CHAPTER 485: 290_1

At the campsite bonfire.

Like an ordinary hiker, Dean ate, drank, and made new friends. The revelry began to die down.

Finally, someone approached. "Hi, I’m Jimmy. Are you alone?"

Jimmy was a slender Caucasian youth with glasses, a warm smile, and a refined appearance.

"Yes."

Dean clinked his beer can with the other’s. "I thought a girl would hit on me tonight, but it turns out to be a handsome guy."

"HAHA," Jimmy smiled knowingly and began to talk about some interesting trails nearby.

As they talked, Dean’s beer was already finished.

Seeing this, Jimmy took out a new can and handed it over. "By the way, I have a temporarily formed group here. If you’re interested, we can set out together tomorrow. It’s safer that way."

Dean, seemingly without much caution, accepted the beer. He took a large gulp and asked, puzzled, "The signal here is great, and there aren’t any large wild animals. Even if we encountered danger, shouldn’t we be able to get help promptly?"

"That’s true, but it’s less boring with more people. Plus, there are two pretty girls in our group," Jimmy said, waving to some men and women in the distance. They smiled and waved back.

"Indeed. My tent is over there. Tomorrow you guys can..."

Dean’s eyes lit up. But as he pointed towards his tent, his voice trailed off as if a machine had lost power. The beer can slipped from his hand, clattered to the ground, and he slowly slumped over.

Watching Dean collapse, a cold smile touched Jimmy’s lips. He poured the rest of his beer over Dean, murmuring, "Buddy, sometimes people are far more dangerous than beasts."

Once Dean reeked of alcohol, Jimmy turned to the small group he’d just formed and said, "Guys, this fella can’t hold his liquor. Someone come help me take him to a place where he can rest, or he’ll catch a cold."

"Jimmy, you really are kind-hearted."

A youthful-looking girl, who had taken a liking to the boy she’d just met and was eager for a chance to be alone with him, hurried over ahead of her companions.

The two of them positioned themselves on either side, intending to lift the alcohol-soaked Dean.

They heaved. Dean only lifted slightly from the ground before slumping back down; they weren’t strong enough.

Is this guy made of stone? He’s so heavy? The girl shook her hands, questioning her life.

She wasn’t a pampered sort, but pulling at Dean felt like trying to move a stone statue—solid, heavy, and not like a real person at all.

"Maybe he’s a robot, with an alloy skeleton inside," Jimmy shrugged, joking.

In the end, Jimmy had to call over two more people. The four of them struggled to lift the dead weight of Dean, finally managing to carry him by his arms and legs and dump him into the tent he had pitched.

「...」

As the bonfire party went into its later stages, some acquaintances and newly met men and women tacitly ventured into the woods outside the campsite.

Nobody cared about a drunken person.

「The next day.」

Jimmy was hungover and weary from the effort. He and his temporary companions got up, preparing to find Dean—whom they had just met yesterday—to join them for mountain climbing. When they reached the spot, they were surprised to find that the tent where Dean had been was gone.

"Where’s that guy?" a boy who had helped move Dean the previous day asked, his arm around his newly-met girlfriend, looking somewhat displeased.

Even if he left on his own, the least he could do was say goodbye!

The others also expressed their dissatisfaction.

Jimmy quickly smoothed things over with a smile. "He must’ve set out alone since we got up too late and he didn’t want to wait for us. Alright, folks, let’s pack up and head out. Don’t let this little thing affect your mood..."

He spoke with a gentle smile plastered on his face.

Because Jimmy knew, the five thousand dollars was already in hand!

As they were leaving the campsite, Jimmy’s companions vaguely overheard a discussion: a rescue helicopter had come that morning to airlift a poor soul who had tried night-climbing the previous evening and ended up breaking a leg.

This further improved their impression of the area’s comprehensive safety measures.

What a great place!

「...」

Two masked individuals struggled to dump a sleeping man onto the cold concrete floor. They then picked up shackles and locked his feet.

"FK, this bastard is really heavy!"

"Not only is he heavy, but he’s out cold. I thought we might need another shot of tranquilizer for him."

"He’s built solid. We’ll probably get a good price for him..."

CLANG.

With the sound of the iron cage being locked, the chatting voices faded into the distance.

When all was quiet, Dean slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

The place appeared to be a disused concrete factory, intentionally converted with partitions to create cubicles, much like those for squat toilets. Steel bars were installed outside each cubicle, making the setup resemble a prison.

Inside, there was a toilet and a roll of fragrant toilet paper.

Against the wall was a retractable tray, presumably for food delivery.

The floor was clean, and the bedding looked decent. They had even considerately placed a relatively thin spring mattress on the bed frame.

If not for the heavy chains on his ankles, anyone waking up here might mistake it for a single room in a prison-themed hotel.

The room opposite Dean’s was vacant.

However, through the relatively thin concrete partitions, he could hear faint sobbing coming from the cubicle to his right.