Shackles of Humanity

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Sworn Brothers

Back in the sea, an unrestrained and liberating feeling washed over Luo Kai, as if he could roam freely between heaven and earth. ’If I survive this,’ he couldn’t help but think, ’I might as well find a remote island and live out the rest of my days.’Several hours passed. The three men floated on the surface like flotsam, their physical exhaustion and mental anxiety a constant test of their will."I can’t go on! This old man can’t take it anymore!"Shisan stopped and turned to support Li Gui. "Hang in there!"A flush spread across Li Gui’s wrinkled old face. He smiled bitterly. "This time, I’m really done for. If you two manage to survive, I have some valuable things back in Longyang County... consider them yours..."Shisan cut him off. "I’ll carry you!" Without waiting for a reply, he heaved Li Gui onto his back and resumed swimming.Luo Kai swam over and said softly, "I’ll take over in a bit."The sun was directly overhead. Their scabbed wounds, soaked in seawater, turned white and swelled, becoming unbearably itchy and painful.After a while, Shisan’s pace slowed noticeably. Luo Kai moved forward and took Li Gui from him; the old man had already fallen unconscious.’I’m at my limit, too,’ Luo Kai sighed inwardly. He could feel his own limbs growing sore and weak. For the past few days, they had been fleeing for their lives, and after last night’s intense battle, they had pushed their bodies far beyond their limits. ’If we don’t see land today, we’re really going to die out here in this endless ocean.’To say Luo Kai was a good swimmer would be an understatement. He moved as if he were a creature born of the sea itself, each stroke of his limbs expertly harnessing the water’s power. Even carrying another person on his back, he seemed almost effortless.They swam for a while longer, but the surrounding sea remained vast and empty, offering not a sliver of hope. Li Gui regained consciousness, looked at his two companions, and suddenly spoke. "My brothers, if you wouldn’t mind, how about we become sworn brothers?".Luo Kai licked his cracked lips and smiled. "Alright! Looks like I’m the youngest, so I’ll be the third brother!"Shisan hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.Li Gui grinned broadly. "You two might think I’m taking advantage here. To look at me, you’d think I was old enough to be your father, but in truth, I’m only forty-two."Shisan was taken aback. "I’m forty-seven.""Haha! Then you’re the eldest brother! This old man will be number two, and Brother Xiao Luo is number three!"Li Gui’s mood brightened considerably, and he began to recount his past. He was born in the swamp-ridden Mist Mountain Range in the Southern Region of the Xingma Kingdom, a place full of impoverished little villages. In this era, children from poor families had only two paths: go to school or join the army. Unfortunately, he didn’t even get the chance to go to school. At the age of seven or eight, he was abducted by traffickers and sold into slavery on a farm. Later, he fell in with a merchant caravan, learned some survival skills, and began to travel the world. He even once posed as a student from the Physical Martial Arts Academy to audit classes at a university in Shangjing City...Speaking of his glory days at the university, Li Gui’s eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Shangjing University is the birthplace of genetic technology! It’s where all of humanity’s most elite individuals are gathered. After undergoing biotechnological modifications... well, the men are one thing, but the women are incredible! Every single one is as beautiful as a flower, like a Celestial Immortal..."Luo Kai glanced wearily at Li Gui, who was practically spraying spittle in his excitement, and couldn’t help but cut in, "It’s just cosmetic surgery."Li Gui grew serious. "Third Brother, cosmetic surgery can’t make someone a Celestial Immortal. Appearance is secondary. Every student there cultivates High-level Body Techniques. Their very plane of existence undergoes a total transformation, giving them an unparalleled aura. If we survive this, your Second Brother will take you to see it for yourself!"Chatting and laughing, they forgot their exhaustion for a while, but a person’s energy is finite. Under the scorching sun, the three of them soon lost their spirit. Gradually, they couldn’t swim at all anymore and could only float on the surface like dead fish.Just as Luo Kai was drowsily drifting off to sleep, an explosion like a clap of thunder erupted nearby. The blast left his eardrums ringing, and for a moment, he was completely deaf. He opened his eyes to see Shisan shouting something at him, but he couldn’t hear a word. Li Gui was nowhere to be seen.At some point, two Iron Armor Fleets had appeared on the sea, exchanging cannon fire from a distance. And they were caught right in the middle of the battlefield.Monstrous waves rose up around them, and shrapnel flew everywhere. In the face of such powerful modern weaponry, human strength seemed insignificant. The three of them were like flotsam in a raging sea, in danger of being swallowed up at any moment.A shell detonating in water is an entirely different matter than one detonating in the air. Seawater is much denser, making the resulting shockwave at least several dozen times more powerful than it would be in the air.Another shell detonated near Luo Kai. The center of the blast was far too close, and the invisible shockwave knocked him out cold....Time seemed to fall into an eternal darkness. After an unknown period, Luo Kai woke up on a shore thick with reeds and algae. The scorching sun made him dizzy—a sign of dehydration. He didn’t know how long he’d been unconscious or where he was. He wasn’t even sure if he was still alive, because he couldn’t even move a finger.He felt as if he were frozen stiff, or perhaps something was wrong with his spinal nerves, like with Shisan, because he couldn’t even feel pain. A few sea crabs crawled onto his body and began to gnaw at the rotting flesh in his wounds with their large pincers.He also saw a swarm of flies laying eggs in the wound on his shoulder. ’Maggots are going to hatch inside my body,’ he thought. He felt a chill, but also a strange sense of peace. ’Sooner or later, all life becomes food for other life, eventually returning to dust. For over a year now, death has been my constant companion. At last, it has come for me.’An unknown amount of time passed. The sun was no longer blinding; dusk had arrived. Dewdrops had condensed on the leaves of the reeds beside him. Luo Kai stared at the crystal-clear dew, his mouth watering. In his heart, he no longer resisted death, but his body craved sustenance.Time passed slowly. Watching the dew gradually evaporate, he grew more and more anxious. Perhaps God had heard his call; his mouth, stiff for so long, finally opened. At that moment, he only cursed that his tongue wasn’t longer. After a long struggle, the tip of his tongue finally touched the sweet dew.This single drop of dew held tremendous Energy. Luo Kai immediately reconnected with his sense of taste. A trace of sweetness filled his mouth, along with the fragrance of grass and trees. There could be no better-tasting drink in the world.He licked up all the dew within his reach, not even sparing the damp soil. His groggy mind began to clear, and his neck could finally turn. He switched targets. About a meter to his left was a small puddle. ’I never would have thought my neck and tongue could stretch so far,’ he reflected, amazed he could lap up water with his tongue like an animal.The next day, a greedy sea crab crawled up to his mouth. Its small pair of eyes stared intently at his lips, which were swollen and puffy from the seawater. As far as the crab was concerned, this piece of meat was rather tender. It immediately clamped down hard with its two large pincers.The sharp pain on his lips startled Luo Kai awake. He saw the ridiculous creature before his face and, without hesitation, swept it into his mouth and began to chew forcefully. He crushed the hard shell to pieces and swallowed it down along with the shredded meat.