Sacrifices

*Clang* Clang* *Clang*

Mike stood in the hall, banging pots together to force the boys to get out of bed.

"Listen up!"

Everyone filed into the main hall.

"What's going on?"

"Punishment?"

"The food's gone?"

"Huh?! The food's gone?!"

"Noooooo!!!"

The boys began to panic and their thoughts spiralled into something serious.

"SHUT UP!" Mike roared. He couldn't believe them. They really made him feel old.

Shaking his head, Mike glared at Wu Shen, "Deal with them." He left.

Being lined up in the hall first thing in the morning, Wu Shen's boys couldn't help but feel afraid.

"Leader, did we do something wrong?"

Wu Shen choked on his guilt. 'Is this how it felt to send away loved ones to war?'

"No. You haven't done anything wrong. Just wait for the boss to come down."

Lukas finally came downstairs after ten minutes of waiting in painful silence.

"Who have you chosen?"

Wu Shen grimaced and called out thirteen boys to step forward. Lukas inspected them.

"Seems fine." Lukas nodded in approval. "Now pick three of the strongest out of them."

"Umm... Jin Wei, Zhifan and Xiaodong."

Three tall and lean boys stepped out once more.

"Great. You're now team leaders. There should only be five trucks. Make sure that you three get on different trucks."

"...Yes sir."

The boys looked very confused but they decided to comply. The boss was, after all, very scary.

"All of you go to Tingting and Xiaozhi."

The thirteen boys marched off to see the girls without fully understanding the reason for all of this.

Nine boys were left over. Lukas turned to them.

"Go change into your uniforms then come back down."

"Yes sir."

Lukas made to follow after them but was stopped as Wu Shen grabbed his arm with urgency.

"Don't let them get hurt." Lukas' gaze softened in the face of pure concern and he patted Wu Shen's shoulder lightly.

"They won't."

Wu Shen let go, reassured, and made his way to his room to get changed. Lukas headed for Tingting's room as well.

Upon reaching the door, he could hear crying and groaning. Pushing it open, he saw most of the boys dressed in tattered clothing and their faces now had pasty complexions. Tingting was really good at makeup.

"Boss! Are you really doing this to us?!"

One of the boys clung to Lukas' leg and cried out.

"We'll die!"

Ah. That's why he heard crying. Tingting must have briefed them on the upcoming mission.

"Don't worry. You're strong. You've gone through something similar before. You've all fought grown thugs with knives before. This should be the same."

'Except that it's highly likely the 'officers' are part of the military.'

"But still!"

"You get to skip school. And, if you do this properly, we'll have a party. You won't have to clean up."

The noise died down.

"...Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

Everyone behaved themselves and obediently allowed Tingting to apply makeup to their faces. It was eventually Lukas' turn to get his makeup done.

"Will this really work?" Tingting murmured into his ear so the others couldn't hear.

"Not sure. Should be okay. They wouldn't want to kill all of us." Lukas frowned at the ticklish sensation the makeup brush created.

"But still, be careful." The makeup was done.

Lukas stood up and ruffled Tingting's hair.

"Sure."

...

Fifteen boys and two girls marched down to Slum E. Along the way, Lukas spotted a perfect place full of moist dirt and grime. His eyes glittered with wicked mischief. He came to a sudden halt.

Pointing at it, he said,

"Roll in it."

The boys looked at the spot he was pointing at and grimaced.

"Boss, is this really necessary?"

"Yes. Now roll."

Thirteen boys reluctantly began to thoroughly cover themselves in dirt and their hair gradually became stiff with mud. After a short period of playing in the dirt, a boy who looked like he'd been playing with pigs approached Lukas.

"Is this fine?"

"Yeah. Let's continue."

The girls laughed behind the boys. Tingting and Xiaozhi were going along to play the part of weeping relatives. It would look suspicious, after all, if there were no women around to weep. They couldn't really expect the real women of the slums to weep for them, could they?

It took some time, but in an hour and a half, they'd arrived.

The people from the slums looked at the newcomers nervously. They couldn't recognise these people.

Noticing their building unease, Mike spoke up.

"Everyone! Just for today, none of you have to suffer! If you work with us, you can stay with your loved ones for longer."

These words stirred the crowd and one lone old man stepped out. His voice croaked and sounded like the scratching of wood.

"What do you mean, boy?"

Mike plastered on his trademark grin. "We'll go in your place. But to make it more believable, we want you to act along with us."

"How?"

Mike waved his hand casually and shrugged. "Pretend to be our father or something. We can make it look like we're sacrificing ourselves for our parents."

The man seemed to ponder for a while. "... I understand. I won't ask why. All I want is to stay with my family for as long as possible."

"Great. By the way, the men who come, are they always the same people?" This was the only thing they could not confirm prior to this day.

"No. Not always. But sometimes I'd see someone from a couple of weeks before."

"Hmm." If the officers realised they weren't from this area, things could get a bit difficult. Mike sent a glance at Lukas who stood behind him. Lukas answered with a slight shake of his head. They would continue the plan regardless.

Noticing this the man spoke up once more.

"Kid, no matter what happens, I'll cover for you."

Lukas raised his brow at this. Why would this old man cover from them when their actions could potentially spell the end of this entire slum? A blurry image flickered before his eyes before disappearing.

As if sensing Lukas' confusion, the old man followed up with, "The old should look out for the young."

A wave of guilt crashed over Lukas after the last syllable rolled off the man's tongue. He was fully aware of the implications their plan would have on the people who lived here. It was needless to say that the blame would be solely placed on them, and, being as poor as they were, fighting back was completely out of the question.

Should he say something? Should he call off the entire plan? Was this really right? Many thoughts ran around Lukas' head. But in the end, he succumbed to his selfishness. He bit the inside of his mouth and remained resolute. He found that he could no longer look the slum people straight in the eyes.

After deliberating on the best plan of action and discussing their plans with each other, a tremendous rumbling that revealed its great mass sounded in the near distance.

Everyone quickly scattered and hid back in their homes. Waiting outside for the vehicles would be suspicious wouldn't it?

Some of Lukas' boys entered the homes of the adults who'd pretend to be their relatives.

Lukas and another boy hid behind a building and held their breath. Their hearts pound painfully within their chests. Trickles of sweat found their way down their napes, making them feel tingly.

The ground beneath them began to shake.

Their faces grew increasingly pale as the thunderous sound of engines grew closer and closer until-

It was time.