Nina woke up groggily to the smell of roasting meat. When she opened her eyes, the sky was just beginning to lighten. She checked the time and it was only a little past 5 a.m. The temperature difference between night and day was stark, and as she stepped out of the tent, she instinctively hugged her arms for warmth. Everyone was already up, and Moana pointed to the fire where meat was roasting.July translated, "You didn’t eat last night. You should eat something now. We’ll be leaving soon."Nina did not have an appetite. She had always harbored a doubt. Her goal wasn’t simply to find Scott but to uncover her possible connection to the organization.How else could she have known the secret mechanisms subconsciously? She might have escaped the organization as the only clean slate, but Seth’s reaction to her was too strange, as if he saw another person within her. There might be a shocking secret she carried, one that only she could unlock. She knew this journey was dangerous,
July, fearing for Nina's safety, held her tightly. "Miss Nina, you’ve seen the situation. Going back is suicide!""But what about Scarlett?" Nina protested.July and Moana kept a firm grip on Nina. "Scarlett is skilled and she'll be fine. It's not just about you and Scarlett. If we stay, we all risk getting caught!"They wanted her, not Scarlett. Just as she had suspected, she was valuable to them. They wouldn’t kill her immediately, which might give her a chance to reach their inner circle. This could be an opportunity, much like before. But Scarlett wasn’t in the same position. Now considered a traitor, she could be killed.Nina looked at them, unable to let them all be in danger. "You go ahead," she said. "I have a plan."If her guess was right, she knew how to handle it. This was a gamble she had to take.Seeing Nina’s determination to go back, July grew desperate. Ignoring all else, she knocked Nina unconscious. Then, with Moana’s help, they carried her downstairs and
Nina could feel the ground shaking. She grabbed onto a nearby tree for support and saw the sky lit up in red. "Rat-tat-tat..." The sound of gunfire reached her ears. Instinctively, she looked in that direction, and the scene before her left her frozen in place. Countless men in camouflage uniforms wielding long guns were mowing down people, their path leaving bodies in their wake, blood flowing like rivers. Nina didn't dare move. She watched as these men stormed into small houses, coming out with goods and setting the buildings ablaze. Nina was completely stunned. These people were dressed like soldiers, yet they were committing acts of murder and arson. In her country, soldiers were protectors, like Nash, who followed orders to save lives, even if it meant sacrificing their own.She saw a flag flying, a black one with a white skull and a coiled cobra beneath it. The sight of this emblem made her skin crawl."Retreat!" a voice shouted in English.Nina understood the comman
The boy's eyes held a deep sadness as he spoke. Nina could feel the pain in his heart. The village had been peaceful, and now, in an instant, everyone was dead, leaving him alone.Nina bit her lip and stepped forward to help the boy gather the bodies. As they worked, she asked, "I saw what happened. Weren't those people soldiers? Did your village do something to provoke them?"A flash of anger crossed the boy's eyes. "Do you think the elderly and children could have done anything? Those weren't soldiers, they were Pharaoh's men!" His voice was filled with rage, words squeezed out between gritted teeth. The able-bodied men of the village had left to earn money or had been drafted, leaving only the vulnerable behind. They just wanted to live in peace. What had they done to deserve this?"I'm sorry," Nina said, at a loss for words. In her understanding, soldiers were supposed to be honorable and disciplined, but the boy's words shattered that belief.And he had mentioned Pharaoh
Nina saw the boy fiercely tearing at the flag with the ominous symbol.She walked over and said, "Your hand is seriously injured. I couldn't find effective medicine, but I can disinfect it with iodine for now. Otherwise, you might lose your hand. And taking your anger out on the flag won't help."It's just a piece of cloth."The boy's eyes flashed with a fierce determination. "One day, I will cut off Pharaoh's head!"His grandmother, younger siblings had been killed by Pharaoh's men. His father had been taken by them and was still missing. He hated Pharaoh with every fiber of his being."I don't like him much either, but you need to get better first," Nina told him.The boy looked at her, puzzled. "Did Pharaoh's men kill your friends and loved ones too?""No," Nina replied. "But he has done some terrible things that have affected my life."The boy scoffed, "They have no humanity."Nina had already witnessed it, shattering her previous understanding of the world. Until Pharaoh
The boy said, "Follow me and keep up. There are venomous snakes in this forest.""Okay." Nina didn't dare to relax. They walked for over an hour before the boy finally led her out of the forest. Just as he had said, there was a village not far from the forest's edge.Unlike the previous village she had seen, this one, although also made of mud houses, had chickens, ducks, and vegetable gardens around it. There were even people selling goods from their cars at the entrance. The boy led her over.The boy spoke with the villagers in a language she didn't understand. After a while, he turned to her and said, "We can stay here for now, but I don't have any money. My hand is injured, so you'll have to work with the villagers to gather medicinal herbs to earn our keep.""I have money." Nina hadn't expected to be sold out by the boy, but she had come to the Yaren territory well-prepared. She had asked Scarlet to exchange some local currency for her to carry."That's even better." The bo
Nina remained silent, deep in thought. The contrast was stark. The northern part of the Yaren tribe had been decimated by Pharaoh's men, while this area received assistance. Her instincts told her something wasn't right.She glanced at the boy, and he followed her. Nina walked to the center of the yard, approaching the old woman and the little girl. She didn't recognize the herbs on the ground, but their roots were long."How do I do this?"The boy, quick on the uptake, translated Nina's question.The old woman, upon hearing the voices, looked up at Nina and the boy. To her, they seemed like a young woman in her twenties and a teenage boy."Snap off the roots, shake off the soil, and bundle them into groups of twenty."The boy translated the old woman's instructions.The old woman then asked them, "How did you end up here?"They were in the central region of the Yaren tribe. Though they were part of the same tribe, the country was in turmoil, and the Yaren were heavily divided.
Girls received hair ties and clips, while boys got knee pads, soccer balls, and textbooks. The older girls were given lipsticks and skincare products. These older girls had never seen such items before and were curious, with their brown eyes filled with confusion. "Mr. Micah, what is this?" one of them asked."Lipstick can enhance your skin tone," Mr. Micah patiently explained. "In other countries, people use it to make themselves look better. This process is called makeup. This is foundation. If you don’t know how to use it, I can find a video for you to watch and learn from."Mr. Micah spoke in a mix of English and Yaren language, and Nina could mostly understand him."Thank you, Mr. Micah!" The girl didn’t fully understand but clutched the lipstick and skincare products like treasures. The desire to look beautiful is a natural human trait.The children were thrilled with their gifts. "Mr. Micah, please come to my house for dinner tonight! My mom sold some herbs and bought chicke