# 1803
Chapter 1796: Birdcage
"Cough cough cough cough cough……"
A frail cough escaped from Xia Simeng's throat. The pale corners of her lips curved into a艰难 smile. "I'm fine…… I'm the captain of the [Phoenix] squad…… A phoenix…… how could it die so easily?"
"Even with the strongest phoenix bloodline, they can't withstand being tortured every single day!" A young girl's eyes were red-rimmed as she carefully examined Xia Simeng's wounds. The more she saw, the more alarmed she became.
"Ah…… it's fine. Once I rest for an hour…… I'll be jumping around again in no time."
"Those bastards…… I'm going to fight them!" Another sturdy girl leapt to her feet, ready to charge toward the Birdcage gate!
Just then, a hand pressed down on her shoulder.
"Ling Lin, calm down." Vice-captain Cao Sha's eyes were bloodshot, but he kept his composure. "No one below Divine Realm can open this door…… If you make too much noise now, not only will you die, but those ordinary people will suffer too."
Ling Lin's fists clenched tightly. Her chest heaved violently. In the end, she slumped against the Birdcage, collapsing onto the ground in a daze.
"Cao Sha is right. You all blended in with the ordinary people from the start, so they didn't discover you. Now, in their eyes, there's only me as a Night Watch…… If you expose yourselves too, the ones they torture will become all of us.
Your phoenix blood is thinner than mine. There's no way you could survive their interrogations…… No matter what you see or hear, you absolutely cannot expose yourselves."
Xia Simeng's tone was more serious than it had ever been.
The members of the [Phoenix] squad fell silent.
After a long while, Xia Simeng's injuries had recovered somewhat. The phoenix bloodline granted her terrifying blood-producing and regenerative abilities. While not as变态 as An Qingyu's ability to regenerate from a drop of blood, she could still repair non-fatal wounds.
She forced herself to sit up from the pool of blood, looking at Cao Sha beside her:
"How are the others doing?"
Cao Sha opened his mouth, then said, "Over six hundred people died today…… more than yesterday and the day before combined. Most of the dead were elderly people. Some died from panic and external stimulation causing their underlying conditions to worsen, while some starved to death.
Though this Birdcage is near a stream, barely allowing them to drink water, if they don't eat for three days, they still can't hold on…… If this continues, the number of people starving to death will only keep rising."
Xia Simeng's brow furrowed tightly as she spoke through gritted teeth: "Can't these Greek gods at least give them something to eat if they're keeping them locked in here?"
"Their purpose is merely to use us as leverage and cannon fodder for the final decisive battle…… They don't care about the life and death of cannon fodder. They only need us to have some survivors when the decisive battle arrives.
At this rate, another two days might be fine for the young and able-bodied, but the elderly and children definitely won't make it."
Xia Simeng's gaze swept across the Birdcage, falling upon those pitiful figures curled up from hunger. Her lips pressed together tightly.
The dim daylight gradually faded. Darkness enveloped the Birdcage.
Beneath the faint starlight, moans occasionally drifted from the crowd, but the vast majority had huddled in various corners of the Birdcage, relying on their remaining body heat to fend off the mountain wind, utterly silent, like麻木 corpses.
In the corner of the Birdcage, a young girl was cradling an ice-cold infant corpse in her arms. Her body trembled continuously, emitting muffled wailing sounds.
She didn't dare cry too loudly. For one, she was worried about disturbing others, and for two, she was afraid that loud crying would attract those fierce guards. Over these past few days, she had personally witnessed many people who had screamed loudly being torn to pieces by them.
As she cried, her vision began to darken. Clutching the little brother in her arms, she unconsciously began to fall backward.
At that moment, a palm steadied her body.
The girl came to her senses, about to see who it was, when another hand covered her eyes.
"Who is it?" The girl spoke in alarm, but she was too weak to break free.
"Don't be afraid. Open your mouth."
A man's gentle voice sounded from beside her.
The girl froze, about to say something, when she felt something drip into her lips. Instinctively, she licked lightly—a taste of iron rust and saltiness slid down her throat.
After several more drops, the girl suddenly felt like she wasn't hungry anymore. Her cold body gradually warmed up, and her exhausted frame regained a bit of strength.
A moment later, the hand covering her eyes was removed. A man made a "shh" gesture at her. The night was too dark for her to see his face clearly.
The girl stared blankly at all this. Then, the man slipped into the darkness, walking slowly through the sleeping crowd to a little boy of seven or eight years old. He covered the boy's eyes as well and whispered something quietly.
Vaguely, the girl saw him raise his bloodied palm to the boy's lips. Drops of blood flowed from the gruesome wound on his palm and dripped into the boy's mouth.
The man's figure kept moving through the crowd, feeding his blood to the younger children. Every few minutes, when the wound on his palm was about to heal, he would take out a small knife and cut the wound again, ensuring a steady flow of blood.
An hour later, his face was pale as paper…… After feeding the two hundredth child, he walked with unsteady steps back to the edge of the Birdcage gate. Leaning against the railing, he sat down carefully, afraid of disturbing those around him.
"Cao Sha."
A voice suddenly sounded beside the man.
The just-seated Cao Sha's pupils contracted sharply. He spun his head around to see Xia Simeng leaning against the Birdcage, gazing at him weakly. Her expression was complicated beyond words.
"Captain……" Cao Sha opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.
Xia Simeng stared at him and slowly said, "When did you…… start feeding them?"
"……Today is the first day." Cao Sha's gaze turned toward the gloomy Birdcage as he spoke bitterly, "Captain, if this continues, these children won't make it to the end…… The phoenix bloodline contains endlessly regenerative energy. Just a few drops can relieve their hunger for a whole day…… So I thought I'd……"
"Idiot!" Xia Simeng grabbed his neck with one hand. Anger appeared on her pale face. "Just because you have a bit of phoenix bloodline, you really think you're a phoenix?! Don't forget—this bloodline was artificially introduced into your bodies! Do you think you're producing phoenix blood quickly enough? Do you think there's no price to pay for bloodletting?!
All the phoenix blood you're losing right now is your own life!!"
Xia Simeng had lowered her voice to the extreme. Under the furious gaze of those bloodshot eyes, Cao Sha only lowered his head, silent.