"That thing... is for keeping us alive," Qing, who was about the same age as Number One, said. His skin was a bit rough, his ears were pointed, and his eye sockets were somewhat large.
It wasn't just him; there were other children here with similar features. For instance, their noses were a little too prominent, their teeth were naturally sharp, and they had scales on their feet. These were all observations made by Number One. He wondered if some kind of mutation had occurred.
"Keeping us alive?" Number One repeated curiously upon hearing Qing's words.
Qing explained, "I only heard the demon lords talking, and that's what I guessed. We human slaves are too weak, and this place is full of children and women. A slight mistake and we could die. That's why this exists."
A little girl named Hua, standing nearby, added, "When it rains or the wind blows outside, the blue stones become very bright. The house gets very warm, and everyone feels cozy."
"So, that's how it is," Number One nodded, understanding the general situation. In his sight, the blue stones flowed with blue energy, though it wasn't very pure. Still, it was purer than the red crystals that the newly brought-in human slaves had.
As the children chatted in low voices, heavy footsteps and voices suddenly sounded from outside the stone house. Upon hearing this, the children inside immediately fell silent. Their small bodies tensed, and they huddled in the corners. The women, however, reacted in two extremes. Some held their children tightly. Others were impatient.
"Quick, get inside!"
The stone door opened, and a group of dark-skinned men were pushed into the house by two demons. The demons were tall and large. One was entirely blue, with an unevenly shaped head and large, pointed ears. The other had a chicken's head and a human body, topped with a large red comb. They treated the men like sheep.
The men clearly knew what kind of place this was and why they were here. The oldest among them was in his thirties, and the youngest was only seventeen or eighteen. Seeing the fair-skinned women inside, the lifeless faces of the men immediately showed different reactions.
"Damn it, I'm so pent up!"
"Finally here, thought I was going to die outside!"
A few men, looking excited, tore off their grass skirts and directly grabbed the nearest women, pouncing on them.
"Ah..." The women cried out in surprise before responding.
"Don't dawdle, move faster!"
At the entrance, some men were still moving slowly. The blue demon grew impatient and gave one of them a shove. The man stumbled forward a few steps. The remaining men, seeing this, could only continue forward. They said nothing, walking numbly to the women who were not pregnant and beginning their tragic and pitiful procreation.
The stone house gradually filled with grunts and groans. The two demons stood at the entrance, overseeing everything. The pregnant women and children huddled in the corners, not daring to make a sound, as if they were already accustomed to it all.
Number One also huddled in a corner, observing everything. His gaze swept over the two demons, then the group of men... finally settling on a tall, middle-aged man. The man had a rugged face and several whip scars on his back. He was also the most excited among the group.
"Hahahahaha... Hahahaha..." The man panted, laughing heartily. Number One found it strange that most of the man's meridians were mixed with a trace of red energy. His stomach contained a ball of fiery red substance, as if burning. The more excited the man became, the faster the red energy flowed within him, quickly spreading throughout his body.
As the woman beneath him fainted from stimulation, the man released his grip. His gaze suddenly fell on a woman in the corner. With bloodshot eyes, he lunged.
"Ah—" The pregnant women in the corner cried out in alarm and hastily dodged. The man's large hand grabbed a woman's hair, pulling her towards him, about to force himself on her.
"He! Are you crazy! She's pregnant!" A young man rushed forward and punched the middle-aged man in the face. The middle-aged man staggered back a couple of steps after being hit. Instead of getting angry, he started laughing.
"Hahahahaha... Hahahahaha..." He saw the woman beside him and, getting up again, moved to grab her. At this moment, the men beside him also came to their senses and rushed forward, trying to restrain the middle-aged man.
*Bang!* The middle-aged man's strength was surprisingly great. With a slight exertion, he sent those men flying. He then charged into the group of women again, his expression frenzied.
"Ah—"
"Wuwuwu..." The women and children screamed in panic, creating chaos.
"Pah! Another one's gone mad." The chicken-headed demon, guarding the entrance, spat in annoyance and strode over to the raging middle-aged man. It grabbed the man by the neck and threw him directly out of the stone house.
*Bang!* The middle-aged man hit the stone wall outside, instantly bursting into a bloom of blood. He had exploded, leaving only a mess of flesh and blood.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and mate!" After dealing with the middle-aged man, the chicken-headed demon roared at the stunned human slaves. The men and women in the stone house stiffened for a moment before coming to their senses. With various expressions, they resumed what they were doing.
Seeing that the human slaves had started moving again, the chicken-headed demon impatiently scanned the room. Women, pregnant women, children... Finally, its gaze fell on Number One. It raised a hand and pointed, "It's you. You're so tall, starting tomorrow, you'll take over the work of that human slave."
As the words fell, the human slaves in the room all looked over. These men and women, adults and children... some had numb expressions, some showed pity, and others breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of joy appearing on their faces. Fortunately, they weren't chosen!
The work of the human slaves was roughly divided into two parts. One, collecting stones from the mountain. Two, processing those strange stones. The process of processing stones was both complex and strenuous. The middle-aged man who had gone mad and died was doing the processing work. Although they needed someone to replace him, given Number One's physique, the demons immediately felt he wasn't suitable. Thus, they rearranged the human slaves and assigned Number One to the collection work.
The next day, Number One, carrying a small stone pick and a small basket on his back, left the stone village with a group of dark-skinned men. They walked all the way to a mountain. After entering the mountain, the supervising demons no longer followed. Instead, they casually guarded the entrance and exit of the mountain, ordering, "Move faster. If you don't fill ten carts, you won't get to eat!"