Chapter 121: Being Auctioned (Additional Chapter for Alliance Leader Jianghu Xia Xiami)
Shortly after Rayleigh finished speaking, a group of people rushed toward Ian and his companion.
Ian felt someone suddenly grab his right hand, yanking him up from the ground. Then everything went dark as a sack was thrown over his head. He assumed the same was happening to Rayleigh.
These guys had absolutely no finesse!
Ian sneered inwardly, but he didn’t forget Rayleigh’s instructions. He put up a token struggle, then felt a heavy blow land on his head.
For an ordinary person, that strike would have been enough to knock them out. For Ian, though, it was a bit lacking. Still, he pretended to be knocked unconscious, staying completely still as the men hoisted him onto their shoulders and carried him away.
Ian could tell they ran for a while with him, then placed him and Rayleigh onto some kind of vehicle. After a lot of jostling, they seemed to reach their destination and were taken off again.
Then, Ian felt himself being carried into a place where faint crying could be heard all around.
Soon, the man carrying him dumped him onto the ground. Ian’s back hit the floor, but he kept his body motionless.
Just then, the sack covering him was pulled off. With his eyes closed, pretending to be unconscious, Ian heard two people talking.
“Mr. Disco, these are the two. We’re counting on you!”
“Tch, seriously, your Coro Family can only ever bring in this kind of trash?”
“Heh heh, isn’t it easier to get?”
“Forget it, leave them. Two men—one’s a bit old, but the other looks young. Bundle them together and sell them as labor. Maybe they’ll sell.”
“Ha, thanks a lot!”
“You’re lucky this isn’t the monthly big auction. Otherwise, I wouldn’t take this kind of merchandise.”
“Of course, of course. Thank you, Mr. Disco!”
“Come get the money after the auction ends.”
The conversation ended there. Then Ian felt something tighten around his neck and wrists—he’d been cuffed.
“Throw them in a cage!” the voice called Mr. Disco said.
Two hands reached out, grabbed Ian by the body, and dragged him a short distance before tossing him onto the ground.
After hearing the clang of the cage door closing, Ian slowly opened his eyes.
He found himself in a corner of a large prison cell, with Rayleigh right beside him.
Raising his hands, Ian saw they were cuffed. A chain ran from his wrists up to his neck, where another cold set of shackles was locked.
Looking around, Ian noticed several other people chained up against the opposite wall, mostly young women. They hung their heads, sobbing quietly. The crying Ian had heard earlier was probably from them.
There were also a few men, but fewer in number. These strong-looking guys, however, were just like the women—holding their heads, staring blankly at the ground. They weren’t crying, but they were trembling all over.
“See this? This is the Human Auction House,” Rayleigh said, sitting up and whispering in Ian’s ear.
“You knew we’d be brought here?” Ian lowered his voice to reply.
“Auction House No. 1, also known as the Human Auction House, is the biggest human auction venue on the entire Sabaody Archipelago,” Rayleigh explained. “Unlike other places, they hold slave auctions here every day without interruption. Once a month, they have a big auction, bringing out the best merchandise. Whenever kidnappers on the island grab someone, the first place they think of is here. Only if they can’t sell them here do they send them to other dealers…”
“Mr. Rayleigh, it sounds like you’ve been here many times?” Ian asked. “Don’t these people recognize you?”
“Heh, every time I’m brought here, I just steal some money and slip away before the auction starts. They rarely remember what an old slave looks like,” Rayleigh said. “But this time, we won’t do that. When the auction begins, use your own eyes to witness all of this…”
Ian fell silent, sitting quietly with Rayleigh in the corner.
After an unknown amount of time, Ian suddenly heard music playing, accompanied by cheers.
He noticed that when the music started, the girls and the men chained against the wall all shuddered.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for waiting! Auction House No. 1! Today’s human auction will begin as usual! This time, I, the ‘Walking Bargain Bin,’ Mr. Disco, will be your auctioneer!”
As Disco’s voice rang out, two men wearing pointed hats and baggy pants walked over and opened the cage door. These clown-like figures came straight for a woman with a “No. 1” tag hanging from her chest. They roughly grabbed her and dragged her out. The girl was quite pretty, so she’d been chosen as the first item.
“No! Let me go! Please, let me go!” The girl’s terror peaked, and she screamed loudly.
But the two clown men were unmoved. They hoisted her up by the arms and dragged her out.
The girl’s cries faded as she was pulled away.
In contrast, excited cheers erupted from the front.
“What a beautiful female slave!”
“Great! I didn’t expect to find such amazing merchandise today!”
These shouts came from male voices, and Disco began introducing the pretty slave girl at just the right moment.
This was just the beginning. Soon, after the girl was sold for 4.3 million Berries, the two clown men appeared again at the cage door.
Tagged with “No. 2” was one of the strong men. Seeing the clowns approach him, he stood up in panic and roared, “No! I won’t be sold! Never!”
He tried to resist, but one clown pulled out a whip and lashed him across the face, leaving a bloody welt.
The No. 2 man screamed in pain, covering his face and collapsing to his knees.
But the clown wasn’t done. He whipped him again and again, sending him rolling on the ground.
Then the clowns grabbed him, trying to drag him out of the cage. But the No. 2 man didn’t give up. At the cage door, he reached out and gripped the bars tightly.
“I won’t be sold! Absolutely not!” he yelled desperately, then turned to Ian’s direction. “Save me! Please, save me! I don’t want to be a slave!”
Before he could finish, a dagger suddenly stabbed through his hand, leaving it bloody and dripping. As he let go in pain, the clowns yanked him away from the cage.
“Bandage him up quickly, then take him out,” one clown said.
The No. 2 man still couldn’t avoid being dragged to the auction stage…
Ian watched him being pulled away, feeling a heavy lump in his chest. When the man had begged for help in his direction, Ian had clearly seen the despair and terror in his eyes.
That look stung his nerves…
Ian had always believed that human trafficking was a terrible crime, but honestly, he’d never actually witnessed slaves being sold.
Now, Rayleigh was showing him this.
“You know, being auctioned isn’t the worst part,” Rayleigh whispered in Ian’s ear. “The worst is the life they endure as slaves. They’re kept like animals, living worse than dogs. Their owners can beat and curse them at will, cut off any part of their body, just to see the look of pain on their faces. They wither away under constant torment until they die, and their owners toss their bodies away like trash for their pets to gnaw on…”
Ian was trembling all over. His voice hoarse, he asked, “Can’t the Marines and the World Government see all this?”
“Heh, the Marines?” Rayleigh chuckled. “Do you know what they call this place? An employment agency!”
“…” Ian couldn’t see his own expression, but he guessed it must be dark and grim.
As the auction continued, the people in front were taken out one by one. Each reacted differently. Some refused to accept that their lives were over and fought back fiercely, but it was futile—they were quickly subdued and dragged out like dead dogs. Others were already resigned, moving like zombies as the clowns led them away.
Finally, it was Ian and Rayleigh’s turn. Neither resisted. They walked forward quietly and stepped onto the auction stage.
“Next up, these two slaves will be sold as a bundle!”
Auctioneer Disco’s voice boomed through the speakers across the hall, rising and falling dramatically. “The main item is this young man! Buy him, and the old man behind him comes free as a bonus!”
The legendary Silvers Rayleigh, the right hand of Pirate King Roger, a mythic pirate first mate, was being sold as a freebie with Ian. Ian wanted to laugh, but he found he couldn’t.
“Look!” Disco shouted, reaching out to pinch Ian’s chest. “Such a young man with an exceptionally strong body! This high-quality slave will last a long time—a great deal! You can use him as a punching bag or as transportation. Ladies interested can have him lick every one of your toes!”
With Disco’s suggestive introduction, the buyers in the audience finally showed some interest in the buy-one-get-one-free pair.
“I’ll bid 550,000 Berries!”
“600,000!”
Bids started coming in, sparse at first.
Ian stood on the stage, looking at the crowd in the auction hall. It wasn’t full, but it was close—and this was just a daily auction. It showed just how popular Auction House No. 1 was.
Every single bidder was dressed in fine clothes. From their attire, they were clearly nobles and wealthy people from various countries.
Standing on that platform, treated like a piece of merchandise, being stared at and judged by these well-dressed bastards, Ian felt an unprecedented sense of humiliation. He felt it was a disgrace to be called human alongside these creatures.
How twisted must someone’s heart be to trample on human dignity so blatantly?
Ian was shaking all over. At that moment, he finally understood what true anger felt like. A massive rage was building inside him, and he felt like he was about to lose control…