Before he had examined them, he couldn't understand. But after reading through, the truth finally dawned on him. Chen Luo finally understood why in his past life, when he was still fighting through 「Infinite Jobholders」, this world frequently erupted in violent slave uprisings or large-scale assault campaigns by the slave classes. Although slave trading was legally sanctioned on the books of many empires, the price paid behind it was horrifyingly cruel.
- 「Slave Key」
Description: A tool for removing control and compulsion. When used in conjunction with the Slave Collar, the item forcibly transforms the designated target—regardless of level, race, quality, or dimension of origin, and whether or not the target consents—instantly into a slave under one's ownership, automatically issuing a Slave Certificate.
- 「Slave Collar」
Description: A tool of spiritual shackling. When connected to the Slave Control Stone, it can compel any slave to absolute obedience. The target is forced to comply with all commands unconditionally; any intention of resistance or deceit will trigger a severe electric punishment magic on the collar as a warning. It can only be removed after using a Slave Key to unlock it and destroying the Slave Certificate.
- 「Slave Certificate」
Description: A text-form soul contract. The item is automatically generated after establishing a master-servant relationship, serving as the sole evidence proving lawful ownership of a slave, recognized by the system.
- 「Slave Control Stone」
Description: The central magic core. A supreme tool used to manipulate wholesale groups of slaves wearing Slave Collars from a distance. Due to its brutal nature and its ability to erode a target's soul to death, this item has long been banned from production by the Eight-Race Alliance. Nevertheless, it still circulates quietly on the black market and rests in the hands of the powerful figures who manipulate the underworld.
Disposing of the first three items posed no problem at all, but when Chen Luo's gaze settled on the 「Slave Control Stone」, his pupils contracted slightly. The dark magical aura swirling deep within the stone sent a chill down his spine—a sensation eerily familiar, recorded in the 「Blood Magic - Knowledge and History」 chapter of the Alvibion Tome of Knowledge. Chen Luo pondered for a while, then carefully stored the stone deep in his inventory, planning to research it more thoroughly later once he had mastered the knowledge of blood magic.
The clinking sound of iron chains rang through the damp underground chamber. Chen Luo took the bundle of keys and walked up to the iron cages imprisoning the pack of「Silver Demon Wolves」. He took out several fresh, high-quality mutton chunks that had been opened from 「Safes」 in his loot and tossed them through the cage bars. The silver wolves initially growled hesitantly, hackles raised in wariness, but when they met his gentle gaze and his calm words "Eat up!", their survival instincts triumphed over their fear. They lunged at the fresh meat and devoured it ravenously.
This scene brought an involuntary bittersweet feeling to Chen Luo. Just two days ago, he had used exactly the same piece of meat to tame his first mutated wolf. Watching the pack of Silver Demon Wolves, which after having their cages opened did not attack but instead obediently lined up in a straight row, with sparkling eyes waiting for him to call their names, Chen Luo outwardly appeared calm as a cucumber, but inside his heart was screaming in helplessness:
"Come on now... I know all of you want to follow me, but could you please wait a bit? Don't look at me with those puppy-dog eyes... This is going to end with me opening a whole wolf farm soon!"
However, when Chen Luo turned to look at the other half of the underground area, his half-smile immediately died on his lips.
Before him were 5 more rusted iron cages, inside which were imprisoned 5 half-human (Á Nhân) slaves.
Half-humans (also called Beastkin) are the collective name for individuals naturally born from the fusion of human blood with Demon Beasts—spiritual creatures that have developed high-level intelligence. They should be clearly distinguished from 「Mutants」—pitiful entities born from the forced intervention of gene-splicing technology, illegal magic mutation, or twisted laboratory experiments.
Though possessing great potential, both Half-humans and Mutants have long been ostracized and driven away by the major races. Most are forced to huddle together in Asgard—the land considered the Ancestral Mother of the Half-human race—or to hide deep within the great forests of the Demon Race. Any Half-human who sets foot alone into the outside world risks becoming prey for slave-hunting guilds.
Although the Human government always leads the charge in campaigning against slavery, behind the scenes, the upper echelons still cleverly circumvent the law. Half-human slaves command an extremely expensive liquid value on the black market, second only to the Elf Race from the Abyss. The reason lies not only in their exotic appearance or collectible value, but also because the Half-human physique perfectly combines the sharp intellect of humans with the explosive strength of the Demon Race. They are born warriors, often forced into brutal underground arenas as fatal entertainment for the nobility.
Precisely because they possess the escape instincts and keen intuition of wild beasts, apart from being completely overpowered by top experts or betrayed by their own kin, capturing a fully-grown Half-human alive is nearly impossible.
Yet, what lay before Chen Luo's eyes explained it all.
These were not battle-hardened warriors, but 5 gaunt, emaciated Half-human children reduced to nothing but skin and bone. Their drooping beast ears, scraggly coats of fur, and sunken, malnutritioned eyes showed they could die at any moment.
Chen Luo was a transmigrator, a soul that had long been tempered into cold, lonely hardness through years of night-and-day boosting. But standing before the sight of immature sprouts being tortured to this extent, his chest still tightened with aching sorrow. The minimum spark of human compassion within him was powerfully stirred.
Swish!
Hearing Chen Luo's footsteps, a Half-human child bearing Tiger Tribe characteristics suddenly lunged against the iron chains, eyes burning red with rage like a cornered beast. However, the sturdy alloy bars easily sent his exhausted body tumbling back onto the cold stone floor.
At that moment, from the iron cage beside him, a weak, intermittent whimper like a breath of wind sounded:
-"Big... big brother... could you... give us... some food... please? We... haven't eaten... in a very long time..."
That innocent voice, hoarse and cracked from a dry throat, made the underground space oppressively suffocating. In this tempting yet brutal post-apocalyptic era, soft-heartedness or blind humanitarianism sometimes was the very knife of self-destruction. But Chen Luo was different. With his vast trove of resources and survival system in hand, he was by no means short on food. If supplies ran out, he could hunt, farm levels, or reclaim land. Raising a few children had never been a burden to him.
-[Ding! Special situation detected; the system issues a new quest: 「Recruit Allies」.]
[Description: Proceed to recruit all Half-human slaves in the underground chamber as official allies. Rewards will be settled based on the loyalty and condition of the targets after completion.]
The system sound cut through Chen Luo's train of thought. This Omnipotent System normally issued quests so rarely as to be pitiful, but every time one appeared, it brought extremely practical value.
Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Luo swung his military axe and chopped through the rusted locks. He stepped in, carefully taking out ration packs, cooked meat, and bottles of clean water to distribute to each child, not forgetting to speak in a gentle, soothing tone:
-"Everyone has their own portion. Eat slowly—nobody is going to take your share."
Seeing the fragrant food and clean water placed right before them, the wariness of the 5 children completely collapsed. They clutched their portions, tears streaming down onto the dry bread as they devoured it and sobbed aloud. That bitter scene made even a hardened soul like Chen Luo turn his face away and let out a sigh.
-"Hey Aaron, chew slowly or you'll choke! Nobody's fighting you for it—if you're still hungry, I'll give you my portion."
The oldest Half-human boy in the group wiped his tears while hurriedly reminding the little one beside him.
-"Big brother... this food is so delicious! If I don't eat fast... what if someone comes and snatches it away later! It's so good, big brother..."
The child named Aaron pouted as he tried to stuff meat into his mouth, struggling to speak clearly, which left Chen Luo only able to smile wryly.
Looking at children who should have been in school, living peacefully under the protection of their families, Chen Luo asked a question—one with all the earmarks of an Asian parent meeting kids:
-"What are your names, where are you from, and why were you locked up here? And... how old are you all?"
After all, before adopting or forming alliances, thoroughly investigating their backgrounds was a mandatory step to avoid future hidden troubles.
-"We were kidnapped by a group of masked people from the outskirts of Asgard..." Aaron innocently replied while chewing. "They knocked us unconscious, and when we woke up, we were already in these cages. Are you the big brother who beat those bad people to save us?"
-"If I counted correctly... more than two months have passed since the day we were captured."
A steady, young man's voice—full of maturity far beyond his years—sounded. It was the boy Aaron called 'big brother'. The gaze this boy directed at Chen Luo carried not only survival wariness but also the quality of a born leader etched into his eyes.
The boy continued his analysis:
-"At first, there were many other Beastkin and Half-human brothers and sisters here. But over time, they were bought up one by one by the major noble houses and never returned. Until about two weeks ago, the jailers suddenly vanished completely—no one came to deliver supplies or trade anymore. We've been starving in these iron cages ever since..."
Chen Luo nodded, taking note. Two weeks ago was precisely the moment the world erupted with the post-apocalyptic catastrophe; the slave traders had certainly either died out there or transformed into Zombies.
Just as Chen Luo was listening, from the gloomy dark corner behind the underground chamber, a deformed black shadow crawled crookedly forward. When it was only a few steps away from his back, it suddenly opened a mouth full of rotting blood, let out a brutal gnashing roar, and lunged straight at him!
-"Big brother! Watch out behind you!!!"
The oldest Half-human boy screamed at the top of his lungs!
However, the reflexes of a former top-tier boosting expert were nothing to scoff at. In the exact instant that poisonous wind rushed at his neck, Chen Luo didn't need to fully turn around—his body pivoted on its vertical axis and unleashed a mighty heel-strike kick!
THUD! CRACK!
The kick, carrying his entire Strength stat directly, slammed into the jaw of the mutated monster, sending its whole body flying through the air before it slammed headfirst into the thick concrete wall far away, brains splattering everywhere.
However, given the too-close distance, one pitch-black claw of the monster still managed to graze Chen Luo's arm, leaving a long, blood-beaded gash.
Without a single second of hesitation or panic, Chen Luo immediately stepped back, pulled out his water bottle to rinse the wound, then quickly retrieved a roll of medical gauze and tightly bound the cut. In this post-apocalyptic world filled with demonic energy and mutating viruses, any carelessness with an open wound could cost one his life.
Done, he turned back to look at the 5 Half-human children staring at him in stunned amazement, then smiled gently and patted the head of the eldest boy:
-"Good reflexes, kid. Now then... keep eating, and after that, we're getting out of this godforsaken place!"