was being torn apart.
The manager didn't give a fuck though. He turned to the guars and signaled them to escort the kid away. He would have to give them a little money later on as thanks and so they kept their mouths shut but it was still going to be a profit. A big one.
As for the risks? There were none. He ruled this part of the mine and no one would ever care if there was one less orphan worker. Heck, he could just buy another one or pick one of the streets on his way home.
He looked around and screamed at the other miners to get back to work before leaving. As he walked away, he hummed a song, pleased with himself.
Number 748 was led by the guards into the makeshift jail of the mining quarters. It wasn't so much a jail as it was an underground room filled with trash and devoid of light. He was used to the darkness and the filth though. But this place was even filthier than what he was used to. There was a lot of excrements, human excrements and many corpses, of humans too.
It wasn't the first time he saw one of those since dangers were ever present in the mines but the sheer state of the bodies made him have second thoughts. They were decomposing. And filled with insects.
And he was stuck in there until tomorrow for a trial. A joke of a trial. Now that he was down here, he could think more rationally. The surprise and the pain had already passed. He understood quite well what went on.
It was greed.
He wasn't the only one to dream of a sweet escape in these parts. But he had been the one who could do it. And unfortunately, he didn't have the power to keep that opportunity to himself.
He laughed silently alone in the dark at his twisted fate. Then the tears began to erupt as he bawled like a kid. He had matured early on due to circumstances but for once, this was too much to bear. He let his emotions took the better of himself, screamed, cursed and wept.
Needless to say, he did not have a good night of rest.
The guards came to pick him up the next morning. The manager had said there would be a trial but it didn't seem like it. Thinking back upon it, he had never heard of anyone having a trial here. The guards actually led him to the manager's office.
Two of them kept watch over him as he was made to kneel in front of the door while the other two went in. Soon, they came back with the manager in tow. As number 748 looked at him, his sight was filled with rage to the point he was trembling. He was ready to pounce on him and take him to hell with him. The mere of sight of this beast in human skin made him want to create a bloodbath.
But the two heavy gauntlets that grabbed his shoulders and the muzzle of the machine gun that got into contact with the right side of his head made him regain his senses. He had felt some bravado for only a moment before the fear of death covered it.
Yeah.
As shitty as his life was and would be, he didn't want to die yet.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone