"We’re going to die while trying to escape or die living in this place. We might as well die fighting."
A heavy silence settled over the square.
Back then, fighting to the death had been nothing more than a fool’s dream because they never stood a chance. But now, with capable people standing beside them... that dream suddenly felt possible.
"That damn bastard..." Suddenly, a man hissed as he marched toward the crawling captain. "You bastard!"
He grabbed the captain by the shoulder, flipped him onto his back, and drove his fist straight into his face.
"Motherfucker!" he roared, and struck him with a punch.
And another one. Then another one until everyone lost count.
Everyone watched as years of hatred poured out with every blow.
As if a dam had broken, the timid prisoner who had been forced to fight earlier suddenly screamed.
"You bastard!"
Still sobbing, he rushed over, shoved the other man aside, climbed on top of the captain, and began raining punches down on him.
The blows were weak — everyone could tell. Yet watching him awakened something they hadn’t felt in a long time.
The courage to fight back.
The spirit that once made them men.
The part of themselves they thought had died the day fear took hold of them.
Eventually, the prisoner exhausted himself. He slumped onto the ground, panting heavily.
The captain had already passed out, his nose broken and blood covering his face.
"Let’s fight." Old Fool’s voice suddenly echoed through the square. "Let’s... fight again. One last time."
He slowly straightened his hunched back and looked around at everyone.
"These people have put us through hell!" he shouted. "If we’re going to die, we might as well drag one of them down with us!"
He took a ragged breath.
"Even if we escape this place, these bastards will haunt us for the rest of our lives. I’m done being a prisoner of this place."
"I’m going to beat the hell out of these fuckers!" another prisoner roared.
Soon, more voices joined in and the square erupted with renewed determination.
Gin quietly watched the scene before glancing at Red with a faint smile.
"Things never really go the way he wants," he muttered.
Still, he couldn’t help smiling.
How could he? He could feel the men’s resolve.
Their determination.
The fighting spirit that had finally returned to these men.
Red, meanwhile, frowned and scrunched up his nose.
"Hey!" he shouted, sounding more like he was scolding them. "I told you I’m not asking you to fight with us! Were you even listening?!"
The men paused, but ignored him.
"If three of us gang up on one, we’ll have a better chance!"
"Let’s split into groups!"
"No, first we have injured people here! There are more in the infirmary!"
"And in production!"
"The warehouse too!"
"We have to let them know!"
"Let’s get the injured out first—"
"I’m talking!" Red shouted in disbelief. "Didn’t you hear a single word I said?"
This time, everyone actually stopped and looked at him. Charm and Old Fool exchanged amused chuckles.
"We heard you," Charm said with a smile. "But... isn’t this our fight too?"
Old Fool nodded.
"These people stole our lives. Our spirit. Our identities," he added. "If someone came here to rescue us—or at least burn every inch of this place to the ground—then the least we can do is stand beside the people fighting for the same goal."
"We don’t know why your boss wants this place destroyed," he continued. "But we know exactly why we do."
"Running away doesn’t mean we’ll ever escape this place," another prisoner said quietly. "We all know it’ll keep haunting us."
"Even in our sleep."
"This place is a nightmare," another man said. "One we’ll probably never wake up from, even after we leave."


VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin